I'm on permanent leave...

I was sitting in econ class today while the lecturer was going on about trade deficits and internation finance/money transfers. I remembered my Irish account was a little low, so I cracked open the laptop and moved a buttload of money between countries and currencies as he was explaining how it all worked. That's an econ lesson from both sides of the fence.

Alright - you're probably not going to get any Galway stories, unfortunately. I was too busy to write them up last week, am sure I've forgotten some, and they weren't that interesting anyways. I took a couple of classes off last week to travel through North Ireland and Ireland with friends from home in a car -- and it was one hell of a trip. If I have time, I'll type up some stories. Otherwise, the pictures will have to suffice.

We went to galway this weekend and Inis Mor (an Aran Island)... and they were absolutely stunning. When I get back for x-mas, I'm going to have a photoshop fest. I think I may get some of those pictures printed. This weekend was amazing, and not just 'cause of the location. The people here are really great & enjoyable.

A friend of mine has my picture device, so I can't upload the photos now. I'll probably do that later this week. I have a paper due thursday, and plenty to do Wed. night. My old roommate is coming into town, and i think there might be a BL/Comm party going on. So much to do, so little time.

And regarding my last post - it isn't that I don't care, I do. But I don't see the point in doing things like protesting. Elections are much more useful. I vote. I won't let my country degrade. I could not have imagined the perspective I would gain on the US from being here and talking with people from all over the world (though mostly Europe). Sitting in Econ and Social policy courses learning the different ways of dealing with people is... enlightening. Especially coupled with political discussions with people from 4 countries (or just one ex-patriot).

But whatever. I have a paper to finish, and maybe a movie to watch. I'll leavethe philosophy for class. Be on the lookout for more pictures - they're coming.

I don't normally like blogs, and if you asked me, I wouldn't readily admit to having one (instead, I maintain a website through which I share my photos ... and experiences). But a couple lately (the two that I regularly read) have had the same topic. With my mom emailing me, I can't help but to write up my thoughts, too... just because. For a bit of background reading, the two sites I read are:
noah's lark and
scribblehoney.

Since being in Dublin, I've pretty much shut the rest of the world out. My world consists of me, my friends, and the places I see. This whole concept of news has been pretty far away from me, which if you know me, is pretty unusual. I did open up my newsmap to get a look at this north korea thing. And I think I came to the same conclusion that Kalen did. I can't care.

I do support the troops in what they are doing (their jobs). I don't really support the policies that put them there (though in defense of the policy makers, I don't have a better solution). But I cannot bring myself to really give a rat's ass about something I cannot affect. Reading Noah's site, the thoughts he had of telling the people that protest was ineffective hit home. Protesting is a glorified waste of time. But you can't tell people that.

I think the perspective of being outside looking in is different. But my conclusion hasn't changed. I think my dad put it best when he said, "you can't stop a crazy, fanatical person with a lot of money from doing what he wants." So where is the utility of worrying. I read an article warning that tomorrow we could wake up with NYC or Chicago blown off the map. I could spend my time worrying about that happening, or I could... live. I think I'll choose having fun.

I'm waiting for a call from the paper editor today who might get me 70 euros worth of tickets to go on a giant, drunken bus ride to a bunch of pubs tomorrow. All I'd have to do would be take pictures of the craziest, drunkest people there. I'll be headed out to Galway this weekend, too. After I finish my essay for history, of course. So much more pleasant than the thought of crazies with, "the bomb." We need to export "fun" to their countries.

Last night in Cork. Mid-afternoon tomorrow and we were leaving; who knows when we would be back. In america, we say such is an occasion to "do it real big" or "go buck wil'."

We started the evening in a bar that seemed to be a hole in the wall. It opened up to be HUGE in back... who would have known. In the 30 minutes that it took me to drink my Guinness Tucan Brew (and for those who haven't tried it... suckers), it went from busy to shoulder-to-shoulder madness. For the record, everybody in Ireland drinks. And they always seem to pick exactly the bar that I am in.

A beer or two later, we bolt, looking for the late-night bar. We find "An brog" which probably means something in Irish, but to us meant, "good time." We managed to find a whole in the mass of people relatively close to the bar, so we set up camp and started the drinks coming.

