The Petulant CryBaby Club

I'm no fan of Christiano Ronaldo, but I am even less of a fan of Wayne Rooney and the entire English squad.

Maybe it's because I live in Ireland and therefore get innundated with the English media. I know the starting lineup of the English soccer team, and all their wives and girlfriends, which the tabloids affectionately term the WAGs. If England won it would be insufferable. Further, I just don't like the players, they are real rough lager lout types. Shreck, oops I mean Rooney, is a complete yob.

I've come to the conclusion that the English soccer team is the Toronto Maple Leafs of international football. They haven't won since the sixties, and there is no shortage of people who can tell you all about those heady, glory days of 1966. Which is incidentally before I was born. In the past few international tournaments, they have put out a middling team, due to a coach and management who refuse to make tough decisions when it comes to the roster, but yet everyone in the country is convinced that they will win the Cup because it is their destiny.

England finally made their World Cup 2006 exit on Saturday in typical controversial fashion. The English fans are proving just how blindly subjective they really are. I have heard the following ad nauseum:

• They lost because the Portuguese are cheating divers and England refuses to stoop to that level. They don't dive, they play fair, and it's really not too much to ask that the ref abide by the rules of fair play.
• The ref is Argentinian, and therefore wanted England to lose (Hand of God Part II or revenge for the Falklands War, you choose the conspiracy theory).
• Ronaldo discussed tactics with Scolari to get Rooney kicked out of the game. The wink he made towards the Portuguese bench when the red card was shown proved this.
• The ref deliberately did not call a hand ball in the penalty area so that Portugal could win.

The English need to get over this by accepting the following facts:

• The English team was not that good. They were not looking stellar at any point in the tournament, and had they been in a tougher group, they would have struggled to get out of the group stage. Would they have beated Mexico in the second round like Argentina did? Would they have beaten Holland or Australia?
• Riling Looney Rooney up is like shooting fish in a barrel. If he wants to be a great player, he needs to learn to keep his head. As it is, he's a liability. He did stomp on the Portuguese player, and then pushed Ronaldo in front of the ref. He is the dumbest football player out there, and that's saying a lot. A great player keeps his cool and can get past the goading and the psychological games. If Ronaldo did discuss ways to get Rooney out of the game with his coach, well that's not hard first of all, and second of all, unsettling your opponents is part of the game. If Rooney is too stupid and falls for it every time, then maybe, just maybe, he should go back to his anger management classes.
• Anyone who says that the Brits never dive have never seen Joe Cole or Michael Owen play.
• David Beckham deliberately flipped the ball at the Portuguese defender's arm to draw a penalty. Sorry, what was that about never cheating?
• Diving hasn't been exclusive to the Portuguese, Italian, Argentinian or Spanish team. Michael Ballack has made a few meals out of minor knocks throughout the tournament. EVERY TEAM is guilty of diving or making more out of a fall in order to draw a free kick.
• The English team sucks at penalty kicks. Or as one journalist put it, they took penalty kicks with the skill of a bunch of eight-year olds.
• Lampard couldn't hit an empty net at two yards out.
• The only English player that really excelled in the quarterfinal match was the Canadian that the British fans boo whenever he enters the stadium. He was the only one who scored a penalty kick too. On Canada Day.
• Just because it was an Argentinian ref does not mean it was Hand of God Part II. This wasn't a conspiracy. England just didn't win, and if they did, there is no way they would make it out of the semis. They just weren't going to win the cup, and we all need to accept this and move on.

Portugal wasn't stellar either, but they won in the end - without their main playmaker, Deco. They were also really beaten down from their slugfest against Holland. They kept it together just enough to pull through. Portugal is not the cleanest of teams, I'll admit, but it wasn't enough to make England lose. England just did not have enough in them to win.

900 pubs and nowhere to go

Ok, so I hate going out in Dublin. It's only the feeling every couple of weeks that I really should be sociable that gets me out of the apartment. If I had more reclusive tendencies, I just wouldn't bother at all.

So last night, I went out to dinner with a couple of friends. We hadn't made reservations, and every place was completely packed. Yes, you need to make reservations to go out in Dublin, which annoys me to no end. I'm supposed to decide what I feel like eating six days in advance??? We ended up at "Gruel", which is a funky restaurant with good food. This restaurant is an anomoly in Dublin - it serves breakfast until late in the day on weekends, and has french toast with real maple syrup, and the bread is not crap Wonder Bread. We got a seat downstairs on the couch in the corner, which was perfect. The only thing was that a rugby team was in the small room as well, so it started to get really loud after awhile.

I was perfectly content to stay there despite the rugby team, but I could tell my friends wanted to move on. I didn't want to, I knew what was out there - completely nothing! 900 pubs in Dublin and nowhere decent to go - especially on a Saturday night.

So off we went. I had already decided that I wasn't drinking because I had to do some work today. We went into one bar, "The Bank", that I like to go to in late afternoon if I'm meeting people. They have good drinks. My friend suggested it because she thought I would agree, but I didn't. I knew it would be really loud and obnoxious at this time of night. Thing is, I couldn't think of any place else to go.

In Dublin there are really a few categories of bars:
Old Man Pubs
Tosser bars (majority)
Yuppie bars - expensive and full of tossers
Wine bars - good wine, zero ambience - except for one but I can't get anyone to go there because they don't even sell bottled Perroni, just wine
Hotel bars - comfy seats, good atmosphere - though called inauthentic by my friends (they want authentic too?? have to go to another city for that), great drinks - very expensive
Tourist bars - to be avoided at all costs

Old man pubs themselves fall into two categories. Ones where women are really not welcome, no matter what the law says on the matter, and those where a woman can go without being subtly told to go somewhere else (no really, I'm not exaggerating). Old man pubs are the best for being able to get a seat and holding a conversation. However, there is nothing to drink at all.

I don't drink beer anymore. The draught beer in Ireland (and the UK for that matter) makes me sick, literally. It's the chemicals and preservatives that they put into the systems, I get physically ill after two pints. I can drink beer in Canada no problem, and I can drink bottled imports. In an Old Man Pub, there is draught beer, which I can't have; Guinness, which I only want in the afternoon - it's just too filling to have at night; bottled beer - Budweiser, Miller Genuine Draft, or Corona without lime. These bars never have lemons or limes. They also don't have a better selection of bottled beer - no Budvar, no Grolsch, no Tiger. I don't drink Budweiser at home, I'm sure as hell not drinking it here. The wine they serve is the worst kind of Chateau Plonk. Beware wine that comes in a quarter bottle - no matter what kind of bar you're in. It's all bad news. And as for hard liquor, ever hear of Cork Dry Gin or Huzzar Vodka? No? Well there is a reason for that. The Irish aren't particularly choosy drinkers, whereas a bar in Canada wouldn't be able to sell anything less than Beefeater or Smirnoff. In fact, Cork Dry Gin smells like chocolate. I kid you not! Though that may just be a symptom of an impending stroke or aneurysm from ingesting radically foreign chemicals into the body, and causing a radical potassium imbalance.

