i'm a socialite

this so earlier this week i went to the opening of a photography exhibit and while we were there admiring the photographs brenda and i were photographed by a cork paper. so i wasn't expecting our picture to make it and friday wasn't too surprised to not see it in the paper. last night while in dublin brenda got a text from her mum, you and erin made the echo! and you look like you are 15. one of her neighbours saw her picture and let her mom know. so we were quite excited, it was in the cork social scene section. so brenda and i joked around about being socialites and pretty soon paris hilton is going to be calling us asking to be our bff. so i'm trying to get my hands on a copy of the paper, hopefully brenda's mum was able to grab another copy. so that was super exciting. i've had my picture in the paper before for doing things/awards in high school and classes in college, but never just randomly. next thing ya know i'll be on page six. haha

dublin was faaaaaab! more about that tomorrow. i'm feeling like death from the bus, uggh. so just crashing, stupid headaches. listening to the new u2 cd. so far = amazing! though i've heard most of the songs on the radio already. 

has anyone else ever been in the paper for random things?

and for the next few weeks there is only a 4 hour difference from the east coast! yay! we don't go to daylight savings until the 28th, and i'll be home then anyway. that extra hour is so nice! 

heads carolina tails california... or new jersey/connecticut

So I'm faced with another dilema. I'm really leaning towards doing it so hopefully it will all work out. My college roomie needs a roomie for the next 4 months and they also kinda need someone at her work to help out. I love her line of work and it is actually something I want to pursue (but in a different subject matter, but I do like boats) so I'm seriously considering when I get back moving to CT for a few months. As much as I love my parents, I don't really want to live back home and I would rather do this than substitute teach. So I'm now convincing my parents that instead of being smart financially and moving home, I should move to CT. Plus I think this would look better on a resume than substitute teaching and I'd still be working with students just in a more fun way. And it fits in perfectly with my time frame for wanting to work at a summer camp/summer academic camp/something teaching. So fingers crossed this works out!

And in other random news, Socks the cat, the beloved Clinton family pet was put to sleep this morning. I was sad to hear this news. 

So I can't believe how fast the week went! Craaaaaazy! 

Also crazy this is my last weekend to relax before 3 crazy ones traveling :) Tonight was fabulous I got home and instead of a cup of tea I made a malibu and pomegranate. I bought a bottle of Malibu for almost nothing in duty free coming back to Ireland and decided it was time to drink it, so I'll be having my own personal happy hours after work. I think it is a fabulous idea. And I'm reading an old Jodi Picoult - Songs of the Humpback Whale. So that was an enjoyable way to spend the evening. 

I have to reshoot some of the video resume. My placement counselor had some advice,  it was small, but it is enough to make me want to do it again. I'm a perfectionist, so while he said it was good the one small suggestion he made has fighting with my camera in the morning. It is funny after my student teaching, where we were filmed and made to watch and critique it ALL the time, I still hate watching myself. So I'm hoping since yesterday took forever, but now I know what I'm saying and all of the earlier mistakes I made I can hopefully shoot this in 2-3 takes. And be DONE. 

Tomorrow I'm doing the usual Saturday things around the city and the video resume and then I think I'm seeing Vicky Christina Barcelona with Kara and then I'm going to hang out with one of the girs from work and watch movies and have my own toast to George Washington since I can't be at Birthday Ball.  So happy weekend to everyone!

erin vs the paper shredder.

I spent a good hour this morning fighting with the paper shredder at work. I was given a HUGE stack to shred and I actually like shredding paper. Sharon went through and checked for staples and I sat with the shredder, until on my second set through it got stuck.... and not just stuck, but omfg stuck. I tried reversing it, nooope, only made it worse. So I unplugged it and set out trying to make it work again. I had to go through pulling out each piece of shredder one at a time, seriously, more than one and it wouldn't come out. After getting all the big ones, I found a pair of needle nose pliers and sat there poking about, it took me a while but I finally was able to free it. I was quite excited, and then spent the next 30 minutes shredding. It is just kinda soothing, to do it, I don't know. I'm kinda weird. It kinda reminds me of the summer of 2006 at the academic camp where we used the shredder as discipline. If a student misbehaved during their evening free time between dinner and evening activity they would get a 20 minute time out, where we would put them to work in the office usually shredding or something like that.

