It's raining snow and sleet

I knew it wasn't going to be the greatest of weeks when I saw the weather forecast Sunday night, but deciding to remain optimistic, I headed to bed early (around midnight) hoping for a restful night. Well I woke up well-rested all right, but not until 9:15, 15 minutes after I should have already been up. I failed to notice that when resetting my clock, the setting stayed on am when it was pm, so in the morning it was on pm when it should have been on am. Okay, no big deal, I tell myself. So I get up and go about my business, nice big bowl of oatmeal and some tea to keep me sane. Then I looked outside and the worst was happening, pouring rain. Now, don't get me wrong, it rains in Dublin like any other place but normally not until after 11am, I'm not sure why, but it just usually doesn't. So another bad omen to start the day.

But everything's fine and I make it to school a little worse for the wear and with only 12 minutes to spare. I hastily store my wet clothes, throw on dry jeans and a tee and amble my way into the classroom. Upon my arrival, some good news at least, we weren't going to have class but rather we were to have a guest speaker. (Who turned out to be amazing by the way, free ways to get your promotions across and the best ways to advertize yourself, great guy.) And the cherry on top was that class for next week was canceled due to the Easter Holiday. So I get a 4 day weekend. However, the teacher requested that we attend another class session next week to make up for the one we will be missing. I think to myself, okay, no big deal, I can manage that, a small price to pay. But no, both of her other class sessions are in blocks that I am already in class, well pooey.

I stayed after class for a bit to finish uploading Wicklow pictures, which was a great success by the way, and run into a group member of a project I was working on in another class. However, there is only good news to spare this time. Everything was a go for the meeting on Tuesday before class. Excellent. So feeling slightly giddy at this point, I then come to the crashing realization that I now have to put my wet clothes back on and proceed to bike back home, damnit. So I begin taking my clothes out and realize that I would be more soaked putting my pants back on than just leaving them off. So Kat in all genius-ness decides to bike home in shorts, in the pouring rain, when it's 34 degrees out...honestly, I should not be an adult sometimes. But all's going okay, other than the fact that my waterproof shoes are currently filling with the water and muck that is dripping down my bare legs and I'm practically frozen to my bike. Oh but it can't end there, oh no, karma has to come and mock me for wearing shorts. So I'm heading towards a narrow strip of road, minding my own business, going through a green light when a bus comes barreling out of no where to take up the lane and get ahead of me before the bike lane ends and he gets stuck behind me. And on his delightful way past, he has the politeness to not only almost knock me from my bike into traffic but also to splash through a gigantic puddle on his way, one that would surely have soaked me no matter what I was wearing. And thus my entire right side was submerged for a good 3 seconds in water colder than the Atlantic in February. Awesome.

However, I manage to make it home, unscathed though shivering and soaked, my boots squishing with every step and in my haste to become dry almost running down some lazy pedestrians who cannot seem to walk in a straight line. So I strip down to the bare essentials and hang all my clothes on various doors to dry off. I then continue to do my full workout, sopping wet, as I do not want to waste the cardio I had just performed. This endurance and perseverance has led me back to my 28in waist *sigh of contentment* I finally make it to the shower to wash off the grime that now coats my lower legs and spend at least 2 minutes of the shower trying to regain feeling in my feet...not a good thing for someone who already has poor circulation.
And thus ended a not so great Monday.

And today of course was Tuesday. My alarm went off on time, though I hadn't been able to sleep much, I got up just fine. I made my way slowly into the kitchen to boil some water and noticed it was particularly chilly in my kitchen. I looked out on to the balcony to witness for the 3rd time ever, snow in Dublin. It put an immediate smile on my face. I made my oatmeal and tea and sat down to read some Harry Potter before class. I was stalked online by a friend who was still up studying in the States (shout out to Casey) as it was 2am there. We chatted until I got ready for school and then it hit me...crap, I actually have to bike in the snow again.

So not exactly dreading, but not looking forward to it either, I donned my riding clothes, my shoes still slightly damp from yesterday and proceeded downstairs, hoping that it would at least stay cold enough to keep the snow as snow and not rain. However, no luck on that front. Half-way to school and it became sleet...so by the time I arrived to school, I was dripping wet and pissed off, going to a class I didn't care about and only bothering to come in because I had a presentation later in the day. So I once again, changed in the bathroom, leaving my pants out of my bag this time. When I got to class, I laid them on top of my backpack in the hopes that they would somewhat dry out before I had to leave again. But knowing how cold the classrooms are, I didn't have much hope. Class was a breeze, I cannot recall what I spend it doing but I barely took notes...don't worry, Mom, I learned most of it last semester.

So class ended and after a brief chat with my new Canadian friend and my group mates about our next meeting, I settled in to do some work. I had made contact with a company and was supposed to call for more information for a project I am doing. So I did all my background research, wrote my questions and compiled a SWOT analysis and then gathered my courage to call. No answer, no luck. Left a message. But fear not, I had a brain wave at this point, realizing that my pants were often more wet on the inside than the outside and decide to reverse them so that they might dry more efficiently. So that's what I did and hung them on the back of a chair, seemed to work too.

I then prepared for the presentation I was going to give in the afternoon and at 2pm, left one classroom for another to meet with my group and further prepare. The slides were edited slightly and the run through went smoothly. So we impatiently waited for the first group to finish, they did a decent job though not a completely original idea in my opinion. And then it was our turn. I introduced the team, the company, the product and its description. We described our protection and collaboration strategies, our financial outlook and our way to market domination. At the end of it, the professor seemed very pleased. Only a couple of questions were raised and he asked if we thought we might do it one day. We replied with a polite, it's possible, but not likely. He agreed that our idea was revolutionary and in this day's economy, a great deal.