I should add that to order a sparkling water or soft drink will cost you about EUR2.50 for about 200ml. A pint of Guinness is around EUR4.00.

Ok, so to summarise Old Man Pub (where women can go) = good conversation, nothing to drink

So where else? There are very few bars in Dublin where you can have a good drink, get a seat (I hate standing for long periods of time and even more - I hate being jostled every two seconds as people walk back and forth), and carry a conversation on a weekend night - and is not full of tossers. Though to be honest, at this point, I would be happy with getting a seat, a nice cocktail and able to hold a conversation. I think the tosser aspect is inevitable in Dublin.

But while we're on the subject. There is an unbelievable number of tossers in Dublin. When I go out, sometimes I like dressing up, but usually I wear jeans. No matter what, I'm always underdressed here, and I certainly am wearing the least amount of makeup. Take "The Bank", the bar we were at last night. We were standing being jostled while sipping the world's heaviest Merlot (and we have all seen Sideways, or should have, so why are bars still even carrying this grape?) I was the most dressed up in the group, wearing a jean skirt, knee-high boots, and a wrap sweater. I was seriously out-dressed by the women at this bar. If I were to start looking like them, I would need to spend two hours with a straightening iron before going out, and start to apply my makeup with a spatula. Why are they trying so hard? All the men their age haven't been to the dentist in years and still live with their mammy. The town is just full of people who are trying way too hard. It's pathetic and it reeks of desperation. They all HAVE to find someone and get married. It's like my friend said to me once when we were at "Tonic" in Blackrock, a pathetic try-hard bar of the worst kind. He said, "you know, when you think about it, this is the most outre these people get. This is them being young, wild and crazy. It's really sad, isn't it. They think they're REALLY living life, but really they're going to some stupid bar every Thursday night, hoping desperately someone will notice them." Ok, so he's a bit bitter sometimes, but he has a point. I don't know how else to describe it, but it's the posing of the university scene (but in dresses and makeup) several years after university has ended. Sad in that Tori Spelling comeback special kind of way.

All I want is someplace with comfy chairs and good drinks. When I've found that place, I'll let you know. In the meantime, they sell nice reds at Tesco and I have two couches in my apartment.

Fire and Ice

March has come and gone, and I am glad to see it go. It's not a pleasant month in Ireland - wind, rain, and too many drunk people celebrating a Saint known for his temperance.

It has really passed by me in a fog as I've been living to work instead of working to live, which as we all know isn't why I came to Ireland in the first place, but I'm really focusing on my career right now.

To reward myself for working so much over the past two months, I decided to take a couple extra days at Easter and go somewhere. At first I was going to go to Budapest with a friend, but she didn't want to go at Easter because the prices are a bit higher than for other weekends. Though we have yet to set a date for that, I still wanted to do something at Easter. I have a four-day weekend that's just burning a hole in my calendar. I then decided that Istanbul would be nice. Something different, exotic, expanding my horizons beyond Europe proper, and warm weather. But I didn't get around to booking.

A few weeks ago, I got it into my head that I must go skiing. Not it would be nice to go skiing, but I MUST go skiing. I started to look at options and resorts, but it was hard going. Most web sites were touting ski packages that were expensive, and demanded a full week stay - from Saturday to Saturday. I finally found a flight & hotel option I liked on Expedia.co.uk, which by the way, has some great deals and ideas. The package was to fly into Geneva, and stay in Brides-les-Bains in France for £300 from Friday to Monday. Not bad. I checked a ski rental online, and I could rent skis, poles and boots for the whole weekend for EUR60. The only thing was the ski conditions. Brides-les-Bains doesn't have a high altitude, so it ranks low for spring skiing, and Easter is late this year. Not that I'm a good enough skier to care about ski conditions, and I am from Ontario - the icier the better, but it would be nice for there to be snow. Then I found out that you can link into the Three Valleys pass, a short gondola ride away. That pass includes Meribel and I believe Courcheval - resorts that are way out of my league, but if they're good enough for the Brits, then I can ski them too.

Before I had gotten around to booking, I was talking to a friend of mine. She was thinking of going to Iceland for Easter and wondered if I was interested at all. Am I? Iceland is SO COOL, I love going to places that are interesting, but that no one goes to - like Slovenia, or Prague in 1991 before the Brits and Irish found out that beer is the equivalent of a Euro. Even better, I would have a travel companion for a change.

It's set. Reykjavik here I come.

Artistic Interpretation

I'll give the BBC one thing about their Olympic coverage: when the Ice Dance compulsory skate was underway, the Italian couple came in first. The commentators didn't agree, and said: "There may be a new marking system, but it's still ice dancing." Brilliant. It almost makes up for the fact that they keep interviewing the British ice dancing couple who have annoying Scottish accents and totally bug me.

One other thing bugs me about ice dancing in this Olympics: the costumes. Is it just me, or are they getting worse and worse? Since so much of ice dancing is based on artistic impression, musical interpretation and overall performance, in my opinion, the costumes count. I think there should be a costume judge - there are plenty of qualified people with taste out there, and there should be deductions for tacky costumes. Just like when someone falls, the overall performance is diminished, so too when the team is wearing what seems to be Henry VIII on acid.

In fact, I think this should be implemented across all figure skating disciplines.

2010 Olympic Hopeful

I've noticed that there is a certain percentage of Olympic athletes that are taking advantage of dual citizenship in order to compete in the Olympics. I don't really have a problem with this; if you can't make it for your home country, then by all means make it for your adopted one. Though, I have to say that this has certainly bitten Canada in the ass. Dale Begg-Smith received the gold medal for Australia in the men's moguls, though born and raised in BC and emigrated only last year. All the goals scored against the men's hockey team were at the hands of Canadians playing for other countries, and the female ice dancer skating for the US is from Kingston, Ontario, and ony received her US citizenship last week.

I was watching the cross-country skiing coverage and the BBC interviewed the lone Irish cross-country skier. It was a piece on the skiers from countries where there is no snow - Costa Rica, Thailand, Ethiopia, and Ireland. All of them knew they weren't globally competitive and they didn't care, they were here for the ride. It hit me. Not to belittle their achievements, which are great and I admire them, but if I get a decent pair of cross-country skis, head over to the Continent to practice every chance I get, I too could be an Olympic athlete. Ireland doesn't have a women's cross-country team. I could be it!

See you in Vancouver. Though, I'll be really old by then - as far as Olympic athletes go.