Now I want to take a second to talk about bar movement. Everybody knows what I'm talking about. It should be an olympic sport. People in the US seem to be completely oblivious to the fact that I need to get to the bathroom and those GOING to the bathroom have the right-of-way. That is unless you're alone, and there is a line coming the other way. Also, I yield to women. In Ireland, everybody knows. It took me no more than half a minute to go past 2 bars, maybe 100 feet to the bathrooms. In the US, I would have needed to remember my sleeping bag for that trip.

A few (exact numbers aren't important) pints later, we all decide to "go dancing." By we, I really mean Joey and Brooke. But matt and amanda seemed to be into it, Mikey was down... and I'm thinking, "whatever. I'll loose them so none of them see how bad I am and then go crazy." We walk out of the bar and got an irish welcome: rain. At that point, though (after charles fort and ehem a couple of pints [notice the number getting lower?]), nobody cared. What we DID care about, even after a 10 minute walk, was that there was a 10 euro (or so) cover. That got a resounding, "F*** that!" As you can imagine, the bouncers were not amused. We tried another bar close to the dance club and got turned away b/c somebody had trainers on (tennis shoes), and got turned away from another that was 20+ only (hehe... I could have gotten in).

Did I mention we had all pre-gamed heavily?

And now, the 2nd most amazing part of the evening was upon us. We managed to find our way back to An brog -- a 10 minute walk through an unfamiliar city in the driving rain. We are amazing.

We get in and our encampment is vacant. In fact, there are seats this time. A few pints later and everyone is standing, though -- not sure how that one happened. Who gives up bar seats?

Matt suddenly asked me if I had a screw driver... i said no, but I did have change. He proceeded to demonstrate that a coin would not unscrew a screw holding a jack daniel's poster into the wall. I accused him of being a moron, and kinda motioned that he should just pry it off from the back. At this point, we both notice the bar tender talking to us. We were in the process of getting kicked out of an Irish bar. Merit badge: obtained.

He showed us to the bouncer, who blew him off like a hot girl at a star trek convention blows off every guy there. I'm not sure that he even saw us. Matt and I weren't about to try to get back in, though. We wanted McNuggets (i swear, it was a simultanious moment of genius).

There is nothing quite like sitting down with a 4-pack of nuggets and sweet-n-sour sauce having to text your friends that you just got kicked out of the bar. Apparently, amanda had joey down her Bulmers and they bolted from the bar to join us at McDonalds pretty quickly. Best meal ever.

Surprisingly, I woke up feeling fine at 8 the next morning. At some point, I called amanda, whose wake-up conversations are PRICELESS. If it weren't mean, I'd call her every morning just for a laugh. Brooke & Joey had gone to church (a muslim and greek orth. in a catholic church -- funny stuff) so the rest of us toured the city. I got some decent tourist-pictures. One or two made it into my "good" album. It was a nice day, though. Nice people.

I've finally started to take pictures with which I am happy. I am starting to get real enjoyment out of them. Perhaps that is why my x-mas wish-list is basically just a run-down of photographic goodies. I think I have about 4 pictures so far that I'll want to get printed (all from my Cork Album).

And I'm finally starting what life is all about (I know that sounds corny). I'm finding what I think is a good time. Loving the days; spending WAY too much money. I'm going to seem like an alcoholic when I come home, but I'm not -- I just drink with meals & conversation. Tea is klass. The word "klass" is grand.

It is funny that I've shared stories with people that I thought I'd hide. They've shared some I might have kept hidden. And I've found that the most fun people to be around all have a little nerd in them.

I feel like I have a different approach to life already; I wonder constantly how different I'm going to be by Christmas and May. Will people notice? And more importantly, how in the world am I going to afford to come back? Don't get me wrong, I do love living in the US (no mom, i'm not moving to Ireland for good). But I'm going to have a few friends in school here for 6 years. I want to go to Greece. I want to take great pictures of all of the landmarks and some of the not-so-well-known areas and hang them up all in my home. And I want to stay in touch with & visit these people. And meet new people at home. Yes, this was a good decision.

