Ireland Day 70 - Pictures of my freakin' hand

Isn't it odd how some days go by remarkably faster than others?

Suddenly I was rushing out the door to head to lunch.

And I looked at the clock and it was 5:30.

It is twenty minutes to 9.

What?

Today almost seems as though it hasn't actually happened.

Although, I do have a minor accomplishment: I finally found a song on youtube that I have had in my head for the past two months. I had no idea what it was called or who it was by and when I would remember to try and look it up I suddenly couldn't remember what it sounded like and therefore couldn't search for lyrics. Predicament, right?

Well here it is.


(the official video cuts off 20 seconds early [???] so here is one with lyrics instead)

I feel really good finally knowing what it is. And now I can't stop listening to it. It gives me goosebumps.

Gosh I am so anxious and itchy to take photos, I am experiencing a major lack of inspiration though. This is a frustrating situation. Even though I am aware that I am literally surrounded by situations, objects, life just waiting to be photographed, I just look around and shrug, absolutely not feelin' it. What the crap is going on? Supposing that blocks are common among all creative endeavors, it's still irritating as all hell. What am I waiting for?

Perhaps the biggest issue here is that it is getting seriously cold outside and I am lacking in the coat department. Makes it difficult to want to explore outside. Initially my plans were taking me away from here at the beginning on the month, so why bring a heavier coat? As it is, I have two weeks (two weeks :( ) in the ridiculous wind, rain and autumn cold to contend with. Maybe I'll take pictures of how damn thin my zip up is.

I had two sodas today and that was a horrible mistake because now I have that obnoxious pain in my chest. Caffeine whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?

This is a horrible ramble. 

I just took a long break to take a ton of photos of my hand. It is now almost 9:30.

And now it's 10:01.

-MJ

Ireland Day 13 - A Change of Plans

I'm oddly sleepy for 4 in the afternoon. This morning I woke up and didn't feel like going on a bus tour. Before deciding for sure that I had changed my mind, I checked to make sure it wouldn't mess up my entire travel plans. Fortunately, it did not. So today, instead, I went to town, exchanged my broken zippered sweatshirt, took a video of Shop Street, had lunch and then went for a walk down part of The Prom again. The weather changed rapidly from astonishingly beautiful, to overcast, to rainy and unpleasant and then back to partly cloudy with mostly sunny skies. It's thinly overcast at the moment. No weather type seems to last for very long here.

It was a challenge, but I managed to take a fair amount of pictures and do quite a bit of video while I was out. I loaded my backpack with necessary items and continued to rotate through them as the situation required. I dabbled with the idea of going to the aquarium, but I had already spent money on lunch and a CD, so perhaps another time. Instead I admired the ocean from a little remembrance park and met up with Dave for a few minutes after he was done at school. When something is good he says it's "class", which I find funny. I've never heard people say that before. I've heard of something being a  "class act", but never something just being "class". Classy! But not class. Lack of class... not class. I don't know. I learn something new everyday. Oh, and he says that no one here says "neat". Also silly, in my opinion, because it's a great word! I was telling him what a neat guy Martin McDonagh was, and he made sure to let me know that no one says that word xD

Lunch was an interesting time. I finally ate at Neactain's. It was very quiet when I got there and I wasn't entirely sure what the ordering process was. No one said anything to me, but I guess I did something right when I approached the counter with a menu in hand. Everyone was very nice. I ate potato and leek soup. There was a pasta offering but it sounded a bit heavier than I wanted. I also had a coke. It was €2.40, something I didn't realize until after I had consumed it, which is a bit steep if you ask me. It was one of the most delicious cokes I've ever had though, maybe that has something to do with it. The soup was OK, I think a little more sophisticated than I'm used to. I finished it though!

Neactain's was playing some fantastic Irish music so I began asking the employees who it was/what is was. One of the bartenders, a man named Steve, started talking to me about Irish music and feeling me out for which types I liked. He then wrote down a few different artists on a piece of paper and heavily recommended the Waterboys. He asked if I'd heard of them and I said no. He replied with, "You're lucky" and I asked, "Are they bad?" and he said, "No they're fantastic. I'd love to experience them for the first time again". After that I went around the corner to HMV and bought the only album they had by them; a greatest hits from '81-'90. I'm very excited to listen to it. Steve also gave me an EP from a guy that works there named Emmet. I actually met Emmet last week when Brad took me out for a pint. He's moving to London this year, I believe music, so that's great for him! I mentioned this to Steve and he was surprised and told me to tell Brad that he says hello. Such lovely people here in Ireland :)

I'm getting hungry. I wonder what's for dinner? Miriam bought me some peanut butter. It even says "American Style" on the container! That made me laugh. I had toast this morning and it was delicious. I think tomorrow I'll try out a hot chocolate from Butlers Chocolate Cafe, the supposed masters of hot cocoa here in Galway. Fingers crossed that it does not disappoint. I'm going to watch Harry Potter now, me thinks.

Oh wait! At the bus stop this morning I met a French guy named Pierre. He's visiting some friends here in Ireland. I guess he hasn't been here in quite some time because he fell out of contact with a bunch of people he met in '95. Through the magic of Facebook he found them again and is making the rounds in Ireland to reconnect everyone. How great is that? We continued to chat on the bus and he asked if I knew anyone in Paris (since I told him I'd be there for a weekend) and I said no. He offered to meet me for a drink while I'm there if I'm looking for someone to chat with. Very nice of him! I took his e-mail address and I'll be contacting him before I fly out in August. Look at me, makin' friends on the other side of the world!

Ok, toast and Harry Potter time!

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10:52 am: home: It's a gorgeous day. I think I'll walk The Prom again.

11:08 am: bus stop: The weather changes very rapidly here, even more than back home. It's strange.

11:39 am: Shop Street: Met a very nice French man from Paris named Pierre at the bus stop. We had a good conversation and he gave me his e-mail address in case I wanted someone to go out and have a drink with when I'm there for the weekend. :)

12:32 pm: Shop Street: 90% sure I just picked out my new tattoo design.

12:43 pm: Neactain's: Having lunch at Neactain's, finally. Potato and leek soup with bread. There is something strangely comforting about drinking a coca cola.

1:52 pm: A park: Sitting, passing time and enjoying the ocean.

-MJ