Galacon Is Go: state of the journey update -- and new (stupid) sidetrip Ko-Fi goal · 3:28pm May 14th, 2023
Someone tried to coin-shame me this morning.
I think best on my feet: we've gone over that a few times. Stories are planned while on the move, dialogue is worked out over successive steps. I could say that I think about plot advancements until my head aches, but it's closer to 'until my feet hurt' and without a car, when I have to walk just about everywhere... that pain has been coming in a little sooner. And while I walk, I gather in whatever funds I see. Cut through a supermarket parking lot and if there's an abandoned cart rental quarter, then that's mine now.
The quarter. Not the cart. There's certain problems with the latter.
It was a long walk today, because... after yesterday, I had a lot to think about. Risks to consider, and whether I wanted to be exactly as stupid as the upcoming blog will vividly demonstrate. But it doesn't hurt to have a spare quarter. Sometimes I lightly amaze people in the chat server through sorting out a non-haul. How do you find money so very often? Know where to look. When. And... don't care what people think.
Even when they really want you to.
I was puzzling out the return process for a tangled corral when the store employee came out and promptly demonstrated the wisdom of Sir Terry: people who address you by some version of 'friend' on first meeting are not going to be friendly.
There's no point in repeating the whole of what was said. The goal was to make me feel bad about myself, because that's America. If you pick up coins, you're considered subhuman and potions of the populace will gleefully remind you of that. (Portions. Every couple of years, someone will assume I'm homeless and try to buy me breakfast.) I didn't give them any notice. I didn't talk to them, I didn't look at them beyond the first glance and eventually, they went back inside.
Of course they felt the need to try and shame me. National character, right? Poverty is the unforgivable sin. And besides, why could I possibly need a quarter so badly?
I watched them reenter the supermarket. Some of the smirk was still visible through the outer glass.
And I thought about what I could have said.
Why do I need this coin? Because as of yesterday afternoon, I have to fly to Europe in September. And when I go to the airport, I'll probably need to transfer out of the subway system and take the Airtrain to JFK. That's a separate fare and has to be paid at the machine kiosk. Which takes quarters. And now I have this one.
And you don't.
You don't really have much of anything, do you?
Go on back inside. It's the only place you're ever going to go...
Not that they would have believed me.
So... yeah. The Ko-Fi goal has been reached. And before I go any further, I want to thank everyone who contributed. (I won't name anyone here, because some tip anonymously and others may not want the publicity. Y'all know who you are.) We harvest the Acres one tree at a time and eventually, it adds up to the whole thing. Put enough drops in a bucket and in time, you'll have a full bucket. I never could have done this without all of you, and... there's gratitude, a touch of joy, a flood of guilt, and the realization that I may be about to push my luck over a cliff.
(We'll get there.)
I didn't expect to reach goal anywhere near this early. If you'd asked me for a first possible date, when the drive started with a deadline of July 15th -- I probably would have said 'June 24th.' Because I would have posted a blog reminder when there was one month to go, and that might have spurred a week or so of acceleration. Instead, the numbers on the tallyboard clicked over on May 13th.
The stress was immediate.
Tips get spent on the stated goal: that's my end of the Ko-Fi bargain. And I'd been doing some scouting on the flight, along with hotels. I needed that information, because the finish line had become visible on the horizon. The research was already starting to uncover a few potential problems, and we'll talk about that when we go into flights below.
But none of it was real.
Not until 100% clicked through.
(101%.)
And then I had to commit.
If you look at the chat server archives, you can see me freeze up.
And then you can watch as I paid for the Galacon admission badge.
And that's it. I'm locked in. The badge money is spent. I can't not go now, right? If I stay home, those funds are wasted...
So let's talk about how far along I am in terms of actually going. Some of the challenges I've uncovered, the advice I need from those who've been there, and --
-- I mentioned a new goal in the blog title.
A sidetrip.
I'd better get to that at some point. The group reaction is gonna be hilarious.
