Ireland Day 71 - Series of Random Events

Really, the title could apply to any given day.

However, I believe that today has been exceptional in that area.

There have been a bunch of random things that have occurred that I find to be interesting and like finding a dollar on the ground or something. Quite enjoyable, but really not that big of a deal.

First of all: the bus. It was running late, as per usual, so I was unperturbed. However, once the red bus did finally decide to grace me with its presence, I saw not my 33 Knocknacarra bus, but the 36 Salthill bus.

"WTF?" was my initial reaction, followed quickly by, "Is it going to stop for me?"

It did indeed stop for me, and a strange bus ride did commence.

Apparently, the Salthill bus is much busier and crowded than the Knocknacarra one. This trip was, I'm sure, far beyond its legal capacity. I was intrigued because we went on a different route! This shouldn't have been as novel as it was, but oh well. I was all "New route! New things to look at!"

Although, the bus didn't actually go anywhere that I haven't already been. It buzzed past Joyce's, then down Knocknacarra, then went to the Prom! After that we hung a left onto Lower Salthill Road and ended up going out past NUIG. Next thing I knew we were overtaking Eddie Rocket's. What a ride!

But really, I enjoyed it more than I should have. Plus, this bus stopped I swear every ten feet and picked up at least five more people. Absolute madness.

The day continued on at a normal pace until I went to lunch.

And then, the most exciting thing happened to me.

Ok, that's an empty bottle, but the sentiment is still there. Do you have ANY idea how long it has been since I've had this flavor of Snapple?! It is entirely possible that it has been over six years. SIX. I used to have it every day at lunch in high school. I'll have you know that it was just as delicious today as I remembered it being. Thank you Cambridge's, I will be back for another one tomorrow <3

Just like with the Salthill bus, I was probably more excited about the Snapple than I should have been. I was standing and waiting to order a sandwich, the line was rather long. My eyes wandered over to the drink fridge that was close at hand. "Oh, Snapple" I thought to myself, "I wonder if they have the same flavors here". As I scanned the racks for Strawberry Lime, I froze on the word "apple" and I swear that my heart stopped just a little bit.

I reached out a disbelieving hand and read the label closer, then held the bottle up to the light to observe the color of the drink.

Definitely Snapple Apple colored.

HAPPY EFFIN' DAYS!

At the tail end of my break I decided to unwind from my Snapple high by reading a few blogs. My internet snooping brought me to something magical. She is a freaking comedic genius. Her posts had me laughing harder than I have in a while. I wish I had found her blog sooner! Although, reading the back logs is not a bad thing.

I promptly sent a link off to Cassidy, who I knew would appreciate the humor. Just another good thing to happen today.

The bus gives me really mixed feelings. Some days I just can't stand it and then other days it's really not so bad. Days like today though just give me something to think about and focus on.

My seat mate was an interesting fellow, I will say. He was young and in a nice looking suit. He spent the first few minutes of our shared journey untangling his earphone cord with a look of intense concentration upon his very Irish face.

After he finished, placed his earphones in and had his music playing, I assumed that he would cease being a point of interest for me.

I was wrong!

He appeared to be talking to himself. I see nothing particularly bad about this. He wasn't creepy or smelly or old and his clothing didn't have holes in it. What caught my eye about it was that he was reminding me of myself.

I wondered for a bit if he was actually on the phone. His music came from his phone and he had a mouth piece dangling down the cord a bit. This suspicion was put to rest when he received a phone call and he said 'hello' and moved the mouth piece closer to his mouth. Settled that one.

There was a moment where we were both sitting perfectly still and then, almost simultaneously, we both shifted and resettled and stopped moving. A second "WTF?" moment in the day.

Lately I've been wondering to myself if other people talk to themselves as often as I do, or if people will randomly smile to themselves all alone in a public place, you know, like I do. I look around the bus every morning and evening to see if I can catch someone doing those things but they're always obnoxiously still.

Actually seeing this guy do the things that I do was incredibly interesting. I had so many questions for him! He seemed distracted though, so I kept my headphones on and my mouth shut. I was slightly sad to see him go even though I knew I was never going to actually ask him if he were talking to himself, and if so, what about?

My departure from the red bus (it was the 33 Knocknacarra this time, no worries) faced me first and foremost with this.