Deep thoughts

There are still news stories about Muslims protesting about the cartoons. Doesn't anyone realise that the cartoons are only news now because someone high up in the Islamic world wants them to be news? They were originally printed in September, and only now there is a furor - because someone brought them to the Middle East to stoke the flames. What are the motives for this?

But what I wonder most is that people who don't have access to basic medical care, schooling, or sometimes even food, somehow are able to get their hands on Danish flags. Where are they getting them from?

Addendum

I forgot to mention yesterday that when the BBC commentator said that Canada was currently leading Italy 13-0 in women's hockey, she said, "Canada is leading Italy 13-0 in the third quarter.

It's so bad.

The sorry state of BBC sports coverage

So I'm a bit of an Olympics junkie. As much as I think the Games are an overly commercial spectacle, and its lofty ideals have been hijacked by corporate greed, doping, bad judging and probably the Russian Mafia, I still love to watch.

But this year I'm in Ireland, and the Irish couldn't give a toss about the Winter Olympics - I'm guessing because there are no horses involved (it's weird how much they love their horses). Though I have to say that I'm really surpirsed that they haven't embraced curling yet. Didn't anyone tell them that the sport involves drinking?

Anyway, since it's far more fascinating to watch Big Bruvva, or whatever the crap reality show of the moment is, RTE, the ever-fabulous Irish Broadcaster, is not showing ANY of the Olympics. Not even a 1/2 hour highlight show. Why would you, when Blackrock are playing Terenure in Rugby? Never heard of Blackrock and Terenure? Well they're suburbs of Dublin - and they're both even on the same side of the Liffey. Yep, high quality international-level sports matches are being played right here in Dublin, preventing the broadcaster from showing a little-known sporting event that is held only once every four years.

Luckily, I get BBC2. Unluckily, they only seem committed to showing about two hours of coverage a day. So far, my verdict is that the BBC coverage is really lacking. You would think that if they're only broadcasting for two hours a day, they would try to cram in as much sports and results as possible. Oh no, instead today I watched an interview with Andre Bochelli, who will be singing in the closing ceremony, an interview with an American skier, and an interview with Herman Meier. They did mention that Germany has two gold medals, Norway - 1, US - 1, and Canada - 1, but didn't mention in which sports these medals were won. They likewise didn't mention any silver or bronze winners. It makes me long for the days of watching American coverage where they would tell you all about an event - as long as an American was involved.

I knew there would be problems during the coverage of the opening ceremony. I started to count how many times they mentioned Torvill & Dean (way too many). That was like, so 1984. It's almost annoying as "Miracle on Ice", except that American Olympic coverage is on 24/7. The commentators glossed over the Canadians coming in because they were still rabbiting on about Sarajevo from when the Bosnia & Herzegovina team came in earlier. They then quickly added, "Canada is great in team sports. The mens & womens team won gold in ice hockey in 2002, made sweeter by beating the Americans, and they have good curling teams - oh and they might play Great Britain, blah blah blah, UK women's curling supremacy, blah blah blah." In the pre-Olympics show, they couldn't say "Canada's gold medal win in hockey" (mens or womens), without adding "made all the sweeter by beating the US" every single time.

Just as an aside, what's up with the lumberjack chic motif of the Canadian uniforms?

Today they covered the women's moguls final, and the short-programme of the pairs figure skating, but they cut away from that to show a bit of luge. They then did a 2-minute highlight montage that showed a German biathelete (I'm guessing one of the medals won today), Jennifer Heil's mogul run, and impressively a couple of clips of the Sweden-Russia women's hockey game. The clips were kind of grainy and far away so I have no idea where they got the coverage from, but they better start buying from the CBC by the time the good games get underway. You could hardly see the players at all because they only had an angle that showed most of the ice surface, which ensures that you can't see any of the action. It looked like they were showing a clip from the 1970's, and for all I know, they were. They then quickly mentioned that currently Canada is beating Italy 13-0 before signing off for the evening.

The BBC should stick with covering cricket and buy coverage from a real sports network.

I checked through the TV guide, and they don't seem to be planning on covering any of the hockey in detail. There is an Australian pub here that shows Hockey Night in Canada games on Sunday afternoons - but only when it doesn't interfere with rugby. Well, as luck would have it, the Six Nations Rugby Tournament is on now - ensuring that the Men's Gold Medal game won't be shown anywhere. Bah. They hold the damn rugby every year and it's just an excuse for the Brits and Irish to drink away the month that is February, so I don't know why they can't postpone it for the Olympics and drink away March instead.

Religion is the Opiate of the Masses

Ok. It's a CARTOON. I just did a search on the Internet and I can't find the actual cartoons anywhere. However, I'm sure they're not that offensive to anyone who is not a religious fanatic.

This furore over the Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammed is very interesting. One of the cartoons is of the Prophet wearing a turban that looks like a bomb. Meanwhile, adherents to Islam, the "religion of peace", are bombing embassies in retaliation, and protesters are calling for the death of the cartoonists. How ironic.

Now, I'm not painting a billion odd Muslims with the same brush. There are plenty of moderate Muslims out there who are not calling for cartoonists to be beheaded. However, I find it very interesting that governments in the Middle East are calling for the Danish government to apologise and are not really doing anything about the violence. The Danish government shouldn't apologise, the media is an independent body not controlled by the Danish government. Of course, countries that don't have independent media or freedom of speech wouldn't understand that distinction. Further, why aren't the governments in Syria or Lebanon condemning the voilence? Why haven't the bombers been arrested? Maybe it's because the government tacitly supports the voilence. Just like the Saudi government tacitly supported 9/11 and fundamental Imams in the UK tactitly supported the transit bombings in London.

After the London transit bombings, the British government said that that the Islamic community in the UK had a responsibility to stop the recruitment of Islamic extremist terrorists within its community and to stop the preaching of hate in the name of the Islamic religion. Likewise, in countries that are using religion to control its population, they too have a responsibility to the world community when their fanatical adherents decide to declare jihad on the Western World.

Now before someone responds by saying Catholics would be offended if there was a cartoon depicting the Pope fondling a boy, I should say that I was raised Catholic and I wouldn't be offended by such a cartoon. In fact, the Catholic Church deserves it. The cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church comes from the top down. We all know the Pope knows about it, and by turning a blind eye, is condoning it, and Catholics should be ashamed. In Ireland, one priest has been accused of abusing 70 children. 70. Now, in such a small community in southern Wexford, you really have to say, shame on the parents for not coming forward sooner and allowing this to continue because the priest is such a revered member of the Irish community. As it came out in the inquiry, the bishop knew about it and did nothing. When he consulted a lawyer about whether or not the Church could be held for negligence if they heard about the abuse but didn't investigate the accusations, and was told that he and the Church could be held negligent, he took out insurance. That's right. He was told he could be liable and he took out insurance against negligence lawsuits instead of doing the right thing. What a great example of Christianity. I have since decided that while I might believe in the tenets of Christianity, I no longer believe in or respect the Catholic Church as an institution.

