For the last two weeks my English buddy has been in the States visiting. His mom was here working on her doctorate and so he came with her. On Friday the 23rd I took him to Johnny Rocket’s for lunch. For those of you who don’t know, Johnny Rocket’s is a 1950s diner with the best french fries.
Customers can sit at a counter, a table, or a booth. The counter and the booths each have a non-operating tabletop jukebox. The restaurant plays music from the 50s and 60s. I swear, eating there is like taking a trip back in time. When I look around, I can visualize the girls in their poodle skirts and saddle shoes and I can picture the guys in their lettermen sweaters and penny loafers.
The only drawback to Johnny Rocket’s is that Oscar and I are vegetarians. Whenever I go there, I usually eat the salad, but I forgot that Oscar didn’t eat meat. Fortunately, Johnny Rocket’s has the ability to switch the meat patty with a soya burger. We had a great time.
Afterwards, we had some time to kill, so I suggested we go to the Tech Museum. The new Star Trek exhibit just opened that day and I remembered that Oscar loves Dr. Who and Star Wars. So I showed him where the Tech was so he could visit it on his own. I think he went a few days ago. We spent about 45 minutes looking around the Tech store just looking at all the different things. There were a lot of kids there; they must have been on a field trip. Eventually the kids left. Oscar found candy on a stick, so I introduced him to the concept of rock candy. He bought some for his dad. I introduced him to astronaut ice cream. Astronaut food is all freeze dried and he had never seen it, so I bought him a pack. He and his mom were absolutely amazed by how real tasting and “creamy” it was.
The next day there was a reunion for the students who participated in the Summer Bath Program in 2007, 2008, and 2009. We were invited to the home of the professor who led the three groups. It was a very nice evening. Good beverages, good food, and great conversation. Oscar and his mom were the guests of honor. Oscar was acting like a social butterfly.
We also took advantage of the school’s bowling alley. I assumed that he had never gone bowling, so I wanted to introduce him to one of my favorite activities. Turns out, he has bowled before, but that’s ok. We still had a lot of fun even though his scores were less than 70 and I didn’t reach my average.
My vocabulary words are:
Insofar: to such an extent (Webster's American pocket dictionary)
Licentiousness: sexually immoral (Webster's American pocket dictionary)
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Thursday, December 25, 2008
7/9/08 Wednesday...The Last Day
The storm that should have hit yesterday came into Dublin this morning. It’s gray, dark, windy, and rainy-a true winter storm. I slept in till 10am (to recover from yesterday). I went to a local mall to look around all the shops. This isn’t really a great day to do anything but prepare for my trip home tomorrow. I did buy a new book and I’ve been reading it (All the President’s Men). The reading’s going slowly, but at least I have time to figure out who’s who. I started packing as I got dressed. The more I do earlier, the less I have to do later. I’m about halfway done (at 5pm). I have to pack my carry on stuff, eat dinner, take a shower, and get to bed no later than 10pm. The taxi’s coming at 6:15am.
Epilogue:
As much as I’ve enjoyed my time in the UK, I can’t wait to get home. I’ve been reasonably isolated and I miss hanging out with people in the evenings. I also miss school and work. Being away from home has made me appreciate my life and what I have. I would consider doing something like this again. While it’s good to get away for a while, Judy Garland as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, said it best: “there’s no place like home!”
Epilogue:
As much as I’ve enjoyed my time in the UK, I can’t wait to get home. I’ve been reasonably isolated and I miss hanging out with people in the evenings. I also miss school and work. Being away from home has made me appreciate my life and what I have. I would consider doing something like this again. While it’s good to get away for a while, Judy Garland as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, said it best: “there’s no place like home!”
7/8/08 Tuesday
Today, I took the Limmerick/Galway tour. It was conducted by the same company who did the Cork tour.
I was at the train station by 6:30am for the 7am departure. I slept during most of the train ride; we got to Limmerick by 9:20am. A coach met the group and Frank (the driver and tour guide) took us to our first destination: Bunratty Castle. According to Frank, Bunratty Castle was named after the river that runs along side it. The river, called the Ratty, is linked to the Bun, which is a part of the river next to the mouth. Frank took us into the castle, and there, we went into 2 rooms (meeting and dining I think) to listen to a 20-minute presentation by a curator. Afterwards, we were free to take a self-guided tour of the castle’s interior.
In order to get up into the dining room, I had to climb a circular and narrow staircase, which contained the wedge shaped steps. The staircase was not unlike the one in Blarney Castle. As I climbed the 35 steps, I started to feel the way I did climbing Blarney Castle. I wandered around the room for a few minutes, shot some video, but decided not to complete the self guided tour (which involved climbing those circular staircases).