Anyway, the weather in Ireland, I do not approve. I know I shouldn't talk as at home they've been getting snow/ice/cold weather pretty much since mid December, and we didn't get any snow in Cork except flurries while other parts of the country got a few inches. Which I was glad, I'm not a fan of snow. It is all pretty when it falls, but after ugggh.

This news story just caught my eye, about a 10 year old divorcee, wow. I can't imagine life that that, and what a smart little girl. She was supposed to be buying bread, but went and took a taxi to a courthouse in Yemen because she saw on TV courthouses helping people, a judge noticed her and when she said, "I'm here for a divorce" he took her home to play with his daughter and two days later granted her wish. This happened last Spring, but she was recently in Paris talking about her story.

Uggh, I hate taking off acrylic nails. I sat with my hands in nail polish remover for an hour and a half and it wasn't really working. It is the acetone stuff, but I might see if Boots is still open after my aerobics class and see if they have anything stronger, or I'll be sitting around again tonight with my hands in nail polish remover.

Oh, and I'm sure people must think I'm crazy when I'm at the gym. Friends is on in the evenings and I make sure I'm on either the bike or the elliptical when it is on, and even though I know all the episodes I can't help but laugh. It just makes me happy to watch Friends and I actually don't have add while on the machines, I seriously get bored after about 5 minutes and after about 15 minutes on a machine I'm done and I have to switch, but watching tv I like helps keep me distracted and I can do 30 minutes on one machine.

So while I write about the Spanish adventure I'll leave you with this little video from Malaga along the Mediterranean Sea!




Happy Wednesday :)

at last...

First hungover at work, not the best way to start the day.
Last night was fun though.
I haven't been out in a while, so it was a funny night out with the girls from work.
We made kinda last minute plans to go out for a pint, now I was just expecting 2 pints.
5 pints later....
Kinda explains the hangover.
Had fun talking about office gossip, catching me up on the ridiculousness of the Christmas party which I missed because I was home, trying to create office scandal, and just general merriment.
I don't miss being hungover at work, last January almost every Friday was like this when Kara and I went out and had some crazy adventures...

So the inauguration yesterday... there are no words.
I felt so proud to be an American yesterday.
We had it streaming online on the tv at work. Around 3.30 I put it on and we watched the coverage and I was trying to answer all the questions about everything and all the random questions about American politics. Good thing I'm a history major and like politics!
So once it started, I was just giddy.
His swearing in, was so cute. I love that he slightly fumbled, he is human. And it is super scary taking oaths like that, seriously it is almost impossible to not mess up. Believe me from all the times I've seen oaths from sorority stuff, inside your head its like omg, pay attention. remember the order of the words, fuck! what comes after that, when they say - say your name, say my name, don't repeat say your name....
And his speech, wow. I don't even know what to say. I read it this morning and he is just such an amazing speaker.
Some of my favourite lines:

*At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding documents.
*Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
*For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

and I LOVE that he quoted GW. Because I LOVE George Washington. I guess that's what happens when you go to a school that is named after the guy and we celebrate him and pretty much love him.

And then I didn't get to see Michelle's dress until this morning, but OMG! LOVES IT! She is just absolutely gorgeous and I love her. She just seems like an amazing role model, a mom, a career woman, an amazing relationship with her husband, she is powerful, elegant, classy, fabulous style, hardworking and just omg, i love her. And the girls, so precious. I just love the family. And I looove that their first dance was to 'At Last' so fitting, and how he started out with "How good looking is my wife"....

Anyway, finally starting to feel unhungover. And maybe I won't die at the gym tonigh in aerobics... hopefully...

history.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

i am so ready for today!

i woke up this morning all excited and giddy.
it is such an amazing day.
i can't wait to watch the actual inauguration.

in a few more hours barack obama will be the president of the united states of america.

i have been waiting 8 years for this day.
almost 1/3 of my life.

it is crazy because for pretty much most of my political awareness it has been george bush as president and finally now it is the dawn on a new era.

i've had the webcams on the capital on my computer all morning, and it has been pretty crazy to see how throughout the day the place has filled up, i turned it on when i came into the office after 9 (4am in dc) and now when it is about 2 hours until.

i'm just overwhelmed with pride and emotions right now.

i can't wait to watch this!!

just dance.

random thoughts: 

- so ireland received some snow today. luckily in cork it was only big wet flakes (i don't even want to call them that) and they melted as soon as they hit the ground. so what made me laugh was on the news they were talking about the road conditions and such and that they were expected to get 2-5mm of snow. yes MILLIMETERS of snow.  so about half a centimeter.... better get out the snowblower. 

