Belfast, Ireland

A couple of weeks ago I went to Belfast, Ireland. I stayed for two nights. I didn't really know anyone or any place, but it was a good trip. Strangely enough, I made a new friend the night before I was to leave, and she's from a town from near Belfast. She put me in contact with a few people, and sure enough there was a "music industry meetup," so I ended up having someone to meet after all. I spent most of my time there alone anyway, which was good. I climbed Cave Hill, and drank lots of Guinness. It really is better in Ireland...

Here's something I posted to facebook while I was there. Written in the pub with my phone on my second night over a third pint of Guinness:

I'm only ordering PINTS tonight... because last night, some Irish kids were making fun of me for ordering half-pints. I had had two or three full pints already and just wanted to slow down a bit, so it seemed totally normal to me to switch to half-pints...

But it just now occured to me, almost 24 hours later, that "half-pint" can also be an insult...! So I looked it up on good'ol wikipedia:

"half-pint" or "half pint": a small or short person. A person of insignificance.

I'll drink this last pint to experiencing the etymology of that little bit of slang first-hand.

But wow, I wonder if I ever heard the term used anywhere besides maybe in cartoons? in my head, I hear "half-pint" in a voice resembling that of Bugs Bunny's.

I think I'm going to start using it as an insult myself.

By the way, among these kids I was hanging out with was a gay couple. I chatted with these two guys for a better part of the night. One was very sweet, a bit meek. We're both having, er, troubles. Me, girl troubles, and he, boy troubles. The other kid was quite probably his new boy to be troubled by -- he had two broken hands and bruises on his face from the last time they'd been out drinking (pints) together.