I am alight with curiosity. Wind? Vehicle? Angry dog?

And speaking of angry dogs. I had an encounter! Now, I can't say for 100% sure if this dog was angry or not, but he was certainly formidable. Sadly (smartly?) I did not stop to take a picture.

He was coming at me at a fast enough pace, but not running. The big black mouth was open and there were small barks issuing from it. I looked at him once and kept walking. It was very difficult to not keep looking back, but I'm pretty sure if you do that then they'll be more inclined to chase you.

My only response was to not run, but continue my pace, and remove one side of my headphones to listen for growls, barks or rapidly padding feet. "Am I about to get mauled by a dog?" I asked myself. Once I was certain that the dog had dropped chase I said aloud, "No I'm good" and then I noticed someone standing next to their car about five feet to my right.

So I ran the rest of the way home.

After all the neat-o events of the day I am full of some wicked energy. To dispel it I am singing as loudly as I can with my headphones on and the volume up. I will only sing if I can't hear myself.

Oh, one more thing.

This didn't happen today, but actually last Thursday so I think it counts.

At Steve's birthday party I wore a hole in one of the knees of my jeans!

I'm done now.

-MJ

Ireland Day 67 -

My camera was with me today and I didn't take any pictures. That's not a big surprise though.

I've been thinking about my lack of photographs lately. I haven't gone anywhere new. Galway is so amazing and I can easily continue to take a lot of photos. I want to show new things though. I wouldn't have to go very far to find them, it's more a matter of time and money. Now that I have friends here I'd rather spend time with them than go off for a full day alone on a bus with people I don't know. Maybe that's wrong of me to feel, and maybe I'll get over it! But the company is so enjoyable, right now I can't see me choosing more isolation over company. When I'm here for a full year I'll do more tours. Or maybe I'll get a car and drive myself. There are just so many options!

As it is, though, I have been in a routine for a little while now. That initial 'photograph everything' wild hair has calmed significantly. Everything is still so so beautiful and interesting here. It has become part of my life though. So it melds seamlessly around me as I walk off the bus and up Shop Street. I know enough side streets to duck around traffic and faster routes if there are cars in the way. I know where my favorite shops are and which buildings still fascinate me. I have a favorite place to go when I have free time and I know when to hustle to the Latin Quarter because the light is beautiful, there are a few ways to go and some of them I like better than others.

Seeing these things everyday has brought about patience when I'm waiting for the perfect moment to snap the shutter. It makes me happy to be able to say that some of my (self professed) most successful shots are from stopping and waiting with the camera pressed to my eye, maybe in the rain or in the chilled wind of the setting sun. The familiarity has not become mundane, but comfortable. And when the feeling strikes I can take advantage of knowing where things are.

And there's still so much to see and know and do in this area. I have hardly a thimbleful.

Don't stop now.

-MJ

Ireland Day 63 - Rain

And lots of it! Night before last there was a spectacular thunder/lightening/rain storm and last night there was just a lot of rain. I left for the bus stop a few minutes early because I was running early (how awesome is that?) and I was greeted to a rather neat sight near the park: super deep puddle!

If I hadn't left early I wouldn't have had a chance to stop and take pictures :3

The rest of the day wasn't super eventful. Pretty average, really. I've been in a very good mood the whole time though, so that's nice! I spent my lunch with Caitriona and Steve which certainly helped with the good mood! I ate at a new place as well, delicious sandwich accomplished! Steve discovered Curiosity Cola, endorsed by a dog. It was good times.

I wondered what I would do with the rest of my day, but nothing particularly brilliant came to mind, so I decided I would just shoot on home and skype with Cassidy! Plans formed. I had mini pizzas for dinner. I need to learn to cook.

The rain was so interesting today. It was a nice day for the most part, and then while I was walking to the bus stop after work it started to sprinkle, and then rained fairly heavy. So I stood and smiled at the sky with my headphones on. I would have spread my arms wide if I hadn't been in public. The bus ride was kind of funny, there's new upholstery on the seats and halfway through the route we got a new bus driver! When I got off the bus it was overcast, and then ten feet from my front door is started to just. pour. It was exciting.