- Getting hotels and such booked for Spain! YAY! I got an email back from a friend who lived for the last 3 months in Spain, and he is amazing for this line, talking about a restaurant/cafe he recommends - "The interior design is really cool and all the staff are male so you guys are likely to get chatted up there!!" There is a reason why I still keep in touch with him even though he is M's best friend. 

- had a lazy day yesterday. but the weather was just like saturday's so noope. not going out there. watched top gun and it reminded me of crew senior year. we designed i feel the need, the need for speed shirts and all wore aviators. and it reminded me how gorgeous tom cruise was circa 1986... before he went crazy. talked to gator again, the conversations are hilarious, so we'll see. 

- watched the obama concert on the internet this morning. wow, seemed absolutely amazing and watching it made me even more excited about tomorrow. i'm so glad rte is showing it and though i'll be at work, we'll be showing it on our tv. My favourite of all of the performances though was U2. 

- i'm slightly obsessed with this song - just dance by lady gaga. i don't know how new/old it is. just they've been playing it non-stop on the radio the last 3 weeks. it makes me want to sing and dance while i am at work.  and the lyrics remind me of most of the irish out on a thursday night, they are redic!

-i signed up for an aerobics class at the gym on wednesday, it might be entertaining.

- glad everyone liked my 101. it was actually a lot of fun to do, and i had fun thinking of weird, random things. 

-did i mention i'll be seeing my rooommate in 4 days?!!!!!!!!!!!!

i might get blown away

So I had plans today to run a few errands in town and then walk over to Fitzgerald Park and finally go to the Cork Public Museum. I've lived here for long enough to never have been and I LOVE museums. But mother nature has made me question that decision, as it is POURING and super windy. Like howling wind, the winds are about 30mph with gusts about 60mph. And well when looking outside and seeing everything blowing about and just hearing the wind... I've decided those errands can wait for tomorrow, except the library. Which means I'll just have to run down after work one day this week. Now I know I live in a wet country, so you really just get used to the rain and either wearing a rain jacket or just getting wet, at least in the winter, because umbrellas just don't work here. But on days like today, unless I have something to do, I won't be going outside. 

But the weather in Ireland is constantly changing, and somehow while I was writing that, the rain stopped and the sun tried to peak out, so I ran into town to run errands. The city was so quiet for a Saturday afternoon, I guess the horrible weather kept everyone at home. But I was able to go to the library and get a few books to read over the next few weeks, a guidebook for Madrid (they didn't have any Spain ones, so I put myself on the hold list for one) and I also grabbed one for Italy, so I could start planning my next trip. Then I treated myself to some hot chocolate, this shop seriously makes the BEST hot chocolate in the world! 

So at least I was able to get out of the house for a bit, so that was nice. Though I was just going to watch a movie and knit. After the gym yesterday I popped into a music/dvd store that is closing, and picked up 4 dvd's for 14 euro. I got myself My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Top Gun. And then 2 for a friend's birthday next week. 

So I'm getting SUPER excited about roomie coming over! I spent a while last night looking up hotels and such for Spain! I'm getting so pumped to have some slightly warmish weather, see the Mediterranean Sea in Malaga, the Alhambra in Granada, the Prado in Madrid and so many other fabulous things!! It is crazy how fast this is coming up, I'm meeting her bright and early Friday morning at the airport! but I can't waaaaait! YAY!

The adventures are going to be slightly crazy! The two of us together can be redic. Lots of history love and of course getting her an Irishman! 

I wish I was in the States for this weekend though. I'm reading all these awesome things about the Inauguration and I want to be able to watch the coverage today of it all, the concert on Sunday, and everything on Tuesday!! Luckily most of it will be shown online, so I can watch the inaguration on Tuesday! I may see if I can stay at work and watch it on the fast connection, instead of my dinosaur of an internet connection at home. 

I've talked with Gator twice in the last few days... I'm still like aldgfsfgjkshksgkk about the whole thing. I'm enjoying talking to him though, so we'll see what happens, he invited me up to see him once i'm home. The conversations have been quite amusing and it makes me laugh that most of them occur at 8am for me. At least it is a good way to start my day. 

omg! you're american!!

