Another Blustery day in the Hundred Acre City

But the leaves are changing colors, so it's quite pretty. Nothing really happened yesterday, I went to class, and helped a friend set up a blog of her own. Today I did some laundry, actually straightened my hair, and then went outside and my hair went right back to it's poofy semicurly original stage. Oh Irish weather, how you do love to thwart me in my clothes and hair plans. (Weeping internally about poor suede flats) I found out when my final for early start is on the 25th of October. I also got all my enrollment stuff completely finalized (3 weeks into the semester) I'm probably going to go home and do more laundry tonight, tomorrow night is another international student club hosted party. Yay! Am not even going to try to take pictures though, as a) clubs are not really lit for that, and b)My poor camera is still acting a bit nuts. This weekend I'm not going anywhere, as I have that giant 3 hour final to study for, but I might spend some time working on blog and slideshow stuff. Probably not, but there is always hope. Maybe I'll got through and grammar/spell check. Plus I've been thinking of changing how some of the slide shows are laid out, so that's all on my list. Also doing a template for my Kansai Gaidai blog, so I don't have to do it at the last minute like I did with this one, at least I've managed to get most of the kinks out, and can work with the ones that are still here. If anybody else has any problems though, tell me and I'll work on it, since I only know how it looks in internet explorer.

More paperwork

I thought I was done with paperwork for school, but apparently not. It's okay though, they gave me 5 hours for my early start, so I only have to take 3 classes (that'll be 14 hours) and then I can take 15 hours in Japan which I was planning on at least that many hours anyways, so that all works out well. I need to go take my stuff over to the International Office thing though. I just realized the other day that pants here button on the other side, or at least the corduroys that I got on sale at Penney's do. Hmm. I think some day in the near future I will just do a catalogue of differences. Some of them are good, some of them are bad, and some of them are just different. An example of good is that all the magazines here come with stuff which is both entertaining and useful, for instance if you spill something on your shirt, and the only store around is a bookstore, you can just buy a copy of Elle and there you go. An example of bad is that the roads are narrow, so cars get really close to the sidewalk, so you always get splashed on rainy days (like today). An example of just different is the pant button thing (or driving on the other side of the road)not really a huge deal, just not what your used to type of thing.