But I digress, the freedom of speech includes ideas that are unpopular or offensive. It is only then that we can discuss and debate the merits of the idea in the open. It is only once the idea has been discussed by the populace that it can be either accepted or rejected. If the idea is not allowed to be published because it might cause offence is censorship. With so much violence and crime being committed in the name of God/Allah/whatever, and being sanctioned by religious leaders, it is crucial that our major religions are held up to open scrutiny, and questioning of the institution of religion is not supressed to appease the governments of nations that have no concept of freedom of speech.

That said, this war of Fundamental Islam versus the rest of the world is far from over. As one of the British protesters stated, "Islam is peace but you see there will only be peace when Islam is implemented across the world." The Western World should be worried, but we shouldn't curtail our freedom of speech. If we do, the fundamentalists win.

Indecision 2006

So today is election day in Canada. I confess, I'm an election junkie. I watch the results on TV all night long. I know exactly where I was when the "NON" vote won by 1% in 1995 (parents basement in front of the television), and I know where I was when Florida switched from "blue" state to "red" state in 2000 (I left a friend's place when it was Blue, and by the time I arrived home, it was Red).

This year I didn't vote. It wasn't out of apathy or laziness, but because I didn't receive a ballot. Right after the election was called, I received my "overseas voters package" in the mail. There was no ballot inside. I called Elections Canada and they said they would send another one to me, and it never arrived. By the time I realised that it might not be coming, it was too late to call again. Considering that I had to rely on both Canada Post and Ireland's An Post, I'm not suspecting that Elections Canada knew that I voted NDP last time around.

Speaking of who to vote for, I can't wait to see what this election will bring. It seems as though everyone is finally sick of the Martin Liberals, but there isn't much of an alternative. I think many Canadians east of Winnipeg would feel better about voting Conservative if Peter MacKay was leader. Personally, I think the Conservatives are a scary choice. At the end of the day, if Harper wins, he's going to thank those who helped him all those years, not the people who he had to convince in six weeks that he really is a moderate. Those people that he will thank are the whack job Alberta Conservatives who really believe that what Canada needs is to emulate US social conservatism - because it's not really politics unless it's based on God, guns and gays.

I think the best outcome will be if it turns out that everyone voted Green as a protest vote. They really do have the best ideas, they just don't have the money and a catchier name - they can just ask the Conservative party, formerly known as CRAP, about the wonders of a name change.

Whatever the outcome, the real fun starts tomorrow when all the muzzles come off. Win or lose, all of Harper's Alberta cronies will finally be allowed to say whatever they want.

Pass the popcorn and beer please.

57 Channels

Well not quite. We get 14 channels, but there is still nothing on. Just to illustrate just HOW BAD Irish television is, I've typed out the TV schedule for the main channels for tonight from 7-11. I'm not including the news or sports networks, though I might add that sports=football only, and not always even Premiership level.

7pm
Ear to the Ground - religious show
The Cafe - "fast paced show" with two people I've never heard of
Something Gaelic
Emmerdale - REALLY crappy British soap
Lobby Lives - behind the scenes look at the Belfast Europa Hotel
Seaon Ticket - guide to the weekend soccer, rugby and Gaelic football action
Emmerdale - on another channel!
Channel 4 News
The Simpsons
Hollyoaks - really cheesy "teen" British soap

7.30pm
EastEnders - crappy British soap
Two Wild: Massive Nature
Irish Paint Magic - seriously
10 Years Younger - reality show. Cosmetic experts make haggard people look 10 years younger
EastEnders - on another channel!
Hearts and Minds - gets to the heart of the debate on the future of the Province (I don't know which province)
After They Were Famous - this week: Gary Coleman
The Simpsons
Celebrity (Z-listers) Big Brother Live - crappiest reality show on TV. Everytime you watch it, the baby Jesus cries, and three angels lose their wings.

8pm
Fair City - incredibly crappy Irish soap - it's on EVERY NIGHT at 8pm. What a waste of a prime time slot
Two Wild: Nick's Quest - Nick travels to the North Pole to find out the effect global warming has had on the polar bear population
Something Gaelic
Las Vegas
Seaside Rescue - documentary series on the work of coastal rescue teams
Pay Off Your Mortgage in Two Years - and eat only Ramen noodles in order to do it
The Bill - Steve and Laura are stunned to find a room full of cannabis plants in a student residence. Stunned? Really?
10 Years Younger - Different time, different channel, same reality show crap
Project Catwalk - hosted by Elizabeth Hurley. Search for Britain's next fashion designer. A rip-off of The Apprentice. Oh how the mighty have fallen since the end of the Austin Powers franchise.
Friends - again

8.30pm
Something in Gaelic
Super Vets
Friends - AGAIN. Just in case you haven't seen one of the episodes the first 50 times

9pm
News
The Liffey Laugh - Irish stand-up comedy series
Invasion - series. Town under quarantine. It's the end of the world as we know it.
Supernatural - Sci-fi drama series
Hotel Babylon - drama series set in the world of the luxury 5-star hotel
Horizon - documentary about women who have miscarriages trying to have babies
Eleventh Hour - brand-new thriller series starring Patrick Stewart of Star Trek fame
Celebrity Big Brother - another time, another channel, in case you haven't lost enough brain cells already today
Cold Case
ER

9.30pm
Prime Time - current affairs
Movie: The Core - heard of it? Me neither

10pm
Hanging with Hector - Hector visits Bruff in Co. Limerick where he catches up with comedian Jon Kenny
Something in Gaelic
Will and Grace - this is still on the air?
BBC News
Pets are People - I'm not making this up
Tony Blair Rock Star - documentary about Blair's attempt to become a rock star while at uni
Bones
Celebrity Big Brother's Big Mouth - a panel of experts discuss the latest happenings in the house. Just in case you really are that stupid.

10.30pm
Something in Gaelic
Hot Properties - the girls are horrified when they learned that they all drink dialled. The horror
Let's Talk - audience discussion programme that tackles the big issues in Northern Ireland
News
News
My Name is Earl

10.45pm
The West Wing - because with all the other worthy shows on earlier in the evening, this one isn't worthy of a prime time slot

This is a representation of what's on TV on a nightly basis - or rather, what's NOT on TV. Soapstar Superstar might be over, because that's been on almost every night for the past few weeks. Third-rate soapstars on a Pop Idol-esque reality show is way, way worse than the regular Pop Idol. Obviously the Irish don't know what real TV is, because they lap it up. The first few episodes of "Weeds" were on TV in December, but it's now off the air. I guess the acting and writing wasn't up to snuff.