Brenda and I are walking home from the cinema talking about the movie, when we pass a girl and her boyfriend? walking towards us. We were maybe 5 steps away from them, when the girl calls out, wait! I figured we had dropped something? But no.

The girl looks at me and goes OMG YOU'RE AMERICAN!!!!!!!!!

Where are you from?!? 

I say  New Jersey. 

OMG I've been there.

I spent the summer on Cape Cod and then some other place and omg! I just LOVE America. 

And she went on a slightly drunken I love Americans talk for about another 30 seconds before her boyfriend was like come on let's go.

And she gave me a hug....

Brenda and I just look at each other and laugh. I have never had this happen to me. 

I get the where are you from - allll the time. And then a my cousins live in some random city or I've been to Boston,NYC or California. 

But I have never gotten the OMG!!!!!!!! You are totally like my new BFF!

Totally made my night.

So Bride Wars. It was better than I expected. Pretty funny.  I was laughing most of  the movie. Some absolutely hilarious scenes. And can I pleeeeeassseee have Anne Hathaway's wardrobe? Pretty please, with a cherry on top?  

Like the movie was pretty crazy in a few places and omg, seriously would someone do this in real life. But then again it is the Plaza in June... haha. And seriously! there is noooo way there would be 3 dates for the plaza in June in March of the same year. I enjoyed it, but then again I'm a fan of most chick flicks, because when I go to the movies I usually want to laugh and be carefree. Not be scared shitless or intense action thriller. I want to laugh and I want romance. 

And, wow. Plane landing in the Hudson River?!? I'm amazed that it was able to not crash and that everyone survived. 

Night :)

nj news makes me laugh again

So dingle weekend was fabulous! I'll write about that tomorrow at work, as Iam wrecked from about 8 hours of sleep this weekend and getting soaking wet every time we stepped outside!

So after unpacking my wet bags and pretty much emptying them into the wash, I did the usual - checked email and such online. I like to keep up with the news from home, so I went to the nj.com page and what do I see the headline - Off the gridiron, Giants fullback helps farmers tend crops - and then under there was a picture and it said Tranquility Farms. I burst out laughing and was like ummm, as in the Tranquility Farms ACROSS the road from my house ??? And of course it was. So this story made me love this guy. Here is an NFL player who grew up on a farm and now is living in the big bad city (ok, super urban northwest jerz) and just wanted to feel more at home, so he decided one day to find a farm to help out on his days off. How fabulous is that? So I grew up running through those fields, naming all the cows that grazed in the pastures (My sister and I had a list, so cow 89 - Betsy, I believe we had an A-Z list), I've taken friends to milk a cow on their 18th birthday there, seen calves born there, called the farm multiple times because there is a cow in the front yard... So the only downside, he plays for the Giants, haha. I'm a J-E-T-S fan, so there is a little stadium rivarly there.

So happy weekend :)

my little bro might be crazy...

and this is why my little bro is crazy... from our conversation last night.

10:38 PM brother: did you hear

ralph nadar one!

10:39 PM me: and if you knew how to spell correctly i might believe you

broter: he got one vote in my school

McCain won though

me: you?

brother: yup =P

me: haha....

10:40 PM brother: Obama is president-elect.

did you know that =O

10:42 PM

me: really, because over here we haven't heard yet, we are still waiting the 4 weeks for the ships to cross the atlantic

brother: fer realz?

oh the random gchats with him...

saw this on gawker this morning and wow, these shots are just awesome. the photographer who has taken some awesome shots of the campaign and the ones from tuesday night, wow. seeing the family and just the interaction. reminds me why i love photography and how they can capture so many emotions. obama on election night.

ugh, kinda sad though that on the same day our country elected a black man as president and the country went on the motion of change and accepting differences a few states denined gay marriage and alabama passed a law that unmarried couples can not adopt.

i made some fabulous brownies this week, next week i think i may make guinness cupcakes, and i might experiment with bagels. i saw a recipe and it doesn't look too complicated... and i am dying for a good bagel, the ones over here are meh. that is one of the things i can't wait until december for!

dingle this weekend, should be fun :)

sugar high...

I'm on a total sugar/caffeine high right now.
I forgot what it was like to live on a few hours of sleep. I haven't been this bouncy since I left WAC. I used to be like this almost every day.

I miss it.