And floating on air and smiling at my group, I left that class. I trudged to the bathroom to change once more and noticed that my pants were mostly dry. My shorts, however, not so much. But as they were only a little damp, I dragged them on and luckily had worn under armor this morning so I wasn't as shivery and then threw on my shirt and my mostly dried pants. When I walked outside, it was now freezing rain falling from the sky; wet but not overly so, just enough to make it unpleasant. But I made it home in considerably better shape than yesterday which was a good thing. However, I had to go back out in this dreadful weather because I was completely out of milk and bread, two essentials to my life. So I ran over to Dunnes, the next street over and quickly made my purchase and ran back home. I made a quick grilled cheese and soup dinner and then gave myself over to the shower to wash off the newest layer of Dublin Street grime.

I've been hoping for sun, but the forecast is calling for more crappy weather this week, as in all week...not a comfort. But I'm keeping my head up and trying to not let it get me down. Only 46 more days left in this beautiful country.

The Valley of the Two Lakes

On Saturday, I had yet another trip, one of the last of the semester, up to County Wicklow in the Wicklow Mountains to have the view of an area known as Glendalough, the Valley of the Two Lakes. Part of it were breath-taking if not as green as I had pictured in my mind and I was not expecting the bonus of the Irish History lesson in the small village ruins.

In the morning, I had to bike to UCD to catch the bus because it was a program put on by the Office of Study Abroad so it was run differently from some of the others. I had paid my 5euro deposit earlier in the week which I got back later in the day. I was able to get on the bus with no problems after being worried for two days that I had no received a confirmation e-mail and might not be able to go. So I relaxed and listened to my zune during the hour-long bus ride.

We saw a little bit of country Ireland and went through a few small towns but saw mostly farm land with lots of sheep. We got off the bus at the tourist center had a little bit of free time to go to the bathroom and stretch before we could watch the promotional video and look around the visitor's center display. The video told us all about the coming of Christianity to Ireland and several important saints who helped the fledgling religion on its way. It also talked about the establishment of "monasteries" which are not what we think of them as being today. They were often small villages with churches, battle towers, and small huts all devoted to the education of young people in both religious and secular lifestyles. We then were able to look around the displays and saw how life in the monasteries was lived and even saw a miniature recreation of what one might have looked like.

After this, we waited around for a couple of hours, eating lunch, playing tag, climbing trees, and venturing a small way into the woods towards the river to take some pictures and generally just do some frolicking. We were then hastened back to the visitor's center to meet with our tour guide who was very nice and I believe his name was Peter. He took us to the front entrances gates of the Glendalough Monastery and led us inside to see the ruins. It was mostly a graveyard by now, centered in the Wicklow Mountains National Park and open free of charge but in relatively good state due to the fact it was made from stone.

In the monastery sat the remains of a chapel where the monks would have lived, a cathedral where everyone in the surrounding areas would have come to pray and learn, a 130ft high Round Tower which served many purposes including landmark and bell tower, and many many gravestones. There were celtic crosses everywhere, obviously, and it was not as eerie as I would have expected, although it was the middle of the day. In the village there was also the Wishing Stone which was a large stone cross and legend tells us that if you can reach your arms around so they touch then you are able to make a wish and it will come true before you die. I obviously could not do it given the fact that I have a small arm span. Morgan was the only one who tried and succeeded in this particular endeavor.

After viewing the monastery and contemplating the kid-napping of several lambs who were in the field beside it, we next followed the guide up a back road which wound along a branch of the river. We climb up the backside of one of the mountains and were immersed in greenery. A rooster could be heard which Shannon thought was a coyote and that was quite a good laugh. There was a staircase in the mountainside which although unexpected was quite welcome at this point. We made it to the half-way point and took a quick rest, everyone stopping for pictures and water.

We then trundled onward and the Lower Lake came into view, most took some pictures of this but after we had passed it, we came up the Upper Lake which was far superior. It sat, nice nestled between the mountain and a stream could be clearly seen running down the mountain into it. We followed the winding road down to the walk beside it and finally came to the shore line where a number of families and dogs! were playing and enjoying the sunny day. I also happened to meet some German sheep whom I had my picture taken with because I couldn't believe that they were there!

After this short stop, we climbed the next mountain and followed it upwards and came to a mediocre waterfall. I was far more impressed with the one I saw as a kid at Castle in the Clouds in New Hampshire. But nonetheless, it was a view. We walked upwards, past this and rounded around to cross over a branch of the river and begin our descent. We walked past the Upper Lake, continued on past the Lower Lake and finally ended up on the same path that me and the other Bentley girls had previously explored. And so we made it back to the visitor's center with aching feet and a hard thirst.

We climbed back aboard the bus and thankfully I had taken my motion sickness medication that morning and I was able to sleep the whole ride back. Once off at UCD, I climbed back onto my bike and headed home. While not the most exciting of trips, certainly worthwhile. It may not be at its best right now, but I cannot deny the quiet beauty that can always be beheld in Ireland.

Not Exactly Tea with the Queen...

Just got back home from a tour of the Irish House of Parliament also known as the Leinster House and it was pretty impressive. Granted all the historic content is somewhat lost on me but the building itself was very beautiful.

Met Marnie at the gates around 2:45pm and waited for everyone else. By 3:05pm, we were able to get into the grounds and proceeded to the waiting room with our tour guide to wait until the last tour had finished. Heard the rules, same as the other places, no pictures or liquids, etc. Also no hats allowed which while not unheard of was still interesting.

When the tour began, we jumped right into it by making our way through the main entrance hall and into a foyer of stairs. We had a brief overview of an enormous and beautifully carved bookcase which was housed in the original house of Parliament (across from Trinity College) and was moved there in the 1900s. It was full of books of original Parliament documents, all first editions, and while I was itching to have a closer look, the tour guide held us back. The bookcase also housed a secret compartment in the middle panel which pulled open and had shelves believed to have stored alcohol. (haha) Dennis was our tour guide.