Rain like this never seems to last long so I didn't have a big enough window to experiment and get exactly what I was looking for.

I wanted to take a photo so badly but I had to use the bathroom even more (I have had an extreme amount of water today). By the time I ran back and flung open the front door there was no rain. NONE! It had stopped. "Are you kidding me?!" I yelled. After trudging upstairs and unloading my bag, to my great delight, the rain started again! So open went my bedroom window and I took as many photos as I could until the rain stopped.

Remaining droplets.

Now I am watching 17 Again (brilliant film, by the way) and wondering. Wondering wondering.

-MJ

Ireland Day 43 - Routine?

Nothing particularly astounding has happened today. I think it's safe to say that it was all rather routine. Except there was still the joy of being in Ireland. That hasn't gone away with the onset of a regular schedule. Woohoo!

I was rushing around terrified that I would be late for the bus today. I mean, I was tying my shoes in between bites of cereal, I was on the wire. So, of course, the bus was exceptionally late! I was on the bus though, that's what matters. I've also decided that I like to sit behind the bus driver. At first I would sit somewhere near the middle of the bus, but now I just plop down at the very front. There's not a heater at my foot and (generally) I don't have a stranger leaning on me.

Today had a crispy morning. I wanted to stay in the street smelling the air, but I had to go to work. Today I did lots of cleaning. It was enjoyable because I brought my headphones and rocked out. I can only sing if the volume is loud enough to drown out my voice, so I cranked it! Florence + The Machine is just so good. I like it when I've listened to a musician long enough to know the words, singing along makes me happy.

There was a lot to be learned today: I spent a bit of time on the phone with Brad going over a lot of new information. As a result, I was pretty darn busy! It was nice. A sense of accomplishment is important in a job. *accomplishment*!

I ate two today. Plus a bag of white chocolate Buttons.

Something very funny did happen today, I don't know that I'd classify it as good or bad. I ended up on the phone with an older woman who couldn't understand a single thing that I said. I understood her perfectly, she had a normal (not thick) Irish accent. I said my name and where I was calling from and she asked me to repeat myself and to talk slower. So I said it again and she asked me to repeat myself again. Then she asked me to spell my name. She sounded almost incredulous for the whole conversation, like I was offending her because she couldn't understand me. It was so strange! I had to work really hard to not start laughing, I have never been on the receiving end of the "what are you saying I can't understand your accent" scenario! She asked me where I was from. "The United States", "What?", "The United States", "Hmm". I'm pretty sure she still didn't understand what I said but didn't want to keep talking to me. Gosh I'm laughing just thinking about it. It's crazy how often I've encountered a language barrier here. It definitely teaches patience and tact.

After closing time I painted the backdrop/ground for the photo shoot area. I listened to music for that as well, so it went pretty quickly. My hand really hurt afterward though! It didn't feel this way last time, maybe I was holding the roller wrong. I ended up getting paint on the floor (NO idea how that happened) and it was on my shoe and under my fingernails as well. Paper towels ahoy!

Look at all that sleeping space!

My tattoo is starting to get super itchy, I take that to mean I'm on the upswing of the healing process. I feel like it's itchier than either of my other two were. Maybe because they're smaller? Who knows.

I suppose I should find some things to photograph now.

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8:47 am: walking: there's a good chance I will regret leaving my rain coat at home.

9:42 am: photo one: I wish I could actually sing xD

11:42 am: photo one: so much to do at work today!! :D

11:47 am: photo one: just rang a woman and she couldn't understand a single thing I said. Not one thing. I was spelling words and everything. It was difficult to not start laughing.

2:31 pm: Riordan's: the food is so good everywhere here, I eat too fast and then have the hiccups and feel sick.

4:08 pm: photo one: I'm ready to paint the back drop but I have to wait until we're closed.

5:49 pm: photo one: paint all over my hands! a cramp in the right one as well D:

-MJ

Ireland Day 14 - No Pictures

Sort of. Mostly. I took two bad ones.

I was bad today and didn't take any. I brought my camera along with me as per usual, but it was a fairly uneventful day and it rained the whole time and was bitterly cold and windy. Not many chances to bust out the camera. I had every intention of photographing interesting items around the house, but then I started taking quizzes on this quiz site Sporcle. Does everyone remember Spark quizzes? This is worse because they're better and they're timed and they're about things you actually care about. Like Harry Potter and Pokemon.

