The Mighty Quynh

There seems to be no end in sight.

Over the past couple months, I’ve purged quite a lot of things from the apartment, including a 42″ LCD, a whole dinnerware set, a crap-ton of other kitchen stuff, several big bags of clothes, a zillion little “memories” (ticket stubs, postcards, even receipts), all my DVDs, most of my books, and I don’t even remember what else. The apartment still feels cluttered. I want to get to the part where the place looks like it jumped out of a furniture catalog already.

By the way, since pretty much every single person I’ve talked to in recent months has expressed a desire to get rid of things but harbors an inability to let go of sentimental items, here is a little tip I picked up somewhere (if I remembered where I’d definitely tell you, because this is the best idea ever): Take a photo of the item, then get rid of it. That way the memory of it still lives on but it doesn’t take up space in your house.

Such a simple but astonishingly awesome idea, no? I wish I could remember where I read it so I could give credit accordingly. It’s the best decluttering method I’ve found so far, because I have way too much attachment to a lot of things. I’ve been passing the tip on to as many people as possible because the overwhelming feeling I’m getting lately is that absolutely everyone is tired of having so much stuff.

Edinburgh, Scotland
- A bunch of us got tickets to the Hogmanay street party. We bought flasks from a souvenir shop in order to drink during it. When we got to the party, everyone had giant bottles of booze right out in the open. Oops, all uptight Americans!
- My first haggis dish (from Roseleaf Bar Cafe) was fan-freaking-tastic. The way people talk about haggis in the US you’d think it was made of rotting bat feces (okay, maybe the real ingredients are only barely a step above), but one taste and I was totally hooked. It’s delicious. On my last day, I had haggis from a different cafe, and then I kind of understood the negative press (still not that bad).
- Nothing is phonetic and I pronounced everything wrong. Speak English, dammit!
- Edinburgh is really, really, really pretty.

Milano, Italia
- Attended the Inter v. Parma game at San Siro Stadium. It’s like a street fair outside the stadium. You must show ID to buy a ticket (they even print your name on it) so the “queue” takes awhile. Flares, firecrackers, and hugs following every goal; it was more fun watching the fan section than the game, to be honest (especially since my husband Sneijder wasn’t playing). Riot police were on hand at exit, though it was a smallish crowd.
- I had no idea how to order things anywhere. From Peck (gourmet deli type place) to gelato spots, I did everything “wrong” and felt stupid. Admittedly my own fault as I did very little prior research. But you also never expect to have to research that kind stuff. That’s why you travel and not just watch it on TV!
- We came during major sales time. I’d planned on buying lots of clothes, only everything was still hundreds of euros over my price range even with sales. I admit I was warned, but I take those warnings with a grain of salt because I’m used to Manhattan prices. Sure, there are inexpensive places if you know where to look, but… Milan is expensive. (I ended up buying no clothes.)
- Everyone is wearing shiny puffy coats. We even saw a puffy men’s blazer in a store window. Not a fan.
- So much coffee. So much.

Whether you prefer the UK or a place like Milan seems to depend a lot on whether your preferred vice lies in alcohol or caffeine. I prefer the former.

I’m sure I’m forgetting stuff, so I’ll probably surreptitiously edit this entry to add things later.

Pics are up in the Photos link.

I’m back from visiting Edinburgh and Milan. A big thanks to Ami, Bree, and Colin (ABC!) for being awesome folks and making the Edinburgh trip extra fun, and an especially big thanks to Ami for allowing Rich and I the use of her room in her flat. I definitely appreciated having a local to guide us to the good (and inexpensive) spots.

I wanted to use this trip to put my JP Morgan Select Visa card to the test (see my previous entry on this). It’s a chip and signature card, but I set up a PIN with a customer service rep when I activated my card, so I wanted to try it out in a variety of settings. At most cashiers the card machine would print out a receipt that I had to sign, which is pretty much like a normal swipe card (and all cashiers who took credit cards accepted swipe cards anyway). The real test was at a metro kiosk in Milan where no swipe option was available (Rich tried his non-chipped card and it didn’t work). I stuck my card in the slow-ass machine and then had to enter the PIN and… Success! Whoo hoo!! All in all, I’m quite satisfied with the card.

Seeing the credit card statement after this trip, however, is another story.

P.S. I cancelled my Amex Gold card after I received the JPM one. For a card that heavily markets itself to travelers, I find it unacceptable that Amex has no plans to introduce a chip and pin version at this time (I asked), especially given the $175 fee. I will say the customer service was pretty good. They did offer me some money off of the annual fee to stay and didn’t hassle me further when I declined. Pretty painless process overall. I definitely wanted them to know I was leaving because of the chip issue though.