Do you want to go to the People's with me?

Hi All,

It is in fact summer, although it doesn't always feel like it in these parts, so I decided that I needed to get out a bit more during the week and take advantage of the, "good," weather. Last night, after making Thai Peanut Noodles (which I was finally able to find all the ingredients for), Tom and I walked into town and met Helen and Dominick for a drink at a bar called Pravda. And no it does not bear any resemblance to the scary bar/club of that name which is (or maybe was) on the Boston Common. It actually reminded me of a swankier version of the People's Republic in scenic Central Sq. Cambridge, Mass. Lots of Russian written on the walls (which might say, "Death to all Capitalists for all I know...) and a very Marx friendly red theme going on. I didn't try the cocktails so I can't say whether their drinks, like the drinks at the People's, taste like they've been made with rocket fuel or kentucky moonshine that's been sitting around for 50 years, but here's hoping. There was also no Ben Affleck (who graced us with his presence at the People's a few years back...) but that's probably a good thing.

I fought back against the evil round and managed to get away with only two drinks although I had to say that no, I did not want another drink about 27 times. The Irish are a generous bunch which is very nice but I would like to continue to have a functional liver, at least for a little while longer.

Well, back to the joys of html, which I dreamed about again last night...Help, I think my subconscious is trying to turn me into a geek. Anyone for a game of Dungeons and Dragons?

I Dream of Code

Seriously, I do. Been coding a website all week and I am actually dreaming of html...It's kind of creepy really. For any of you non-geeks out there, html is the programming language that makes websites look and function as you want them to. Lots of open and close brackets and such. Not very exciting unless you happen to be into this stuff... Am literally dreaming of margins and padding and divs and other geeky things wahoooo. Wierd huh? I think I need some more time off. Thankfully this weekend coming is one of these lovely Irish Bank Holdiays which means a three day weekend. Loveliness. It's Tommy-boy's birthday so we're going to head up to Belfast to celebrate with his family and party-animal friends. I'm hoping to get to bed before five am but in Belfast you really never know...

On other fronts, I am faced with an olfactory dilemna. Certain individuals in my life here, (who really will remain nameless, this is a public forum after all and I don't want to make anyone feel bad) seem to have some hygiene issues... I can't really blame it on supposedly European tendencies against wearing deodorant because I know plenty of people here, including the person I'm married to, who smell lovely, like roses. ;) So, my dilemna is this: To say something (tactful) or to let it lie? It is becoming a serious issue as I am getting really skeeved out about it. Ick, just ickiness all around. Any advice on dealing with sensitive matters would be greatly appreciated...

Well, back to work for me. Smell ya later...

Alone or Alonely?

Well, I have officially survived my first Dublin weekend with no Tommy and no imported friends from the states and while it was probably the quietest weekend I've had in a long time, it wasn't bad. Unfortunately, of the short list of people I can claim as friends here, most of them were out of town this weekend so Friday night I just came home and had an evening with me, myself and I. Made myself pasta and redwine and read my novel and talked to Lolo on the phone. Other than the absolutely gigantic spider I found in my livingroom and a young mother and child who rang my doorbell at nine o'clock at night for some strange reason, it was quite the mellow evening. I suppose it's not a bad thing to have some time to oneself (although it's better when it's a conscious choice and not a sad commentary on the state of my social life...haha) Saturday, I just got shit done...got a library card and enough groceries to feed a nation of millions. Eventually human contact was made and I met up with Jane and Johnny for some tasty krishna-vegetarian food and a couple of drinks at the most fabulous dive bar ever. The bar is in a fairly seedy part of town (of which there are many...) and looks like an absolute hole from the outside, but inside it's quite spacious and decorated in that old school Georgian style with low tables and leather stools and one of those ornate dark wood bars. It smelled like your grandma's attic and had the coolest, Georgian silver and burgundy, fuzzy wallpaper on the walls....fabulous. It was just us and the old men and a Neil Young CD so we got into some good conversation about Dublin and Boston and East Coast vs. West Coast ethos, and Online Universitys and The Rat and Local 186 and FSU and other uniquely Boston things that I didn't expect to be chatting about in a Dublin dive on a Saturday night. Good stuff. Late in the eve, I met up with Esther, Leon's girlfriend and some of her friends at a much more boisterous, modern and typically Dublin bar where there was a benefit going on for Dentist's going to Uganda (of all things.) Esther is a doll and was very sweet and friendly and saved me a few times from some less than exciting potential male suitors...

