A Guide

"We'e all going in a... summer holiday" in October

2011-09-26T22:05:00.001+01:00

So it was finally my time to go on a holiday. A proper break. No driving around the country, no emails or updates, no rushing to meet people, just a break away.

Myself and Lorraine have become travel buddies over the last few years. It's so great to just send a quick message saying "I was thinking about going , you wanna come?" and the response is usually "Yep, let's do it". Needless to say, a lot of planning went in to this trip. Researching countries, resorts, types of hotels, comparing distance to town Vs distance to beach, etc etc. After much consultation, we eventually settled on the Radisson hotel and spa resort in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

We both wanted a break where we didn't feel guilty for just laying on the beach all day reading a good book, having a massage, then a dip in the pool before getting dressed up for a nice meal out. It was well deserved.

I started packing 3 weeks beforehand as I was doing a 10 day event tour of the UK. I packed again on the Monday before and numerous times that week (hey, I am organised remember).

I was working every day right up until my flight on the Sunday. Then it was finally time to head off. I got a quick flight back to Dublin to swop winter clothes for summer ones and meet lorraine in the airport at 5.30am the next morning. As usual, I was early and even got a compliment from the check in ladies about my hat. Lorraine followed soon and with an easy trip we finally made it to Dubrovnik.

We were welcomed in the arrivals hall by a tall gentleman holding up a framed sign that said "Mrs Cawley". He helped us with our bags to a very smooth, air conditioned white car just outside the arrivals hall. He whisked us off to the hotel where we were treated to stunning panoramic views as the car curved around the coast. We were welcomed and ushered through the check in process with ease. After a few minutes, we were being brought to our apartment in a golf cart.

The apartment was so modern and bright that we stood a-gasp after the porter helped us with our bags. After a quick run to the supermarket to stock up for the week and some lunch, we headed straight to the pool where we swan and fell asleep until the sun set. We then got dressed up and went out to dinner in one of the restaurants along the promenade.

On Tuesday, as the weather was still gorgeous, we decided go head in to the old city of Dubrovnik. We were convinced by the receptionist to take the hotel shuttle bus in and get the boat back again straight to the hotel. When we got to the city, we decided to split up. I walked down to the harbour and sat in the sun eating grapes and dark chocolate while watching the sea lap against the boats coming in and going out. I couldn't think of a better way to spend the afternoon.

On the way to meet lorri, I noticed the drastic difference between the new and old buildings. After the 1991 bombings from Serbia and Montenegro, they started to rebuild the city in the same style as the old one but with more modern materials. The beautiful White stone stands out for all the right reasons next to the old blackened stone.

After a delicious seafood risotto and traditional pink grapefruit gelato it was time to head back. We settled down by the harbour with a peach iced tea and waited for our boat to take us back to our hotel Marina.

We unpacked our days shopping to find that housekeeping had loaded our dish washer for us, bad move on their part... A quick lye by the pool to watch the sunset and it was time for dinner. We made ourselves some dinner of carbonara from scratch and settled down for a Grey's Anatomy marathon. Hey, isn't that what you're meant to do on a vacation. Vacate your normal life, take advantage of the climate where possible but most of all; relax.

That was our routine for most of our holiday. Sleep, eat, relax, swim, lounge, read, sunbathe, eat and sleep. Beautiful!

On Thursday, we decided to take advantage of the "last day of summer" as everyone called it, by taking a boat trip to Lopud island. The island was about 30 minutes away but a promise of sandy beaches. We did our usual: dip, sun dry, read, eat, dip repeat. The 'eat' part was amazing though. Just up from the beach there was a burger place that we were both dying to try and we were not disappointed. These burger were not only giant but they were also delicious. The Irish couple next to us said they have been raving about these burgers for 2 years since they have them last. During our boat trip home, we were slowly being gained on by a pirate ship but they decided that we weren't worth commandeering.

Friday was another chill day. I was still recovering from sun burn so I stayed in the shade. The weather decided to break and we got to view an amazing thunder and lightning storm. So, we decided to have a movie night. We went down to the local bakery and got a pizza, dessert, drinks and settled down to watch Scott Pilgrim.

Saturday was the one we'd been waiting for. We had booked ourselves in to get a back, neck and shoulder massage as well as a facial. It was my first time having a proper spa treatment so was a little nervous. It was pretty much what I imagined from tv. A foldout bed with a hole for your face, soft music and candles and lots and lots of towels. I lost count of the amount of towels I was covered in. The massage was 55 minutes and I almost fell asleep. The facial was another 45 minutes and from what I could tell, it was just putting lots of creams on, leaving then for a while, then taking them off. Still, I came out with the softest skin that I've ever had and a back with no more knots. Money well spent.
As we sat on the balcony, we had our final meal and toasted to a beautiful week of relaxation.

The morning we were leaving, we both woke up early. We checked out and arrived perfectly on time to be chauffeured straight to the airport.

Dubrovnik airport will live on in my memory for it's lack of customer service or security. A short queue was split between two security check points. As most of us were frequent flyers, we proceeded to take out our bags of liquid, laptops, take off jackets, shoes, belts etc. We were rudely stopped and herded through the scanners. I beeped as I was not allowed to remove my belt but I was hurriedly given my bag and then ignored.

We eventually found a seat in the tiny, overcrowded departures lounge while reminiscing on what a great week we had.

I would recommend Dubrovnik for the sun, the stunning old city and the seafood (not forgetting the gelato) but in terms of being looked after, the nicest person was the concierge at the hotel but only because she knew how much we paid to be there.

Summer 2011

2011-09-04T10:00:00.003+01:00

Well, it looks like I haven't updated since my Harry Potter marathon back in July. I finally saw the last movie when I was up in Dundee, the night before my summer event run started. I thought it was a good ending to a series that had gone on for so long. I was glad that I saw the series as it dispelled a lot of negative assumptions I had about the genre. They are definitely NOT children's movies, even though the lead characters are kids.

After leaving Dundee, I started my events run first up in Scotland. St. Andrews hosted my first week long event where myself and a team of 8 volunteers, hosted a cafe promoting our charity. There were a few teething problems, especially at the beginning of the week when the catering team refused to buy 'Fisher and Donaldson' fudge donuts, due to the cost. Instead they substituted with an inferior cake style custard donut. Most people coming to this event, expect to buy at least 5 of these delicious treats throughout the week (some buying 5 a day) and with an audience of 2,000 people, they were silly not to oblige. Eventually they restocked with the 'real deal' and all was right with the world.

After buying yet another pair of wellies to cope with the muddy festival atmosphere, the sun eventually came out and so did many smiles, laughs, jokes and happy memories. I learnt some Dundonian (which I can still remember) and even got an invitation to Nigeria next year.

It was then time to move on to the next event. I packed up the car and after many goodbyes, I drove down to Carlisle on my way to Nottingham. It took me a day to get my head in gear as I flipped from one event to the other. Eventually, I arrived on site, briefed the volunteers and set up the cafe for another week of fun. One of my colleagues was also working at this event, which was a great help. My CEO and boss came to visit one of the days as they were doing a workshop; it was great to show them what I do at events. The volunteer team were so much fun and we even took a day trip to Sherwood forest on the day off and had a BBQ at our rented house. After inventing 'mocha mountains' (I am now a barista), writing math problems to the finance team and serving hundreds of speciality coffees; it was yet again, time to leave.

I loaded up the van with all the equipment and sent them on their way before driving to Northampton and meet up with the girls!

I was so happy and exhausted as I hugged the girls in the hotel foyer. After 19 days of not sleeping and eating properly, it was lovely to just lie on a hotel bed and catch up. We got all dressed up and went out to dinner, watched movies and made plans. After our last morning together, I dropped them at the train station and drove home to drop off the car and sleep for a day.

The two weeks in between my events went by very quickly with a movie weekend (6, my new record), a trip to London and baking for the office. Then it was time for the muddy, camping festival. This event started out drastically different than my others. The first thing I heard was a compliment about my driving! I had another colleague accompany me as we lead 4 volunteers to promote the charity on an exhibition stand. It was a mixed audience with hippy, activist types very excited about human rights, free speech and charity equality. I bought a hat with a tiger on it, as was the trend of the weekend and then tried to find the car and head home.

My friend Karl came to visit the weekend after and we took a day trip to Reading. It was lovely to be around the Dublin accent and catch up on life back at home. We went to the cinema, went out to dinner and got a box of Krispy Kreme donuts. They were awfully delicious. Being on a gluten free diet for the last 4 years has made me yearn for the wheaty goodness of donuts and other bad treats. I went gluten full last April in preparation for a blood test and I now have a renewed craving for anything that is bad for me. We ate 3 while watching a movie and another 3 the following morning over breakfast!

I head home this Friday for the first time in 5 months! This is the longest that I've ever been away from home and I'm really starting to feel it. I am very excited to catch up with everyone and planning a holiday for October. But more on that in a later blog.

Cheerio for now!

Harry Potter and the half blood prince

2011-07-14T13:23:00.002+01:00

Since Cedric died in the 4th film, I have noticed the steady decline from 'happy-go-lucky' kids wizard movie to dark and scary, action movie. Number 6 in the series, I was expecting established characters, vast progression of story and a very entertaining movie; and I was not disappointed.

Once again, the school welcomes a new teacher. Instead of taking on the role of 'Defence against to dark arts' he teaches potions, while Snape gets a promotion to this doomed post. It also starts with the news that the evil student Draco has been given a special task by Voldemort.

Professor Slughorn had previously taught in the school and was known for attaching himself to talented students. Harry eventually finds out that Voldemort or Tom Riddle was taught by Slughorn and told him about the Horcrux. Harry spends the movie trying to get get the attention of Slughorn and get as much info about Tom as he can.

These Horcrux items are where Voldemort has stored part of his soul, so that if he dies, he can be reborn (just like in the 4th movie) using these seemingly normal items. He can create a new item for every time he kills someone, so that is an infinite possibility of items. It's Harry's mission to find all these items and destroy them.

My favourite part was when Harry walks into the dining hall with blood on his face. Ginny Weasley turns to the group and says "He's covered in blood again, why is he always covered in blood - I think it's his own this time". What a life this student has had that he's associated with being covered in other peoples blood.

The worst part of this film was the end where Harry is talking to Dumbledore after finding one of the Horcrux items. They get interrupted by Draco, the evil student on a mission, who is then joined by Snape and 3 of Voldemorts followers. Harry hides underneath as per Dumbledores rules and gets the nod from Snape that everything is going to be ok. Draco fails to attack Dumbledore so Snape steps in and Dumbledore goes flying out the window, falls down the building and lands in the courtyard.

Dumbledore DIES... what?! As well as Snape... lovely Snape, turning back to the dark lord Voldemort.

In retrospect, this week has not been the best time for me to be doing this marathon, but I have enjoyed it so far. Each movie has got better and better and I now see the appeal of the stories. The characters have developed so much and I can't wait for the final instalment tonight.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2011-07-13T13:09:00.002+01:00

This movie begins after Harry Potter gets a haircut. The whole crew seem to have grown up a lot in between Goblet of fire. Maybe seeing someone around his age getting killed by the dark lord Voldemort who is set to kill Harry and eradicate all muggles has affected him somehow... (ya think?).

This story is set around the Ministry of Magic who control all magic and magic people in the world. They believe that Harry and Dumbledore lied about the dark lord returning in order to create propaganda against the current minister and eventually make Dunbledore to head. This is of course false and creates even more suspicion about the death of Cedric Diggory.

In order to control Hogwarts the ministry appoint one of their own who eventually takes over the entire running of the school. Professor Umbridge is hated by all as she not only bans the use of magic but enforces cruel and unusual forms of punishment for anyone who breaks that rules.

Harry is appointed the teacher of a team who call themselves "Dumbledore's army". They get taught by Harry on how to protect themselves against an attack from 'who know who'.

The best part of this movie was the new Irish girl. It's never mentioned that she's Irish but I can tell that accent instantly. Just because she doesn't go "Diddly iddly ie potatoes" doesn't make her English! It's never specified what role this unusual girl has in Harry's life but she joins his team and helps him to feel more normal.

Haunted by nightmares Harry realises that because Voldemort was brought back using Harry's blood, they are mentally linked. Snape helps to teach Harry how to block Voldemort attacking his memories. Using this link, Voldemort tricks Harry into breaking in to the Ministry of Magic and finding a prophesy that predicts his own downfall.

Yada yada yada, they have a big fight and Sirius dies...

The best bit(s) was when Hermeine once again stuck it to the boys and said that Ron had to the "emotional depth of a teaspoon".

My 'nit-pick' with this movie was when they use these flying horses to get to London. At the beginning of the film it was made perfectly clear that only Harry and his new friend could see these creatures... Then how is it that Ron, of all people, was able to ride an invisible flying horse to London and not FREAK OUT!!

Anyway, the dark lord is back and everyone knows now. Hogwarts is still in danger but at least Umbridge was taken off by Sentors.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

2011-07-12T13:11:00.003+01:00

By now, I am used to walking into the cinema by myself, striding up to the ticket taker person, past all the queues for food and waltzing straight up the stairs to my seat (which is always free). Last night, there were 4 other people who were sitting by themselves, although, I don't think they were taking notes like I was (Oh this blog is clearly well planned out.... clearly).

There is only one trailer at the beginning of these movies... and guess what, it's for the latest Harry Potter coming out on Friday. As a noob, a simple muggle, it's frustrating for me to see where they are now, without seeing the story in between.

