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towniegirl
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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.
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.
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towniegirl
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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!
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!
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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!
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!
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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.
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.
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towniegirl
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Well, it's just over a month to go to the night that people-who-work-all-day-long look forward to all year round: Culture Night. All the museums and places with any association to "culture" no matter how vague that association stay open late to host exhibitions, shows, readings, and lots more, all or almost all completely free. I love it. It's on all over the city, as the map I just filched from their site shows:
Last year was my first, of course, and I still remember the inner city steel drum band giving it all they'd got outside the Bad Art Gallery on Francis Street. They have their own website and it really looks fantastic. A couple of my friends are volunteering on the grounds that there's a good chance they'll meet a smouldering Irish artist or two. Seriously, I would totally recommend these. You go to places you usually wouldn't think of visiting, just for the novelty of being able to do it late at night. I think they have nights like this in other cities, too. Such a cool idea. Let's hope the rain stays away. Although, note to self, someone could probably make a killing hawking cheap umbrellas if it does rain...
Speaking of smouldering Irish artists, it's been so long since I had a man on my arm. I'm getting really fed up. Sure, I meet guys at work, but seeing someone sweating over a sink of greasy dishes doesn't really predispose me to romance. Plus, I'm hanging out with my flatmate so much these days people probably think we're joined at the hip, which hardly encourages anyone who might like me.
Huh. So maybe I'll volunteer for Culture Night too. As they say in Ireland, you never know your luck!
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Back to school: that's the sign in all the shop windows at the moment. The kids of Dublin all head back to their classes soon, so their moms and dads are out in force getting new school bags and uniforms for them. This will be the first fall when I'm not "back to school" -- as in, I'm out of university now. I have to say, much as I enjoyed studying back home and in Trinity College, I'm really glad it's over. Sure, the work I'm doing is not really a "career" -- although I've learned a lot in the kitchen already -- but I do feel ready and willing to take on more than just studying!
I guess for a lot of people this is a melancholy time of year, what with going back to school and the days starting get shorter, and all the rest of it, but here in Dublin fall is actually perhaps the nicest season. The unpredictable weather ceases to tease you because it's fall, and it's supposed to be like that, and because there's so much on. In September and October alone, there's the Fringe Festival and the Theatre Festival followed by Hallow'een, which was, of course invented by the Irish in the first place. Going out every night is beyond my budget, and not possible as I'll be working a lot of the time anyway, but there are free things on too, so with a little organisation, it's possible to join in the fun even without spending a lot of money.
Another great pleasure of the coming fall in the city is the fact that the pubs start to go into winter mode. And personally, I prefer them like that. The old-style pubs have real fires in the grates, and hot whiskey or that great decadent treat, hot port-and-whiskey replace mojitos and chilled beer. I love hot whiskey, but you'd feel silly drinking it in the summer.
I have a major treat coming up that will bring my back to my love of Irish writing: My best-friend-in-Ireland's Mom has bought tickets for the three of us to go see a Night with Seamus Heaney at the National Theatre, the Abbey. Seamus Heaney, as you probably know, is Ireland's most famous living poet, and a holder of the Nobel prize for literature. It's exciting to think of seeing him in the relatively intimate setting of the Abbey. Something I love so much about Dublin, and still haven't gotten used to, is how accessible the great and glorious are here. You can go to a concert, and the odds are good the famous guy on the stage will be having a quiet drink in the bar afterwards, and people won't disturb him because it's not cool, or they don't want him to get a big head. Seriously -- I saw Neil Jordan at the Museum of Modern Art a few months ago, and everyone just ignored him studiously as he drank his coffee downstairs.
I guess for a lot of people this is a melancholy time of year, what with going back to school and the days starting get shorter, and all the rest of it, but here in Dublin fall is actually perhaps the nicest season. The unpredictable weather ceases to tease you because it's fall, and it's supposed to be like that, and because there's so much on. In September and October alone, there's the Fringe Festival and the Theatre Festival followed by Hallow'een, which was, of course invented by the Irish in the first place. Going out every night is beyond my budget, and not possible as I'll be working a lot of the time anyway, but there are free things on too, so with a little organisation, it's possible to join in the fun even without spending a lot of money.
