My Dublin Life

So I'm about to leave for the bus down to Wicklow but I have to vent. Bepe just told me that, on August 2nd, his mom, dad and sisters are coming to stay for ten days.

No problem, right? But he has told them that they can stay HERE in our teeny-tiny two-bed apartment. He's already bought a couple of those inflatable mattresses. Isn't that a bit much? I mean, my family came but they stayed in a hotel. He didn't even ASK me.

I don't even have time to deal with this right now. We'll just have to talk about it when I get back

Lidl is fantastic! Even better than Costco, which is the version we've got back home.


I'm getting pretty psyched about my upcoming solo camping trip. I was prevaricating between Meath and Wicklow and for now I'm going to Wicklow. I bought a tent in Lidl for less than you've probably paid for pizza. I'm glad I brought my hiking boots. I've found a campground to stay in.
I've bought a detailed map. It's from the Ordance Survey and I'm pretty excited about it as it's so fricking detailed. I didn't know there was so much archaeology in Wicklow!!

Bepe says, "You'll last a night camping on your own." But I am actually looking forward to some me-time, in the country. I have packed a bunch of books to read and anyway it'll probably be reasonably easy to hook up with people in the campground if I too get lonely. I can't wait!! I like being in the city but sometimes the best thing about the city is leaving it for a a few days.

So you'll hear from me when I'm back. I expect to be totally relaxed and a couple of kilos lighter :-p

So last night I wasn't going to go anywhere. I popped out to pick up some instant noodles at Spar (cue Bepe's vocal disapproval: "You will die young and fat if you keep eating that American rubbish) when I bumped into this girl I slightly know from TCD library. As in, I didn't know her name until last night but I had met her in the shelves poring over a Bram Stoker bio and we had had a few words.

"I was just going for a drink," she said (we'll call her "Belle" for the purposes of this blog. "Wanna come?"

I told her I didn't have any money but she said she'd stand me a drink and I could catch her the next time. She told me she was going to The Dragon.

"Isn't that a gay bar?" I asked, to which she said, "Well, kinda, but everyone goes because the music is rocking and the decor is really cool."

The decor is really cool, I'll give it that. But I don't usually like gay bars and the reason why is this: Way too many gay men are really, really good-looking and it's just not fair and it is not nice being around all those gorgeous hunks of man-flesh and knowing that all their eyes are for each other and not for me. It's demoralising and it's like being in an ice-cream parlour and being told to ignore all those FABULOUS flavous and here, just gnaw on this hank of withering broccoli.

Anyway. So we went. And it was fun. I had a mojito. (Not bad although I think they are better in the Gypsy Tea Room back home). The music, while not the mildly depressing stuff I generally prefer, was great. So much so that after knocking back a mojito, I got up to dance. So did Belle. And we were having a great time, until I noticed several people looking at us with "what a cute little couple" expressions. So I went up to the bar and got a glass of water. Belle wanted to know why I had stopped dancing and suddenly doubt filled my mind. Was I on a date? How could I tell? At what point does a drink in a gay bar with a pretty girl stop being just a drink and become a date you hadn't really counted on? Well, I went home shortly after that although we arranged to go to Cafe Bar Deli for pizza when I get back from my camping trip next week as I didn't want her to think that I thought that she thought...well you get the picture.

So now I am planning my camping trip. I still need a tent, but I've already spent my entire budget for July and am eating into August's money. I need to get a part-time job, seriously. I will address this issue in August when hopefully some of the other 450,000 job seekers will have collapsed into apathy.

Well, I did two days in Oxegen -- day passes so I had to stay (expensively) in a B&B but it was worth it. It rained, it poured, but it was great. I've never been in a such a big crowd before and I've never been so muddy before either. Fabulous. Peter Doherty was AMAZING and while I'm not usually a huge fan of Lady Gaga she was great. Most of all, the energy was fabulous, just the fact of having so many people having a cool time together.

Right now, I'm in TCD Library with a huge pile of books trying to do some more background reading but I'm just too tired to really care. I've brought my swimsuit and I'm planning to go for a swim at the Countess Markevicz (sp.?) pool. I looked her up and she's a strange choice for someone to name a pool after but whatever. I need to do something good n health as a certain amount of beer was consumed at the weekend.

Ooh. Bepe just sent me a text! A package has arrived from Mom. It must be her bottled moose. I'm off to Dinner with Saoirse's First Cousin Once Removed the FAMOUS IRISH ROCK STAR in two weeks and Mom couldn't be dissuaded. At least I'll be prepared.

To cancel out the ill-effects of last weekend, I've decided to go camping for a week. I don't have a lot of money so suggestions please! I'm gonna take a week off but not go too far from the city in case the weather is awful. I'm thinking Wicklow, maybe Meath? Not sure if I'll go alone for Blissful Solitute or invite someone.

Everything is OK with Bepe I guess as he didn't say anything about my misplaced peck and I have hardly seen him all week.

