::The Manor, Newgrange, and The Wedding::

(i can't seem to make this part be not-underlined. sorry. i don't know what happened. it doesn't last for too long...)

ALRIGHT!! We've made it to the wedding part of our vacation. This part was totally different from the first, but still totally fun.

We woke up in Galway after little to no sleep (Two reasons: 1. we had stayed very late at the Crane Bar and 2. it was very loud outside our window) we awoke and went down for breakfast. We made a friend at breakfast, named Simon. He was from Germany but was doing a gap year in Limerick working in a boy's home. He was like a residential staff, or something, but all it seemed he did was drive the boys to the hospital when they were hurt playing rugby. He had very long blonde hair. And, it turned out, he was staying in the same room as us!

So, we packed and lugged our bags back across Galway to a different bus stop. Aliya had found us super deals on a CityLink bus. It was like, 5 euro from Galway to Dublin! THIS BUS was awesome. It was totes a Dave bus. Way nicer than the Bus Eireann.

We arrived in Dublin and walked to our next bus stop. We had some trouble finding the bus, and the stop, but we did. We were headed to Ashbourne. In County Meath. About 45 minutes North.

We arrived! And Noel was there to greet us!!!! It was great! He brought us grocery shopping, which we were all a little confused by, because we didn't know why we would need groceries. It was because we were staying in this super fancy manor! We had a kitchen, living room, dining area, three bathrooms, two bedrooms, three beds, a patio, and a cupboard under the stairs.

Noel's friend and the best man, James, drove us home from grocery shopping because their wasn't enough room in Noel's car for us, bags, and groceries.

The thing that was weird about being in the manor house (as we called it) was that it was really far away from everything, so we couldn't walk anywhere, we had to rely on others to come pick us up, drive us somewhere, and then bring us back. Whereas before, we just walked everywhere ourselves. We didn't have to depend on anyone else. It took a while to get used to.

But! The time spent waiting for people to come pick us up resulted in some great photo shoots:

living room shot.


entry way/living room shot.


fridge shot. (we got pretty crafty)

So, the day before the wedding we ventured to Newgrange, which was a 5,000 year old passage tomb. Older than Stonehenge and older than the pyramids.



the view from the hill.

entry to Newgrange. the stones you see here are actually a recreation of the original. hey, it's over 5,000 years old. give it a break. it needed some work done. like botox for passage tombs.



around the side.

the back.


swirly carvings in everything! this was one of the stones in the back.



the front again. nobody knows what the swirly pattern means. so, Newgrange was also built so that the sun shines in through it on the winter solstice. we went into the inner chamber, which was really small compared to what you would think. it only held around 15 people at a time. and, the walk in to the chamber was super narrow, and we were actually walking uphill, which was kind of amazing, because when we were standing in the chamber, our feet were actually level with the bottom of the window you can see above the door. and that's where the sun would shine through. amazing! our tour guide, Nicola, simulated the sun on the winter solstice with some fancy lighting they had installed. it was super cool.


Newgrange hotties. so, speaking of our tour guide Nicola, we made up this lovestory between her and the cute gatekeeper who had a tattoo of the moon cycles on his arm. they would have been so cute together. we titled the book, 'Temporary Tourguide, Accidental Stone Age Baby.' the rest of the people on the bus thought this was pretty hilarious. and they didn't even know it was an inside joke!!!

The next day was the WEDDING!!!!! 6 June 2009. Kerianne and Noel. Kerianne slept over in the manor the night before. We all got to sleep in on Saturday because Kerianne wasn't getting picked up until 12:15. So, we went next door and they had made brunch! We had eggs, fruit, bagels, coffee, juice. It was great! Nice hanging out with everyone before the big day.

Then, we needed to start getting ready. Shower. Makeup. Hair. Dress. And we were picked up to head over to Noel's parent's house. We all looked so pretty!!! It was cool to see what dresses everyone else picked out, and what they did for their red accessories. Elizabeth had hott red shoes!

So, here is Kerianne, in a dress her grandmother made:


there were little diamonds in her roses!


L to R: Megan (maid of honor), Monica, Elizabeth.


