Thursday, June 30, 2005

Old Grouse

I am turning into an old grouse. I was sitting here at my desk in work thinking about how crap everything is when I realised that I need to get a grip and stop moaning all the time!
Ok so injuries sustained in Tag hurt - but they hurt less then they did yesterday - so get over it.
Alright I'm a bit tired BUT I spent a lovely evening in the company of my wonderful friends last night and then went on to have a very tasty meal with my boy and the family. I'm only tired because I drank too much so I really have no grounds for complaint or being grouchy!
So my job isn't exactly fulfilling but I do manage to sneak study notes in to work, and I have discovered the joy of blogging so its not all negative. Plus it is a means to an end and will put money in my pocket until I am ready to hit the road and then the big time!
It has also stopped raining (for the moment) and the sun is even showing her face so I can no longer claim to be soggy!

I'm going to see War of the Worlds tonight and am looking forward to it - reviews have been cautiously positive so fingers crossed it doesn't suck!
Then its off to Batman Begins on Friday and after that the kids go home and I get my evenings back!! Thats certainly a thought to brighten my day!

I told my friend that I was too apathetic to help look up a nice restaurant for us to meet in next week so I'm going to move my ass and actually do something to help on that score because otherwise I'm just giving in to the negative vibes!

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Crappy weather

It pissed out of the heavens this morning from between 7.30 am (thats when I woke up) to 9.00 a.m i.e the time that I walk to work every morning. As a result I was drenched to my knickers. I could handle this on a normal day as I am usually super prepared and bring work clothes in a seperate bag to work and wear a tracksuit bottoms and T-shirt to walk into work. However last night at rugby it also pissed out of the heavens and not only did we loose I and my back pack also got very wet. Therefore this morning I had no bag to carry dry clothes in. Therefore I got wet and stayed wet until roughly half an hour ago when I finally dried out.

As I was walking in the thundering downpour this morning I mused on the fact that on the other side of the world This Girl was contemplating waging war on silly people watering their lawns and the foot path at the same time. In all fairness this thought cheered me up!

As you may have gathered the game last night was a miserable affair and one out of which I personally emerged crippled and in agony for most of the night. We had a new "team mate" last night drafted in as Surly our valiant player/coach is injured. The man played with London Irish there is no doubt he can play rugby he just forgot that this was social grade tag rugby and barrelled into everyone in his way with head down and shoulder up. He hit me square in the back and it feckin hurts. A lot. And I was on his side. I'm beginning not to like this game anymore...

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Book Review

I finished a Book recently (last night actually) and have reviewed it over yonder. Its the first book I've read from cover to cover in months as I have been trapped in a web of law texts and apathy in recent times. The fact that I finished this one says a lot about it! Check it out!

Mmmm Icecream

I feel a bit chirpier now as it is after lunch and I had some icecream, an Ice Berger to be precise. You can't beat the old fashioned vanilla ice-cream in a biscuit sandwich if you ask me!

I have written my views on Vincent Wood's A Cry From Heaven on the other site. It's well worth checking out if you are in Dublin at the mo. Its a great Irish Tragedy and deserves to be celebrated in such a fitting manner.

I figured out what put me in such a foul humour this morning. We have the lovely boy's lovely siblings living with us this week and the three of them were snoring away as I got up to trudge into work this morning. Also the fact that they were planning a trip on The Sea Safari without me, didn't help. I'm mad jealous and the reports are it was great fun. Bastards.

We have our penultimate tag game this evening. They lost last week without me ( notice how I have distanced myself from the losers!) We are playing the first team we played in the league who after we beat them organised to train on Sundays (freaks) - they've won all their games since then! Mmmmm

Wrong Side of the Bed

I woke up bored this morning. It's not a good way to start the day. I have no intention or inclination to do anything which means I'll get frustrated which means I will eventually get cranky and will take it out on everyone I meet, silently in my head, which will lead to more frustration because while externally I might be smiling at people internally I will be smouldering with bad humour and probably hate for them.

So far there are 2 people on my list for just being too cheerful and for doing some work.

I don't think it's going to be a good one today. The over clouded chilly day is also really not helping my mood...

Ok dark thoughts aside I'll come back later and try to be more positive. Sometimes its just better to own up to being cranky and when you do you feel a little less mean!

Monday, June 27, 2005

U2 Croke Park Friday June 24th 2005

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Oh what an amazing night!

