The funny thing about getting no sleep is the things you end up doing instead of what you should be doing. For example: I should be sleeping right now...which I am going to do in about 5 minutes...but I decided to find some articles for my essay first. Did I find any articles? Of course not. Instead, I ended up watching this fanvid a friend posted of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with "I'll Make a Man out of You" from Mulan dubbed over it. Productive? I think not.
Later, when I am feeling more coherent, I will blog all about my weekend CEA excursion to the Aran Islands that started off fun and then took a dramatic right toward the almost comically awful. Until then, I am actually going to bed now. Promise.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Liverpool and its Diversions
So this weekend I went to Liverpool with my friend Leah, which was pretty darn fun. Liverpool is basically just an awesome city (the accents are AMAZING!!) but it is more like they were just a regular city until the Beatles showed up and everyone was like "Hey...let's turn this city into a tourist destination!!" Anyway, we stayed in this cute little guesthouse, where the guy who ran it basically fed us lunch and breakfast all weekend (good for broke college students!) He also hooked a TV up in our room so we could watch the 6 Nations championship.
For those of you who do not not run in the rugby circle, the 6 Nations is a rugby championship featuring England, Scotland, Wales, France, Italy and Ireland. This year, Ireland was basically the undefeated champions, and the final game was between Ireland and Wales. We tuned in at the second half...and Ireland had no points at all. However...in a SPECTACULAR turnaround, Ireland came back to be the champions, and the game literally came down to the last few seconds and the final kick. Even if you are not really into sports, I highly recommend rugby. It is made of the win. Especially the game. Youtube this. Or Brian O'Driscoll. His run was awesome.
Anyway, now that I have waxed on about a sport no one really cares about...more about Liverpool. We spent most of the time going to museums, since Liverpool apparently is a huge cultural center. We saw the Tate, the Walker Art Museum, and the World Museum. They were so cool, but I missed Haley and her art history knowledge ;) I got to see the little dancer by Degas, and Picasso's weeping woman, and a whole bunch of other famous works. It boggled my mind.
However, as cool as all that was, I especially enjoyed the World Museum, which had an aquarium, a planetarium, a British music through the ages exhibit, and all sorts of other delights. Example:
(In the World Cultures section, while examining samurai armor and cannibal forks)
Leah: So Molly, what is on the fourth floor?
Molly (consulting the handy free map): ummm...we have the Ancient Egypt exhibit and...oh...dinosaurs!!
Leah (slowly): did you say dinosaurs?
Molly: Yes. Yes I did.
Leah: What are we still doing here? (speed walk toward the stairs)
It was certainly an excellent museum. We did get to see mummies as well, and we got to try on some Eskimo clothing, and do Beatles karaoke.
Speaking of the Beatles, we also saw Penny Lane, which was very cool, and also the Cavern Club, where the Beatles had their first show. We also saw the most amazing cathedral (The Liverpool Cathedral). It was an Anglican one, and we went to a service there on Sunday, which was UK mothers day. The singing was SO beautiful, really almost indescribable. They call it "The Great Space" which was pretty appropriate. We also saw the Roman Catholic Cathedral, but it was more modern, and definitely not as pretty. Well, this is an insanely long post, so I will wrap it up now and go write some essays!
For those of you who do not not run in the rugby circle, the 6 Nations is a rugby championship featuring England, Scotland, Wales, France, Italy and Ireland. This year, Ireland was basically the undefeated champions, and the final game was between Ireland and Wales. We tuned in at the second half...and Ireland had no points at all. However...in a SPECTACULAR turnaround, Ireland came back to be the champions, and the game literally came down to the last few seconds and the final kick. Even if you are not really into sports, I highly recommend rugby. It is made of the win. Especially the game. Youtube this. Or Brian O'Driscoll. His run was awesome.
Anyway, now that I have waxed on about a sport no one really cares about...more about Liverpool. We spent most of the time going to museums, since Liverpool apparently is a huge cultural center. We saw the Tate, the Walker Art Museum, and the World Museum. They were so cool, but I missed Haley and her art history knowledge ;) I got to see the little dancer by Degas, and Picasso's weeping woman, and a whole bunch of other famous works. It boggled my mind.
