Hail Britannia.....ha

You know its one thing to have written a huge long post and then lose it but its another to write a huge long post, pay for the privilege of using the internet and then lose it all. grrrr. Anyway i am just writing to sate the hunger of those mewling creatures whose only purpose in life seems to be tasting the sweet necter of pauls words. I am in London at the minute in the hotel lobby doing a bit of study. Thats write you heard me right, it has to be done cuz i have been putting it off for so long, i am just doing an hour or two of it before i meet up with shea and we go to the Natural History Museum which should be fun, i am meeting up with Rachel then for a while afterwards.

I will blog about my snowboarding last week when i get home and can post some pictures but it was indeed very good fun. I have been in London since yesterday and have mostly just been walking around. I went to the Museum of Art and Design yesterday which was full of cool shit from Asia, India, Europe and Africa throughout the ages, some class samuri swords and statues and stuff. It was when i went to the comtempory stuff that i decided that i should go look at some modern art, you know how that feeling just comes upon you, well James does i'm sure.

So off i went down to the Tate Modern on the Thames. It was free in like the other place so i just strolled around to my leisure. I saw all the stuff which included some Dali, Bacon and Picasso but all in all i did not really like it. Perhaps it is my complete lack of artistic knowledge or perhaps it was the lack of slepp but i came out thinking that i have just seen mostly a pile of rubbish, i was just not in the mood for thinking about things myself. It was also mostly paintings except for the warehouse full of white boxes and i mostly prefere abstract sculpture or architecture, the museum itself was pretty class and led to a really funky bridge over the Thames.

Afterwards i went home and freshened up and then myself and Shea made our way to Kingston to see rachel's play. It started off in the Theatre with a bit of interpretive dance about getting ready for a night out and then they were handing out invitations and jumping off the stage and it ended up with a conga line through housing estates and dark alleys till it lead to a pub and the rest of the play was in a function room in the back. I must say that Rachel was the best sex crime victim i saw in long time. So between that crazy shit and the Tate in general and then this morning a looked at conor's blog my mind feels funny. The world is gone loco, there is no Truth only lots of truths, its po-mo, or maybe neo-po-mo.....ya

As for amanda, i actually had a dream about you last night, i was in New Zealand in Aucland and rang you to meet you but i got mistaken and said i was in Wellington and then my credit ran out.

And Laina, i though that God acted in his mysterious way and smote down all camera's in that nest of iniquity. i remember mine stopping work in the pub beforehand and only starting to work back in the Hostel. I will have to see this picture, i hope it is not that one with Robert.......

A Withered Horse runs among us

Yip i do be sick and i aint the only one. This post may be a bit out of date cuz the worst has passed but between Eoin's pneumonia, Liams strang rash/throat infection combo, joans racking cough and my feeling like poo i think Mr Pestilence has been having a jolly good time. I personally blame my parents for making me eat meat, i never got sick when i stuck to the potatoes, joan dropping us in the wilderness and making us walk home probably did not help either. I have been chugging the cough syrup like water but i can nae seem to shake it, i hate being sick and i really really want to get better soon.

My exams are ongoing but i have not really been doing anything. I do have one on wednesday but i have yet to start it. I am enjoying myself not studying though, i dont regret not doing more. I will be glad when they are over though, then its straight onto the FYP, i am trying not to think about that one. I am so dedicated to the stufy that i even went to Dolans last night with Liam, Steve and Chris. Twas a good night until my contact lens fell out and that really pissed me off. Perhaps it is because i am wearing them so much more these days but i just cannot stand being blind any more, I dont know how people who have the same eye-sight as me can go through the day not wearing glasses. I just cant function without them, you have not a clue what is happening around you and since you cant see a persons lips, face or gestures properly i find it harder to follow conversations and shit as well. Anyway after that happened and we came back from town i just went home and skipped the after-party party. Not that it helped though, i woke up today with a horrible hangover and i only had a few pints and one vodka shot. uhhh i cant wait for all this exam, essay shit to be over.

I am still hopefully going snow-boarding after the exams. I dont know exactly when but hopefully that will be organised. I have been talking to a few people and the best thing seems to just get cheap flight somewhere and get accomodation and then rent the boards and the ski passes once you get over there. I will have steve look into it cuz he is my bitch. At the minute it is myself, steve Dave horan, kev and one of steves friends going and hopefully that will not change much. Kev may not be able to make it cuz of something but i stern 'NO' should convince him of his loyalties.

Old School City

So i went off the Danielle's 21st in Molly's on Saturday night. While i am more used to attending 21st in exclusive bars i deigned that perhaps this one could be worth attending. I got to see the ex-dyke Elaine whom i have not seen since Liam's 21 around 6 months ago. Her hair looks alright i suppose, she was mugged before she arrived thoug and lost one of her sleeves and around 6 inches off the bottem of her skirt. It was an old school meeting though i saw a good few of Danielles friends that i have not met in ages and Joan & Dave, Kev, Dave eile, Steve, Liam and Kerrin were out as well so there were plenty of us. I love parties, like Liam's Halloween one, where you know nearly everyone there and can just go from person to person and talk to them all. This one unfortunately did not include Conal and Pa and Laura was only around for a bit but what can you do. I tried to explain to Kerrin the tangled web of relationship in our group but it got a bit confusing when i got to Dave and Kev...hmmm.

And just so she can say that there is a picture of her on the 'net here is a licture (ha, that was actually a spelling error but i guess its a pretty good fraudien slip so i'll let it be. licture like picture and lick, get it?? i'm fucking hilarious) of myself and the missus. I think she enjoyed herself, perhaps up until the point Steve dipped her bag into a pitcher or beer, or was it the other way around??

And just to finish here is a picture of the gorgeous McMacin (well thats embarressing, i forgot how to spell Danielles name) Twins, Daneille on the right and Emma on the left. I actually got them mixed up when i came into the bar and was going to give out to Danielle for snubbing me before i realised that it was Emma that i was talking to. She did not recognise me either so i suppose i can forgive her, just

Auld lang sym was not sang here

Are'nt we just the cutest little school boys ever. So this is one of the few photo's i have of my New Years celebration down in Fanore. It twas a good laugh, conal, liam, myself, Dave, chris and steve (starting from left2right) as well as Kerrin, Laura, Yvonne and Joan (left2right again)

I was not sure if the caravan could take 11 of us but it all woked out in the end. Apart from the electricity going after 10 minutes and very a stressful half hour before we got it running again. Still we had gone an bought tons of candles in the meantime so we did not really use the electricy anybar, bar to power the running water which was pretty necessary. Like i said a good night was had by all. We had two swims, the last one of 2005 at around 10 with myself, liam and Dave being the only ones man enough to brave the frigit waters of the Atlantic without any sort of thermal protection. Later on then myself and Chris went for another dip at around 3. If anyone had seen us running half naked through the dunes holding hands in the rain, questions may have been asked but luckily we had pretty much the whole park to ourselves for the night. The next morning then we went for an olde-school walk along the beach and rock pools. Poor little conal was so excited about looking in all the rock pools, he even found a little jelly friend. We left early enough as driving in the dark sucks and very few people got sleep the night before (thanks liam & Chris). But it just goes to show that even without lights, TV or radio, good wholesome fun was had by all. We are thinking of having a return trip some time next semester and perhaps this time Mr Mullane can join us, plus if we are there for a few days we can organise swimming togs and surf boards. hmmm

I hate when sand gets everywhere, dont you?

So how are allmy poor sodden peeps back in the home country. I am on my way back up to the apartment and decided to stop into opne of these internet cafe´s. The weather is a little TOO hot here at the minute, around 30 i think, and i fear that my poor pale irish skin is going to get roasted so i am heading back up to the apartment with its pool and shade. I will have a wee bit of lunch and then probably do some study..thats right study. I have done more research for my FYP this week than in the last three months. Its surprisingly easy actually, there is only so much lying on te beach you can take and i purposefully onñly took school books with me so i have nothing else to do but read while absorbing some rays, who here can say they did two hours of study on Christmas day???

I hope ye are all having a good time earlier, i have been reading the Irish Independant and it turns out that freezing fog is expected, i think it is almost a certainty that i will catch a cold when i return. I have been eating pretty good since i came over, i have eaten more meat in the last 5 days than in the last year, i have either a hamburger, sirloin or fillet of steak every night. They do it quite well over here. I dont have much more news, i dont have time to write a big introspective piece, perhaps when i come back

ONe more thing, i accidently went swimming in the sea with my phone yesterday so it is now capute. Could ye all tell people ye know so that certain folk dont think they are being ignored. I will look into gettin a new one when i get back, more expenses hurrah.

AFFLUENCE!!!!

So here i am in sunny Peurto Rico in the island of Gran Canaria. Actually my brothers have just been thrown off a bucking bronco after our Christmas dinner. We are just having a stroll around the promenade you know. I cant tell you how weird it is, its very much like a good Irish summer over here, around 23-27 degrees in the sun but when a cloud covers the sun you need an old t-shirt on. The place is nice enough, as tacky as expected, they ripped the island apart to build apartments everywhere, they have gouged into the cliffs and built right on the water front. Our apartments are grand, right in the town centre but i bought me some ear plugs so i hear nothing at night. Santa was good, got me a few wee things that i needed. Apologies for the very brief post, these internet cafe´s are cheaper over here but still i prefere not to spend my hard earned money. We went for dinner tonight, i had steak and wdges, the best steak i ever ate i may say. I have not much experience but it was far better than the one i had last night.

I will be off, i hope ye all had a good christmas and i will be back next Friday at 2, you never know i may even post again beforew then.

