I'm a bit conflicted at the moment.
On the one hand, I'll be departing springtime Ireland for springtime America, which is duly fantastic in its own right, but at the same time there is much running around to be done before then. I'll admit, I'm not the best organised person in the world... There are a few outstanding things to be taken care of first, one of the most important ones being a 4,000 word essay.
This is usually the part where I reveal that I've gotten no books out and that I've less research done than the Irish nuclear weapons programme....
But, sorry, I've been working away at it in bits and pieces for some time now. Damn. I even have highly relevant sources lined up and all... My bibliography isn't full by any means, but I have a decent head start. The plan is to start writing on Monday and hopefully by Friday I'll have it mostly finished.
While things on the academic side are under control, I must admit I still have to book my train to Dublin and sort out an airport hotel. I swore to myself I wouldn't put myself through trying to sleep in the airport again after the insanely long day of travel it took to get to Prague. Great holiday, but I cannot function without sleep. At all.
I also have my ever concerned mother's suggestions about getting travel insurance...
This is essentially my last proper week to get all these things done and dusted as I'll be in Dublin airport before I know it and knowing my luck, I'll have forgotten to pack underpants.....
While it'll be great to go and see someone I haven't seen since last May, I have to ask whatI did in a past life to deserve a three flight journey on a strange continent with the most paranoid security apparatus in the western hemisphere. I'm not complaining, but it is an awful lot of travelling to do in one day, and I just hope I can keep myself suitably well fueled throughout the day in order to tackle it. I'm taking this seriously and approaching it realistically at this stage, because there are a number of things that can go wrong. It doesn't mean they will go wrong, mind you.
I'm fed up of being accused of looking for things to be paranoid about, or for things that will scare me, but quite frankly, I'm being just being coldly realistic. I am not one for going into a situation blind, and I'm rather irked when people think I'm just being pessimistic.
I refuse to allow myself to get into a situation where something goes wrong because I didn't do my research or homework properly. I just don't see what's so bad about having a guarded attitude to the longest solo journey I've ever undertaken to a country that I've only been to once, where I will be largely cut off from any help if, God forbid, something goes awry.
There's nothing wrong with looking at the world through clear lenses.
By considering all potential pitfalls that I can easily avoid by being aware of them, I put myself at ease. I hate being poorly prepared for travelling, and this journey is too long, and too important to fuck up purely because I was too lazy, or too dumb to get things properly organised.
I have been looking forward to this way too much to allow anything to get in my way.
May 2009 to February 2010 is far too long a time, and it's begun to tell in some ways. This trip is my first priority right now, as it provides a much, much needed reprieve from months of wishing I was somewhere else. And not just for me.
[I just realised that nobody reads this blog, so I can pretty much say what I want. Cool and faintly depressing at the same time]
06 February 2010
06 January 2010
Where does he get those wonderful toys??
I love electronics.....
I really do. I know feck all about them, and how they work and what all the different numbers, digits and Z's and X's on them mean... but I love them. Shiny plastic and metal, cool whirring noises, clicking, flashing lights... I'd take LSD and play with an MP3 all day long if I could.
Must be a by-product of being raised on a diet of Bond movies, but god damn but gadgets are great! :D
I never thought I'd bother with a laptop. I realyy didn't think I needed one for a long time as I could (supposedly) easily access UCC's own computers.
And then I went into third year. When every piece of ram was dedicated to just turning the computer on and eventually logging in after 10 minutes of standing around like a complete tit.
And then there was the small matter of being up very late on the family computer and a few incidents of waking other inhabitants of the house...... Not to mention the dog never went to sleep if I was up... Which was most nights...
Those who know me will kow why I was up so late so often. Heck, I still am.
Let's just say 6 hour time difference and a mild dose of wanting to talk to someone as often as possible....
I love this laptop to bits. It's a Toshiba Satellite 450 Pro. Nothing fancy but it's light, cheap, and reliable. Sure, the ram could be better, but so could the world, right?
It is ostensibly for college work, and indeed, it has saved my bacon repeatedly so far in it' short service history... But mostly I use it for pissing around on the net and also chatting with people who are obscene distances apart.
A quick run down of what I am amassing in the electro department. The Lappie, or laptop to the uninitiated; my G-Shock watch (which updates itself every night from signals it receives from an atomic clock in London or Berlin, depending on signal strength); my trusty if somewhat now useless mp3 player (which was great until I lost the bloody software and as we have a new computer all the music saved to the old one is lost, along with the ability to chop and change what I have on it), and last but not least in my growing family of silicon-based progeny....