(and don't worry - I'll finish the Cork story soon - I can't leave out the part where I got kicked out a bar in Ireland. yeah - you heard right. Who else has that merit badge?)

I woke up the next morning at 8am... everybody else was scrambling at about 9, 9:30. I can't really blame them, an extra hour would have been nice, but I'm so used to getting up at 8 that it doesn't really bother me.

We ate our first real irish breakfast (don't feel bad if you never do), and headed down to the bus station. After much debate, we headed off for Kinsale. Mikey said it was the place to go (he heard via a friend in attending school in Cork). When we got to the sleepy fishing town, we asked the bus driver which way to go. He laughed at us. He told us that he should have let us off 10 minutes ago, and it was a walk from there. But being the nice guy he was, he let us stay on the bus as he turned it around and headed back for Cork. He dropped us off about 10 minutes out of town, approximately in the middle at the crossroads or a hill and another hill. Maybe a wall in there, too.

We started walking up the road he told us to trek, and within about a kilometer, it rained and stopped. Twice. Taking a right to follow a sign for the Charles Fort, we stopped to climb a wall in front of a house -- it overlooked a rolling lime green hill and the harbor in the background. Apparently, the little old lady that lived in the house behind the fence peeked out of from behind our curtains to wave at us. She knew exactly what was going on and loved it. It is so wonderful to know she welcomes people sharing her view like that.

We finally made it to the fort after helping some fellow (adult) tourists who were driving along the way. We didn't know where we were going, but convinced them that it HAD to be where we were going -- and we both arrived to the fort at the same time.

We walked around for a solid minute or two before it began to POUR. Joey and Brooke ran off in it while the rest of us (my camera safely in my bag), ran into the cafe where the most hospitible of ladies prepared drinks for us. We sat and dried, and finally brooke and joey came back completely soaked through. But with the rain subsiding, we were free to go out and explore. The castle was wonderful. Ancient, partially ruined, but in decent condition, and ripe for pictures. Most didn't turn out, but there were 1 or two.

The walk back was beautiful. After Amanda got a cider in a pub, we headed down a road no wider than a mini-cooper that ran beside the harbor. I could have stayed to take pictures all day, but figured it was best to keep up w/ the group. At the bottom, a group of Indian tourist ended up asking me for directions to the fort. That was like the 3rd time... why do people keep asking me for directions? Does the camera not scream, "I am a tourist, too!"?

Anyway, a plate of fish & chips later (so good) and a bus ride later, and we were back on the bus, ready to head out for the night...

Thursday, about midday, Mikey and I see Joey. We're all a little stir crazy, as is Matt who just strolled down the path. We all decide that we're going to Galway later that night w/ Rebecca. Of course, about 2 hours later, Mikey comes back and says Oysterfest is on in Galway and there isn't a B&B or hostel to be found. Change of plans for those in the apartment, we're going to Cork.

I wake up friday and start looking for hostels. Found one, called, and went to get my laundry out. I walked down to the paper office to tell them where they can get the photos they needed (paper got printed last weekend and I should have a picture in it, if it isn't on the front page). Anyway, I booked for 6 figuring we can get the personel sorted later. That was my ballpark figure. I called matt to tell him I got 6 rooms and had space for him and his girlfriend. He told me he needed another room for his girl's friend, so I gave him the number for the hostel. He booked it thinking it was in Galway. I think he learned he was going to Cork at the bus stop to get into the city.

We got to the bus stop with PLENTY of time to get into the city, or so we thought. The place was crawling with Irish kids looking to go home to for the weekend. We had to get on the second one (the first left absolutely packed, too). We got to the bus at exactly the departure time, which is exactly too late. So we went north to a Korean street and got a burger. 2 hours later, we were on our bus headed to Cork.

Upon arrival, we got of the bus and headed north of the River Lee to our hostel. The river stank like you wouldn't believe. It was like somebody shat on athlete's foot and smeared it in an NYC gutter. We were about to gag as we crossed. Great first impression.