Went to bed at 5.30 am. I was joking with Amy the last time I saw 5.30 was getting up for crew practice, not going to bed.

Obama's speech last night was fabulous. So glad I stayed up for it.

fdjfkkdsdjsajfsdjf... anyway back to bouncing around the office.

4.02 am...

So at 4.02 AM Irish time. CNN announced that Obama was projeted to surpass the 270 mark!!

YAY!!!!

As soon as they projected VA at 3.59, I was like after the polls close on the west coast in like a minute he's got it! And when I saw that flash on CNN, I got so excited!!

I can't wait to see the numbers in the morning.

Wow, history was just made, right now.

Sleeeeeeeep time!

Screw sleep - 4.40am

I just watched McCain's concession speech and am waiting for Obama's speech.

McCain's was great, I was quite impressed with his and him trying to quiet the booing crowd. His remarks on trying to unite the country were head on and I was glad to see him so positive and ready to get back to work in the Senate.

Obama's speech... I can't wait. If the DNC speech was any marker on what his Presidental acceptance speech will be, it is worth waiting up for!

I'm still happy that Obama won Florida, Virginia, Ohio, Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and right now looks like North Carolina and Indiana as well and possibly Montana.

elections....

So today is the day! Pretty much for the last four years I have been waiting for this day. Though I was hoping someone else would be on the ballot today, I am happy with the candidate I voted for. As much as I love politics, I'm glad this election is over. It has been going on for far too long, I remember watching the first Democratic/Republican candidate debates with friends at wac and discussing all the candidates and that was in like March 2007. Even though I've been abroad for the last 14 months and the majority of the campaigning, I've been watching as much possible online, reading everything online and keeping track of everything. I've enjoyed hearing the international reactions, opinions and press and many interesting conversations with friends, coworkers and random people out and about.

I've been anxiously awaiting about 11pm Irish time for most of the day, getting quite antsy around 11am Irish time this morning, when I saw polls opening was the headline on the news... and now just waiting until the first states are closed and then the fun begins. I saw a great collection of maps and estimates on gawker... I know of all places! But a girl has to try to find a way to occupy her day besides checking cnn/ny times/bbc/irish times websites all day long for the non-existant election news, besides that the lines are long, and how excited everyone is voting. It is an hour-by-hour map of the votes and closing times. So things might look scary for a few hours, but after about 11pm east coast things should look good. The NYTimes also has some good coverage as well.

Luckily RTE isn't being stupid! And from midnight to 3am (7-10pm East coast) they have their RTE coverage of it, then on to CBS from 3-7am (10-2am) and then on TV3 after midnight they have CNN coverage on. So I will be camped out in the sitting room, with my laptop and flipping back and forth on the TV awaiting the news.

Lets just hope I'm not a zombie tomorrow at work, though my boss knows how into this I am and I had a ton of discussions with society people who came in today about it, as I'm sure I will have even more tomorrow!

Oh, last night's election debate was interesting. While the overwhelming majority of the crowd was pro-Obama (pretty much 95%) the pro-McCain speaker had some good points, and unfortunatley the open floor was all Obama and a few people tried to go devils advocate and speak for McCain so it wasn't so one sided, but oh well. It was interesting to think about how some of McCain's policies would be better for Ireland such as the ones for trade.

So as I've mentioned before I voted for Obama, while there are some things I don't like and some questions I have about him, overall to ME he is the better candidate. I like his policies on abortion, education, the economy, Iraq, and healthcare. I like that he was able to entice so many people who usually have no care about politics, able to excite half the nation on his ideas of change. He is one AMAZING speaker and seems quite down to earth and I'm hoping if elected he does remember where he came from, as that is one thing I admire about him. That he has worked for everything he has achieved. I also really like Michelle. But as I've said before, some of my good friends are Republicans and while politically we might disagree, the discussions have helped to educate me on Obama and also on McCain's policies. And that is another reason to love our country, the fact that you can vote for whomever you choose. It is your right as an American to vote, so many people have fought, struggled and died for the right. And how I see it, as long as you are making an informed, educated decision, I don't care who you vote for. I just think back to 160 years ago in 1848 when Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott met in Seneca Falls and then in 1920 when the 19th Amendment was passed. And I am glad I have the right to vote.

