Internet

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Today wasn’t so eventful. I looked in the 2 Euro store to see what Halloween decorations they had, but nothing worth it. I stopped by O’Donahues bakery (Ann-Marie’s place) to pick up an éclair and see if she was around to get a definitive answer about babysitting. I did not see her, but ordered an éclair and fondant. Total came to 2.30 Euro for both items!! It’s much cheaper than Griffin’s there, but fewer people know about it. I heard someone say my name and I turned around to find Ann-Marie. She apologized for not calling back and said they found another girl for the position. She wished I would be here longer because she would have rather had me, but it would work better to have the same person till June. Oh well. Maybe she meant what she said. I like her demeanor a lot; she seems so nice, so I forgave her for not calling! Plus, I could never boycott her bakery, although it would probably be better for my waistline if I did. Teresa told me the other day that I must not eat much junk food to have the figure I do (honestly it’s not as trim as it once was). I told her on the contrary. I eat a lot of sweets! She said I must exercise or have a high …what it is…metabolism. I agreed, and I pray it never slows down!!

I went to the Port internet café for lunch and spent around five hours there. Yes, 5. I had a lot to research, download and e-mail. I had many Skype dates to keep as well. I spent around 8 Euro on a sandwich and drink, so I made sure to get my moneys worth in internet. I think I did a pretty good job. The owner came in and said hello to me by name. He asked if I had been there all day…pretty much!

After the café I went to the grocery store. The fridge was bare and I needed supplied for the cake and chicken I was making tomorrow for the dinner party. I went to Aldi so I could get more for less. I wanted to see if Ireland has canned pumpkin, so I went across the street (loaded up with groceries) to the Tesco (regular grocery store). I checked on bringing all the stuff from Aldi in with me and the girl at the register said it was fine as long as I had a receipt. Tesco no longer carries canned pumpkin. Not much of a demand for it even around the holidays. I also could not find orzo, so I’ve decided to use rice instead. Zach said you can add cream cheese to rice to make it different. I wonder if I should try that. I found the baking soda I think. It’s called bicarbonate soda, but seemed to be what I needed. Finding things can be a headache sometimes. I like grocery shopping and I like cooking, but I hate hunting for stuff.

I got back and unloaded the groceries. I washed my hands and started on dinner, which was some leftover beef cubes Zach had with pasta. I floured the beef with pepper, and cooked it in olive oil. I added passata, a tomato paste and parsley with some lemon juice. I added a bed of spinach on top of the pasta then the beef mixture and topped it with feta cheese. It was descent, but not my favorite creation. I had my fondant for dessert and save the éclair for breakfast.

The apartment has no dishwasher, so all dishes are washed by hand. The water gets scalding hot, so good for the dishes, but bad for me! I have noticed a big difference in how dry my hands are too from being under water a lot. I have to put lotion on every night. I also did a load of clothes last night and the washer/dryer contraption is still baffeling. It is one machine that does both processes – washing and drying. Can’t just dry anything, has to be washed too as far as we can figure out.

When you flip a light switch around here it isn’t instant light. It flickers for a bit like a horror film then shines bright. It tends to be the trend in most places. Being creative around here is a necessity when A: it’s not cost efficient to buy most comforts of home and B: even if I wanted to buy them, it is limited in where to get them. There are no Targets or Wal-marts with everything you need. The stores stock limited amounts of smaller selections. Even if I were going to buy colored lights for Halloween, I don’t think I could. Nowhere sells them. At home I might shop around for the best price. Here I have to shop around just to find something. If I were thinking of a term to describe America it might be wasteful or commercial, but I’d call it convenient. There are the little charms of going to the greengrocer for veggies, or the bakery for bread. I guess its which you like best, and for someone looking to spend less, the individual places aren’t priced dirt cheap like I prefer.