Goblet of fire, so far, is my favourite movie in this series. It delves straight into the story and it's a good story at that. Hogwarts is to host the Tri-Wizard championships. 3 schools from across the world (the world being England, France and Russia) all gather in Hogwarts to compete in trials testing the champions in all aspects of wizardry. One representative from each school gets selected from the Goblet of fire and they must be over 17.

Of course, Harry Potter is accidently chosen as a second champion for Hogwarts (he's meant to be 15). This already famous kid is now hated by his school for cheating to join a competition that could kill him. Oh yeh, I'm sure he did it on purpose (sarcasm).

Needless to say that Harry survives the first test of retrieving a gold egg from a dragon. Then he had to figure out how to open it to get a clue for the next challenge. This created the funniest line ever. Cedric Diggory, the other Hogwarts champion tells him that "You know the Prefects' bathroom on the fifth floor? It's not a bad place for a bath.".

Cedric Diggory is played by Robert Pattinson made famous from those Twilight films. *SPOILERS ALERT* I'm sure I'm not the first person to joke that when Cedric dies at the end of this film (haha), he is then reborn as a vampire for his next one.

The ball before the final challenge was a good scene. You could see the excitement in all the girls "Oh goodie, we get to go to the ball" and all the boys "Does this mean we have to dress up?". The trio seem to be discovering more than just magic as 'sparks fly' and the dialogue hints at a potential romance between Hermione and Ron.... awwww.

The overall hassle with Voldemort gets good when he is 'reborn', somehow. It's not really explained but this baby looking Voldemort goes into a pot of liquid, along with some of Harry's blood and he grows out of the water. So the 'Dark Lord' has now returned, his forces are growing and Harry is determined to kill him, aka Tom Riddle. Oh, surprise surprise, one of his followers is the father of the evil kid in school, who hates muggles. I saw that first off!

Not much to nit-pick with this one, it was clever, well written, funny and held my attention.

As Professor McGonagall would say, be good and don't behave "like a babbling, bumbling band of baboons!"

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

2011-07-11T13:38:00.004+01:00

This being the third film, I am starting to notice little things that are in every one. The way it always starts before the school term begins and Harry is staying with this horrible Aunt and Uncle. Oh what mischief can he get up to now! It just proves that wizards should not live with disrespectful muggles. The movie also ends when the kids break for summer. Each year it starts with the children growing another foot taller and looking about 2 years older (um, maybe because they are...).

The most disappointing start to the film was when Dumbledor welcomes everyone to a new term. "Dumbledor? That's not you... what happened". I never followed the casting of these movies but I do remember something about the actor passing away. Still, it's such a shame that the wardrobe department couldn't have eased the grief even a little by keeping Dumbledor's beard, hair and general clothing style the same. Are we meant to believe that an old wizard like Dunbledor would dye his beard a darker grey and tie it in a hair band? Once again, I digress.

The movie begins with the usual threat on Harry Potter's life. This somewhat uninteresting boy holds great power that everyone is either in awe of or hates. A prisoner manages to escape from the legendary prison of Azkaban. Harry gets told by several people that this prisoner, Serious Black, was a follower of Lord Voldemort and killed Harry's parents. He was also Harry's god-father.

The prison guards, these deathly creatures roam the school to protect the students from Serious. They end up attacking Harry, on numerous occasions, until he has the confidence to cast the ultimate spell against them. He gets taught by the new teacher how to protect himself from them and gets given a lot of chocolate every time he passes out. What a feeder!

The trio end up finding another type of trio. The 3 friends of Harry's parents. Serious Black, the new teacher and a man who turned himself into a rat to avoid capture, looked after by Ron all this time. The truth comes out eventually when the rat-man confesses to being the real following of Voldemort. I am still a little confused as to why Serious escaped in the first place... if it wasn't to kill Harry...

Stuff happens and Hermione ends up bringing Harry back in time to fix everything... I still didn't get that part but 'time travel' is such a cop out in terms of story telling. It's like ending a story with "And then she woke up and realised that it was all a dream...".

The funniest part of the movie was when Ron is having a nightmare and ends up sleep walking. He turns to Harry and says "The spiders... they want me to tap dance... I don't want to tap dance". You tell 'em Ron!

Another point that I noticed was the poor teacher of the 'Protection against the dark arts'. Every term there is a new teacher as they are either killed, run away or are banned from teaching. Needless to say that the children mustn't be learning very much with that much change.

Anyway, I must put away my notes from this film. As the twins would say "Mischief managed"!

Harry Potter Marathon: The Chamber of secrets

2011-07-09T18:19:00.003+01:00

Ok, second film up, it's a sequel to popular opening film, so it'll have a better director, bigger budget and the actors will be more confident.

To start, I was glad that not only did we get to see the chamber of secrets but we got a bit of back story to the school and other characters. The shadow that is 'Voldemort' keeps appearing and I'm noticing a theme. I have a feeling he will turn up in every film and not be very successful in his attempt at immortality.

First, we get introduced to Dobbie, a little goblin creature who has come to warn Harry not to go back to Hogwarts. In my school, there was a girl who was nicknamed Dobbie because they said she looked like the cartoon. After seeing what Dobbie looked like, it just enforces what a cruel class I had.

The problem with suspense in movies series is that you know the main character is never going to die. Even when Harry is hanging out of a speeding car and could fall to his death, there is no fear because you know that he's in at least 5 more movies. I found that this ruined the action element of the film.

One of the oddest moments was when the new teacher releases a cage of Cornish Pixies into the classroom. I must have been the only one laughing but only because it reminded me of funny chats that we had in work. Also because I was given the name Pixie queen at an event one time.

There were some other funny moments, like finding out the caretakers cat is called "Mrs Norris" and the amount of times Harry ends up in hospital, far too much for a minor.

The best/worst moment was when Harry and Ron had to follow a trail of spiders into the forest. Ron said what we were all thinking "Why spiders? Why couldn't it be 'follow the butterflies'?". Soon after, they are in a cave in the forest with hundreds of spiders crawling everywhere. They had a terrifying chat to the leader of the spides, a giant one. Parts of that scene were difficult to watch as I'm not that fond of spiders and it felt like they were crawling on me.

Once again, I had a grievance with Quidditch. It is ALWAYS Griffindor and Slitheren who play against each other. It's like the other two houses aren't as important. Although Hufflepuff is the stupidest name ever, that doesn't deny them the right to play school sports.

I found this movie more enjoyable overall but not loving them as much as some people have.

And hey, at least I don't have mud blood!

Harry Potter marathon

2011-07-08T23:15:00.003+01:00

So, hands up who has seen and enjoyed the Harry Potter movies or books... [looks around the room] Right, well you will all notice that my hand is not up. I was never drawn to the series. While most of my school were reading the books, I was more interested in music and drama than reading. It would take another series to get me back in to reading, but might talk about that another time.
Because I hadn't read the books, I wasn't too fussed about seeing the films. I thought that they were aimed at fans of the book series so I was not interested. They seemed childish to me and therefore uninteresting. I was finishing school, looking at starting a degree, it was time to start putting childish things behind me and that included popular culture. Besides, I was never one to follow trends!

However, I do enjoy a good movie marathon.

The other day while browsing my Cineworld app for something to watch over the weekend, I spotted that they were reshowing one of the older HP films. I looked at the day before and the day after and sure enough, they were showing all the movies in order one each day right up until the preview of the latest and last film. I love challenges and watching films so I decided to make myself watch one Harry Potter film every day for a week.

To my utter surprise and amazement, Cineworld were doing a special bulk deal for people like me. I managed to get 7 cinema tickets for £21. For anyone living in the UK who has paid £9 for a cinema ticket, knows that to get 7 for double that is quite good.

Well, here goes, my evaluation of the Harry Potter series:

Harry Potter and the Philosophers stone
First off, my disappointment with this film is that we never actually get to meet the philosopher. While the credits were rolling my anger at the misleading title was palpable, but alas, I digress. We did get to see a stone, which was the main point of the film.

Overall, it's an alright movie, made in the early naughties with poor CGI and young actors who haven't developed yet. However, for child actors, they were believable and didn't overact as much as I thought they would.

There were some 'in' jokes that I felt were added for the book reader, which I didn't quite get. Also, I seemed to be the only one to laugh at the punch lines as everyone else must have seen the movie before. Hagrid was the character that saved the movie for me. Portrayed by Robbie Coltrane, he played the jolly fat man who befriends the team of ragamuffins. His catchphrase "Oh, I shouldn't have told you that" was predictable but charming and he seems like a character that all grow to love. Naming a giant vicious 3-headed dog "Fluffy", that's so Hagrid!

The one thing that I didn't like was how often they poked fun at the Irish kid. Always blowing stuff up and making a mess of himself. Or else Hagrid describes a jolly gambling fellow down the pub... Irish again. Of course the Scottish guy had to be tall, handsome and good at sports. You won't poke fun at the Scots Rowling, but it's ok for the Irish?!

It was very much a movie set as part of a series. As a stand alone movie, it lacked the 'introduction-setting of characters-exciting incident-end' process that most movies go for. It delved into this erratic flow of story which felt like setting the scene for future movies to come. Hopefully, the next one finishes what the first one started.

Also, I know it sounds like nit-picking, but if I paid money to go and see a game of Quidditch and a Seeker grabbed the Golden Snitch within the first... um.... 40 minutes, I would ask for my money back! Having a Snitch is like having a 'cheat' button on video games, victory doesn't taste as sweet if you don't earn it.

Anyway, it's time for this muggle to head to bed. A long weekend of relaxing and watching movies ahead of me. [Crawls under invisibility cloak]

[update coming soon]

The 'rents visit!

2011-06-15T19:37:00.003+01:00

So last weekend, my parents flew in to Manchester for a visit, to coincide with a meeting that I had on the Saturday.

I had already taken that Friday off before I even knew that there was a meeting so it worked out as a nice little weekend break. I drove up early on the Friday to avoid rush hour traffic and, using my ever trusty sat nav, I made it to the very fancy Bewleys hotel.

Hotel room, Manchester airport

While I waited for my parents to land, I ironed my outfit for the meeting, settled into the room, unpacked and watched some tv. Since Dad got his iphone, we have been keeping in touch by email, so I was constantly updating my email app until I got a 'ratta tat tat' on my door. It was so great to see my parents after being apart for two months, especially as I won't be able to make it home until September at the earliest.

After a quick rest, we decided to head to the Trafford centre for a look around, some food and evening entertainment. I had heard a lot about the Trafford centre before heading up, but to be honest, I wasn't that impressed. It was quite similar to the Dundrum town centre, at home. A large corridor of all the usual high street shops, decorated with roman themed paintings and golden detail edges. The best part of the shopping centre, was the food court. Uniquely decorated to mock a New Orleans street, Chinatown, a Moroccan market or an Egyptian village. The centre seating area, is made to look like the deck of an old river boat... with a giant TV of course.

Trafford centre food court

After a spot of browsing the shops, we decided to go for some dinner. After months of watching Saturday kitchen live, learning about new foods and enjoying discovering culinary delights; I decided to take my parents to Carluccio's italian restaurant. Creating new memories with my family in the country that I now live. The best part was the gluten free pasta; first time in over 4 years that I've ordered pasta in a restaurant and it tasted amazing. I ordered home made maize and rice penne pasta with cockles in a buttery sauce. For dessert, I ordered a chocolate fondant. It was beautifully made with ground almonds, kalua and dark chocolate. Similar to the cake I made last week.

Amazing chocolate delight!

As it was still early, we decided to drive over to Chill Factor. An indoor ski slope for skiing and snow boarding. There is a special viewing area at the bottom of the slope which my Dad found in order to get pictures. The room is quite quite cool so I was very pleased I had brought my jacket. I have never been skiing, the closest thing I've got was slipping while crossing the road over the Christmas last year. I'm sure it's quite the same. Cold all around you, rush of wind in your face, adrenaline pumping, then the sharp sting when you hit the icy ground.

Chill Factor
We headed back to the hotel to watch an hour of Channel 4's Comedy Gala before the parents needed to go to bed. I hosted the party in my room, moving the sofa and providing snacks, so afterwards it was quick and easy to settle for the night.
Saturday morning, after making plans over breakfast, it was time for me to leave for my meeting. I set the sat nav and drove 30 minutes and obviously arrived 20 minutes early for my meeting. It went by with exchange of information and the usual provision of snacks. Then, it was time to meet my parents at Bury market. Bury is an array of market stalls, food halls (featuring famous Bury black pudding), shopping centres and outdoor shops. For dinner, we ended up in an O'Neils pub. It was the first time that I had been in the UK chain of Irish pubs and I was shocked at my own stubbornness for not going in sooner. They have Cidona, Club Orange and Tayto crisps... very exciting! Full Irish breakfast; great for me, not for the rents
Mum asked if we could visit her childhood home of Heywood, about 10 minutes from Bury. On the journey, I learned about my mum's history, featuring my Granny, Granddad, Great-grandfather and Great Uncle. As we turned in to Heywood cemetery, I was fully briefed on my long history in his country. With the help of two local dog walkers and a quick call to Granny, we we managed to find my Great-Grandfather's grave. I will always be Irish but it was humbling to hear about the English side of my family history.
On the way back to the hotel, we decided to stop by the Trafford centre for a coffee and a cake. We stopped by Selfridges, a quirky shop that I had never seen before. The foyer had a variety of supermarket food from the US. Oreo cookies, Kraft Mac'n'cheese, Tim tams, Aunt Bessy's maple syrup as well as Lucky charms cereal.
"You'll never get me lucky charms"
On Sunday morning, before my parents flights, we went to the Manchester aviation viewing centre. This centre has many planes that you can explore as well as featuring the first concord "Alpha Charlie". Then it was time to drop off the parents by the side of the road (right guys? ha) and head home.