What does an Irish programmer have for qualifications? Zero knowledge of popular culture and really bad taste? Hell, a monkey can do a better job. Before someone comments that the Irish broadcasters probably don't have the funds to buy half decent programmes, and by the way, Hollywood Squares is better than most of these, and is probably not as expensive, half of the channels I get are British. Not only that, but anyone who owns a TV - even if it's a non-working set, have to pay a TV license of EUR150 a year. So, we paid EUR150 just to turn the TV on. This tax is ostensibly so that the Irish public television station can bring quality programming to the Irish market.

I shouldn't complain, I don't pay anything for cable. We plugged in the TV and we magically received a bunch of channels. They were just there. However, the TV license inspector did pay us a visit and remind us of our obligations as privileged TV owners. I bet his mother is proud of him. So, we did cough up EUR150 so that we won't miss a single episode of "Pets are People" and "Celebrity Big Brother."

I've been Googling "online TV on demand" in the hopes of finding a reliable site where I can download TV programmes. I'll even pay a small fee. No luck so far, but I can't wait for it to catch on.

Easter is Just Around the Corner

It's barely New Year's Eve, and already the Creme Eggs are in the grocery stores.

I haven't even finished my Christmas box of After Eights.

Would You Like Fries With That?

There is an interesting article on globeandmail.com today. Well, the article isn't that interesting, it's actually really lame, but the 165 comments that Globe readers sent in are interesting. The article is titled "Canucks Come Home" and the government is asking expats to return home because Canada apparently needs skilled workers. The majority of the comments were, not surprisingly, negative.

Most respondents cited high taxes as a reason for not coming back. However, that's not really an issue for me because I live in Europe. My taxes might be slightly lower in Dublin, but not for much longer (I move up to a higher tax bracket next year) and the health care system is worse here. I think there is a much better quality of life in Canada.

However, I did agree with the respondents who said that there are no jobs for skilled workers in Canada, and therefore no point in asking expats to come home - there is nothing for them. Just look at our taxi drivers - we have the highest-educated taxi drivers in the world. I for one know from personal experience that you basically have to be overqualified in order to get a job in Canada. I remember when I was working at the mall after graduation. Yes, you read right. Working at the mall after graduation. When a lot of stores put up job ads, they requested a university education - to work at the mall. That's so utterly ridiculous. Or is it? If there is a glut of overeducated people in Canada, which there is, then you can demand over-the-top educational requirements for menial jobs. The problem is that Canada has one of the highest rate of university graduates per capita, but doesn't have the employment landscape to absorb these graduates. The problem is, by educating these people, you're setting them up with expectations for employment - and those expectations don't involve wearing a polyester uniform.

Also, it's very difficult for someone to get valid work experience after graduation. There is little in the way of proper intern, work experience, or in-house training programmes for young graduates. Many are caught in a no-work, no-experience cycle until they either somehow break in, or decide that delivering pizzas for a living isn't that bad.

I remember back when I was working at the ad agency and I was looking for work elsewhere. One of the reasons why I wanted to leave was that I was under-paid and I didn't have room to move up or grow because it was a small company. The only person above me was my boss. When I went on interviews, I was told that I wasn't qualified because I hadn't ever had someone working under me before. First of all, all managers haven't when they first become a manager, and secondly, I had been a manager before - I had managed my own retail store for a short period of time and was responsible for hiring, firing and training staff. Of course, that didn't count - that was different. After all it's much harder to keep a high school kid working for pocket change motivated than it is someone who is trying to build a career.

It doesn't help that HR practitioners in Canada are dreadfully conservative. They like to see the classic, linear career path. Any bends in that path and game over, they're not interested. I remember another time when I was at the ad agency and looking for another job. I was in the interview and I have (had) a five-month gap on my CV. When I graduated from my post-graduate diploma, it took me five months to find a job in my field. During that time, I temped a a receptionist. However in an effort to keep my CV to the recommended two pages, and because the job had no bearing on my experience as an advertising practitioner, I left it off. The HR person asked me what I did during that time and I explained that after graduation, I was caught in the no-job, no-experience cycle, that it took me some time to find a job and I temped to earn a paycheque. She then said, "but what did you do?" So I replied, "I temped as a receptionist for a mining company." And explained why I felt that I didn't need to have it on my CV. Her response, "Yes, but what did you DO??" "Well, I answered the phone and transferred calls to various departments, I received courier packages, as it was a high security building, I screened visitors before allowing them access and I also used Microsoft Word Mail Merge to send out mass mailings to shareholders." Her response, "so what did you DO???" What did I DO???? I went home and changed the dates of my schooling on my CV to eliminate the damn gap, that's what I did. I couldn't fathom how an irrelevant five-month gap from four years ago had anything to do with how good I was at advertising. But then again, if I wasn't good enough to be hired right out of school with no gaps, I wasn't good enough for them.

Job prospects were tight for me in Canada. When I wanted to leave the ad agency, I wanted to leave for more money because I was already underpaid. However, I was currently paying next to nothing for transportation because I walked to work. If I moved jobs, I would probably need to add in the cost of a commute. As nothing that I was applying for was within walking distance, I needed to consider that unless I was making more money, my disposable income would be lower. I couldn't find anything that was going to pay me more money to offset my higher living costs. At the same time, none of these jobs were sufficiently interesting for me to sacrifice a bit of money for long-term gain. Also, considering the wage-freeze, hiring-freeze climate that Canada was in at the time, I had to consider that the wage I accepted upon hiring was probably going to be my wage for around 2-3 years.

I know that I would never have the job that I have now back home. In fact, the company I work for has offices in Canada, and had I sent my CV to them instead of moving abroad, they probably wouldn't even have considered me worthy of a thanks-but-no-thanks email in response.

I often think about moving home but my main barrier, besides the lack of vacation time and travel opportunities, is the fact that I'm not sure there is anything for me at home. Will there be a decent, challenging job for me back home, or will I be turned down because I'm considered a waster for quitting my job and leaving for Europe in the first place? Will any employers feel that my international work experience is worthy and valid, or will they write it off because it's not "Canadian experience"? In the past, I heard critcisms from would-be employers that I wasn't qualified because I didn't have enough experience with PowerPoint. (PowerPoint? Hi, I'm a moron and have the inability to learn a Microsoft application). Will I return home to hear that I am not qualified because I haven't been in the Canadian workforce for the past few years, and international experience is not desirable because it's something akin to colouring outside the lines?

Will I pack up my wealth of life and work experience to return home to end up performing the office equivalent of asking "Would you like fries with that?" According to those 165 comments, the answer to that is yes.

Article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051113.wcanada1113/CommentStory/National/

Now what the hell am I supposed to eat?

Once upon a time, bread was good for you - as long as it wasn't white bread of course. Bacon, eggs and red meat were bad for you if you ate them every day, so you really only had them on weekends. They were fine in moderation. Milk was essential for strong bones, and if you didn't drink it, you would never be strong and healthy.