Aliya did some very hott curly flippy things to her hair.


wedding trad sesh!!!! they played during cocktail hour. they were great!


the inside of the marquee (tent). it was sooooo pretty. i loved it. it was a heated tent with real doors. like, real glass doors. it was amazing. and the bathrooms! okay, they were super fancy. but, they were portable! but you walked into this giant truck and there were three woman's stalls and three men's stalls. and the inside was wall-papered, there was classical music playing, they had purfume, tissues, tampons, q-tips, etc, all out on the counter. it was a real sink. it was crazy.


i loved the chandeliers.


this was my bouquet. each flower also had a little diamond in the center. we held them like you would a newborn baby. it was pretty classy.


TABLE SHOT: Aliya, Joe...


...Jeff, Monica...


...Matt, Henry, George (three super nice guys from Carnegie Mellon who just happened to be in Europe for vacation and stopped by the wedding. well, Kerianne went to high school with Henry, it wasn't like they were total strangers. but, it was super fun hanging with them. and they were all really great dancers.) ...


...Audrey, Elizabeth...


...Elizabeth and Julie!!!! What a great table!!!!


The fancy cake on it's fancy cake stand!!! It was like, chocolate, with more chocolate with even more chocolate.


Kerianne and Noel cutting the cake!


(hotties)


SPEECHES!!!! TOASTS!!! Kerianne's dad, Dan.


Noel


Noel's dad, Liam


Monica


Megan (maid of honor)


James (best man)


dance party....GO!!!



(guy in the blue shirt was the priest, Father Oliver. the only way i can seem to describe him is that he always seemed like he had just woken up. he is dancing with Noel's mother, Mina, who wore a super great red outfit.)


Noel's sister, Linda and her husband Eoghan (that's, Owen). Noel had the most gorgeous sisters, Linda and Suzanne, and they had the cutest husbands, Eoghan and Alan.




The DJ started at midnight. also the same time as the pig roast.




Aliya and I RIPPED UP THE DANCE FLOOR. We danced all night. The party went until 3am. We didn't get home until 4am. WE WERE TIRED.

And then we slept. Great wedding. Great wedding.

::Narnia, The Hill of Tara, and Goodbye::

So, while we were staying in the Manor, we could see this very tall stone structure from our windows. I think the stairway window in particular. It was this giant wall of stone covered in plants and vines. And, at some point in the week in the Manor I think everyone of us commented on it. Or, we would ask, "what the heck is that thing over there?" And then finally, on the last day, we were waiting for Noel to pick us up and Aliya, Elizabeth and I decided to go explore it.

Elizabeth made the comment, "it's like in adventure stories where the three bored children go and explore the abandoned building across the street and end up in a fantasy world!"

from then on, we called the place 'Narnia.'

ALIYA, ELIZABETH, AND JULIE: Bye Joe! We're going to Narnia!
JOE: Okay, have fun!

and we were off...


okay, well, this was us being bored all afternoon. we put Aliya's camera in lots of random places around the yard and then would run and pose. what hott statues! (this was also the backyard of the place we were staying. the camera is perched on the side of the gazebo. it was fancy.)


and then on our way to Narnia, we stopped to have another quick photoshoot. this was in front of the house belonging to Frances, the manor keeper.

this was what we could see from our windows. DUH we had to explore it.

every other 'DANGER' or 'WARNING' sign hadn't kept us out, so why would this 'NO TRESPASSING' sign?


the door had an, old, rusty lock on it that Elizabeth managed to get unlocked. it was like being in The Secret Garden!


this pictures was taken from the INSIDE of Narnia. the wall was huge. and everything was so beautiful. we walked in the door and birds flew out from the plants. like a jungle. the sunlight in these photos is like magic.





everything else was in total ruins, but this window still looked so new. it was just soft looking.

this was in the very front of Narnia. we had to be careful because the "doorway" leading to this room was partially collapsed. we didn't want to be crushed today.



we are like goddesses.


out the door to Narnia. we didn't end up crossing that stone wall, but it led to a large pasture.


this was the back part of Narnia, behind the stone wall.

THEN, we were walking back to the Manor just as Noel was pulling in to pick us up!!! He brought us to the Hill of Tara, the "Hill of the Kings". It was the seat of the High King of Ireland.



EVERYONE: Where's Aliya?
ALIYA: (pops up from the grass)


Elizabeth was flying





There was a mini-passage tomb.

We stood on it.

Elizabeth tried to go in, but there were bars.