Woke up this morning with a bit of a hangover which seems to be the way Dublin Sundays begin... I blame it on the round ;) (which I'm sure I have pontificated on in prior blog entries.) Anyway, just laying low on this gray Sunday afternoon reading the Sunday Times and eating Wheatie Roll (otherwise known to people who are not Marina as Wheaten Bread.) Read an article about Modern Britain's epidemic of loneliness... supposedly all of this modern technology, email, the internet, television and our ability to function in our day to day tasks without much face-to-face interaction with other humans has some people feeling a bit disconnected and as though their social interactions are superficial. That was the gist of it anyway. They pointed out that some of the most popular tv shows center around close knit communities (like Friends, Sex and The City, Desperate Housewives) which many people seem to both lack and desire. Made me feel lucky in a way because while I may not have a closeknit circle of friends here in Dublin and do sometimes feel lonely, I know that you all are out there and I can call up scenes of family dinners and fakesgiving and summer barbecues and shared history and it's nice to think that you all are truly, intimate friends and that we don't all just live on the surface of eachother's lives (even if that means we see eachother being both our best and worst selves...) It is a great and important thing to have a community of friends. Just wanted to let you all know that I appreciate you and think of you often. Looking forward to the annual fakes...even if it is four months away...haha. Hope you're all well. I have finally found almost all the ingredients for vegetarian Chili so I am off to make a big batch of it. Tommy returns tonight and I plan to woo him with food so that he will give me all the dirt on his stag weekend in Amsterdam (renamed by Lolo:Ramerdam after Christopher and Oliver get their filthy paws on that place...haha.) Love to you all.

Fun with Geeks

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Originally uploaded by di_juice.

Hey all,

Just thought I'd post this pic of Tom and I and the Open Bar... Went to the Irish Internet Association's launch of some sort of web awards series. Good Stuff, especially as it involved free food and drink and took place in a castle...so many castles in these parts. Tom had to pretend to be someone else to get in (the intern who decided not to go at the last minute) but once over that hump, it was all good. Schmoozed with geeks from the other side of the Atlantic which I'm learning, are much the same as geeks at home. It's like they speak a universal language...the language of geek love...or the language of carbon humanoid life forms who wear t-shirts with html code on them and know the names and birthdates of every character from Lord of the Rings... or something. Nanu, Nanu. Too bad about Scottie huh? Beam me up...

The honeymoon is over...but the big cahones remain

Well, alas, I am back at work and back to my regular 9-5 type life... The American contingency have returned to their homeland...but I do have a fabulous collection of photos, three bottles of Spanish Sherry, two boxes of sweetmeats, two necklaces, one from Cadiz and one from Ibiza, one belt buckle made out of dichroic glass, and a fine assortment of shells and rocks from the beach. Our last day in Spain was a really nice one. We had our usual tasty breakfast at the B&B before wandering Medina Sidonia in search of Sherry and sweetmeats. Sweetmeats are these lovely cookies. (biscuits for any euro-readers ;)) They're made from Marzipan and nuts and rolled into a longish lengths before being wrapped in colorful paper like those holiday crackers. They're delicious and distinctly remind me of childhood because they taste much like Italian cookies that I used to eat. We went to the local sweets shop and each bought a couple of boxes. The hombre behind the counter was really friendly and gave us each an extra sweetmeat to take with us as we left.

