Veggies Make Me Happy

I just finished eating a GIANT bowl of salad with cucumbers, red and yellow peppers, and cherry tomatoes, fabulously and conveniently prepared by Centra for my food needs.  It was supposed to be 3 servings, but I was craving leaves and vitamins like none other, so I kept eating.  I'm pretty sure I was smiling as I ate.  I heart veggies.

Getting to Centra wasn't so easy though, even thought it is literally RIGHT down the street. I lied in bed for a good hour after I woke up (which was before noon- YAY!), debating with myself over if I was indeed going to go out and get groceries. I was like my favorite character Cameron in Ferris Bueller's Day Off: "He'll keep calling me, he'll keep calling me until I come over. He'll make me feel guilty. This, ugh!, this, this is ridiculous. Okay, I'll g-, I'll go, I'll go." See, the problem is, what remains of my food selection are two boxes of mac-n-cheese (but no milk or butter, so I can't even make it), 4 bags of rice servings, a single clementine, a half jar of honey, jelly, and cinnamon.  Needless to say, unless I wanted to shrivel away in my filthy and foresaken apartment, I needed to put on my big-girl shoes and walk at LEAST to the Centra. So after lunging myself from the most uncomfortable bed in history, nearly tripping on the computer chords at my ankles, I forced myself to clean up and go. And by "clean up" I mean bobbypin my bangs out of my face, brush my teeth, stumble into some clothes that I can't remember the last time I washed, and lastly put on some eyeliner so I didn't look like a crazy person.  I mean, I have some class.  

I wanted to listen to my iPod on the way, as it makes me feel a tad more comfortable walking all by my lonesome, but when I pressed multiple buttons to turn it on (Yes, I admit, I still don't really know how to use an iPod: Click up, click down, spin the thingy, center click. Gah! Too much work!!!) the screen was still black.  But did that stop me from using it? Nay! I wore those earbuds and held Lucille as I strolled just as if she were truly functioning. Lucille is my iPod, not some dopey, lethargic friend I carry around.  

I felt awkwardly white-trash yet resourceful last night: In my attempt to exercise any tricep-muscle I have, I did those over-the-shoulder lift things.  But I didn't have any weights (I must have forgotten to pack them, even though I use them so often...Psh, yeah right!), so, scanning my room for any items that could be turned into a dumbbell equivalent, I see my purse/bag and a pile of books: Put the books in the purse, hold purse by handle, swing the purse over your shoulder, and lift repeatedly. Ta-daa!!! Although I am unsure of the extent to which this exercise in general works that muscle, seems like my arm usually goes numb from all the blood rushing down by the time I begin to feel any effects.  Oh well. At least those books got some use out of 'em.  

I think I might need to have someone come to my room and hide my scissors. I feel the URGE to cut my hair again.  And I must resist!  Because god knows what it would look like if I try to cut it shorter.  Edward Scissorhands comes to mind. How ironic. 

I am 93% sure Ross and I have decided on Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and Italy for our trip in May.  Any suggestions for sites to see, places to stay, things to eat, and/or words of encouragement will be gladly received. Monetary donations also accepted, to be split 50/50 between Ross and I. And by "50/50" I mean I will not be telling Ross about any monetary donations that are received...

Here are some pictures from the second part of the trip, in reverse order in which they occurred:

 Some sweet street musicians in Dublin
 The view from our hotel of Trim Castle (in Trim)
 Mom wandering in the Abbey in Cong
 Boats in Galway

Enjoy! 

 

Back in Cork

The parents left early this morning, like 6:30am, and they just got back in Minneapolis a bit ago, I got a text from the Dad.  So that's good. I always worry about people flying.  Have I mentioned I HATE planes a.k.a. steel birds of DEATH!?

The rest of the trip was good.  Had even more car troubles that I don't want to get in to.  I was the navigator of the trip.  Which was both stressful at times yet also rewarding since I knew for a fact my parents would have been completely lost the entire time, and, since Dad was the only one driving, Mom would have had to do the directions part if I didn't and that would have been not good. No offense, Mom. 