We were seated at the back of the stadium in the middle of many water proofed American and English people, which was kinda odd to be honest as most of them had binnoculars and were lets say a bit older! My brother reckoned if they were going to be dry (as in humourless not as in protected from the rain, which they clearly were - unneccessarily as it turned out!) and remain seated all night that there would be slaps all round! But I'm delighted to say the whooped and roared like the rest of us when the band walked on stage! (So there was no need for slaps after all!)

It was a very emotional night. There was an air of nervousness in the air and the opening rendition of Vertigo just didn't hit the mark and was followed up with a flat I Will Follow. But once the opening notes of With or Without You began the place just lit up with noise and excitement and it didn't look back from there! I cried a grand total of 3 times! It completely shocked me how happy, sad, elated, excited, and poignant I felt throughout the 2 and half hours that the boys played for. It was just incredible. Bono dedicated Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own to his Dad Bobby Hewson - cue me in tears for the first time! Later on in the night Where the Streets Have no Name started me off again and finally One drained me of whatever extra moisture remained! They played 5 songs from the Joshua Tree (my favourite album) loads from How to Dismantle and Atomic Bomb and Elevation and also at least 2 from War - the quintessentially for Ireland - Sunday Bloody Sunday and their other great anti war song Bullet in the Blue Sky.

I think they played all of their songs which I had on the wishlist in my head! And I don't think a gig can get any better than this one was!

All I can say is GO SEE THEM if you get the chance! They are the best band in the world and the best Live Act I have ever seen! Oh and they're Irish!

Friday, June 24, 2005

smile


this is me experimenting with my shiny new camera phone!

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Oh so tired

today has been a brief return to reality before the fun and frolicks begin again! I am dead on my feet after the wild celebration of my little brothers graduation to doctorhood and of course my own little success in the old exams!
The graduation was brilliant I can't believe he is now licensed to cut people open... its a bit disturbing to be honest! Apparantly he's great at surgery because his thumbs and fingers are mightily dextrous from years of playing with game boys, as a result he has been sought out to use the grippy arm things for key hole surgeries! Isn't that cool?- anyway the lesson there is that there is a point to a misspent teenagehood! He doesn't want to be a surgeon though he wants to be a paediatrician because he gets on great with kids and can really get down to their level! Its true too I think he'd be great at it!!! I still can't believe he's a doctor.... Maybe I never will!
Galway is just amazing I have fallen completely in love with the place over the past two days and its top of my list of places to move to once I'm completely finished with Dublin. I wish I was still there now its so laid back and pretty and the people seem so much friendlier than here and there was craic and laughter everywhere you went with people taking it easy as they did it! Its the way life should be lived instead of the constant rushing and hassle we have to endure here just to get from A to B!
On yet another note myself and my 2 siblings along with the lovely boy are trotting off to Croke park for the first of the Irish U2 Concerts! I can't wait! Snow patrol are supporting and a crowd called the Radiators who I haven't heard much about before. But regardless it should be a great gig. If it isn't I don't think I'll ever get over the disappointment as I've waited my whole life to see them live and even paid the fan club fee this time to make sure I got tickets. I know some people have a problem with that but I think its fair enough and the ticket made a great graduation present for the young doctor, so I'm happy. I think my 15 yr old sister is about to explode with excitement at the prospect of the gig tomorrow and that too is worth its weight in gold!!
I will give a full review of the gig on the othere site of course but it may be monday before I get to a machine so it'll have to wait til then!

Monday, June 20, 2005

Wahoooooo

I passed both contract and company with room to spare!

Can't stop now gotta go and get ready for celebration!

Am so relieved!

Results Are Out!!!

And I won't be able to report how I get on until Thursday! In fact I won't even see them for myself until wednesday night because they would be released on the day that I am going home for two nights straight from work.

And so the lovely boy is charged with the nail biting and potentially dangerous job of opening said results and reading them to me over the phone, while I will no doubt be on some form of public transport either screaming of trying vainly not to cry. Great.

On the up side if I have passed them then Conor's graduation tomorrow will be even better as we will have my continuing triumph over the law to celebrate as well. However that is putting the cart before the horse as they say so I think I will leave all wild fantasies to after I hear how I got on!

Thursday, June 16, 2005

I've become a ...