After this, we stopped quickly at the cafe and had tea, coffee and sweet things. Then, Noel brought us to his parent's house so we could print off our boarding passes for the next day. We said goodbye to his parents, Kerianne's parents, and Alan, Suzanne's husband.

Kerianne and Noel came over to the house later that night and we all hung out for a while. Then, we went next door and watched X-Men 3 with the whole gang.

We were up super bright and super early the next day and Noel drove us to the airport. Elizabeth and Joe's flight was at 10:30, and this photo was taken right before we said goodbye to them. I got really sad, because now the trip seemed over.


Aliya and I hung around the airport for a while. Ate breakfast. Drank coffee. Drank juice. Decided not to drink Bulmer's Pear at the bar. Almost bought chocolate. Boarded the plane. Our flight was at 1pm.

Good flight back. I sat next to someone named Art. I liked that. We had lunch. I watched:

MARLEY AND ME: About a crazy dog who ruins people's lives but in the end they realize it's all been worth it because they love him so much. Whatever. I didn't like it. I hated that dog. I did not find him cute or lovable. He RUINED their house. He made their lives miserable. They couldn't bring him anywhere. The dog trainer hated them, the dog sitter hated them. WHY wouldn't that dog just listen?? McSteamy from Grey's was in it, so I liked that part. They moved to Philadelphia and I liked that part too. I just really couldn't stand the dog. Owen Wilson was good looking as always. I'm just so totally not a dog person.

then I started to watch:

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON: Which Aliya strongly advised me not to watch because she said it sucked. But, I tried to watch it anyways. I fell asleep pretty early on, woke up, shut it off, and went back to sleep.

From what I could tell, it was a lame movie. Undeserving of all the awards attention. BUT! I Netflixed it anyways so I could see the rest of it because I realized that I saw not even a little glimpse as to why Brad was nominated for Best Actor. and then it just made me angry. So, I haven't watched it yet, but believe me, I will let you know.

So, our flight landed in Boston at like, 4pm, or something crazy. It was sad not having anyone there to greet us, or to be excited to see us. We pretended Dave was there, waiting to give us a ride home.

But instead, we found the ticket machine for the T, and were about to buy tickets when a man came up to us and offered us his extra. It still had 2$ on it and that was all we needed. Perfect! So nice.

The Silver line came pretty quickly and took us to the Red line. We were pros at carrying our bags now. I thought it was weird because we were now amongst all these people who hadn't just been in Ireland for two weeks.

Got off at Davis Square. Headed to Kathleen's house to pick up Aliya's car. We crashed there for a few minutes. Decided not to drive to Kate's house because of the traffic situation going through Boston.

So! We headed home. Stopping only for ice cream at McDonald's, trying to create the 99 cone (ice cream cone we had in Doolin. vanilla soft serve with chocolate candy bar (flake bar) stuck in the side. totes delish.) and then for gas.

We were thinking about dinner as we were getting close and then I remembered that there was an Irish pub right in the center of Lebanon, New Hampshire! A mere five minutes from my house. So, we decided to go there, because we weren't quite ready to say goodbye to Ireland.

We walk in the doors of Salt Hill, and there is a huge TRAD SESH in the middle of the room. IT WAS AMAZING. We couldn't believe it!!!!! We found a great table where we had a good view of the music. It was great. And we learned the there is a trad sesh every tuesday night from 6-9! We drank the American version of Bulmer's, called Magner's, which was a little bit different because we were carded and it didn't come in a huge pint glass, it came in a normal sized bottle.

After nicely easing our way back home, we crashed. Called our homes. And then slept.


Friends, I'm glad you got to come back to Ireland with me. I hope you enjoyed it.


i don't know if you can see the changes that have come over me
in these last few days i've been afraid we might drift away.
i've been telling old stories, singing songs, that make me think about where i come from
that's the reason why i seem so far away today.

so let me tell you that i love you and i think about you all the time,
Caledonia you're calling me,
now i'm going home.

.Jacuzzi.Jacuzzi.

the promise of thursday

so, there have been so many things i want to say to you!!! but, i was putting it ALL off because i kept thinking, "i can't tell them anything before i tell them all about ireland!!!" but, i kept not finding the right time (or enough time) to upload and resize the pictures and organize them and write a whole entry.

