My Dublin Life

The sun is shining down on Dublin, and it suits it. As you'll know, the weather's notoriously volatile here. Personally, I like it, because the light changes so much throughout the day that the city can look very different, depending on whether it's sunny or cloudy, or whether the sun is shining in a clear sky or a foggy one. A lot of the buildings downtown are brick and when it's sunny the brick seems to soak in the light somehow. Maybe there's a scientific explanation for it... not sure.

Anyway, I'm excitedly planning for my friend's visit. She's not coming for a month, but I'm workign my a** off now so's to be able to take time off when she's over. She's bringing her daughter, too. That was an unexpected piece of news, because I was expecting the kid to be left with her grandma, but what the hey. I've found out that The Ark is running a number of shows as part of the October Theatre Festival so I think maybe I'll book tickets for some of them. I've been there before, as part of my babysitting job (now, alas, just an occasional thing), and my experience has been that the shows those guys put on might be simple enough for kids, but they're also good enough for adults to enjoy, too.

Anyway, that's the good bit of the kid coming. The only thing I'm disappointed about is that I was hoping to spend a day or two doing some hiking in the Dublin/Wicklow mountains before it gets too cold, and maybe that's not such an easy thing to do with a child. We'll see... 

I haven't been a student at Trinity for several months now, but because it's slap-bang in the centre of town, you can't help walking by/through the college pretty often. Right now there are several good reasons to go, and that's not even counting spotting the fresh, shiny new first-years and going "ahhh.... aren't they cute?"

At the back of Trinity there's the Science Gallery which is cool because it has smallish exhibitions that you can pop into, and they're always interesting. The one they have on right now is the one I've liked best so far for sure, though. It's all about sound and music, "Biorythm Live". The sonic bed was my favourite.

My housemate, who's definitely the sportsy one in the place, also told me about an outdoors photo exhibition that's being held in Trinity after dark, as in, they are illuminating the whole front square with massive shots. It does sound amazing, and I think I'll try and take it in after work in the brief period between frantically chopping vegetables and collapsing into bed. Restaurant work sure is tiring. On the plus side, I'm now an expert at Mediterranean grilled vegetables and even though I make 'em at work most days, I've gotten used to the eating them at home, too. I've lost 3 kilos. Totally pleased about that although now that that evenings are getting darker and chillier, the many hot whiskeys I'm planning to consume during the autumn and winter evenings will probably take care of that. 

I'm really looking forward to my friend's visit which is getting close. I've known Vicki since forever and while I wouldn't say I've been pining for her or anything, being able to just sit and talk to someone who understands the way I see the world as she does, well, it's going to be great. Also, she hasn't travelled all that much, and I'm really quite excited about showing her around my adopted city!! I am not a girlie girl, but she is, and she's probably the only friend I'd even consider doing anything like going to a day spa with (she actually asked if they have these exotic things in Dublin).

According to my friend the greengrocer up the road, the weather's going to be "only fantastic" for the next two weeks, because the children are going back to school and the weather in Dublin likes to taunt schoolchildren by being wonderful in May and June  ("exam weather") and then again in September ("back to school weather").

I can still remember what it was like being a kid and waiting for the end of the holidays with massive ambivalence, torn between wanting to see all my friends and dreading the new teacher and the lessons. All the shops near where I live, on Henry Street, etc. are full of window displays of "back to school" bits and pieces, and they make for a pretty sobering display begging the question of why, just why, do school uninforms have to be in drab colours, and why school shoes have to be ugly. Seriously; the fall is coming and the days are going to start getting darker. Wouldn't it be nice to see the streetscapes lived up by the sight of kids in bright uniforms? I think that's a great idea! Imagine: hordes of little boys in Hawaiin school shirts, and girls in polka-dots. Wouldn't that just be nicer than dark blue and grey and khaki?

Well, that's my opinion on the matter.

Although it's always hard to say "goodbye" to the summer I'm actually loving the fact that it's finally getting dark a bit earlier in the evening. It never feels quite right to be in a pub when it's broad daylight outdoors, and pubs just feel and look a lot cosier when they're all bright and lit up inside, and you can see the dark night through the window. I have my favourite pubs, of course, but I think it's time to, ahem, research a few more. My friend Vicki is coming in a few weeks and I'd like to have a few nice places to take her. She's a cleancut sort of a gal so I think I'll freak her out a little by organising an outing to Gravediggers', which has an alarming name but is actually a real cool old-style pub in Glasnevin.

