Oops

So yes, I am back in the states, and I have been really really bad about updating.  I’ll get all caught up with Ireland stuff maybe Tuesday or Wednesday.  In the meantime, I actually came home to Boston two days early.  After seven straight days of pouring rain, all my clothes were drenched, I was getting sick, and I was exhausted and homesick — and broke!  Took 22 hours to get from Dublin to Boston via Chicago, but I am here and have been spending most of my time with Frank, his brother (who is here for the summer), and his roomies.  It’s very, very strange to be in Boston when most of my friends are not, but I’m enjoying the week and a half of having NOTHING that I have to do.  I’ve started knitting again, working on learning more advanced stitches.  Have cooked a bit, too (made fiesta chicken for Frank and Richard last night and they loved it, which is aways a GREAT response.  Came over a few minutes ago to find them arguing over leftovers in the kitchen.  Success!)  Today we are making quiche and tomorrow blueberry pie, and possible going to the beach if it’s warm and sunny.  Anyway, just having a fun time running around Boston, doing whatever I want, whenever I want.  Though I will admit, I’m homesick for the south, and were it not for Frank being here, I would already happily be home (and working, making some money!)

Anyway, am actually at Frank’s right now, just chilling.  I’ll try to be better about posting; I’m not at my laptop hardly at all lately, hence the lag in updates.  I’ll get everything caught up Tuesday or Wednesday, though, and finish posting pictures (if I remember correctly, through Belfast are posted on my webshots, but I still need to put up my three days in Galway-area, as well as update my photography portfolio with the best of the best.)

am here

Have arrived safe and sound in Dublin, where I’ve spent the day walking around, taking pictures, and wearing myself out.  Am about to go upload Dublin pictures so y’all can see what I did with my day.  As always with trips, I’ll come back afterwards and draw on my travel journal (which I’m not doing a very good job of writing in) to give a fuller picture of everything I see; while I’m actually traveling, I only post brief notes or anecdotes until I can understand things in a wider context . . .

or, well, you know, because I’m lazy and tired. 

 

EDIT:: Okay, so my internet speed here makes dial-up look lightning fast.  For that reason, photos will not be up tonight.  i’m working on it, but I’m also exhausted.  I’ll get back to uploading tomorrow night and see if I can’t get at least Dublin posted.

^Dublin Castle, which is actually really unimpressive except for this photo.  Come on, Ireland; you of all places should not have unimpressive castles!

travel tip #54

okay, I don’t actually know the number, but if I ever write a travel book (which I would love to do), this will be number #54:

Have you neighbor on the plane wake you up when meals are being served.  Eat and/or save every thing.  Even if you don’t really like it, save it, because there may come a point in your near future where you are willing to eat your shoe, and suddenly that bland, hard roll is going to look real good.

o’hare pt. 2

I left my Emerson sweatshirt on the plane.  My favorite one.  The yellow one that everyone hates except me, that is one of the warmest pieces of clothing I own.  The flight attendants did not leave it at the gate.  I’ll call lost and found, but for some reason it is not open on Mondays.  That is ridiculously stupid.

Also, O’Hare does not have outlets at the gates.  So me and like seven other people are camped out in this long tile walkway, sitting on the cold floor, so we can power up.  Really, O’Hare?  This is the 21st century and you are a hub airport, which means people have long layovers.  Get with the times.

o’hare

Currently 11:35pm.  Flight to Dublin is at 7:10.  Have been here since 10:30am.  Just ate an early, early lunch that  I didn’t even really want because I was momentarily so overwhelmed by O’Hare and frustrated about not knowing what terminal my flight is out of to set up camp, and just needing a place to sit down.  A $2.99 glass of iced tea, though?  You’ve got to be kidding me.

Money troubles escalated until Frank just had me write him a check and gave me cash, thereby serving as my own personal . . . erm . . . check casher.  We then rode the subway together for four stops, he on his way to work, me on my way to the airport.  When we got close, I cried like a little girl.  He got out, then ran with the subway for a couple seconds as I moved off, looking like a fool but making me extremely happy.  This boyfriend is continuous amounts of win. 

Flight from Boston to O’Hare was uneventful.  2.5 hours, and I slept uncomfortably pretty much the entire time.  Super chatty guy beside me whom I chatted with as we took a three-mile taxi to the termimal (seriously, I thought they were driving me to Ireland). 