SO. then i decided that i just missed talking to you and who cares if i haven't told you everything about ireland yet, i still want to talk to you.

i guess i'll just start then.

work has been good. quiet. there are only 4 girls here now. it was a full house when i left for ireland. and when i got back, there were two girls who had left. along with the 10-month (now one year!) old who i loved and the toddler. i was pretty sad about that.

and there's another girl who is leaving on friday, and another one who is leaving next week sometime. and then there will be two. crazy. and one baby. and one unborn baby.

i haven't really been called in the night. the other night i did get a call, but it was for a french braiding.

let's talk about the movies i have seen recently:

INCENDIARY: michelle williams. ewan mcgregor. matthew mcfayden. all hotties. about a women who loses her husband and son in a terrorist bombing in london while she's off having an affair with another man. i cried during the trailer when i first saw it. but, i did not cry during the movie. although some parts were sad, it was never like, totally sad like i thought it was going to be. ewan was hott. and michelle did a really great british accent. i was totes impressed. *** out of ***** stars.

LAST CHANCE HARVEY: emma thompson. dustin hoffman. this was really sweet. about a guy who's about to lose his job when he goes to london for his daughter's wedding. meets this single woman in london. they are ordinary on their own, but then together they really sparked. i really liked seeing that. and it was noticable too. like, wow, their characters (especially dustin hoffman's) really changed when they met each other. i liked that. it was a sweet movie. funny. charming. and there was a wedding!!! **** out of ***** stars.

ENTOURAGE (first disc, first season): so, i've only seen the first four episodes of the first season. i'm not totally in love with it like i thought i'd be. i can't really stand any of the guys. they're all kind of jerks. womanizers. lots of celebs, though. which i do appreciate. the second disc arrives tomorrow. i'm going to keep watching. and i'll keep you updated. *** out of ***** stars, so far.

MY LEFT FOOT: daniel day lewis. about an irishman. which is why i watched it. also, it was supposed to be super good. and it was! really touching. really beautiful story. it was amazing to see how much motivation he had, when he could have had none. daniel day lewis was unbelievable. and hott! he looks good with a beard. made me really want to watch There Will Be Blood again. i almost did tonight, but then didn't. anyways, **** out of ***** stars.

i guess that's all the new ones i've seen. i purchased Revolutionary Road. i wasn't going to. and then it was saturday night and i was like, "WAIT A SEC - i've been back in this country for five days now and i DON'T own both the kate and leo movies?!!?! what's wrong with me!!?!?" and i immediately left the house. purchased the movie. came home. watched it straight away. aaahhhh satisfaction. and watched the bonus features!!!! aw, there was one deleted scene that i really wish they had left in. it made me cry.

and i was excited for the deleted scenes because there is that one deleted scene from Titanic where they are making out hardcore in the boiler room, and so i just immediately assumed that all the Revolutionary Road deleted scenes would be more hard core make out scenes. but, they weren't. but, it was still awesome.

and then there was a great behind the scenes type thing. oh, it was super exciting. i definitely feel like a more complete person after buying the movie. it's a great movie. for serious. i'm still BLOWN AWAY by Leonardo's performance.

which i guess is a good segway into our next blog segment: the Shutter Island trailer. have people seen this yet? kara sent it to me. it's the new Scorsese. Leo DiCaprio. Mark Ruffalo. Ben Kingsley. Michelle Williams. Emily Mortimer. Patricia Clarkson. Jackie Earle Haley.

it just screams ALL STAR. for serious. so, watch the trailer if you haven't already. don't worry, i'll give you some time....

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ok. now let's talk about it. i'll just tell you my experience watching it.

first off - i was super scared and terrified. i had no idea it was going to be so scary. this is based on a book by Dennis Lehane, who also wrote Gone Baby Gone and Mystic River. both movies that i didn't like. or, i should say, both stories that i didn't like. but they weren't super scary or anything. which is why this one surprised me. so, i watched the trailer once. had to immediately close the browser window afterwards so i wouldn't keep thinking about it.

but, later on that night, something was still sticking with me. like, i couldn't stop thinking about it.

so, i decided that maybe i should watch the trailer again.

so, i did.

and with the second viewing of the trailer, i had the entire plot figured out. like, the entire plot. it was weird. everything seemed so obvi the second time around. so, even though i hadn't read the book to find out if it was the actual plot, i kept thinking, "wow, they gave away waaay too much information in the trailer! everyone will know what this is about!" and i couldn't believe this.