When I was outside the castle, I shot some more video. A couple stopped me and asked me to take their picture and I obliged. I composed the picture and took it for them; I think it looked visually interesting. The woman offered to record me in front of the castle and I accepted her offer. She couldn’t understand how to use the zoom mechanism on my camcorder, so she “manually” zoomed in by walking towards me. I have yet to find this video clip, but I’m sure it’s quite shaky.
Bunratty Castle is coupled with the folk park/town. It was a village with buildings that showed how the residents lived in the 19c. I toured many of the buildings including: the blacksmith’s shop, a non-landowner’s living quarters, and a landowner’s house. Inside the house, a woman was making scones as a demonstration of how women did it in the 19c. As I walked further away from the castle and the living facilities, I came upon the town area.
In the town there was a grocery store, textile store (selling woven clothing to the visitors), a post office, a pub, a “hotel,” and so on. I was given 1.2 hours to look around the castle and the folk park; I really wish I had at least 2 hours because there was so much to see. I spent so much time in the castle and residential area of the folk park that I really didn’t get to visit the town part of the park. Such a shame-I’ll have to visit here again if I come back!
The next stop on the tour was a pub in Doolin. It must have taken 40-50 minutes to get to Doolin, but we were moving closer and closer to the coast, so much so that the Atlantic was getting bigger and bigger! Doolin is a small village with a sparse number of homes, and a main street with a few businesses. As we drove up the hills, the view of the Atlantic was spectacular! So there I was, in the coach, listening to Irish music, looking at wonderful views of the ocean with little puff ball clouds in the sky…can you picture it?
At the pub, I ordered and paid for my food first, and then it was brought to my table. I swear, after 2 minutes, my salad and fries were served; it was really, really quick-I was impressed! It was a highly substantial salad: lettuce, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, pineapple wedges, and honey mustard dressing. The bowl must have been 8” in diameter filled with all that good food. It was a great value for the money I spent. It was absolutely fabulous!
After lunch, we loaded up into the coach and off to the Cliffs of Mohr. When we got there, Frank advised us to stay behind the guardrails and not walk out to the edge of the cliff-well duh! He said that 8 people fell to their deaths-some were unintentional (they were blown off) others were intentional (suicides).
Frank told us the west coast was supposed to be hit by a significant storm today. Happily, that didn’t happen. It was a wonderfully bright, sunny, and breezy day with puffball clouds in the sky. None of the pesky misty ocean fog was hovering around the cliffs; it was brilliantly crystal clear today. I couldn’t ask for a better day.
After parking in the car park, I walked over to the observation point for the Cliffs. The stair climb was 150 steps-I actually counted! The climb was definitely worth it! I wandered around shooting video for about an hour and then the tour was back on the road again.
We were on our way to the Burren. The Burren looks like either scabby or scaly skin or like rocky warts on the green fields of grass. It is an all-natural occurring phenomenon. It made for some interesting landscapes, which I recorded.
Half an hour came and went before we hit the road again. Now were on our way to Galway. Frank stopped for about 15 minutes so we could take pictures of Galway Bay; he even pointed out where Connemara was (home to Stephen Walsh’s Connemara marble quarry) because it was so clear and the hills were visible. He “advertised” the Connemara tour; damn, if I had known about it, I would have taken that tour as well. Well, it’s on the list for thing to do next time (and the Waterford tour as well).
The Cliffs of Mohr were so amazing! The sun was warm and the wind was strong enough to keep me cool. The landscape was exactly like it was in Stephen Walsh’s Ireland DVD tour. It was so peaceful there; so relaxing. I’ve never seen the Atlantic Ocean from the eastern side before. “Just think,” I thought, “just 2800 miles to swim and I’ll get to North America!” The Cliffs is the perfect place to take a blanket, a picnic basket, a kite, and a book so I can just take a day off. Just to read, eat, and sleep a little; it would be perfection (sigh).
We got to Galway by 5pm. We were given 45 minutes to look around the local mall. I needed to use the bathroom, and when I found them, I was stunned that it cost .30 euros to use it. This is something that I won’t miss: having to pay to use a toilet in a public area like a mall. Fortunately, a woman held the door to the bathroom open to let in as many women as she could. About eight of us made it in without paying (which is just fine with me because you shouldn’t have to pay to pee!)
I looked around the mall for about 20 minutes, but there wasn’t anything of interest. I decided to head to the train station. By 6pm, I was on the train back to Dublin. I sat with a woman named Kay and her grandson Jordan. It was nice to have someone to talk to; it made time go by much quicker. We talked about everything: cars (she’s getting a new one), school (I talked about SJSU and Jordan talked about his school in NY-he’s a hotel/restaurant management major), politics, Florida (their family lives there), and so on. Jordan showed some of the pictures he took from today’s adventure and wow, they were great. He has an excellent camera. I showed them some of the video I shot from Cork and Cobh, because that was somewhere they wanted to visit. I also showed them the video clip of the storm that rolled into Cobh on the 5th. At 8:30pm, I was feeling restless and was glad that the trip was almost over. By 9:30, I was in my room, ordering room service, grateful the day was finally over.