Now . . . I have a hell of a lot of time to kill.  What to do?  I’ll go exchange currency.  Then I guess get a bottle of water and set up camp at my gate, or wherever nearby I have a plug.  It’s been over a year since I’ve been in a place of transit for this long.  Oh, and thanks to Blake for pointing out that my layover is actually about the same amount of time as both my flights combined.  Grrrreat.

So, off to do nothing!

on your mark

So finals and the semester are finally over.  YAAAAAAAAAY.  It was an awful month with too much stuff to do.  Why do teachers act like they don’t know how long the semester is and then suddenly everything is due because they’ve run out of time?  Look at the academic calendar!

In other news, I’m (hopefully) off to Ireland on Monday.  Slightly nervous because it’s been over a year since I’ve been abroad (LAME!), and I’m basically using the very last of my money for this trip (also LAME), and it’s the first time I’ll have been away from the boyfriend for very long (lamest), and oh, did I mention that I don’t have a debit card anymore?

Yeah.  That’s fail.  The credit union accidentally sent me a new card so I trusted them and cut up my old card.  Turns out, it was an error, and so I  don’t have a functioning physical card until basically I go home to Texas, since it’s getting mailed there.  So I will have to use my Amex wherever it is accepted, my debit card only for online stuff (because most online Europe things do not accept Amex, only visa), and cash, whcih I can only access BEFORE I go to Ireland, unless they have Amex offices.  I’ll have to look into it. 

I have my tentative schedule set out.  I’ve already figured out bus and train schedules, booked the hostel for my first two nights, figured out transport to and from the airport in time for my flights there and back.  As is, I’ll be spending two days in Dublin, two days in Belfast, two days in Galway, two days in Cork, one day in Kilkenny, and then back to Dublin for a night before I fly back.  What might change is if I really want to spend another day somewhere, I’ll cut Kilkenny out.  I don’t fancy I’ll extend the trip, but that’s always a possibility, I guess.  Unless I run out of money.

Also, good news, I forgot Ireland is on Euros, not pounds.  Good news because Euros are about the easiest currency in the world to manage, AND the exchange rate is better than pounds.  Thanks to Mom, Dad, and Jerry for the birthday money which is financing this, and to Adobe, whose refund it also thrown into the pot.  Afterwards, I will come crawling home broke to work my ass off for two months making as much money as I possibly can.  I mean, I could have probably done both Poland or Guatemala (the other two I was thinking of) for quite a bit cheaper . . . but I have been trying to go to Ireland for three years now, and I just can’t let this trip get pushed back yet again.  Maybe, depending on just how much money I make this summer, there will be another trip made in August.  Would be AWESOME.

Anyway, so that’s what’s up with me.  Downside is that getting into Chicago is nearly impossible (I change flights there to Ireland), and there’s the possibility I’ll have to take like a 6am flight to Chicago.  My Ireland flight is 7pm.  I am DETERMINED though to get to Ireland, even if I wind up spending seven hours in O’Hare.  I mean, my travel length times are wonky anyway, though.  I’ve been on trains for 36 hours straight, so a day in O’Hare could be worse.

Well.  Off to get ready for my Friday night which will be WILD AND CRAZY!  . . . right.  Dinner at Uno’s with some of Frank’s friends (that’s right; I said your name; I titled you the boyfriend; happy?), and then probably like a movie or Rockband, haha.  Maybe some writing.  Tis a wild life I lead . . .

 

I’m going to Ireland!!!  I’ll finally get to actually use the Ireland tag I created three years ago!!!

like?

My forehead was dominating my face again, so I gave myself bangs.  I like them.  If you don’t, I really don’t want to hear about it. 

Now I am going on a night photography adventure.  And I am probably going to eat ice cream for dinner.  Or fruity pebbles. 

I’m trying to piece together my summer: this month either Ireland, Poland, or Guatemala for ten days.  Possibly a weekend in Canada at the end of May.  MAYBE Greece for a week with Amberlee if her settlement comes through.  Maybe Puerto Rico or Bermuda, or maybe even Spain, in August.  Family reunion in Grove, Oklahoma (very exotic! :p ) and weekend friend trip, probably back to the river again.  At least a couple days in East Texas; I may see about spending a week or two there during the fall (if Mom and I don’t do our two weeks in Argentina) or in the spring as “research” for my BFA thesis.    I’d like to fit one more abroad trip in, since this is possibly my last summer of free flights unless I go to grad school –which I continue to go back and forth on.

windows take a year to fixtrue

truefact.