After this fascinating bit, we proceeded upstairs and through the gallery to be seated where we had a full overview of the House of Representatives (or TD's). It reminded me alot of all the rooms we always see on CSPAN except that it was painted with blue and gold rugs and drapery. The seats and panels were a beautiful dark wood, I want to say mahogany but I'm not sure, and all the main chairs were of leather. The ones we were seated in in the public gallery weren't so nice but hey, that's the way it is. The tour guide gave us a brief outline of how the House works and the way that bills make their passage through it which was interesting. I didn't really understand it as much as I would have liked, but Marnie assured us that we would be learning all about that in our coming lectures.

Next we moved through the other side of the gallery and back into the hallway on the top level where we were able to view paintings of the previous Prime Ministers of Ireland. We had a brief history of each and then proceeded to another foyer of stairs. We were then regaled with the tale of the famous Lord Edward Fitzgerald which I think we've heard at least a total of 3 times previously in our other excursions and in class. Nonetheless, it was still interesting. The best part about this area was the ornate moldings on the ceiling and walls which was a mixture of shells, water flowing, and flowers.

After this, we proceeded down one set of stairs and up another to enter the Senate room. We passed through an amazing set of doors which are an exact replica of the ones on the opposite side of the room, the original entrance which is only used by the Chairman of the Senate now. The room for the Senate had an absolutely breath-taking ceiling filled with flowers and geometric designs as well a few sphinx. It was blue, yellow, and white and hanging from it were 3 beautiful chandeliers that looked like crystal but most likely were not. It was a smaller and single-leveled room as opposed to the House of Representatives room but it was the more beautiful of the two I think. Each of the rooms also were equipped with video cameras for live feed, seating for the press, and special seating for the record-takers.

After leaving the Senate, we came back down to the stairs where we were told of a fascinating tale about the woman whose portrait hung in the hall, I can't recall her name but apparently, she was part of the revolution movement in the early 20th century. Facing in the opposite direction was what appeared to be a wall hanging which actually turned out to be a flag from the Civil War that was presented to the Irish Parliament by former President John F. Kennedy in 1963. He came for a visit and wanted to present something to the new-ish government that had been set up. He got permission from the US Government to remove this flag from a Civil War Museum and on it was the symbols and battles of an Irish battalion that fought in the Civil War. They were all Irish men based out of NYC who fought bravely in several battles. It was green and covered in symbols of Ireland, the harp and the shamrock, along with the names of the battles that were fought by this battalion.

Coming at the end of the tour was a view of the entrance hall in which were several paintings of the Presidents of Ireland including the current one. And a sheet of paper that was produced during the revolutionary times which told of freedoms that should be given to the Irish men AND women. It was signed by the man who put it up and later became the President of Ireland, Sean...someone, haha.

So the end of our tour came and we thanked the tour guide. At this point, we were then approached by the TD from Marnie's area and she invited us to have coffee with her. So we followed her back through the building to a back area called the visitor's lounge and were told we could have whatever we wanted...at the bar. Tea, coffee, beer, liquor, whatever we wanted. So naturally most people got a beer. I however chose to get a cappuccino which turned out to be pretty good quality. So we enjoyed our beverages and chatted with the TD until she left. She was pretty nice, name was Mary. So we continue to drink while Katie Todd got drunk and we had a grand time of it. The bar was decently stocked and the room was blue and beautiful. And we got to drink in Parliament...can't imagine many people can say that.

And on a side note, my package from home still hasn't arrived, my electricity bill arrived and it was WAYYYY more than expected. So still not impressed with this shit. And we do have daylight savings time here in GMT which begins two weeks after everyone else. So beginning this Sunday, I will once again be 5 hours ahead of you all!
Oh and in better news, I'm going to the Wicklow Mountains tomorrow on a hike, pray that it stays sunny for me!

And today is National Daffodil Day here in Ireland, buy a daffodil pin for 3euro or a bouquet of actual daffodils for 5euro and help support the Irish Cancer Society :)

Rugby and Reality

After a day of doing work...well I was at least...my roomies and I decided that a nice break would be to watch the Six Nations Rugby Final in a pub. Granted, they had been planning this a couple of days but still. So I decided to tag along and we went to a nice restaurant/bar called "Break for the Border," you may remember that this is also where we watched the Superbowl back in January. (damn I've been here a long time!)

We got there about 40 minutes before the game started because we wanted to be able to get some seats. We lucky out and found a side booth with a perfect view of the tv for game watching. Once we were settled in, we decided we wanted to order some food. Kara had to run home and grab some money and because the waitresses really wanted our order, we didn't wait for her. Shannon and I both got nachos (she got guac on the side) and Morgan ended up with a Chicken Club sandwich. Kara came back and our food arrived shortly after. It was a mountain of nachos! Okay, maybe not a mountain, but at least a hill. The bowl was the size of about 2 cereal bowls and brimming with chips. Then there was melted cheese and beef chili. One corner had sour cream and the other had guacamole, all topped with a few mild jalapenos which I am damn proud to say that I ate. I actually clean my plate (bowl) and was very proud of that fact and I think my mommy would be too! :D I don't normally eat guacamole but it was all right, a little too much lime according to Morgan who said it was too sour to be good, she would know that silly Californian, but I didn't mind it so much. The chili on top was awesome and I think the chips were made they, nice and crisp and salty, like Eddie makes.

Right, so back to the game. By the time we started eating with our good food and tap water (haha) the game was just beginning. Opening ceremonies including team introductions and warm ups along with commentary banter had all begun. And then it was time for RUGBY. At this point, the bar is getting pretty packed with people and boy was I glad we got there early. The game got off to a bad start for Ireland who couldn't seem to hang onto the ball which was frustrating. Not really to me because I don't really understand rugby and had to keep pestering Shannon with questions throughout the game, but it was irritating to most others. Scotland scored first with a kick and their kicker continued to be spectacular throughout the game, damn that Dan Parks!