I was at the train station by 6:30am for the 7am departure. I slept during most of the train ride; we got to Limmerick by 9:20am. A coach met the group and Frank (the driver and tour guide) took us to our first destination: Bunratty Castle. According to Frank, Bunratty Castle was named after the river that runs along side it. The river, called the Ratty, is linked to the Bun, which is a part of the river next to the mouth. Frank took us into the castle, and there, we went into 2 rooms (meeting and dining I think) to listen to a 20-minute presentation by a curator. Afterwards, we were free to take a self-guided tour of the castle’s interior.
In order to get up into the dining room, I had to climb a circular and narrow staircase, which contained the wedge shaped steps. The staircase was not unlike the one in Blarney Castle. As I climbed the 35 steps, I started to feel the way I did climbing Blarney Castle. I wandered around the room for a few minutes, shot some video, but decided not to complete the self guided tour (which involved climbing those circular staircases).
When I was outside the castle, I shot some more video. A couple stopped me and asked me to take their picture and I obliged. I composed the picture and took it for them; I think it looked visually interesting. The woman offered to record me in front of the castle and I accepted her offer. She couldn’t understand how to use the zoom mechanism on my camcorder, so she “manually” zoomed in by walking towards me. I have yet to find this video clip, but I’m sure it’s quite shaky.
Bunratty Castle is coupled with the folk park/town. It was a village with buildings that showed how the residents lived in the 19c. I toured many of the buildings including: the blacksmith’s shop, a non-landowner’s living quarters, and a landowner’s house. Inside the house, a woman was making scones as a demonstration of how women did it in the 19c. As I walked further away from the castle and the living facilities, I came upon the town area.
In the town there was a grocery store, textile store (selling woven clothing to the visitors), a post office, a pub, a “hotel,” and so on. I was given 1.2 hours to look around the castle and the folk park; I really wish I had at least 2 hours because there was so much to see. I spent so much time in the castle and residential area of the folk park that I really didn’t get to visit the town part of the park. Such a shame-I’ll have to visit here again if I come back!
The next stop on the tour was a pub in Doolin. It must have taken 40-50 minutes to get to Doolin, but we were moving closer and closer to the coast, so much so that the Atlantic was getting bigger and bigger! Doolin is a small village with a sparse number of homes, and a main street with a few businesses. As we drove up the hills, the view of the Atlantic was spectacular! So there I was, in the coach, listening to Irish music, looking at wonderful views of the ocean with little puff ball clouds in the sky…can you picture it?
At the pub, I ordered and paid for my food first, and then it was brought to my table. I swear, after 2 minutes, my salad and fries were served; it was really, really quick-I was impressed! It was a highly substantial salad: lettuce, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, pineapple wedges, and honey mustard dressing. The bowl must have been 8” in diameter filled with all that good food. It was a great value for the money I spent. It was absolutely fabulous!
After lunch, we loaded up into the coach and off to the Cliffs of Mohr. When we got there, Frank advised us to stay behind the guardrails and not walk out to the edge of the cliff-well duh! He said that 8 people fell to their deaths-some were unintentional (they were blown off) others were intentional (suicides).
Frank told us the west coast was supposed to be hit by a significant storm today. Happily, that didn’t happen. It was a wonderfully bright, sunny, and breezy day with puffball clouds in the sky. None of the pesky misty ocean fog was hovering around the cliffs; it was brilliantly crystal clear today. I couldn’t ask for a better day.
After parking in the car park, I walked over to the observation point for the Cliffs. The stair climb was 150 steps-I actually counted! The climb was definitely worth it! I wandered around shooting video for about an hour and then the tour was back on the road again.
We were on our way to the Burren. The Burren looks like either scabby or scaly skin or like rocky warts on the green fields of grass. It is an all-natural occurring phenomenon. It made for some interesting landscapes, which I recorded.
Half an hour came and went before we hit the road again. Now were on our way to Galway. Frank stopped for about 15 minutes so we could take pictures of Galway Bay; he even pointed out where Connemara was (home to Stephen Walsh’s Connemara marble quarry) because it was so clear and the hills were visible. He “advertised” the Connemara tour; damn, if I had known about it, I would have taken that tour as well. Well, it’s on the list for thing to do next time (and the Waterford tour as well).