BLogging is for cool people

So i am finally finished college for Christmas, well i actually finished last frida. Twas a hectic last three weeks. I had an essay due in every Friday and all of them were late, in fact there is one i have yet to hand in, oops. We finished it off with a bang at the work-party on Friday night though. It was on in the Castletroy Park Hotel and it was well class. I am not sure about the meal as i ate very little of it but i did however eat beef and copious amounts of bread rolls. There was plenty of wine flowing and a good time was had by all, i may post up some pictures of it later. I was the drunkest ever at that party though and for the first time ever i had a complete memory blackout, i remember walking back to to estate but nothing after that, i have no recollection whatsoever of going to Liam's house and drinking more, none of returning to my house, none of bursting into my roommate and telling her to get up, i have no idea how my pants got behind the couch or when i fanally made it into bed. ON the plus point i completely emptied my belly before going to sleep so i had no hangover the next morning, just real tiredness from lack of sleep.

That night we decided to see King Kong just to make something of a day otherwise spent stagnating and watching Charmed. It was a good movie but perhaps going to see the 9:30 showing of a 3 hour movie in the state we were in was not the best idea. Like i said the movie seemed very long and had one of the most disturbing scenes i have ever seen in a movie, lets just say i would think twice about going to see it if you are quesy about creepie-crawlies. I am just stumbling around for the last few days doing nothing much. Louise is back from Spain so i will have ot see her soon and i went out last night to the Icon and had a very good time. I am only around for another few days as i am jetting off to the canaries for Christmas. I have not really paid much attention so i dont quite know where exactly we are going but it seems pretty cool and hopwfully it wont rain.

Apologies for the scatteredness of the post but i have nae posted in a while and have almost too much to say. i will try and do another before i leave on Friday and perhaps put up some pictures

Perhaps a it of study would not go astray

Finally i get the chance to sit down and blog. I do not like queuing so i dont use the computers at college, i am rarely at home and i do not like to blog at work so chances to blog are hard to come-by. I made myself sit down today and sort some stuff out. I sent a few emails, sorted out some capoeira stuff, checked out some classes in limerick and now i am blogging, congratulation to me.

I had a mid-term last week and i went into full hermit mode and spent Sunday, Monday and most of Tuesday in my room speed-reading thought books. Joan came over Tuesday night and we got talking and since i was sick to death of studying i convinced herself and Liam ton come down to the Stables afor karoke night. We had a few sociable drinks and then went home to sleep before the exam at 9 the next morning. Well thats what i did, Joan was wasted and ran around her sitting room in the underwear and Liam had to study god-bless-em. thats what you get for playing Madden all weekend while i was being very Studious.

Thursday then was the class party which went well enough, congrats to Mike and Sinead for a job well done. The bus was a good laugh and we stopped off at Empty Pockets in Ennis for a few cheap drinks before going to Galway and heading to Cuba's. It was a good night but got a bit messy in the end when one of the girls got drunk and went missin. Thankfully i am not a class rep so i did not have to worry about her. Leave her behind i say. We eventually drove the bus around and found her but several people were of short temper at tis stage. I had hoped to sleep on the bus as i had a class the next morning but i ended up talking [read: grunting] to this chatterbox beside me til we got home at 5. I was sober and not much of a happy bunny. I had been drinking since 7 but when you spread it out over that long a period it kind has no effect.

The next night was Anna'a birthday and we were going to Trinity Rooms. I was a bit worried that i would spend the night surrounded by ladies, admitedly very pretty ladies, so i asked Eoin to some along with his friends from home. I find you have to have a mix when you go out, All-Guy nights are nearly as boring but not as uncomfortable as being out with all women. It was not that bad though, i knew all of Anna's friends and her broter and his friends were out as well. Trinity rooms had a make-over since i saw it last and it was pretty cool. The bass was making my eyes vibrate and the glasses fall off the table. I may put up some photoes when i get the chance.

The night after was Triona's 21st which was a good laugh. Between herself and her friend Claire she seems to know someone from every social circle in Limerick and it was only after that i found out that Jen and Pa had both been invited but thought that they would not know anyone there and did not come. It was an....eventful night and it a pity i had to leave early, i missed Rock The Boat which is always a good laugh. There is still the ISI Cristmas party si suppose. Yet again and for the third time in a row Sinead followed me out. Seriously Sinead i am not interested, stop trying to get me drunk and take advantage of me.

Thew next night i was just not in the mood to go out to liam bought a slab of beverages and made me stay and drink it, we watched some quality art film and had some nice ethnic toast, then watched some nature documentaries on the lap-top. All in all a good night although i felt a bit poorly the next day, perhaps the toast went down the wrong way.

I am getting off my ass and actually doing some work this week. Essay deadlines are beginning to loom and i have to get cracking. I also skipped out on the gym all last week so i shall have to start that up again.

Tomorrow (Wednesday 16th) however i am going to Dolans for Giveamanakick's new album launch. Ten euroes and there will be a DJ and a pig on a spit. Should be fun.

iPods suck almost as much as Pa

I am at this very moment talking to my good friend conal on MSN and he is harping on about how great his broadband is. Pity he knows nothing and soon his computer will crash and BURN. I sometimes think that people should not just be allowed get a computer, its like being a parent. People get a new computer and then fill it full of crap, never clean it, never immunise it, let it hand around bad crowds with no protection and let it get slow and stupid. I mean the first thing you should do with a new computer is get an anti-virus and get free internet downloads like Adaware and Spypot, i have not gotten any spyware or pop-ups since last Christmas. And even if once a month they clean and defrag their hard-drive then their computer will last for ageslonger and they wont have to run off to Daddy to get a new one after a few short irritating months.

My brother asked me today why did i not do computer since i can fix most of the bugs that pop up at home but to be honestI actually hate the things though. I spent hours tonight trying to get my sisters iPod up and running before she headed off to Australia tomorrow. TO be fair to her she spent two hours on her own before i came home trying to crack it. That in itself was quite unusual because i am usually the one who does computer stuff in the house but she did everything that i would have done and still no avail. Still i came home and then tried to sort it out, computers are shit, the internet was acting up, as was my computer plus the home computers and the software was manky. I wont even try to explain but i would not reccommend an iPod to anyone, you can get Creative ones that are much easier and more friendly to use. It took more than three hours to change my songs to iPod format as well. Long story short i managed it in the end but now my eyes are killing me from staring at a computer screen and my testicles have been microwaved all evening so no chance of kids for me.

Ya my sis is heading off for a year tomorrow, its weird cuz i have only been back from America little more than a month. We had a big 'Christmas' dinner yesterday cuz it was her birthday and none of us were going to be around for Christmas anyway so we got the Turkey and ham and stuff and had a big gettogether with all the aunts and uncles. Twas a good night, even though all my relatives live in Limerick i do not get to see them all that often, i have not seen my aunt since Christmas. Tonight we just had a closer family sit-in and just messed around and cursed iPods. It will be sad to see her go but if everything goes according to my master plan then she will only be back a month or two next year before i head off on my travels. I think i have gotten much more used to not seeing people for extended periods at this stage. The world is small and we have plenty of time to see people. Rachel our British friend that we met in New Paltz came over on Tuesday and stayed one night before heading home and Liam will be going over to visit her soon as well. I will see them in the future and if you stay in touch then there is no problem. On that note i will of cours ebe ringing my favourite New Zealand girl soon so she need one worry.

The problem wiht not blogging a lot is that there are too many things to talk about when you do, i could write about how i am trying to start a capoeira club in UL at the moment, or Liam and Owen's class Halloween party or Rachels visit but it is late and i am tired so they will have to be described by personal request. I must off to bed be, a shout out to negro-nose in Dublin and to all ye plebs who live through my blog. ...man i'm down with the lingo

Misanthropy

Do you ever just get in one of those moods where you are just pissed off at the world in general for no discernable reason. I am just in what can only be described as a foul mood which only came upon me at around ten this morning for no real reason. Everything is going well enough, i moved into my new house and the house-mates are sound enough. It will be a very quite house though. I went to Joan's karoke party on Saturday instead of going to Mundy. I would not have minded seeing the Mundy fella but i had a good enough time in Joan's. It was a wee bit quite at times and i think the reasoj could be the lack of alcohol consumption going on, of the people i knew there six of them were not drinking and steve was just dabbling a bit. There was also a lot of foreigners who were not exactly the life and soul of the party. I mean it's a karoke party, the entire reason is to make a fool of yourself singing power ballads in a god-awful voice. Its not the kind of thing that many can do sober as a judge.


I suppose it ties in a bit with Liam's thing of drinking and not drinking. Believe it or not but i actually dont think it is a good thing to just give up alcohol. It should not be a feast or famine kind of thing. I think that moderation is the key, I for instance do not get drunk very often and i cannot remember the last time i got wasted. I will never drink enough to give me a hng-over, i know my limits and then i stop. If you just give up alcohol full-stop then the temptation is always there to fall off the agon and fall off it hard. Of course you have people like David Horan who is well able to have fun while sober but i think most people , myself included, can be a bit dour when sober. Just take Pa last night as a case in point.

I was at a house party there last week and for the first time i actually saw people take cocaine. Now most people know my viewpoint on drugs, that their badk m'kay. Now my beef with drugs is not that they make you stupid, annoying or addicted but rather that is is us middle-class college students who support the scoobs that we so often complain about. Paying money for that shit goes to nobody good and nothing productive comes out of it. Saying all of that though, i was very much tempted to take some. I cannot say why but those excuses seem to pale in comparision. Perhaps if i was afraid of becoming addicted it would have made more sense. I dont smoke hash or get absolutely wasted because quite simply i dont desire it but this time i did want to take some. IN the end however i did not try it and and i was pretty glad, there was absolutely nothing stopping me but my own will-power. Drugs are bad kids.