"Alpha Charlie" concord plane

'Moving to the UK'... one year on!

2011-06-01T13:28:00.002+01:00

Well, here it is, my one year anniversary working in the UK, and what a year it's been.

The amount of stuff that I have: done, seen, achieved, lost, gained, dreamed, hoped, fought for, got separated from and won... has been incredible. I have been taken on this journey that has tested me in every aspect of my life. I left my childhood home, all my friends and family, social circles, hobbies, my very country and moved across the sea to England where I had to start from scratch. I have been taken out of my comfort zone and brought to a time in my life of 'growing', in so many ways.

I have been blessed with an amazing work environment which encourages my best and asks me to be all that I can be. I live in a beautiful part of the country with everything that I need (Most importantly a Cineworld). I have the resources to travel home a few times a year and the means to keep in contact with people back home in between. I have taken various steps to setting up a life for myself here and learning to roll with the various changes that happen around me.

With work, I have travelled all up and down the UK and I was able to save up and travel to North Africa. The amount of hours that I have spent driving, on trains, planes and even a boat. I hope that I have spent my time travelling wisely.

I have also met so many incredible people who have impacted my life in various ways. Some have remained but some have moved on; it was our time to part and I will never forget the good times and what you have taught me.

What else can I say? I am looking forward to seeing what this next year will have in store and how I will learn, adapt and grow.

Now, a year in photos:

Packing, can't decide which shoes to bring

Edinburgh, my first event with the company

Football event during the world cup
Road trip to Bournemouth

My first week long cafe event, this is clearly the Frigate Unicorn though

Drying clothes during the second week of my back to back events

Dara O'Briain during my September trip home

One of our room mate dinners, I made caramelised peaches

Went to Jamie Olivers restaurant when Dad came to visit

Thorpe park

Halloween

Trip to North Africa

Mental snow when trying to get home for the Christmas

Going away dinner for Rick and Karina

Going away party for Becki...

Women's conference in Edinburgh

Our own event for almost 450 people.. Korby trouser press

BBQ season... this is how we roll!
Two weeks of being Gluten full... never again blergh

Trip to Blenheim palace.. It says "Please close gate"

Ireland road trip - Father Ted house

The girls sent me flowers on opening night of the play I was in
Birthday celebrations - part 1

Let's make more memories!

Dylan Moran's guide to life

2011-04-18T13:49:00.001+01:00

"Go find a job, go and find a flat, find somebody else, put them in the flat, make them stay, get a toaster, go to work, get on the bus, look at your boss, pick up the thing (phone), go blank, scream internally, go home, listen to the radio, look at the other person, think "Why? Why did this happen to me?", go to bed, lie awake at night, get up, free groggy, put on the things, your clothes; whatever they're called. Go out the door, in to work, same thing, same people, yes it's real, it's happening to you. Go home, sit, radio, dinner, mmmh; gardening, gardening, gardening: Death!"

Skip to 6:28

First event of my season

2011-03-23T13:32:00.005Z

It has begun...

My events season has kicked off and my, what a start it has been. The final week before an event is always the most stressful but this time, everything seemed to go wrong. Every day where was a new challenge and mostly stuff that I couldn't have predicted.

These were interspersed with a dinner at my boss's house, failed trip to the cinema and a Paddy's day celebration in work. We had finally got around to having our department 'Christmas/60th birthday/leaving do' dinner. Myself and Mel spent almost an hour in Cath Kitson trying to find the perfect present for our co-worker. I think we did well (no photos, I'm afraid).

The day before my big event, we had decided to put on a Paddy's day celebration. Myself and Liz picked up some snacks while we were at home and decorations. Our 'in-house' baker, decided to do a Guinness cake this time (see their blog for details). I put on a slide-show of songs that reminded me of home mixed in with funny carlsberg and Irish tourism adverts. Please see the playlist below.

Then it was time for the event. Myself and Mel went up the day before to go through final checks with our Event manager in the venue. Then we went back to the hotel to have a wonderful 4 course meal with 50 other people. I stayed up late to meet the team from the Ireland office and make sure they got settled in ok. Then it was time to rest before the big day. The fun began when I discovered that the pillows were labelled depending on their level of comfort. "See see, this pillow is firm, and this pillow is soft but this pillow is normal".

"Tea and coffee making facilities"

Then it was time for the big day. Got up at 6am to head over to the venue. I got given my walkie talkie (which is why I got in to events in the first place), to contact the venue manager. Then, the day began. It was a blur of: unloading equipment and moving it from room to room, making sure everyone else knew where they are meant to be and doing, running up and down stairs, briefing stewards, fetching things, passing on messages, preparing for my own seminar and then packing up everything once again. Over 400 people coming together to learn more about our organisation, it was very encouraging. I managed to catch up with a few people during the day, especially the ones I had worked with in the past.

Afterwards, a few of us who were staying over, went out to dinner in the hotel restaurant. We had a guest who did not speak much English so we had a race to find the best translation app on our phones. We stayed up until 10.30pm chatting about the Irish rugby victory against England, my road trip around Ireland coming up, among other things. Then it was time to crash.

The next day, me and Mel missed our exist on the motorway so decided to keep on going and make a stop over at Ikea! I picked up a few bits including a vase. Luckily I did because the next day I got given flowers and chocolates as a thank you for helping to organise the event. I love my job!

Then it was time to catch up on the rest of my events and plan for the summer.

So, what next? Well, my tickets for the Dylan Moran gig came in the post, drama rehearsals are coming together (only 16 more until opening night), Ireland road trip plans are nearly finalised, I have an important dentist appointment on Friday and I have to live silently with the bitter irony of the twist of fate that means no one knows I'm really a spy! (love Dylan Moran)

*tear*

Busy busy busy bee... That's me

2011-03-11T16:34:00.002Z

So... where did I leave off.

My last update was over a month ago. This is for many reasons, the main one being work and hobbies. I have an event coming up on the 19th March for over 400 people so getting the logistics together for that has been challenging at times. I have also been given a part in one of the plays that my drama society are putting on in May. So been busy learning my lines for that.

I also have been travelling. I took a quick weekend visit home. I am travelling quite a bit leading into my summer events, so I wanted to make sure I got some time at home. It was so great to go out with the gang, catch up with my brother, eat my fav foods, go to church with my parents, hug my mum and just enjoy being at home. For the weekend, I also brought around with me a tube of condensed milk, to snack on... don't judge me, this is the greatest invention ever!!

It was then back to work. Taking time at the weekends to watch the rugby with the lads. C'mon Ireland! While I was at home, I also picked up a lot of 'Irishy' things to decorate our office for Paddy's day (more on that after next week)

I also went to Edinburgh for the weekend to host a stand at an event. It was brilliant to fly up and have my equipment there waiting for me, as it was driven up by a colleague. I had such a lovely day chatting with one of our volunteers, talking to the event participants and sharing about our charity.

Then on Sunday, I got to explore the city. From my previous blogs, you will see that I have been to Scotland on numerous occasions over the last year. I love travelling up there with the stunning landscape, friendly people and similar history and culture to Ireland. I took the opportunity to visit Edinburgh castle, the Camera Obscura (you have to see it to understand) and then did some shopping around the city. I popped back to the B&B with a take away and curled up to watch some Scottish tv. On Monday, I flew back and it was time for yet another short week. I have a 5 day week next week before my big event.

I will update on how Paddy's day goes in our office and what celebrations happen then:

New year, New Lynda

2011-02-06T11:02:00.004Z

4 days after the beginning of 2011, I flew back to the UK to start a new year with so many new possibilities. After settling back into my routine here, I decided that my actions should reflect my new attitude for the year. I got a much needed hair cut, I joined a drama society, I started going back to the gym and to church.

I usually got my hair cut in Peter Marks back home, but this time I decided to get my haircut in Toni and Guy over here. The guy who cut my hair said that he was styling it based on my 'personality' and that he "really enjoyed" cutting my hair... right!

One of my room mates, Kareena, went back to Australia for 6 weeks, so as a house we went out to dinner at a fancy pants restaurant in town. We had a 3 course meal, with wine and plenty of laughs. We had two vouchers which got us a free bottle of wine and two free main meals.

Mmmh fish, mustard mash and hollandaise sauce

After doing Speech and Drama studies for 13 years back home and taking my Associate teaching exam, I thought it would be good to keep up the art over here. I emailed the local drama society who promptly returned my call asking me to join them at rehearsals to see how they work. I dropped down after work and sat in the front row. There was 4 of us watching the show and afterwards I got to meet the gang. Most people were friendly and they asked my opinion about the technical aspects, which was very humbling. I went back for 1 more rehearsal, I helped out on opening night and the final night. I will be joining them for read throughs for their next play, next week, where I will hopefully find a character that I want to audition for.

Last week, we had a two day staff retreat. It was held in a conference centre 10 minutes outside of town. It was so great to get away from the office and spend time with my coworkers. We had seminars/talks, shared meals, did a table quiz (facilitated by c'est moi), went to the pub and got to know each other more.

"I am a Banana"

It was then time to go to Becki's going away... My friend Becki decided to move back to Australia for good. Even though it is sad to be losing such a good friend, I am excited to see what is in store for her. We have shared many moments, laughs, cinema trips and piercing experiences. I am going to miss her so much but know that this is right thing for her to do. Becki held a Horror themed going away bash. Eventually I decided to go as 'Dead Becki', even including her tattoos in my costume (photos on facebook, not here.. ha)

Beck is so cool that she can be both players at the same time

What will happen next? Blind Bambi!

Random mid week post

2011-01-15T18:59:00.003Z

Two posts in one week, I'm really spoiling you.

I can't believe it was over a year ago that I had the pleasure of meeting and chaperoning Solomon Trimble around Dublin. He came over to work at an event that I was running and stayed for an extra week to travel around Ireland and over to London. My first encounter with Solomon, was hearing him read this poem on youtube. 2 years later and I'm still in awe of it's beauty:

Honey Rose

Her beauty has me,
It nourishes the air enough that roses grow in the wind without soil,
I could scream in her ear,
and she couldn't hear me over the volume at which I adore her face,
I thought I was so clever and keen,
Filling a tulip with nectar and her, the butterfly to suckle,
But I'm a fool,
I stand here in the ebb of her iris and I feel lucky to be reflecting,
When she blinks, I will be trapped in her mood forever,
This is a place that I will call home,
A place where roses grow from Honeycomb

Yes, I am alive!

2011-01-13T20:55:00.001Z

Well I survived...

Apologies for not updating this blog in the last, hum, 2 months! It has been a rollarcoaster and I'm finally settling back into life. Now, to begin where I left off.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I was in North Africa for a week and wow, what an incredible week. The things that I saw, the people I met, the people I travelled with, the work that we did... amazing!

I had hopes of writing a longer blog about the trip after I processed everything that happened. I managed to come back safe and sound without any stomach problems or lost luggage or injuries. The only downer was having to leave the beautiful group of women that I travelled around with for the week. They were all so caring and a joy to be around. In the end, I had to say goodbye to my sisters and face an Arrivals hall that was full of people, but no one I recognised. Next time I get back, I am hoping someone will meet me at the airport.

It was then time for the countdown to Christmas. To keep everyone up to date, I had a countdown on my skype profile and updated it every day. I started at 38 days, obviously ending at 0.

The weeks leading up to Christmas were a blur of meetings, emails, phone calls, work work work and then SNOW!! It snowed for 5 hours straight the morning I was leaving to head to Birmingham airport. An hour before my flight was due to to board, they made an announcement that the runway had to be de-iced. And it was all downhill from there.

Eventually, after waiting around and franctically checking the Aer Lingus website over and over. I found out that my flight was canceled. I had to hand in my boarding card, collect my bag and rebook for the next day. While I was in the queue, I called a local hotel and booked myself in for the night (See... not just a hat rack).

I settled into the hotel for the day, unpacking and repacking my suitcase (of course). I watched two movies and nipped out to the pub next door for some dinner and a mug of spiced cider, sitting next to a giant Christmas tree in a quaint English pub. I then headed back to the hotel for yet another nights sleep in rented accomodation.

The next morning, I headed back to the airport early and after another 4 hour delay, I was sitting on the plane home. I landed in Dublin airport 28 hours later than expected but my dad was still there to welcome me back. I had missed out on two of my planned meetings but I was just so glad to be back. Then, I had to deal with the Irish snow. Dublin airport was closed on and off for a few days leading up to Christmas, so I was lucky on both ends to get back.

I then had a beautiful two weeks at home with friends and family. I met up with most people who were available and was able to walk the pier, have a shopping trip in town and Dundrum, as well as eat in Harry's cafe twice. I got to reschedule the sleep over with the girls and celebrate being together again.
After many stolen moments that ended too soon, it was time to go back.

My flight back wasn't delayed at all and after 5 hours of travelling, I made it back to the house and colapsed on my bed. I had an extra day off in between coming home and work, so I took it easy. Heading out to the supermarket with my room mate, stocking up on essentials and then relaxing for the evening before work. I am slowly settling back in to life here and hope to keep a better update on this blog.

Take care my lovlies, you all mean so much to me...

Thorpe park and preparation week

2010-11-07T13:39:00.002Z

The last two weeks have been a rush with new job assignments, Halloween, picturesque walks, Guy Fawkes night, a visit to Thorpe park and preparing for my trip to Africa.

In work, I've been given an event to organise for March. To a certain extent, it is 'my own' event, as I am responsible for all the logistics. The program is being put together by a team in work and I will be pulling together all the little bits.

Then we had Halloween. I decided to go for Snow White (yes again). After weeks of talking about it, me and Becki finally came up with a plan. We headed to The Plough for a BBQ then picked up her stuff and headed back to mine to get ready. Becki did Rick's make up while I did Becki's hair. We then headed out to meet Rick's charming, pleasant gentlemen friends. I am of course being sarcastic (don't worry, I've already said this to his face). We soon left them, grabbed a tea at Late Night Cafe and had an early night.

On the Sunday, my room mates and I decided to go out for a pub lunch. After waiting 20 minutes to have our order taken, we finally got our meals but boy was it worth it. A full roast with stuffing, potatoes and gravy. To digest, we then headed out to walk around these beautiful ruins.

Then on Tuesday, it was Liz's turn to make dinner for the house. She decided to make a roast, mmmh twice in one week. Roast chicken stuffed with a lemon, roast potato, carrots, parsnips and gravy. For dessert she melted snickers bars and put them over honeycomb ice cream, it was beautiful. We then watched 'The Bounty Hunter'.

It was then time for Guy Fawkes night. A tradition that I hadn't heard of before I moved to the UK. Apparently it's about when this Guy guy tried to blow up the houses are parliament, he got caught and they burned him alive. On the 5th of November, people set off fireworks and burn bonfires. Rick bought some fireworks for his daughter so we all gathered outside to watch the display.

Then on Saturday, we left the house at 9am to headed for Thorpe park. We stopped in Starbucks to get breakfast and got to the park at about 10.30am. We had 'buy one get one free' passes, but because there was three of us, we had to find someone else in the queue who needed a ticket. We were then let loose in the park. Ride after ride, facing straight down, the rush of wind, the surge of adrenaline, loop de loop; it was brilliant! We then faced our fear by going to queue for Saw: The Ride. (see picture below). What made this ride even more creepy was that it was themed. While you're queuing, you hear creepy noises, gun shots; then when you're on the ride, this little puppet comes cycling up to you to tell you that you might not survive. You stop at the bottom of a vertical climb to see a video screen telling you that you did not make it, right before you fall straight down. It's just as scary as it sounds.

As most of you know, I am going to Africa next week. I can't say where and if I haven't told you, then it's not safe for me to do so. Only my parents know the exact country. It's not just unsafe for people working there, but it's unsafe for me. I hope that you understand that I'm not keeping it to myself for any reason other than these are the conditions that I have been allowed to go on this trip. I leave on Saturday 13th and hope you will be thinking of me as I learn more about the world and all the great work that's done in it. I hope to be back in work on the 22nd November so will hopefully write an update then.

Take care of yourselves, be back soon x

London special - take 2!

2010-10-24T16:45:00.002+01:00

Just a quick recap of this week before I get into the 'London' part.

On Monday, I had a meeting down near Brighton. I got a lift to the train station for 1pm to go straight to London. I changed at Paddington and finished my journey from Victoria down south. I had to get the tube from Paddington to Victoria, which is always an 'experience', let's say. I tried to blend in with the crowd, by floating, rather than walking, but it was futile. The meeting went really well and we discussed a few ways to make next years event epic! Stephen gave me a lift home, but only got in at 8.30pm, straight to bed and up for work in the morning!

If Anthony says so, then it must be Gluten free!

On Thursday, I had another meeting with one of our big events. That meeting was a little awkward as we told them that we wanted to change our level of sponsorship. They talked over our options and we have to make a final decision in 2 weeks!

Friday, was mainly getting my equipment together for the event in London.

Saturday morning, I woke up at 5.30am. My iPhone alarm app was no use, as it only rings when you're most awake and I was in the middle of a really good REM cycle, so woke up with a jolt. I got my stuff together and gave my room mate a lift to the bus, as she was flying to Paris for her birthday. I then headed on to London. If any of you have driven in central London, you will know how terrifying it it. The amount of one way streets, 'Ahead only' lanes, road works, detours and forced exits. The only good thing, was that it was 7.45am on a Saturday, so the traffic was kind to me.

London, baby!

I met up with Deborah, we unloaded all the equipment from the car and set it up in our stand area. During the main sessions, no one was at the stand, so I nipped out to get us lunch. Thank goodness that Starbucks is on every street corner in London. I got a gluten free sandwich and chai tea latte, as well as food for Deborah. After lunch, we got talking to the other exhibitors and found out that we were able to talk on stage about our campaign. During the break, after Deborah talked on stage, we had a rush of people to the stand. Then they all went back up for the final session, leaving the room like a ghost town.

They came, they saw, they left!

After a lot of engaging conversations, it was time to pack up and leave. Deborah helped carry the equipment back to the car and then we parted ways. I then set the Sat nav for 'South London' and just drove. Whenever I'm driving with a Sat nav through a city, I find that sometimes I zone out. I'm so focused on listening to the directions, driving correctly and glancing at the map, that I loose all ability to register on anything else. After driving for 30 minutes, I arrived at my "Destination".

The view

We popped down the local Indian to pick up something tasty, got some drinks from the newsagent and headed back to chill in front of the tv. After talking until the wee hours of the morning, we put sheets on the fold out sofa and called it a night. The next morning, I was woken up by the neighbour wanting to talk about some charge from the government. I took this opportunity to have breakfast, shower, pack up my stuff and make sure that my fridge magnets were still in position, they were!

4 months on and they have remained, I'm so proud!

Then it was time for a quick goodbye and drive back home to do some shopping and get ready for work (and update my blog of course)

Random mid week post

2010-10-21T12:54:00.003+01:00

I know that I'm taking a drastic steer away from my usual self exhibitionist blog updates, but sometimes it's nice to think about other things than myself (we all have a selfish nature).

I came across this extract from Captain Corelli's Mandolin and needed to post it. I say "came across", very lightly as I actually actively sought to find this exact piece. It was learnt and recited by Janet from my drama class last year. Every week we recited our pieces for the class so we eventually were able to recite the other's pieces as well as our own. Janet had chosen such beautiful pieces which flowed and complemented each other, but this one stayed with me so I wanted to share it.

This is an extract from Ch.47 of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, as said by Dr. Iannis:

"Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like a volcanoe and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion, it is not the desire to mate every second of every minute of the day, it is not lying awake at night imagining he is kissing every cranny of your body. No, don't blush, I am telling you some truths. That is just being "in love", which any fool can do. Love itself is what is leftover when being in love had burned away, and it is both an art and an unfortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two"

Dad comes to visit!

2010-10-09T09:46:00.006+01:00

After over a week of waiting, my iPhone 4 finally arrived in the post. I took it out of the tiny box (typical Apple packaging) and spent the next 2 hours trying to get the sim card compartment open, sync all my music, update the software with iTunes and start downloading apps. I must admit, it really is all about the apps. As a phone, it's grand: it sends text messages, makes phone calls and goes on the internet. But the apps is where it really comes into it's own.

I was able to log into Skype, on my phone, chat with my dad, using the wifi in the house, while copy and pasting flight info into a blank gmail e-mail, which is now synced to my phone.... to me, that's quite cool!

Because of both our schedules, my Dad decided at the last minute, to come and visit me. He booked flights on the Monday and arrived on the Friday. I sent my usual list of things to bring over (tayto being number 1, of course).

Straight after work on Friday, my workmate Deborah gave me a lift straight to Dad's hotel in Oxford. I walked in the door and said that my Dad was staying here. Without asking for a name or anything, she said "Sure, go on up". I either have a very trusting face or all the B&B's that I've been to are not worried about security.

It was icy cold so I took Dad on a quick round about tour of Oxford before finishing up at an Indian restaurant, Jamal's. The main reason I chose this restaurant was because when me and Dad were watching Slumdog Millionaire, we loved it when the host said "Jamal Malick, Chaiwalla from Mumbai". We then took a walk back down to the comedy club 'Glee'.

We were put in the front row. The host turned to me and double backed between me and Dad, "I'm not going to suggest 'City Break', what's the deal here?" I said that he was my Dad coming to visit me. "So what do you do?". I didn't want to have to answer tons of questions so I jerked my thumb and said "UNI". She then turned to Dad and said "Are you so proud of her for getting into Oxford UNI?". He just turned to me and laughed, "Yeh" and it was all over.

It was then time for the host to get her own back. She wanted to start a mexican wave of clapping in the room. She pointed to one guy in the audience "Sir, can you start off our wave and it'll go all across the room". He stood up and said "No", she just happen to pick the one person in the room who only had one arm. The guy took it very well and we all laughed at the chances of that happening.

The next day, Dad got the bus to Witney to see where I lived and fix our leaky tap in the kitchen (Dad's are great). Our room mate Rick had fixed it the night before but Dad was able to advise on how to fix my hair straightener and then we headed into town for some lunch. I took him our traditional little cafe, the one that I was taken to during my interview day. We walked around town and I showed him the vintage car place, all the little walks and ways, then we went for a walk down by the river in town. I ran into one of my workmates, who was very confused as to who Dad was.

Dad headed back to Oxford and I met up with Becki to see 'The Social Network' in Cineworld. Good times!

Then on Sunday, me and Dad decided to go to church in Oxford. Afterwards, we went to Jamie Oliver's restaurant and had quite possibly the best meal I've had in so long. Everything was very well presented, fresh, complimenting flavours and good value. We then walked around the colleges, down by the canal, had a coffee in the hidden Turf Tavern, wandering through the covered market and then it was time for Dad's train.

I got the bus back home and went to the cinema once again with Becki. I do love films!

Housemates dinner and Glasgow

2010-09-27T15:48:00.013+01:00

Last week, it was my turn to make dinner for my 3 housemates. I was the first person to follow Rick's famous curry, desserts from Maison Blanc and movie 'Withnail and I'. I decided to go for my famous Creamy sweet chili chicken with pasta, caramelised peaches and 'Sherlock Holmes'.

I got home from work at 5.30pm and immediately started preparing the food. It was so great to cook for other people again. I used to do a lot of the cooking at home and here, sometimes I don't want to cook if it's just for me. I'm not going to give away my recipe, it's not that type of blog, just to say that it's quite tasty.

It was then time for dessert. I had never cooked the stolen recipe before so was hoping I could pull it off. Needless to say, it was a hit. It was simple, tasty and just enough after a big meal.

I then whipped out the popcorn for the film. Rick and Liz laughed when they saw the DVD box as they had rented 'Sherlock Holmes' the previous week. I had to admit defeat and scan the 'on demand' films and chose 'Date night' as a good compromise.

Then on Friday, myself and a colleague left around lunch time to go up to Glasgow for a joint event on Saturday. The Sat nav said that we would get to the hotel by 7.30pm, but we should've known better. We got caught in London commuter traffic, rush hour and road works. After trying to get a few minutes off our estimated arrival time by possibly going over the speed limit, it was time for a break. We got some food in the services and then it was my turn to drive.

For those who have read my previous blogs will know that I haven't had the best track record when it comes to driving the company car to events. Whether its driving with the hand brake on, driving on the wrong side of the road or not being able to get the petrol flat open; it's been an adventure. However, this time, the only real problem was the ever extending estimated time of arrival. The sat nav said to take a detour and you always trust the Tom tom. So we got off the motorway and headed towards Stoke-on-Trent.

Every time I've gone to Scotland, I've driven down this one stretch of motorway and this time, I got to drive it in the dark. It is before Carlisle but after the lake district. The road curves around, to reveal a valley. The other side of the road is on a lower level and the view is just indescribable. After this, I was ready to swop back and finish our journey to Glasgow. We arrived at the hotel after 9.30pm and crashed in our rooms soon after.

The next morning, I was treated to a full Scottish breakfast. You got to pick and choose what you wanted, so I cut out the things I knew would be baaaad and went for the safe option. (Accept of course a random square piece of meat, later discovered as Lorne sausage - full of rusk and wheat, of course!).

I got to the venue early and started to set up the stand as usual. I got to meet the others and I helped out where I could. Mike dropped our guest speaker to a relatives house and stayed for lunch. I was called to the stage to introduce the organisation, which I was not expecting. Later on, when Mike arrived for the later event, he was told "Sorry you couldn't make it earlier on, but your PA was brilliant".We both had a good laugh and were pleased with how the day had gone.

After a long day, it was time for bed.

The next morning, I got dropped to Glasgow airport. I checked in and decided to treat myself to a very Scottish meal before heading back home. Even though it was very tasty, it was embarrassing ordering it. It was very obvious that I was not a local as I leaned over the counter and spoke phonetically "Haggis, neeps and tatties and an Irn bru please". The waiter repeated the order back to me in a Scottish accent, which helped the words to flow better than the way I said it.

I landed in Birmingham, got the train to Oxford, then the bus home. After dropping my bag off and getting my clothes ready for work in the morning. I headed out to the cinema to see the newly remastered "Back to the Future" with Becki. Even though I've seen it so many times, I really enjoyed seeing it on the big screen.

Then it was time for bed and the start of another week.

iPhone 4 extravaganza

2010-09-23T13:36:00.008+01:00

On Wednesday, I drove to the NEC in Birmingham to go to the EventUK event. A conference for event mangers. The hall was set up with stands and seminar areas all centred around Event management. The stands were the usual merchandising and corporate services. I did however run into a stand called 'Killarney hotels'. I asked the stand rep if they were the Killarney court hotels in Ireland. Of course they were, and the rep could not be more Irish if he tried. It was so great to run into a fellow Irishman. I shared about how I recently moved here, which gave him hope for his daughter who has just graduated from Marketing. After going to a few seminars and having lunch, I went to a seminar by retired model Caprice. She talked about why she gave up the catwalk and how hard it was to start her own business. After getting as much brochures, business cards and free stuff that I could carry, I left with my mind bursting with ideas for our 2011 events.

On Saturday I got up early to head into town and apply for my iPhone 4 (finally). I left the house and arranged to meet Becki for some lunch. I went into Boots to print off some photos for my room, which took up enough time that we could head straight to lunch after.

Random photos from the last few years

We decided to work from one end of the town back up towards Carphone warehouse and finish off our journey with me applying for the iPhone4. On the way, we popped into the Exotic pet shop (Yes, our small town has a whole shop dedicated to exotic pets). We wandered around the "free zoo", 'Ouing' and 'Ahing' at all the reptiles and getting creeped out by all the 'live food'.

"I like Turtles!"

We were thrown as we went on our journey, by spotting an M+S employee pushing a Sainsburys trolley. Our curiosity peaked, as we found we were walking in the same direction as this rare phenomenon. Alas, we never found out why this melding of two major supermarkets occurred, but we were glad it did. The next stop was 'Hook and Eye', our local piercing and tattoo place. I needed to pick up a new earring, but when we walked in Becki said "Lynda wants a new piercings". I turned to Becki quite shocked and then turned back and said "Yes, I'm thinking about something on my right ear" and it all went from there.

It's the conch, not the orbital or bar

We finally made it to Carphone warehouse, walked straight up to the assistant to find that they didn't have any iPhone 4's in stock... So I ordered it online. That seems to be the way things are going nowadays.

The highlight of my weekend was on Sunday when me and Liz were in Starbucks. We were having coffee and I was starving so decided to be naughty and have a sandwich. To my utter surprise and joy, Liz spotted that they now do Gluten Free Sandwiches!! To some people, this may seem like an insignificant highlight, but for someone who hasn't had a store bought sandwich in nearly 3 years, this was epic!

I'm sure I will have a lot to talk about next week as I am going to Glasgow on Friday for 2 days. I was asked at the last minute to go up and host a stand with two of my coworkers. I'm really looking forward to it as, not only do I really like Scotland, it's another city that I haven't been to yet and I get to meet a lot of new people.

Ireland Special Sept 11th - 19th

2010-09-19T21:51:00.004+01:00

I landed 10 minutes early into Dublin airport. I passed through airport security with ease; the Garda saw my passport Irish cover and waved me on. My bag was one of the first ones to come through so I fixed my jacket, smooth down my hair and headed to arrivals. The doors flooded open and I wheeled my bag into the arrivals hall. I looked left and right, waiting for the shout of my parents welcoming me back. I stood around for a few minutes until I saw my dad casually walking over with mum following holding a coffee. Their youngest comes home after being away for 3 months and they have time to stop for a hot drink.

I was scooted into the car, after I stopped shivering and munched on Tayto crisps while bringing my parents up to speed on how I was doing. We got back to the house and I was so glad just to lounge on the sofa with proper chipper chips watching some lame movie.

Back at home

Sunday, I got to catch up with a lot of people; went out to lunch with my family, went to a fete in Leopards town hospital (even buying an 'unedited proof' edition of a book), then got ready to see Dara O'Briain in Vicar St. I met up with Jess and Lorri for a pre-show dinner. For dessert, I ordered a battered mars bar. A delicacy which I had not attempted to eat before. The batter was soft and the chocolate had completely melted, making the filling a liquid mess of caramel and happiness.

Battered mars bar... :)

Unfortunately, Dara was not at his best. After reading his book, I was expecting a whirlwind of audience participation to put all of his English shows the shame. Alas, some drunken idiot decides to heckle almost every sentence and in some cases, ruining punchlines completely. The second half was a lot funnier, however, the initial impression was set and Dara found it difficult to regain the crowd.

Dara O'Briain... No honestly it is!

Monday, I took time to do the things that I wanted to do. I booked a hair appointment, popped into my old work to say hi, met the college girls for lunch, went on a shopping spree in Dunnes Stores and finished the night with chilling at Eavan's house like we've done for years.

Tuesday, I set my Sat Nav and set off for Cork. Due to the opening of the new motorway since I've been gone, it took me under 3 hours to get to the most Southern part of the country. 5 CD's, 2 toll roads and a bottle of red lemonade later, I arrived at Amy and Andrew's house, where I was greeted by the cutest little puppy.

Me and Holly, Amy and Andrew's puppy

I caught up with Amy and even took the little missus, Holly, out for a walk. The saying is true, if you can drive in Cork, you can drive anywhere. I made it over to Alex and Linda's house on Wednesday evening right before Alastair and Joseph turned up. We all caught up and doted over little Liana (their daughter, not another puppy). The next day, Alex made us brunch and then I hit the road back to Dublin.

Gluten free pancakes with matured maple syrup, mmmmh

I went out with the college girls on Thursday night. We decided it would be easier to meet in a bar in Dublin city. I arrived with Ciara to find Ali sitting next to a guy from her work and his friend, who I knew! I was real close to Debs when I was a teenager and there she was, sitting next to her friend who worked with my old college friend. Dublin is small!!

Friday I got my hair cut, went home and packed and then got read to meet the girls for dinner. We went to Pachinos for Jess's birthday, classic italian venue which holds many memories for us.

On Saturday, I met Naomi in Dun Laoghaire for brekkie in our favourite place. I then picked up my parents and drove to Dun Drum to do a bit of shopping and have lunch. Mum went to work, so me and Dad went to the cinema to see 'The Other Guys'. I then finished off packing and watched some TV with my brother who came over right before my Aunt and Uncle popped over.

On Sunday, before heading to the airport, we decided to go to Ikea to check out some classic swedish designs before I left. Dublin airport: I checked in, dropped my bag off and had lunch with my parents. Security was very easy and got to my gate with plenty of time. I've been on so many planes lately, that they have all merged into one big flight, nothing exciting happens. Got my train on time, didn't get a seat as usual and the bus came really quickly. Got back into the house and started to unpack.

I had such a great week at home, but seeing that nothing has changed, makes me realise that I'm meant to be over here for the time being. I have a purpose here, I have my dream job and really like discovering different aspects of my new life here. I loved getting to spend time with my friends and seeing my parents, but I'm excited to see what happens here.

End of Summer round up

2010-09-08T13:44:00.010+01:00

This week has been mainly finishing off the reports from my summer festivals and deciding on 2011 events. The reports are long; including a lot of figures and hard analysis but they are very valuable for further planning.

Last weekend, myself and Becki went to Oxford for a shopping trip. The city was black with people and it was impossible to cope with the heat, walking in and out of packed shops. Everyone seems to leave their shopping until Saturday. The only other time I've seen queues that bad was at Christmas. Becki found her dream boots and I researched some info about the iPhone 4, as well as picking up some essentials for the house. The bus trip home was the longest journey ever: me and Becki had a drug addict leech onto us for the entire time.

Last Tuesday, our room-mate Rick made dinner for us 3 ladies in the house. This was a deal that we all made on our 'room-mate bonding' dinner a few weeks ago, everyone takes a night to cook dinner and choose a DVD to watch. Rick decided on curry and 'Withnail and I'. After 2 and a half hours of cooking, dinner was ready to be served. Rick pulled out the dining table, decorated it with candles and flowers and served up his curry with a special wine. We were all very impressed. He even bought desserts from Maison Blanc all the way from Burford. He really set the bar and as it is my turn next, I will have to think of a good Irish recipe to please the hungry masses.

Near the end of the week, I started packing for my trip home. If I'm really honest, my packing began 3 weeks ago (but that's for those who don't know me really well). I decided to bring home some summer clothes and other stuff that I didn't need anymore.

Saturday was my travelling day but as I was spending a week at home, I decided not to rush and left the house at 11am for my 12.30 train from Oxford.

Quotes of the week:

Karl talking about weather in Dublin: "Well it's quite nice today, only rained during lunch".

E-mail sent around in work about a sponsored walk: "There may be a couple of places that could be quite muddy so please wear appropriate shoes (boots or willies)", of course that was meant to say "Wellies"

Summer events

2010-08-31T17:04:00.006+01:00

Wow, so apparently I haven't done a proper update since the end of July. This is because for my job, I go around to all the summer festivals and represent the organisation, manage the volunteers, network with the event managers etc. I was out of the office between Thursday 23rd July - Tuesday 10th August. I had a week and a half in the office and then was back out again at my final summer event for 5 days of camping. As I am now back (and have today off), I thought it would be good if I added a few highlights from the last 6 weeks!

I promise, it was like this before I left!

For my first leg, I was in Scotland for a week, which was a highlight in itself. The sun was shining, the atmosphere was electric and the people were so friendly.

St. Andrews castle ruins

This was emphasised to me when I scalded my hand. I was asked every few minutes, if my hand was ok, even soliciting a visit from a doctor who was just attending the event, brought over to me by the site manager. We were staying in self catering UNI accommodation so had our own space to go back to at the end of a long day. We were up at 5.30am and didn't get to sleep until midnight, most nights. After 6 days of this, it was then time to pack up all the gear and move on to the next event.

Vitamin water, think I'm addicted to this stuff

Trying to pack up all the stuff was like playing a giant game of tetris. Not only did we have the gear that we brought but also all the equipment brought to us after another event. The company car did not like going up hills on that trip.

Now, where did I park the car?

A quick stop over in Carlisle (staying on the same road all 3 times I've ever been there) on the way back down the country. Then it was time to start the next event. In my sleepless, emotional state, I was not looking forward a week of camping. It didn't helped that my air mattress deflated every night.

This is how you dry your clothes when camping

I was very fortunate to have a team of volunteers who were very supportive. Instead of me supporting them, they encouraged me to take breaks, advised me on gigs and took all the equipment back to the office so I could head straight to meet the girls.

Then I had 3 days with Jess and Lorri. They flew over to meet me in Northampton. It was so great to just sit in a bar, eat, chat, hang out, like old times. We spent 2 fully days in Northampton and then they came back with me to Oxfordshire.

Back home

I had a week to relax and then it was time for Karl's visit. Friday we did our traditional 'dinner and a movie' routine, which we perfected in Dun Laoghaire. Cafe Rouge was very surprising for a chain restaurant. The Duck comfit was beautifully sweet without being too crispy. We went to see Inception. Popcorn, Galaxy counters and Fanta slushie, mmmh. A quick rest and Saturday was dedicated to exploring Oxford. After drinking Moo Moo's milkshakes, buying random stuff in the covered market and seeing very old buildings, we went back to the house for dinner and drinks with Becki. Sunday was our sleep in day with a quick lunch in Oxford and stroll down the canal before Karl's train back to the airport.

Oxford canal walk

Then, it was time for my final summer event. 5 days of camping and mud, but I survived. The crowd was made up of hemp loving activists (if you get my drift). I had to take a trip back to the office to get some more equipment. I didn't forget it and surely I would've checked all my equipment before driving to the event of course. Once everything was set up, it was a good atmosphere but I am not built to camp. The volunteers took over the stand, so I had time to network and meet some supporters of our organisation, including a band who invited me back stage to chat. The best quote I overheard was:
"This weekend is like child birth: By the time it comes around again, you can never quite remember just how bad it was, the smell, the pain... until you are experiencing it again"
I packed up all the gear, once again, and dropped it off, hopefully, until next years events.

This is me!

2010-08-15T19:25:00.002+01:00

I am:
a Christian
a friend
administrator
a sister
a daughter
impatient
a drummer
an Event Coordinator

organised
a brunette
dearly loved

I like:
unique notebooks

chillaxing with my friends
sunsets and sunrises

reading
blue eyes
independence
Flight of the Conchords

tartan pj's
chocolate covered nuts
vintage clothes

anything miniature
Mountain Dew
having unique hair
thai food

my ipod
shopping online
'My spot' up Killiney hill
the Christmas atmosphere
baking and cooking
getting hand written letters
seeing a project come together
photographs
mezzo mix
getting dressed up

feeling needed
accessorising
jigsaws
chai tea
you

i don't like:
raisins

my forehead
when you hide yourself
not being able to make art
grey skies
being too busy
brussel sprouts
smoking
wind
the pain of high-heels

pickled ginger
being cold
people having no time for me
not being able to dry clothes in wet weather
my past
lack of motivation
being so far away

Quotes from the last few weeks

2010-07-20T11:11:00.006+01:00

I have been in the office 3 days now, after been out travelling for nearly 3 weeks. I have many many stories including: Driving on the wrong side of the road, checking into yet another B&B in Carlisle and them knowing who I am before I say, getting scalded by boiling hot water and surviving on 4 hours of sleep a night. All of these stories and many more will be updated ideally tonight, but will probably come in drips and drabs over the next few days, as I settle back into life.

Please see the quotes below of the many wonderful things that have been said around me over the last few weeks:

* You're too soft (Michael to Kym-Marie)

* Nurden, Nurden nur, Situation! (Toll trolls)

* Heaven is going to be rubbish

* Don't get your DNA on me

* "And Gordon Shamway said onto them 'Let them drink MooMoo's',"

* "Dear Jesus, can you please change your date of birth?" - over heard in work about the awkward tax year

* I KNOW that plants don't feel pain! They can't scream, they don't have mouths

* Everybody dance! YAY!

* Kangaroos: they're like giant rabbits! - classic from our new housemate

Promise to do a proper update soon!

But for now:

Amy and Andrew's wedding and Keswick

2010-07-17T21:32:00.003+01:00

Things I learnt this week:
* Most men will eat off someone else’s plate
* Even if you reserve a seat on a train, doesn’t mean you're seat will be free when you get there
* Facebook is the handiest way of keeping in contact with people from all over the world
* Facebook is the most frustrating way of keeping in contact with people you see on a regular basis
* 6 hours of driving in one day should never be done, especially if your sat nav takes you back roads so you can't stop
* Never fix your sat nav when oncoming traffic is overtaking a cyclist!
* England is a lot easier to get around then they make it seem

Amy’s wedding, Friday 9th - 11th July 2010:
I left work early to get the 4.26pm bus to Oxford, got the hour train to Birmingham, made my way over to terminal 2 and then I was off home. I flew into Dublin, so I could spend a night with my parents and pack up some more stuff from my room. On Friday morning, I went to Dun Laoghaire to have brekkie with my Dad and do a few bits around town. I drove back to the house by myself, but because I was used to driving the massive Toyota Verso, my little 1lt Fiat Panda was really light. I kept revving it too high and turning the wheel too far, before I turned into my drive.

I finished packing before Naomi picked me up for lunch. We dined out at Eddie rockets and then we were off to Cork. After driving to Edinburgh, the short 2.5 hour trip to Cork flew by, also because we were catching up on how the last month has gone. After checking into the hotel we got changed and met Paddy and Stan to go out for dinner and a quick trip to the cinema. We made it back to the hotel by midnight and had to sleep straight away before getting ready the next morning.

We had breakfast at 10am and headed back up to the room to start getting ready. As it had started to rain, Paddy brought the car around the front and dropped us at the door of the church, so we wouldn’t get wet. We got there quite early, so got great seats and plenty of pictures when Amy finally arrived. The service was beautiful and before we knew it, Amy and Andrew were Husband and wife!

The food at the reception was amazing, everything was gluten free, there was more then enough and everyone had so much fun. The speeches were beautiful and it was obvious that both families were thrilled this day had finally come. Everyone got up and danced and took plenty of pictures of the happy couple in their formal attire. The night went too quickly and then it was time to head back up to bed.

The next morning, after breakfast, I packed up my suitcase and got a lift from Naomi to Cork airport to fly back to Birmingham. I was so happy to walk into my house and collapse on my bed. However, as it was the World cup final, I text Becki and we headed out to see who won the football.

Keswick trip Thursday 16th – 17th July:
This week has been filled with last minute preparations for all the up coming events, a comedy night with Craig Davis, a trip to Oxford but also a long drive to Keswick, to drop off all the equipment for an event. I stayed in a B&B just outside of Preston on the way up and drove the rest of the way on Friday morning. On the way back, the Sat nav expected delays and calculated an alternative route which took me all over the English countryside and avoided the motorways. Apart from nearly killing someone on the road, driving in the lashing rain and driving 5 hours straight, it wasn’t a bad trip! With little or not sleep, I'm ready for an early night!

Bournemouth seaside resort

2010-07-04T21:29:00.003+01:00

We're all going on a... summer holiday!!

After a couple of work e-mails and various discussions, it was all arranged and we loaded up 2 cars and headed down to Bournemouth. The journey took 2 hours following the sat nav and the other Sat Nav. The highlight of the journey was watching Anthony cross 3 lanes of traffic, in front of trucks and cars, taking the exit and expecting us to follow. We turned around at the next exit and went back, arriving just 5 minutes after they did.

I loved that the Bournemouth beach resort was exactly as I pictured the English seaside. They had a carousel, pier with rides on the end, those little stripey sheds, ice cream vans, deck chairs and even a lifeguard. You'd never see that on an Irish beach, not even Brittas bay.

We eventually settled on a spot and put down all our towels while David and Anthony marked off our territory by digging a moat around us. We were warned not to disturb this line, under consequence of death. Then we all started blowing up the various inflatables like a beach ball and ring.

Of course, the girls braved the water first. Myself, Liz and Claire went straight into the Portland sea. It took a while to get used to the temperature, but it didn't take long til we were swimming in it. Knowing my luck, while I had my back turned to the on coming waves, one crashes right over my head and goes all down my face. Then, the lads decided to join us, bringing the tube and two spaghetti floats.

We enjoyed throwing a tennis balls, s

wimming, Frisbee, having sword fights with the spaghetti floats and splashing each other, then it was time to try off and bake in the sun. We all sat around laughing, eating and burying Anthony in the sand like a mermaid (see below)

We left the beach stuff back at the car and went for food and to watch the match. After wondering through a park and seeing a giant hot air balloon and a kid with a real snake around his neck, we found a suitable bar. On the way back to the car, we found a yee olde sweet shop and loaded up for the return journey.

Below I've put a few pictures from the trip:

Becki enjoying a Egg and bacon muffin from Wimpy burger

The exit that we missed. Took this picture right before Anthony swerved 3 lanes!

We arrived, Bournemouth

Hot air balloon

Safe and sound back home!

London special!

2010-06-27T22:31:00.001+01:00

Friday afternoon, even before work ended, I started my trip to London. I took a shorter lunch and got the 4.26pm bus to Oxford. My epic journey began with a panic about not having enough change of the bus. *side note: In Ireland, if you don’t have exact change, you can’t get onto the bus and they don’t take notes*. No one local was answering their phones and my London friend didn’t know, so I decided to be a Maverick and hand in a £10 note, which was fine. I got to Oxford train station, just as my train was due. I quickly bought my ticket, but forgot that it is a 2-part return and left my return ticket in the collection tray. I ran, jumped through the open door and I was off.

I arrived in Paddington and headed for the tube ticket machine. I had enough change this time, but the machine kept rejecting my £2 coin. Eventually the guy behind me decided to give me his all day travel card and I gave him my handful of change, a fair compromise for both. It was only as I was walking away that I realised it was Reginald D Hunter, a famous American comedian, living in London.

I got the tube to Farringdon and was able to use my travel card again to get to Bromley. My friend picked me up from the train station and brought me home to debrief the day’s ordeal as well as catching up. It took me over 3 hours to get from work to their house, mental. After an hour of procrastinating, I got changed and we were on our way back to London. We got the fast train and then to tube to Leister square, which was alive with all sorts of riff raff (for Eavan only: Thieves, murders, deserters, young desperados...). We went to Chiquitos, a tradition when in these parts and had, what must have been, the longest meal in history, because we missed the midnight comedy show. Deflated and disappointed, we decided just to head home and have a night cap.

As we were walking down the street, we saw our night bus pull away from an earlier stop. Then began the ever popular game of ‘beat the bus’, where you try to make it to the stop before the driver laughs as he drives past. Luckily we made it, so out of breath and quite warm, we made the hour journey home.

Over a glass of home made rosé wine, we shared, caught up, laughed and even played guitar until the wee hours of the morning. After 5 hours of sleep, I was treated to a gluten free bacon roll for brunch. I put on Once and started pointing out all the places that I knew (like any good Irish person would do). We then got dressed and headed back into London. Everyone who knows me, will know how organised I am, so it was a shock to even me, when I realised that I had left my weekend bag on the train. After a quick run back to the train and 5 minutes of panicking that it was “destroyed” like all the announcements say, I got it back. After walking through Trafalgar, Westminster and past the London eye, we found an outdoor balcony area to sit and have a drink. The conversation lasted as long as our brains could function. Then it was back on the tube, a quick goodbye and back on the train to Oxford. Got the bus back home and crashed at 9.30pm.

On Sunday, I went to a family BBQ with a giant above ground pool, face painting, a playground and the England Vs. Germany world cup knock out. During the first half of the match, I got my face painted like an Avatar for Rod’s portfolio. So I sat, for the second half of the match, painted like an Avatar, sitting next to Becki, painted as a butterfly, cheering for Germany in a room full of English men, hilarious!

What I learnt this week:

2010-06-22T20:36:00.002+01:00

For a more light hearted (less 'novel' like approach to my blog, I decided to do a featurette and a photo post, enjoy:

* When the Scots were lost in the wilderness, Moses struck a rock and out came irnbru - its sacred!
* AAA stands for ‘All Area Access’ and that pass will get you EVERYWHERE, including backstage to the free food section and watch the bands be human
* Always check what light fitting you need before setting off to buy a light bulb
* 49p sweets are not always a good idea
* No matter how little time you’re going to spend in the sun, Irish skin will always get burnt
* Football is only exciting if someone scores a goal, or if both teams play really well, or... it's just exciting ok!?
* Can't afford a fancy headphone and microphone headset? Try the new 'tesco value' headset, it's a skype phone, stuck to your head using an elastic band (Patent pending, see Dan for details)
* Do more research into working in a foreign country before working illegally for 3 weeks, then an entire lunch break driving from building to building before been given a phone number to call

Now for some piccies:

Em, I don't think they'll all fit into my suitcase?

The long road from Heathrow terminal 1, where all the Ireland flights are, to the arrivals hall

On the National express, nah nah, nah-nah, nah nah

My first night in the UK, after my interview, staying in a dodge "hotel"

My desk, weeee!

Sightseeing around Edinburgh, my first event

I am ubber cool right now!

Payne & son silverware, saw this in Oxford.

My view for the football tournament, cheers lads!

Classic joke *updated

2010-06-14T21:21:00.002+01:00

An English man, an Irish woman and a Scots man took a road trip to Edinburgh, stop me if you’ve heard this one.

My weekend adventure started on Thursday when I left work at 9am for a meeting in London. I was there to take the minutes and be aware of what was discussed. We arrived almost 50 minutes late due to busy London central traffic. On the trip in, we drove through Victoria, passed Big Ben and parked right beside the London eye. It was then that I realised I was actually living in the UK.

After the meeting, we legged it to the car and headed back to the office in Oxford. After breaking many speed limits and driving the Sat nav insane, we made it back to the office on time. The lads had already packed up the car so all I had to do was grab my events t-shirt and bags the front seat, then it was off to a weekend music festival in Edinburgh.

Anthony and myself took turns with the driving while David used his wit and banter to keep us entertained on the journey. After a quick pit stop in Lancaster, it was my turn to finish the drive to Carlisle. Long story short, after driving for 30 minutes, I realised that I was driving with the hand brake partially on. A big hurrah was had by all.

I had forgotten to write down any details for my B&B so we aimlessly wandered the streets, looking for a familiar name. Eventually the ‘Hollytree’ seemed the most likely candidate. The door was left ajar so I walked in with a nonchalance pride. I asked the gentleman at reception “I think I have a reservation here?”, still not sure if we had found the right place. He replied, “Yes you do!” and handed me a key, without any further questions.

The next morning, I was treated to an amazing fry up and headed for the boys hotel. We packed up the car once more and drove down the winding roads to Edinburgh. We dumped our bags at the hotel and headed into Edinburgh to grab some lunch and be tourists for a while. The highlights were seeing 2 Aston martin’s (vanquish and a DB8), getting a picture next to a red phone booth and the Dr. Who policeman’s box and having a free lunch (on the company card). We headed back to the venue to start setting up.

The evening event was a fundraiser for Haiti, which had a good turn out. On the Saturday, we were working on a stand as well as hosting the second stage. One of the bands from the main stage was MC-ing for us. Ruth did the entire organisation and it was so great to just attend as a volunteer.

The next day the event kicked off at 8am for us, but 11am for everyone else when the gates opened. Our stage was to kick off the events proceedings. Chip K started with a rap about the '50 states that rhyme. We were in charge of talking to people who came up to our stand, selling merchandise and bands CD’s. There were also signings happening at our stand, from bands that performed on our stage.

*Updated* 17th June 2010

The bands were very friendly towards everyone who approached them for an autograph, photo or just to chat. They were also very humble. I only got to see a few of them perform like: Band with No Name, Our Future Glory and Malokai. I really wanted to see Kid Adrift but I was on the stand by that time.

After talking with anyone who approached the stand and handing out many many information packs, it was time for a break. The venue had catering for all the staff. They treated us to steak, potatoe salad and drinks. Being Irish, I really miss proper potatoes and home cooking. (Haha, Potatoes potatoes, kiss the Blarney stone, I’m a leprechaun... very funny)

The UK vs. US football match was on at 7.30pm on the Saturday, which was very inconsiderate for all our volunteers. Luckily, because we were on a shift system, most people got to nip off and watch most if not all of the game. I wandered for a bit and decided to head back to the hotel to check it out. I walked into the hotel’s conference room and was left abashed to see MOST of the bands from the event watching the game. I turned on my heel and walked back out. I couldn’t find a spot where I could see the screen, so I sat outside on a bench and sent a few texts back home.

Then it was time for the main event, the headline acts. Myself and David were scheduled to work on the stand from 9pm until 10.30pm when all the volunteers were gathering to take down our stand. As most people were in the main stage area, David said that I could pop in to watch the concert (thanks for that!). When I got back, it made sense to start taking down the stand. Mic, another volunteer, helped us out until he heard a Switchfoot song that he knew.

By the time the rest of the volunteers got there at 10.30pm we were well on our way to packing up. We took down all the screens, pop up stands, bollards etc. and loaded them into our two company cars and then we were done. With aching muscles, we all sluggishly managed to make our way back to the hotel. I can’t quite remember falling asleep but I remember waking up. I was under the impression that we were having breakfast at 8am. I got down for 7.55am and reserved a table for 6, thinking that everyone else would be a few minutes late. I ended up finishing my brekkie, taking my time on my tea and then gave up back to my room to pack. When I was on my way back down, I got a call around 8.30am to say that they were all there, duh!

As I watched everyone else eat, Ruth and I talked about how we were leaving to head straight back to Oxford (a 7 hour trip). We swapped over a few things from the cars, said our goodbyes and was on the road just after 9am. As Ruth was doing most of the driving I took it as my job to keep her talking and awake. Unfortunately, I was so tired from the weekend that after 3 hours driving, my head was starting to bob into sleep. We stopped off at a ‘services’ place, a magical place along the UK motorways filled with everything that you’d need on a road trip. After quickly grabbing some food to eat in the car, and filling up with petrol, it was my turn to drive the rest of the way back.

Luckily I was able to focus and stay fully awake for the entire journey. After driving for the entire day, we finally pulled into the office at 5.30pm. We unloaded all the gear into the hall, which was a lot quicker then it was to pack it all in. Ruth drove to the house she was saying in and let me drive the car back to my house for me to take it back the next day.

It was such a great feeling to drive a car all by myself once again. It went a lot better then when the guys let me drive in Carlisle and I stalled the car 3 times in 3rd gear (happy guys, I included it). The next morning I dropped off the bar back at work and then took a day trip to Oxford to pick up a sim card for my old unblocked phone. And that was it for my crazy weekend.

Day 1, 2 and 3

2010-06-03T21:28:00.003+01:00

... which should really be called "My First week!" but I still have one more day left.

Day 1: I got a lift to work at 8.10am by three other employees. My roommate Liz, had arranged for them to pick me up because she had been away at a conference that weekend and needed the morning to sleep. I got in early, found my desk, left my bag and headed down to the conference room for the morning devotional. We went around the room and everyone said their name and job title (for my benefit) then talked about what they were doing that week. It was a great chance to see everyone that I would be working with as well as what the focus was on this week. My Boss had planned a week's worth of inductions for me, with all the different departments. I get a brief history of the company for their department, what they do in general, what they are working on now and how that links in with my job.

Day 2: Inductions continued as well as a trip with Kim, the current events assistant, to drop off a rental van and organise the stock room. Every day there seems to be more and more cakes and deserts floating around the office. These are left over from events, gifts to the staff or brought in to share. I got a box of Cadbury Heros, which has been offered to everyone who comes over to chat to me.

Day 3: I had more inductions as well as trip to the storage untit to drop off some suppplies. We finished putting away event stock left over from the weekend event and I had to wash cake stands and jugs (hey, no one said it wasn't going to get messy). Today at lunch time, the sun was beaming so much that the girls sat out to eat our lunch. Apparently, tomorrow, the guys have bought a disposable BBQ to have during their lunch hour. The staff have been so friendly and welcoming, I really wouldn't have survived this first week without them.

I'm starting to get used to the 7am starts because I'm going to bed earlier and earlier. I've arranged with the landlady to sign a 6 month contract for the room I'm in now and will hopefully send her the cheque this coming Monday. I've stocked up my press with enough food to get me by but finding it hard carrying them all back. My shoulder is killing me from the 5 bags from Lidl. I'll create a flickr or something, so I can add pics to this blog, feels a bit bare.

For now, here's a pic of beautiful town:

Moving to the UK

2010-05-30T20:07:00.004+01:00

Greetings from a small village in Oxfordshire!

It has been some journey to get here (physically and psychologically). It all started last night when I was packing. I was watching the Eurovision and decided to pop upstairs to add in the last few bits. I thought there was still room in my suitcases but I had completly rearrange them to close.

This morning, I woke myself up early due to nerves and all the excitement of moving. My parents made me a fry up while I was getting dressed. We put the final pieces in the car and we were off. I did self check in and went over to drop off the two bags that I had booked. Due to new weight restrictions, it is not 20kgs per person, not per bag. I had tried so hard to make sure that both my bags were under the 20kgs. But she tried to charge me €240 for the "extra" 20kgs, I was bringing. I had split my stuff between the two bags and had forgotton which one was more important. I quickly did a swop of t-shirts for laptop cables and runners for toiletry bag. I sent one bag off with DHL to be delivered on Tuesday and took the heavier one with me. She didn't charge me for the extra 2kgs. After that initial panic, I was on my way.

I landed in Birmingham around lunch time and got the free monorail to the train station. The train took about an hour to Oxford. There was no room left in the baggage rack so I had to wait with my bag in the exit area. A staff member from the company and his wife, met me at the train station and gave me a lift to my temp accommodation. I dumped my bag and realised that there was no duvet, sheets, bin, hangers etc. A lot of my stuff was in the other suitcase.

I also found out very quickly that in a small village, most stuff closes at 4.30pm on a Sunday. So heading into town at 4.15pm, was not the best plan. I did discover a Cineworld, which was the highlight of my day. I found a Tesco express and picked up a few essentials like: Hula hoops, chocolate, diet coke with lemon+lime and rice pudding. I may need to make a list next time. I was unable to find anywhere that sold a duvet, blanket, sheets or pillow, which are not provided in my room.

I got back to the house, found out how to use the internet and started to send webtexts. For my first evening in my new town, I am watching 'Night at the Museum', having paella for dinner and going to sleep under a towel with no pillow. This is going to be some adventure!

I will try to keep this updated with more interesting stories.

A new chapter

2010-05-29T13:18:00.005+01:00

A lot has changed since my last blog entry. Just a quick paragraph to bring you up to speed:

From Sept '09 - May '09, I have been working in a jewellery shop called Pulse in Blackrock. Originally it was meant to be part-time, so that I could find something event related while still earning money. Then, over the Christmas and when my manager broke her arm, I was given full time hours and a lot more responsibility. I also earned enough money to go to LA and visit the college girls in Vancouver. When I got back, I applied for an Event management job in Oxford. I got a tip from Linda Gason that they were looking for a 'Project and Festivals Coordinator', basically my dream job. I sent in my 6 pages application, was called for a phone interview, was flown over for an in person interview and got the job! For the last 2 weeks I have been planning the big move over to the UK.

It is now less then 24 hours before I move over so I decided to start the old blog back up. This is so that when I chat to people back home, we don't have to spend 3 hours catching up on WHAT has been happening, but we can share HOW we feel about what's happening. I will be staying with one of the girls who works for the company, in their spare room. I will be viewing properties this week and hopefully find somewhere permenant quite soon.

I start on June 1st as May 31st is a bank holiday in the UK. I am bringing over 2 large suitcases and bringing one empty one back on June 5th, to fill back up before my drama Associate exam on June 6th. I fly back that night to start my first full week at work on June 7th.

You can keep up to date with how things are going through this blog.
Through my personal Twitter: @Lynn_duh
Youtube account: CassielDirge
Or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/plynda

I will try to update with as many pictures as I can. But Facebook but would the most updated out of the 3 above.

I am going to miss you all so much but I'm crazy excited about this new chapter in my life and can't wait to see where it leads me.

PLynda

Proof of boredom!

2009-07-02T20:12:00.002+01:00

Not that you needed proof of my boredom but I decided to update this blog more often. For whoever reads it, for whatever purpose.

At the end of every blog, I will be giving my Top 10 list about different topics. This week I have decided to do a top 10 list on dvd's that I own (it will get better, I promise).

I am still unemployed (boo hiss), I have applied for job seekers allowance (yay), I am still applying for many many jobs (urgh) and I am still organising a secret event in November (mmmmh?). I can't say much about it yet because the details are not finalised. From the feedback I've gotton so far, it will be a great event which I'm really looking forward to hosting.

Ok, now for the first installment of my Top 10:

DVD’s that I own:
10.) 10 things I hate about you
9.) The Producers
8.) Airplane
7.) Twilight
6.) The Holiday
5.) What women want
4.) Mallrats
3.) Tristan and Isolde
2.) Stardust
1.) Zoolander

Summer's here!

2009-06-11T18:14:00.002+01:00

With the beginning of summer, sunshine, sunsets, sun cream and sun burn, I haven't been indoors that much. Which means my blog has become neglected and dishevelled. I hope to rectify this with a new post.
Simelar to most people, who just finished college, I am currently looking for a job. This has been a long, frustrating process, which continues to bother me every day. People don't realise how annoying it is to be unemployed [Correction: People who have jobs don't realise]. It is not the simple act of sitting around and doing what you want to. It is monotonous, hard work. Applying for jobs every day. Coming up with new ideas to entertain yourself for free. Taking walks, just to have something to do and get out of the house.
It is especially frustrating for those who are ineligible to apply for job seekers allowance until a certain period has passed since being in college.

For these reasons, I have tried to ignore my current situation by keeping myself occupied, while waiting for a job to magically appear, by organising events. I helped my brother with his wedding plans, I wrote out a business plan for my friend's clothing company, I helped organise a youth club's summer camp and now I'm organising an event for November. But shhhh... can't say what it is yet.

I have also been keeping entertained with TV and movies. Especially the MTV movie awards, that was a great show, Andy Samberg is quite funny.

This was my favourite part of the show:

You know?

2009-05-07T11:32:00.002+01:00

You know that feeling when you...

- Just feel like dressing up in your best clothes, even though no one else can see you, and just feel like lying on the sofa and watch a movie.

- Meet a good friend, you haven't seen in ages, and reminise about the good 'ole days, over a hot chocolate.

- Spend so much time studying, writing "intelligent" assignments that when you get home or type out blog entries, you just don't feel like being smart?

- Need to listen to some silly comedy songs or improv music and be introspective for a change?

- Feel like you are going to be successful, yet it all seems to hinge on one person or situation that is out of your control?

- Realise you have too many online accounts that you have the same password for each. If anyone found out that password, they could change your complete online personna and have access to all your information.

... it's days like this where my ideal schedule would be waking up to breakfast in bed, lounging around in a robe, going to the cinema, taking a walk up Kiliney hill with a friend and starting the night with a BBQ and loud music on the beach, and finishing off the night staying at a friend's house having long conversations into the early morning ...

But instead I'm inside studying for exams.

Exams...

2009-05-04T22:49:00.003+01:00

Snore!

Unfortunately, it's that time again, when we all have to sit exams, write thesises (how many S's are in that word) and finish up assignments. However, unlike most years, we will not be going on 'Summer holidays', we will be starting our lives. We will not be getting 'Summer jobs'; we will be getting jobs (hopefully). We have no excuse to 'take it easy' for the summer. We missed our chance last summer.

I am currently in the middle of my exams. I have 2 more left and (for those who care) they are: Strategic management and Law. They are both quite hard for different reasons. Strategic is difficult because we were not allowed to take notes in class and there are not that many slides to work from. The whole class in confused as to what we might actually be asked a question on. Law is difficult, even though we have been given amazing notes, because there is so much information to remember. For each question you have to name at least 6 cases and sometimes even 12 cases. It is a lot of remembering for a 2 hour exam.

Ever since I started my final year, last September, I have been asked the same dreaded question: "So, do you have any plans for when you graduate?".
Well here's my answer:
"No, I have my own ideas, but nothing solid yet".
I am looking into a few areas. One of my possibilities is working with OMNI-Vision, based in the UK. I worked with them back in February at the Youth weekend 'Connect', run by OM Ireland. I really enjoyed the experience and working with the team. I am arranging to visit the offices at the end of May to talk about a possible position that would be suitable for me. This is only one of the options that I am thinking about but it is more exciting and more secure then any of the others.

I only have 4 official days left of college, which is the most surreal thought. Not only is it the end of my degree but it is also the end of my education as a whole. I have been attending schools since I was 4 years old and now the bell has rung, class is over!

Twitter

2009-04-24T11:55:00.004+01:00

As you can see from my RSS feed, ------------------>>>>---->>>---->
I am already a member of Twitter and I Tweet quite regularly.

A lot of people have responded negatively when I mention Twitter. I try to explain that it's a micro-bloggings website where you can update people in between blog entries. They still don't get it. Then, I try to explain that it's not like Facebook or MySpace where you are 'Friends' with people. On Twitter, you 'follow' people and only people who 'follow' you will see your tweets.

[Tumble weed]

Celebrities use Twitter to update their 'followers' on the most mumdane aspects of their lives. They feel that Twitter keeps them in contact with the "real world" and shows that they are "one of the people". Of course there a lot of celebrity fakers on Twitter, as with any other social networking website. Each "celebrity" profile needs to be subjectivly analysed before requesting to 'follow' them. However, if you don't mind if the celebrity you are following is the real deal or not, they can post some quite funny Tweets.

Companies use Twitter to update on their websites, events, competitions and new information. Twitter is also modified to be accessed and updated from your mobile phone. This means instant updates from the people you 'follow' without waiting on a direct mail or checking their website constantly.

The only way to understand a new form of technology is to actually experience. Only then, can you fully grasp the concept and decide whether it would be beneficial to you or not.

For those who already have a Twitter account, you will understand and love this video:

New Media Technologies

2009-04-21T23:36:00.005+01:00

I do apologise for my lack of Blogging. It would be so easy to blame college work so I think that's what I'm going to do. It was all the college work that I was doing that prevented me from updated my blog.
Over the last few months, we have been researching different forms of Web 2.0 applications that are available today. I have found this whole process very fascinating. For those who don't know, Web 2.0 is jargon that describes all the new forms of websites out there. Here are a few examples: Digital media exchange = YouTube, Microblogging = Twitter, Social Networking = Facebook and Collaborative websites = PBWiki. That last one was new to me, as well, when I first started researching this area.
All of these applications are Web 2.0 based and create new ways for information to be exchanged. Through the term, I have created accounts on all these websites.

You can find me at:
YouTube: CassielDirge
Twitter: Lynn_duh
PBWiki: plynda.pbwiki.com

I have learnt a lot about these areas and understand how some people can spend hours on the internet updating all their websites. I want to continue to use these applications to further my skills in these areas and promote myself online. I have decided to pool all of these applications onto this blog. You will see my Twitter feed down the right sidebar and I will update my Youtube videos there as well.

And just for kicks, here's a video of Jumpstyle dancing. Anyone who was in Denis's class this year, will know this video well:

Adios for now!

Web 2.0

2009-03-11T14:52:00.003Z

For those who are not in Denis's "New Media" class, I will explain what that is.
Web 2.0 is the phrase given to all the new forms of applications used on the internet. Most people interact with Web 2.0 on a daily basis without even realising. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Blogging, YouTube, Delicious, Second life etc. are all forms of Web 2.0. These are social networking sites, communication sites and bookmarking sites.
I will be blogging on these forms of Web 2.0 over the next few weeks. My first blog entry will be on Twitter, the micro-blogging website.

No time like the present

2009-02-18T14:40:00.002Z

Dear all in Blog-world and friends,
I do apolagise for my lack of updating. I forgot that I even had this blog. As you can assume, I finished placement in June 2008. My last act with OM Ireland was working as a Home office Rep. in TeenStreet Germany. It was an amazing experience. I was sleep deprived for the entire time, I had the worst diet, my brain was not functioning fast enough and I was alone for most of the time, but I learnt so much. I wouldn't change the experience for anyting.
During the summer I was unable to get a job. I had no idea what type of "Recession" was coming. If I had, I probably would have tried harder to secure anything. I applied for jobs for 8 months. I gave up during the Christmas holidays and decided to pick up the search again after summer exams.
4th year of college started back up in September of last year. It was definatly an uphill struggle to get back into the swing of college. I don't think I'm fully into a proper routine at all. At least I only have 2 months left of college.
I've decided to book my driving test. I've been driving properly for about 6 months. I know it's not that long but I really hope to get my license before the summer.
At the minute, I'm preparing to go to Kilkenny. I've been asked to help out with Connect '09. The youth weekend, hosted by OM Ireland, which I was involved with this time last year. I'm very excited to join the team down there to help with the Stage management. I know that it will be another great experience.
For New Media class, we were asked to interact with new forms of media. I decided to get a Twitter. It's basically an update feature. The only thing that is on your profile are your status updates or "tweets". Facebook, MySpace and Bebo all have these features as well. Accept Twitter only comprises of this one feature. You can send direct mail to other Twitters and reply to tweets, but that's it. It's described as a way to know what you're friends are doing in between blog entries.
If you want to add me on Twitter, my screen name is: Lynn_duh. But I will need to confirm you before you can "follow" my tweets.
I've really been trying to live in the moment. Not looking forward to the next year, month, week, hour. To enjoy the moment that I am in. Hence the title "No time like the present". I don't want to keep putting things off for another time, a better time. The time is now, the moment is now and I want to relfect that in the way I live.
Ok, I'm traveling to Kilkenny early tomorrow morning so will blog again when I get back.
Take care my lovelies!

OM Ireland

2007-12-03T19:14:00.001Z

Heya,
as most of you know, I'm working with OM Ireland next January for 5-6 months. This'll be full time work to comply with my course regulations. I've wanted to do something with Teenstreet since my first year going as a teen in 2002. The best part is it suits my course as I will be doing a combination of business and event management. I'm also nervous as it is my first time doing a "proper job". But I'm thrilled to be a part of something like Beyond 48. I'm not sure where I'll be based but I have been told that I will be spending some time in Donegal and possibly some time in Lacken house Roscommon, OM's new investment. I'll still be in Dublin for most of my placement. However, there is one big change, I will be taking a break from being a youth leader in Gap. I have been going to Gap ever since I was 12 years old. I graduated from being a teen, to being a LIT (Leader In Training), then on to being a full time leader, while in college. I have been a leader for about 2+a bit years now and have been going to Gap for a total of 9 years. It's hard to leave something that you have been a part of for nearly half your life. But, I know that this is what I want to do, which is an amazing feeling. Even if it is only for these 6 months, I know that I will benefit hugely from this experience. It'll be hard but nothing worth having comes easily.

I'll be updating this blog as it gets nearer to the time and during my time there. I'm really looking forward to it.

My final Gap of the year will be December 21st. I will be sharing about what exactly I'll be doing and what it means to me. It would be really great if you would be able to make it.

Thank you to everyone for your support.

Hello!

2007-11-06T15:25:00.000Z

Heya,

It's been a while since I've been able to get onto this thing. My original idea for my blog was for it to be a plae where I could give advice to girls on life, from my own experiences. That didn't turn out to good. So, I've decided to just write what I feel and about what I'm going through and hopefully, it could help someone else.

Well, what have I been doing for the past few months? I finished and passed all my exams! Nice one! After weeks of job hunting and panic, I got a job as Junior sales assistant in the Body shop, yay! I had a good run of it during the summer. Now, I work 1-2 days a week, trying to build up enough cash to keep me going after Christmas. I'm in another year and not handling all that well. You know the phrase "hit the ground running" that applies to the past 3 months. I hit the ground but not running and have been dragged, behind a car, all down the road. There was no time to get used a college again. Also, with out event this year, and preparing for placement, I haven't had a chance to even tidy my room.
We have everything other college students have as well, classes, assignments, reviews, and exams. If we skip a class to do something for our event, we loose % for attendance. If we go to class, we miss out on precious minutes we could be phoning a potential sponsor of our event. It's like having 3 full time jobs. My roles at the minute are: full-time Student, full-time event manager, part-time employee, part-time sister, full-time daughter, full-time youth worker, and part-time friend. I cannot wait until Christmas when I can focus on one thing.

As most of you know, I am starting my work placement in January '08. I'm doing a full-time, 20 wk, placement with OM Ireland. I'm really looking forward to it. I have wanted to do something like this for 6 years but thought it would be after college until I had the oppotunity. I'm not sure where I'll be come January but it could be anywhere around Ireland. I'll keep you posted, ha get it!

Anywhoo, I should probably go,
Send me a text sometime, it's nice to catch up
Lynda

How to survive a sale!

2007-07-26T17:34:00.001+01:00

Ok, the summer is coming to a close and you want some new threads in the sale. There are a few things you need to know before you dive into the deep end.
These are my tips for surviving a sale:

1.) Before you step inside the doors...
Unless you are a professional sale shopper, never tackle an early morning sale, you will not be prepared for the sight. Grown women clawing at clothes, dropping them when it's not their size and shoving people out of the way because it's the one rail they haven't torn apart. If you are a very popular size, then there is little hope in finding something in the sale. They normally only have sales on items that couldn't sell or only sold out in the popular sizes.

2.) Know what you want
There's no point in going into a shop if you don't know what you're looking for. If you go in with a "I'll know it when I see it!" attitude, you won't get anywhere. Have a mental list, to save time and effort. Unless you go in at the beginning of the sale, the clothes will be moved around. Know your targets. Focus on colour and styles. If you find something that you're not sure about, carrying it around with you for a while, you can always put it back. Never put it down if you're not sure, the last thing you want is someone holding "your" top.

3.) Tactics
Ok, here's where it gets tricky. Every girl knows the unspoken rules of shopping etiquette. But during a sale, these rules go out the window. Personal space does not exist, compassion for sales assistants is gone, clothes are dumped on top of the rails, or "accidentally" dropped and you ARE the most important person in the shop. These are my tips if you don't mind being sneaky. If you want to look at an area where someone else is already looking, move so close to them that it's uncomfortable, eventually they'll move. Everyone knows that whatever they have will be out on the rails but still, ask assistants if they have your size out back, no harm in asking.

4.) It's time to pay
Once you have everything, it's time to pay for what you have. The last thing you need is to stand in a long que for ages. If the line never looks like getting shorter, then you have no choice. But always try to wait until it's shorter. Take another look around, maybe at stuff you didn't think of before. And have your money ready, you won't get flustered rummaging through your bag and you can get out quicker.

Happy shopping!

A Paranoid's guide to walking home alone at night

2007-03-25T18:56:00.000+01:00

Ok, as every girl knows, getting home at night is always something you have to be prepared for before you even head out. Safety is very important, especially for girls. I'm sure you have heard many stories about girls on their way home. A few times I have been walking home alone, from the bus stop or a friends house and got so paranoid about every little noise. The thoughts and mini-plan I made up in my head, led me to set up this blog. I use these tips every time I walk alone, late at night. You can pick and choose but these are the ones that work for me. And be warned, to you they might be over the top but as I've said, I'm a slightly paranoid person.

Oh My God, Shoes!
Everyone wants to wear the heals that make your calves look great but think about walking home. So many times I have left my shoes under the table, while my bare feet danced the night away. Unfortunately, when walking home, you have no choice but to wear your shoes, as there is glass and who knows what on the ground. I find flip-flops (or thongs, as they say down under) are very handy. You can get quite small ones that fit into your handbag or coat pocket. I know what you're thinking "coat pocket?” I always check my coat or leave it at a table. It doesn't matter if your coat is bulging; it's only to get there and walk home. That way, I can still have a cute handbag but I know my comfortable flip-flops are waiting for me on the way home. Also, imagine running for a bus or taxi in shoes that feel like they're filling up with your blood. No thanks!

Always walk towards the light
If there is one side of the street that has street lamps, make sure to walk on that side. I know it sounds obvious but it might not be when you feel you're being followed. Everything is revealed in the light. You can see if there's anyone coming down the road towards you. Not only can you see people but people can see you. You will be visible to cars and people that pass by, in case anything was to happen. If you see someone coming towards you or you think there is someone coming towards you, turn around as if you are checking for traffic, to make sure. If there is no one there, you can continue on. If there is someone following you: cross the road. But make sure to return to the light when you feel safe.

The road less travelled
Even though the park near your house, or the lane way, cuts 5 minutes off your trip, don’t be tempted to take short cuts late at night. You never know what is hiding in the dark. It also conflicts with tip two. Most of these “short cuts” are dimly lit, if lit at all. They can be hangout areas for people having a few drinks. Keep to roads where there are cars passing every few seconds, even in the wee hours of the morning. Make sure to walk on the outside of the path (closest to the road) and carry your bag on that side as well. If someone wanted to quickly snatch your bag or worse, make it really difficult for them. In the end, your phone, keys and well-used mascara are not worth getting hurt over. If someone comes at you, being right next to the road means there is somewhere to go, rather then being up against a wall.

Hold the phone!

I know it sounds weird but walking with your phone in your hand means that if you are in trouble, it's right there. From regular texting, most people know where the buttons are without looking. This way you can be texting in your pocket or up your sleeve, if you feel unsafe. Also, you can phone someone in a hurry if it's an emergency. You don't have to worry about looking suspicious by reaching into your bag and if you put it on vibrate, only you will know when you get a message.

On a lighter note
I have never had trouble walking home at night. A lot of people don't think twice about it but like I said, I'm a bit paranoid. Just make sure you have your keys before you leave your friends. If not, you can persued a friend to let you stay over. When you finally get home, you can curl up and relax. Nighty night!

First post, awwww!

2007-03-24T18:10:00.000Z

Welcome all,
I figured for my first ever post on this blogger thing, I wouldn't be all serious-like. I'd type the way I talk (even though my lecturer would lynch me). It feels more relaxed this way. I thought about writing this in book form (well a "Word" document if I'm honest) but it would get lost on my desktop. So, it was suggested to me to write a blog. The internet is the way to communicate with people now-a-days as everyone has an e-mail account. People have stopped asking for household addresses and go straight to msn addresses. Also, I would have access to millions of people. Otherwise it would just my friends who would reluctantly read my 100 page collection of wandering thoughts. As well, this way, I am able to write it at my leisure.

Recently, I've found that people don't meet up as often. The internet is responsible for a lot of this. One time, I found myself on a 5 way msn conversation with my college friends. Granted two live in different counties but there was no good reason why we couldn't have met up. We were all obviously free and hoping to chat to people. I understand it's daunting to go outside, when the central heating is so inviting, but everyone needs human contact. I am guilty myself of being a hermit at times (expecially that time between 5pm and 1am the day before an assignment is due).

However, I'm trying to meet up with people more. I find meal times are quite handy. Everyone needs to eat and everyone gets time off to eat. Also, if there's an awkward silence you can just stuff your face and think of something to say. Food can bring people together, especially food that can be shared. I love meeting up with a friend for tortillas or bannoffi (but that's saved for a certain friend). Also, I've found out how long I can stretch a tea. I've been known to spend up to 4 hours catching up in a cafe. But, hanging out at someone's house can't be beat. It's a classic as it means that girls can be girls. Eat junk food, take off the make up (or put it on, depending on the type of gathering), watch a movie, do each others hair; these are things that you can never grow out of. There's a peace that you get when you feel so comfortable around your friends, that you can accidently burp infront of them and you don't go scarlet. It's so freeing when you can laugh at bodily functions.

Speaking of friends, I'm due to meet my friend.
Sorry internet, you loose this round.