so then Sunday night i had a dream about it. i had a dream that i was explaining the entire plot to my mom. and, she has in real life read the book, so i figured that she could tell me if i was right or not in the dream. but she couldn't remember what it was about.

so, i woke up and the plot was even clearer than before. and i thought, "if i'm dreaming about this plot, i should really just go read the book to see if i'm right."

and i got dressed. went to the post office. walked next door to the library. got the book. and read it. i read the whole book in like, 6 hours! i was pretty impressed with myself. it's a quick read. and it was really easy picturing Leo and Mark in the two lead roles. i actually think they will be perfect together.

but more importantly - I WAS RIGHT!!!!! about the plot! pretty much everything. i mean, there were few detaily things that i was missing. but still. i was impressed with myself. but also not impressed with the people who made the trailer. because, if i can figure out the plot within two viewing of the trailer, than i'm sure other people will too.

and yeah, i mean, anyone could just go out and read the book to figure it out. that's what i did with Revolutionary Road. AS SOON as i found out kate and leo were going to be in the movie, i went out, read the book, and then wrote a whole Climax article on it. ha.

anyways. i think Shutter Island will be a good movie. it's a good story. gripping. a little scary at some point. i decided i think it will be rated R for language, some sexuality and violent and disturbing content. if i were on the rating's board, that's what i would put. based on the book. no "teen partying" in this one.

and Leo will win the academy award. oh man i really hope he wins. the thing is, i can't really picture this being a movie that is nominated for acting awards. i dont' know. i just kind of get that feeling. maybe because a few years back when Leo was nominated for Blood Diamond and not The Departed. and i kind of feel like this will be a Departed-esque movie. although, the Academy might have totally blown his chances of ever winning because he didn't win for Revolutionary Road. he was truly incredible in that. i still can't believe he didn't even get a nom.

omg can you believe we're already talking Oscar buzz!?!!?? so exciting!!! it's been like....4ish months. that's long enough to not be oscar buzzing.

ok. i'll stop now. but, seriously, if you didn't take the time i allotted before to go watch the trailer, go now and do it. it's a good trailer. and then let me know what you think.


SO TODAY! i spent the entire day in a conference room with about 50 other adults dressed like business people listening to a guy talk about the adolescent brain.

there were 8 staff members going to this thing. in Concord, New Hampshire. we left at 7:15 IN THE MORNING because it started at 8:30. yikes. it was at the Capitol Center for the Arts, where i had many dance competitions in high school. we were talking about where to park on the way down and i was like, "oh, there's no parking at this place." and i directed them to where we used to park for the dance competitions. and then i thought of the time we got stuck in the snow and got so totally lost. that was funny.

there was coffee and refreshments at the thing, which was good. and it was bascially about substance abuse and it's effects on the brain. and then in the afternoon it was about substance abuse and it's effects on families.

overall, i guess it was an okay training. i didn't like the instructor. everyone else thought he was hilarious but i thought he was a jerk. me and Courtney were not laughing at his jokes. we all decided it was an age thing. because we were like, the youngest people in the room. and he kept making statements like,

"here's what college girls do to get high....they take half a bottle of cough syrup, mix it with half a can of beer, and then get the high like they've had a whole 6 pack! this is what college girls are doing. why? because it's less calories than actually drinking a whole 6 pack! and they're all so concerned about fitting into that summer bikini!!!"

i did not appreciate this at all. and he kept making these super generalized statements! "young people" "youth" "college kids."

GOOD THING there was an evaluation at the end! yeah, i let him have it. again, thank you Hampshire College for my excellent evaluation writing skills. and, just like with the water safety course, i was the only person actually writing comments.

i also was really upset because he was super stereotyping boys and girls . girls like barbies, boys like g.i. joes. he would say these things like, "when girls are (whatever age) their brain releases (whatever chemical) and that makes them act like (whatever absurd behavior)!"

or, "when boys are this age, they are like this, which is why they do this and this....etc, etc."

and i was just getting so fed up with it. putting every single girl into the "girl" category. and he was basing everything purely on science. like, "every teenage girl acts this way because their brain does this." and me and Courtney were talking about it and we were like, "yeah, i don't remember any of that happening to me." or, "i was never like that."

and he was like, being funny about it. and making jokes about angsty teenagers and, "oh these silly teenages acting like they do, if only they knew it was their brain making them like this!"