State Of The Trip: Current Prep
Convention admission: paid. I was about a week too late for the lowest price, and had nearly two months before the next hike.
I'm going in at the BASIC rate. There's a pair of higher admission tiers, visible here. Please note that the final one comes with an Exclusive Plushie and given the usual price of such things, that may actually be the cheapest plushie at the convention. Also, it is totally possible to upgrade your badge after the initial purchase, as long as there's some occupancy left at the upper levels. So if anyone wants the Exclusive Plushie, let me know. We'll make arrangements for you to tip me into the upgrade, and I'll just mail it to you when I get home.
(I promised the chat server I'd bring that up. I do not expect anyone to do this. Also, I have no idea what the EP looks like, how large it is, whether it spontaneously catches fire...)
The badge cost $96.82. This is because I went through PayPal in order to book it, and it turns out they have their own idea of a conversion fee. Well, I did predict $96...
PPE: in-residence. I still have adhesive masks left over from the EFNW trip, because that was a ten-pack. Those will be used for the flights, as normal KNs become saturated well before landing.
Hotel: not yet booked. I'd been letting all tips sit with PayPal until goal was reached. I can't book anything in Germany until the money reaches my debit account and if I'm booking on a German site, I'll have to notify my bank first. Otherwise, they'll block the transaction.
There is one complication here: time. (See the next section for details.)
Flights: being scouted. This has been going on for a few weeks. I've mostly been using Skyscanner to search, and talking about the more comedic results in the chat server.
There's been a few problems.
A. When I told Skyscanner 'any New York airport', it decided to include Stewart International.
Never heard of it? Neither had anyone else. It's in the Beacon/Newburgh area and for me, that means going to Grand Central Station in Manhattan, then catching a Metro North line for a couple of hours, getting off at the Beacon station, and then finding the shuttle bus to the airport. That's $24 extra from Grand Central on, each way. And the reason for going there? Because you can get less expensive flights. Quite a bit of what leaves from Steward is, when rated on roundtrip costs, $100 or so cheaper than flights leaving from anywhere else. Even when figuring for extra train costs and travel time, it's --
-- a horrible mistake.
Because once I started clicking through to a mock checkout, I found the catch. Flights leaving from Stewart omit one. little. detail.
They don't have checked bags included in the ticket cost.
They don't have carry-on bags in the ticket cost.
One flight had a carry-on price of $129. Per bag. Each way. But if you wanted to check it, that was just a mere $216...
B. The NYC to Stuttgart run has no direct flights. There's at least one change point on anything I'm going to book, and that is where the fun truly begins. Because there's one company which runs the majority of those flights, and they channel everything through their own hub.
Turkish Airlines.
Stopover and change planes in Istanbul.
Türkiye is not necessarily a good place to be right now...
I've done some research. If I leave the airport for any reason, I'll need a visa. I have to allow at least three hours to go through passport control, which will be necessary just to change flights. I'm probably okay as long as I don't win the Authoritarian Lottery, and being the world's foremost authority on my own luck gives me no comfort there. But... yeah. Not my ideal transfer point.
Pity some of the others are worse.
One Stewart-departing flight (which can't be used, because see baggage fees) had two changeovers. One of them is in Copenhagen. The transfer window is fifty-five minutes. Denmark claims that 95%+ of all visitors get through passport control in fifteen minutes. This doesn't do much for my confidence.
The chat server and I have found multiple flights which change over in London. You change planes. But before you do that, you change airports. There are multiple airports around London and only two of them have a direct shuttle. For everything else, you use the Underground and assorted mass transit routes. Only takes a few hours and, based on the numbers Harwick found, about a hundred dollars because anything coming from or going to an airport gets the Mega Price Hike. By the way, that's a few hours just to pass between airports. You also have to clear Customs. And then go through security all over again. Plus baggage check. Did I mention the extra hundred dollars?
Another flight just asked that I sit quietly in Barcelona. For twenty hours.
Compared to that, coming in through Istanbul is a level of stress which I'll probably just have to deal with.