However, as cool as all that was, I especially enjoyed the World Museum, which had an aquarium, a planetarium, a British music through the ages exhibit, and all sorts of other delights. Example:
(In the World Cultures section, while examining samurai armor and cannibal forks)
Leah: So Molly, what is on the fourth floor?
Molly (consulting the handy free map): ummm...we have the Ancient Egypt exhibit and...oh...dinosaurs!!
Leah (slowly): did you say dinosaurs?
Molly: Yes. Yes I did.
Leah: What are we still doing here? (speed walk toward the stairs)
It was certainly an excellent museum. We did get to see mummies as well, and we got to try on some Eskimo clothing, and do Beatles karaoke.
Speaking of the Beatles, we also saw Penny Lane, which was very cool, and also the Cavern Club, where the Beatles had their first show. We also saw the most amazing cathedral (The Liverpool Cathedral). It was an Anglican one, and we went to a service there on Sunday, which was UK mothers day. The singing was SO beautiful, really almost indescribable. They call it "The Great Space" which was pretty appropriate. We also saw the Roman Catholic Cathedral, but it was more modern, and definitely not as pretty. Well, this is an insanely long post, so I will wrap it up now and go write some essays!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Lovely Weather and Epic Cinema
I have finally recovered from my bout with the mumps (Thanks for all your prayers and concern!) so I no longer resemble a mutated woodland creature...a fact for which I am extremely grateful. The weather here has been freakishly wonderful, and my friends and I have been spending all our spare time outdoors, basking in the sun. We had a reading session on the dock the other day, and it was fantastic! Life has been rather quiet lately...We are all preparing for the end of classes, which is in 2 weeks (crazy! So many essays coming up!) I will really miss all of my lecturers, like the one who says everything like it is the most epically important statement we will ever hear. Today he informed us (very seriously) that the people in T.S. Eliot's "Waste Land" were either "Soulless Ghouls" or "Bland Businessmen" but we couldn't be sure.
In my Irish language class, we watched some excellent Irish movies. One was titled "Yu Ming Is Ainm Dom" or "Yu Ming is My Name" which was about a Chinese man who is dissatisfied with his life in China and decides to move to Ireland. He learns Irish, but when he moves to Dublin, no one speaks irish anymore (and he doesn't know English). Poor Yu Ming!! He finally meets an old man who helps him get a job in a Gaeltacht (which is an area where irish is spoken). It was very heartwarming...and actually better than the other film, which was about a housewife who decided to go live in a treehouse because she felt unappreciated, but ended up reparing her relationship with her huband through staying in the treehouse...So that was that.
I am heading to Liverpool this weekend (the flight was cheap and my friend was going and wanted company!) so I am looking forward to seeing some sweet Beatles attractions. Hopefully I will have more exciting news soon!
Oh, P.S. Apparently, my friend saw on the news that the mumps outbreak at NUIG is the worst it has ever been. They have never had this many people with the disease!
In my Irish language class, we watched some excellent Irish movies. One was titled "Yu Ming Is Ainm Dom" or "Yu Ming is My Name" which was about a Chinese man who is dissatisfied with his life in China and decides to move to Ireland. He learns Irish, but when he moves to Dublin, no one speaks irish anymore (and he doesn't know English). Poor Yu Ming!! He finally meets an old man who helps him get a job in a Gaeltacht (which is an area where irish is spoken). It was very heartwarming...and actually better than the other film, which was about a housewife who decided to go live in a treehouse because she felt unappreciated, but ended up reparing her relationship with her huband through staying in the treehouse...So that was that.
I am heading to Liverpool this weekend (the flight was cheap and my friend was going and wanted company!) so I am looking forward to seeing some sweet Beatles attractions. Hopefully I will have more exciting news soon!
Oh, P.S. Apparently, my friend saw on the news that the mumps outbreak at NUIG is the worst it has ever been. They have never had this many people with the disease!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
On Sickness
So for the past few days I have been lying like a useless lump in my bed, catching up on reading, sleeping, and watching Castle (awesome show!!) on my laptop. Why is this? Because I have the mumps. Yes, it is an actual disease, that apparently, people (like me) actually get. I didn't really think people actually got the mumps anymore, but ha ha world, I have proved you wrong!! (despite being vaccinated against it, which the doctor told me can sometimes not work effectively, especially if there is an outbreak, like there is currently at NUIG). Basically, I got a fever and get headaches, plus my face has swollen huge so I resemble a mutant chipmunk version of myself. Yay!