My new Fujifilm Finepix Z35.
Why Z? Why 35? Did the other 34 not quite make the grade? Were the cast from on high by techno-priests from Mount Fuji during an ancient ceremony uttered entirely in binary?
Well, probably not.... But it sounds cool, and that's what's important, right? If it sounds awesome, then it probably is.
Right?
Well, no. That would be pretty bloody stupid. In this case,however, I am delighted to report no problems, no snags, no missing USB cable and in general that it's the best digital camera I've ever owned.
Not that hard when it's also your first, but considering the diminutive size,10 million pixels, user friendly interface and free SD card.... well, what's not to like?
Plus it outs a box around people's face when you have Face detection so, if like me you're a fan of Fallout 3, you can pretend you're using the VATS aiming system and just about to blow their heads off.
Man..... my Xbox usage really should be cut down! Godamn that wonderful machine and that wonderful Assassin's Creed 2.....
I really do. I know feck all about them, and how they work and what all the different numbers, digits and Z's and X's on them mean... but I love them. Shiny plastic and metal, cool whirring noises, clicking, flashing lights... I'd take LSD and play with an MP3 all day long if I could.
Must be a by-product of being raised on a diet of Bond movies, but god damn but gadgets are great! :D
I never thought I'd bother with a laptop. I realyy didn't think I needed one for a long time as I could (supposedly) easily access UCC's own computers.
And then I went into third year. When every piece of ram was dedicated to just turning the computer on and eventually logging in after 10 minutes of standing around like a complete tit.
And then there was the small matter of being up very late on the family computer and a few incidents of waking other inhabitants of the house...... Not to mention the dog never went to sleep if I was up... Which was most nights...
Those who know me will kow why I was up so late so often. Heck, I still am.
Let's just say 6 hour time difference and a mild dose of wanting to talk to someone as often as possible....
I love this laptop to bits. It's a Toshiba Satellite 450 Pro. Nothing fancy but it's light, cheap, and reliable. Sure, the ram could be better, but so could the world, right?
It is ostensibly for college work, and indeed, it has saved my bacon repeatedly so far in it' short service history... But mostly I use it for pissing around on the net and also chatting with people who are obscene distances apart.
A quick run down of what I am amassing in the electro department. The Lappie, or laptop to the uninitiated; my G-Shock watch (which updates itself every night from signals it receives from an atomic clock in London or Berlin, depending on signal strength); my trusty if somewhat now useless mp3 player (which was great until I lost the bloody software and as we have a new computer all the music saved to the old one is lost, along with the ability to chop and change what I have on it), and last but not least in my growing family of silicon-based progeny....
My new Fujifilm Finepix Z35.
Why Z? Why 35? Did the other 34 not quite make the grade? Were the cast from on high by techno-priests from Mount Fuji during an ancient ceremony uttered entirely in binary?
Well, probably not.... But it sounds cool, and that's what's important, right? If it sounds awesome, then it probably is.
Right?
Well, no. That would be pretty bloody stupid. In this case,however, I am delighted to report no problems, no snags, no missing USB cable and in general that it's the best digital camera I've ever owned.
Not that hard when it's also your first, but considering the diminutive size,10 million pixels, user friendly interface and free SD card.... well, what's not to like?
Plus it outs a box around people's face when you have Face detection so, if like me you're a fan of Fallout 3, you can pretend you're using the VATS aiming system and just about to blow their heads off.
Man..... my Xbox usage really should be cut down! Godamn that wonderful machine and that wonderful Assassin's Creed 2.....
19 November 2009
I have been having a seriously weird and long week!! Very stressful because of a really unpleasant essay that I've been putting off for quite some time now....
And then there's the whole bother with work and why I'm starting to resent it greatly.....
And then there was the issue with a simple twitter and a simple inquiry and Erin's inability to misdirect me.... which I say in jest, it's all turned out rather well. I sort of wish I had been misdirected as, being an inquisitive person armed with a BA in History and trained in the deadly arts of critical thinking and academic inquiry..... I started asking questions...
Well, the CIA has nothing on me ,lol.
And now... I am eagerly awaiting February.
I am still in shock as to the unbelievable generosity of my friends. You really do meet the greatest friends of your life in college, it seems. It still hasn't sunk in yet.... what they want to do, and for me. I don't think I deserve them, to be honest..... and that's not false humility and a desire to look good on the internet. I'm thankful not many of them ever bother checking my blog actually!