Anyway, off to bake some brownies to keep my mind off the election for a few.

personal history, fees and life

I was reading the news yesterday on CNN and came across this story and it really caught me. I love little stories like - Oxford Project - this because I guess in a way it really does capture the essence of local history. It captures the everyday person, the daily life in a town, who most of us will be in history and what I personally like studying. I'm interested in the everyday history, seeing how people lived 100, 200... years ago, because despite everything we all are the same. the same ideas of love, hurt, hard work, stress, problems, happiness. But what I think is awesome about this is structure of a photo, then one 20 years later and just recording life. I would love to read this, I think oral history is such an interesting tool for finding out about the recent past and a way to record everyone's personal history. Because somehow everyone's lives are connected and just by reading about someone's life whether they live 3 miles, 300 miles or 3000 miles you learn more about someone else. I think everyone has an interesting story, even if they don't think so.

So this morning there was a march against fees through UCC and into the city. The Irish government is trying to reintroduce fees for third level universities and it is coming under protest. How it currently is set up, that students are only responsible for their registration fee each year and for UCC it is like €1000. They get free tuition for their degree. If they have to repeat a year or start a new course or already have a degree they have to pay, and the fees are around €6000 a year. And people complain about the registration fee, and many students get grants to cover the registration fee and some even get cost of living grants. So people are really against the reintroduction of fees, and I guess just coming from the states I don't see the big deal. I see it as by paying to go to college you are getting better facilities, equipment and everything. I was pretty much shocked when I first found out they pay nothing to go to university. And I guess it is just because it was my choice to go to a college where the tuition was $25,00-30,000 (the years I was there) and I see scholarships/college loans as a part of life. I could have gone to a state school, but in NJ the in-state tuition was comparable to what I was paying with scholarships and my parents were willing to help me pay for some of college. I just don't see the outrage, especially if they were to charge €5000 a year tuition. I guess it is just one of those things I'll chalk up to being American.

Went to the pub last night, it was a fun night. Good to see everyone, especially those who are just social members now. Some interesting conversations, lots of laughs. Not too many new people. I can't wait to go out this weekend. I hate not hiking on Sunday! Going to the cinema tonight with Brenda to see How to Loose Friends and Alienate People, so that should be fun :)

Ummm, so there is traffic outside and a car has 'favourite things' from the sound of music playing super loud, windows rolled down. It was quite amusing. Not the usual windows down, music up song.

So I was bored this morning at work, so I decided a layout change was in order. I like all the blues/greens and i thought a picture would be a good idea. Yay :)

today was my election day!

i voted today!

YAY!

yesterday when i popped home for lunch there was lots of mail waiting for me including my absentee ballot! a letter from holly! a thank you from coop for her wedding! and an insurance card from my mom... yay for mail, i only wish it could spread itself out more, so i get one thing each day instead of 4 in one day... anyway so this morning at work i voted and looked up some info on the senator/congress election and i signed and sealed the envelopes and put it in the post!

anyway not much else interesting. went to immigration again yesterday and i'm now legal until november 30th. so once i get my results and go back to immigration i get a six month permit to live here. kara and i did dinner last night and then sat around chatting last night talking about everything and her crazy weekend. i'm going to meet people at the pub in a few, as i can no longer get in the gym. must go down and apply for a memebership.  it is looking like my roomie will be coming to visit me in january, and a little trip to spain with her! 

it is now cold! and it just feels like winter is coming. especially in the mornings walking to work, you can feel the chill in the air. not agreeing with this. i'm still looking for summer. 

and in sad news i finished the last bag of sour patch kids. they are way too addictive. 

something intelligent out of texas, for once...

At work today I was trying to catch up with the weekend in news. Since my connection at home is soo slow I didn't get a chance to watch the debates over the weekend, and I only watched a bit of it at work today, beccause we were busy, but I was trying to watch it along with a few other things. The SNL Palin skit made me laugh, I also watched some of the actual interview with Katie Couric. But the thing I was most intersted in today was the economic talk. I looked over the proposed economic package (ok, skimmed it as it was 110 pages and pretty confusing, as we well know economics is not my thing) but I am glad the House defeated it. Why should we bail out uber greedy Wall Street? The people who thought granting rediculous loans to people who they knew couldn't afford it? So they could get their multimillion dollar bonus? And with all these banks/investment firms failing, and bigger ones buying them up like JP Morgan buying WaMu, isn't that creating a monoply? So what happens if one of these megabanks fails? It would be even worse than what is happening now... So I just don't get the buying of a failing bank, won't it create a domino effect? And the stock market... While something needs to be done, I don't think the proposed plan is the best, it seems like Wall Street is getting away with nothing, not even a slap on the wrist. So I was looking at the article on CNN and this quote popped out to me, and it really does sum up the last week, and in my opinion this bill...