Ireland came back not long after with their first goal but didn't manage to keep the lead for long. Scotland was definitely going to be tough to beat. I believe we ended at the half tied 17-17, but that could have come later, I'm not really sure. And by the half there was a group of older men like late 40s who were getting drunk and rowdy, quick annoying really. They were doing shots at the bar and one of them even fell asleep there! But I guess boys will be boys no matter what age they are.

We ended up finishing our food and I decided it was time for a drink, a light beer to wash down the salty taste. However, since all the other girls were going out in another couple of hours, I was the only one who was drinking. So I helped myself to a pint of Carlsberg from the bar for 5euro and resumed watching the game. It was a pleasant experience and the atmosphere was much more relaxing in the bar than I would have expected.

But Ireland ended up losing to Scotland 20-23, a very hardening loss. Mostly we decided it was the Irish kicker's fault being that he went 1 for 4 and got taken out and that the Scottish kicker was ah-may-zing! So it was disappointing but I at least got out of the house and away from my work for a bit! I had to come back and jump right back in but oh well.

And now I'm off to do more this afternoon, while waiting for my edits to come back and I'm getting very frustrating. Honestly I'm kind of ready to go home. I've been on break and this whole experience is like a drawn out vacation with some school work thrown in. Of course it's worth it because Dublin is awesome and Ireland is beautiful and the people are super friendly. But I think 4 months is a little long, it's been fun but now that I have to face reality and actually start turning in more work, I'm missing my north campus room with access to coffee and a library with comfy seating. And of course all my friends and family, it's been tough to be so far away and knowing that I can't just hop on a bus and go home if I want to or if anything is going wrong...But I'm not complaining, I know I'm lucky to be here. And I might as well enjoy it, under 60 days left now. Plus my birthday is coming up! Perhaps I'm just over the whole school work thing...hopefully I can get an internship this summer and not have to think too hard about school or anything else by then.

Back to the grindstone tomorrow :(

PS-awesome dog that was downstairs at the cafe today!

Dublin On St. Patrick's Day!

Dublin, headquarters to the Irish, has been completely swamped with people all weekend and even more so the last two days which I didn't think was possible.

It all started yesterday, the day before, with some serious prep working happening in the apartment. Decorations, accessories, and clothing were purchased, along with war point and copious amounts of alcohol. Because it's just not St. Patrick's Day without something green and something foamy.

I began my adventure at the store known as Carroll's where I successfully purchased one of those headbands that I have been wanting for days after seeing sooooo many people out and about wearing them. Now it's no ordinary headband, attached at the top is a mini-leprechaun's hat, most adorable thing ever and I looked pretty badass in it. After the head accessory, I also purchased 2 tee-shirts for the low price of 19 euro, pretty good. One is black and bears a skull and crossbones wearing a leprechaun hat and an eyepatch with a shamrock and saying "Argh! Shiver me shamrocks!" very classy. The other shirt is a classic green (which looks amazing on me) and has a pair of wings and a halo with the saying "Patrick was a Saint, I ain't!" also very classy. So now it's time for me to purchase my beverage of choice for the night/following day. Seeing as St. Patrick's Day is an Irish National Holiday, everyone gets drunk the night before and then mellows out the next day with a few beers and some greasy food. So I make my way to the nearest off license and grab some vodka and red lemonade for the night.

When I get back to apartment, I discover that we still do not have power back from when it went out at 11am. So I watch some Sabrina on my laptop and try to wait it out. I have to shower in the guys room because by 4pm we still don't have power back on and they are now drilling the street to find the problem. So I shower and then wait some more. By 6pm, I am starving and decide that I ABSOLUTELY have to get food in me, especially since the shitshow was scheduled to start at 8pm. So I head out to Burger King who wants me to pay over 7 euro for a whopper, that's the lowest they have. Screw that! I leave and go to McDonald's to get my fall back: a Big Mac. And of course, while I was gone, they somehow turned the power back on and I didn't need to go out in the first place and spent more money than I needed to. But hey I wasn't really complaining because I had good food already made for me.

After dinner, everyone started getting ready and the drinking commenced. By 9pm everyone was gathered in the guys' room downstairs where the music was blaring in a great way and the alcohol was flowing freely. There was pong and funnels and card games, many choices for the night. Mike had a bunch of friends over for a couple of days and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. It was an all around good time. At this point I had begun my journey into my vodka bottle, a very cheap one which had to be greatly diluted. And thus the carbonation of the red lemonade was not my friend. I was also taking breaks to dash upstairs and chat with friends on AIM and Skype which was interesting.

We had a bit of fun learning a new game from London called "Fives." The purpose of the game is to be able to bow out without laughing. So everyone stands in a circle and puts out a fist. Everyone in the circle is supposed to either throw out a fist or five fingers after every countdown. One person begins with 1, 2, 3, and then calling a multiple of 5. If the hands in the circle DO NOT add up to that multiple then the next person tries. When someone finally guesses correctly they have to not celebrate but simply looking at everyone very seriously and say "Thank you ladies and gentlemen for a lovely game of Fives" without laughing or smiling in any way. On some occasions there is even a smile judge who determines laughter or smiles. Anyways, after a few people learned this game, they began to bet on the outcome...now you know this will never end well. The bet was that the loser had to run naked from our apartment to the end of the street by Grafton. So I will not name names to protect the guilty but two people ended up having to do it and there is video evidence to prove it. Of course they were both guys as no girl would actually get involved with THAT sort of a bet. People actually stopped to watch the streaking and at some points were even cheering one guy on...quite the event. Luckily the Garda did not become involved. HA!

So after a fun filled night of streaking and booze, no one really made it out. Well if they did, I wasn't one of them. One of my roommates was put to bed early for being too drunk. Another roommate went out to the Temple Bar area with another girl and my last roommate was in the guys room with me except when she ventured out for a bit by herself...oh the times we had. So by 1am-ish, I decided to ground myself and not leave the apartment. First, I wasn't sure that I could make it back, and second, I didn't want to do anything stupid. So instead, I came back and drank water and ate crackers while sitting on my bed and skyping my friend Kosha from back home. That was an interesting conversation...I think...
Then I was convinced to go to bed by a nameless party that I was also talking to online...man I should really hide my laptop better from myself. So I changed and crawled into bed, barely aware of what I was doing.