I liked Dublin but we were there for less than 24 hours. I plan on going back.  Sometime before I leave. Forever. In a little over a month.

I REALLY miss Bobber.  It has been 115 days since I have seen him. I am jealous my parents got to go back home and see him.  But when I return it will be wonderful and glorious and I will most likely cry.  That's right, tears of joy because I miss my Precious Bean.  (I don't know how I came up with that...I always have called Bobbers weird names, must recently "Precious Bean" has stuck with me.)

I giggle to myself when I think about the fact that friends back home are still in classes. Heee heee heee.  I guess I still have essays to finish up (and by "finish up" I mean actually start writing them...Ooops) and then studying to do...Yeah I probably should get on that...

But today was a lazy day. Catching up on sleep and TV shows that I missed: The Office, 30 Rock, Family Guy, House, My Boys.  But The Office has been awful lately. I think it's going downhill. Kinda like Scrubs did. I am losing interest. It just isn't that funny anymore: Too serious.  

I miss my curtains in my room.  And my record player.  

I have a phone interview on Tuesday for a supervisor position at GAC, for the admissions phoning work that I did last semester.  I am quite excited but also nervous since I have never done a phone interview and have no idea what type of questions they could possibly ask me about supervising people who are calling prospective students...? Either way, if I get it I make a whole DOLLAR more an hour than being a caller ($7.55 BABY!!!). Plus, I was flattered that they even offered me it since I only worked there one semester. I WAS Caller of the Month once.  I am just that good, I guess. (Please note the sarcasm...)

I now have a varied selection of teas in my room courtesy of the B&Bs and hotels we stayed at on our trip.  I also think I averaged 4 cups of tea a day for the last week and a half.  Mmm milk and sugar please....

That's all for now.  Back to...something. I forget what I was doing before this.  Tomorrow is BIG grocery day.  Woop!  

I'll post more pictures from the trip once i finish sorting through them all.  

Dingle and Lisdoonvarna

Hello! All is pretty well on the Irish front with the travels with Mom and Dad.  Had some troubles with the rental car as we got a flat tire on the Dingle Penninsula, then some troubles switching out the car the following day at the Kerry airport. Other than that we have lucked out on the weather- sunny, not too windy, not that cold.  

We drove up to Dingle on Thursday afternoon. I had been having a terrible day thus far trying to hand in one of my essays, so I was eager to get out of Cork and all the mess there.  I am also a tad sick.  I had heard that the reasons everyone's lives had been so crazy the last few weeks was because Venus was in retrograde (Google it), thus throwing off everyone's perceptions and normality. Today is the first day out of the retrograde and it already feels a ton better.  I think so, at least. 

Stayed at a wonderful B&B in Dingle, drove around some in the afternoon/evening along the "Dingle Way" as pointed out by our host. Got some lovely pictures.  

Now we're in Lisdoonvarna, just 10 minutes north of the Cliffs of Moher, which we visited today and was a much better (and warmer) experience than my first time there for my birthday weekend.  The family that owns the B&B has a big black lab, who I was quite excited to see as I am on an extreme case of dog-withdrawal and am missing Bobber terribly. I couldn't understand what the little boy was saying his name was. I heard "Tot" which I think is adorable, and REALLY want to name one of my future dogs "Tater Tot." Then you could call it by Tot, Tater, Taters, Tate, Tater Tot. Oh it would be so cute.  

We are off to Galway tomorrow.  Then Trim. Then Dublin. Then back to Cork! Hope the weather stays nice. 

Here are some pretty and/or amusing photos. I've taken 130 of them in the last three days.

  GuessI'll be using the side door...

Cliffs of Moher!
Dad walking along one of the many beaches we stopped at
Panoramic Champion!
Mini cliffs?
Mom at our B&B in Dingle. Note the impending doom behind her...
Dad changing the tire in Inch.
Mom and Dad eating some ice cream on the way to Dingle

Stuck in Instability

After returning from Budapest I have been quite all over the place in terms of emotions and can't seem to get comfortable with being here, but at least this time I know the cause: The reality of classes being over has finally hit me and people are out on their own travels, so I feel rather stuck in this place where I still have responsibilities for school (essays and finals) but now have the freedom to travel and basically do whatever I want.  I think I would be less "freaking out" if I had all of my school stuff done and could "relax" more. Yes, I can get my essays out of the way early, but my finals are out of my control, so those are always in the back of my mind.  