Anyway i must be off, hopefully someone will mug me so i can pound there head into the floor until i am only smearing chunks of brain off the tiles

something to pass the time

You fit in with: Spiritualism Your ideals are mostly spiritual, but in an individualistic way. While spirituality is very important in your life, organized religion itself may not be for you. It is best for you to seek these things on your own terms. 30% spiritual. 100% reason-oriented.

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Le Self

Alright since Joan is having a rag about blogs i may as well write a few words. Its different now as i am home, i could write about the awards night on Friday but Liam has already mentioned it or i could talk about going bowling on Saturday which Liam and Joan have already talked about. I could muse on about people and things in college but i would have to severely limit myself. I suppose i could make some deep sociological comment about stuff but none spring to mind. HMMM

Well i have been making good on my promise to myself to get out a bit more, i went to see David Kitt in concert there last week and it was pretty good. He would not have been my first choice but one of the guys was reviewing him for An Focal (the school newspaper) and he had a spare ticket. It was a pretty small, around 50 people but i enjoyed it. On Friday then there was the Work Party which was tres cool, everyone in their glad-rags and slightly inebriated. Much crazy dancing went on, the first time in 4 months for muggins here (apart from the drunken street dancing during the Blues Festivals many moons ago). Saturday was the bowling and cinema which i really enjoyed, twas definately different from most saturday nights out. I think it was really unusual to have such a big bunch of us out and for everything to work out, eight of us bowling and six in the cinema. last night then i went to the Theatre to see a play about Tom Creen an irish explorer who treavelled the Antartic 3 times with Shacleton and Scott. It was very different from what i was expecting and it was well cool. I went to that with young-man Patrick and had a oh so delicious eddies after.

During the intermission wine and cheese reception i met up with Dave Sherlock(with his new beard) Kev King and Dave Horan. That was a weird coincidence as i had accidently texted Dave Horan that day and we had said we would get together for tea and crumpets some time. Kev King also invited me to a party in his place tomorrow which i will endevour to get to. I will first be going to a Sci-Fi night in Laina's place tomorrow, those lucky fuckers are doing an entire module on science fiction in their English section and so are going to get drunk and watch silly aliens, sounds like fun and then i may make my way ito town to ye olde watergate flats for some jollity. I have no class on Friday so that will be alright.

Home Sweet Home.....?

So i have been home for two days now, or perhaps it was three, i am still uber disorientated. I went my longest ever without sleep when i came home. I did not sleep on the plane, even though i thook two of my drowsy pills, and i stayed awake until 7 o clock that evening so i gather it was around 30 hours without sleep. Since i usually get tired after being awake for around 10 hours i was pretty ,uch off my head delirious, i had to just keep talking or i felt i would collapse. At one stage during the afternoon i went to the bathroom and felt the floor moving under me like i was in a boat or a bus. I slept for two hours and then went out, I only stayed out for an hour and a half and then came home cuz i felt like shit. I got to meet a few people so that was good but i was just not in the mood for stuff.

I have enjoyed coming home and seeing people, i spent a lot of ths weekend with good old steve and Laura (i think, i cant remember much of saturday) and i saw Liam and Pa for a wee bit. I also spent a bit of time with the family and with our new kitten. I am looking forward to seeing people at college as well. Truth be told though, apart from seeing the people i have not seen in three months i do not feel that enthusiastic about being back. Perhaps it is reverse culture-shock but i just dont want to be back here, not in clonlara, not in UL or not in LImerick. Perhaps it will pass in time but i just want to be out of the country again doing my own thing. Perhaps it is the fact that i spent the last three and a half months doing my own stuff that it seems a bit clusterphobic to be back i my house surrounded with my family in crappy weather. I like to thik that i have changed over the summer and there are certain ruts and situations i just do not want to be getting back into.

Of course since i have came back most of my day to day experience will be with ye guys so this blog is going to have to become less of a bitch-fest and perhaps more of a commentary thing like Joans. Dont expect as many updates either, it will mostly be mundane irish college things and as brilliant as i am i can only come up with cutting socially analitical discussion every so often. Also forgive the really bad spelling this post. It is nearly half three, while my body is screaming sleep my brain is saying "But its only half ten!!" oir maybe it is the other way around, either way they are not letting me sleep.

Alright, so i say this will be my last major blog before i get home, hostels charge too much to spend much time writing. I am pretty much all packed but i still am going to get up early tomorrow to make sure everything is done and dusted. After last year i am still completely paranoid about forgetting something or leaving something behind. I have two big bags, one of clothes and one of books, my laptop and my back-pack. The two bags are well heavy but hopefully i will not have to lug them around as much. I am looking for a hostel in Boston that is pretty near South Station Bus Terminal, bringing that much luggage through the subway is not a good idea. I will be flying to London at 6 o clock in the evening and arriving in Shannon at around 8:30 on Saturday moring, it had better be sunny i say.

So we had a little going away party last night, twas a civilized affair but a few people from work that usually do not emerge came along and so it was very enjoyable. i got a selection of odd presents, from the plate of potatoes that were sliced to spell BYE PAUL, to a Julie Cooper book and a CD of Cheesy 80's classics and World of Warhammer videos. I also forgot to say that i got the Family Guy movie off Dubs in New Paltz, i watched it today and it is pretty good. I went in to the store today then and said a final goodbye to everybody. This year it has been very different from last. I came over here on my own and now i am leaving on my own. None of ye know the people i met over here or the place i stayed so when i go home it will be like this place never really happened. At this stage however i do not feel that bad about leaving. There were a few people that i will be sorry not to see but i do have their email acounts so i am sure we will stay in touch for a while before gradually stopping. That is something that i have found out since college, between working in Dublin, going to New Paltz, coming here and generally meeting people in college i have met and then lost touch with many many people. When i was younger i could not handle that at all but i am gradually finding it easier, i dont hold out any hopes that i will stay in contact with everyone i meet in college and i will just enjoy it as it happens.

I must be off, it seems that there is no space in any hostels in Boston tomorrow, Uh Uh

I am just packing up my stuff. I get so tired of saying goodbye to people, its exausting and i hate it. Lots of stories from New paltz but at this stage i will just tell ye in person in a few days, or on the phone for the unfortunate souls who dont live in Ireland.

Sean, interrupted while argueing with Amanda about how i was not actually in New Paltz, another humorous surprise. Toilet scratchs his elbow in the background

Here is natalie, taken seconds before my camera died.

Here is one of Joe and his little brother Jack, just a month old. Bless. Obviously this was not taken at New Paltz....well perhaps not obviously.

Here do be one of Lais, Natalie and their room-mate, amanda i think. Hey to Lais if she is reading this.

Boo-hoo-hooo.....again

So i am posting this from Natalie's flat. It turns out that she was in the city fot the last while and that is why i have been missing her. She appearantly has an internship at ABC television station. I am leaving tomorrow at 6:30 so i have pretty much seen everyone i am going to see. I have to say good-bye to New Paltz yet again and it is pretty hard. New Paltz is my college as well as UL. It feels so natural to be here. Lat time i spent two weeks saying goodbye to various international students and come the end i was just sick of it and wanted to go home. That was not the case this time. I have had a great time here and i do not want to leave, not to Maine or to UL. I spent most of the day with joe or Lais and it was eally hard to say goodbye. I will not ever be back in New Paltz again so this time any goodbyes are petty final. I will not be going next year and the year after most people i know will have graduated so this is the last time in New Paltz for me.

I spent a lot of time in my room last year and Joe is like a younger brother to me. I realy hope that i will see him again but i dont know if i will. He is growing magic-mushrooms under his bed and selling them and he has given up the basball team in favourof the ice-hocky team but he seems to be doing good. I went back over to Dub's apartment with him tonight and did 2 power Hours and had a class time. I do not want to leave. I do not want to leave.

Hurrah

So i am posting this from Dubs's room while listening to 'BANANA PHONE' Yes Dubs, who a select few of ye may remember asJoes friend has downloaded the classic and i am listening to it at this very moment. Make sure to tell Eoin in work that i got it.

So i ran away from the hostel as i knew that i would not have gotten back before twelve and i left my stuff in Lais's apartment. I then headed off to Happy Hour at around eight o clock, a bit late i know but i had a shower in Lais's then had something to eat in Gullies. Sop i go in and i se nobody. Sure Vader, Dice and Doug are around but i can only say hello to them, not hang around and talk to em. I went to Oasis, and Gullies as well and decided to give P&G's one mor etry. It was then that i met Laura and Annie. I hung about with them for around an hour and then trhey were heading down to therir apartment for a few drinks and i said i would join them. As i was waiting outside however i met Amanda and Sean (apologies for those who were never in New Paltz and never knew these people, i guess this post is mostly for Amanda, liam and James.) That was pretty sweet and i stuck around for a few before we went down to a cafe to watch Dylan (blondiosh rugby guy who spent a bitof time in Australia) play a gig in a cafe. He was really good but a bit mellow. I got to say hi to vadar and Dice though which was good. I WENT BACK TO p&g's for a bit but then i got bored and decided to head back to lais's where i was going to be sleeping but who did i bump inot but Joe, who i had been ringing all day long but getting no answer. I am in Dub's apartment now and it is pretty cool. He seems to be doing pretty well for himself. i will write more later

New Paltz mark II

Roysh so i got up today and went for a long stroll around campus, its very hot, sunny and sticky here at the minute so i am well glad i did not bring the long pants that i was starting to waer a lot in Maine. For a while i just sat down in fron the the Humanities building reading a book and surprising random people, well not random i knew them but the fact that i bumped into them was random. I rand Lais later on and i went down to her place and talked to her for a while, she said that she would sign me in as a guest in Hasbrooke, i think it was the first time i was actually excited about going to that place. Sitting in there was surreal, i kept imaging i would see Amanda stumbling in, in her pyjama and glasses and looking worse for wear after the night before. I was tlaking to Lais for a good bit but then went down town for lunch. It was two plain subs and a gatorade for me in the Convenience Deli again, ah the memories. Myself and James would go down there every saturday morning and he would try and piece together what happened to him the night before.