I awoke this morning with a thirst that was almost painful and a desire to do nothing but eat the biggest bowl of Ramen noodles possible. So I heaved myself out of bed, chugged some water, and made my way to the kitchen. Kara was already up and making eggs, quite the accomplishment. Shannon and Morgan had both also made it up and Kyle was sitting in our kitchen with his friend Drew. I simply smiled and made my way to the nearest pot, pulled down a package of Ramen and cooked it as fast as I could. I sat down on the couch to wolf it down surrounded by the delicious smell of scrambled eggs and ham and enjoyed my own little meal. I then wandered back to bed for a bit. Around 10am, I decided that I should probably shower as we had to find a spot to watch the parade from and that started at noon.

So since I wore the pirate shirt last night, I wore the green one today along with my headband hat and pulled off the look quite well if I do say so myself. I was dressed and ready and went to witness the second part of the shitshow which was currently happening in the guys room again. After watching some chugging, I wandered up to see how the other girls were doing. And apparently they had taken a delivery of friends during the night, 4 of them to be exact. Well wasn't I just taken by surprise and tickled pink. So I took some candids and just wandered up and down the stairs waiting to go. When mostly everyone had a good buzz going, not including myself, we set off for the parade at 11:40am.

For some reason, Dame Street where we wanted to watch was already packed with people, go figure. So we all sort of played the pushy American and made room for ourselves next to some barricades but behind other people. So, thinking back to where the parade started at the top of O'Connell Street which across the river and about a 30 minute walk from where live, we estimated that it would be about that long until we saw the parade go by. However, clearly we underestimated by about an hour. We stood around and waited for the parade and it was around 1:30pm until it finally showed up on Dame Street. And I can't figure out why for the life of me. It was quite a fast moving parade actually.

The Saint and Bishop, Patrick, was one of the first people to walk on by and he was awesome. There were several marching bands including one from North Carolina! And of course typical Irish music ones. The fire department put in an appearance as did several dance studios and even a not for profit cycling association. However, I was surprised by a few things in the parade and often felt like I had either stepped into Arabia, Africa or a Tim Burton movie. But there were so excellent costumes and ideas going on like the Giant Rooster Float, the moving insect floats including an ant, a spider, and a praying mantis. There was a cake float and ballerina one, along with a live stagecoach and someone who wanted to take over the world but I wasn't really sure who he was...

While standing behind people sucked, I did manage to get some decent pictures so I'm relatively happy. I couldn't feel my knee and I was starving when we left, but it was totally worth it I think. Definitely being in Dublin on St. Patrick's Day is a once in a lifetime opportunity. And drinking the day of is not nearly as big here...well except for the tourists. There were a number of families at the parade, it's like their 4th of July. It was a great event. I have never seen the streets of Dublin so packed, it was a little unnerving. But for all the people, I did notice how much quieter it was than I expected. At typical American events, it's all loud all the time and people are cheering and singing and having a good time. But not here, sure people were laughing and talking and enjoying themselves. But there was only cheering when one of the parade members asked for it, no clapping when the bands finished a song and no clapping along. But all in all it was an experience I will never forget. So much GREEN! So many people!

After the parade was lunch followed by naptime. Everyone needed some downtime to get ready for Round 3 which started at about 6pm tonight. I went down to say hi and everyone was already on their way to a good time. I was offered beers and shots and respectfully declined. I had a sip of beer to show my support and then it was back to relaxing and recuperating my body so that I can actually deal with school when it begins again on Monday and complete my projects on time before that happens. So for now, I'm just going to post some pictures and hopefully get to sleep before everyone gets back!

The St. Patrick's Festival

Friday was the kickoff of the one of the biggest events that Dublin has to offer, The St. Patrick's Festival! Five days of fun and excitement and most of it for the entire family, there are games, shows, and activities all for the entertainment of both those that live in the city and those that come to witness this great event.

As many of you know, I had a couple of visitors this weekend, in fact, I picked them up late Thursday night and have been enjoying their company ever since. A friend of mine from Bentley is studying in Budapest and brought with her two other girls who are studying there with her and are also from the States. All day Friday, they went exploring throughout the city to see many of the historic events that Dublin has to offer. Friday night they were able to meet up with some other people that they knew to be in the city and had a grand old time.

Saturday, we had some breakfast of sorts at the cafe downstairs together before putting together a plan for the day. There was a treasure hunt happening that I really wanted to do, so we decided to explore that venue of activity. We were able to make to registration on time, collected our bags, and our clues, and ventured off with our maps in front of our noses. Now this was no ordinary treasure hunt, there wasn't even really any treasure involved. We simply had to read the clue, go to the location, and find the answer to the question posed there. We made it through the first stop all right, the wax museum. I was severely creeped out due to the nature of the real-ness of the people in the wax museum, but we did all right. We were able to identify (with help) the rockers that stood on either side of the Irish legend band U2. So our book was stamped and we made our way to the next stop. The National Library popped up and other than some brief trouble with the touchscreens we did that okay and were able to see the animals that marked the document we were supposed to be looking for.

Next, we went to the National Gallery as it was close by and as soon as we set foot in the lobby, knew the answer to the question "what is the current temp exhibit running here?" As we took our book to be stamped, the woman at the desk told us that if we performed a song or dance then we could be eligible for an additional prize! So, willing to make fools of ourselves, we settled on traditional American pride to get us through, a rendition of "Sweet Caroline." We sang and hopped around in a circle much to the surprise and delight of the judges. It ended up that our prize was 4 free ticket passes to the Festival Carnival around the corner. So on our way the next stop, the famous Georgian House Number 29, we passed by the carnival and decided to have a sit on the Ferris wheel and check out the view from the top. We were able to see a lot of the city, it's amazing how big it actually is! And of course, it was beautiful!

