shocked ... and stunned ... and a VoxM moment

In the immortal words of the Rutles when they learned that their manager Leggy Mountbatten had absconded to Australia: I'm shocked and stunned at the amazing feedback. Can I just say that all of you are very welcome to Scotland?

I will probably go to the South on my own next year. That way, I'll be able to talk HP without boring my husband too much :) He's fine with letting me do my own thing, btw. One of the reasons why I'm so happy with him.

This year, it's going to be the moderate climates of the North, flying in to Seattle. (I want to see Powell's book store and Fup the Store Cat. I shall be royally p***** off if Fup is just an invention for the sake of their newsletter.)

We're going to decide on flights this weekend, I think. I shall have to get some maps first, though :)

****

Oh, and my VoxM moment? Sorry, Vox, but this guy just so reminded me of your amazing gigolo. I get a Yahoo!Messenger message from someone called villain446. I demand to know his RL name - maybe it's someone I know, but have forgotten the id of. Turns out he's male, 25, from Edinburgh, and wants to know where I'm based. I tell him I'm happily married and about to rush off to a meeting. (No offense). Making friends this way just freaks me out - I'd much rather meet people via message boards or the Quill. I blocked him immediately. I don't think I overreacted ...

we booked ...

... out 14/5, back in Edinburgh 3/6. God, I'm so excited. Oregon is duly noted as an itinerary point. Montana, Yellowstone and Glacier National as well.

Now, guys, pray that I'll have my passport in time. I applied to have it renewed on 3/3. They said I'd have it before Easter. The web site claims it takes 6-10 weeks. 10 weeks means 12/5. We're flying out on 14/5. The German consulate can only issue temporary replacements that are valid for Germany. We've no cancellation insurance.
My husband said not to worry and be silly and just go ahead and book.

On a related note, people wondered why we are going to the US. Well, thanks to you guys, I can't just let people slag "Americans" off anymore. I've got a very lovely and very diverse group of friends there that's giving the country a face distinct from the reporting we get in the press, much more nuanced.

On adoption: a quick trawl round various websites shows that as Germans living in Britain, we'll have to consider International Adoption. Brits are wary of placing kids
with people who might move back to their home country - understandable! Since I speak some Spanish, Latin America might be an option - or, since I've quite an interest in Zen and Buddhism, China, or India. We shall see. (Accepting your infertility is a good way of getting pregnant, or so I heard.)