I have been mentioning to my landlord and calling into facitilies since I MOVED IN SEPTEMBR 1st about my broken window.  I just called again because it is 65 degrees outside and beautiful and I would like to have my window more than 5 inches open.  I was told “we are waiting for parts.”  “Since September 1st?”  “Sometimes these things take a while.” 

If it isn’t fixed within a week, I am going to “fix” it myself.  Not kidding.

Also, gold stars to Mom for quite possibly saving my weekend and my photo final grade. 

Saw Godspellw ith Diana last night at a convention center that is within walking distance of our new apartment for next year, in South End.  It’s such a cute neighborhood.  We are going to have way too much fun.  Our apartment is SO cute and in a creepy looking brownstone.

Birthday party tonight. 

Did I mention my electricity went out momentarily again?  I was in the shower an suddenly everything went dark and I thought, “Well I am naked; what do I do now?”  So I continued to shower and it came back on within a few minutes, but it blew up my hairdryer so I had to buy a new one today.  That kinda sucked.

Just got back from running and I’m all sweaty and gross, so I’m going to go do some kickboxing and then prepare for Indian food dinner date with Frank and then birthday party.  I keep thinking of other random things I haven’t blogged about because I’m just too wicked busy.  Was home for 19 hours for Easter last weekend, haha, with 11 hours of flying.  I do the dumbest travel things sometimes.  Ugh. 

Also, this morning with Diana discovered a bus that basically goes directly between my apartment and Central, where both her and Frank live.  Could have been saving myself SO much time with that . ..  well now I know!

Okay, but seriously, I’m yucky and sitting down right after working is giving me a headache, so I’m going to go finish.  Hooray for beautiful weather; let’s hope it sticks!!  Off to continue enjoying my 4-day weekend!

Looooong entry

Got up at 5am this morning -read: yucky- to make it to my 7am flight.  I knew I was cutting it close with the weight on my bag: it wound up being 49.5 pounds, and the cut off is 50lbs.  I believe that officially makes me the world’s best packer (no, I didn’t use a scale beforehand).  I should give seminars.

Slept through almost the whole flight.  Landed in Boston to discover the airline broke the wheel off my HUGE bag, and so I had to DRAG this 50lb. bag to the taxi stand, and then down a block from where the taxi dropped me off.  I discovered the carbon monoxide detector was beeping in the Loft and had to go tell the office (low battery), and then made a mad dash to my noon class.  Got there at 12:27 to find . . . an empty classroom.  Turns out my professor e-mailed everyone because she’s stuck in the midwest.  Go figure.  I also had an e-mail from the teacher for my class after that in which he made it *sound* like class was cancelled, and I knew my friend wasn’t going to be there, and I knew I had a LOT to do.  So I skipped. 

On my way home, hit up Border’s to get the extended Prince Caspian DVD which came out TODAY and BOOYAH: I got the very last one in the store.  I went and asked at information because I could only see the regular version, and she called around the store.  An employee grabbed the last one and waited for me at the bottom of the escalator to hand it to me, and the employee I had asked led me down to meet him.  I felt sort of like VIP, and the lady at checkout gushed how jealous she was that I got the last one. 

Came back and slept like a fiend, then set in to doing all the cleaning that I didn’t get to do before I went home.  Bright spot: discovered Grandma had copied down her cornbread and chili recipe for me and I apparently tucked it in a bag and I found it today!  Downspot: did you know coffee molds?  I guess I had assumed it didn’t.  Fortunately it’s rather friendly moldy and washed out of the caraffe very easily.  Unfortunately, there’s an AWFUL smell coming from the bathroom sink and it only gets worse when i run the water.  Seeing as I visited the office twice and called once today, I’m almost scared to call again, haha.  But it’s awful smelling.

On a further bright spot, I decorated the Loft for Christmas!!  Here are pictures!:

Those have flour, sugar, rice, coffee, and the other one will be brown sugar.  I also got a sugar pourer thing for splenda, and a cute little shaker for my cinnamon.  The organization is good for my heart.

Forthcoming: a video blog showing the coolest part of the decorations, AND a post about laundry like I promised.

We arrived

safely in Nashville. It’s good to be back in the warm, polite South, where people tell you have a “blessed” day, and there are Christian stores, and familiar accents. Met this woman today who talks EXACTLY like Grandma, haha. Weather is great.

Anyways, it’s late and I’ve got to get up at five. It’s going to be a looooong day at Tennessee State tomorrow.