After buying out Medina Sidonia's stocks of booze and candy (what else do ya need?!) we headed off to el palmar to get some last rays of sun on the beach. We decided to have lunch at the same beachside cafe we had eaten at a few times during the week so that we could get our (rare) fix of Spanish vegetables and say hi to the waitress that we befriended. Food was tasty and Kiki (the waitress) brought us out a plate of garlicy carrots that she said would enhance our tans. They were delicious. At the end of the meal, she brought us big glasses of rum miel (rum with honey) and after we drank those, she brought little shots of rum miel and taught us how to drink the shot without using our hands... We chatted with her by using a combination of pantomime and spanglish which was quite fun and quite funny. Marina was attempting to say, @We are big pigs," in Spanish (refering to how much food we can pack in) but accidentally busted out with, "yo soy grande cahones," (sp?) which means something to the effect of I am a big ball of the male variety...haha We laughed our asses off and kiki's charade of what big cahones are was pretty hilarious too. We exchanged email address es with her and headed back to Casa de Medina to pack up our stuff.

When we arrived, Rachel (woman from Manchester, friend of the owners of the B&B who we've been hanging out with in the evenings) was there and gave us all necklaces that she bought in Ibiza during a recent visit. It was an extremely sweet gesture which we all appreciated. Rachel might make it over to Boston for a visit soon so some of you may get to meet her. She is a trip...kind of like the wilder and crazier, UK version of Lorraine...good fun.

Our travels back to Dublin were less fun as they involved two flights and sleeping on the (very cold) floor of the London Stanstead airport. I was extremely dehydrated and overheated and therefore had terrible stomach cramps, a headache and nausea and all other good things that come from a body deprived of water. no bueno. We definitely were not the only ones sleeping at Camp Standstead. Every available bench and bit of floor space was occupied by people in various states of preparedness. Some people had blow-up mattresses and sleeping bags! Amazing. This was my third airport sleepover, you would think that I would have brought my airbed! Ah, well. Next time.

The girls last day in Dublin was a beautiful day weatherwise so we wandered around town and then had a yummy thai meal in Ranelagh (although my stomach was still recovering...) before heading back to hotel fairview to lie on Marina's air mattress, drink champagne and thow chocolates at each other... ;)

Yesterday, woke up and bid the ladies goodbye which was quite sad...sniff. See you all in four months. Spent the rest of the day tidying the house and then met up with Jane for Conveyer belt sushi which cheered me up a bit. After the exciting world of Spanish food consisting of asparagus omelettes, white bread and crackers (pan y picos) and strange, sometimes unidentifiable fish, I was happy to be eating seawead and fresh vegetables...

Hope all is well in warm and sunny Boston. Miss you all.

The Hyundai Getts went to Sevilla and all I got was this lousy Sunburn...

Hola,

Well, any of you who thought that I was being too smug about my lovely Spanish escape will be happy to hear about my day of disasters on Wednesday... Well, we set off for Seville in our little red car, arrived safely and found a most convenient parking spot for only 60 cents por dia. Unfortunately, we all jumped out of the car and Miss Marina accidentally locked the keys in the car...with the car running! The next five hours were a wild goose chase involving the rental company, the guardia de Seville, the Policia, an Ice-cream man and two Russian Universidad Secerity guards...and I must mention that our sunblock was locked in the trunk the whole time. Thankfully, the two Russian security guards (with whom Marina could communicate) used to steal cars in uzbekistan so they were able to pry the rubber out of one of the small windows and take the window out of the car...yahoooo. Unfortunately we proceeded on a futile drive through Seville looking for car glass repair peeps to no avail. Cerado por Siesta. By the time all was said and done, we bid Seville farewell and headed back for Medina Sidonia. The architecture of Seville was gorgeous, beautiful buildings everywhere although that's about all I can say about it other than the fact that it's hot, hot, hot! 44 degrees celsius and my sunburnt shoulders could definitely attest to that fact.