However, I'm not quite ready to book yet. So if anyone happens to spot an outbound flight I can use, sing out. That's how I got to Seattle last year: another person spotted a good fare. But -- keep it outbound only.
We'll get there.
C. I have checked Philadelphia, as I can remotely reach it via mass transit. Prices go up. Boston, Baltimore, and D.C. would require heroic measures to use and the costs are even higher.
D. So far, flight costs are still within the $950 assigned budget. Let's hope that holds.
Travel plans: timing and duration of stay
I've been searching with the following presumption: I leave the States on September 14th and fly out of Germany on the 19th.
(I know. Suspicious phrasing, isn't it?)
Galacon is on the 16th and 17th.
Why outbound on the 14th? Jet lag, plus most of the flights take so much time as to have me arrive on the 15th anyway. Traveling on the 15th itself might have me sleeping through most of Saturday.
Why leave on the 19th? Same situation as Seattle. It's taking one day for just being in Germany. Because...
...I relayed a story about Tiger Woods the other day. He was getting ready to play the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black: a public course on Long Island. Just about the only public course in the rota. The spectators have spent more time trying to finish those holes than the professionals. So he made a stealth visit to scout the course, partnered up with a very surprised and happy local, and -- then it started to rain.
The local lived just off the course. They walked to his house, then sheltered in the garage. And the local casually said to Tiger that -- this had to be boring. Hiding in a Long Island garage, after traveling the whole world.
Tiger went quiet for a few seconds.
"You know what the world looks like to me? Airports, hotels, and golf courses. That's all I ever see."
Think about it.
Tournament on the schedule. Take the jet. Catch the private ride. Practice on the course. Go to the hotel. Tournament: course, hotel, repeat. Fly to the next place on the schedule...
So the 18th is just for being in Germany. Because I may never be there again. (Even if we're all intact next year and I try for another convention drive, it probably won't be for Galacon.)
And this is where I could use some advice.
People have been scouting. I'll be in the Waiblingen/Stuttgart area. A list of things to do has been found. There's also a pig museum. Which says it's the largest in the world, and that kind of begs a few questions about how much it's competing with.
I could use advice from those who've been to Galacon before. Vendors to see, panels to avoid. The ones who live near that area, because I've almost got to have some Germans, right? Where should I eat? Stay? ('Stay' is going to be tricky. I have at least four hotel nights now and while they're cheaper than the States, budget care must be exercised. And if I land at the wrong time on the 15th...) What are some of the common scams to avoid? Which restroom never works?
And for that last day... things to do in the region.
Or outside it.
Because -- once the number reached 100%... that was when I recognized a simple fact. I've been researching flights for weeks. And I've learned a few things. Like the fact that there is no longer any such animal as a 'roundtrip discount'. Everything is calculated as a one-way route, times two. So if someone recommended an activity well outside of the Stuttgart area? Go to Frankfurt, go to Berlin? I don't have to leave for the States from Stuttgart. I can just schedule a flight from that city.
...I don't have to schedule a States flight from Stuttgart.
...
...I don't have to schedule a States flight from Germany.
...
...ohmigawds.
Skyscanner...
Stuttgart to Catania, direct, September 19th: $138.
...hi. I'm Estee, and I'm not entirely American. Not in my head. I was born in Brooklyn, but... I'm a Navy brat. Sort of. My father...
...wow. I... usually don't talk about this. It's come up in the chat server, but... I kind of have to explain myself now, don't I?
...
...my father wasn't in the Navy. Attached civilian. They got to give him Serious Suggestions. From what I can remember (because he didn't really talk about work), he basically arranged supplies for the stores on naval bases overseas. Which meant the Navy could Seriously Suggest that he relocate. Also, take your family with you. It looks good that way.
So from the ages of four to eight -- a pretty formative period -- I was in Sicily. I went to school at the Sigonella naval base. (After a short period of attending a fully-native academy. I still have bad reactions to a luncheon egg cup.) I lived in Nicolosi. And...
...you can't go home again.