Barcelona...lots of fun, but bring a good map

Also comfortable shoes. And lots of cash. So after my last post I went to Tesco to get food and Marks and Spencer for the good lemonade and then went to the bus station. I read until the bus was ready to go and then I got on the bus and didn't read so as to avoid throwing up. Instead I ate lots of bread products and lemonade. Then we (me and Rachel and Courtney) got to the airport, waited half an hour for the check in to open, waited in line for 15 minutes to check in, and then waited another 2 hours for the plane. It was one of those little planes, and they didn't have the bridge across from inside the airport, instead everybody walked out onto the tarmac and up stairs into the plane. Then I had a lovely 5 minutes trying to shove my backpack under the seat in front of me. Finally I gave in and put it in the overhead bin. I finished my book about 15 minutes before we got into Barcelona and spent the time watching the small child in the seat in front of me who was standing in his mother's lap and giggling at the people behind him. Then we landed and went through customs. I always wish I was from and EU country at that point, since they always just wave them through everything. I mean it was this tiny airport and security was pretty non existent, but we still had to fill out this form since we are American and not EU. Anyways we did that and then went to track down a bus to Barcelona. It took about an hour to get to Barcelona. When we got there it was around midnight and the metro was closed. Also there were no taxis at the bus station, and only Courtney speaks very much Spanish (which isn't even what they speak in Barcelona mainly, but it'll get you by) Anyways, we called Erin to get directions, and ended up at this hotel. Erin had left a key for me at the desk, so I went up and was like key for room 315? unfortunately the concierge didn't speak English, and I do not speak catalan. But I managed to make it clear that I wanted the key to room 315 and I guess he just wanted to get rid of me, so he gave it to me, since he gave me one. We went up, and I opened the door, turned on the lights... and the two people whose room it actually was started yelling at me in Italian. I got out of there very quickly (So quickly that I still have the key card) Anyways I called Erin again and she came and got us, which was good since some of us were freaking out (not naming names, but it wasn't me). Anyways Erin and Mark who lives in Barcelona came and got us and took Courtney and Rachel to their hostel and then we stopped at this Irish pub in Barcelona which was rather different than Irish pubs in Ireland. And I got some food, and water which was nice since planes really dehydrate you. Then me and Erin went to the hotel, where I realized that I totally want to travel on a business expense account from now on, but as I am a student I don't see that happening for a while. Then since it was around 3 in the morning we went to bed. The next day I went out to look at monuments and stuff with COurtney and Rachel. We went to the Barcelona Cathedral and Santa Anna, which was closed for siesta. Then we went to find lunch, and ended up going to this place called Nostrums, which was cool. They had prepackaged things (I got tortellini, they had a bunch of different stuff though). Then we went back to the hotel to wait for Erin since she was going to be done with work soon. When she got there we went out to shop. There is a whole taxi story, which yo can get from Erin. Shopping was cool, we found this whole long street that was just shops. I bought some sunglasses, which I needed, since I had broken mine my first day in Cork, and some scarves. After a while we decided to head back to get dressed for dinner, which was rahter more complicated than it sounds. We ended up taking 2 cabs, one for me and Erin and Joyce (who works with Erin), and another for Courtney and Rachel. We got back finally and got all changed to go out. Courtney and Rachel were going to meet us after dinner, but they didn't so no more talking about them for quite some time. We went to dinner at this fusion restraunt down on the beach. It was all really good, except for some reason with my dessert there was some sort of coffee flavored jello. Jello should not be coffee flavored, in case anyone else ever runs across it just skip it. Then we went to this club called shoko, which was fun. The DJ played technoey music which is better than the continuous 80's/Boy band and Britney Spears stuff that is the rage in Cork. Also they did mixed drinks. Yay daquiris (Don't worry mom I only had one, but seriously all they have in Cork is beer, which I don't like, so given the opportunity for a daquiri I said yes) We stayed till they closed and then went out to the beach which was cool, it's still really warm in Barcelona, unlike Cork where it is starting to get chilly (not freezing, you just have to wear a coat and sometimes hats and gloves would be nice) The water was around tap temprature, although I did not feel the need to get more than my feet wet, unlike some other people who we didn't know. Anyway, we went back to the hotel and got some sleep in preparation for a hard day of shopping on Saturday. We started around 11 something, although we got food first (and I got a box of 6 Dunkin Donuts not quite Krispy Kreme, but they keep better, and donuts in Cork tend towards the cakey) We then went to the market, which was fun except the sections with meat (most of it). And since I'm sure you don't want a blow by blow account of shopping, fast forward till siesta when we had goldfish bowl size sangrias (didn't drink them all, don't worry) and then looked at art. After that we decided to go look at this cathedral, which we eventually got to after some more stops for shopping, a wedding, and a snack. (I got some cute shoes to around this point) We went back to look at the art, took a cab back to the hotel and decided that we wanted food and sleep in that order. So me and Erin went to this pasta restraunt, which was really good. They had really good salad too. After that we went back to the hotel and packed since I had to be at the bus station at 8 in the morning (refraining from making snide comments about travelling companions at this point). I watched Shall We Dance (the new one) with Spanish dubs, and then went to sleep. We got up (somewhat reluctantly) the next morning, I caught a cab to the bus station, got on the bus and went back to the airport (Spain looks really cool early in the morning it was still sort of sunrise since it's really hilly in some points, so the sun has to get over that too. Got to the airport, and reversed the first bit. except I didn't try to shove my stuff under the seat this time. I got back to Cork, went home and collapsed onto my bed for about an hour. Then my friend Nicole called and since I said I didn't want to walk and Cork is a bit dead on Sundays, she suggested a movie. We were going to go to one of the Cork Film Festival movies, but they were all sold out, so we went to see Little Miss Sunshine, which was reeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaally good. It was soooo funny. Everyone needs to go see it and then call me and talk about it. After that we went to this Italian restraunt and had pizza, which was good, and then we went to the spar for dessert. After that it started getting drizzly so we went home, and I watched a movie until I started falling asleep and then I just went to bed. Today I just kind of hung out and watched my birthday presnet from mom and dad the Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth :) I think I pulled a muscle/tendon in my foot, so I was trying to rest it so it will stop hurting. Then I came over to school to do this, and check e-mail and stuff.
Here are pictures. My camera is officially messed up, so while it will do the occasional picture, there will not be as many as there were.