The Cliffs of Mohr were so amazing! The sun was warm and the wind was strong enough to keep me cool. The landscape was exactly like it was in Stephen Walsh’s Ireland DVD tour. It was so peaceful there; so relaxing. I’ve never seen the Atlantic Ocean from the eastern side before. “Just think,” I thought, “just 2800 miles to swim and I’ll get to North America!” The Cliffs is the perfect place to take a blanket, a picnic basket, a kite, and a book so I can just take a day off. Just to read, eat, and sleep a little; it would be perfection (sigh).
We got to Galway by 5pm. We were given 45 minutes to look around the local mall. I needed to use the bathroom, and when I found them, I was stunned that it cost .30 euros to use it. This is something that I won’t miss: having to pay to use a toilet in a public area like a mall. Fortunately, a woman held the door to the bathroom open to let in as many women as she could. About eight of us made it in without paying (which is just fine with me because you shouldn’t have to pay to pee!)
I looked around the mall for about 20 minutes, but there wasn’t anything of interest. I decided to head to the train station. By 6pm, I was on the train back to Dublin. I sat with a woman named Kay and her grandson Jordan. It was nice to have someone to talk to; it made time go by much quicker. We talked about everything: cars (she’s getting a new one), school (I talked about SJSU and Jordan talked about his school in NY-he’s a hotel/restaurant management major), politics, Florida (their family lives there), and so on. Jordan showed some of the pictures he took from today’s adventure and wow, they were great. He has an excellent camera. I showed them some of the video I shot from Cork and Cobh, because that was somewhere they wanted to visit. I also showed them the video clip of the storm that rolled into Cobh on the 5th. At 8:30pm, I was feeling restless and was glad that the trip was almost over. By 9:30, I was in my room, ordering room service, grateful the day was finally over.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
6/26/08 Thursday-Oops...I left this one out!
On the 25th, I wrote that the class was off to Lacock. I skipped a page in my diary and didn't notice I left this entry out...so here it is. My bad...
We actually visited three places today: Stonehenge, Avebury, and Lacock Abby. We went to Stonehenge first; it's out in the middle of nowhere just off the motorway. Everything is all flat and green, so my eye was easily caught by the structure. Bob (our coach driver for the whole trip) let us off in the parking lot and Dennis took us over to the ticket counter. He had bought a tour group package on behalf of our class and presented it to the ticket seller. Unfortunately, Stonehenge didn't honor the package he bought. Dennis told us that if any of us wanted to see Stonehenge, he'd pay for our admission (the assumption is that he'd get reimbursed by SJSU). All of wanted to see the structure up close, so Dennis paid for everyone except himself, Jill, and Karla (they've seen it before). There is now a path that visitors follow around the rocks; visitors are no longer allowed to move among the structure itself. We spent 30 minutes following the path and listening to the audio tour and learning about the history. As soon as we returned our radios and got on the coach we were on our way to Amesbury.
Amesbury is similar to Stonehenge because there is a stone structure in the shape of a circle surrounding a small village. The stones are smaller than the famous Stonehenge, and are arraigned in a circle around the village. The legend is that this circle structure will help the aliens to know where to land their spaceships (in the fields surrounding this area were several crop circles-alien related?) We stopped in Amesbury for 2 hours to have lunch, look at the stone structure, and to look around the village. Then we were on our way to Lacock.
Lacock is known for its Abbey because scenes for Harry Potter were filmed there (although I'm sure in England, Lacock Abby has a different meaning for its citizens). I toured the house first out of respect; the house belongs to one of the first photographers in England and his family. Then I entered the Abbey and poked around for a while. Onward I went moving to the Cloisters; I was outside looking through a doorway and into a courtyard. From where I was, I could instantly tell this was the courtyard for the HP movies. Awesome!!! I walked through the door and hallway, and I was able to see the whole courtyard. OMG-this is Hogwarts' courtyard!!! I've finally made it to Hogwarts!!! The Curator showed me where one of the HP classrooms was. I stepped inside and although I recognized from the movies, it took me a few minutes to realize which classroom. After walking around it for a couple of minutes, I realized which one it was...Snape's dungeon (oops-I mean Professor Snape's dungeon) from HP 1. I've actually been in an "HP classroom...This is sacred and hallowed ground!!! This was a religious experience. All Potter freaks need to see these "sets". The actors were actually here filming the movies-Dan, Rupert, Emma, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith...all of them. Alas, I saw no witches, warlocks, or wands-what a bummer!
After we left the Abbey, the others toured the small village that was next to the grounds. I sat down for a while because (if you remember) my knee was aching. I wrote up my contract for the paper I decided (finally) to write so I wouldn't get just a C in the class. Dennis approved my contract after I added a few other things to the contract. I'm going to compare/contrast a reputable and tabloid newspaper form the US and UK to determine which country's papers is more formal.
A really strong storm blew in tonight. I sat on my bed looking out the window, and for an hour I just listened and watched it. My window was open so the storm sounded stronger than it would have if my window had been closed. The wind, the rain, the thunder and lightening; it was very peaceful and relaxing to just listen and watch nature; a great end to a great day!