What do you do when you make a new friend in a different country? I talk about Pokemon, apparently.

So. many. quizzes. Thanks a lot Dave.

The bus was late this morning and then I was late for work a bit, so that sucked. Normally I arrive around 9:40, giving me time to settle in and prepare for the day and clean and see what'll be happening. Today it didn't arrive until almost 9:50. I'm already a totally seasoned bus rider (ahem), so seeing huge groups of people get on and NO ONE has change ready pisses me off now >.> This happened at three stops, I believe, making us fairly late. I was not happy. Stupid unreliable public transportation.

Things exploded at work right when I opened, that's how it goes when you're late though, right? Nothing was unmanageable, but it was still a lot to adjust to. Do you realize how thick Polish accents are? I also got my first earful of true Scottish Burr today and damn was that a challenge. At least all the lights were working. I guess.

The highlights of my day surround my UH-MAZING hot chocolate experience and my baked potato lunch. I wish I had my camera with me when I bought the hot chocolate (too much rain, remember?). It was glorious to behold. It was beautiful in every way, I almost didn't want to drink it for realz. It was like in The Simpsons Movie when Flanders makes that amazing hot chocolate for Bart. This one wasn't quite that extravagant, but you could tell someone put effort in with decorations and embellishments. I drank it happily. I will be buying many more while I'm here. At one point it became too busy for me to drink it so I set it down away from the computers and by the time I came back to it it was cold! Still so very good though, and that is an uncommon trait for hot chocolate. Butlers Chocolate Cafe, I love you.

My delicious baked potato came from a place called Couch Potato(es?). It was all baked potatoes on the menu! Smelled great in there too. I bought myself a cheese and broccoli one and gobbled it right up. Filing and hearty, just what I wanted. I'll probably go back and try a more adventurous one before too long.

Things slowed down quite a bit near the end of the day so I was able to prepare to leave a little early. I wanted to catch the 5:45 bus, I was tired and wanted dinner. After double checking that everything was ship-shape I went off for the bus. I arrived in time for the 5:45 to show up and there was very heavy traffic in the square. I resigned myself to accepting the bus would be late and waited next to some really noisy teenagers.

5:50. 5:55. 6:00. 6:05. 6:10.

TWO, yes that's right, TWO number 33 Knocknacarra buses pull up at 6:10. I can only assume they were the 5:45 and the 6:15 showing up. I sighed and sat down, thinking "That teaches me for trying to hurry". It took us another 14 minutes to get to the opposite end of the square to the other bus stop. It was a torturous ride home.

I suppose I'll say I deserved the camera break, it was nice to relax. I stuffed my face with lasagna, corn on the cob and a very decadent citrus cheesecake that Catherine made at work today. Yum!

So now here I sit, with my pathetic photos and music. I wonder when I'll go to bed?

These are my keys. One goes to my bedroom door and the other goes to the studio! I love these keys. That in the background would be some information about powerful Pokemon moves... >.>

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11:14 am: photo one: rough day so far. The experience here truly is invaluable in helping me decide if I want a studio of my own.

12:27 pm: photo one: on my lunch I have to post something. hehe. (that means mail it!)

2:21 pm: couch potato: at a little restaurant called 'couch potato'. It's an all baked potato place! I'm very excited about this. Oh, and Butlers Chocolate Cafe really does make the absolute best hot chocolate. That place needs to be in the tour books.

3:02 pm: GameStop: The GameStop here sells CDs and DVDs. It also has a horrible organization system. It would be hell to keep this place alphabetized, I'm sure that's why it's not. They do the 'put all the As together' system. Ugh.

6:15 pm: bus: Irony? I hustled to make the 5:45, waited and waited, then at 6:10 two #33s showed up; the 5:45 and the 6:15. Traffic is just atrocious.

(From yesterday, July 20th)

7:11 pm: Joyces (store): nadia's Irish doppleganger!

-MJ

Ireland Day 6 - I am dead on my feet.

For some reason I am incredibly exhausted. Last night I went to bed at midnight and woke up about 7:45. That is more than the amount of sleep necessary to be well rested. I could be killing at 200% with that! (harhar, for more silly geek talk, see my other blog).