so, i wrote something along the lines of, "i did not appreciate when the facilitator used his humor to make generalized statements about teenagers and college students. it also concerned me the way he was using science to stereotype gender and to explain the experiences of all teenagers. i think it would have been more productive to argue that, though perhaps gender is purely societal, here are some scientific reasons why teenagers act and feel the way they do."

and yeah, he was all about science, which was totes obvi. it was just really annoying to hear him constantly say, "this is what girls like. this is why they like it. blah blahblah."

whatever. we went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch and it was really good. and it was free.

sometimes he would say something interesting. i just had a hard time paying attention. i think it was i kept looking around the room thinking, "what are we all doing here?! look at us all! sitting here, staring up at this guy who is just making bad jokes and reading off statistic after statistic!!" it was made me sad, or something. like, "this is what i'm doing? i'm sitting IN A SEMINAR?!!?" i guess i just kept thinking about Hampshire and how we never would have done this. and this was like, for business people. who work in offices. and who dress nicely everyday. it didn't feel like i was letting myself down for being there, but....i don't know. i guess it did a little bit.

then i came home and took a nap. Ruby Tuesday took one with me. although, she kept waking me up because she would bury herself under the covers next to me, and then come out again. and then go back under. and then come out again. ah well. she's so cute. but, my eyes have been burning and i've been sneezing nonstop.

OH! i know what part about the seminar i liked. but, i didn't totally understand what he was talking about. he started talking about decongestants. and then i was like, "oh, i know my decongestants." and then it sounded like he said something like, "kids are using heroin as decongestants." or something like that. but, i wrote in my notes, 'heroin as allergy medicine?' i think he was actually saying that most of the time when you buy heroin, it's only 40% pure and 60% something else. and he said that sometimes in that 60% there could be decongestant because heroin makes you stuffy, or something. who knew?!

but then he was talking about how everyone uses Sudafed to get high. suphedrine. that's the drug. and it's like, super powerful. and he was talking about people taking the drug and feeling no sinus pressure and being about to breathe clear and having a deeper lung capacity and i was like, "what?! i took sudafed for years and i never felt any of these things!"

i had to take my inhaler this morning. i think it was a mix of cat allergy and the cold.

anyways. then i realized that i have been taking allergy medicine for years now and have never really felt any better for taking it. and he started talking about medication tolerance. and i was like, "yeah, i bet i have built up my allergy medicine tolerance because i've been taking it for so long."

because, it's really kind of ridiculous. i take the allergy medicine, but i'm still sneezing and blowing my nose and putting in eye drops ever 5 minutes?? or, finding it hard to drive because i keep sneezing from the pollen which has accumulated on my car overnight?! COME ON!!! why aren't the allergy meds helping??!

i went from sudafed to claritin to benadryl to zyrtec.

and THEN i was like, "HOLY CRAP I'M PUTTING ALL THESE DRUGS INTO MY BODY AND THEY'RE NOT EVEN WORKING!!!!!!!!"

i think i need to find a doctor. or a hypnotist. whoever will cure me.

anyways. i think i'm going to go to bed now. it's 2:30. i don't have to wake up at 6:30 anymore because nobody needs me in the morning.

just like that dream i had a few weeks ago. where i slept through my alarm and didn't wake up at 6:30, but it was alright because nobody really needed me anyways. and it made me so sad.

and then i get back from vacation and hear, "oh, you don't need to get up in the morning anymore, the girls can get themselves off to school."

oh. okay...

but then! i'm sleeping the other morning and the phone rings three times, which means someone is buzzing me from outside. and i answer the phone and it's the water guy and the food delivery guys and they are outside with deliveries. and i was like, "YES! i'll be right down!!!"

and it was Scott from Vermont Pure water company and it was his first time here and he was super cute. too bad i had only woken up 5 minutes before. but he needed me!!! so did the food delivery guy. but i don't like them as much because they make us carry the super heavy boxes into the house ourselves. the water guys carry the water jugs in for us.

but i mean, i totes COULD carry all those water jugs into the house. duh. um, i worked in the airport lounge for three years, hello!!! and i carried all my bags across Ireland for two weeks. i've got mad carrying skillz.

oookkkk. plan for tomorrow is this:

- post office
- hollywood video (to return something)
- pizza party
- ireland blogging

oooo pizza party!!!! at 5ish!! it's a going away pizza party for the two girls who are leaving. i'm excited. for pizza. not excited that they are leaving.

ok! now bed for real.

thanks to you friends who have been checking back for updates. even though i've been lame about it. but, i've really enjoyed this. i missed you all. i'm glad we had this talk tonight. i'll talk to you tomorrow.


