Busy Fun!

This weekend was a blast. It was also fairly constant in meeting different friends, but in a good way. I did have time for some nice sleep-ins (not too late though) in the mornings.

Saturday was a nice day with pretty warm sunshine (contrary to what the weathermen were saying) and so I met up with Sonja, Lukas, and Natalie for a BBQ in the afternoon. I came to discover that I really love Polish Sausages, and I can't wait to have the real deal when I go visit Krakow, Poland in a month's time. They were absolutely delicious, not to mention, fresh BBQ food is always good! Sonja also made an excellent salad dressing that was to-die-for! The night was filled with so much laughter and fun banter. I always have a good time with them!

Sunday was also nice. I received a call from Sonja asking if I was free for lunch, so I met up again with the three of them and also their old housemate, Sam. We went to a sushi bar (they also have chicken for non-sushi lovers like me), and it too was great fun. I had to jet away a little early though so I could meet Dave for dinner and for the comedy show we were going to. Dinner was wonderful (first Mexican food restaurant I've found in Ireland!!) and ice cream was a push to eat after all the Mexican food, but also nice. Oh, I also found a beautiful necklace and bought it (thank goodness Dave had to text his sister to make plans for meeting later in the week, it gave me time to hop in and look around the jewelry store!).

The comedians were hilarious and well worth going to. It reminded me of the times when my mom and I would go to the comedian show at the night club in Redding on the first Thursday of every month. I love doing that kind of thing, there's something about comedy that takes the edge off of any cares or worries you might be having and lightens life up a little. :-)

Pay It Forward

I watched a good movie tonight called Pay It Forward (2000). I thought it was a great concept (though I cried a lot at the end). It's based on the simple idea of doing good deeds for others to repay the good that has happened to you, and that if everyone did this, it would change the world. It doesn't even have to be big acts of kindness, just ones you observe to be worthy of your help.

I realized that watching the world from a perspective of trying to figure out what you can do to help others (even though the other person might not see it themselves) and not desiring the other person to pay you back in any other way than to carry on the idea forward in his/her life is an interesting idea. It forces you to look at the world through a different set of eyes until it becomes a natural state of living. It sounds like a great way to live.

Decidingly Peaceful

There isn't a lot that went on this weekend, but that's not to say I enjoyed it any less. It was actually refreshing not to make plans and to just enjoy being on my own time schedule.

I spent Friday night drinking nearly virgin cocktails at that Gasworks with Dave (well, he drank beer...which is so un-inventive...! just kidding!). It was actually kind of nice that the cocktails didn't have much alcohol in them because normally cocktails blow a person away quickly, and this way I was able to have a few of them and still barely feel even tipsy and also hold a nice conversation all the way through. I learned that I don't like Mojitos (unless I alter it by adding some sugar), Cosmopolitans are tasty, but a Lynchburg Lemonade is the best!

Saturday was a lazy day, but still perfect.

Sunday was a day for cleaning and also met up with Sonja for a late lunch. It was so great to chat with her, to share our excitement about things and our worries and anything else on our minds.

Now begins another work week of getting out of bed when my alarm clock goes off instead of whenever I feel like it...! Aw well, that's what puts bread on the table ;)

Rules, Smules... Who Needs Rules?

I had so much fun at Table Tennis tonight! It started out that as I was walking to the gym, a random passerby from the other side of the street said that I have a nice smile. I guess I must have smiled courteously at the girl who was passing the opposite way as me on the same side as the street, and the guy across the street must have seen (he must eat his carrots so he can see well...!). It was nice to get that compliment, albeit a bit unexpected. Still, I said thank you and kept going toward the gym.

There were only a few of us down to play table tennis tonight, as seems to be the norm during these summer months. After playing my friend from Poland, we all played doubles (us girls each got paired with one of the guys who are much better than us!) and it was a great game, despite the fact that Paul and I lost... (well, you know you love a game when you don't care if you win or lose and you just enjoy playing it!!).

Later that night, after Klaudia left, Alan and I had a knock back and forth. I think we both get a bit silly towards the end of the night, and tonight was no exception. He began serving two balls at once at me, or one right after the other, so I decided I would start teaching him some Table Tennis rules, Lisa-Style! He caught on quickly, and soon was also making up rules as well. We laughed so much and had a really great time with the game...!

Comedy :-D

Well, I'm really excited to be living here in Dublin City! I just booked a double comedian show to go to in a couple weeks at the Carlsberg Comedy Festival. I was watching the comedians' acts on youtube tonight, and I think they're hilarious! I can't wait until Sunday, the 27th of July! My good friend Dave and I will have so many laughs while watching these two guys!

Enjoy a couple short clips:
David O' Doherty (5 min)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrB6GeaXwmY







Lee Mack (9 min)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4pI2thlhl8

My Childhood Love

When I first discovered Nathan Sawaya, I was amazed. I was also kicking myself for not thinking of such a career! Nathan is a Lego artist, and his work is incredibly unique. http://brickartist.com/

I used to love playing with Legos when I was a kid. I used to build houses and then play with the people and make up lives for them. I built a big white bear (well, 12 inches high) and a penguin from my own imagination and kept those near a shelf by my bed for quite some time. I even built a bed for my dog (though she didn't like it much, plus I couldn't make it very big because I didn't have enough bricks). I would construct anything my mind could conjure, although, I admit, nothing to the extent that is on Nathan's website. Still, I think it would be utterly fun to get back into Legos! Also, I'd love to visit LegoLand one day...!