We finally got to the place after calling the desk for directions and them not having a clue where we were (it was 1 block away... thanks). Got in, and finally got to set our stuff down. We were all pretty relieved, so we went down to a pub to have a drink. Superdyke poured mine, and Cork really is cheaper than Dublin. It was great, though. A pint with 6 good friends in a new city for the taking... And boy did we. More later...

I'm done with lectures for the week. I would go to the grocery store, but I need to wait until a little after 4. I got my first assignment from the paper today - apparently shooting some Belgian girl. The story seems weak (they said it might be front page), but what do I care. The photo will be good. Who knows, she might even be hot.

I got a few other assignments, too, but nothing too hard. Parking lots, school radio stations.. blah. The clouds are breaking up to the west - maybe I'll get some good natural lighting.

Wednesday is THE night to go out around here. All of the irish kids go home for the weekend (by the way - it just started raining. Right after I wrote that it was starting to break). I'm not sure why Wednesday, but I can't argue. It's pretty good fun. We went to Tram Co last night. It is in Rathmines, a small area about 2km south of the city center. Kinda neat looking area with the canals and small shops along the main road. I was told today that it wasn't really a great area, but not nearly as bad as the area around the Guinness factory. That place was sketch. It stopped raining.

Anyway, Tram Co was fun. Multi-colored lighting with several, easily accessible bars and a dance floor. I think I saw everyone I've met there (well, between that and Killian's b-day party earlier). There are pictures, but I'm not linking it yet because I'm going to change the link later today. It was a little expensive, but probably worth it.

Speaking of expensive, I might go to Cork or Gallway this weekend. Hopefully a crew from boards.ie will go to Wicklow soon. I think I'm going to get Noah to the south side of the city next week, too. I don't think he's been to Sandymount or Stillorgran, which are both ripe for photography.

Oh - and to finish - I'll relay a small conversation I had with an RA:
her: So are you one of those americans with REAL irish roots
me: a bit, yeah.
her: What's your surname?
me: Sweeney.
her: "oh - are they from Wicklow?" turns to another RA "Sweeney is a Wicklow name, isn't it?"
RA 2: I have no idea.
RA: I'm pretty sure it is. You should head down.

I think it is crazy that people know where i'm from, just by the name. I've been told multiple names that Sweeney would be an easy name to trace (though I should try O'Sweeney or MacSweeney instead). I'm off.

In the study abroad orientation meetings, they tell you not to do a few simple things. No matter what you do, don't put yourself in undue risk of physical harm, don't travel by yourself (esp. to meet people you don't know in unfamiliar parts of town), and don't go to political demonstrations (esp. those against your home country).

If I broke the first rule by bungie jumping friday, I smashed the other two on Saturday when I went out to meet some guys from boards.ie to take photos around Dublin.

It was a rainy day, meeting on the north side of the Liffey (the bad side), and I had an infection that was bringing me down like a squirrel mistakenly hit by a bear tranquilizer (well, my throat was sore and I didn't have a voice, but the simile is more dramatic). We started at the Garden of Rememberance where a political demonstration was scheduled to take place and got soaked. About an hour behind schedule (or in Irish, "on time"), the demonstration started and proceeded down O'Connell street. 4 of the 5 of us jumped under an movie theatre's awning when the rain got to be a bit to much (we were all using digital cameras, mind you), leaving one nut-job to capture the best photo-journalistic shots among us.

Just after that, the 4 of us sought refuge in a starbucks south of the river; the nut-job joined up about half an hour later. By the time we left, it was drier (dry being a relative term in this country), and we walked west towards the Guinness factory. We made it, then turned back east towards the docklands, nabbing some great photos along the way. The guys were all super-chill and humble considering the shots they got.

So, a few pictures for now, if you care to look. You should definitely check out Noah's pictures as he gets the prize for about the most evokative photographer I've seen (let alone met).

The film/art students pictures:
me, Noah, Darren, and more generally his Flickr because he's darn good at what he does.

and the crazy photo-journalist

Mine are at my normal place and generally don't hold a candle what what they were shooting. I also uploaded them all because I'm too lazy/lacking in equipment to sort through them, so there are a bunch. The only one I think I really like is this urban "landscape" and perhaps this this lady.