I know that.
I came back to the States when my father was reassigned. We landed in South Carolina. This is not a good place to be when you've picked up a bit of an accent. I've cordially been less than fond of the American South ever since. And I was back in my own country, and... it didn't feel like it. Sometimes it still doesn't. I have a little bit of an outsider's perspective, even now.
You can't go home again, because you change, and home changes. The people I knew are gone. Scattered, graduated, moved, or -- dead. I know a few have died.
You can't go home. Just back.
I lived on an active volcano once. Lava fireworks were just part of the routine.
We came back to America, and... different fireworks. Namely, my parents got divorced. Less than two years. My mother got custody. My father? There were a few visits. I wrote him once. Then I didn't have an address any more, because the divorce...
...I didn't find this out for several years, because there's only so much you tell a kid. Even when that kid is awake, listening to their parents screaming through the walls. Hugging the cat and waiting it for to be over.
It was an affair. He met someone, cheated on my mother, and that was the trigger. Eventually, he moved away. Apparently he did so with the new love of his life and after a while, he made it official. I know that because when I got his death certificate in the mail, there was a fresh name listed under Spouse.
I found out my father had died via a first-class stamp, while I was still in high school. No return receipt required.
In Sicily... no tinted glasses. I wasn't the most loved kid in the school. My first-grade teacher did not like me, and it was mutual. There were a lot of older students, and that's a recipe for bullying. I was half-foreign. That didn't always help much of anything.
There was what I now know to be a Mafia house across the street from mine and thanks to their presence, I had the safest neighborhood in the world. You could kick any ball over the wall into their garden without penalty, but you had to let them know you were coming in after it.
I had fresh fish delivered by motorcycle. Sold off a tray on the back.
I gathered prickly chestnuts off the slopes in the fall. Hunted ladybugs in the summer. Camped out on the balcony with friends, because we all sort of half-understood each other's languages and could make up the rest.
Sometimes when we were going home, we had to stop in the road and wait an hour for the sheep to finish going by.
There was the best chicken soup of my life, because the pension owner for our initial hotel... well, if you're a kid in Sicily and you don't pick up a new grandmother in ten minutes, the matrix has glitched.
I'm not going to pretend that I was always happy. I wasn't. I got into fights. I've never truly fit in anywhere. I was a kid, and childhood is a series of nightmares which run under rules of their own, laws which no one will teach you because you're not old enough to understand.
I won't pretend I was always happy. Far from it.
But I was home.
Stuttgart is as close as I'm going to be. As close as I've been in years upon years.
I don't have to head back to the States from Germany.
Maybe I don't have to go back on the 19th at all.
I know I'm being stupid.
You can't go home again. Only back, and nearly everything will have changed. Myself very much included. But maybe the air will be the same. That crisp salt air with a hint of sulfur, and... I want to breathe real air again. One more time.
Italy has changed. Sicily isn't Italy, any more than Hawai'i is the States. An official part, and yet somewhat separate. And still... Italy's grown darker. More hostile to outsiders. I don't want to step out of the airport in Istanbul? Maybe Catania's worse.
This is idiotic. It's also horrendously tricky on multiple levels. I'd have to get seriously ahead on writing, just for starters. Carry chapters and stories with me, post from the road. And the cost...
...yeah. The cost.
...maybe I'm just making myself miserable.
(Too late.)
Maybe the pipe dreams are loaded with hallucinogenic smoke.
GGA asked me something, right after the Galacon goal was completed. If I was coming back to the States. At all. Yes, because becoming an illegal immigrant on a few Euros and one suitcase is sort of a bad idea. And the way things are currently set... it would be Galacon, one day for just being in Germany, and then return.
But...
...it's a stupid dream. I can't go home. No one will know me. No one remembers. Some are dead. I lost my grandparents. All of them. I still have a picture of my Sicilian grandfather.
I think you should meet him.
He had a farm and a five-word English vocabulary. "Sit down. Shut up. Eat!" Made for some fascinating conversations in which he always managed to get his point across.