That last paragraph made me seem unhappy, which is not entirely true.  It is just that point where I am continuously reminded of the fact that I am going home soon, but I don't want to.  "Torn," I guess, is the word I am looking for.  

Some intense journal writing is in need!

My parents left 3 hours ago (noon Mpls time) for their flights to Cork and I am so excited!!! They will get in at 10:30am tomorrow morning, and I will meet them outside my apartment around 11.  Too bad it's supposed to be rainy all day tomorrow. Just our luck. I will be taking my computer with on our trip and thus will be able to do some post and upload some pictures. I really want this to be a relaxing trip for them, so I am going to do my best to make that happen. 

I need to go work more on an essay that needs to be handed in before we begin our adventures on Thursday, so I will go make myself a cup of tea and/or hot chocolate and get to work!

Back Home in Cork

I can't seem to figure out how to put pictures at the end of the post so oh well. Here are some of the group, followed by a few of my favorites.  Also, if anyone is interested in hearing us, there are videos up on YouTube of our concert in March, just do a search for UCC Choral Society.

Currently listening to quite loudly, on repeat, and singing along equally as loud because I have the apartment to myself: "Somebody To Love" by Queen

Budapest couldn't have gone any better. It was so amazing, and I am glad I just jumped into life, did the audition, and came along.  It would take too long to describe in detail all that we did, so I will just give a day-to-day overview, then go into detail on some stuff:

Saturday night/Sunday morning at 1am: Left Castlewhite apartments on campus to bus to Dublin airport; flight was about 3 hours, got into Budapest at noon their time (1 hr time difference)

Sunday: Checked into Mercure Hotel which was SO nice! One of the nicest hotels I've ever been in, I shared a room with Karen, a fellow alto, whom (who?)  I've gotten to know real well; the breakfasts we got there were AMAZING, and, better yet, FREE! Cereals, eggs, bacon, sausages, fruits, breads, pastries, meats, cheeses, oh I had a field-day every morning!; had a rehearsal; ate dinner at a really nice and CHEAP restaurant, took a night walk around the city, went to bed early!

Monday: Amazing breakfast; went to Andrassy Street which had the Basilica, Opera House, lunch, with Ashley and Allie from the US and Karen and Michelle from Ireland, had Goulash soup for lunch- good but I burnt my tongue because I got too excited and overzealous; tour of Opera House; picked up some fruit at a small shop with a nice man who practiced his English with Allie and me; hung out back at the hotel for a bit; headed out for an evening BOAT CRUISE!!! of the Danube River which separates Buda from Pest (I hadn't realized they were two separate cities...but now I know!); went back to the hotel and hung out in the bar for a bit; went to bed 

TUesday: BIG rehearsal day as we had our performance at 5pm; basically spent the entire day at the Concert Hall place; my voice was a little tired from rehearsing so much, but our performance went okay, especially the piece that we had just got last Thursday and hadn't had much time to prepare, I think we did very well considering the "laid-back" approach the Society has; went back to the hotel; met up in the lobby to go to a group dinner- also very nice but on the expensive side, then we had a hard time figuring out the bill...; went out to a bar for some drinks, some people went out after to a club but found that it was closed, but I had gone back to the hotel since I was EXHAUSTED!; updated journal; Slept like a log

Wednesday: Adventure day! Went to Buda Castle across the river (hotel was in Pest) and wandered around that side of the city for a long time, got some lovely pictures; went to this island in the middle of the river between the two cites, not too sure what it is called, basically a giant park where people go to just relax, kinda like going "to the beach" or "to the lake" in the summer in MN; walked along the Pest side of the river, got some wonderful coconut-chocolate ice cream; had dinner at the same good/cheap restaurant with Allie from US and Shane and Rita from Ireland; went to the awards ceremony for the competition in which we got bronze (but groups are judged individually, not against each other, so may other groups got bronze too, we didn't place 3rd...if that makes sense...?!); went back to the hotel and got ready to go out for the night; had some drinks; went to a tiny club, danced, had fun; came back around 2:30 am myself but others stayed out until 4am I think!

