My Dublin Life

I'm tired today and would like to be planning an evening in, because I was at a gig last night. I guess it was kind of a date with my Boyfriend but as he's a massive fan of the band, we hardly talked. He was up at the front getting down to the music. And I've gotta say, it was very interesting stuff, not like anything that I'd ever heard before.

The band is "The Jimmy Cake." Check them out. I am always amazed not just by how good the music is in Dublin in general, but by how much of it there is -- and every type too. It's everywhere. I love it. I'm not a musical person myself, but I like to listen and, honestly, you could go out any day of the week. There's an Opera Season starting at the end of the month. Bet you didn't know Dublin had the opera too!

Anyways, as I said, I'm tired. But there aren't going to be any early nights here. No sirree. My Uncle Joey arrived this afternoon and too a taxi to the B&B I booked for him in Phibsboro and although by rights he should be exhausted from his flight, well, this is Uncle Joey we're talking about. He's coming here soon because he wants to see the apartment and then I think it's going to be the pub crawl of all pub crawls as he wanders about town befriending bemused bar staff and inviting them to take him fishing at the weekend. I'm gonna take him to eat at the Brazen Head. That was one of the very first places I went to when I arrived in Dublin, and I think it's a good place to start. Plus, it claims to be Ireland's oldest pub, making it about the same age as the Viking Settlement in Newfoundland. That's gonna impress any North American.

And the beer's not bad either.

Sure, the weather is awful, but why complain? It's January. It's supposed to be awful. And when it is cold and rainy and we have to wear bulky clothes, well, there's no reason not to relax, eat a little too much, have one hot whiskey too many and wait until it warms up to worry about things. While I'm glad it's not January all year long, I'm happy to go with the flow.

After being a bit caught up in a minor personal melodrama, I've decided that my New Year's resolution is to take each day as it comes, work hard, enjoy life and start trying to make a plan for what I'll do when my course is finished. I started this weekend. Sunday dawned grey and slushy and very wintery, but I rang around and arranged to go to the Hugh Lane Gallery with Saoirse and my Boyfriend to see the massive Francis Bacon exhibition. I've been to that gallery before, and I like it because it's free, it's not too big and it seems to be a little different to the rest. From outside, the building looks like a standard Georgian townhouse, but inside, it's pretty fancy. The exhibition was not just about Bacon's art, but about his life and times, and there lots of bits and pieces. Photos, crumpled magazine pages, an old article about a 27-year-old George Michael. I hadn't even realised that Francis Bacon was Irish, but he was born right here in Dublin and grew up not far away. Poor man, the love of his life, George Dyer (Bacon was gay)died tragically. I can't imagine.

Anyway, getting away from gloomy thoughts, I've decided (part of the more general New Year's Resolution) not to waste Sundays anymore. There is always something to do.

My Uncle Joey arrives on Friday and will be gracing Dublin with his presence for five days before he goes down to Kilmore Quay to look up an old sailor buddy of his and maybe try to find the ancestral patch of land, which he believes to be down there. I had to go into Dublin Tourism on Monday, and as well as making vague promises to source me tickets to some of the festivals running in the city this year, they were actually really helpful. I think I've had enough family staying in my tiny apartment for now and as Bepe is here, it's not ideal anyway. But I don't want Uncle Joey in a hotel, because he's not a hotel sort of guy. He's from a small community, he's very friendly, and if he was staying in a hotel, I just know he'd hover round reception trying to show them his family photos and take them out for beers. Apparently, there are some bed and breakfasts near Phibsboro that might be better for someone like him. I'm thinking maybe this one. I think someone like Uncle Joey will be better off in a normal family house where they'll look at his family pictures and maybe even listen to his stories! I've heard that there's a very good pub for traditional music in the Phibsboro area, but as the best person to ask about that is my Boyfriend's dad and I'm too nervous to meet him, I'll have to ask trusty ol' Google instead. What I really want, though, is a place where people can come and sing spontaneously. My uncle is a great singer - traditional and other stuff -- and there's a big overlap between Newfoundland trad and Irish trad and I'm sure it'll be hard to STOP him from singing, so the sort of place where that's welcome would be perfect.