"Like the Iraq war and patriot act, this bill is fueled by fear and haste," said Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas

One thing I did find extremely interesting was to see the breakdown of the vote, Democrats had a higher yes vote, which is interesting. Like I know Republicans are more conservative when it comes to financial issues, but it seems like this would have been something that the Republicas would have supported. And also interesting that the Dems have a House majority and the bill was rejected and that Bush was really pressing this bill and the majority of his party went against the bill. My rep in Jersey went against the bill, and he is a Republican. So it will be interesting to see what happens over the night with everything, and how it effects everything over here in the morning, as the passage of the bill, was at the end of the working day here....

So anyway, besides being political, I had a great weekend. It felt fabulous to be done with the thesis :) Friday night Kara came over for dinner, then we went over to hers to watch movies with the girls. It was fun and we caught up since we've been in 4 different places over September. Saturday did the usual and ran errands, and then I sat out in the garden reading because it was sunny. Sunday was glorious! A gorgeous sunny day! Perfect for hiking :) Especially since it was the first hike of the season, and I love Boughil. Especially on a great day, the views of the Reeks, Black Valley, Kenmare Bay and Kerry are fabulous. And surprisingly a lot less showed up than we were expecting, only 45 people. So there was 2 groups of people, a longer group of 30, and then I went in the shorter (but I think we ended up doing the same, as we continued to hike more) had 15. So much fun, and everyone was pretty awesome. So YAY! for that. 

So other than that, just up to the usual working, reading lots... Enjoying the few days of sunshine in Cork :)

sussex county makes national news...

so one of the first things i do at work in the morning is check the news. some of the news sites i frequent are the bbc, rte (irish), cnn, ny times, and then a few local ones from new jersey. so i see on the ever so fabulous nj herald website - yay sussex county, a bit about callers who were trying to reach the democratic headquarters in newton reached a phone sex hotline instead... apparently 411 had a number wrong, but the yellow pages gave the right number. so i had to laugh a few hours later when i was checking cnn.com and on the front page the top headlines looking at the international side is Typo connects Obama party callers to sex chat
i burst out laughing when i saw that make national news. congrats to sussex county for making the international news for something so silly!

anyway, the usual thursday at work. we've been pretty busy with lots of international students and regular students looking for housing, plus since college starts back on monday the societies are all coming back. and we've gotten some hilarious things in this week too, the student who wanted to know his rights about leaving a house because he was allergic to it... (seriously) and the students who took a house, moved in the first week of september and we got a call from a landlord yesterday wanting to know what she should do, they left monday and the house was a disaster. they wanted to get their deposits back as they were leaving... they actually only took the house because they were graduating and wanted a house to party for a week! so we are also getting some crazy stories about houses and landlords as people are moving in.. keeps us entertained!

so my computer is back! i got a call yesterday right before lunch. so YAY! my co-workers laughed at me on tuesday. when i talked to them on friday, they had ordered the wrong part, so i was told it should be in monday or tuesday. so monday i call and they say it hadn't arrived yet, so i call tuesday afternoon, where i was told they ordered the wrong part AGAIN! so i get angry with them, i see ordering the wrong thing once, but twice??? My computer was in the shop for 10 days, when to fix it might have taken about 2 hours... so i was not a happy camper when i called. sharon told me after i got off the phone, remind me to never piss you off. haha. and that was nothing... so wednesday when i got the call i was pleasntly surprised that it was done so fast when i was told they didn't think they would have the part until thursday...

so other than that went climbing last night, getting back into that. walburn is sending me her edits on my thesis tomorrow, so it should be a thesis filled weekend :) the plan is to finish it this weekend and bring it to the binder's on monday or tuesday! soooo close to being done!

work fun...

So at work this morning Denise was doing the blogthings - What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning quiz and so my results were shockingly quite on the target.


You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.
You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.
At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.
You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.
You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.
You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.
You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.
You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.
You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life.
You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip.
People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them.

You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life.
You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you.
At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself.

You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong.
You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know.
You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do.