We actually visited three places today: Stonehenge, Avebury, and Lacock Abby. We went to Stonehenge first; it's out in the middle of nowhere just off the motorway. Everything is all flat and green, so my eye was easily caught by the structure. Bob (our coach driver for the whole trip) let us off in the parking lot and Dennis took us over to the ticket counter. He had bought a tour group package on behalf of our class and presented it to the ticket seller. Unfortunately, Stonehenge didn't honor the package he bought. Dennis told us that if any of us wanted to see Stonehenge, he'd pay for our admission (the assumption is that he'd get reimbursed by SJSU). All of wanted to see the structure up close, so Dennis paid for everyone except himself, Jill, and Karla (they've seen it before). There is now a path that visitors follow around the rocks; visitors are no longer allowed to move among the structure itself. We spent 30 minutes following the path and listening to the audio tour and learning about the history. As soon as we returned our radios and got on the coach we were on our way to Amesbury.
Amesbury is similar to Stonehenge because there is a stone structure in the shape of a circle surrounding a small village. The stones are smaller than the famous Stonehenge, and are arraigned in a circle around the village. The legend is that this circle structure will help the aliens to know where to land their spaceships (in the fields surrounding this area were several crop circles-alien related?) We stopped in Amesbury for 2 hours to have lunch, look at the stone structure, and to look around the village. Then we were on our way to Lacock.
Lacock is known for its Abbey because scenes for Harry Potter were filmed there (although I'm sure in England, Lacock Abby has a different meaning for its citizens). I toured the house first out of respect; the house belongs to one of the first photographers in England and his family. Then I entered the Abbey and poked around for a while. Onward I went moving to the Cloisters; I was outside looking through a doorway and into a courtyard. From where I was, I could instantly tell this was the courtyard for the HP movies. Awesome!!! I walked through the door and hallway, and I was able to see the whole courtyard. OMG-this is Hogwarts' courtyard!!! I've finally made it to Hogwarts!!! The Curator showed me where one of the HP classrooms was. I stepped inside and although I recognized from the movies, it took me a few minutes to realize which classroom. After walking around it for a couple of minutes, I realized which one it was...Snape's dungeon (oops-I mean Professor Snape's dungeon) from HP 1. I've actually been in an "HP classroom...This is sacred and hallowed ground!!! This was a religious experience. All Potter freaks need to see these "sets". The actors were actually here filming the movies-Dan, Rupert, Emma, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith...all of them. Alas, I saw no witches, warlocks, or wands-what a bummer!
After we left the Abbey, the others toured the small village that was next to the grounds. I sat down for a while because (if you remember) my knee was aching. I wrote up my contract for the paper I decided (finally) to write so I wouldn't get just a C in the class. Dennis approved my contract after I added a few other things to the contract. I'm going to compare/contrast a reputable and tabloid newspaper form the US and UK to determine which country's papers is more formal.
A really strong storm blew in tonight. I sat on my bed looking out the window, and for an hour I just listened and watched it. My window was open so the storm sounded stronger than it would have if my window had been closed. The wind, the rain, the thunder and lightening; it was very peaceful and relaxing to just listen and watch nature; a great end to a great day!
7/7/08 Monday
Again, I didn't do too much today...that's the beauty of being on summer vacation.
I bought a ticket for another day trip to Limmerick and Galway. I was really torn apart about which trip to choose: the Galway trip or the Waterford. But I finally reasoned that while I could tell Mom all about Waterford and get video of the area and perhaps buy a little souvenir, taking the tour would just be for her and not for me. I heard her in my head telling me that I should take the trip that interests me; it is after all my vacation and I should do what I want to. So I bought my ticket for tomorrow's tour and I'm off. Yeech-another 7 am departure time...
I watched a DVD by Stephen and Sean Walsh (both Irish) to help me write a paper for a SJSU class in fall 07. Ever since I watched that DVD, I wanted to see the rugged west coast of Ireland. The picturesque scenes on the DVD were so peaceful...I could picture myself on one of the cliffs with a blanket spread out on the ground, a picnic basket, a picnic umbrella, a book, and a kite and spend the afternoon there. It was such a clear, sunny, blue, windy, and peaceful place...and now I have the opportunity to see it in person! But that will be tomorrow...
I explored the northern part of Dublin by foot. It was a 2-hour walk, at leisure’s pace, looking around the buildings in awe. On the map, it looks like I walked pretty far-maybe 2 miles. And this was in the drizzly, rainy, windy, and gray weather. In the afternoon, I went to the larger theater I found the day before to see Gone Baby Gone. This was a good movie with a lot of plot twists that kept me engaged throughout. It was less bloody than Wanted, but I could've done with less profanity but I suppose the profanity helped to establish the living conditions of the neighborhoods. Gone Baby Gone was much better than Wanted.