Then we found out that milk isn't that good for you. Cows are given so many antibiotics, some of them are transferred into the milk and it's the long term effects haven't been determined, but it's sometimes cited as a reason for the rise of lactose intolerance. That's fine, because I don't like milk and I haven't had any for years.

Bread then became the new public enemy #1. It is a carb, and all carbs are bad. They contribute to insulin resistance, which occurs because the body can no longer process fuels, fats and sugars. This occurs because our bodies are geared towards storing food for an upcoming famine, but in this current day and age, there never is a famine. Our carbs are over-processed so they're broken down into sugars too quickly and easily, and our body develops an insulin resistance, which causes us to gain weight and keep it on despite reducing caloric intake. Bread also bears no resemblance to the product of our grandparents' generation anyway. Unless you're buying whole grain bread, most of the nutrients have actually been stripped out of it during the processing. Also, apparently there is more gluten in today's bread than there was several years ago, and many people have difficulty digesting it. This too was ok. After I returned from Germany when I was 16, I declared that I only wanted to eat bakery whole grain or rye bread, so I could still have my honey on toast with a clear conscience - I wasn't eating mass-produced bread.

However, now that I am in Ireland and am struggling more with my figure, I have had to eliminate many carbs from my diet. I find it's the only way I can keep weight down. So I've had to say good-bye to my beloved honey on toast - for now anyway. I could never find proper whole grain bread here anyway.

So my diet mainly consists of salads, cheese, eggs, chicken and pork. I do eat carbs sometimes because I'm just not that good of a dieter, but when I am being strict, it's mostly salads and meats.

Of course, by salad I don't mean iceberg lettuce. I read in the Globe & Mail a couple of years ago that the molecules in iceberg lettuce in particular retain radioactive material even after washing. California farms get most of their water from the Colorado River which contains some toxic contaminants from the aerospace/nuclear industry from companies like Lockheed Martin that sometimes illegally dump waste in the river. So since then I only buy greenhouse-grown Boston Leaf lettuce.

A couple of weeks ago, there was a report that avian flu has hit Britain. Now it turns out that the bird was never in the regular poultry supply so it's all good, but considering the British track record - foot & mouth, mad cow, I'm not convinced. Also, the health authorities have assured us that eating poultry and eggs is ok - just be sure to make sure that the yolk on your eggs is cooked. Ok, so runny yolk is risky, but cooked yolk is ok. I'm feeling a little more uneasy now. Also, though I live in Ireland, that doesn't make me immune. The Irish are notorious for half-assed laziness when it comes to manufacturing/production.

Since that report came out, I've had a really hard time eating chicken. It's just the last straw for me. First it was "Fast Food Nation". After reading about the meat processing process, I was freaking out that I couldn't afford to only buy organic meat on a regular basis. After awhile, however, I started to not think about it so much. Then a couple of months ago I read an article about the manufacturing of chickens and how they're fed massive amounts of hormones to grow faster and that if you see bruise-like marks on the chicken, it's actually urine - they accidentally pee on each other and themselves because they're in such close quarters. So I just made sure that none of the chicken I bought had bruises on it. Now I'm possibly eating something that can cause the next world pandemic... That just did it for me. I can't even look at the chicken breasts at the meat counter.

So for the eighth day in a row I'm eating pork. I like pork, and garlic spareribs are one of my favourite foods. Of course, I can't eat rice with those spareribs anymore, but that's ok. I remember hearing something about pork - or is it just that you can't eat it if you're Jewish? Well, I'm not Jewish and I'm certainly not going to seek out any information about whether or not pork is good for you. I don't want to know. As it is, I'm so bored with my diet. It's completely uninspiring but there is nothing else I can eat (that I like). I can make fish sometimes, but I bring a packed lunch to work and fish isn't suitable for that. I get home from the gym too late during the week to cook a meal then so I can only really have fish on the weekends. So that leaves salad, pork, cheese and eggs... but wait, cheese comes from cows pumped up on antibiotics doesn't it, and eggs come from avian flu-infected chickens.... CRAP!!!

Now what the hell do I eat?

Some recent thoughts

Ok, I know I haven't written lately. There are a few reasons for it. I'm pretty happy in my new apartment so I haven't been going out into town as much - and into net cafes. I have broadband now though so I plan on posting more regularly from now on. Also, work has been shockingly busy, leaving me little time to think about other stuff.

I had a few thoughts for the topic of this post, but I've decided that for my first post back after my hiatus, I'll just post a collection of some random thoughts from the past week or two.

I can't believe that Kate Moss is still in the news here. What is so shocking about the fact that she's a cocaine addict? I thought it was shocking that pictures haven't come out before now.

I've been reading slate.com recently. They have a geat mix of articles from the political to pop cultural. This past week, I read a very good series about a terrorist's wife and also a couple of great articles about the high school prom. As my prom, uh I mean company Christmas party, is coming up, I found the prom series of articles very topical. No I don't intend on going to this year's Christmas party. Once you've graduated from high school, there is no reason to ever look back.

I can't believe that a senior White House politician is named Skippy - whoops, I mean Scooter. Ok, considering this current administration, I can believe it. However, nothing says "frat boy" more than the name Scooter. Does anyone take this guy seriously? Let me guess, Daddy got him into Yale, he rode his connections to the top, stole an election with the help of his governor brother.... oops, wrong Republican. Anyway, I think that you should never trust a man named for a child's mode of transportation. Verdict: Guilty. As an aside, this prosecuter seems to be really tough. I hope Official A is Karl Rove.

My newest favourite TV show is "Lost". Before anyone comments, pickings are slimmer here than back home.

In the news today

Air France flight 358 crashed upon landing at Toronto's Pearson International airport yesterday afternoon. No one died in the crash, which is a complete miracle. It's really impressive that the flight crew managed to get all 300+ passengers out of the plane before it burst into flames. As the panic factor must have been high, this was no easy task, and the crew is to be commended. I often count how many rows I am sitting away from the emergency exits, and sometimes I'll admit that my thoughts turn to calculating how many people sitting in front of me are likely to impede me getting off the plane in the event of a crash by panicking, blocking the way, deciding to grab something from the overhead bins first, or being too scared to use the emergency chute. I am convinced that I will be in a crash someday and will survive the initial impact, but will die because I couldn't get off the plane on time because someone stopped to grab their purse.

Some thoughts about this event:

1. RTE news sucks (Irish state TV channel). They announced in a news break that "a plane crashed in Toronto". They didn't say what flight or how, and then went on to a story about poverty in Niger. I was beside myself flipping the channels until I got all my info from Sky.

2. Fly Air France. Their crew is obviously top-notch. I flew a Continental code-share on an Air France plane coming back from Paris a few years ago, and they are great.