Anyway, it's a beautiful day, I'm not working until late, and I'm going to do the healthy thing and hop on a DART and go to the beach for some fresh air and exercise! I'm soooo outta here!

I totally don't regret not doing teacher training, as my parents wanted me to do, because I'm having a great time in Dublin and I like my minimum-wage job at the restaurant. Hopefully, I'll move on to Greater Things one of these days but for now I'm doing just fine.

I do miss books though, and the way I used to have all the time in the world to read, and had to read, loads of great books because I was studying literature. In Dublin, they hype up the great writers to the max, but there really is a sense of the importance of literature here that's totally real, and it's very cool to be able to walk into a pub and know that James Joyce at some point probably sat right where you are, enjoying a pint.

This year, Dublin was made a UNESCO city of literature. Now, that's something. There are lots of literary events here all the time. I'm going to see Seamus Heaney soon, and then there's a festival of literature in Dun Laoighire. Hyped up it may be, but Dublin's love of literature is also very, very real.

So, fall is just around the corner and if you look carefully, you can see the leaves on the trees beginning to turn. I'm not complaining; one of the unsung pleasures of Dublin is walking through the residential areas on a sunny fall day, kicking your way through the piles of leaves on the ground. One windy night can knock a lot of leaves off, and it takes the city workers a while to get through them -- the upside is that all the children, and this blogger, have a lot of fun stomping through the crunchy piles!

Seriously, though, Dublin is great in the fall. The students are all back in college, so there are lots of young people everywhere, including all the wide-eyed first years from small towns and villages, loose in the city for the first time. You gotta love 'em. There's lots to do and, let's face it, the Irish look their best in the more muted colours of fall/winter wear. They're always very eager to strip down to their smalls when the sun shines, but they look somehow unconvinced in their caribbean colours. For my money, there's nothing more handsome than a pale-skinned Galway man with dark hair and a granddad shirt. Maybe that's not a trendy look, but it's a good one.

Here in Ireland, Heritage Week is underway. Work has prevented me from seeing much yet, but things are a bit less hectic for the next few days and I'm hoping to attend some events. Apparently, it's great. There was a big queue on Grafton Street for a lecture about the history of Dublin, so there must be a lot of interest out there. Saturday's the last day of my babysitting job, because I'm getting more horus in the restaurant, so I'm looking for something to take the kids to as a goodbye. So there's my plans for the weekend!

Many people don't realise that Dublin was founded by Vikings, which I guess is kind of understandable, because the Irish are very proud of their Celtic heritage, and most of Dublin was actually built by the British! But all the downtown area was once a Viking town including, I suppose, the part where I live. So far as I can gather, the Vikings used to be viewed in these parts as general bad guys, because of the whole pillaging-and-looting business, but have undergone a sort of posthumous improvement, as having been the founders of the capital city. Which I presume also means that there are wild Viking genes in at least some of the citizens of Dublin. Hmmm... explains a lot!!

The Dublin Viking festival has just been celebrated, and it's on every year, so I guess the Vikings are being taken on board a bit more! I think it's a good thing. The Irish culture has absorbed loads of influences over the years, and I'm sure it will continue to do that for the foreseeable future!

Well, that's my two cents for the day. I'm off to work!

Apparently, City Deals have been around for a while, but I've only just heard of 'em, probably because I'm working so much these days that I haven't have much time to be on Facebook, which is where most people seem to have encountered them for the first time. Anyway, they're great!! I think it's not just a Dublin thing but, basically, you sign up and then every day you get sent the possibility to buy a thing or service super-cheap. I suppose the idea is so that you can try it and then go back.

The latest one in my in-box is an invitation to a very cheap spray-tan, which isn't really my bag. What serious Bram Stoker fanatic would go bronzed when she could stay pallid and interesting? But there are lots of other things.  A friend of mine took me out to dinner at a restaurant called Darwin's, on Aungier Street. The decor is very professional, and also a bit odd; they have pictures of humans at various stages of evolution all over the walls. The food was amazing, though -- and I say this as someone with several months of restaurant work under her belt. My buddy paid for most of our meal with the vouches he brought on City Deal, making it nearly as cheap as going out for a kebab and chips. No that there's anything wrong with a kebab (au contraire) but sometimes it's nice to be a bit fancy for a change.

Anyways, flushed with the success of our night out, I think City Deal rocks and hope it lasts.