The Polar Bear Scare
So Debster is very deceptive. No no, I kid. What’s that word? Perceptive. That’s it. What is up with the Greenland trip, she asked. It is actually related to the napping and feeling sad I talked about.
I have kinda been having second thoughts. Cold feet, you might say. Get it? Cold feet, Greenland? Okay. Not to put too fine a point on it, I have been scared shitless. It’s only about a month away now and the nervousness is setting in.
So the other day dad is over for his cuppa tea. And he told me that our travel plans weren’t working out. We couldn’t make the plane switch in Copenhagen, not time enough. So basically the tickets were wasted. Four thousand bucks down the drain. We’d have to get new tickets and go the day before. Which meant an overnight stay in Copenhagen before flying on to Greenland. Most likely staying with family. My brother and I staying with uncle Jens and my parents staying with my mother’s brother.
That didn’t make me happy. Staying in a hotel would be one thing, that’s fairly neutral. But staying with family means dealing with all the things I don’t like dealing with. And that combined with the general cold feet made me feel pretty bad about the whole thing. Which lead to the napping.
Now I figured that since our plane tickets were void this would be a good time to see if I could pull out before new tickets were bought. I asked my dad how much money they’d be out if I didn’t come along after all. And he said 10,000 bucks. So that’s obviously a lot of money. I can’t make my parents throw that out the window. So I’m going after all.
a couple of days later my dad talked to uncle Jens, who just happens to work at SAS, Scandinavian Airlines. And he managed to fix our plane tickets. So that saves us some money and means we don’t have to make an overnight stay in Copenhagen after all. We’ll just be getting an earlier flight. So that’s good and helps me feel a little better. And my dad’s been very nice, saying he really wants me to come and they’ll do all they can to support me and so on.
Hopefully everything will be okay. And I’m sure I’ll be glad that I went after all. I am however still convinced that my apartment will be burglarized while I’m gone. And my back will break. I can’t walk the 20-30 minutes to my parents’ place without my back aching, how am I going to traverse the savage widlerness of Greenland? Not to mention the polar bears. Did you see that SNL sketch about the reporters going to Alaska to cover Palin? Yeah, polar bears are a constant danger everywhere. But maybe I’ll survive. And I can buy new stuff.
Deep breath.
Enough for now. Soup on Sunday!
October 4th, 2008 at 14:46
That’s me alright: deceptively perceptive! Of course you have cold feet about going to Greenland. You’re not going to Jamaica, then you’d have “hot feet”. hee, hee
Yes, a polar bear might eat you or Sasquatch and his family may be on vacation at the same time and chase you up a mountain. But on the other hand, you might get to take some fantastic pictures, spend some time with your family, and have a better time than you imagined.
You don’t sound all that happy at home right now (napping, back hurting, anxious, etc.), can’t you just as well be miserable in Greenland? (Same feelings, just a new location.)
As for your apartment, make sure your renters’ insurance is up to date, notify your landlord, close your curtains, lock your doors, stop your mail, and put a light on a timer so it looks like someone is home.
You can do it, you’re da Great Plume!
October 5th, 2008 at 7:33
You know, it’s always easy for me to say to “take the bull by the horns” and go on that vacation.
But anyone who knows how difficult it can be to move beyond one’s comfort zone, a simple act of going to a nearby store can get the heart pounding and the sweat pouring down the back.
It isn’t easy, and it will never be easy. So think long and hard about going on that vacation with your family.
If you don’t want, then don’t. No one else’s opinions matter except your own. You need to find happiness where it may be.
October 5th, 2008 at 21:45
2 panodil [2X500 mg] + 2 ibumetin [2X200 mg] – both over the counter medicine – that will take the edge of the back pain. I promise. The combo of Paracetamol and Ibuprofene (panodil/pinex and ibumetin) is very effective and the only thing that keeps me upright when I have back pain – and with a baby the size of Arthur lord knows my back is under strain!
Seriously, Plume! Go to the pharmacy tomorrow and get the ibumetin (here I’m assuming you already have paracetamol of some description). You can take it twice a day, and it does work! It won’t make it go away, but it will really, really ease the pain.
Oh, and go to Greenland. Take lots of pictures. Please.
– And what Debster and Mr Lemming said, too!
October 5th, 2008 at 22:47
Debster – I’d be walking on coals if I were going to Jamaica. Mon. I’m sure I’ll end up having a good time. Just wish I didn’t have to worry so much beforehand. But that’s how it goes. Me not worrying would be like a goat not eating or a squirrel not eating nuts or cat not chasing mice or a goat not attacking Luis savagely. Hehe. Sorry Luis.
Thanks for the apartment advice. Maybe I can Magnethe and Vanilje to housesit while I’m gone. They’d sure keep out the burglars. Magnethe is worse than a pitbull now it seems!
LuisLemmings – Well, I am going to go after all. It’ll be good for me and all that junk. If I had a completely free choice then maybe I wouldn’t go… but I can’t let my parents throw 10,000 kroners in the trash. That’d be insane. So I’ll suck it up. And it’s for thebest, I’m sure.
Desiree – Well my back doesn’t hurt all the time. Only when I’m physically active. Which isn’t that often :-P Hah. But yeah, maybe I’ll try and get some for the trip then. Maybe a good idea. Thanks you. I’ll try and get some pretty pictures back with me. Only worried about what the cold will do to me batteries. But w’ell see.
October 6th, 2008 at 2:17
Good advice about the pain reliever, Desiree. Get some now and see how it works before your trip.
Plume: check with Stu about batteries and cameras. Stu’s been to some pretty impressive places weather-wise. Bet he could give you some excellent camera care advice and packing/airport travel pointers.
Also, you have my permission to worry about the trip for two more days. Then you have my permission to stop worrying, ok?
There was something on TV about hunting for the “Greenland Shark”. That will give you something to do on your trip! hee, hee
Or was it hunting for the green shark on land??
October 6th, 2008 at 10:46
No, no, Debster. It was definitely hunting for the Shark Land on Green.
– And Plume, *maybe* just isn’t good enough! Pain just isn’t worth the hassle. Getting some meds will strike one worry of the list – surely that’s worth more than a maybe??? I’ll send you some in the post all made up in appropriate doses if that’s what it takes! Oh, and could you post a letter FROM Santa to my kids when you’re up there?
October 6th, 2008 at 15:14
Hay, hay! Send me a letter from Santa! I think he lives at the North Pole, but just in case I’m wrong and he’s in Greenland and you see him, tell him I’ve been good, etc., etc. . . .