Hurling

Sunday, September 6, 2009

I woke up this morning after that crazy dream, but I was much warmer. I left the heater on low through the night and it kept pretty warm with the door shut. I still slept in my sweatshirt, but I might not have needed it. I did; however, swipe the leopard print fleece off the “couch/chair” in the kitchen/living room as an addition to my bed. It worked wonders.

I realized that after my stint here in Ireland I will have been in Europe for a total of 9 months out of my life. Not too bad for a girl of 22, and I’m very thankful for every opportunity to do so – most thanks due to my wonderful parents and family who support my crazy ambitions even though it might not be what they want from me… I sound like I’m receiving an Oscar. But really, thanks Mom and Dad. I’d also like to say that while most of my writing may seem a little gloomy, I’m not that unhappy. I deal with things by venting about them, and this happens to be one way I vent. Conditions could be a lot worse, but even if everything isn’t happy-go-lucky around here, it is the experience I am here for and there are positives and negatives in every experience.

That said, it is my job now to find a job. A lot could go wrong, and a lot could go right over the next week while I hope to have something securely I place by next Friday. That may be ambitious for it gives me only 5 days, but here’s hoping!

I’ve also never looked at classified ads in a newspaper for jobs (or housing). It is all part of that experience I’ve been wanting and that’s another reason I’m open to anything right now. Job wise … I’m not open to tattooing or drug use or any of that sort of thing just to clarify! On my list of jobs to apply for are the following:

Hotels – anything
Hostess or waitress (the latter is low in my list, but open)
Café
Boutique worker
Retail – anything
Bakery *** yes, please!
Town Hall Theater – the one with plays. I could work backstage or take tickets
Even the movie theater – could be interesting
There is a PR/Marketing office I found – they weren’t asking, but I’m applying anyway
Italian food store and café

Zach and I decided to catch the hurling finals at the pub on the corner. They were showing it at 1:30 today. We walked in and took a seat at the bar. Needing to buy something I ordered apple cider and Zach got a Guinness. The bartender set it up on the bar and went back to his post. I thought this was odd, so I grabbed the pint and handed it over to Zach. It wasn’t till later when I saw the bartender do the same thing again with a Guinness that I realized my mistake. He was waiting for the foamy head to go down before filling it up, so I wasted a quarter of a Guinness for him. When I realized it I laughed a bit and leaned over to tell Zach. He joked and said “way to make us both look like fools!” My mistake, lesson learned.

The hurling game was intriguing. It is a lot like lacrosse, but different too. There are two nets - one for major points and a larger one behind the smaller for minor points. The games only last an hour so we weren’t there for long, but it was good to see what it’s like since we don’t have a TV of our own.

I fixed my bedding problem with a duvet cover and a fleece. I also went on a walk today and was very surprised to find that down the one street I have yet to go near my house there is another bakery specializing in cake decorating, a flower shop and another internet café. At the end of the street is the town theater whose whereabouts I had been wondering! Turn the corner and go a block you’ll find the river and a pretty little river garden despite the fact that it’s a nasty day that hasn’t stopped dumping moisture on the town. Across the river is the St. Nicholas Cathedral I had also been wondering about. I love my apartment!

In the evening Becky texted that she had arrived in Galway and was available till Wednesday. I called her back and said I’d come get her from her hostel and she could eat dinner with us. I thought I knew how to get to where she was staying and I found it! Zach cooked Indian food. Becky and I went to the store to get some more rice for everyone and I picked up some ingredients to make puppy chow. Oh so yummy. The peanut butter was on sale too. I guess it’s peanut butter, Europe isn’t known for having extensive supplies of peanut butter.

Zach was almost done with dinner when we got back, and while we waited he narrated a little more on the history of Rome and the perceptions of Julius Caesar we get thanks to Shakespeare, but if he had been writing a few decades later then Brutus would likely have been portrayed as the hero. The idea is that Shakespeare was writing to please the monarchy so he glorified the idea of supreme power by Caesar. Had it been 50 years or so later during the British Civil War uprising, he probably would have written to favor the Republic Brutus was killing Caesar to preserve.

The Indian food was really good actually. I don’t think I had eaten chicken with tikka masala sauce before, but with some rice and peppers from downstairs it was delicious. I made the puppy chow, but the powdered sugar was not exactly powdered sugar. I’m not sure if that was my mistake, or if that’s all they actually have. It’s got a crystallized texture but it is still powdery. Oh well. After dinner we set up my laptop and watched Gangs of New York. It was a long movie, but interesting since it is set in NY during the time of Irish immigrants from the Great Famine.