You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life.
You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home.
You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble.


so what do you think? it made me laugh.

i'm editing the thesis now at work, this morning we watched hillary's dnc speech online and wow, one of the first things i saw when i woke up was the remarks about it, so watching it was great. and the girls were even like wow! so i was impressed with her speech and everything she had to say, i am sad she is not the canidate, but i'm warming up to obama more...

why would this be funny?

So I'm at home, and I should have been working on my thesis for the afternoon, but it is just a yucky day out and so I decided to curl up with a cup of tea and a book. And it made me feel better. I was in a good mood this morning after the gym and then as I was leaving for work I opened the door and it was raining - now, I know the weatherman, said there was going to be showers, so I wore a skirt and boots, so my pants wouldn't get wet. But in the 5 minute walk to work, my happy mood slowly vanished. It was quiet at work today, only a few calls, but a lot of emails and checking accounts, but we are finished with them! So YAY!

So I am done with work at one, went home for lunch and Home & Away, and then instead of doing the thesis relaxed with my book, until I called the researcher at the Ulster Folk Park/Emigration Centre, who've I've been emailing, so I have to figure out if a trip up there is worth it or not. I don't think I'll be able to make it in the next 3 weeks, so it will most likely be August. I want to get up there anyway, so we'll see.

So anyway, I'm reading the news and I come across this article - Is Giving a Laxative-Laced Cake to a Teacher Funny or Not? and Students' Laxative-spiked Cake and well I'm sorry that isn't funny. Why would something think that would be funny to do? Gah, why do I want to teach?

Anyway, off to maybe pretend to be productive on the thesis. Maybe?

routine life

Apparently my personality type is a Engaged Idealist:

Engaged Idealists are extroverted and helpful. Others find them to be very congenial and inspiring - especially as they are always willing to see the best in the other person. Their humour, their energy and their optimism attract other people. Engaged Idealists are very good at communicating and are good at convincing and firing on others. That is why it is a matter of course that they often take over the leading role in groups. This personality type often produces very charismatic persons.

Engaged Idealists have an unusually strong ability to empathise. They are tolerant and generous towards others; they sometimes tend to idealise their friends. They always try to suit everybody and want their relationships to be harmonious and satisfactory. To achieve this, they are prepared to invest a great deal and to put their requirements last. As Engaged Idealists are very considerate, there is the danger of them sacrificing and overexerting themselves for others. In their job, they therefore have to be very careful not to develop a burnout syndrome.

Engaged Idealists are reliable, well organised and love structuring complicated situations. They have difficulty accepting criticism; they quickly feel hurt and misunderstood. Their perfectionism also influences their love life - they look for the perfect relationship for life. Once they have made their decision, they are faithful, well-balanced and loving partners. However, should they get involved with the wrong person, it can happen that they allow themselves to be exploited for a long time before they end the relationship.

I think that describes me pretty well. I love little personality quizzes.

So my life has been good :) I've actually been productive on my thesis this week :) And I went climbing to the pub on Wednesday and worked. Work has actually been great this week. Denise and Sharon are now both full time for the summer and Dave has been on holiday this week, and it has been super quiet. So the three of us just sit and talk and drink tea. Also with the girls now working, it isn't just me in the office for 4 days, and until I go home I'm back to my 25 hours a week, so I can get my thesis done.

I moved into my bigger room downstairs today :) Had to majorly clean it before I could move anything down here, but it is nice and I'm definitely spoiled with a double bed for the summer. Now the little room upstairs is where I will be writing my thesis because during the summer the library closes at 4.45, so pretty much most of my time won't be in the library. Oh well. Kara moved into her house, so now she is like 1 minute away. YAY! Also, Brenda, the other girl in my house is super nice. So I am looking forward to a good summer living here. The only annoying thing right now is a TON of stuff was left in the house, like food, video games and such and I don't know if the guys are coming to get it or what? I just want to clean the kitchen and sitting room properly, but don't know what to do with it all. GAH!

So I still don't know how I feel about the democratic primary news from this week. While I am a Hillary supporter, I think the primary mess had been going on for too long, every week at work Dave and I would discuss it. So even though I think she is the stronger Democratic candidate, the party was completely split and she did the right thing by stopping. I don't know if her as the VP would be a good idea. I like Obama, I just don't know about him as President. I don't think he knows enough and is ready, but he did do a great job of getting people out to vote. I just don't know. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks.