This week has just been crazy. Between prepping for my new job which starts on Monday (by prepping I mean clothes shopping - yo' pro' wardrobe essentials, you understand!) and house-hunting, I'm finally moving into our newly rented house tomorrow with MEGAN AND DEE!!!!!. It has all been quite hectic and once we found somewhere, things moved very fast which has caused one or two tension headaches over the weekend. Honestly though, once we're all moved in and working, I'll feel a bit better. It's exciting renting as a graduate for the first time but after handing over soooooo muuuuuuuuch money and seeing your savings shrink considerably, I'm eager to get into my new job and start earning so that I can afford this new yo' pro' millennial gal lifestyle; it's not all quite mason jar cocktails and chic throw cushions yet!
Aside from being eager to get into this new job, I'm also the first one to move in properly. Because the property had been advertised to let immediately, there didn't seem to be much leeway to postpone the move-in date until next weekend. While it may have suited me, the two others are house-sitting for another week which means that I'll be all by my-lonesome-self in the house this week. It also means that I'm under pressure to set up our utilities (MORE MONEY A£^£*"%$!#!!!) asap which in turn means looking at the best packages and committing us to a year's contract. Commitment. Ew.
So that's it really. I'm quite sad to leave home all the same. I've been out of home for 5 years really and it has been nice this past month being here and having little movie nights with my Mum in our matching onesies or eating pizza with my brothers and sister. I'll just have to come down on weekends. Pictures of new abode to follow soon. I had best say goodbye to my current sleeping quarters now.
Here's to adult life. Starting in 5...4...3...2...
Ah, university life, a time in which you have the opportunity to learn about yourself, find your true passions in life (#career), become more independent, and learn to flutter your social butterfly wings. You enroll, sparkly-eyed and with a head full of sophisticated parties, glorified sports success, and academic perfection. Graduation is but a small light in the distance, so far away that you are sure you will have your life and career ambitions sussed out by the time you get there. Four years? That's aggeeess away!
Well, boys and girls I am here to tell you that four years flies and post-college life does not hold all the answers you once so optimistically presumed it would. You probably didn't do as well in college as you would have liked, thanks to persuasive housemates, belligerent nights out, Four Star Pizza, watching Coronation Street omnibuses, and generally procrastinating. Procrastination in fact is probably your most developed skill after your four years. Three essays, a presentation and an in-class exam this Friday? What a PERFECT time to watch "Game of Thrones" episodes back-to-back!
You probably haven't participated in much sport since you left mandatory PE class in school. If you did, be honest. You didn't join for the joy of sportsmanship or the sense of fraternity you only get from being part of a team. You did it because of the club's social nights out, during which it wasn't unusual to see you down Jaegerbombs while smeared with U.V. paint. Classic.
Your emotional well-being during final year was probably a split between panic, determination, wondering what's been happening in Corrie, panic, boasting about how much you are doing to people you don't like, freaking out about how little you are doing to people you do like, trying to eavesdrop on said conversations between others, panic, and dreaming of the end of exams and the first frosty pint of freedom.
By the time you put down the pen in your final exam, the feeling of elation you expected to embrace you is achingly absent. As you walk out of the exam hall and of your undergraduate college life, there isn't any confetti, fireworks or applause. That's it. Life, as corny as it sounds, goes on. What you didn't expect is at the very millisecond your pen grazed your desk with the finality of your academic voyage, a signal, undetectable to you, transmits to everyone you've ever met. No sooner have you walked out of the university grounds, you bump into Mary, your mother's best friend's cat-sitter you met once for five minutes in 2002. You've barely exchanged pleasantries, when in comes the big question.
"So you've just finished uni, haven't you?"
"Yeah, literally just finished my last ex-"
"So, what's next?"
"Ammm-"
"What's the plan? What are you going to do with your life? What are your ambitions? What have you decided to do with the next 40 years of your life? Hmm, hmm, hmm?"
And so, it goes on. This isn't an unique experience. You will be burdened with this sort of investigatory torture for at least another 5 - 7 years. The answer "To be honest, I'm not sure" or "Oh, I'm just enjoying life without exams at the moment" don't sit well. Nor does "Well, I'm just going to take this year to work a bit and figure out the next step". No, no, no.
You should be saying things like "I'm dedicating my life to God and am moving immediately to a missionary retreat in East Timur" or "I've found myself a soulless office job which will more than likely drain me of any semblance of joy within two years but I will stay there until I qualify for the OAP bus pass". I honestly think it would be more acceptable to say "Oh, I've recently found myself a position as a sex worker. It lets me dictate my own hours, it pays well and I really enjoy it" than "Oh, I don't know yet". God. for.bid.
I should however clarify that not knowing IS FINE. Not knowing your plan for this year let alone for the next forty IS FINE. Telling Mary the cat-sitter to do one IS FINE. So in the words of TayTaySwifSwif, shake it off. You'll sort it out. Probably. And if you don't, doesn't that make you all the more interesting.
At least, that's what I'm telling myself... Graduation is next week. We'll worry then...
Today is Monday. The weather is changeable at best. Today Sarah and Megan continued the rekindling of their love by buying and eating shit they didn't need. At the moment we're eating, to be frank, a very disappointing batch of brownies. We've had a great few days together, so we've decided to collaborate on a wonderful blog post. Be excited.*
Megan visited Sarah in Limerick to celebrate her freedom and the end of her college life in UL, which Dee vacated a year ago. Shit went down. We drank (and subsequently puked), ate and pretended to be foreign whilst chatting up some older men. By older I don't mean hot, sophisticated thirty-something professionals...I mean actual OAPs. Here's Ger, hope he doesn't report us on blogspot for this. LOL
Megan and Sarah were together for a total of two and a half days in fair Limerick - a time during which we learnt that not all of Limerick is as grimmy and mank as you'd assume - the castle is rather pleasing to the eye and makes a good talking point when one is pretending to be a lost American tourist; however, it's worth noting that one ought to take precautions when impersonating an American (with a fluctuating accent) as at this time of year, there are many other real Americans around and it can lead to some confusing and slightly offensive situations. Limerick is a good place for a pub-going night out and we took full advantage of the plethora of night time venues. Someone called Megan thought it'd be a GREAT idea to have a shot of tequila and the following day that someone called Megan was fine but someone called Sarah couldn't get up until 9pm the following evening and instead of going out, comforted herself with Graham Norton (on TV, not in real life because I don't think Sarah is his type).
Megan went away on home (after a questionable Subway - the sandwich, not the mode of transport) as did Sarah's brother Shane, leaving Sarah in an absolute heap (BEST FRIENDS EVER). Megan has been given more responsibility at her job, which meant she'd an awfully busy and stressful weekend, which is more boring than it sounds. Megan would like to clarify that at present she doesn't have a real job, which was just confirmed by quitea snooty phonecall from her former university, UCC, when they called to make sure that she was alive and not disgracing the UCC name by being, god forbid, a sales assistant. Which she is. Woops. She'll show you, UCC! Sarah meanwhile moved home which is as sad and depressing as it sounds. She spent the first 36 hours in her PJs, unpacking and getting her brother drunk with her mother.
However, enough was enough. Our love could not be extinguished after being rekindled and today after greeting and being bit by Megan's beloved pooch Harvey, we headed into Cork. There we ate steak marinated with vodka and went second-hand book shopping. Cork is looking pretty fab these days and there have been big efforts to regenerate the inner city. There's a "Before I Die" wall, which was inspired by a art project in an American city, which Sarah has written about before. We also saw an older, scruffy man wandering around the Coal Quay with his sheep dog, shouting or other about Mongolians. We bought some clothes - Penney's finest, don't you know - and just had a swell time. The crowning moment was seeing a former flame of either Megan or Sarah looking like a puffy German tourist #doesntcountasslander #lol.
Finally after hours of merriment, we came back to Megan's house to be nibbled on by Harvey, Emperor of the Household, who then proceed to try and eat Megan's wool. Megan just made a really cheesy pun about pulling the wool over her eyes which makes no sense as Harvey doesn't have thumbs and thus the pulling motion is beyond his kinesthetic movements. Harvey isn't best amused either. After writing this, we may go hunting for Kimye, who are honeymooning nearby #actualnowegivenofucks
That is all now. Stay tuned when we may sporadically update the blog with more fun times! We're going out with Dee this week when she's on a break from tour. Whadda rock star.
M & S
*We hope you weren't THAT excited. That would be pathetic...
Ummm, wow, the blog has changed and to whoever was its designer (I suspect Ciara), it looks brill!
Quick hello to you lovely ladies, none of whom I've been able to see so far this Christmas.
have to forgive me guys. I got back from Limerick two days before Christmas Eve which was all rush, rush, rush. Then we each had our own respective Christmas Days and St. Stephen's Days with our loved ones. I'd have been the first on the phone today but unfortunately, I am literally just after getting over a very nasty case of food poisoning or gastoenteritis or something yucky that made me feel very, very ill up until two hours ago. Just in time! I'm boarding a flight to Liverpool in the morning to see two very lovely English friends of mine and spend New Year's there over yonder. Excited.
I hope that I will be able to see Dee, Ciara and Megan when I get back on the 3rd. Please say yes! I've been awful in terms of neglecting you all and many others this year. Resolution for 2014 right there! Gosh, 2014, that does sound odd.
Regardless, bye for now and Happy New Year! Let's hope the Ryanair flight doesn't coincide with a re-emergence of said food poisoning.
Hello, hello, hello! I, like Megan, am also alive and fine and well, albeit praying for my exams to be over. I'm rather busy, but my proudest achievement of the semester may be my ever improving skills of procrastination. For example, today I woke around 12.30pm (#noregrets) and had a bit of a study sesh (for all of an hour). Then I had dinner, my lovely lady pal Tuffy called round, we had tea, decorated her (fake :( ) Christmas tree, went for on a chocolate run to Dunnes, had pizza and said chocolate and watched "Elf". Great way to spend your study week!
The evening previous, I came back from a quick two days at home (Christmas shopping with my brother and sister!) and went ice-skating with some of my classmates, which was great bonding time. Tomorrow night then, my sister is coming up from Cork and we're going to see the ever wonderful, sublime Little Green Cars in the sold-out Dolan's. It's. going. to. be. UNREAL. If you haven't heard of them, then you seriously need to listen to their debut album, Absolute Zero. Here's one of my favourite performances from them, though they are all serious winners.
I've had two exams, oral exams and essays already done. I have one more this Monday, the dreaded German exam. I however am finding it increasingly difficult to keep focused. I find German to be my weakest subject and considering that I feel like I'm finished, I feel really non-pulsed by the whole affair. I hate being stressed and after spending an Erasmus year stressed beyond belief and getting sick as a result, I am doing as much as I can to not get myself into that state again. At the end of the day, I'm doing this degree to get a piece of paper. It's certainly not the bee all and end all.
I will need to pull the ole socks up with next semester but right now, I'm too excited for Christmas with the family. I'm also going to see the absolute gem that is Hozier in Cork next weekend with Jessica and RuadhrÃ! AHHHHHHH! He's just performed for Other Voices in Dingle over the weekend and his gigs have sold out countrywide so we're VERY excited.
Not only that, but I am also heading over to Liverpool to see my dear friends, Emma and Monica, two days after St. Stephen's Day! We're minus our lovely field mouse, Rachel, who is currently conquering the jungles in Thailand. The girls visited me in Cork last February and we'd a great time, so it's now time to return the favor.
I've never really been to England as a tourist before so I'm really looking forward to visiting. I'll be there for New Year's too, which I'm SUPER psyched about because it's usually a bit of a shite evening around my parts. I'm going to see lots of Beatles-related things, and go to somewhere called Chester Zoo which is supposed to be one of the best around. There's also been mention of a £1 tequila bar. Uh - oh. I hope to get as many lovely shots as Megan did when she visited Dee in joymanee.
Also, have to say a huge thanks for the lovely post by Megan wishing me the best on my birthday. The picture she used was one of me acting the maggot nearly two years ago when Shannon and Megan came to visit me in Vienna. On the spur of the moment, I decided to join them on a two day jaunt in Prague which was beautiful and creepy in equal measures.
For example, our hostel had this slightly questionable bathroom situation.
Gorgeous, right?
With lots of cute Soviet Union era cars
Some lovely graffiti on the John Lennon wall.
Here's Megan sitting forlornly on the banks of the Danube, back in Vienna.
And us hanging around on the ole Enzis, ya know
I turned 23 a few weeks ago (ewwww) and had a big party to celebrate. It was a Late Late Toy Show/Movember birthday party and we raised some money for charity, while wearing Christmas jumpers and moustaches and bashing the shit out of pinatas and having a barbecue and pass the parcel. Lots of fun but unfortunately Megan was stuck working and couldn't come :(
Dee turned 23 three days later and she is by all accounts having a fine time in Germany. Ciara, you need to fill us in soon too! I hope to see ALL of you over Christmas for Crane Lane pints and a chance to meet similar sorts to the 5 types Dee and Megan encountered in Havana's over the past few months.
That is all of the news. Here are some pictures of recent times.
I am so happy that Megan has gone away and posted a post (?) as well! So proud. That's more than either of us have heard about one another in ages. Bloody awful, isn't it! One of my favourite things to do is also cuddling up by a real fire. It is one of the best things about winter for me. It's unfortunate that our college house has no fire - the only downfall!
Some of my best memories as a child was coming in from playing in our big garden, or in the farmyard, and sitting down on the pea-green rug, legs crossed and watching television with my family. One Christmas morning, we came downstairs to find a baby lamb in a box beside the fire. Her name was Lucy (my decision - having said that, I called everything Lucy at that age; the car, the other car, the chickens) and her mother had passed away on Christmas Eve, so Mum brought her in and put her in a box with straw beside the fireplace. I still remember how surprised we were that morning! Lucy turned out to be something of a pet for us and having tamed her, she'd follow us around the farm-yard.
One of my first memories was being lifted onto the back of our farm dog, Mac, by my parents and clinging on while he ran around the garden. That was the followed by my parents placing me onto the back of the nearly-grown Lucy, who also decided to run around. That didn't last as long as you can imagine; I just remember falling off, like a person on a Bucking Bronco, and my parents in absolute hysterics. We also had chickens, cats and cattle on our farm, and I can easily say that I had a wonderful childhood.
Growing up on a farm was just a fantastic way to spend your time, and it definitely made me and my siblings bond for life. We had no-one else to play with, so were forced to get on, but still some of my fondest memories were on that farm. We had a stream that ran through the front garden and when my sister and I were forced to share a room, we would constantly bicker about leaving the window open. I wanted it open because I loved nothing better than falling asleep with the comforting sound of the passing stream. Jessica didn't! But more on all of that nostalgia-lark at a later date.
I understand how Megan feels about this year. To be fair, she's had a bit of a dose the past few months but the positivity is just RADIATING from her. The only way is up! But a few months ago, I wrote a similar post about wanting to say goodbye to 2012. I was more than delighted to see that go because that was just a horrid year in totality for me. 2013 has been better for me in a lot of ways, but every now and again I just get a sudden pang of panic, when I realise that I really don't want to grow up. For example, trying to decide what I want to do next year is wrecking my head because I am subconsciously trying to calculate how that will fit in with "the plan". You know, "the plan" that we all have vaguely marked out in our heads and try to live by, only to be thrown off when we slowly realise that there is no plan in life, aside from living! I know I want to teach. Without a shadow of a doubt, but when? I could be 26/27 before I get around to doing the H Dip in England, but then I don't want to run over there straight away and get stuck in a profession that limits the time I can travel. Very stereotypical, I know. We all want to travel, but for me it's an imperative. I have to. There's so much of the world left to see and I'd rather live as a pauper for a few years doing that, than sat in a house somewhere, planning and wishing I had seen more.
If you know that wonderful Facebook page, Humans of New York, you often see people who have that regret. However on the other end, you hear from people who didn't plan for the future enough and are facing a financially difficult retirement. Neither of my parents will be able to retire as such; a fact that causes me sheer panic whenever I think about. There's been a lot of talk recently about our generation; Generation Y, the Boomerang generation, Generation Expectation and more recently, the Lost Generation. That's how I feel our generation will be defined as in the future; as lost. Emigration really does seem to be the only way forward and it makes me desperately sad to see the increasing hollowness that Ireland has succumbed to. In some twisted turn of fate, our generation is repeating the actions of the 80's and a solid fifty year period from the 1870's on.
The worst thing? We seem to take it laying down.
That's very negative, I'm aware, but it's unfortunately the reality. However, our greatest strength is laughter. As Irish people, we are by nature very self-deprecating but have the sense (or insanity) to laugh at ourselves. That's demonstrated very well in this spoof clip from the Late Late Show, where an Irish comedian, Mario Rosenstock, imitates a German economist, the only man who warned us of the impending hardship.
We watched this in a German literature class, a subject which I am surprisingly not failing!
I'm going to go back to my lazy Saturday now, and am hoping to hear from Ciara and Dee soooooooooooon.
On another note, I've followed in Dee's footsteps and now present a show on UL FM, the college radio station. It's been going really well so far, and I got to interview David Wallace, former Munster and Irish rugby player, about Special Olympics this week. So in love.
Hello? Anyone there? Look! A resurgence in blogging! Megan reminded me that this still existed and here I am waving a big hello, because once again, due to the chaos of general day-to-day life, I've fallen out of step with Megan, Ciara and Dee... as well as many other nearest and dearest.
I'm in Limerick. It's Week 9 of the first semester. I've not failed anything yet! I'm living with some great friends. There are some great friends still hanging around Limerick, although there are more who have left and are off doing their own things. I've come back from a relatively successful year out and am already looking at where to go next. I'm thinking either Canada, America, Spain, Japan or South Korea. You know... away, away. It's actually a point of stress. There are two great programmes in Japan and S. Korea respectively but they both begin next August. Considering that I need to work away for the summer (either America or the UK), I would be expected to leave just after returning from summer employment. This doesn't suit because I am determined to attend my graduation, particularly considering that this course has just bled me dry of confidence over the past four/five-ish years, so attending it will be a happy "F- you course", attended by my super family of course. Secondly, my family and I missed out on Glastonbury tickets this year (very upsetting), but have decided that the Murphy's will take on the joys of Bestival next year instead! Watch out Isle of Wight! All of us are going, but because it's on during the first weekend of September, I'm not about to leave for Asia. More on that later.
Here's some pictures of things that have happened recently. I'm going to get back to blogging more. My attempts at journal-keeping haven't been as successful as I'd anticipated.