I was walking past the Quad when i saw one or two guys that i recognised as being a few of Silja's friends. I got talking to them then had a nifty game of Ultimate Fizbee for around an hour with a big bunch of them. You would not think that i was an imposter walking in their midst. I called down to Amanda eile then, one of Seans friends and i was talking to her for a while, did a few shots of this 150% proof Barcardi Rum which i am still recovering from, twas as strong as that Stroh shit. She did not have Seans number but appearantly he is now playing rugby and so i said i would kill two birds with one stone and surprise him and say hello to a few of the rugby guys. Amanda rand his grlfriend and she said practise was over at 4, unfortunately the silly cow wa wrong and i missed them by half an hour. That plan went out the window. Now i am back in the hostel and i am going to have a shower then call up either Laura and Annie or Natalie and Laura and see do they want to go for something to eat.

NEW PALTZ, NEW PALTZ, IT'S A WONDERFUL TOWN!!!!

So i finally got here, i am writing this for ye from the Hostel that is there on Main Street, it was the one with the slightly disturbing Halloween display of Michael Jackson and a bloody child. Anyway it is so cool to be back. My bus was delayed in New York and then i could not get through to Marie, conals aunt, who i was hoping to meet. I just could not get through to her with the public payphones, i was unsure as to what digits to include or leave out. So that sucked. I went for a bit of a walk abound New YOrk which was as smelly and loud as ever, I liked it though. I also went for a bit of a walkabout in Boston which was sunny and nice and pleasant.

So i eventually arrived in New Paltz a little after 11, Annie and Laura met me at Poughkeepsie train-atation. It was weird to see them, i have began to associate them more with UL that with New Paltz. They dropped me off at the hostel and i was lucky to get a place, reserving a bed would have made too much sense. So then i went for a walkabout the town. I did not realise how much i missed the place. It felt like i never left, my time over here last year was perhaps the best few months of my short life. Walking around was so familiar and i saw a few of the rugby guys and one or two guys from my class. Then on my way back to the hostel and just passing the HAB building who did i meet puking into a bush but....JOE!! The look on his face was priceless, i had sent him an email but he never checked it so he had no idea i was coming. He was a bit drunk so it took him a few minutes to figure out what was happening. He has grown since last year, god bless him, he's an inch or two taller than me now. I got his number anyway and i am going to meet up with him tomorrow. Hopefully i will be able to get onto a few people and meet them in Happy Hour. Even if i dont i will be satisfied having met Joe and the girls and just walking around the campus.

I must be off, theis place is as hippyish as the rest of the town and there is no wall betweent he common room and the bedroom and these bums are trying to sleep. I am actauly exausted yself, i did a lorrah lorrah travelling. I will post again soon

BOSTON BABY!!!

Roysh, here is Laina looking suitably awestruck by the Prudential Towers, or the Prud to those in the know

Happy Almost Halfway to St Patricks Day Day

Roysh, so i have just got the chance to update after my few days in Boston. I have a spiffing good time with Mrs Lainadoodle. I was only in the city for 24 hours but fu times were had. We stayed in the same hostel that the New Paltz group stayed in last year and that was kindof weird. The whole being in Boston again was kind of odd, i kept imagining Amanda or James to run out. Laina was actually staying in the room Rachel was supposed to be in last year.

So i went and did a wee bit of shopping which was helped by it pissing rain, we saw the Famine sculpture again but did not mock it this time. I actually went and spent a bit of money which was nice but a lot of the stuff over here is ver 'American' (obviously) and i nae like it. I went into a few stores that while they looked grand turned out that i was either a few shades too Caucasian or poverty-stricken to feel comfortable. We went down to Crossroads, the local irish bar to get something to eat and drink a wee bit. I had my first Magners of the summer, twas lovely. We then had a pitcher or two and some of the house beer in big glasses. Laina stole some stuff for me. Appearantly they are having a big celebration in all the irish pubs in the city in October called 'Halfway to St Patricks Day Day' which is a very good idea.

Now as i mentioned in my previous post we got a nite-club called Julliet's reccommended to us but unfortunately we could not find it so we went into this big one with a queue in frint of it that seemed popular, plus there was no cover. It was only inside that we realised that while it may not be an actual gay-bar it was very...very gay friendly. Still the music was alright and we had a few drinks there. It was my first time in a gay bar and while i dont consider myself homo-phobic in the least it was a little jarring to see so many same-sex couples dancing away. Now New Paltz and Maine is choc full of lesbiens but that was actually the first time i had ever seen two guys kiss, poor innocent irish guy that i am.

The next morning we got up resonably early at nine and while i checked out we settled on going to the Science Museum. That was a good laugh even though unfortunately there was no Lord of the Rings Exhibition there. The first place we looked at was all these optical illusions that in my state at least meade me feel very quesy. There was also a butterfly garden there that had huge flapping things in it, the terrified look on Laina's face made it worthwhile. Lots of other cool stuff, i bought a venus-fly-trap which will be cool. We left it too late when we were leaving though and i very nearly missed my bus home which would have sucked major ass, luckily the taxi-driver was hanging for a piss so he was in as much of a hurry to get to the station as i was.

Now hows that for an update. Today was my last day working in the book section at work and it shall be relatively dearly missed. I only have 5 or 6 working days left and i still have to organise my trip to New York. I was going to do it this evening but i started watching Kung-fu movies + Manga + X-Men2 so i got kind-of sidetracked. I was reading the Irish Independant as well today and heard about the vandels at Thomand Park. Appearantly they left a note saying "fuck the guards, fuck the system, signed scumbags" Now that note tells me they were either very socially aware knackers or what i think more likely is that they are the middle-class scowbs of Caherdavin, i know the type........

NEW BOSTON UPDATE

Its half two in the mornming, i went ot a nite-club for the first time in 4 months, tw3asa a good laugh. We went to Crossroads and had a nite-club reccommended to us. We could not find it though and went into the first one we found. Pity it was full of raving homo-sexalxss and fag-hags. Myself and Laina had a good time though. Forget Marc, robert is the new man. saw somew irish guys there, i was very disappointed in the state of irish manhood.

NEW UPDATE...........just for pa

i am in Boston, i have 30 seconds left on the computer in the Hostel. Having a great time with Laina

*America Update*

So today is Sept 11 again. I bought the New York Times Sunday Edition today and actually sat down and read the thing. I bought it several times in New Paltz but is always just turned into an unread pile in the corner. Now i read todays edition from front to back (no mean feat i tell you, thats over 200 pages) and i was really surprised by the lack of articles on Sept 11th stuff. There was no talk of any big concerts or marches or nought. Now i know that that may not surprise us at home because it happened so far away but last year in New Paltz several of the major TV stations gave hours to relatives rading out the names of the dead. One year it was parents reading the names, next year it was children and i cant remember what it was last year, then there was a big candle-lit vigil around the campus, which was kind-of spooky. This year i have heard nothing. I suppose it is kind of over-shadowed by the whole Hurrican Katherine thing, its a pity they could not have spelt the name right.

With regards to that things seem to be settling down in some way. They are still taking people out of the city and trying to clean up and the 'evacuees' (not refugees, only foreign types are refugees, American are evacuees') are still moving around the country. Appearantly it is the biggest organised movement of people since the Civil War. There are a few up around us and staying with our next-door neighbours. It odd, all their worldly posessions bar the case or two they have and their two cats are gone and the places where they worked are also gone. They are saying that a lot of them wont be going back and settling in their new States.

Word!!! Believe!!! Believe in the Word!!

Today was a good day. I went into work and the new schedule is up and WOOT i got the two days off so now i am going to New Paltz. I was smiling like a Cheshire cat for the afternoon. That was a weight off my mind. Of course today was the first day that i was working with Bi-Polar Betty after she announced her wuitting and i think we have just given up on any veneer of civility, we were jsut snarling at each other all day. She will be gone by Wednesday.

In other news, a new fella came to work with us today. Its a pity that he is an incredibly camp 17 yr old. He is all eager and asking questions and generally annoying me. Still its good that we got someone, i probably would not have got the days off if he had not come around.

I went over to play World of Warcraft again tonight. It was a good laugh but the most fun was just hanging with yerone, her boyfriend, their crazy dog and their house-mates. They are all my age and we just sat around talking and drinking, something i have not done since i came her. All in all, a good day.

A Conundrum and no mistake

Oh waily waily waily, i dont know why i am still up writing this, perhaps it is my undying loyalty to all my faithful supscribers. I am so tires it is not funny, i went to bed yesterday at eleven but could not for the life of me sleep. I do not understand it, i had not eaten or drank anything for two hours befoer bed and i had not had my protein shake at all that day. At 4 o clock i decided to take some of them anti-histamine tablets as they knock you out. I dont want to take them as sleeping tablets as i would be screwed if i started not being ablt to sleep with out them. So i go to sleep some time after 4 and then get up an hour and a half later at 6 to get ready for work. To say i was a zombie at work today would be a major understatement. We had no cereal so i had no brakfast and so for the first few hours i was chronically fatigued and had nothing in my stomach but the remains of sleeping tablets, which were doing their job all too well. I came home at 3 and just collapsed in bed for three hours. i deliberately woke myself at six cuz i did not want ot be screwed tonight.

Anyway, apart from that bit of mosfortune, there was also a bit of scandel in work today. My good frien Bi-Polar Betty is quitting and leaving next week. While i had known that she had gone for and interview for a beautians she had saind that she would probably not take it. Long-story short she is leaving and also leaving us high and dry. There are some good points and some bad points about her going. 1) She is going, 2) i may now be trained to make drinks meaning something for my CV and a 75 cent payrise, unfortunately the bad points are that we are now even more chronically understaffed than ever and my chances of getting to New Paltz are fading fast unless in the next two weeks they can hire someone of Manager material. It has yet to be resolved.

Thinking of titles is such a drag

Alright just a small post. I have changed the setting on leaving comments like Liam. It pretty obvious, you just type in the letters that appear in the box before your post can go ahead. That will stop all the stupid fools from leaving advertisment shit on my comment board. Its in the 'Comments' part of 'Settings' if other people with blogs want to turn it on.

I now have 24 days left over in the States, that just over three weeks so i am really feeling like i am winding things up over here. While i had a great time over here it will be far easier to leave here than New Paltz, saying goodbye to everybody there was very very hard. The only person that i care about over here and will not see again is Lacy but the strange thing about that is that i am not too worried about it. Not to be too crude about it but we are basically just friends who sleep together. Bar Suzanne, she is the person who i have spent the most time with over here and while it has been fun it was never serious. When i think back to how much i dreaded saying goodbye to Amanda, (whom i never had relations with, regardless of what does damn paparazzi say!!!) there is nothing that really compares over here. I will of course see Suzanne again as she comes to Ireland for a month every year and Patrick sometimes comes over. As much as i complain about her, Bi-Polar Betsie is another person i would spend time with, i have gone to the cinema and the bar with her on her own and enjoyed myself.

It is looking more likely that i will be able to go to New Paltz, Lacy suggested that i get my request in quick and it should be alright. If it were any other job i would probably quit now and go travelling for the three weeks but since i know Suzanne it is more personal, after all i am going to be seeing her again in January when she comes over. So on my days off this week i hope to go for my kayaking lessons, the week after i am going to Boston to see Laina and the week after that i will hopefully be in New Paltz and then on the friday after that i will be flying home. The time will fly i am sure.

Looking at vegtables causes cancer

Ai-yi-yi, here is me looking chuffed, why? The weather has been brilliant the last few days after the rain blew itself out. I went to the beach yesterday and just lazed around with Lacy and read books. The place is really nice, its a forest that runs right down to the coast so you have the sea, the beach, thick forest. I got a wee bit burnt but nothing like what happened me a month or two ago. Fun was had an i started a few good books. I am thinking of going down to New Paltz in a week or two and it will be around 8 hours travelling each way so i am trying to find a stock of books to keep me going. I worked it out and if i get the 9:15 bus from Rockland i should be in New Paltz by 8:30 that night and that included an hour stop in New York and Boston. I am looking into it and got some good news today when one of the girls in work said it is usually not much of a problem to get days off after labour day which is monday.

So anyway i went to see Transporter2 yesterday with Cliff, my man-date. The film was alright, it was almost a parody of the genre at some stages and was sometimes so cheesy that you had to laugh but twas enjoyable. I was talking to Cliff afterwards and it turns out he is a screen-writer for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, unfortunately i dont watch it much so i did not know much about it but it seems pretty cool. He knows that guy who played Keller in Oz which Steve might understand. We got talking about borad-games afterwards cuz he is a complete afficiado and he gave me a few suggestions about some games that we might get for Christmas. Unfortunately our nerdy conversation was broken up by the women who had gone off and gotten very drunk on their own. We went back to bi-polar Bettys place and just hung around there. I got on really well with her last night actuall, i showed her how to do Irish dancing and we bonded over our shared appreciation of the Carpenters. All in all very confusing.

So since i was not starting work til half 2 today i went kayaking with this woman who comes into the store a lot and is fascinated with Ireland and all things Celtic. Still i got to ramble on about home while we went paddling out the coast to her families Island. It was scorching hot out and the water was just beautiful, it made me really glad to be here. At the minute i am just back from work and i am exausted. I was closing in the store today and while i enjoy it, it means that i sometimes finish quite late. Still i managed to get another invitation to go play World of Warcraft again so that is cool. Apologies for the brevity and mundanity of the post but perhaps i shall have more to say tomorrow. It is kind of hard to make everyday things sound exciting.

I am very discret, but i'll haunt your dreams

You know what makes me homesick? My dreams. I have just after woken up and my last three dreams have included one of myself, my sister and my brothers all going for a trip to the Empire State building, of being in Fanore with the Honan, an meeting up with Joe in New Paltz. Of course the first involved flying cars, the second of Conal running away from home and the third with New Paltz actually being in Fanore and the dorms have been replaced with caravans but you get the picture. So now i want to get to New York for a while then go home to see ye guys.

WOMEN, a defence tool of known value

Hmmmm, I went the The 40-Year Old Virgin last night. I dont know if it is out back home but if it is i recommend it. The lead man is the guy who played Brick in Anchorman and he is very good, his character is a good bit different. It was a weird movie, i say a lot of girls would like it as well, that is if you feel like being stereotypical and saying that girls do not like fart jokes but do like romantic comedy. It is the perfect date film i think, something for everybody. It got a bit slow and touchy-feely near the end but the finale was fucking class and made it all worthwhile.

Bar that i do not have much news. I am going on a man-date on friday. Kaia has set me up to entertain her boyfiend who is up from the Bronx on Friday while herself and Lacy get stoned and read all the Fall catalogue magazines, they have piles of them ready. I think we we will go see Transporter 2 cuz it looks class and otherwise i would end up going on my own. He seems alright, he's a screen-writer and a big action movie buff so we will have something to talk about. He is 15 yeas older than me though.

I only have a month left here and i am quite looking forward to going home. Its not that i am not enjoying myself here but I have done nearly everything i can do here and i would like a change of scene. I am in the same kind of mood as i was near the end of New Paltz where i am feeling very nostalgic about Ireland and listening to Sinead o'Connar, Mary Black and other 'Celtic Mysticism' shit i dont have any time for back home. I am thinking of asking can ii finish work on the 21st which would give me a week free. I would really like to go down to New Paltz even for two or three nights. I am definately going down to Boston to visit Laina, i shall have to get on about getting accomodation, oh woe woe why did her blog have to die. Perhaps i shall hear from her through the ether...or shit.

Holy Mackerel Batman, i didn't know it could do that!!!

Alright the title has nothing whatsoever to do with this post. Which is not really much of a post at all really. I was just reading in the newspaper about Hurrican Katherine (i dont really need to read about it, I just look out the window, we are getting the shit-end of it). But anyway appearantly it is going to hit New Orleans. At first i did not pay attention but then i realized that they is a mandatory evacuation of the city. Every single one of the cities 400,000 thousands citizens have to leave and the place will be completely abandoned except by 10,00 people, mostly tourists that are all staying in a superbowl stadium. It like something out of a movie. Appearantly this is the worst storm to hit the area in 100 years and since most of New Orleans is old and 10foot under sea level they are expecting a lot of it to be completely destroyed. Will be interesting to see what happens.

I think i soiled myself

WIZZZZ!!! BANG!!!! WOOOOSH!!!! While it happened two days ago i am all still
buzzin from teh Union County Fair. Thats right folks, i spent my Friday evening at a good olf-fashioned american fair. There was a ferris-wheel, game-stalls, fortune-tellers, lots of bad food venders, a horse-pull, a pig-scramble (i kid you not, they grease a pig and you have to catch it) and then a bleedin hugh fireworks display. I went with Lacy, BiPolar Betty and her new beau. You have to remember that she is bi-polar betty not just bitchy betty so she was in a good mood and twas fun to be around her. It was kind of surreal to be honest, it was the most cliche american thing i have ever seen and when i went into huge barn to watch giant horses pull tons of weight i felt like i was in some a Country & Western video.

So the night before the fair i was over in Lacy's and we watched Brazil by Terry Gilliam, the ex-Monthy Python guy. Twas a good night, the film was good and we went through a bottle or two of wine. I needed it after the week i had though and it felt good to actually relax. We went off to the fair the next day then at around five and went looking at the alpaca'a and llama'a and prize-roosters and pigs. Great fun, lots of stalls selling shiny rocks and stuff as well. So we were really only there for the fire-works but there was a surprising amount of cool nausea causing rides as well which was jolly good fun. Our boss turned up later so i guess that is one more person at work who knows about myself and Lacy, i dont mind as i am going home but she has to stay there and while noone would be nasty about it they can be pretty barbed.

Anyhow, last night then we went over to Betty's place and watched Dodgeball. I went through another bottle of wine there and then we played cribbage, crazy i tell you. Still i was talking to Betty's beau a bit and he is sound. I dont get a chance to talk to much men around here bar Patrick and dreamy Mark. I spent the entire evening at home tonight which is a wee bit a novelty these days. I read threough Jen and James's properly so thanks again and i got your package Joan, thanks a million. I wore the t-shirt around all day and i appreciate the newspaper, i was feeling very out of the loop. Work is going grand at the minute, i am trying to keep a lower profile so i wont get burnt as much. While she may have been sound over the weekend i am not relying on Betty's good mood to last so i am strictly professional in work, no jokes, anecdotes or random conversation. It is an effort for me to be consciously 'cool' with someone i.e formal, but i have had enough of her tantrums to be honest. I have only a month left over here and i do be wanting to do stuff. I am going kayaking with this random woman i was talking to in work today, she is really interested in Ireland and when i told her that i had kayaking lessons she offered to take me out herself on Thursday so that should be fun. I am also looking forward to getting down to Boston to meet up with Laina for a day of culture.