After deciding to come back to the carnival later, we ventured to the next stop on the treasure hunt, number 29 famous Georgian House. We tried to come in through the front door, but apparently that is the end of the tour, so we had to go around and come in through the side entrance. We were again stopped at the table and requested to sing a song for a bonus prize. This time our version of "Sweet Caroline" won us dinosaur shaped fruit snacks, yummy! So we were pretty excited. We were able to identify the king in the carriage in the print in the hallway (hehe) and after that, being 2pm decided that we needed some lunch.

Making our way back to the Temple Bar area, we proceeded to the food market where the smells of food from across the country and some even from across the world filled our nostrils and make our stomachs rumble even more. Though I made several turns around the market which resembled the fairway at Windsor Fair, I finally succumbed and decided to eat the same sandwich that the other girls were getting. It was a 6 inch roll filled with grilled onions, stuffing, roasted pulled porked, and then we topped it with BBQ sauce and a homemade apple sauce that was to die for! We ended up squatting on a piece of sidewalk and listening to both the roaring sounds of the Irish getting ready for the Ireland v. Wales Rugby match and the singing of a two man musical group complete with a brown and black furry dog that sat patiently at their feet. After lunch, I decided I wanted some dessert and so did the other girls. I made my way back to a pastry stall where I selected a delicious Lemon Poppyseed Cake which I dove into this morning, and a Almond Pear Tartlet which still makes my mouth water with envy. Julia and Morgan each got hot chocolate while Kchan decided to wait until we reached the crepe restaurant to buy anything.

After dessert, we went our separate ways. I wanted to come back to the apartment to do some work and rest while the girls wanted to explore the city some more. We decided to meet back up around 6ish so I could let them in. When they arrived a plan had been formulated to go to the carnival for more rides and then head over to Trinity to meet up with some people doing a pub crawl. So we all got ready but I didn't want to go to the Carnival so I met up with them at Trinity at 8pm instead. Where I met Morgan and a few of her friends from back home. Kchan and Julia showed up a little late because of an adventure they had running away from a rambunctious and rude group of 12 year olds. But no harm done and we made our way over to Porterhouse. I had them all try my favorite beer in the place which is of course the strawberry flavored one and they all loved it, I was beaming with pride at sharing something new with them. After this, we wanted a quick bite to eat and went over to McDonald's and wolfed down some burgers and fries.

Then it was time to find a place where we could really get into the swing of things. So we wandered into the Temple Bar area which was of course PACKED with people as typical for a Saturday night but made worse by the fact that it is the weekend before St. Patrick's Day and people are pouring in from all corners of the world. We got Morgan a slice of piece and sat Kchan down for a while to get over the beer she had. After which we wandered down the street looking for a promising location. We tried to enter Fitzsimmons but it was too packed and the bouncer said to try again later. So off we went and stumbled upon the "Purty Kitchen," which happened to have a live band playing "Sweet Home Alabama," and we were hooked. We made our way in and found a good spot to listen to the band on the stairs. They were AWESOME. They played for about another hour and a half by which point we had made our way to the front of the crowd and were standing about 5 feet from them and the really loud speakers. The band was pumped up on classic American rock and they did it very well. After much cheering, they did an encore and then retired for the night.

The top two floors of the Purty Kitchen are a dance club and we decided since we were there to stick around and check it out. We hit the dance floor amongst creepers and many girls with fog and flashing lights all around. We managed to find a good space and danced for quite some time. We ended up meeting a group of British Royal Navymen who were nice enough to chat with us. We paused to get drink and wander the club for a bit but continued to have an awesome time. We ended up on the top floor and stayed there until 3am at which point the place closed down and we had to go home. I had to lead the way given that Doug was more interested in his friend than leading the way back to the apartment at this point. I was exhausted and finally got everyone back safe when they decided to go and get food. So I let Kchan and Julia go with Doug and I went upstairs with Morgan with my thoughts firmly on getting my head onto my pillow as fast as possible.

So with everyone as safe as they can be and no worries about them getting back, I peeled off my clothes, washed my face and climbed onto my top bunk with great ease and pleasure. I was able to quickly fall asleep for once, possibly because it was the latest I had gone to bed in quick awhile, and was grateful for it.

And although KChan woke me up this morning at 9:30, I didn't hold it against her, because it was a good night and I was ready for a nice greasy meal which I was able to procure for myself. And thus ended my weekend with my visitors and my experience with the St. Patrick's Festival...at least for today.