Another great pleasure of the coming fall in the city is the fact that the pubs start to go into winter mode. And personally, I prefer them like that. The old-style pubs have real fires in the grates, and hot whiskey or that great decadent treat, hot port-and-whiskey replace mojitos and chilled beer. I love hot whiskey, but you'd feel silly drinking it in the summer.
I have a major treat coming up that will bring my back to my love of Irish writing: My best-friend-in-Ireland's Mom has bought tickets for the three of us to go see a Night with Seamus Heaney at the National Theatre, the Abbey. Seamus Heaney, as you probably know, is Ireland's most famous living poet, and a holder of the Nobel prize for literature. It's exciting to think of seeing him in the relatively intimate setting of the Abbey. Something I love so much about Dublin, and still haven't gotten used to, is how accessible the great and glorious are here. You can go to a concert, and the odds are good the famous guy on the stage will be having a quiet drink in the bar afterwards, and people won't disturb him because it's not cool, or they don't want him to get a big head. Seriously -- I saw Neil Jordan at the Museum of Modern Art a few months ago, and everyone just ignored him studiously as he drank his coffee downstairs.
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towniegirl
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It'll come as no surprise to you that the Irish really like beer. Since I move here, I've gotten to realise that Guinness is absolutely part of Dublin culture and life. On days like today, when the clouds are low and it's not too windy, you can smell the factory, brewing away. Now, personally I prefer something like the stuff they have in the Porterhouse, but you can't deny the fact that Guinness is everywhere, and in more ways than one.
The good people at Guinness as also real champions of very inventive advertising. I remember last year, the Guinness corporation whipped up a festival in the form of "Arthur's day" when the birthday of the Guinness factory is celebrated. Swear to God, there were people all over the city actually raising their glasses and wishing him the best of birthdays. It's advertising, alright, but not as we know it. And if it's fun, why the heck not? Guinness sponsors the best billboard ads in the city, so in their own commercial way, they are helping Irish artists, I guess...
I'm pretty much bushed after an extremely busy weekend of babysitting all day Saturday, working Saturday night and then Sunday from noon until midnight. Tiring stuff. I took the children to Dublin Zoo. I don't have a lot of experience of zoos, but this one seems pretty enormous to me. We managed to spend a good twenty minutes or so peering at the hippo and wondering how they breathe. Man, walking around that place is exercise!! My flatmate Bepe was flying his remote control plane in Phoenix Park afterwards so we hooked up with him. The kids think he's great. Hilariously, one of them seems to think he's my boyfriend, while the other is convinced he's my brother, despite the fact that he's Italian and I'm a Newfoundlander! Childhood must be a wonderful place. When you're a kid, there's no need to let reality stand in the way of a good story!
I just can't believe summer's nearly over and autumn's on the way, but you can feel it in their. It's not cold yet or anything, but it just feels different, and the leaves on the trees in the parks have darkened and will start to turn. Still, there's one good thing: I just love kicking the leaves about on Dublin's residential streets on windy days in October!
The good people at Guinness as also real champions of very inventive advertising. I remember last year, the Guinness corporation whipped up a festival in the form of "Arthur's day" when the birthday of the Guinness factory is celebrated. Swear to God, there were people all over the city actually raising their glasses and wishing him the best of birthdays. It's advertising, alright, but not as we know it. And if it's fun, why the heck not? Guinness sponsors the best billboard ads in the city, so in their own commercial way, they are helping Irish artists, I guess...
I'm pretty much bushed after an extremely busy weekend of babysitting all day Saturday, working Saturday night and then Sunday from noon until midnight. Tiring stuff. I took the children to Dublin Zoo. I don't have a lot of experience of zoos, but this one seems pretty enormous to me. We managed to spend a good twenty minutes or so peering at the hippo and wondering how they breathe. Man, walking around that place is exercise!! My flatmate Bepe was flying his remote control plane in Phoenix Park afterwards so we hooked up with him. The kids think he's great. Hilariously, one of them seems to think he's my boyfriend, while the other is convinced he's my brother, despite the fact that he's Italian and I'm a Newfoundlander! Childhood must be a wonderful place. When you're a kid, there's no need to let reality stand in the way of a good story!
I just can't believe summer's nearly over and autumn's on the way, but you can feel it in their. It's not cold yet or anything, but it just feels different, and the leaves on the trees in the parks have darkened and will start to turn. Still, there's one good thing: I just love kicking the leaves about on Dublin's residential streets on windy days in October!