Today, I got some fantastic news!! Dublin Tourism told me that my blog will be on their site soon. That's already pretty cool. I've even looked at Google AdWords :-) as she suggested when she told me that I had a job but wouldn't get paid.

But, Dublin Tourism Lady, all is forgiven! She rang me just about half an hour ago to tell me that she's got not one, not two but THREE day tickets for Saturday AND Sunday to the Oxegen festival! For me! How cool is that? I am so excited! I'm taking Saoirse and Bepe one day (I've decided not to care if she does ask him out) and my college girlfriends on the other day.

This is actually kind of like a dream come true. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. I mean, I'm from Newfoundland and while St Johns is far from being the backwater people think, it's a small city and the audiences just aren't big enough to attract a lot of the headlining acts. I am so freaking excited I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight!!! Wow! Gosh! Golly-gee!

In other exciting news, I was in the National Library today, and had the following conversation with "George", the curiously alluring bespectacled librarian:

ME: "Uh, can I have these books" (hands George request).
GEORGE: "Just take a seat and I will bring them down to you."
ME: "Nice trousers." (WHAT??? I was THINKING it and accidently said it aloud.)
GEORGE: "Excuse me?"
ME: "Uh, I meant, I was look for cords just like that and wondering where you got them."
GEORGE: "I think it was Dunnes Stores, about three years ago."
ME: "Right, thanks."
GEORGE: "So if you just take your seat I'll bring those books down to you."
ME: [Shuffles away in ignominy]

So, ladies and gents, next time you hear from me I'll be all wan and exhausted from my weekend at Oxegen. Thanks again Dublin Tourism. :-) :-)

So Bepe invited me yesterday to Phoenix Park to fly planes and he gave me a present. You're not going to believe this but he got me my own little remote control plane to fly. There's something I never expected to have! It was kind of a shitty day-weatherwise, but we had fun anyway and guess what, having a good time is more fun than being cool.

Speaking of outdoors pursuits, i have discovered something that is radically marvellous. Astronomy.

Check it out.

Obviously I am not about to become a professional astronomer as I have an MA in Gothic Literature to consider,but these lovely people organise totally free events around Dublin and elsewhere and you can go and look through their telescopes for free and they'll tell you all about it. How cool is that? I have decided that this is my new hobby! They have a whole series of lectures in Tara, the seat of the ancient high kings and just about an hour away from Dublin so if I can find someone with a car, I'm ready! Maybe if I email the organisers they could give me some tips, or is that pushy?

So on the way home, I was overcome with emotion about the whole plane thing so I leaned over to kiss Bepe on the cheek, friendly-like, and he moved his head at the wrong moment and I ended up planting one on his MOUTH. I'm totally embarrassed. I tried to laugh it off but he was all like, "Grazie," and stuff so I'm going out with Saoirse tonight to avoid him. We're just going for a drink at Pravda and I don't have lot of money so either she's buying or I'll be nursing a pint all night. I'm loving Pravda though and as its just outside my house I can't believe I didn't discover it though. Fantastic sofas. Great.

Tonight Saoirse will let me know when the dinner is on with her famous Irish Rock Star Cousin!

So I told Mom that Saoirse had invited me to dinner with her first-cousin-once-removed, the famouse Irish rock star and she said, bless her heart, "I'll send over a comfort package for you to bring."




My mom believes that everyone's life is improved by her cooking. She's not necessarily wrong, but is it appropriate to go to dinner in the house of a hugely wealthy rock star with a jar of bottled moose, some partridge berry jam and a bottle of Screech? Would that make me cute, or just a bit of a weirdo? Then again, maybe going to millionaires' houses with carefully packaged home-cooked produce, complete with smiley faces on the label, is just a nice thing to do.


I asked Bepe and he said, enigmatically, "The cooking of a mother is a sacred thing. Of course, my mother is a really good cook." He also said, "I don't really like that sort of music anyway," which is kinda missing the point.


That didn't leave me any wiser, so I just left him to his remote-controlled airplane repairs and got back to agonising. The dinner is next week, so maybe mom's comfort package won't arrive on time, which would make thing a heck of a lot easier.

Meanwhile, I went to the comedy show at the International Club and boy did I laugh. When I went in, I was a bit taken aback because the venue is tiny and quite grotty. It looked like there was room for about twelve people in there, but they had packed in maybe sixty. I'm telling you, these guys are hilarious. Hilarious! I didn't even think I liked stand-up! But I am going to be back for sure. There were three acts, all hilarious, and a compere, also hilarious. I wasn't the only foreigner there--there was even a bunch of Germans who seemed to be following. Well, I'm a convert. I always comedy was stupid but it's now something on my regular beat!

Bepe invited me to the Phoenix Park on Sunday to watch him fly his planes. I'm torn. I want to go, but I don't want to be the sort of person who watches remote planes. It's a problem.