3. I am right to always want to sit at the back of the plane if I can't get an emergency exit row seat.

4. It's a really sad commentary about the state of the world today that when we hear about things like this, we express more relief that it was an accident instead of a terrorist incident before worrying about if there were any survivors.

Blue Rodeo in Dublin

Went to see Blue Rodeo at Whelan's on Friday night with a Canadian friend of mine. Whelan's is a small bar that hosts a lot of live acts. It was a great show. The place was packed with Canadians. I knew a couple of other people there, and hung out with them for a bit. A band from Nova Scotia called El Torpedo opened and they were really good. They were on when I got there, and I thought at first that Blue Rodeo had started already. I soon realized that it wasn't them, but knew right away that I was listening to a Canadian band. They're quite Tragically Hip-influenced.

Blue Rodeo was, of course, great. Funny, it's the kind of band where you know so many of their songs, but you wouldn't necessarily buy an album or make the effort to see them live – unless you're away from home, then you go for some Canadian good times. Everyone there was belting out all the words, it was so much fun. They played for a really long time too and they included all the favourites like "Lost Together","I Don't Know What I'm Doing Here", "Rose-coloured Glasses", and "Hasn't Hit Me Yet", though they didn't play "Try". It sucked that I was on crutches, but I got a stool, which was lucky, as they usually empty the place of furniture during concerts.

As my friend kept going up to the bar to talk to her boyfriend who was standing up there, I actually felt a bit alone for much of the concert. The other guys that I knew there were with their girlfriends and you could tell they were sharing a part of where they came from with them. I felt like I had no one with whom to share the evening. If this were a night back home, I would have been there with a bunch of friends. It was that kind of show. It would have been better if I wasn't stuck sitting all night, and also if my friend hadn't brought along her boyfriend, who was quite honestly, not into it. As it was, I felt alone among my countrymen, which was weird. For a few hours on Friday night, I was home. But yet, I wasn't.

It wouldn't be a sports season unless I am carried off the field

I sprained my ankle a few nights ago playing tag rugby. I was trying to tag this girl, and she was trying to deek around me. She stopped suddenly and moved in the other direction, so I did too, but my left ankle didn't go in the same direction as the rest of my body. I heard a pop and was down on the ground. It turned out to be not that bad of a sprain though you wouldn't have known by the size of my ankle and the pain on Tuesday night. I had to be carried off the field and then later carried to the car. The swelling has gone down quite a bit already and I can walk a short distance without limping. If I go to the store, I still need one of my crutches and ramps and stairs are a bit of an issue, but I think that I'll be walking somewhat normally at least by next week. So it's not nearly as bad as some of my previous injuries.

It was hard work getting used to being a temporary cripple here in Dublin. I had to catch a taxi to the hospital but I ran out of credit on my phone the night before. I had to ask my flatmate to call me a taxi, and the taxi company didn't want to come pick me up because I live too close to the hospital (it's about a five minute walk). First however, I needed to add some credit onto my phone because I needed to call work to say I wouldn't be in. The taxi driver pulled up to the store and I asked him if he wouldn't mind going in and he said no. I had to hop on one leg into the store, top up my mobile and hop out. Good thing I took dance classes as a kid, they really came in handy. At the hospital, they didn't put me in a wheelchair. A nurse led me to radiology and halfway down the hallway, which I was hopping down, she turned and asked me if I wanted crutches. Uh, well, how much further is radiology? Oh no that's ok, I'll keep hopping. It's a great workout. My good leg was hurting more than the sprained ankle by this time.

Irish hospitals are grim by the way. I was wondering why everyone at tag was saying that I should go home, put ice on it, and not go to the hospital until tomorrow if I could help it. I think the hospital waiting room would be seriously dodgy in the evenings. Oh, and something that some of you might find surprising. If you go into a hospital for anything, they charge you EURO55. I have private insurance, which I just got through work the day before my injury, fortuitously enough, but it's not very good here in Ireland. It doesn't cover the EURO55 admittance fee for one. Private insurance covers you for things like cancer treatment and private beds in a hospital, which you would definitely want here, as well as maternity care, cardiac care (necessary for those who grew up on Irish breakfasts) and MRI scans. Outpatient treatment including all proactive tests, GP visits and specialist consultations (dermatology, orthopaedic, physiotherapy) are discounted rate subject to a EURO220 or EURO350 yearly deductible - depending on what plan you go for. You can pay extra for a complete plan, but it's very, very expensive. I guess I feel slightly easier knowing that if I get something chronic, and I spend more than EURO220 in a year, that my subsequent outpatient visits will be discounted, though you have to pay the full amount and get the money back at the end of the year. I went with the plan with the lower deductible for routine care, because let's face it, if I get cancer, I'm going home to Canada. Besides, my plan also has partial cover for emergency dental in case of an accident, and the other plan had no coverage for dental at all. Teeth don't matter here apparently. Meanwhile, if I get in an accident and my teeth get knocked out, I consider that to be a serious medical issue. Getting teeth fixed properly (and to a certain cosmetic standard) is very expensive here. I much prefer the Canadian system – it's just so much easier. I got a skin rash a couple of months ago, and thought I might have to go to a dermatologist (EURO150 just for him to look at you once). Luckily, my GP could treat it, and she only costs EURO50. Overall that's not a lot of money, but if you had to make a few follow-up visits and see a specialist a few times, that really makes a difference in one's budget.

Dublin isn't very disabled-friendly. The disabled access ramp at the train station where I go to catch the train to work is under repair, so that area is boarded up. To get on the train, I have to go over a pedestrian overpass, which has lots of stairs and is slippery in the rain. When I get off the train at my destination, the disabled exit leads to the street, so I would need to exit, cross the tracks and walk back to the station on the other side to catch the bus. It's a bit of a circuitous route. Alternatively, there is an overpass that I could climb. I don't really fancy climbing the stairs to the overpass on my knees and then going down on the other side on my butt in the presence of my fellow commuter coworkers. Besides, the shuttle bus leaves five minutes after the train arrives, and it would probably take me so long to do either option, I would miss the bus anyways. I've been taking the city bus to work, which takes longer, is less comfortable, but hey, no stairs and someone gives me their seat. It's times like this that you realise how crappy disabled people have it. I wish I had my work laptop set up and had Internet access - then I could work from home.