He's been dead for years. But I remember...
(I'm writing this on Mother's Day.)
(I'm the only one left who can go back at all.)
I don't have to book the flight just yet. Certainly not roundtrip, as there's no savings there. Outbound only.
I'm going to stall for a little while.
I am going to Galacon. I already paid for the badge. I'm sort of locked that way.
But I had a really idiotic thought yesterday.
It doesn't hurt to give it some air.
Go home. Or go back. For a few days.
(In order to allow flight bookings, the sidegoal must be met by July 15th. A low percentage may still allow for a shorter trip. If the % is too low for that, it'll be extra Galacon funds.)
If the goal isn't met, then... so it goes. I'm not expecting to meet it. I can't even figure out if I'm actually asking. I feel like I've mostly been venting out for a lot of paragraphs. Remembering, and feeling stupid for doing so. For having brought it up at all. In a way, I'm expressing all this just so that if -- when -- it fails, I don't have to deal with it any more.
And still...
...real air...
Galacon is locked in. That was because of you.
Let's see where it goes from here.
I can promise blogs.
Entertaining disasters are harder to come by, but I may be able to manage.
Please don't ask me to make a volcano go off.
(It does that on its own.)
Richard Pryor(?) said
"The difference between the USA & the rest of the world is:
If you have money or a gun, you can always find someone to give you food."
Is it stupid? Perhaps. That's a matter of some debate.
Is it understandable? Absolutely. It's clear that a part of you never left. It's only natural the rest would want a reunion.
that "coin-shaming" guy reminded me of your story "one-tenth bit", where Rarity got arrested for picking up the equivalent of a DIME.
I hope you meet your goal.
to sea salt and obsidian
That problem has been discussed at length here, I’ve certainly said my say, do hope you’ve at least a great pair of boots though!
Might not have your level of hustle but I’m not ashamed to stoop down for a coin. Thrift is not merely an occasional necessity, it is itself a virtue.
Me! Me! I contributed! Not like I stumped up the whole sum but my little puff of breath is part of the wind filling your sails. It’s an honour.
Yup. Doesn’t mean it’s not happening or shouldn’t happen though. Art, ya know? Artists need to do those horrendously tricky and difficult to justify projects both to gain a fresh perspective and because they have just such a perspective.
We can’t go on the trip with you but you can share a puff of that hallucinogenic smoke. If you make it there perhaps Celly and Luna might find a way back home to the earth pony barricade point where their stories began. Everything will have changed of course, the place might literally not exist anymore, but you could still set a one-shot there. That piece of the ‘verse owes little to Hasbro, it’s all yours, always wanted to see a bit more of it.
If finding a flght to Stuttgart is too difficult, try for Frankfurt am Main. From there you could just take a train (there are usually 2 connections to Stuttgart per hour if you take a train at the Airport, 3 if you take one at Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, and at night at least 1 per hour). Travel time is something between 100 minutes or 31/2 hours. The Ticket should be somewhere around 20-49€.
What would you think about spending an extra day in Germany?
Apologies in advance if you've already taken this into account, but be aware of time zone differences and/or daylight savings, especially if you're piecing together flights which were purchased separately.
Every now and then, I hear about a friend or relative getting into a bit of trouble because the dates and times they'd planned for didn't quite line up with what was going on locally.
Congratulations on Galacon. And good luck with Sicily.
I hope there are more international conventions in your future, or international travel for other reasons. Work that passport. And always budget more time at your destination to just play tourist.
Catania. Volcano. Sounds familiar. Ah, I know. My father during WWII visited there (I think) and came back with a lava-ashtray and video of how it was made. (At least I think that's the place) They take a long stick, dip out a blob of molten rock, stick it on the ground, and poke it into an ashtray-shape. Then they sell it to tourists for ten bucks. Pretty sure that's in the collection of videos I have from his European Tour in 45-46. Want me to go look for it?
5728434
Please.
Istanbul? Not Constantinople?
Been a long time gone... .