Today I could hardly pay attention to my training with Brad, it was embarrassing. He kept stopping and looking at me and saying, "You're tired, aren't you?" I was staring blankly at him and I KNOW my right eyelid droops uncontrollably when I'm that sleepy, I look so stupid. At even 3 in the afternoon I was nodding off with my head in my hand while he was at lunch. I kept getting up and walking around the studio to try and rattle myself awake. I've been eating, and eating fairly healthy thanks to Miriam. I haven't had as much water as I'd prefer, but I'm rectifying that situation right now.

Ready for the day!

Perhaps the travel is catching up with me? I've also been learning a lot these past two days. I have a lot of new information crammed into my brain. Wake up at 7:30-8, catch the 9:15 bus, start at 10, break at 1 or 2 for an hour, close up at 5:30, catch the 6:15 bus (if I'm lucky!). Yesterday I was on the 7:15 bus because I was still at the studio at 6:30. It was crazy!

Good things did happen today though! The weather was crap, but it's to be expected. I did realize something today though, regarding rain and the difference between Washington and Ireland: Washington does indeed have water that falls from the sky, in this fashion, it is rain. However, Ireland has rain, it is always pissing rain. It doesn't drizzle, really, and if it does, it's just building up to come down hard and consistently. It's the kind of rain that we get in Washington and are RELIEVED because it's finally gone past drizzling. I've never owned a real raincoat in Washington because I've never actually needed one, it's usually not raining hard enough to justify one and I'm never out for that long. Even when I'm just shooting from building to building here I put up the hood of my coat because damn, that's a lot of water.

Playground near the stop. I can't decide if those are octopus tentacles or not.

I got some great experience with passports, which is super funny. He does every kind though, not just U.S. (obviously). We do babies and toddlers as well, which is challenging. If all goes according to plan then I'm going to be fantastic with children by the time I get back home, haha! Yesterday I managed to get two little girls to stop fighting over a fake microphone by getting them interested in a matching game that everyone could play. Go me!

Miriam packed a lunch for me today :3 It was a chicken salad sandwich! Mom will be so proud of me, I'm eating all sorts of new foods. I can pay her weekly and she'll provide breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's great! She'll buy snacks that I like too. Dinner tonight was breakfast, but it was a traditional Irish breakfast! There was a lot on my plate. I took a picture. Did you know that over here, pudding is a little meat patty? They don't have pudding like we do. Tragic.

Bus ride to Eyre Square.

Another.

I guess there are people here called Travelers that I need to be wary of. They were explained to me to be very similar to White Trash in the States, only more varied. Some are very violent and gang-like, while others are perfectly normal. On the whole they're gypsies, I guess. Brad said when he was first here he was walking down a street and there was a girl playing music with a hat in front of her to collect money. A guy went at her and kicked her hat and all of her money went flying everywhere and he started yelling and flipping her off. Brad says he was shocked and went right up to the guy and started asking him what he thought he was doing. Apparently he expected other people to back him up and defend the street musician, but the other people on the street behind the Traveler were shaking their heads and waving their hands, trying to get Brad to not confront the guy. He claims this particular type of Traveler could have been gone 5 minutes then come back with a bunch of guys with bats. Yikes.

Today I couldn't help myself, I had to do some shopping. I popped into a Sweater Shop with lots of souvenirs and looked around before the bus came. I just bought a couple of small things to calm myself down. I can't wait for Friday!! Shopping all day! I asked Miriam where I could go for some clothes that were of nicer quality and durability and she listed off a few places. I bought that black shirt for work at a place called Penneys, and they're an inexpensive clothing store, I guess like Forever21, where one shouldn't necessarily expect things to hold up. I imagine I'll be shipping some stuff back home before I leave for my two weeks around England and Scotland with Jake :3 <3 I can't wait to shop!

CD and cards.

Oh, one more thing, I hit the Stop button to get off the bus today!!! :D :D :D

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9:19 am: 33 bus: The 9:18 bus is much less crowded than the 8:48. I almost fell over while walking to my seat; didn't take one of the holding rails soon enough and the driver took off!

9:29 am: 33 bus: That guy has the most intense chin dimple I have ever seen.