I also just wanted to say hello to my ghost-readers, the ones that read my blog regularly but dont post, you know who you are.

grrr is an understatement.

ye guys are just jealous. thats all. I am actually quite flattered to be honest, its not often someone rings you up at work to tell you they like you, just a pity in this case they had a penis. I am beginning to think that i am releasing some kind of crazy pheromone though, it only seems to work on old women, fat girls and gay men unfortunately. The cook asked me today if someday i would read her a book while i sat on her lap and i am being followed about by some crazy corset-making local girl. Thats not counting the horny locals that keep hitting on me. I mean god-damn it could there not be at least one girl my age in the mix. I think from now on i will be surly and uncommunicative, and talk in a thick german accent.

I was on the verge of that today actually, the surly bit not the accent. For the first time today it really hit me that i am a foreign guy working in a cafe entirely staffed by females, most short, or fat or gay and sometimes all three. I dont think i spoke more than a few words to anyone today cuz i was so pissed off. Everything just seemed to come to a head today.

1) My boss in books appearantly was concerned cuz so little work was done on sunday when i am there on my own. I was ready to hit her (she is a big butch lesbien though so she would probably have won) cuz i actually stayed half an hour late on Sunday to get everything and more than i was supposed to do done. I was actually expecting a bit of thanks for that, not a slap on the wrist.

2) Suzanne comes in and asks why i did not cut the lawn last week when a few days previous she had said that since the summer is ending that it will not be necessary to do it every week.

3) Our till was 100 dollars out on saturday and it was my fault cuz i charged someone the wrong price then forgot to cancel it on the till. (according to the computer i should have got 90 dollars off them when they actually only owed 9). A note was given around saying this was happening too often and if it continued it would be taken out of our paycheck. 'Someone' then told everyone that it was me and i had to put up with lectures form all asunder.

4) Bi-Polar Betty was still alive.

I just got so pissed off at everyone there that i just had to leave for a while before i killed someone. Betty was about to say something but the look i gave her just made her run off instead. Long-story-short, i spent the day lurking around the shelves avoiding social contact with all, especially the corset-making girl.

After work i just went straight to the gym and lifted and ran until i felt sick. I think there is something immensely satisfying about that feeling, when you cant lift your arms, it hurts to laugh, not that i laughed today, and your stomach is quesy. I have to go in again tomorrow and at the moment i am still feeling pissed off. In Liams post today he said he missed America, today for the first time i missed home.

Oh how Popular and Desirable i am

Hmmm, where to start. I suppose i should start at the end and work back. It has been a few days since i updated properly, the Pirate Personality not-with standing. They have not been that busy at all now to tell the truth. Today was one of the first real quiet days we have had in around 3 weeks. I got time to come off the counter and totter around though. The day was changeable enough though, like Bi-Polar Betty's moods. She threw a complete rag today, brought us all in and gave out to us for around 5 minutes. Pity i could not understand a word she said and am still clueless as to what we all did wrong, she eventually stormed out and went to lunch. She must have found some blue-pills somewhere cuz when she cam back she was sweet and apologetic as pie.

Anyhow, that is not very interesting to ye folks, unlike my next story. Now this someway ties into Pa's last comment on the previous post. I was working today when my manager calls me and tells me Marc is on the phone. Now i do not know a single Marc on this entire continent so i was rather confused. The conversation did not clear things up

Me: Hello
'Marc': Hi, i think you are kind of cute.
Me:............Uhh, thank you
'Marc': So, are you into guys?
Me: ..............no, sorry
'Marc': Alright (hangs up)

Needless to say i was pretty confused at this stage. I went into my boss who go the call and she said that he had rang and just asked for the blond guy so to answer your question Pa, i guess that i still do look a bit like a fag.

Now another very unusual thing happened on Saturday when we where very busy and i was behind the counter. So there i was working away when all of a sudden i see a familiar face. Of course for all ye home-birds this is nothing new but since i am thousands of miles away from home it came as a bit of a shock. For a while i could not place him since he had an American accent but then i saw this really ear-ring he had and i remembered. His name was Liam Murphy and he was in my anthropology class in New Paltz. I went over to him and he kind-of recognised me, we had never spoken but i remembered him cuz of his dirty irish name. He was in town with his girlfriend for a few days but i got their number and he said to give him a call if i go down. which i may do.

I did my radio show tonight, sorry for not telling ye but it was a rush job. I will probably do it again before i go and i will give ye a heads up before that.

James and Jen, i got yer letters, how odd that they both arrived on the same day. Thanks a million and i will reply as soon as i can.

How quaint,

Your pirate name is:
Dirty Sam Vane
You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. You tend to blend into the background occasionally, but that's okay, because it's much easier to sneak up on people and disembowel them that way. Arr!


hmmm, and i even picked the 'washes daily' option. God only knows what Liams really said

Serendipity....i think

Today i met a boy called Liam Murphy. Now the cool thing about Liam Murphy is not the dirty irish name but the fact that i already know him. You see Liam Murphy was in my Anthropology class in New Paltz. I have been over here two months now and i have completely categorised all the new people i met into the 'Maine Category'. Now when my family came to visit obviously they fell into the 'Ireland Category' but to see someone that i recognise that is not from those categories was a huge shock. New Paltz is 7 hours away or around 400 miles away and has millions of people in between so i was definately not expecting to see someone familiar. I had only spoken to him a few times in class but i got his room number down there andi might give him a call if i go down. Himself and the girlfriend were only up here for the night so that was that.

Apologies for the lack of posting recently, it has been a relatively uneventful week

Ennui

Hmmm, it appears I have a problem. Something has happened for the first time in my 2 months here. Something that could have far reaching consequences. I am bored.

Nothing has changed since yesterday or last week but I am suddenly at a loss at what to do with myself. I am not enjoying the gym any more as I have gotten to the stage where it is all hard work but no obvious improvement in performance. The garden holds no allure for me at the minute and there is no DVD’s that I want to get. I have exhausted my resources on the limited dial-up connection internet and I have no games that I want to play, Rome, Civilization, Sims, Morrowind, all of them are psha! Lacy is away with her family for a few days and Suzanne has gone camping. My rarefied circle of friends over here has become glaringly obvious. It is five o clock now and I have not a clue what I will do with myself until I sleep tonight. I am not hungry, not thirsty and not tired just fatigued with everything. Perhaps it will pass, hopefully it will pass.

Sometimes when i do sit-ups i fart.

Okay so where to start, I have been reading over my last few entries and they seem to be largely consisting of “What-I-Did-On-My-Holiday” posts. Informative perhaps but not very interesting. Therefore, since I am approaching my 2-month anniversary here, (yes believe it or not it has been two months since that barbeque in my back garden and the last time I saw any of ye) I will perhaps do a bit of a critique of my visit so far.

Job Life: I will admit that there are some periods in the job where I am bored stiffless, tired and constantly staring at the clock. It is however constantly improving. The longer I spend there the more things I am able to do and the less I have to do the boring, monotonous but simple tasks. Being able to chose which books to order or learning how to make new drinks makes it much more satisfying to work there. I am also getting to know the staff and the regular customers more so I am have a better laugh working and except for Bi-polar Betsy’s Mr Hyde aspect there is no one I don’t get on with. I usually come home wrecked however as I am mostly on my feet and rarely get a chance to sit down for 8 hours straight.

Home Life: Again, I am pretty satisfied with this. The house and the garden are gorgeous and I am getting on very well with Suzanne and Patrick. Patrick is coming out of his shell more and it turns out he is a pretty funny, if dry, kind of guy. Suzanne of course is great. They call her my Mother inside in work but to be honest she is more like an older sister or a young aunt. She asks very little from me bar cleaning up after myself and doing an hour or two a week in the garden and we also have a lot in common as I mentioned before. Plus, between her spending a lot of time in Ireland over the last 15 years and Patrick having gone to secondary school there for a while (4 years in Foxrock boarding school, he is good friends with Gabrial Rosenstock the poet) and living in Dublin for a few years, they are well up on Irish culture and seem like less of a pair of Yanks and so I do not feel that much isolated from home.

Love Life: Ha! Did you ever think you would see the day when you saw me talk about my love life? Myself and Lacy (I cant be bothered with the whole Madam thing, seems a little forced) are getting on grand. As I said before we aint going out but neither of us is seeing anyone else if you get my drift. She is sound out and I am only getting fonder of her as time goes by. She is a cool kat and is rather than making work awkward it only makes it more of a laugh. It is a most uncomplicated relationship, we don’t have to try and appear to be lovey-dovy in public (in fact we avoid it, it is still only Susanne and Bi-polar Betsy who know in work) and we are really just two good friends….with benefits. Hopefully that is the way it will stay, I will afterall be gone in a month and a half.

I think you could sum up this summer in one word: Uncomplicated. And I think it is because of this I am enjoying it so much. Bar Lacy and Suzanne, there is nobody who has any influence whatsoever on what I do with my time and anything those two suggest I usually find very enjoyable. My life over here is incredibly simple and I am relishing it. There are no feuding parties I have to juggle, family responsibilities I have to fulfil or social pressures to conform to. Over here I can watch what films I want, listen to what music, rent what videos or wear what clothes I want. I don’t have to worry about the perpetual harassing globs of scum that settle on street corners or comic but irritating family opinion. Could you see me dying my hair white and am seeing a 30 year old women in Clonlara? I couldn’t.

But another thing about my time here is that it is just one summer. Like I said, I am going home in 6 weeks. I do not know if I would feel this positive about this place if I were here for six months or a year. Perhaps the anonymous autonomy would get depressing and lonely after a while. It is knowing that is only a break and I will get to go back home at the end that makes it so pleasant. I can enjoy myself here then return to that family and that Clonlara and start again, perhaps not where I left off, but in a setting that is familiar and predictable to me. Don’t get me wrong, while I am loving it here I am always looking forward to going home.