Anyways, I'm off home. Definitely a soup day and today I am thinking maybe tomato and basil...and some bread...

Oh but before I forget, the good people at Dublin Tourism asked me in particular to mention that there are loads of festivals on this year and that many of them are listed here. Folks, I've been here since April, and it's actually true. Festivals are back-to-back in Dublin, even in the dark-and-gloomy months. It might sound silly, but that's one of the reasons the thought of maybe leaving in June upsets me. Not that I don't love where I'm from, but I've kind of gotten used to the big city.

I'm feeling a lot better. Cosy night in last night, difficult topics undiscussed...

Today feels odd. More snow is forecast, but right not it seems to be melting. Kinda slushy underfoot, as I discovered on my foray outside for warm pastries. A perfect day for museum-visiting, so I'm gonna check out the temporary exhibitions, and hopefully come up with a plan while He is in the shower. There's almost always something good, so even if we have to freeze our toes off on the way there...it's worth it for culture :-)

Wow. I don't know what to say. As recently as two hours ago, I was really happy, becase I was meeting my boyfriend's Mom. And while our relationship is still quite new, and we are taking it slow, it was a big thing for me, because I felt that he felt comfortable enough with me to let me into his family life, at least a little.

It started off well. We had a lovely lunch at the Kilkenny Design Centre. Everyone was talking about the recent "bad weather" (though, coming from Newfoundland, it doesn't seem that bad to me). We made small talk. We ate home-made soup and soda bread. It was all good. She seemed like a very nice lady.

Then, he went up to get some coffee for everyone. She leaned across the table, and said:

"Don't take this the wrong way, dear, but I hope things aren't getting too serious. You know that he's a father, and we're all hoping that he's going to get back with the mother of his daughter, because the feeling in the family is that this split is just a little glitch."

Well, I didn't know what to say, and as soon as he came back I made an excuse and left. I feel in shock. They've been separated for more than a year. Things seem to be reasonably amicable, but he's certainly never given me any reason to think that they are likely to get back together again.

Honestly, I don't know what to think, and I don't really want to see her again any time soon, though I am sure that she's a nice lady. I'm seeing him tomorrow and the way I'm feeling right now, I sincerely have no idea if I'll bring the subject up or not.

The city is in a bit of chaos because of the ice and snow, which is apparently worse than usual for this time of year. I expect that things will be quieter than usual in the city centre tonight. It won't make a great deal of difference to me, because I life downtown. But I'm telling you one thing: ice or no ice, I want to go out tonight. If Saoirse can't stay over (she lives out of town and the bus service mightn't be working late tonight), I hope Bepe will be free, because I need to escape from my thoughts and I'd rather not do it on my own. Tonight is a night for hot whiskey or a creamy Guinness and a talk. I'm going to the pub. I know Bepe likes the Temple Bar in, well, Temple Bar, so maybe if I offer to buy the drinks, he can be my shoulder to cry on.

Now that I'm not a Family Gal any more, there's a lot more time to spend with my Boyfriend. He has his daughter three days a week, but the rest of the time, he's all mine. What's more, I'm going to meet his Mom tomorrow, just casually, as she's hooking up with him at lunch time so that they can go choose a present for his father's birthday in town. Apparently, his Mom is a big shopper, just like mine, and she's a fan of the Kilkenny Design Centre, which is just near Trinity, and also has a restaurant. So we're meeting there. I'm nervous, but it's not like we're engaged or anything so I'm not sure why. We're taking it slow. But we're going out a lot. Like, really a lot. He's excited, because next week one of his favourite local bands is playing, actually in a place that I really like, the Odessa. I think possibly he even knows one of the band members. I've never heard 'em before, because honestly, there just seem to be so many bands in Dublin, but strangely, the longer we spend together, the more I realise how little we actually know about each other. So it will be a welcome opportunity to gain some insight into what makes him tick. He said that they are unusual, prog rock, and that they've been part of the scene for quite a while. Tonight, he's going to play some CD's at my place. The band is called "The Jimmy Cake" which I presume is a traditional Irish dish or something (?).