Spring Break Begins

Not much has been happening over this first week of Spring Break but a couple of interesting things have happened since my excursion to Merrion Square.
I saw a guy texting while riding his bike.
I saw 4 police motocycles and an undercover car go blaring past me.
I can't find a single Lemon Poppyseed muffin in this entire city, apparently they are not big on muffins here.
The guys downstairs had 15 people here since the weekend and it's been pretty rowdy, they've been doing things such as keg-stands on the balcony, shots to the song "shots, shots, shots," going to club 21 and bringing home random people to apartment at 4am.
I biked to school on Tuesday to get books for my Irish History paper but most of them could only be taken out on short loan (2 day) so it put me in a bind.
I managed to write the majority of my paper yesterday and then I biked to school returned the books and made a quick turnaround to come back, just over 7 miles in about 50min, my legs are KILLING ME!
I got to Skype with my one and only Emily yesterday and that's always a good time. I love to catch up with people back home.
I'm pretty sure that I saw Jack from "Will and Grace" sitting in my school lounge this afternoon.
I've managed to keep the kitchen spotless for a whole week now...much easier when they're aren't four people here, I can let me OCD come out.
I found cleaning wipes since for some reason neither Clorox nor Lisol is sold here.
I'm going to pick up my Bent friend, KChan from the aiport tonight with her two friends and they are going to be here until Saturday.
The St. Patrick's Festival kicks off in city centre tomorrow but I have a feeling that I will doing a tour of the Guinness Factory ;)
I had to venture once more across the city to pick up a package which as it turns out was from my older sister again and I'm proud to say that I've already used to the 64 crayons and pirate coloring book that she sent me...oh it takes me back.
I actually managed to watch an hour of television today upstairs since once again the entire building is empty save for me, until tonight at least.
I finished my Irish History paper this morning.
When I went to Dunnes this week, they were having a sale these lemon glazed finger rolls, so I bought some hoping to stymie my lemon poppyseed craving, but to no avail. They aren't that good and didn't do shit for my cravings.
There has been over a week straight of sun but this morning was cloudy, fortunately it hasn't rained yet and I'm hoping it at least stays off until after the weekend due to a TREASURE HUNT that it supposed to happen across the city on Saturday. Granted it's Dublin so I doubt it will be canceled, but it would be nice to have it in decent weather all the same.
But I'm very grateful for the sun, it's been a pleasant companion these last few days.
Oh and I just found out that the new Eclipse Trailer has been released: The #EclipseTrailer is here! http://bit.ly/94120L
So that is SUPPPPPPER exciting! For those of you who don't know, Eclipse is the 3rd book/movie in the Twiligh series.

So all in all, it's been a nice quiet opening week to Spring Break. I have been sleeping in until around 10am every day and enjoying it. I've also managed to line up an internship interview (finally!) and it's actually in Maine, so there's a chance I might be home this summer, but I'm still debating it. Cross your fingers that the interview goes well and I can have options open to me!
In other news, I'm having a really tough time with one of my projects given that the person I was supposed to interview...well, I can't get ahold of her. So I have to find another route to greatness. But on the plus side, I managed to do my piece for my Innovation and Change Project, so that's all well and good and I'm hoping that everyone else is managing to do their part as well.

Right about now I'm just sitting back and letting the city all sink it. Sometimes there are even moments of quiet where I can actually breathe and hear myself doing it.

Merrion Square

I was sick of being stuck inside during such a beautiful week and I didn't want to just sit in the cold of my balcony and hence I decided to form an adventure for myself. I checked out a map and look for the old Viking village part of Dublin that I wanted to see...unfortunately I didn't realize that I had already seen most of that in my wanderings throughout the city. The old city wall, Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, etc. But I wanted something picturesque. I decided not to make the trek across the city to Phoenix Park until spring is in bloom and I live next to St. Stephen's Green and have already taken pictures of that. So looking at the map, the park at Merrion Square was really my only option. So I plotted my course, only 3 blocks away, packed my camera and off I went.

I found the right street and crossed a 4 lane stretch of road in the middle of the city that had no cars on it...it was the damnest thing. Of course it's the backside of government buildings and the other side of the street is housing, but it seemed like there should be more traffic. Anyways, I got to the park and there were artists displaying their works outside the gate: bowls of fruit, dancers, horses, Dublin scenes, Venice scenes, etc. I stopped looking at them after I realized that a 4 by 4 was 15 euro.

I wandered through the iron gate that most parks in the city seem to have and found myself looking at a very unusual site. There was a stone and glass pyramid which contained a single flame and 4 bronze soldiers. It was beautiful, backdropped with the Irish flag and it was of course picture worthy. I wandered along the first path I saw, the one to my left and kept course, looking for something. I finally found what I was looking for...I got to meet Oscar Wilde! Now granted, he was sitting high up on a stone and it was hard to communicate with him, but I think we're grand friends by now. I took some pictures with him and these amazing marble pillars nearby which had quotes from him engraved in different handwriting upon them. It was pretty unbelievable.

I continued to walk through the park, exploring all the nooks and crannies. I found flowers I had never seen before and birds that were orange and black. There were statues of people gone by and memorials to Irish poets. There was a "tomb" dedicated to all the abused women in the country, which I thought was rather extraordinary. Also, everyone refers to the park as "Merrion Square Park" but it's real name is "Archbishop Ryan Park" not a big deal, but interesting none the less. No two lampposts were the same, some were black, others green, one was even decked out in Christmas style. The flowers were just starting to bloom, but the trees are still scraggly.
And if Miss Ducey were around to read this, she would be proud to know that I've "met" Oscar Wilde and Eavan Boland(who had a memorial there as well) on the same day. Oh here's to AP Lit.

On the way home, I stopped for the last Londis sub of the week :)
And have been unsuccessfully trying to write my history paper ever since.

Tea and Porridge

This week's recap:

On Tuesday I got hit by a bus. No, nothing serious. I was weaving my way through traffic trying to get to the head of the line of traffic when the light changed and the bus that I was next to took off. Apparently it was closer than expected because it caught my leg and my handlebars and nudged me into the car beside me...painful, embarrassing but no lasting scars, not even any blood.
After that, there was a group meeting, where I once again had to explain each part of the project to my group and break down the idea for the innovation EXACTLY for them because somehow they didn't get it. But we got it sorted out, assigned the pieces...oh and we have to prepare the write up and the presentation for the week we come back from vacation.

Irish history is going well, we finally learned about the Great Famine and we've hit the 20th century as far as history goes...for some reason we skip a lot of years in between the Anglo-Norman conquest and the rebellions...odd, but hey, I like it. Oh and my 6pg paper is due the week after we come back from vacation as well.

We did have a power outtage on Wednesday which was the damnest thing. I was sitting, reading in the morning when around 11am, the lights turn off. Wondering whats wrong, I proceed to check lights in other rooms and on other floors. I thought at first that the bill came and we missed it somehow and now were without power. Luckily however, I went down to the cafe to ask if they had power and they didn't. The owner said that something had blown or gone wrong and that the entire street was out. He had called the electric company and they said it would be back on within 2 hours. So I continued on my merry way, got a Londis sub for lunch (yummy!) came back and the power was back on! So all was well there.