I have to say, thought, that people in Dublin are definitely nice to people with crutches, which is funny because normally I find most Dubliners to be pushy and inconsiderate. On my way home from the hospital, I was getting tired because the crutches are unbelievably crappy. My whole upper body has been killing me from the way I have to hold them, and I think I now have carpal tunnel in my left wrist as a result. I got to the shopping centre, which is between the hospital and my place, and there is a patch of grass there. Since I was really tired, I thought I would sit there for a bit. Intelligent move, because I couldn't get back up again. I was trying to get up, but my right leg was pretty weak from all the hopping earlier in the day, and I couldn't roll myself up just on that leg. At one point was on all fours to try to get up, when I noticed that this guy was staring at me from his car. I sat back down to wait until he drove off because I'm not here to put on a show for anyone's amusement, when he pulled over, got out of his car, and asked me if I needed help up. Everyone at work has been getting me tea, and in fact, I find it hard to just go to the cafeteria without being fussed over. After work one day, I was trying to get on the bus, but the stairs were kind of high up, so some guy came by and helped me up the stairs and then asked someone to get out of their seat so I could sit there. Funny, because most people push their way on and off the bus to make sure they're first.

Hitting the Wall

Something happens to me that I refer to as hitting the wall. If drinking beer for example, which I don't do well, I'll often hit a drinking wall, where I cannot possibly put another drop down my throat because I feel full. The wall sneaks up on me very quickly. I can have three pints of beer and feel fine, but three sips into my fourth and the wall just hits. People, Irish people in particular, comment on leaving a perfectly good beer to waste, but I just can't finish it. I also have a "I'm tired and need to go to bed" wall. It's like the drinking wall except that when it hits, I need to go home and go to bed, and I need that to happen right away. If I'm left waiting before I can head home, I get very, very crabby.

Irish people aren't generally known for being particularly speedy. This is especially true when they're out socialising/drinking. It also gets worse as the night progresses, which creates a conflict with my wall and my subsequent need for a quick escape at the end of the night. Usually, I try to prevent such problems by not going to an event with someone, and also by having my own way home (usually taxi), so I don't have to rely on anyone else. I actually do my best not to agree to getting a ride home with someone. I also don't wait around for others to be ready at the end of the night. I make sure that the other girls are set up with rides or they come with me for a taxi, but everyone else is on their own. When I'm out with my Canadian friends, I can leave quickly and easily. Someone will say, are you ready to go, and we go. It's all very simple. That doesn't work with Irish people.

Case in point. This past weekend, I was in Letterkenny at a party with a friend. I decide that I want to leave and my friend says that we'll call a cab to get back to the B&B, but first we have to find Deirdre because she might want to share a cab. 10 minutes later, we find Deirdre and she's just opened a new beer. So w''re going to wait for Deirdre to finish her beer. By this point, it's 2.30am and I'm estimating our ETA to the B&B at 4.00am. It's a 25 minute walk to the B&B. I suggest that we call the cab now anyway because it took 45 minutes for one to come get us to take us to the party - in Letterkenny, which isn't that big. There was some hesitation here on my friend's part. Finally my friend calls a cab, and it's going to be 20 minutes, so he's worried that the taxi will be here too soon. hahahahahahahaha. First of all, this is Letterkenny. Things do happen at a certain pace in Dublin, but they happen twice as slowly outside of Dublin. Since I have hit the wall, my censor is also disabled and I tell him not to worry because that's an Irish 20 minutes. They won't be here before half an hour, but probably closer to the 45 minutes it took for us to get a taxi on the way here. So, now I'm not too popular and I'm sitting on a porch step. People are looking at me because I look like I'm wasted and ready to drop at any second while we wait for Deirdre to finish her beer. While the second half of that is right, I didn't actually have very much to drink - only a couple of glasses of wine. I. Just. Want. To. Go. Home. NOW. Any act on my part to be sociable could inadvertantly prolong the goodbye process.

The Irish have a way of saying goodbye that seems to last forever. Really, they're going to see each other again. At the end of a party though, when they say that they're leaving, what they really mean is 'I'm going to have one last drink, make one last round of conversation with everyone, and then I'll call a taxi and start to prepare to leave, but will do a final goodbye and someone will say "do you really have to go now" and I may change my mind and have one more for the road'. If they do go, the approximate time between stated intention to leave with actually physically leaving is anywhere between 1-3 hours. This is something I can't comprehend. Even if the wall hasn't hit yet, once I say I'm leaving, I am really leaving and I prepare to actually do so. As a kid, it drove me nuts when we would get our coats on to leave someplace and my parents would continue the conversation at the door with the host for half an hour while my brother and I were standing there roasting.

So back to Letterkenny. As it didn't look like Deirdre or my friend were actually ready to go anytime soon and I didn't want to be the party pooper, I told my friend that it's only a 25 minute walk to the B&B, but it will be 45 minutes before the taxi arrives, and probably closer to an hour by the time we actually get out of there, so I have no problem walking back. And I meant it. I don't want to drag people away, but I was so close to losing it because they weren't leaving any time soon. I know it's just the Irish demeanour but I do think it's kind of rude. I said I wanted to go, and my friend said we would go, but then we're not really going. He knows I'm tired, but I'm expected to wait for an hour and a half for him. I'm supposed to wait because he'll feel bad that he let me walk home alone in the middle of the night, but I'm supposed to wait until 4am so he doesn't feel bad? We left as soon as the taxi came whether the others were ready to go or not (they weren't).

I think others think that I'm just being crabby, and well I am being crabby, but it's more than that. It's actually almost painful for me to sit there and wait for the others to be ready when I'm dead tired. I can't describe it, but it's a real physical exertion to keep my eyes open, let alone be charming. I don't think people understand how annoying and hard it is to wait for people to walk down the street, people who are walking so slow because they have the complete inability to walk in a straight line. They stop at a side street (is is this one?). Then they stop because they think they left their jacket behind, but no they're wearing it. They then stop again and turn around because they think they lost me, but meanwhile, I'm taking baby steps and pausing during each one and I'm still half a block ahead of them. The only way I could be behind them is if I was walking backwards. They also stop whenever someone speaks because they can't walk and talk at the same time. And finally, finally, a 1/2 hour later, they make it to the end of the street. But look Abrakebabra (dodgy kebab chain). Food. Let's stop. ARGGHHHH!

I know it would be easier if I could catch early-warnings signs of the wall. That way, I can proactively say that I need to go and maybe successfully leave before the wall hits. But I can't predict it. I can be on the dance floor one minute and look like I'm ready to boogie all night, and the next minute it will hit. Then I need to go. Now.

sum-sum-summertime

It's a heatwave over here in Ireland. I'm not being sarcastic either. It's not a heatwave in terms of what I'm used to back in Toronto, but it's been close to record-breaking temperatures over here for the past few days. It was over 27C on Monday and yesterday. Today is in the early 20s and it's expected to be that way for the rest of the week. We've had much less rain so far this summer than last summer (knock wood), when it rained nearly every day in July. In fact, we have had quite a few sunny days and nearly every weekend has been pleasant since the end of May.

I went to play tag rugby last night and running around outside in the warm sunshine was really fun. Ireland would be a much more enjoyable place if the sun shined more often.