When I was a kid, I used to want to be an architect who builds scale models. I think that would be really fun, whether or not it's using Legos...

For those back home who are interested in Nathan's work, he bringing an exhibit to Turtle Bay Museum from May 16, 2009 to January 3, 2010. Mark your calendars. :-)

Spic n Span!

Cleaned my room today with a good vacuum cleaning, and it feels so nice. I think I will keep this up once a week (or worst case, once every two weeks). I also cleaned the whole bathroom and that feels equally as nice. I didn't realize how much I love having a clean living space. Over the past while, I've just spot cleaned, but I think I prefer a good, deep cleaning instead. I will make this my new goal.

Also got some great deals in the stores today (to continue with my amazing deal shopping from last weekend). Now, I'm all set for a beach scene with a bikini bathing suit, a sun dress, and sunglasses (total - 19 euros for all...!)! Not that a beach scene will happen in Ireland, but who knows, I might decide to go to Greece or Spain at some point...

A Different Religion

I understand that some people are religious, and I respect that. I understand that some people are not religious, and I respect that. What I don't understand completely is how some people can allow religion to become so much apart of them that certain parts of life are ignored. I think that religion should help guide those who need to feel guided, but I don't think that religion should overtake the mind and force people to do things they think they should do simply to satisfy a higher power. Doing good things or living a good life should be a personal endeavor, in my mind, with or without the help of a higher power, but definitely not to satisfy a higher power.

I would love to know what a Parisian or Prussian Catholic is. I'm not sure if that's how you spell it, but a new co-worker revealed to me that he's of this religion (I guess I was trying too hard to make him feel welcome and asking him too many questions to try and include him in conversations), so he finally came out and said that he is of this religion. Being of this branch of Catholicism means that he's not allowed to talk to me or the other co-workers about anything except work, supposedly because we all dress differently than him (I assume this means outside of work) and simply don't hold the same beliefs. This is very limiting in the workplace for him because it excludes him from bonding moments such as lunch, tea time, and probably also from social events that we occasionally hold outside of work. Even talking about something as vague as public transportation, I have noticed that he puts his head down and pretends not to listen to the rest of us.

I'm all for respecting people who believe in various religions, but never before have I encountered someone whose religion overtakes his right to live. That said, I'd love to be an invisible bug on his shoulder for one week, to see what it's like at his home, at his church, what his social outings consist of, what he wears, etc. I'm very happy for my freedom and I'd like to keep it that way, still, his religion intrigues me. I wish that I could even look it up on the Internet (I'm having no luck though), then again, I suppose, how would it be possible to look up a religion where they don't believe in talking to anyone other than those who are the same as them...

If anyone has heard of this type of Catholicism, please let me know. I'd be interested to get an alternate view on what it entails...

Only Ryan Air...

This morning, I was looking into a one-way ticket from Prague to Dublin on RyanAir (I already bought my ticket from Dublin to Krakow, and will then travel by train most likely to Prague).

Anyway, I got really excited when I saw that the ticket was FREE on Saturday morning, September 6th. I thought it'd be nice to have a day to relax at home before heading back to work (I always hate having a long vacation and then going straight back to work the next day -- that's where the phrase "I need a vacation from my vacation" comes into the picture). So, since I couldn't believe my eyes at the price of the ticket, I clicked on "continue" so I could book the ticket. However, add on a luggage fee for having a suitcase, taxes, fuel charges, an airport check-in fee, a luggage handling fee, and even a fee for paying with a credit card (which I might add is the only way to pay for the bloody ticket!). Still the ticket ended up being a good price (50 euros), but man I wish they'd just come out and say the price in the beginning rather than waiting until you're filling out your credit card information...!

I know I'm a woman, but I swear, the person in charge of setting up the fees at Ryan Air MUST be a woman. A man says what he means and gets it over with...!

Dentist

I went to the Dentist today to get my teeth cleaned, and I was told that I was an ideal patient! That's always a great thing to hear at a dentist office! (thanks Mom for always making me brush!).

However, while at the dentist office, I made a stupid mistake, an innocent mistake I might add. The lady who cleaned my teeth and took the x-rays told me I was done, and I asked her if I need to see the Dentist before I go. To which she replied, "I am the dentist." I was thoroughly confused by that statement because the dentist office is run by a Dr. James Tarpey and she sure didn't look like a James to me, and on top of that, never in my life have I ever had the dentist clean my teeth, I've always had a hygienist clean and a dentist quickly check my teeth before I go. However, I felt really bad when I finally realized that over here, there can be multiple dentists in a practice (who you see once a year) and multiple hygienists (who you see once a year), based on 6-month interval cleanings.