So in closing folks, while i am having the, perhaps uneventful, time of my life here i am still looking forward to seeing all ye guys soon and being home again. I am just going to make the most of my time here and when it is over its over, i dont think i have reason to come back. The same cant be said for home.

Mainly a Nerd-fest only Steve would understand, also a callout to Pa.

So I am just after finishing watching a new anime film called Steam-Boy. It was good enough, set in a alternative reality in London during the 1890’s. While it was a Japanese Sony production it obviously had a lot of British people in it, the characters were all from Manchester and you could tell and in one shot of Manchestor there is this green pub called ‘Rovers Return’. Those funny-eyes japs would not understand that! I was also watching the previews of upcoming film and there was one that I think Steve would like, its Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and it looks fucking class, I know its called FF:7 but it seems to be about Tidus and I think I saw Yuna and Wakka in it too. Of course this is completely over the heads of ye non computer geeks. The whole thing is done like the cut-scenes from the game. Check it out on ye olde inter-net.

Work is going good, Sunday was excellent. I was in charge of the books for the day and so I just chillaxed in my bare feet for most of it. While I had to do a bit of cleaning after the crowds of The Lobster Festival I was also given a very important task. Yes between much subtle influencing of Suzanne and sleeping with my manager I have managed to convince them to get graphic novels for the store! So on Sunday I was given the task of going on Amazon and ordering 15 of the best one-off graphic novels I could think of. I LOVE MY FUCKING JOB! As it is only a trial thing I left off the heavy bloody ones like Preacher, Constantine, Authority and DV8 and since we were not getting any series I could not get the Batman No-Man Lands, Transmetropolitan or the Sandman. In the end I picked a few Swamp-thing, a few JLA, Amalgam, Batman and Y. We had to get ones that would be the most popular rather than the best art or writing.

I met a woman from Dublin today in the store. It was weird how I realised it. Unlike New Paltz, where I was surrounded by 4 other irish people most of the time, here I am only talking to Americans. I still however notice their accent, but when this woman gave her order it seemed to me that she had no accent whatsoever. Its like the Americans voice are distorted by their accent and an irish voice comes through strong and clear. Anyway she is from Dublin and just over for a few weeks.

I have suddenly realised that since I came over I have worn long pants only 4 times. The weather has been so nice ever since I came here I am just living in my shorts. Luckily I bought another three pairs when I came here. Appearantly this has been one of the sunniest and driest summers on record over here. Since I arrived we have had an average temperature of around the low twenties and a good few where it nearly reaches 30. I have just taken it for granted but Suzanne and Patrick are in awe of it. I just wake up and say ‘of look, another cloudless blue sky’.

Not a very interesting update I know but not much of interest has happened. I suppose I should give a call out to Pa in case he explodes in a bloody mess of profanities. I am thinking of you sweetie and I have sent you a little present, it should be there in a week or two. An email would be nice though.

So long and goodnight all.

While i like buying shoes, i hate wearing them

Hey all. Hope ye are well. I am writing this in bed and I am well exhausted. Today was the final day of the Lobster Festival over here and there was a parade down Main St. I was in work at eight and there was a 15man-queue for 2 hours straight. It was crazy. Twas relatively enjoyable though, except when Bi-Polar Betty was around. I swear that woman can pour viscous scorn on the most reasonable of questions and inject venomous sarcasm into the shortest of replies. I nearly took her aside and told her to lose the attitude or I would complain her, manager bedamned. The only thing stopping me was knowing from a secret source that she was suffering from bad cramps. Sometimes my magnetic knowledge for women’s menstrual cycles can come in handy. She finished at 1 though so it was alright after that. I pretty much know the menu inside out now and can bluff my way through selling the 25 different types of coffee and the 50 types of tea we stock.

Afterwards I went with the Madam down to the quarry with our new inflatable lie-lows and lazed around there for a while. That was absolutely gorgeous as the weather is still brilliant and we had the place to ourselves, cue 40 minutes of aimless floating around sunning ourselves, idyllic I tell you. I was still completely drained and brain-dead after that so I went back home and had some dinner and then opened a bottle of wine with Suzanne and just chillaxed. I am just after having a shower and will be off to sleep in but a moment.

Now to less trivial matters. Amanda I got your letter and present, thanks a million babe I am wearing it as we speak, just it actually, you know how I sleep J. And I got your email Steve and will write back tomorrow or the next, I am not off work till Thursday. Jen I hope you are feeling better and I will write you later this week. A few people have asked and my number over here is 01-207-594-54-tri-ceathrar. Amanda you already have it. After seeing the crazy people writing to Liam and Rob’s blog I don’t want to narrow it to just crazy Irish people possibly ringing me. My address is 55 Masonic Street, Rockland, Maine, 04841, USA. With that I will sigh off, I am exhausted, full of food and wine and fresh form the shower. My next entry will have less mundane descriptions and more substance I swear.

Alright, so I came down to the café with the express intention of using ye olde wireless internet connection and posting this thing, updating a few files on the computer and sending emails to a few lucky recipients. I had asked my manager a few days ago how this wireless malarchy works and she said that most computer built in the last two or three years have wireless connections built into the laptop. Long story short, mine doesn’t. I am in the café now typing this in Word and I will copy and paste it to me blog in a while. As for the wireless, it turns out I have to get a card and plug that in and then I will be able to pick it up. I may do so as there is a wireless network in the University Library and in the Comp Sys building so being able to have free mobile access to the internet in them sould be helpful come study and essay writing time.

Now as for my so-called life. My family left today after being here since Monday afternoon. I nearly missed them when they arrived as I was up in my room listening to loud music but I looked out the door just as they were getting back into their car. They stayed up here on Monday night and we had dinner here which was a civilized and nice affair. On Tuesday then we headed down to Portland and booked into a hotel. It was incredibly hot, nearly 30 degrees and so we decided that it would not have been much fun strolling around the city with a wheelchair in that heat so we decided to fully experience the American culture and instead went to a mall, the Maine Mall as it were. This was this big mall with shitloads of shops so I was spoilt for things to spend my money on….except I left my wallet in the hotel. Luckily I was able to borrow from my dad and my 12 yr old brother. IN the end I bought:
Two rings
Nipple bar
Sandles (those thong things or jangles as Amanda calls them)
A new watch like those ones that Dave Sherlock and Horan have
New game (Starcraft & expansion)
New Daft Punk CD
Fat Boy Slim Album
Fat Skater Shoes
The great thing was that all this I got for 150 dollars and it is all class stuff. You got to love cheap Chinese labour. Now I bet you did not think you were going to be privy to my shopping list when you logged on. Now people might say that there were better places to bring the family than the mall but I think they were mostly looking to buy stuff and just walk around talking than in doing touristy stuff. Beside it was unmercifully hot and humid outside

Later that evening when it had colled down just a little we went down town and had a stroll around there. To be honest it was nothing much. We went for a drink in an irish pub then walked around until we could find a restaurant where we could get sea-food for my uncle, steak for my dad, chicken for my brother. I of course will eat everything. We came back the next day and just stolled around Rockland for a while. I even brought Gavin to get his first Games Workshop model, in hindsight I am kindof regretting that, God knows that it is a slippery slope. As long as he knows the dangers he should be okay.

I then had my birthday party last night which was a lot of fun. Big call out to my peeps Conal who rang me and Elaine who bought credit, rang me and used it all. Respect and much appreciated. The party was a good laugh, Suzanne and Patrick cooked up loads of potatoes, corn on the cob, salads, dips, barbequed some burgers and chicken, fried some carrots, jalopinos and other miscellaneous vegetables and generally made a feast for the 12 people that were there. I suppose I don’t appreciate it but all the vegetables that we used were organically grown in Suzannes garden and the corn, burgers and chicken were all local and the cider, beer and wine was brewed in my next-door-neighbours basement. They were all delicious. They are big into their organic, clean living over here. I was really surprised by all the presents I got, a lot were completely random but over all I got
Two class magnets
5 cinema tickets for any film
$10 voucher for the baker
2 origami grass-hoppers (made by the Madam)
a pen with DIVA on it.
2 vouchers for sea-kayaking lessons, each for 2 hours.
An Evanescence CD (????)
A potato cookbook with every ingredient bar cream, butter, water and potatoes scribbled out in all recepies.
An open invitation to go and make a World of Warcraft character and play it as much as I like in one of the girls houses.
An inflatable bed for going relaxing in the lake in the quarry.

While I say none of these bar the kayaking lessons (from Suzanne and Patrick) cost much they were all class presents and the cards were all good as well. It was a very civilized affair with everyone gone by around 11 but I enjoyed it heartily. My best American birthday yet.

This post has gone on rather long so I will cut it off there and write more of my musings tomorrow. I told steve I would mention him as I was talking to him cross the interweb earlier. HI STEPHEN, that’s right, Stephen or steph as he likes to be known.


Here is a picture of me reading how to make potato desert, Gavin is trying to sneak open my present in the background

What do you call an obese model? Unemployed!

Well bejesus begorrah, it seems the IRA have decided to get rid of ye olde weapons ehh. Well i will believe that when i see it. Still they must have known that their time is coming to an end. Since Sept 11 there has been no more rosy nostalgic support from America and terrorism is not very popular anymore, not even against the British. Plus i think those McCarthy sisters had a huge influence, i cant remember the last time that the IRA got such total condemnation from all sides over such an extended period of time. Now if only the prods would leave.