So anyways, that's what I did this weekend. That and lay in bed wanting to rip out my throat. What did you do?

I've thought a lot about how to carefully (or dramatically) say this since I know my mom reads this, but I can't really think of anything good. So I'll just tell you how it played out and try to avoid any drama.

Today was another good day. No classes, the only think I had to do was meet up with my Erasmus buddy group for Oktoberfest at 4. I met up with Dominik in the pit and saw a crane in the car park just behind a concrete wall. Being curious, I ventured over. It was near the fresher's tent where events had been going on all week. I remembered having read a poster for this, but I thought it would be a wuss version. well...

As I walked over, the crane lifted and a basket rose. 2 girls stood in the basket, hugging. And when it got to the top, they jumped out. This was no joke - it was legitimate bungee jumping. Being curious again, I asked the local security guard (they're all over UCD) how much they'd paid. He had no idea. Brendon, then final-year Irish buddy walked over to one of the people in charged and asked how expensive it was and how much longer they would be open. 30 Euro and just a few minutes.

Now, I don't normally believe in fate. In fact, I usually think that you make your own fate. Hard work and perseverance are the ways to get what you want. Occasionally, though, that notion is challenged. This was one of those times. I had exactly 30 Euro on me, and today was the first time I had carried my small digital camera with me since I got to Ireland. To top it off, there were witnesses.

First things first, I called Mikey (my roommate). He'd thought the bungee jump would be on a trampoline. I kindly informed him that he was wrong, and to get his butt down to the pit if he wanted to jump. Then, baited by the "i did it two years ago" and general encouragement of the people I had met only 2 days ago, I went looking for the guys in charge. Probably not the smartest decision ever.

A standard release later, I'm sitting in a chair watching another girl jump. Then they started to strap me into a harness and leg straps. At this point, I want to point a small fact (to my mom) to allay some fear. I've been climbing for 4 years now. I saw before paying that the equipment used was EXACTLY the same as the equipment used in climbing (exect a giant rubber band the width of my thigh in place of a rope). I've known people that repelled 4 stories upside down. I myself can repel about 2 stories in a single jump (which is practically a free-fall). I know how to wear a harness and I know how to attach a carabiner. At any point, if I didn't feel safe, I could have backed out. However, the harness came over my hips, was tight, and all of the buckles formed C's (O = open, C = closed... it has to do with how things double back). All of the carabiners were the screw/lock type, which are actually more secure under tension. They were all attached to screw downward (the proper direction). Also, the people were only really falling 3 stories and there was a 2 story airbag under the basket. Nothing was happening. And yes, I DID check all of this shit while they were doing their thing.

So they got me into the basket and started to lift, facing south-west. It is the best view I've had of Ireland yet. Absolutely beautiful mountains with houses built on the sides. The only bad part of the experience was that by the time we got to the top, the jump master had delivered all of the instructions and the gate was open. I got up and put my feet on the edge, looking at all the field around. In retrospect, if I had looked down, I might have been scared, but I didn't and wasn't. There really wasn't time. I was still looking at the hills when I heard "3-2-1 bungee!" As per instructions, I threw myself out of the basket. A few seconds of confused free fall later, and I'm being pulled back away from earth. I thought I would be jerked around, but that wasn't the case at all. It was like at gentle roller coaster. By comparison, Drop Zone and Carowinds puts a hell of a strain on me (so much that i won't ride it again), but the jump was more like hard breaking in a car.

The most frequent questions have been:
"Were you scared?" No - I wasn't. I knew I was safe, and honestly, it was so pretty/I didn't have time to be scared.
"Did you feel a rush (of adrenaline)?" Again, no - I don't think I had time. I guess maybe on the 2nd bounce I got excited at flying through the air, but nothing I saw registered. Honestly, I remember seeing the mountains, feeling the fall, and seeing again when they pulled me in.
"Are you glad you did it?" Yes. That is one of the things I said I'd never do. And I did it. It was fun. It wasn't terribly expensive (sponsored by a school club), and that is one hell of a story I'm going to get to tell when I'm old.