The disease first manifested itself during my weekend excursion to Scotland, which was pretty excellent. Edinburgh is the most beautiful city! (plus, they have the largest monument to any writer in the world...Go Sir Walter Scott!) I saw several bagpipers and a castle! I also found out that Edinburgh is much like the Mid State Fair, because you can buy deep fried Mars bars (which I did not sample, but it is a testament to the city's awesomeness that they are there in the first place...) I did sample some Scotch whisky at a cool folk music bar (It is famous in Scotland, along with butter tablet, which is basically butter flavored candy...yeah...I know...why?)
Anyway, it was fun, and I got to take a lovely train ride as well, but I spent a lot of it feeling really sick and avoiding hard foods. Luckily, I am finally getting a little better, and hopefully will feel good by next week or so, since apparently most cases of mumps only last a week to ten days. I've been keeping count.
The disease first manifested itself during my weekend excursion to Scotland, which was pretty excellent. Edinburgh is the most beautiful city! (plus, they have the largest monument to any writer in the world...Go Sir Walter Scott!) I saw several bagpipers and a castle! I also found out that Edinburgh is much like the Mid State Fair, because you can buy deep fried Mars bars (which I did not sample, but it is a testament to the city's awesomeness that they are there in the first place...) I did sample some Scotch whisky at a cool folk music bar (It is famous in Scotland, along with butter tablet, which is basically butter flavored candy...yeah...I know...why?)
Anyway, it was fun, and I got to take a lovely train ride as well, but I spent a lot of it feeling really sick and avoiding hard foods. Luckily, I am finally getting a little better, and hopefully will feel good by next week or so, since apparently most cases of mumps only last a week to ten days. I've been keeping count.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
I love the lions!
(For some reason, I have become a posting fiend lately)
So I am sitting here, working on my paper, (only 500 words to go...and I don't even have citations yet!!) and this lion documentary comes on.
Okay, huge admission: I LOVE nature documentaries, especially ones about lions or the ocean. I have this secret dream of maybe one day joining a documentary film crew in Africa and following some lions around for a month or so, and every time one of these documentaries comes on, I always google documentary job openings just to see what's out there.
Right now, after a devastating dry spell, the rains have finally come to the plains, and according to the highly British narrator "It's not just the wildebeests the predators have come to eat. Many of Africa's antelopes are here as well, and the tribe is getting ready to enjoy a time of plenty." I am always entranced by the slow motion camera, especially when we find out that one of the lionesses that we were sure had died in the summer comes back to the tribe. "The pride is still together!!" the narrator rejoices, his voice full of barely suppressed exultation. Yessss!!! I think to myself. The music is swelling, triumphant, and the lions are going to take down a warthog. I think you see why I love these so much...
In conclusion, you may keep your "Friends" and your "Scrubs" (the shows that play on continuous loop here), because I will be inwardly cheering when rains come to the plains and the lions learn to hunt!
So I am sitting here, working on my paper, (only 500 words to go...and I don't even have citations yet!!) and this lion documentary comes on.
Okay, huge admission: I LOVE nature documentaries, especially ones about lions or the ocean. I have this secret dream of maybe one day joining a documentary film crew in Africa and following some lions around for a month or so, and every time one of these documentaries comes on, I always google documentary job openings just to see what's out there.
Right now, after a devastating dry spell, the rains have finally come to the plains, and according to the highly British narrator "It's not just the wildebeests the predators have come to eat. Many of Africa's antelopes are here as well, and the tribe is getting ready to enjoy a time of plenty." I am always entranced by the slow motion camera, especially when we find out that one of the lionesses that we were sure had died in the summer comes back to the tribe. "The pride is still together!!" the narrator rejoices, his voice full of barely suppressed exultation. Yessss!!! I think to myself. The music is swelling, triumphant, and the lions are going to take down a warthog. I think you see why I love these so much...
In conclusion, you may keep your "Friends" and your "Scrubs" (the shows that play on continuous loop here), because I will be inwardly cheering when rains come to the plains and the lions learn to hunt!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