I have not really blogged for a while as little of interest has happened. I rang home today and spoke to my mother who is just back from Belarus, she enjoyed it as much as one can enjoy visiting orphanages for mentally disabled babies and half-way houses for destitute kids of out of control alcoholic parents......and that is not a metaphor. My visitors are arriving in America tomorrow and coming up to me on Monday. I am looking forward to it. I shall have to have stern words with them however, appearantly my garden that i have been working on since February is going downhill and a few of my creations have died. I am getting them to bring over pictures.

On the work front everything is going grand, even though it has been incredibly humid over here and it has been difficult to get through a full day. I was telling steve this story today. There is this girl called Rhiannon who i work with on the coffee counter and to be honest she has always seemed a bit prickly and extremely sarcastic. The other day i asked her what was up with the 'tude and she said she was just tired, she got to sleep at three and had to be in work at 5:30. It turns out she has not been getting a lot of sleep lately as she has either been re-reading the Harry Potter series and Terry Pratchett and that she has become addicted to playing World of Warcraft! Needless to say we get along grand now and have many nerdish conversations.

as the rabbit says, 'thats all folks'

Ar n-Athair ata ar neamh

How do, all my crew? You will all be glad to hear that most of my afflictions have gone down. Thanks to copious amounts of sleep and self-medicating the mosquito bites have faded and i have avoided getting any more. The reason my sunburn was so bad was that the skin was too cracked to put Aloe on it so i just left it and that made it worse but now that i am putting on Savlon cream and some herbal stuff it is healing very nicely and no longer stops me sleeping. Plus my sunburn as a whole has died down and i am now peeling, which means i have loads of skin to eat, Hurrah

I went to go see Fantastic Four yesterday as it was my day off. Noone else was around so i ended up cycling up on my own. I was pretty disappointed in it to tell the truth. Absolutely full of product placement, cheesy acting and it committed the biggest comic-book adaptation mistake of not remaining true to the comics. On the other hand i did see some good trailers before hand, Tim Burton's 'The Corpse Bride' looks promising and does 'The Island'. Another chop-socky action one that seems like it may entertain Steve is 'Transporter2', now admittedly the original Transporter was just a mediocore homo-erotic excuse for Jason Statham to take off his top as much as possible and writhe around in oil but this one seems pretty class. He fights a bit like Jackie Chan with lots of props and it seems pretty real, no invible ropes. I shall check in out come September.

I also went to a poetry reading down in the cafe (or The Read as we call it) last night. It was class. It was a Beat Night and everyone had to dress up in black and there were candy cigerettes passed around, people wore berets and when ever someone read you would click your fingers and go 'yaaahh'. It was a complete piss-take but it was pretty funny. We also had a trumpet player and a double bassist who were doing improv behind us. I went up and did one called 'Our Father' which was actually just the Our Father in Irish, i told them however that it was a olde heartwrenching poem about a mans connection to the land lost to the British and a family lost to the famine. Stupid americans. I only found out afterwards that it was being broadcast and was also streaming on the net so ye could have listened in. Ye may get a chance again in the future as one of my managers does a radio show every Monday and she said she may let me have her slot one week if i wanted. I am thinking of doing 2 hours of Irish music, ie Frames, Mundy Juliet Turner, Aslan, Damien Rice, Snow Patrol (they are irish yes?) Keane (again i am presuming they are irish), some Even Better than the Reel Thing, BellX1, The Thrills and maybe, maybe some U2. I am limited to what i have on my laptop you see, i dont actually have any Cranberries which is a pity. Closer to the date i will give ye the address and my probable playlist so ye can make suggestions, [that does not include steve as he is a musical cretin]

Okay so after the beat night myself and Suzanne went to the bar were we had a little talk. You see my 'work-related dilemma' was that for the last month i have been 'seeing' my manager in work, who for now one will be called The Madam. Now we have been keeping it on the sly as we were not sure how Suzanne and our other supervisors would react. The chain of command is me, the The Madam in charge of the books, the Yvonne the manager of the cafe as a whole then Suzanne who owned the Cafe and the bookshop and the coffee roasters. I did not like lying to Suzanne however and since she is an intelligent woman i think she was getting suspicious about the amount of time i spent 'watching videos' over in The Madams so i brought her to the pub, got her a few whiskys and then told her. She was thankfully alright with it which is a great relief, The Madam had told me that they usually make a point of not hiring people going out as it complicates things but i think we have been very well behaved in work and noone knows bar one girl who saw a mark on my neck and has been giving me slack about it since. I killed her last week.

Oh and one more thing, i was walking down town the other day and in many shop windows there are these professional pictures of individual kids with a sign saying 'Rick, a celebration of adoption'. Now i thought, "how nice, this must be kids who have just got homes". How wrong i was, it turns out that these kids are looking for homes! Yes its kind of like Have a look at these orphens and if you see a cute one you can bring it home. Yes buying children is still alive and well in the States.

amen

edit: i just finished the entire 1st season of Arrested Development, it was fucking class. Cant wait for Season 2

Must....keep....control......

GOOD GOD DO I HATE MOSQUITO’S!!!!. Three of my fingers were bitten and now they are swollen up like balloons and I have also been bitten on my wrists and ankles. The fuckers even bite through denim and got my fricking legs. My fingers are even bigger than Liam’s finger when he broke it, plus the itching is driving me fucking crazy, I cant get to sleep and then it wakes me up in the morning. I had stopped using the industrial repellent cuz it stank, was sticky and tasted horrible but fuck everyone else I am wearing it 24/7 from now on. Plus my sunburn has developed into something not nice and the skin is all cracked and incredibly painful. Needless to say I have not been sleeping well lately even though I have been taking anti-histamine tablets, covering it in steroid anti-allergy cream and also anti-histamine cream. I look like an epileptic panda.

In between grimacing in pain when my move my arms, rolling my eyes when my bulbous fingers touch anything, and spasming moronically as I fight the urge to itch manically I have been in contact with home. My family is arriving on the Friday and driving straight up here. They are staying for one night then heading off for the weekend. I finish work early on Monday and then have Tuesday and Wednesday off so they are coming back then and we will be off for two or three days to do shit. Plus it is my birthday on the Wednesday so it will be cool to have them around for that. Oh and Laina I did not have to take any additional days off, I just moved my weekend days so I am still very much up for Boston.

Bar this I have very little to report. I have only spent around 400-500 dollars since I arrived here more than a month ago and $100 of what was on an MP3 player alone. I will wait for the family to arrive as I am hoping to go to Portland when they are here so I shall get some clothes or shit here. It may even be that i will go home with more money that i arrived here with, which will be nice.

I am going to see Charlie & the Chocolate factory agin tonight, this time with Suzanne. Hopefully this will butter her up a bit as we need to have a serious talk about a ‘work related dilemma’. I will keep you posted about it in the near future.

Home Comforts?

Hmmmmm, I am just finished the new Harry Potter book. I don’t know what to make of it. It must be good as I really want the next one and feel shocked after reading it. The books are getting more and more adult and I do not know how they will make this one into a kids film. There is a girl in work who I know has read it so I will talk to her about it tomorrow.

Oh and today was not a good day in work. Although the day itself started out well enough. I’ll start from the beginning. I got up at half nine and after breakfast and was then picked up and went for a swim in the quarry. This time we were completely alone and it was amazing, in the middle of a forest and it was really misty, highly enjoyable. I then came back home at around half twelve and thinking that I did not have work til half one I decided to watch an episode of Arrested Development. At around 10 past one the phone started ringing and I was suddenly filled with dread, I raced upstairs to check my timetable and to my horror I saw that I was supposed to be in work at half 12! I fucking sprinted down and just got in as my supervisor was ringing my boss at home to see did she know where I was. She was not at all pleased. I was pissed as well cuz it was my fault and I felt bad.

The problem with my supervisor on the coffee counter is this. She is completely bi-polar. She used to be a cocaine addict but kicked the habit a few years ago but now is completely unpredictable. Liam and Amanda may remember the barmaid in P&G’s. Now Kiai is completely like that but thankfully she is nice the majority of the time. I have gone to a few barbeques with her and myself and her have gone to the cinema a few times. Plus she offered to bring me to Portland on my days off. The problem is in work when I cannot begin to fathom which way the capricious winds of her humour will blow. She will either be completely sarcastic, condescending or plain ignorant. ON the other hand she could be charming, genuinely interested in what I am saying or really funny. These moods can switch in a heartbeat and it is beginning to put a downer when I am working the coffee counter. I end up just being very polite and neutral with her which I don’t enjoy. Perhaps the problem is that we are friends outside work and she does not know how to handle it. From my point of view I am not intimidated or threatened by her at all and perhaps a bit disrespectful, if she slags me I return the favour so maybe she is trying to be a real boss in work to compensate. Who can know the mind of a woman.

In other news I got a call from my mother last night. It turns out that next Friday my father, brother and uncle are flying into Boston and coming up to visit. Truth be told, and keep them hush, I am not too sure how I feel about this. I mean it will be great to see them and chances are they will be here for my birthday but they are putting me in an awkward position. I am not, and no offence to anyone, in the slightest bit home-sick here. I am enjoying myself immensely and rarely feel a longing for stuff like I did in New Paltz. I am really looking forward to going home in October but at the same time I am really looking forward to the next 10 weeks here. I am not crying out to see familiar faces is what I am trying to say. Plus I do not know what to do with them. My uncle is ill and in a wheel-chair and my brother is only 12 so entertainment is limited there. Getting time off work is also going to be very difficult, it will involve going to the afore-mentioned boss and asking a favour. Plus they are coming on a Friday and on the following Wednesday a Lobster Festival starts here and it is the busiest time of the entire year, eclipsing the Blues Festival exponentially. It will be good to see them but I forsee problems.