I'm turning in early tonight...I have to be up at 5 am for my adventure tomorrow!
I bought a ticket for another day trip to Limmerick and Galway. I was really torn apart about which trip to choose: the Galway trip or the Waterford. But I finally reasoned that while I could tell Mom all about Waterford and get video of the area and perhaps buy a little souvenir, taking the tour would just be for her and not for me. I heard her in my head telling me that I should take the trip that interests me; it is after all my vacation and I should do what I want to. So I bought my ticket for tomorrow's tour and I'm off. Yeech-another 7 am departure time...
I watched a DVD by Stephen and Sean Walsh (both Irish) to help me write a paper for a SJSU class in fall 07. Ever since I watched that DVD, I wanted to see the rugged west coast of Ireland. The picturesque scenes on the DVD were so peaceful...I could picture myself on one of the cliffs with a blanket spread out on the ground, a picnic basket, a picnic umbrella, a book, and a kite and spend the afternoon there. It was such a clear, sunny, blue, windy, and peaceful place...and now I have the opportunity to see it in person! But that will be tomorrow...
I explored the northern part of Dublin by foot. It was a 2-hour walk, at leisure’s pace, looking around the buildings in awe. On the map, it looks like I walked pretty far-maybe 2 miles. And this was in the drizzly, rainy, windy, and gray weather. In the afternoon, I went to the larger theater I found the day before to see Gone Baby Gone. This was a good movie with a lot of plot twists that kept me engaged throughout. It was less bloody than Wanted, but I could've done with less profanity but I suppose the profanity helped to establish the living conditions of the neighborhoods. Gone Baby Gone was much better than Wanted.
I'm turning in early tonight...I have to be up at 5 am for my adventure tomorrow!
7/6/08 Sunday
"Happy f***in' birthday Bush; thank God it's your last one in office!" This was my first thought when I woke up at 11 am. Really, I got up at 8:30 am, but after I used the bathroom and turned on CNN, I fell back asleep until 11 am. I was up yesterday for 18 hours straight. I needed to recover. I didn't do much today, and it sure felt good!
I checked my email; Robbie was the only one who sent me birthday greetings. What's up with that?! I expected him to forget or be too busy to remember. But Mom, how could you forget? Maybe she's got something planned for when I get back...we'll see...
I went to Marks & Spencer (retail, clothing, and food) to buy some fruits and vegetables. I'm tired of the minimal salads, fries, and chips that I find here. I found some real pre-cut pineapple, cherries, melon cup (honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon), and lettuce. I just finished the pineapple and half of the lettuce. I'm going to save the rest for dinner--yum--fresh produce for dinner!
I went to the Savoy again to watch Wanted. Apparently, the movie had gone 10 minutes before I realized that it had actually started. At first, I thought a movie preview was being shown starring James McAvoy, but it was really Wanted itself. They didn't show any previews at all! The movie was ok-it had a lot of bloody scenes and a lot of twists to it. It kind of confused me at the end. Mom would have liked it-she's not as grossed out as I am by blood.
I took another walk around the area. I made it to the Jervis area (a section of the city). There, I found a much bigger cinema with movies I've seen or that I haven't heard of or don't care about. There was also a bookstore next door. I spent about an hour there looking around; most of the time was spent to reading a children's pop up book about the Titanic. It was written in the format of a 12-year-old male passenger's journal-very interesting. I bought a new book, All the President's Men. I needed something different to read-I can read HP6 only so many times!
Now, I'm back in my room, eating my fruit and veggie dinner, writing this journal, and watching A League of Their Own (probably my favorite baseball movie). I'm really enjoying my time in Ireland.
I checked my email; Robbie was the only one who sent me birthday greetings. What's up with that?! I expected him to forget or be too busy to remember. But Mom, how could you forget? Maybe she's got something planned for when I get back...we'll see...
I went to Marks & Spencer (retail, clothing, and food) to buy some fruits and vegetables. I'm tired of the minimal salads, fries, and chips that I find here. I found some real pre-cut pineapple, cherries, melon cup (honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon), and lettuce. I just finished the pineapple and half of the lettuce. I'm going to save the rest for dinner--yum--fresh produce for dinner!
I went to the Savoy again to watch Wanted. Apparently, the movie had gone 10 minutes before I realized that it had actually started. At first, I thought a movie preview was being shown starring James McAvoy, but it was really Wanted itself. They didn't show any previews at all! The movie was ok-it had a lot of bloody scenes and a lot of twists to it. It kind of confused me at the end. Mom would have liked it-she's not as grossed out as I am by blood.