And if they do.... well.
So be it.
I have to say, I've never been looking forward to February so much.... (not least because the weather is dire and Waterloo is flooded badly)
I can't wait till I have to take three flights, possibly fly out of Dublin (spits) and then lose several days worth of sleep.
But it'll be worth it.
She's worth it :)
And then there's the whole bother with work and why I'm starting to resent it greatly.....
And then there was the issue with a simple twitter and a simple inquiry and Erin's inability to misdirect me.... which I say in jest, it's all turned out rather well. I sort of wish I had been misdirected as, being an inquisitive person armed with a BA in History and trained in the deadly arts of critical thinking and academic inquiry..... I started asking questions...
Well, the CIA has nothing on me ,lol.
And now... I am eagerly awaiting February.
I am still in shock as to the unbelievable generosity of my friends. You really do meet the greatest friends of your life in college, it seems. It still hasn't sunk in yet.... what they want to do, and for me. I don't think I deserve them, to be honest..... and that's not false humility and a desire to look good on the internet. I'm thankful not many of them ever bother checking my blog actually!
And if they do.... well.
So be it.
I have to say, I've never been looking forward to February so much.... (not least because the weather is dire and Waterloo is flooded badly)
I can't wait till I have to take three flights, possibly fly out of Dublin (spits) and then lose several days worth of sleep.
But it'll be worth it.
She's worth it :)
18 September 2009
Bost-ON
What is this Boston place and why is it worth visiting...?
Apart from the fact that it's cheaper to fly there from Shannon than it is to fly to New York... and also apart from the fact that my potential travel buddy Dave of House Chambers has a multitude of friends stationed there.
I'll google it later :P
Apart from the fact that it's cheaper to fly there from Shannon than it is to fly to New York... and also apart from the fact that my potential travel buddy Dave of House Chambers has a multitude of friends stationed there.
I'll google it later :P
29 August 2009
Forward Planning
It's impressive but difficult.
I want to move one human across a distance of roughly 4,000 miles in the next year and there seems to be Shitloads (yes, that gets a capital due to the sheer amount of shit) to be checked out, planned, verified, signed, checked again, signed in triplicate with carbon copies and just generally organised.To those who know me: Organisation??? ME???I can barely get myself to work (although I'd like to point out that I'm always on time) without hassle. And that's just on the other side of the wonderful and pretty city of Cork.
God damn if we don't need to bulldoze some shit out of the way though; I'm not talking about park land or the wanton destruction of Ireland's natural beauty. I'm talking about shitty old housing estates and the like. That's for another blog though.I have to tip my hat to Eisenhower. He moved roughly 600,000 American soldiers across the Atlantic to Britain (and Northern Ireland) and they all got there.
However, Ike's boys in the planning office didn't seem to have to (a) contend with airport security (the bane of modern living) or indeed have only imaginary money to play with.I have lots and lots of imaginary money to piss about with.
The sky's the limit really.
The problems tend to arise when I want to use imaginary moeny in real life..... (oops).They also had a fairly broad and clear set of objectives.
Stage 1: Everybody goes to New York or Boston (WW2 buffs are welcome to correct me on the logistics so long as they do so politely)
Stage 2: Get on the godam ships, GI's!
Stage 3: Get off the damn ships in Britain, GI's!
Stage 4: Train and/ or sight see/ binge drink.
Stage 5: Invade Nazi Occupied France.
Stage 8: Berlin!
(Any historians will know where stages 6 and 7 went and why the Berlin thing took a bit longer than expected! And look it up yourself, I'm not your teacher!)
So far I have
Stage 1: See about going to New York and possibly a bunch of other places.
Stage 2: Look for flights? (I'm NOT going to Boston, Nevin!)
Stage 3: Eh, where am I going?
Stage 4: Seriously.... where? Just New York? Should I try DC too?
Stage 5: Shit! Hostels! I forgot about hostels! Er, or do I go with Motels?
Stage 6: GET ON THE PLANE DAVE!!!
Stage 7: What?? It can't be July already!! It can't! Oh..... bollocks!! Buggering bollocks fuck!
Stage 8: *cue panic attack*
Stage 9: Fatal dose of disappointment and/or Epic Fail.
I figure if I get the freaking out done and dusted now, I can look across the Nazi drenched battle fields of Europe and start seriously cracking into some planning that would make Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings look like a bunch of idiotic tourists getting razzed and somehow ending up in France.