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Okay I haven't left yet.

I had to do some stuff for my mom, so lucky you guys get a post to tide you over the weekend. I found the gym last night. Well actually I was shown the gym by my friend Nicole (in the Qube pictures). Apparently they have special classes for people over 55 and here is a selection: Yoga, Belly Dancing, and Pilates. Now I admit that I do not spend a lot of time trying to become more flexible, but I cannot do pilates and I'm 20. I'm not sure it would be a good thing to take up in your 50's or later is all I'm saying. Sadly this is the only yoga class they are offering, so I might just go and be like, no I'm 60 I just aged really well. The only classes they offer through my school are spin classes and water aerobics, neither of which really excites me. I'm going to see Marie Antoinette at the Cork Film Festival when I get back to Cork on Sunday, so that'll be fun. I keep meaning to go to something, but thus far I have not. I'll try to get some pictures in Barcelona and post them on Monday. Maybe they will even have people in them since Erin will be there and can take some pictures too. I'm gonna go buy batteries for my camera now, so adios.

Could someone

look at the UCC web page and tell me if that is Pierce Brosnan in a funky hat on the front, or if I just really need to get some sleep. Just keep refreshing, it'll cycle back eventually. So I'm adding pictures, at the request of my parents some of them have people in them, but since Dance Clubs are probably one of the worst places to take pictures (bad lighting, to crowded, etc) I'm just tacking on the few decent pictures I got there to the pictures I took in Waterford. So, no, we were not all partying in the Waterford Crystal factory (as fun as that would be, someone would enevitably do somehting stupid with the furnace which is apparently kept constantly at some really high temprature Centigrade, and that would just be very bad). I might post again in the morning, but if not this is my last post before Barcelona. I got some sleep last night, and put a bandaid on my blister so I'm much better today. I also found out that Marks and Spencer has really good lemonade, so that made me happy. I had another round of Forensic Psychology class this afternoon, which I enjoy, although the government and legal system here are a lot different, so some of it is confusing. I need the Irish version of school house rocks, but I don't think there is one. I am very excited about going to court though, apparently we all have to either go to the district or circuit court, and in the circuit court they wear wigs and gowns, so guess which I'm going to. I'm not sure if they allow you to take pictures there, but if you can I will. But that's all later in the semester. So without further ado, here are pictures.

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Hey people were are my comments?

I'm holding pictures hostage until there are at least 3 comments. (or until I have the time and energy to haul my laptop to a wifi area, whichever comes first) I had a good time in Waterford today, my camera went crazy so I'm not sure how good the pictures are, but I've got them. Lots of pretty sparkly stuff, and really hot glass. Also some blisters, I didn't add quite enough padding to my new hightops (Penney's 6 euro :) and I walked like 5 miles (not an exaggeration, seriously I'm all buff now and can do that, also seriously sleepy, but that's okay) I'll try to post pics tomorrow, but otherwise it will have to wait till I get back from Barcelona, and I'll just do a big batch. Provided my camera will work there, which I can't gurantee after it's behavior today.

Technical Difficulties

I'm having some problems getting onto my blog through my laptop, but I've emailed them to fix it, so I'll post everything tomorrow.

Pictures on Monday

I'm at the library, so 1 limited time and 2 no pictures can be posted, but I have some which I will post Monday. It was fun. They don't do mixed drinks here though, and I don't really like beer so that basically leaves rum or whiskey which are ridiculously expensive. (So don't worry mom and dad I don't have the funding to go out and drink evcessively, not that I want to) The international society was hosting it kind of, so there were a lot of people I knew, and it was at a dance club rather than a pub, so lots of dancing which was fun (although the DJ continuosly played 80's songs and stuff by ex- boy band members, so lots of mocking, also lots of mocking of the people who couldn't dance but thought they could). It's started getting a little bit cold here, so jackets are necessary now, and tights under skirts, which I didn't do last night, but will in the future since I got really cold walking home.