He's calling around at 7. I couldn't help but notice that Dublin Bus is cancelling the bus service after 8pm tonight, because of all the ice on the roads. And, I have to confess, I haven't actually asked him if he knows that. Because, gee, if the bus service is cancelled, the taxis will be really overworked, or maybe not working at all, and that means that he won't be able to get home, which in turns indicates...ahem...well

Annoyingly, I have the impression that Bepe doesn't like him. Which is fair, because I sure as heck didn't like that girlfriend of his. But it's also awkward, because we're roommates, and his schedule at the restaurant has changed, and he's spending more time at home in the evenings, and I just like it better when people get along.

Anyway. I'm at home now and I'd better tidy this place up a bit or he'll think I'm messy or something...which I am...but he can learn that later. Plus, there's the complicated issue of what to have for dinner tonight. With this chilly weather, surely some delicious fish 'n' chips would be just the thing?

I got an email from Dublin Tourism today to let me know that a new theatre is opening in March, and asking me if I would like tickets to see Swan Lake. Now, I know that I'm in a super-privileged position, because I get about 6 free tickets to stuff every month -- things I mostly couldn't possible afford to go to, but I'm a bit, oh, I don't know...

Now, I like good looking men in tight clothes as much as the next gal...but ballet? I've never been a fan. Then again, this is a huge deal, the Bolshoi, which even I have heard of. I think I just don't understand ballet. The women are so tiny and the men look so ridiculous and, dammit, it looks like it must HURT.

On the third hand, I would love to see the theatre, which is all shiny and brand-new and not even open yet and in an area that I like a lot, because also quite shiny and brand-new and a contrast to the rest of Dublin, which is either old or old-and-new.

Anyway, with problems like these, I don't have a lot to complain about ;-)

Today I managed to pick up some chestnuts for roasting, which I've heard of but never actually had before, and I'll be meeting my Boyfriend and then looking for a suitable place to roast 'em. I don't think my centrally-heated apartment is the right spot, so I'm hoping that one of those old-style pubs with big open fires will look kindly on a would-be chestnut roaster. I've no idea what they'll taste like, but I like the idea of tucking in while outside it's clear and bright and frosty.

Today was a glorious day, or at least a glorious morning. While the newspaper headlines were shouting about ice and peril and danger, for this lucky city slicker, it was a morning bright with sunshine and the odd patch of slippy ice just added a little excitement to my walk to college. The library is open again, and I am working hard. Life is good, and I am happy. Happy to have had a fantastic Xmas, happy that it's over and that I can enjoy some privacy with my man again!

I was also surprised last night when Bepe opened the door and I realised that it was good to see him. I hadn't missed him, exactly, but he's an easier roomie than my Mom, who turned everything upside down and cleaned it while she was here, with the result that most of the kitchen implements have not been traceable ever since. I felt as thought I hadn't seen Bepe for ages when it was really, what..? 2 weeks or something? 2 and a half? He was suitably impressed by how shiny and tidy the apartment was and by the gifts Mom had left him. We decided to go out for a drink and considering the weather had one of those wonderful hot-whiskey-and-brandies each. Fabulous. Fabia, the girlfriend I've loved to hate all this while, is not coming back and as his job is still here, he thinks that they are going to "take a break". He's better off without that little...little minx. Pah! I'll help him find a better girl.

Here's a funny thing tho'. We were in this pub, Conways, which is on Parnell Street just near one of Dublin's maternity hospitals. It's a cool, old place with lots of mirrors and wood and "characters" having their drinks. This man came in, all emotional because his wife had just had twins. He didn't even want a drink -- he just wanted to tell someone all about it. Apparently, they are the most beautiful babies ever born in Ireland. I even saw a picture of them on his mobile phone. They looked like regular babies to me, but he was so excited, it was a good excuse to buy him a drink and have another round!

Well, I was sorry not to see my Boyfriend today -- but I am seeing him tomorrow and he's organised a surprise and I'm sure it's gonna be fantastic!! ;-)