Toast, bacon (that I swear was Canadian bacon), fried egg, half a grilled tomato, beans, two different types of sausage and two different types of pudding. Oh, and tea. :O

1:49 pm: AIB bank: Just withdrew some money. I was hoping to take out more than it allowed so I wouldn't have to pay too many more fees. I wish it would have told me how much it charged me too :\

1:59 pm: Eyre Square Center: Oh my gosh, Chavid's Irish doppleganger! What is going on here!?

2:26 pm: Eyre Square Center: Two things: one, there is not a single electronics store in this freaking place, and two, I'm about to order a shake and I don't know any of the flavors D':

2:38 pm: Photo One: Cadbury Caramel, delicious!

Phone while I'm here. Stupid military time.

6:01 pm: The Sweater Store: The jewelry in all of the stores here is so beautiful.

6:13 pm: But stop: "It would be craic though". I just heard someone say that :)

6:28 pm: 33 bus: Stopped at a few stores before getting on the bus. I want to shop so bad I finally couldn't contain myself anymore! I didn't buy too much though; a pack of Ireland playing cards (to add to my ever growing collection), a very pretty green scarf (I've been needing one with all this wind), and a CD of traditional Irish drinking songs. I asked the lady which ones were upbeat and fun, can't wait to listen to it! On Friday I have the day off, so there will be laundry and shopping!!!

Tired and taking pictures with my feet.

New scarf!

It is fabulous! And contains silk.

-MJ

Ireland day 2, Eyre Square!

This morning I woke up at 5:30 and I couldn't fall back asleep. Not sure what was up with that. I got to bed at 11pm, I guess I was just rested? I hopped online to pass the time and hoped Jake would be on. Lucky for me he was :3 We were able to chat until he went to bed, which was nice, then I got ready for the day. I was hungry so I mosied over to Miriam's house to find food, but I'm not familiar with the kitchen and I felt uncomfortable rifling through her cabinets (even though I'm allowed to), so I just grabbed an apple. FYI, apples here are tiny, as are oranges and bananas. Not sure what the deal is with that, unless we do something crazy to ours in the States and that's why they're so huge? Either way, tiny apples!

Our house in Knocknacarra.

At 8 Maisa woke up and by 9 we were back over at Miriam's place. I had cereal there and then the two of us went into town via the number 33 bus! The ride was enjoyable and strange. The roads here are pretty narrow, so sometimes the bus pulls over to allow oncoming traffic to pass. I was very entertained by all of the low walls made of stones and the huge fields of cows. Once we got to Eyre Square we went to the indoor shopping center. Maisa and I both have internships that take place there. We found the location for Photo One studios and I waited there until Brad showed up. Time is a strange thing in Ireland, no one is expected to keep it! A lot of the stores were supposed to open up at 10, Brad's included, but they were closed until around 10:10 or 10:15. I guess that's common.

So! Met Brad, he's a super nice guy, and he gave me a phone to use while I'm here. I met Catherine, a woman that covers the store while he's shooting on location, and I hung around while Brad did a family photo shoot. I chatted with Catherine and had a muffin and a very watery hot chocolate. All in all, a good time! I went to a Vodafone store and added €20 to my phone, then wandered over to Maisa's store. Apparently here when you "top off" your pay as you go phone and you add at least €20, you can get either unlimited phone and text to your carrier, or unlimited texts to all carriers, both for 30 days. I didn't realize this, and the guy that helped me didn't tell me. Maisa and her manager sent me back to the store to get the unlimited text to all carriers option put on. Apparently even if I'm out of minutes I can still text! Pretty fancy :D I had some Subway after that. The guy working there was Polish. It was difficult to order because some of the menu options are different D: They have some wacky Doritos flavors there, and cool ranch is just "cool original".

Neat alley way across from Holland's.

I went to leave for the bus and Maisa said if I wanted to hang around for an hour we could catch it together. I decided to opt for that and so I walked around the Square and took pictures. At 2 I went to the bus stop and found my spot. The bus came, Maisa wasn't there, and then it left. I thought maybe she was running late so I texted her and told her I was still waiting. She responded saying she went to a different stop because she missed the Eyre Square one and thought I was already on the bus D: D: So I waited another half an hour for the next one. I was joined in my seat by an old man who didn't understand the phrase "you're in my space".