Fortunately, we were able to change the car for a Toyota Yaris with all windows intact and the car rental company is not holding us responsible as they were unable to provide any assitance (after stringing us along for several hours...) When we got back to Medina Sidonia, one of Lolo's suitors had sent us a bottle of Champagne...and how well appreciated it was! We went out for dinner at the very top of the village and watched the sun go down over the village and the mountains and sea. Amazing. We drew a picture for our waiter explaining what our day was like which was pretty hilarious. Who knew we would be able to laugh about such a debacle so soon...

Yesterday, it was back to the beach to recover from Wednesday...haha. Love that beach. Then to Cadiz which is according to the guidebook, the oldest city in Europe. It's amazing-a system of interconnecting narrow alleyways with architecture that reminded me of Italy and France, ornate wrought irons balconys and flowery architectural details. Bought some dichroic glass jewelry from a stand just outside of one the oldest cathedrals in Spain and ate gelato in one of the many plaza's throughout the city. Everywhere we turned, we came upon more and more unbeleivable buildings and parks and fountains and the like. Really very cool.

Today, sadly is our last day...sniff. We're off to the beach and then to Jerez to drink sherry and tour a bodega. Good stuff. Hope you're all well. I'm off to eat my breakfast. Adios.

el palmar and vejer

Hey all,

Sunning in espana continues. Spent another day at the beach... loveliness. I am never happier than when I'm splashing around in salt water. Went for lunch at a cafe and had tomatoes, goats cheese, olives, sauteed veggies which we somehow managed to order with our combined vocabulary of 20 words... ;) We explored another hill town nearby today called Vejer and Marina somehow navigated the worlds narrowest, windy streets...much like trying to drive through a maze (but scarier...haha.) We came upon a picturesque square with a Moorish water fountain and the coolest old hotel with several levels of gardens and some sort of old dungeons in it as well. The menu looks like North African food which I love so we decided to check it out for dinner. Our host at the B&B luckily told us that it's nearly impossible to get a booking there (before we attempted the mountain maze again) but he called them up and got us the last booking of the night...can't wait for cous cous and baba ghanoush and baklavah. On the whole, Spanish food is a bit disappointing, lots of unidentifiable meats. Last night we ordered mixed tapas and got a mound of tripe....ew. It's still mediterreanean food so I can't really complain but it just ain't Italy. Did have some tasty caramel gelato last night though while meandering through Medina Sedonia. Tomorrow we're off to Seville which should be interesting. Loving it here. My pale Irishified self is actually starting to get a little bit brown. Well, we're off to Vejer in our bright red, euromobile, (hyundai getts, the smallest car with four doors this side of the Atlantic.) Adios (one of my 20 words...haha.)

Belinda Carlisle was right...

Heaven is a place on earth...haha. I'm currently writing from Medina Sedonia in Southern Spain and it is absolute paradise. The B&B that we're staying in is a newly renovated villa with an entirely open courtyard, several terraces with amazing views of the desert and ocean, and really lovely hosts. The B&B is owned by an English couple in their 30s who have definitely poured their heart and soul into making this place stunning. It looks like something out of a fairy tale, an intersection of Roman, Moorish and Spanish architecture. Medina Sedonia is system of narrow winding roads built into a hillside. There's a cave/cellar in our B&B that dates back to the Roman era and several Roman ruins in the area. There are also a couple of original Moorish Arabic arches and an amazing beautiful Moorish church. Spent all day today at the beach swimming in turquoise colored water (and slathering myself with sunblock so as not to get fried by the Spanish sun.) Have been enjoying taking it easy...drinking sherry in the hammock, walking on the beach picking up shells, eating tapas...even though half the time I have no idea what I'm eating ;). This place is absolutely divine. I don't think I'm ever coming home. Might be time to learn to speak Spanish... :) Buenos Noches.