I took another walk around the area. I made it to the Jervis area (a section of the city). There, I found a much bigger cinema with movies I've seen or that I haven't heard of or don't care about. There was also a bookstore next door. I spent about an hour there looking around; most of the time was spent to reading a children's pop up book about the Titanic. It was written in the format of a 12-year-old male passenger's journal-very interesting. I bought a new book, All the President's Men. I needed something different to read-I can read HP6 only so many times!
Now, I'm back in my room, eating my fruit and veggie dinner, writing this journal, and watching A League of Their Own (probably my favorite baseball movie). I'm really enjoying my time in Ireland.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
7/5/08 Saturday...Happy Birthday to Me!!!
Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear EJ, happy birthday to me!!! Thanks Robbie for emailing me birthday greetings...you're the only one who remembered! (You know I have to guilt you all...)
The first thing I heard when I woke up this morning was rain! I'm so happy--it has finally rained on my b-day! This is the first time in as long as I can remember that it has rained on July 5th--and I only had to leave the country for it to happen.
I'm on my way to Cork and Cobh. It’s about a three-hour train ride, so the tour group left at 7am. I love the size of Ireland because it's small enough that it can be crossed in three hours; really all costal destinations are three hours or less by train. I walked down to the light rail train station, took the train to the train station and boy was I soaked and drenched! The train ride to Cork was rather boring; just a bunch of green countryside to look at--I was glad I brought my Ipod.
When we got to the Cork train station, we transferred to a motor coach that drove us around. Liam was our tour guide; Steven was our driver. We started of by going to Blarney Castle. There, Liam gave us three hours to conduct a self-guided tour. We got there 1/2 an hour earlier than the public, so it was easier for us to get up to the castle and Blarney Stone.
The Blarney Stone-that was an adventure! I followed the signs up into the castle and they led to the top. I squeezed through a small opening that led to the spiral stairway that led upwards. One look at the passageway and the wedge shaped stairs, and I decided I wouldn't climb to the top where the Stone is. I moved into a side room and had a conversation with an English woman. While she waited for her daughter, we talk. She went to SF last summer and wants to go to Vegas sometime soon. We talked about our gambling experiences in Vegas-how unsuccessful we were. After a while, she heard her daughter call her so she went on her way.
This woman had some mobility problems, which is why she didn't go up to the top of the castle but her daughter kissed the Stone. I looked at the professional picture that was taken of her kissing the Stone--you really do have to lie on your back and hang off the edge to kiss the Stone!!! After 10 minutes of debating "should I or shouldn't I," I worked up the courage to climb up to the top. I found the staircase and had to get in line. The line had grown so much that I could only climb up one step at a time. I got up about 1/3 of the way up and then I began to feel strange.
All my life, when I've had a choice between taking an elevator or an escalator, I’ve always chosen the escalator. It's open and makes me feel more comfortable because I can see all around me. In an elevator, I feel enclosed and trapped. I felt that closed and trapped feeling on the staircase. Maybe I'm somewhat claustrophobic?
After climbing the stairway 1/3 of the way up, I felt panicky. I looked above me and below me looking for a way out. There was none, however, because there were other visitors in front and behind me and there was no room to maneuver in. As my left shoulder was brushing its way along the left wall, my right shoulder was brushing its way along the right wall; it was very enclosed. I t was fairly dark except for where lights had been installed.
Each of us on the stairs would climb a stair and then wait 20 seconds and then climb the next and so on. It was like this the whole up. Just as that panicky feeling was growing and getting more intense, I came to a "doorway" in the left hand wall. I stopped there for a minute because my panicky feeling caused in my heartbeat to absolutely race and in I was panting like I'd just ran a five minute mile, and I was gulping in breaths of air. I either was having a claustrophobic attack or a panic attack. Nobody else seemed to have a problem with the passage. But I had to keep climbing in order to get to the exit. Each time I came to a "doorway," I had to stop and calm myself down. My calming technique was to just stare at the feet of the people above me. I eventually got to the top, and the relief just crashed over me like the ocean's waves.
You know I don't have a head for heights, so at the top of the castle I was getting really, really dizzy. There were two men assisting the visitors with kissing the Blarney Stone. One of them told us told us to either get down or to move on so they could keep the line moving. I decided to move on and not kiss the Stone because killing myself today would not be cool. Besides, my head just wasn't feeling right since having my claustrophobic panic attack.
The stairway down had the same steep wedge shaped steps as the way up, but there was more indirect sunlight in the passage and the passage was somewhat wider so my shoulders weren't touching the walls. Outside the castle, I had to walk down the path to get to the bottom, which included several groups of four-step steps. I can't believe how shaky I felt. This, to me, was one of the most terrifying I've ever experienced.
I used my next 1.5 hours eating lunch and then browsing through a shop at the Blarney Wollen Mills Hotel and Restaurant and Blarney Wollen Mills Shopping Center, respectively. I bought a pair of Kelly green St. Patrick’s Day type of socks.