Magpie. I have taken to flitting among other peoples shiny blog pages and nicking their lovely ideas and add ons. So far today its the Make Poverty history button thing and the very cute
Weather Pixie, which I do think is quite fab, but both ideas were lifted from other blogs and were not a result of my trawling though Google looking for ideas.
I find Google boring , I can never find interesting things on it and much prefer using the navigate button on Blogspot to find things to amuse me. Is there a name for this kind of web abuse?

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Going Grey

I looked in the mirror in work the other day and was appalled and disgusted to note that I have more than a sprinking of grey shiny hairs popping up all over my barnett. I'm only 27! I don't feel like I deserve to be reminded of my advancing years in such a fashion. As I have dark hair the little buggers really catch the light (and the attention) so it looks like it'll be "Nice and Easy" for me before too long.... (see link)

On to other matters. We won again last night, but there was no pleasure in it. I can't quite put my finger on why but all the same the atmosphere was very flat. I think the lack of a hate figure on the opposite side made it difficult to care if we won or lost! Surely that's not good sportsmanship! We are top of our league and have a potentially decisive encounter with the second on the table also unbeaten team next week. Unfortunately I will miss it as my lil bro is graduating as a MD and its far more important that I attend his graduation ceremony and get drunk with the family while we celebrate the end of him being a student (finally)!!

After that then I (only)have U2 to look forward to..... - bring it on!

Monday, June 13, 2005

Waiting Anxiously

I'm like a cat on a hot tin roof waiting for there fecking exam results the law society just can't be trusted with their date of the end of June so for all I know they could be sitting at home in my post box for me right now....
I think I have another migraine as well which is making me even grumpier not to mention nauseous. I'm sort of hoping that its just nerves and isn't actually a migraine because 2 in 2 weeks seems a little excessive.
I see from the news today that the excavations are starting pn the Tara valley already thats probably another reason for my bad news.
Also the apparant failure of McDowells Cafe bar licensing proposals I feel is more bad news . I was looking forward to the introduction of civilised eating and watering holes to be honest. Not least because I'm a light weight and having food close by would mean I wouldn't get as drunk as quickly (yes I would eat if food was available simply because I like eating better than drinking!) but also because I personally enjoy the social aspect of eating and enjoying a few drinks with people rather than just sinking pints in a bar until I fall over.
Mind you no doubt the PDs will not be impressed by the Fianna Fail back bench uprising in relation to this little matter and that fact combined with the recent poor showing in the polls for FF does not auger well for them at the moment. All we need is one little push and I'm convinced we'll be looking at an early election. I wonder will Bertie be able to continue to hang on until things stabilise again... The problem there is that he hasn't really been all that secure since the last local elections and hasn't really convinced people that he can change the governments position either...

Thursday, June 09, 2005

Mid week consumption of alcohol

Is bad for your health. I'm knackered! I met a friend last night for a good old fashioned girly chin wag full of screeching and giggling... Yes we were those annoying women that tend to turn up in restaurants and pubs making loads of noise and wantonly annoying other patrons! I don't do it often and while I hate being subjected to it by others its kind of liberating when you are indulging in the screaming yourself! I'm over exaggerating slightly but I reckon the volume was definately up to 8 rather than the usual 5!
However good food was eaten and very nice wine was consumed and although it wasn't a very late night it was well past my usual bed time by the time I made it home. You see I couldn't go home until after the game was over between Ireland v the Faroe Islands as I would just have annoyed the boy with my drunken questions and frequent trips to the loo and so it was that I had to stay out and drink more. Don't you just love logic?
Anyway I'm suffering now and I still have to drag my ass to Yoga, race home, shower and change and head back out to go see Sin City at 9.00pm! Oh Crap...

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Glorious Victory in a Bruising Encounter

I think I'm beginning to sound a bit like a jock, but this tag rugby league is so much fun! Especially because we continue to beat all those around us! It was a glorious victory last night with us coming out 14 points on top of our rivals. The victory was made all the sweeter by the fact that yours truly scored 2 TRYS!!!
I'm very proud of my achievement and the second try in particular I'm told was a beauty! I can't remember myself I was pumped up and running on pure adrenalin. You see it was a bit of dirty game last night. Our opposition didn't seem to understand the concept of Non Contact - I personnally was shouldered around the pitch on at least 4 occassions. However I made my feelings perfectly clear i.e. that to touch me was to lose a limb - and that partiuclar practice came to an end pretty quickly! However some of our men folk took some very heavy hits and we could be in trouble with injuries next week, which would be a disaster as we don't have enough boys to play on our team anyway.
To be honest looking back on it I can't belive just how competitive and driven I became. I can't ever remember being that focused before, not even in school when I played a lot more field sports. Its kind of scary in one way I didn't really recognise myself...
However the buzz has been great in work all day our lady captain/my work colleague is a happy camper so there have been no psychotic episodes today!
On other news I was informed that the law society results won't be available until the end of June early July - so those butterflys can feck off until then!
I have collected the course material for the next set already so the reality is I just need to get stuck into it and hope that the last lot went to plan!