Here's where things got stupid (but then better again): I've never had to rely on public transportation before and whenever I'm on a bus I always have someone with me that knows what they're doing and will lead the way. SO, with that in mind, I didn't realize that I had to alert the bus driver to let me off at my stop. I assumed those "stop" buttons were for when people wanted to get off at stops that weren't normally on the drivers route? I don't know. Either way, my stop came and went and I was still on the bus! I sat stupid for a while, the old man leaning on me, before I decided I'd just get off the next time the driver stopped. There wasn't a "stop" button within reach of me and even though the seats around us had cleared this man insisted on being extra close. So on we went, turning left, right and then right again. Finally a woman got up and the bus slowed, I stood up and this man just turned his knees to the right. I was thinking, "Really?!" I practically fell on him trying to get to the aisle. I had probably a mile walk back to my stop and I had my fingers crossed that I had remembered the route well enough! Fortunately I did, because I'm back here now :D

I have some more notes from today:

9:48 am: Eyre Square Center: Met a Polish guy named Lucas; he works at a Subway.

10:07 am: Eyre Square Center: Time is a strange thing here. Shops that should be open aren't. I'm waiting for Brad to show up. I guess it's customary to be late. (That's what I've read, anyway)

12:55 pm: Eyre Square Center: Just bought Subway. They don't have yellow mustard. They have corn though! Also, no ice. P.S. no cheddar triangles, just shredded.

1:46 pm: Eyre Square: I bought a tiny Caramello bar from a corner store called Holland's. Seriously, it's so small.

2:12 pm: Eyre Square bus stop: Waiting for Maisa and the bus home. I spent €55 on a 30 day bus pass, €20 on adding money to my phone and ~€5 on lunch. I have maybe €8 in my purse. *sigh*

2:24 pm: Eyre Square bus stop: Bus stop still. Apparently, "Are you long here?", means "Have you been here long?", not "Will you be here long?"

2:49 pm: On the bus. T.K. Maxx! ???

2:55 pm: On the bus. Starlight by Muse is on the bus radio. Do they play this in the States? I never listen. I feel funny.

3:11 pm: There's a guy on the bus that looks like Danny.

Saw this on my walk home.

3:16 pm: Missed my stop. I apparently don't know how buses work. I'm about a mile away from home. Time to walk.

€1900?!?! They mean business!

3:36 pm: I found a penny! And I managed to find my way back!

It shall hence forth be my lucky penny.

I don't know what a coach is. A huge bus? Who knows.

Clearly I've had an epic day, and it's only 5pm!

-MJ

***EDIT***

I went out with Maisa and Catherine tonight. We did some warm up drinking and then hit a bunch of bars in Galway near Eyre Square. We met so many interesting and fun people and saw a good portion of downtown. The night ended with us making some new friends and eating curry fries, garlic cheese fries, and a fried mars bar. We have plans to watch the World Cup final with them on Sunday! Hurrah for new friends :)

And now, my final updates:

11:39 pm: The Front Door (pub): "Oh no, put on your glasses" .... "You would look good in suspenders"

12:00 am: The Dail Bar: It's 80s night here! Everyone knows the words to "I need a hero"

12:05 am: The Dail Bar: "Do you really have real live cowboys in Texas" and then she swooned when the answer was yes.

12:12 am: The Dail Bar: Maisa can flirt so good even a girl will buy us drinks.

12:40 am: Coyote: The bathroom here has deodorant that you can pay to apply.

12:56 am: Cuba: This bar has video game screen entertainment. Currently? Mario Kart SNES.

1:00 am: Cuba: Someone just asked me if I'd dance with their friend. I said no thank you.

1:17 am: Cuba: Finally danced.

1:34 am: Club K: "How much does a polar bear weigh" "I don't know" "I'm just breaking the ice, my name is Tony"

2:40 am: A Chips Place: Just parted ways with some really nice people. We made new friends! We have plans to watch the World Cup at a pub on Sunday! We're in a cab now.

2:45 am: Cab Driver: "You've got the best approach I've ever seen. Now let's see if your departure is half as good" <- in reference to men not leaving you alone in a club.

-Miranda