If I can pull this off I might just be able to claim that I actually can organise a piss up in a brewery. Oh, and crack going to America (possibly solo) and all that jazz...
Incidentally, I'm not going anywhere near a jazz bar.I blame Donal's stories and Nevin's photos and Erin's suggestions for making me want to do something this crazy.
Thanks guys! :)
I want to move one human across a distance of roughly 4,000 miles in the next year and there seems to be Shitloads (yes, that gets a capital due to the sheer amount of shit) to be checked out, planned, verified, signed, checked again, signed in triplicate with carbon copies and just generally organised.To those who know me: Organisation??? ME???I can barely get myself to work (although I'd like to point out that I'm always on time) without hassle. And that's just on the other side of the wonderful and pretty city of Cork.
God damn if we don't need to bulldoze some shit out of the way though; I'm not talking about park land or the wanton destruction of Ireland's natural beauty. I'm talking about shitty old housing estates and the like. That's for another blog though.I have to tip my hat to Eisenhower. He moved roughly 600,000 American soldiers across the Atlantic to Britain (and Northern Ireland) and they all got there.
However, Ike's boys in the planning office didn't seem to have to (a) contend with airport security (the bane of modern living) or indeed have only imaginary money to play with.I have lots and lots of imaginary money to piss about with.
The sky's the limit really.
The problems tend to arise when I want to use imaginary moeny in real life..... (oops).They also had a fairly broad and clear set of objectives.
Stage 1: Everybody goes to New York or Boston (WW2 buffs are welcome to correct me on the logistics so long as they do so politely)
Stage 2: Get on the godam ships, GI's!
Stage 3: Get off the damn ships in Britain, GI's!
Stage 4: Train and/ or sight see/ binge drink.
Stage 5: Invade Nazi Occupied France.
Stage 8: Berlin!
(Any historians will know where stages 6 and 7 went and why the Berlin thing took a bit longer than expected! And look it up yourself, I'm not your teacher!)
So far I have
Stage 1: See about going to New York and possibly a bunch of other places.
Stage 2: Look for flights? (I'm NOT going to Boston, Nevin!)
Stage 3: Eh, where am I going?
Stage 4: Seriously.... where? Just New York? Should I try DC too?
Stage 5: Shit! Hostels! I forgot about hostels! Er, or do I go with Motels?
Stage 6: GET ON THE PLANE DAVE!!!
Stage 7: What?? It can't be July already!! It can't! Oh..... bollocks!! Buggering bollocks fuck!
Stage 8: *cue panic attack*
Stage 9: Fatal dose of disappointment and/or Epic Fail.
I figure if I get the freaking out done and dusted now, I can look across the Nazi drenched battle fields of Europe and start seriously cracking into some planning that would make Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings look like a bunch of idiotic tourists getting razzed and somehow ending up in France.
If I can pull this off I might just be able to claim that I actually can organise a piss up in a brewery. Oh, and crack going to America (possibly solo) and all that jazz...
Incidentally, I'm not going anywhere near a jazz bar.I blame Donal's stories and Nevin's photos and Erin's suggestions for making me want to do something this crazy.
Thanks guys! :)
23 August 2009
How do you turn this on?
My favourite Age of Empires 2 cheat!
:P
This is going to be random in the extreme and stick to no particular subject, theme, or indeed syntax.
Somebody at work bugs the hell out of me. This is the highly unpleasant Polish girl who is pretty much less than useless as she's knocked up. Now, before I continue: I do not, nor have I ever had a problem with Polish people in Ireland, in fact all the other Polish people I work with are the hardest working and the most professional I've encountered. And they're genuinely cool people too. I also realise that being pregnant, she's likely to be sometimes.... what's the phrase.. "emotionally charged".
I have encountered pregnant women many times, my family continues to grow ever larger, praise God, but I have *never* met anyone so unpleasant, whiny, bitchy, confrontational and downright rude like her.
Everyone at work has had a problem with this particular wretch, I won't even bother typing the name, not just me.
Today I was helping a guy in crutches walk into a screen by holding open the heavy fire doors for him. His leg was strapped up and it was obvious that he was recovering from something seriously painful, so being courteous, I opened the door for him. Two traveller kids flew down the hallway as this was happening, but I didn't have time to react.
Then all of a sudden, I have an irate and incomprehensibly narky person in my face saying I was "such a fool" for "letting them in" and generally treating my like a godam simpleton.