That night, I was hassled into playing a couple of hands of "Asshole" during which I managed to become the Asshole, and the next round, I was the President. I am the queen of the clear cards which are always to my advantage, so I managed to be Vice Prez once and President twice, beating out the two guys who were playing that night and who play all the time. I was pretty damn proud of myself. So I got to go to bed with a smile on my face.

Thursday, I was so bored in my class that I decided to find a way to read the Harry Potter novels online. I searched and searched and finally found a few websites, yay me! So while the teacher was discussing things that we had already talked about and the project we just turned in that I didn't want to think about, I managed to read half of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It was quite eventful. While waiting for my next class, I had lunch with my friend Mary and we chatted about possibly going down to Cork together over break, awesome! Blarney Stone...gift of gab...yea like I need that, haha.

But the weekend, the first of my Spring Break has been pretty quite and uneventful which is good as I'm in dire need of the R&R. All of the girls are out traveling around the mainland this week. The boys downstairs have a ton of people here this weekend, but for a big group, they are relatively quiet, just the usual music and hustle and bustle. Found out that I have yet another paper due which blows, looks like I'm going to be spending some time in the library. And I can't seem to get in touch with the woman I wanted to interview for one of my projects...But on the BRIGHT side, it's been sunny all week and I think that the weather is warming up a bit and we're headed into spring here in Dublin. Oh and I'm caught up in 90s Sabrina the teenage witch, oh the good ole days. Maybe I'll go for a walk around the Green or just sit out on my balcony and enjoy.

Team USA...in a bar full of Canadians

Last night was most likely one of most fun and interesting nights the first week in Dublin...of course I don't go out much so maybe I'm no judge, but it was a good time for the most part to me at least.

Most of the Bent kids wanted to go to a pub and watch the USA v. Canada Men's Olympic Ice Hockey Gold Medal Round. Seeing as the last game, everyone went to "The Woolshed," we decided that's where we wanted to go again. We were supposed to head out between 6 and 6:30 but as it happens, we never make it out on time, so we headed out around 7ish and got to the pub. From the outside, it didn't look so bad. Unfortunately from the minute we walked, there were swarms of Canadian fans. Like, every 29/30 people was supporting the Canadian team. It was scary, there was red and white EVERYWHERE! There were a few random groups of USA supporters, but not many. So we crammed our way over to a corner of the bar where we were trying to decide what to do. It ended up being the best option to just stay in the corner. So some of us ordered food, other went to get 10euro pitchers (woot woot) of Fosters. And we took over the corner, our little group of Americans.

A guy came around with facepaints, which was a good time, several of the girls got USA on their face, and Kara got war paint stripes, also very cool. We were feelings pretty badass but intimidated. We were right next to a group of Canadians that were loud and rude...come to find out they had rented out the bar or at least part of it for the night and most of the people in the place knew each other and go to the same school...awkward moments. But I had a chicken salad club sandwich with some friends and that was decent. I split a couple of pitchers with Morgan and Lexi...and the night was on its way. I ended up standing between my group of Americans and a group of Canadians and the atmosphere was INTENSE! People weren't being pushy but it was enough to make me uncomfortable. There way a guy from Australia walking around in a US Army cost with his face painted and a few intermittent Irish who were supporting the US.

Once the announcers first came on, the noise level picked up by about 10fold. The game was supposed to be a good one and everyone was excited. The crowd at the stadium was a sea of red, with random US flags thrown in. Looking at the stats of the players, it was easy to see that this was going to be a game of goalies, always the most intense kind, it always comes down to just that one guy trying to block the goal. The American goalie is one of the best in the NHL apparently, but his opponent was also quite good, each had over a 90% block rating, and a handful of shutouts.

The game began and got off to a decent start and then it went downhill quick. Team USA could not hold onto their offense at all and they were completely scattered. Canada was doing better and scored two goals before the US even scored one. During one of those goals, the guys besides me got a little over excited and I ended up with a pitcher a beer being spilt on me...awesome. But I wasn't that wet, so no worries, life goes on. The guys felt bad anyways, so I wasn't that upset. The Canadians were getting really cocky at this point, being up one over the US. However, with less than 20 seconds left and the Americans scored their second goal at the end of the 3rd period, forcing the game to go into OVERTIME! Everyone in the pub went wild, the Canadians were scared, I had a feeling I knew where this was headed however. Everyone took a quick break before sudden death and then reassembled to see the outcome.

Kara and I were really wound tight at this point and I had somehow managed to be pushed into a group of Canadians instead of being over with my American friends. So I just stayed very still and watched the game from there. Sudden Death began and everyone was on the edge of their seats, now it was really crunch time for the goalies. I was more worried because our offense had been sucking all night and now that's what we had to rely on in order to win the goal from Canada. About 6 minutes in, a Canadian forward took a shot and Miller, the American goalie, just couldn't seem to recover it. The puck slipped in over Miller's shoulder and the US just lost the gold, yet again.

The pub erupted in a series of cheers for Canada and it was almost an unbearable level of noise. People were being picked up and beers were flowing over people's heads and there was a huge jumping uproar. All the Bent kids wanted to get out fast so that we didn't have to deal with the ruckus for much longer. And it was closing ceremonies anyways, the official end of the Winter Olympics 2010. So we didn't win and got out as quickly as we could. Went back to the apartment and made some comfort food in order to ease our pain, everyone was pretty upset. Though Kara did manage to get a miniature American Flag to take home :)

So it was an adventure and it was a lot of fun, just being able to be part of that atmosphere was incredible. The excitement was high and it's always great to be able to participate in that sort of thing. I'm glad I was able to make it out, even if we didn't win and had to stand in a crowd of Canadians...most of them even were giving out conciliatory hugs, haha. C'est la vie!