Sorry I didn't post yesterday

I was going to at school, but the network crashed, and then I had class and by the time that was over it was to late, and besides I was too tired. Not that you missed anything scintillating, more paper work, still slightly messed up schedule, but I think I'm going to book stuff anyways now. I did get into my program in Japan in the spring so that is very exciting. I also got almost all of my shopping errands done (okay maybe some of the stuff I didn't actually need, but sparkly nail polish is quite high on my hierarchy of self actualization) While shopping is quite fun for me, you probably don't really want to read about it, so we'll skip that. And if you want to find out more about my classes you can read my notes when I get home. Today I just did laundry and wrote essays (I don't even want to write about that, just ergh) But I'm going out tonight which might make for an interesting topic for tomorrow. (I'll keep it PG for the kiddies)And maybe I'll take some pictures with people in them! I'm going to Waterford either Monday or Tuesday, so I'll also try to get some pictures there. With any luck the crystal factory won't mind pictures being taken and I'll get one of the giant chandelier, it's supposed to be pretty cool (and by cool I mean giant and sparkly.)

I have a schedule:)

I have 2 classes on Wedensday, 1 on Thursday, and 1 online. With my early start that is 5 classes total. So I have really long weekends to travel on yay! I'm pretty sure the computer lab is going to close shortly, and I've got some other stuff to do, so I'm going now, but tomorrow I'm bringing my laptop over to school and buying all my plane tickets and stuff for traveling, so I'll post that schedule stuff then.

I'm at the library again, so limited time

I went to Tesco today and bought groceries, and Argos and bought a webcam (they had a good sale and I can use it with skype and stuff if anyone wants to talk to me...)Now I'm at the library using the internet since I couldn't face walking all the way back uphill just yet. I found a store that sells crochet hooks which was good, and my bank has finally moved my stuff over so I can get cash out of the ATM. I'm going to go track down the Psych building today so that I can get to my classes tomorrow. And then do laundry since I finally bought some laundry cubes :) Also I need to do some stuff for school involving the library, which I would normally do over weekends, but the libraries close here over the weekends. So I'm actually getting stuff done before it's due which is fairly novel. If I don't take any pics of Cork today I'll get some over the weekend, there are a few things that I keep thinking I need to get pictures of that I haven't yet. I'll try to link some pictures of me in, but they will mostly be through other peoples facebook, live journal, and blogs since I don't normally take pictures of myself. Also at some point I'll try to go in and edit and proof all this stuff, and clean up my pictures and stuff. So that's something.

I get to throw my self on the mercy of the psych department today,

So that should be fun. But if they don't just laugh in my face and throw me out, I should have a whole schedule and some interesting classes. I thought I had my schedule down until last Thursday when I found out that the Gaelic class makes you take either Monday or Friday classes, so that was out. Anyways onward to the fun stories and pictures of Dublin.
I'm in a somewhat better mood, and I intend to do some shopping today so by the end of that I should be ok. (I actually need some things, like groceries, but I think I should probably avoid the bookstores.) And for Grandma who asked, apparently the Guinness book of world records was created when the managing director of Guinness missed shooting a bird, and went to a pub afterwards, he and some other guys were talking about what the fastest game bird was, and then later he had a similar conversation in a bar, and he decided that what they needed in bars was a book of all these things to sort it all out.
Anyways, I'm going to skip Friday since I already wrote about it and go on to Saturday. We got up and had breakfast (there would have been tea and toast, except the toaster broke, so there was tea and sandwhiches). That was fun, we talked to these girls from Australia and that was fun. Then we went to meet the rest of our group at their hostel. We went to the National Gallery first which was interesting for a while, there were bog bodies, and gold stuff, and mummies, and then we went to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College. Sadly neither of those places allowed you to take pictures. After that we went to Hard Rock for lunch which was expensive and touristy, but they all wanted to go so I went. Anyways after that we wandered around for a bit, I got some pictures of the Molly Malone Statue, and we went to Easons, and this used bookstore we found (Easons is kind of like Borders). I got a book at the used bookstore for the bus ride back, but nobody wanted to go with me to the Market Arcade where there are supposed to be some cool fabric stores and vintage clothes stores, I thought about tracking it down myself, but it started pouring and I didn't have an umbrella, so I tracked down my hostel and hung out and talked to some of the other people staying there. There weren't a lot of pubs around the hostel I was staying at, and I didn't want to go find one in the rain, so I went to bed early, besides I had to get up at 8 anyways since we had decided to take the 10 AM bus since nothing opened till noon and everyone had stuff to do back in Cork. So I made it to the bus station on time the next day, and after that my day was kind of boring, I just did some paperwork, and took a nap. Today I've just been sorting out my schedule, I'm staying in Cork this weekend and some people have invited me to go out with them, so maybe I'll have some wilder stories then. Personally, I like Cork better than Dublin, it's way less touristy, and it feels a lot safer. Admittedly at least part of the safeness thing is that I know my way around Cork a lot better, but even when I was still getting totally lost here I never felt like I was in any danger here, whereas in Dublin I felt more edgy about it. Of course Dublin is a bigger city and there are less people here, especially when school isn't in session.
And now on to the pictures.

Sorry, I've only got 4 minutes

So any interesting stories will have to wait, I'll type them up tomorrow at least and post them Monday. I don't like Dublin as much as Cork, possibly due to cranky traveling companions who didn't want to go shopping with me :( and having just dropped a hot chocolate at the SPAR which was more embarassing than anything else, but I did manage to get some on my shoes and jeans. I think next time I come to Dublin I will have a better map, and I'll come by myself so I can shop without feeling guilty that I'm making other people come (not that they felt guilty dragging me to their stuff) sorry, I'm kind of cranky now. I'll try to get it out of my system by next time.

Greetings from Dublin International Youth Hostel

It's kind of like camp, only with better security. For any one who saw Eurotrip, it's nothing like that. Anyways, I missed the 8 o'clock bus (overslept, but I saw it pull out) so I went to Tesco as they were the only thing open, and got the first batch of bread :) and some juice and stuff for the trip, and then I hung around Argos till they opened at nine to get batteries, so there will be pictures of this trip. Then I went to McDonalds which was open at 8, but they had someone in there vaccuming so I didn't think they were, and got pancakes, they call them that here instead of hotcakes which was nice since the hotcakes thing always confused me. Although pancake syrup here tastes like, and is the consistency of honey, not a bad thing, just different. I caught the ten bus and napped my way to Dublin. Then I got to take a bus in the city to meet up with the people I was supposed to meet this morning. I know how sardines feel now. After that I went on a tour of the Guinness factory (not a big fan of beer, or the brewing process, but when in Dublin) I got my drop of Guinness and my Shamrock though (I have pictures) and I found out that Guinness makes the Guinness book of records, and why, which is an interesting story, if anyone asks for it I'll tell it. and then I had chips, with vinegar, sans fish, and garlic mushrooms which are ridiculously yummy, and they seem to have them everywhere here, although less than Pringles. Anyway then me and Rachel and Courtney headed to our hostel, since the hostel the other girls in our group are staying at is different, since they couldn't accomodate us all for 2 nights. And now I'm going to read and bed since we're getting up early to see the Book of Kells and a museum and for some reason having lunch at the Hard Rock, I might go out tomorrow though. And then Sunday I'm headed back to Cork, I'll post pics on Monday when I go to school where the free internet lives. By the way it's only 2 more weeks till my 21st birthday...

I <3 Clubs Day

They give you candy, and you get to play with swords. What more can you ask for really. I signed up for Kendo and Aikido and Trampoline club, although they don't actually start for another week or so, and most of them are really lax about attendance, but I'm still rather sad I missed society day, I have to track down the music room all on my own now. :( anyways, I've actually got a class to attend to day, so that should be fun, and I've mostly worked out my schedule, although for some reason most upper division classes don't start till next week, so I'll have to wait till then to do a full run through and make sure it works out. I'll write up all my schedule stuff then, including the days and places I'm traveling to hopefully. I'll post some pics of Dublin on Monday too, and I'll try to track down those picks of Blarney I promised over the weekend from Erin and Rachel, since they are both going to Dublin as well. Also I get my first fun experience in a hostel, so I'll tell you how that goes too.

What's with all the germs?

For some reason now that I am finally over my cold completely, I managed to pick up a mild flue bug or something. I'm fine now, but I felt like death on toast this morning. It was rather unfortunate since I missed societies day, but there is still clubs day tomorrow, and I can email the societies I'm interested in, plus the school publishes a newspaper of all the soc/club events for the week. At least I didn't miss any classes, or for that matter my trip to Dublin on Friday. I went to the library though instead of school to type this up, since it's closer, and I don't have to walk uphill so much as my stomach is still a bit iffy. Hopefully it is just one of those 24 hour things and I'll be completely good tomorrow, that would be rather a novel experience. I like that the library is next to this restraunt called Hillbilly's Chicken. It always amuses me on the walk here, and it's a good landmark when anyone asks where the library is. I've only got about 5 minutes of internet left, so I'm going to check my e-mail now. I'll write more tomorrow when I've got free internet at school and hopefully something interesting to talk about.

Wait, What?

For some reason it feels very surreal to me that classes have actually started, but I still don't have a complete schedule. I think I almost have, but not entirely since I haven't taken my sign up stuff in. It's a bit different for the Irish students I guess, since they have to take a specific set of courses, and they are all arranged to work out with the times for that program, where I am trying to take classes from multiple sections. I finally worked it out so it works though, and as long as I can get the intro to Irish class I want I'll have a full load of classes. The way it works out, I've got one class on Thursday for 3 hours, One is web based which was the only way I could work in my English class with psych stuff and still have Fridays off, and then the gaelic class they work around your schedule. So I don't know for sure when that one will be, but I blocked out my Mondays and Fridays, so I'll at least have a lot of travel time, and then I can just shove a lot of hours in when I go to Japan. I still haven't got my acceptance stuff from them, but there is a whole lot of crazy postal stuff that could be holding it up, since there are 3 countries postal systems involved (well 2 for me and 2 for the study abroad office, so 3 total). I'm going to Dublin this weekend with about 5 or 6 other girls so that should be fun. I still need to figure out a travel schedule, but I'll do that over this and next week when I figure out what my total schedule for school is.

No I didn't Kiss the stone

This would be why, it's bending over backwards over a sheer drop of over 4 stories with only a little old man holding you. The girls I went with did though (that's Rachel in the picture). We got to the park it's in and it started pouring rain. So I got to walk around in wet jeans all day. Plus up 4 flights of stone spiral staircases that were totally slippery. And the batteries I brought were almost all dead, so I don't have a lot of pictures. Erin and Rachel said I could have some of theirs so I'll try to get them at some point this week and do another slide show. I still don't have quite all of my schedule done, but I definetely don't have Monday and Friday classes, and maybe not Tuesday either (I'm not slacking off, they just don't have as much lecturing going on, it's only like one or two hours of lecturing going on for a class in a week, so I have lectures for 2 hours on Thursday for Psychology and the internet, and 3 hours somewhere for intro to Irish, and then my Feminism and Psychology class is online. My other class options are on Weds/Thursday for an upper division English. My early start also means I don't have to take quite so many classes now, since that one is already over. It's crazy how crowded the campus is today after being so empty all last month. I'm going to Dublin this weekend, I'll try to bring batteries that are charged this weekend and actually take some pictures.

Academic Walkabout

Apparently it is only the clases, not the clubs, but that's ok, since I finally have schedules. I'll post that all next time I have internet, and probably my Blarney pictures and stories as well. Possibly I'll go to an internet cafe over the weekend, but Monday at latest.

The rain took out my umbrella

Well actually it was the wind, I also managed to fall and run my tights, so I decided to stay home and do laundry and mending (not sure how to mend tights though). I got a bloody nose in class today which was very exciting, although not the good kind. My cold is gone, except for a bit of coughing and sore throat from all the snot though. So I should be good for the Academic walkabout tomorrow, and maybe I can finally track down someone from the psych department and get some accurate class schedules. I've got dinner with the folklore class tonight, but after that all I've got is the final, and essays to turn in for that class. I'm off to buy a new umbrella now. I'll tell you how the walk about goes tomorrow.