When our three hours were up, Steven drove us to Cobh, while Liam narrated the trip. We stopped at a cathedral and were allotted 10 minutes to take pictures. To end the tour, we went to a museum to learn about the "Queensbury Story." Cobh was the last stop before ships sailed on the North America.
The first thing I heard when I woke up this morning was rain! I'm so happy--it has finally rained on my b-day! This is the first time in as long as I can remember that it has rained on July 5th--and I only had to leave the country for it to happen.
I'm on my way to Cork and Cobh. It’s about a three-hour train ride, so the tour group left at 7am. I love the size of Ireland because it's small enough that it can be crossed in three hours; really all costal destinations are three hours or less by train. I walked down to the light rail train station, took the train to the train station and boy was I soaked and drenched! The train ride to Cork was rather boring; just a bunch of green countryside to look at--I was glad I brought my Ipod.
When we got to the Cork train station, we transferred to a motor coach that drove us around. Liam was our tour guide; Steven was our driver. We started of by going to Blarney Castle. There, Liam gave us three hours to conduct a self-guided tour. We got there 1/2 an hour earlier than the public, so it was easier for us to get up to the castle and Blarney Stone.
The Blarney Stone-that was an adventure! I followed the signs up into the castle and they led to the top. I squeezed through a small opening that led to the spiral stairway that led upwards. One look at the passageway and the wedge shaped stairs, and I decided I wouldn't climb to the top where the Stone is. I moved into a side room and had a conversation with an English woman. While she waited for her daughter, we talk. She went to SF last summer and wants to go to Vegas sometime soon. We talked about our gambling experiences in Vegas-how unsuccessful we were. After a while, she heard her daughter call her so she went on her way.
This woman had some mobility problems, which is why she didn't go up to the top of the castle but her daughter kissed the Stone. I looked at the professional picture that was taken of her kissing the Stone--you really do have to lie on your back and hang off the edge to kiss the Stone!!! After 10 minutes of debating "should I or shouldn't I," I worked up the courage to climb up to the top. I found the staircase and had to get in line. The line had grown so much that I could only climb up one step at a time. I got up about 1/3 of the way up and then I began to feel strange.
All my life, when I've had a choice between taking an elevator or an escalator, I’ve always chosen the escalator. It's open and makes me feel more comfortable because I can see all around me. In an elevator, I feel enclosed and trapped. I felt that closed and trapped feeling on the staircase. Maybe I'm somewhat claustrophobic?
After climbing the stairway 1/3 of the way up, I felt panicky. I looked above me and below me looking for a way out. There was none, however, because there were other visitors in front and behind me and there was no room to maneuver in. As my left shoulder was brushing its way along the left wall, my right shoulder was brushing its way along the right wall; it was very enclosed. I t was fairly dark except for where lights had been installed.
Each of us on the stairs would climb a stair and then wait 20 seconds and then climb the next and so on. It was like this the whole up. Just as that panicky feeling was growing and getting more intense, I came to a "doorway" in the left hand wall. I stopped there for a minute because my panicky feeling caused in my heartbeat to absolutely race and in I was panting like I'd just ran a five minute mile, and I was gulping in breaths of air. I either was having a claustrophobic attack or a panic attack. Nobody else seemed to have a problem with the passage. But I had to keep climbing in order to get to the exit. Each time I came to a "doorway," I had to stop and calm myself down. My calming technique was to just stare at the feet of the people above me. I eventually got to the top, and the relief just crashed over me like the ocean's waves.
You know I don't have a head for heights, so at the top of the castle I was getting really, really dizzy. There were two men assisting the visitors with kissing the Blarney Stone. One of them told us told us to either get down or to move on so they could keep the line moving. I decided to move on and not kiss the Stone because killing myself today would not be cool. Besides, my head just wasn't feeling right since having my claustrophobic panic attack.
The stairway down had the same steep wedge shaped steps as the way up, but there was more indirect sunlight in the passage and the passage was somewhat wider so my shoulders weren't touching the walls. Outside the castle, I had to walk down the path to get to the bottom, which included several groups of four-step steps. I can't believe how shaky I felt. This, to me, was one of the most terrifying I've ever experienced.
I used my next 1.5 hours eating lunch and then browsing through a shop at the Blarney Wollen Mills Hotel and Restaurant and Blarney Wollen Mills Shopping Center, respectively. I bought a pair of Kelly green St. Patrick’s Day type of socks.
When our three hours were up, Steven drove us to Cobh, while Liam narrated the trip. We stopped at a cathedral and were allotted 10 minutes to take pictures. To end the tour, we went to a museum to learn about the "Queensbury Story." Cobh was the last stop before ships sailed on the North America.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