Thursday: Check out was at 10am; I was still quite intoxicated in the morning as I realize now that I had drank A LOT and it didn't really kick in until 1/2am (I figure I can write about this type of stuff now, since it is no surprise to anyone anymore that I am indeed drinking alcohol while overseas...sorry if this is offending anyone...!); so packing up my stuff while still drunk was a feat in itself, I literally didn't fold a single thing and just shoved it all in as best as I could; MORE ADVENTURING! to this park/zoo/square place; then along Andrassy St again, but on the other end of it; Franz Liszt (Hungarian composer) museum; took the metro to this market place, did some shopping (I got a lovely handcrafted mug), ate some sausage; rushed on the metro home; met back at the hotel to take the bus to the airport; flight home (delayed 2 hours, still bad weather, I thought we were going to crash, need to take more drugs next time even though I did take some NyQuil...I hate flying...); bus ride back to Cork from Dublin; got to apartment around 3am I think...don't remember much in my NyQuil/sleep deprived stupor

Friday: Slept until 3 in the afternoon, vegged around all day, caught up on The Office, 30 Rock, House, etc., ate what little food I had in my apartment, more sleep

I still can't believe that I was in HUNGARY. It's just crazy. When you're in the US you don't think it is really possible to go to those places because they're so far away, but once IN Europe it is easier to picture yourself going to places.  This trip has definitely made me more comfortable and confident traveling through Europe in mid-May.  Just things like using the metro (Hungary has amazing public transportation in my opinion: underground metro, above ground trams, above/underground trains, buses, all of which we were able to take after buying a single pass!) and using a map to figure out what to see and how to get there seem more comfortable to me now.  Also the language barrier: Not as big of a deal, (as sadly), most people know at least a tiny bit of English, and it never was really a problem. When in doubt, point. THe only thing that is bothersome is the currency, but I'm pretty sure most of the countries we are visiting are on the Euro. For some reason Hungary isn't, we think they're in the process of transitioning, so we had to use the Hungarian florint, which has a conversion rate of around 300 Huf. = 1 Euro. This was good interms of making everything a TON cheaper than Ireland, but then all the prices were funky, like 1500 Huf for dinner, or 220 Huf for a bottle of water.  It was just more difficult with larger numbers.  

THough the trip was so great, I am oscillating between the post-travel high that comes from an amazing experience and the more depressing fact that I will most likely never see most of those people ever again.  There's no more rehearsals, classes are over. BUt I must remember that that is a part of life, as I find myself at some points needing "closure" in some situations, while at others being content with the fact that life is and can have more fluidity than that.  

Oh the weather was simply GORGEOUS!!! Mid 70's the entire trip.  Sunny. Hot but not too bad, for me at least, the Irish lads had a hard time transitioning as it NEVER gets that hot in Ireland.  So many of us got sunburnt. Me, only on my chest when I wore a U-neck sweater.  Looking at my tan-indicator on my index finger (the line that forms because the skin on the palm of your hand doesn't tan, while the top of your fingers do), it looks like I indeed got some sun, which is wonderful.  I am a little scared though because some of my moles appear to be getting larger and blurry around the edges, which is a sign of cancerous moles. I know this may seem to be me just worrying again, and also rather disgusting to some, but considering how much I was in the sun as a child and how I continue to do so, I probably should get them checked out. I also have at least 4 new moles since I have gotten over here.  Note to self: Ask parents about this.  

Mom and Dad get here in 5 DAYS! I am so excited to show them around and to explore more of Ireland. I can't wait. Except I have a big essay to finish up before then, as well as some other GAC related stuff, laundry, travel plans, etc. I hope the weather stays remotely decent for when they are here.  

Easter is tomorrow. Not sure what I am going to do about that....But Happy Easter nonetheless!