So yea, I bungee jumped today. And if you need proof, look here. That's just one more thing I can say I've done that most people can't. Adding that to the list with SCUBA and helicopter ride. I've realized (over the past year) that life isn't worth living if you don't live, and money isn't worth having if you don't spend it.

And mom, please don't kill me.

Lots of class today. That sucked because I woke up with one of the worst sore throats I've ever had. Getting sick was inevitable, but I just want it to pass. It sucks that it had to be on THE week of fall semester. Oh well. I'm feeling better now.

I had my first tutorial today (which is basically a recitation). It is nice being a 4th (or 6th) year in a room full of 1st years. I have the balls to ask questions that everybody wants to ask without worrying about "looking stupid." The label of "exchange student" helps, too. Too bad people kinda chuckle when they hear my accent say, "I'm from the US." They're like, "yeah - that's obvious." I also got laughed at the other day by a the 30+ fast food service guy when I ordered, "A cheeseburger and fri...uh....chips."

A small side-bar from the events today, the woman who sold me my mobile phone had a masters degree from UCD. Apparently arts degrees ARE worth about as much as toilet paper. Good thing I'm not graduating from this education highway.

So after tutorial - I picked up some papers and swung by the college tribune office. I gave them my phone number if they needed a photographer and took a look at their equipment. It was, no joke, a pocket sized digi-cam. Needless to say, I'd be a huge asset to them. I'm going to the Observer tomorrow to see what they're like.

After that, I doled out my 15 Euro to the mountaineering club so I can use the wall during club times. Yes mom, I'm going to climb. I need the exercise and it is another way to meet people. I'm not going on hikes/outdoor climbs that require additional insurance, though.

Next was the iron stomach competition. The C&E society got about a dozen people to ingest fear-factor worthy fair. Round 1 was drinking a beer through your sock. Round 5 was a glass ram sperm. They were also bonging funnels of pea soup. Pretty funny to see the guys puke, though.

Couple more boring classes + a painful lunch (throat). Then there was a buddy program meet-up thing. If nothing else, it would be yet another way to meet more students. I've learned that I do like meeting Irish kids, but I think I like meeting people from other European countries as much. I've met kids from every western European country I can think of (including Luxemburg). The group was pretty nice. 2 Irish buddies, a german guy (lots of Germans here), and a french girl. I think she took to me rather quickly. I'm seeing them all again for ESN's oktoberfest on Friday.

Then, the porn debate put on by B&L soc. In addition to students demonstrating the hight of Irish wit, they had 2 guest speakers: a porn director and a porn "actress." To be honest, it lasted a bit too long, but the director was surprisingly funny and made some good points. The actress admitted to not being so educated (deferring college for opportunity to do what she loved... girls) and spoke with the most heinous British lisp I've ever heard. Her points were considerably less thought out, but funny none the less.

As for the weather - its Irish. It has already started to turn and the sun sets about 30 minutes earlier than when I got here. I've learned that the weather reports don't attempt to predict rain or shine (I joke that they predict, "eh - its ireland"). You really are better served to just look up. I've learned that such evaluations are good for only about 2 hours max, though, due to the obscene wind. As I'm writing this, the wind reports for tomorrow predict 40km/25mi per hour. That was a little lower than the prediction for today - both being about double average. Still, a sustained 12 mile an hour wind is substantial.

Okay - it is late and I'm still sick. I need to get into bed.

I haven't posted in a while... mainly because I'm busy/confused and have nothing to report. It is fresher's week, though, and things are fun. I'm fine, minus a small virus which is on its way out. Check out the calendar for an idea of what's going on. (And yes, that does say porn debate).

I'm doing some math here. I want to travel. Paris seems like a natural place. Here are some details for October 5-8.
Plane tickets (round trip): 56.15 Euro
Hostel room for 2 nights: 50 Euro
Food: we'll say about 50 Euro because cities are darn expensive.
other travel: ~36 Euro.

With misc. expenses, that's 200 Euro, which is about 260 dollars. Is it me, or is that not killer cheap, all inclusive? I hope I can find somebody to go with me. Un week-end à Paris serait étonnant. (Sorry to those that speak french - I'm sure that translation is HORRID).

More pictures posted. A few from around campus in the Gallery.