Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy St Patrick's Day

I've only been to Ireland once - A long time ago.  I spent two days there on business, which went fine.  But on the second night I stayed up all night going toe to toe with some serious Irish boozers.  I left the pub and went straight to the airport, only to find my direct flight to New York was cancelled.  Instead, the fine folks at Aer Lingus put me on a British Air flight to London, where I would be faced with a 7 hour layover.  I was clearly in no condition to sit 7 hours in the departure lounge.  I needed a massive English breakfast and then some sleep.  But I was concerned that UK immigration would not let me leave the airport for such a short period of time.

Luckily for me, my stomach gave out when I was in front of the agent and I puked all over the poor guy's podium.  It wasn't an epic "empty the gut" episode, but it was more than enough bile to immediately cause the agent to  not want to deal with me.  I got passed up to a supervisor who decided I was just a hung over fool and not a threat to security, so he let me through.  Remember that these where the days previous to 9/11.  I'm sure the terrorists have ruined it for all the hung over fools since.

Unluckily for me, despite the intense discomfort, the embarrassment of looking like a complete and utter jack ass in the Heathrow customs hall and an overall lack of common sense, it would not be for another 12 years before it occurred to me that I might have a problem.

Anyway, I stumbled out of the airport and onto the hotel shuttle bus.  I got off at the first hotel, spent way too much money for a room (though I recall breakfast was free) and then passed out hard, causing me to miss my connection.  Good times.

I hope everyone has a good day.

18 comments:

Matty O said...

HAHA, somehow that all made sense to me and was a logical progression. Glad you are past your previous problems and can laugh at them.

Shocked they let you through that simply even back then.

Have a good one man!

misszippy said...

Memories to be cherished, there, for sure!

KovasP said...

Ah yes, The Road, the Irish years.

PS Pretty rude gesture to your UK followers, eh mate?

Hannah said...

Quite the adventure! I am such a St. Patrick's Day Slacker, I haven't even had a green beer...ever!

Rad Runner said...

Fabulous times it sounds like... Sweet hat-take it to a photo booth :)
Hey are you running OC Marathon?

ihaverun said...

Perfect St. Patty's story for all those who will be experiencing something similar tomorrow =)

Evolving Through Running said...

The joys of international business travel. Glad you fully embraced the Irish experience. Hope this one doesn't involve any unplanned evacuation.

Shannon (IronTexasMommy) said...

You are in a better place now. Happier and much healthier! Happy You Day! Love the pic! :)

Christi said...

I have had some epic drinking adventures myself. Good thing we have that under control now!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Jess @ Blonde Ponytail said...

BDD needs to award you with a Pukie for that!!!

Jason said...

You taught that dude to not put his podium in your way.

Hope you had a great day.

Jill said...

Man, your Irish stores are SO much more exciting than my boring ones. My kids would be so much more interested in yours than my green powered sugared french toast. :)

Happy Green Day to ya, O'Patrick!

Diana Tries-A-Tri! said...

crazy story, LOVELY hat!

Chris K said...

Those were the days, eh? That story is almost is good as when you kept circling in the taxi yelling at Big Ben.

Caratunk Girl said...

Ha, that is almost as good as your Big Ben story. Oh man, that must have been a lousy flight!

Lindsay said...

You certainly had a crazy life! I'm glad you've grown and healthier now of course, but the stories are great :)

Hurry up and rid the US of snakes! Kovas said that was your expertise...

Unknown said...

Love it!

I've been to Ireland once, nearly missed my flight because I was sleeping so soundly in a hostel... or was it that I was so incredibly hung over that I couldn't get off the bed? In any event... great country!

Petraruns said...

LOVE the hat - fetching...

Sounds like good times out there - it's funny once it's behind you..

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails