My Dublin Life

It's an amazing day! Sunny and windy and gorgeous. Made all the better by the fact that there've already been some flurries of snow back home in Newfoundland. Definitely a day to be out-of-doors. Bepe thinks he'll be able to fly his remote control plane in Phoenix Park but it's so windy I'm not convinced. I'm going along to see him try tho'!

I love the wind, especially when it's not cold, like today. It's so refreshing. And all the more so after a late night...

Well, I had a great time at the IFI last night but as I predicated, I was pretty much terrified the whole way through and couldn't sleep last night so today I'm tired and although it's not like me, thinking of spending Friday evening in. We are all into health 'n' fitness round our way at the moemnt, as Bepe's going to be in the Marathom next week and has embarked on a diet that seems to consist mostly of egg whites. He's looking very lean and trim, I must say. If he wasn't my flatmate, and if he didn't have a girlfriend...no, not going there ;-)

The good news is that while I thought I couldn't afford to go to any of the gigs in the electronic arts festival there are actually a couple that are pretty cheap so after all I'm going to go. For the sake of two drinks less over the weekend, I think I can manage 5 or 8 Euros. There's an interesting looking one in Filmbase.

Know what? I'm totally dying for a kebab. It must be all the healthy stuff I see Bepe stuffing into himself. Wanna come? More soon...

So, there are two pretty cool looking festivals on right now. The Dublin Electronic Arts Festival and the Horrorthon Film Festival.

While they both look great, I can't afford to go to that much right now, so I'm opting for horror as, with my interest in Gothic literature, there's clearly a connection. Right? Well, that's my excuse anyhow.

Tho I've gotta say that for a Gothic kinda gal, I'm easily scared and will most likely be watching most of tonight's performance from behind my fingers. And then someone will have to walk me home, because I'll be convinced that in every shadow there's a monster!

Tonight I'm going to see Trick or Treat, which is a cultural outing, because it's a very intelligent sort of a film. Ahem. So in the spirit of all things artistic, I'll be in the Mezz for a hot whiskey or two to get me in the mood before the screening.

Speaking of terror, while I'm actually quite a fan of traditional music (being a Newfoundlander, I grew up with a lot of Celtic sounds), I've always found accordions slightly creepy. Look at this picture. Doesn't it look a bit like an EVIL MUTANT PIANO that might come to life and play sinister music as you sleep?

Or have I just read a bit too much Edgar Allan Poe?

Today has been one of those crazy days in Ireland. This morning, it was so dark, it looked as though there was going to be a storm. Very dramatic. I was walking along College Green on my way to college when a big wet leaf hit me in the face. Then, around lunch time, the sky did something fantastic and was dark and sunny at the same time so the buildings were lit up but the sky behind they was dark grey. At the time of writing, it's quite a nice Fall afternoon, sunny and windy together. I'm planning to study late in college tonight, because I took some time out this afternoon to go for a walk in Merrion Square. I like it there, because there's trees and bushes all the way around the edge so although you're in the middle of the city, you can kinda pretend you're in a forest. Today it was all very damp and mysterious and some snails had crawled on top of the statue of Oscar Wilde and I really wished I'd brought a camera.

Trivia of the day; When I got back to college and told someone where I'd been I was told that the Oscar Wilde Statue is known by Dubliners as "The Quare on the Square." But affectionately, of course. Well, you live and learn. And it is a cool statue. I didn't even know stone came in those crazy colours.



Perhaps it's a bit nerdish of me, but I still haven't gotten bored of the excitement of knowing that I can go eat my sandwich in the same park or drink my Guinness in the same pub as some of the best writers in the English language.

So...I'm off home and I'm planning not to turn the computer on again today. Emboldened by the (relative) success of my Chinese stir-fry, I'm gonna give Colcannon (sp?) a trial run prior to cooking it up for our Hallow'een party.

Bepe and I have decided to have a Hallow'een Party! We'll see how many people we can squeeze into our teeny apartment. Sadly, this also means that his girlfriend will be there in a sexy little number but hopefully there'll be so many people there that I won't have to talk to her too much. I've even persuaded him to make a Barm Brack. I went to one of my favourite cafes, because I know they do cooking courses there and I thought maybe I could do one to learn how to make it. Well, they ARE doing a special Hallow'een course and it looks great, but no barm brack. However, the nice lady said to come back the next day and she would give me a photocopy of the one her mom makes.And she did! So, ahem, BEPE will be making it. So we're all gonna get dressed up and have all the games and I might make some mulled wine because I think my culinary skills are probably up to it.

Can't wait!




Fall is here with a vengeance now, and Trinity College is full of fallen leaves. I guess it's a melancholy time of year but I kinda like it. I met my buddy (sniff; he should be so much more) with his kid again and we had a happy half hour kicking the leaves about. Plus, in the summer the days are long, long, long and this summer I kept feeling a bit guilty about going to bars when it was still daylight outside. Now that the evenings are darker -- well, there's no such guilt and I have also disovered the quiet joy of a hot whiskey in one of those pubs where the old boyos go. Hot whiskey is a Dublin classic and a real treat on a chilly evening. Plus, it takes a while to drink so if you're on a budget you can nurse one of those babies for a good hour or so.

OKAY... I'm off home. Despite his reservations, Bepe has agreed that I'll cook dinner for us both this evening. He had a sportsy weekend with his remote-control plane (Saturday in Phoenix Park) and playing ball with some of his buddies from restaurant. And now, despite being all fit-n-healthy he's got a cold. So I'm cooking. But I don't know what yet. Gotta pick something up on the way home -- might make a detour into one of the Chinese supermarkets around Henry Street. I'm sure that even I can manage to knock together a decent stir fry...or can I?