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Various Rants

I haven't had a chance to come and rant here all day today until now and I only have a limited amount of time now that I am here so I'll have to make my contribution for today shrink to fit!
On the up side I only met 4 Gobshites on the road this weekend and I take it from the news that there was a significant decrease in accidents this weekend which is great news for everyone and long may it continue.
Mayo is beautiful if you are thinking of visiting! We stayed in a lovely B&B which was smothered in bric a brac and dust catching objects of all varieties! Tack central if you like and was run by an English woman (we named her Hyacinth) and her Husband (otherwise known to us as The Bitch as he was one well whipped man!). In all fairness to the pair the Full Irish on both mornings was the best I've ever had - as a result the choccie biccies on friday are now irrelevant as the weighing scales will now have to deal with fatty frys as well!
However we did scale the heights of Croagh Patrick on Sunday so I'm hoping that that act of extreme activity will balance out all the wonerful food and drink I consumed...
Oh if you ever meet anyone who tells you they have climbed Croagh Patrick barefoot please give them a slap from me. They are either lying or mad and if they are one or the other they will either deserve the slap or not notice that it has been dealt to them in the first place. Its hard going and I will certainly look upon all of the more ancient pilgrims who scale its rocky summit with renewed respect and wonder cause I barely made it!
I have loads of thoughts in my head about recent news worthy items of the last few weeks but as I am pushed for time today I think I'll leave my thoughts where they are for the mo and address them when I have more time!
Sorry for lack of pictures again we have a distinct lack of access to digital technology which is a shame because we were in some of the most scenic places in this country at the weekend. The drive from Louisburgh to Lenaune is spectacular and shouldn't be missed if you are in that part of the world.
Well I gotta buzz off now and pick up my course books for the next instalment in the track to Blackhall place. The results from the last set of exams are due any day now according to my bat sense so I will of course the world know if I was successful and it I'm not my silence will speak volumes on the matter...
I also have the third game in our tag rugby league tonight so fingers crossed its another successful venture otherwise I fear for the sanity of my very competitive and slightly psychotic Captain - and work colleague - who is doing a complete Jekell and Hyde whenever a game approaches. She goes from being very mild mannered quietly spoken slight walkover to super charged psycho and its not pretty...

Friday, June 03, 2005

Chocolate Biscuits

Are very yummy. I've just had three! And feel very full and happy... I won't be happy when I get on the scales next week but hey who cares it's another Bank Holiday!
We are heading west this weekend and the only care I have is that the roads are safe. I was listening to frightening statistics this morning on Morning Ireland. 5 people died this time last year but there were over 90 people injured. When I think of the kind of injuries that can be as a result of a car accident it just makes my blood run cold. The thing is though no matter what advertisements they put out there or how many chilling statistics they shove at us I will be guaranteed to meet at least 5 gobshites misbehaving this weekend.
I consider myself to be a good driver. I don't speed as I don't believe it gets me where I want to go any quicker. I definately would never drink and drive and I make sure that I'm aware of what is going on around me. But that is still no guarantee that somebody else taking the piss won't crash into me.
Mind you if I applied that logic and lived my life by it I wouldn't eat chocolate biscuits or ever set out on a road journey and that would make life pretty boring! SO I guess the moral of this story kids is just do what you feel is right and enjoy life to the full cause you just can't depend on anything...

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Victorious!

There was blood sweat and sin binning last night in the second of our league matches but in the end we were victorious! With 2 girl trys (neither scored by me) we earned ourselves a distinct advantage over our worthy opponents and despite having our loquacious coach sin binned (for abusing his own team) in the second half we managed to hold onto the lead we had built up in the first half! It was a relief to have won this game on our own merits as a team this week, as last week I was replaced by a semi professional genuine rugby player who admittedly didn't squeal and drop the ball as much as me and did manage to score most of our trys! Its a funny old game!
Bring it on Next Week we remain unbeaten!