I think I should go in and apologize to the dentist in case I offended her. I certainly didn't mean to stereotype her as a hygienist, but seriously, I just didn't know that dentists over here also clean teeth! And plus, a dentist is one person who you don't want to upset, you never know what tool they might use on you during the next visit...!!

Freezing Penguins

This article really hit a soft spot with me, and it makes me wish I could do something to help the situation: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/07/080702-endangered-penguins.html
Basically, baby penguins who haven't yet developed the feathers necessary to repel water are dying. The summer Antarctic days see heavy rain, while the nights see temperatures below freezing, so the baby penguins are literally freezing to death since their feathers are still wet from the rains. They say this is attributed to Global Warming...

I'm glad to be able to say that I walk to and from work every day and I take public transportation (also because I have to), at least that helps, but I do enjoy long, warm showers, so that pretty much counters the good things I do for the environment. I will have to look into how to be more eco-conscious, and if any of you have suggestions, feel free to throw them out there.

A Perfect Mix

This weekend was remarkable. It was the perfect mix of relaxation, time to myself, and time with friends.

I celebrated the 4th of July with a chocolate muffin instead of fireworks...both fulfill completely different satisfaction quarters, but it was so delicious! I also watched a really cute and informative movie called Arctic Tale. I didn't realize how much the effects of global warming were affecting the lives of Polar Bears, Walruses, and other animals of the North... They mentioned that in the last two decades, 20% of the ice in the north has disappeared, and by 2040 (that's only 30 more years...), if trends continue as they are now, all the ice will disappear completely! The animals up there are having a hard time finding food and have to go for longer periods without it, also babies have to be weaned from there mothers a year before they normally would due to lack of food. My new favorite website is: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/, as there are so many eye-opening stories and pieces of news on it.

Saturday was filled with shopping, and sales galore are filling are stores here in Ireland! I've never seen such a thing here (it's not as normal as it is in the States for sales to occur...!). I bought some new exercise shorts for the gym and a few bits and pieces of summertime clothes. I also splurged on some cute cards that weren't on sale, but I was in a world of my own when i discovered an entire floor dedicated to cards and little gifts! I probably spent an hour or two just wandering around Eason's looking at the cards...! Saturday night, I met up with friends who I play table tennis with (they're from France) and it was a load of fun, just chatting back and forth in a cool church bar (a protestant church renovated into a bar/disco club...). It was handy too because they live in the next apartment block to me, so getting home in a taxi with three people was much easier than just myself!

Sunday was a relaxing day in the morning, and I met my friend, Sonja, for a walk through Phoenix Park. Would be nice to ride bikes through the 15 acre park, but I have to get a bike first...! I ended my evening with a lovely Italian ice cream from my favorite Italian restaurant in Temple Bar... :)

Ka-Boom! Sniffle, Sniffle...

The Fourth of July comes and goes yet another year while I'm abroad. I have missed the last three Redding fireworks shows (my hometown). It's my favorite holiday of all time too... I think the colors are beautiful and the show spectacular. I become fascinated and awestruck when watching the fireworks up in the dark sky, like a little girl.

This year, there are a lot of fires near and in Redding that have the sky smokey and the air quality quite bad. If the city is still allowed to go through with the fireworks show, the obstructions will definitely make for a slightly less enjoyable fireworks display... I hope the fires get contained soon, especially for all the evacuated homeowners' sake.

At that thought, it makes me contemplate what are the most important things I would put into a backpack if I had notice to leave my home. Definitely would put my laptop in there, there's so many pictures and other important files stored on there (which reminds me, I should back things up again, haven't done that in a couple months...). I'd grab my purse (including my phone and wallet and credit cards). My table tennis bat would need to go in the backpack for sure. And probably a couple shirts and a couple pair of pants so I could get by at work and on the weekends. Also my electric toothbrush, that's always important in today's society! I guess I don't have all that much material things that are vitally important to me here (although my closet would seemingly depict otherwise...).

Maybe I should look into a spring clean of the things I do own this weekend.

Drizzle, Drizzle

Sideways, frontways, downways, anyway...! It's raining here in Dublin, and the sky was dark and gray all this summer's week. I think that contributed to the feeling of this week dragging on and on, especially today because the sun didn't bother to show it's face today, not even once.

I still managed to have a good time this week, after work was over that is... Monday was Table Tennis training and Wednesday was also supposed to be Table Tennis training, but instead, I met my aunt and her niece and her niece's friend for dinner at, where else, but our Italian restaurant! It was really nice. The friend was hilarious, and the niece who I haven't seen in I don't know how long, is really sweet, and very well-mannered. I sent a text to her dad saying I'd like to plan a trip down to see all of them sometime, that would be fun.

Monday and Tuesday I had great chat conversations with my friend from Poland, I was laughing the whole time we were chatting! I'm planning to visit Romek at the end of August, and I'm really looking forward to that trip a lot. On top of getting to have great company, Poland is supposed to be beautiful and full of Medieval castles and Alp-like mountains. I'm going to the southern area, Krakow, which you can see more of the countryside. The capital, Warsaw is just like any other big city, so I'm very happy that Romek lives near the nice part of the country. And have you ever looked on a map? Poland's pretty big! There's so much about Europe that I have yet to discover...!