I wasn't going to take this lying down, and after having to deal with the condescending harpie long enough, I told her to get back to the Box Office (which is her permanent post) and that I knew how to do my job, thank you.
I was so pissed off, I have never been spoken to by a colleague like this before. I mentioned this to a supervisor and felt much better when they expressed a similar opinion of this... this!! this jumped up tarty cow!
I felt much, much better when I was told that this isn't the first time she's behaved like an ignorant bitch to her co-workers.
Where I work, everyone gets along- That's not a happy co-incidence, but seems almost policy. I actually enjoy my job because the people I work with are great. It's one of the most laid back and easy going places I've worked, but as a result there is a great team spirit going on.
I cleaned up vomit off the stairs today.
Did it suck? I guess. I didn't really get put out though as I wasn't on my own, the excellent Lais was there too. We did the job together and it got done quickly and efficiently. We also cracked jokes about the sheer volume and spread of it.
Yes, it's gross, but it's also kind of funny... Now that I've disinfected my hands to surgical standards!
All in all, I got to wondering just how inportant morale is in a workplace. I hate to say it, but it was somethiong sadly lacking in my old job.
In the Omniplex, the supervisors (black shirts) and management (whatever they want shirts) provide something the general managers in Blarney seldom did - Leadership.
The supervisors are all a great bunch: They're friendly, approachable, efficient, they know their jobs inside out, and critically: they all have a sense of humour!
That's the most critical thing of all. Stress will melt away at the hilarity of some of the antics that have occured at work... All out of sight of managers (well, mostly!) and customers thankfully!
Otherwise this post would be called I was Fired For Gluing Tom to The Door of Screen 1
;)
:P
This is going to be random in the extreme and stick to no particular subject, theme, or indeed syntax.
Somebody at work bugs the hell out of me. This is the highly unpleasant Polish girl who is pretty much less than useless as she's knocked up. Now, before I continue: I do not, nor have I ever had a problem with Polish people in Ireland, in fact all the other Polish people I work with are the hardest working and the most professional I've encountered. And they're genuinely cool people too. I also realise that being pregnant, she's likely to be sometimes.... what's the phrase.. "emotionally charged".
I have encountered pregnant women many times, my family continues to grow ever larger, praise God, but I have *never* met anyone so unpleasant, whiny, bitchy, confrontational and downright rude like her.
Everyone at work has had a problem with this particular wretch, I won't even bother typing the name, not just me.
Today I was helping a guy in crutches walk into a screen by holding open the heavy fire doors for him. His leg was strapped up and it was obvious that he was recovering from something seriously painful, so being courteous, I opened the door for him. Two traveller kids flew down the hallway as this was happening, but I didn't have time to react.
Then all of a sudden, I have an irate and incomprehensibly narky person in my face saying I was "such a fool" for "letting them in" and generally treating my like a godam simpleton.
I wasn't going to take this lying down, and after having to deal with the condescending harpie long enough, I told her to get back to the Box Office (which is her permanent post) and that I knew how to do my job, thank you.
I was so pissed off, I have never been spoken to by a colleague like this before. I mentioned this to a supervisor and felt much better when they expressed a similar opinion of this... this!! this jumped up tarty cow!
I felt much, much better when I was told that this isn't the first time she's behaved like an ignorant bitch to her co-workers.
Where I work, everyone gets along- That's not a happy co-incidence, but seems almost policy. I actually enjoy my job because the people I work with are great. It's one of the most laid back and easy going places I've worked, but as a result there is a great team spirit going on.
I cleaned up vomit off the stairs today.
Did it suck? I guess. I didn't really get put out though as I wasn't on my own, the excellent Lais was there too. We did the job together and it got done quickly and efficiently. We also cracked jokes about the sheer volume and spread of it.
Yes, it's gross, but it's also kind of funny... Now that I've disinfected my hands to surgical standards!
All in all, I got to wondering just how inportant morale is in a workplace. I hate to say it, but it was somethiong sadly lacking in my old job.
In the Omniplex, the supervisors (black shirts) and management (whatever they want shirts) provide something the general managers in Blarney seldom did - Leadership.
The supervisors are all a great bunch: They're friendly, approachable, efficient, they know their jobs inside out, and critically: they all have a sense of humour!
That's the most critical thing of all. Stress will melt away at the hilarity of some of the antics that have occured at work... All out of sight of managers (well, mostly!) and customers thankfully!
Otherwise this post would be called I was Fired For Gluing Tom to The Door of Screen 1
;)
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