The American Invasion has Begun!

Hey All,

Happy 4th. Hope you all had more eventful holidays than me (since July 4th is clearly of no importance in this country...)Fortunately for me, I have a little bit of America staying in mi casa currently known as Hotel Fairview...haha. Jess, Lolo, Mina and Brian have arrived. So far we have been having a blast although I think they're shocked by the lack of what we would consider to be summery weather. Yesterday was nice, mostly sunny, low 70s but today is cold and rainy and I'm a bit worried about the crew as they are in Galway. Hopefully they've found shelter, most likely in the pub and are not freezing their wet asses off staring into Galway bay or something. The temps here apparently only tend to fluctuate between 40s-70s fahrenheit throughout the entire year. I might be psyched in November when I'm still wearing open toed shoes but right now, I know too well what I'm missing. Please write and tell me how hot and miserable you all are and make me feel better! Thank god for my Spanish vacation next week...love the idea of a week of beachy goodness. My pale Irishified skin is going to be in for a shock.

The first night that the kids were here, we went up to Clontarf (neighborhood on the water near my house) and had a really nice dinner... deep fried brie, delicious salads with chicken, wine, hot fudge cake etc... This was the second time Tom and I have hit up this bistro and it was definitely not a disappointment. It's very colorful with a big chalkboard menu with specials and a tiny bar in the corner. Kind of reminds me of a restaurant that might be found in Brooklyn. A splash of color in an urban environment. We also hit up the Odeon for white wine and jazz in the afternoon...good stuff. I am enjoying having familiar peeps around although in some ways it makes me a little homesick. When I get into my routine here, home seems kind of distant and I'm not so acutely aware of it. I think it's going to be hard when they leave although I'm sure I'll adjust back quickly enough. Unfortunately, Tommy goes to Amsterdam a few days after they leave so it will certainly be a test of my own independence. I suppose it's good for me. It is lovely to have a little dose of beantown in my world here though, nice, to have the people who know me be able to see what my life here is like and interesting to get their impressions. I hope they have a good time.

We're going up to Belfast for 2 days later in the week as everyone wants to see Tommy's homeland and then we're off to Spain. Have been totally appreciating Tommy-boy as of late. He is such a good and willing host and all around helpful and sweet. He has taken to calling me Diana Pirhana though as I was whirling around in a mad cleaning frenzy in between guests and yelling at him every time he didn't put his shoes back on their shelf or left a dish in the sink...haha. He is a good lad.

Hope you're all keepin' well as they say in these parts. love. D.

The personal is political????

Hello, hello my lovies,

Once again, I'm on my break from work so have to be brief... Getting my first paycheck today...yahooooo! Words cannot express my joy...haha. You only get paid once a month here so payday is an extra good day.

Been taking it a little easier this week. Long days and nights were catching up. Last night just stayed in with the girls and watched my two favorite shows here...Wifeswap and Only Human which is a documentary show that explores a different topic every week. Wifeswap is a bit trashy but I still love it...haha. The wives from two families swap houses for two weeks. The first week they live by the new household rules and the second week, they get to introduce their own rules. Anyway, this is where I stand on my soapbox cuz last night's episode was a swap between a scary conservative christian who ran her house like it was boot camp and was obsessed with diamonds and this concept of excellence and a liberal lesbian mom. Anyway, the scary conservative, bigotted biatch hung a giant American flag in the livingroom when it was her week to run the house. I have to say it really pissed me off that she could appropriate the flag so that it essentially stood for closemindedness, bible-thumping, excess and greed. Seeing the way the Irish love their flag and fly it proudly, it bums me out that my flag presently connotes things that I find repulsive. Also heard that George Bush refuses to ammend his position on climate change. What a wanker. Well, enough politics for now. Thank god for the coasts...unless of course that scary redneck, christian conservative version of a god actually exists in which case, thanks but no thanks... :)