<3

!!!

WOW! i'm home!!!!

two weeks after our ireland adventure started, it ended. sadly. right back where it started, in the dublin airport.

i have a ton of pictures that i can't wait to show you. and lots and lots of stories you will enjoy. i can't quite sort through it all right now. and i can't figure out how to separate everything. also, in terms of documentation, i don't know how i'm going to show you it all without it taking a day to read.

i'm still amazed with everything we did. the amazing people we met. i think i last updated you from Ennis, right? we were in the Rowan Tree hostel. nice hostel.

our next stop was Doolin, which was my favorite part of the trip.

ANYWAYS. please keep reading again. i promise i'll start recounting the trip for you all.

FRIENDS - you're going to get to go back to Ireland with me!!!! without even buying a ticket!!!! you'll need no passport for this journey.

it'll totes be the dave-est* blogger entry ever.

<3,
.Jacuzzi.Jacuzzi.


*trip inside joke. will explain later.

update from ireland!!!

hi friends <3

oh, how i miss you all so dearly.

i'm in ireland right now. no, like, RIGHT NOW. not like, i got home yesterday. or, i got home 5 minutes ago - i'm there RIGHT NOW. um, crazy.

so, quite quickly, we arrived in dublin on tuesday morning around 8am. none of us had slept all night long so we were super tired. i guess i don't really understand what jet lag is, because everyone kept saying that we weren't supposed to be tired at 8am, but that's when i usually go back to bed anyways, so i don't know. i was confused. but, tired.

we knew it would be a bad idea to sleep right away, so we dropped our bags off at the hostel and then headed out walking. we walked a lot. and took lots of naps on benches, in cafes, and at trinity college. they didn't mind. we also drank lots of coffee.

ate peanut butter and jelly for supper in our hostel room. then were all in bed by around 8pm. slept right through until 8am which was super great.

wednesday we were ready to take on ireland by storm!!!!! we walked all the way to the western part of the city and had a tour of this really amazing jail. or, 'gaol', as they say. it was really awesome. i loved it. would definitely do it again if i'm ever in dublin again.

then, walked waaaaaaay around some more. we seriously stormed the city by foot. found a sweet little place called the Cinnamon Cafe to eat in. delish. then aliya, elizabeth and i walked around to find the writer's museum. we walked in. looked around. decided we didn't want to pay for the tour, so we hung out in the bookshop.

wednesday night we ended up in the Palace Bar pretty close to our hotel, where we met up with some other Hampshire kids!!! Will and Dave. great (looking) people. had a beer with them. planned to hang out more the next day.

thursday was museum day. we did the national museum, national library, ummm.....was that it? maybe that was it. saw this really incredible exhibit called Bog Bodies. omg, it was like, all of a sudden, these workers started finding all these bodies in the bogs in Ireland, Denmark, Norway, etc, and they were all so perfectly preserved. and they had some of the bodies on display. it was really moving and sort of terrifying. it made me remember my forensic anthropology class and all the feelings i had holding real human bones. and seeing the machete marks in the skulls. it was heavy.

then we got ready to go out to this other bar that Will and Dave knew of. kind of. they had met this band in the street and the band said they would be at this bar. but, we had no idea where the bar was. so, we found it. but the band had already stopped playing. whatevs. we stayed and had drinks anyways.

then moved onto another bar. but, we never actually got there because a drunk irish man stopped us in the street and proceeded to yell at us for about 2 hours telling us we need to stand up for our country and also change the entire thing. and also somehow tell Obama to do better. whatevs. but, at the end of the night, we ended up getting kicked out of this irish bar. .....morelater.....

i guess that's all. now we're in Ennis. i really like it here. there are super nice people working at the hostel. tonight we move onto Doolin. for two nights and then Galway. then back to Dublin, and then north a little for the wedding ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!!!!

i now have a lime green strap on my duffle bag because they broke it off at the airport. this was right after the custom's guy was being angry at me because apparently i didn't bring enough money. this made me really upset and i was recalling it again yesterday and was still really upset. it all seemed fine. he was asking me normal customs things and then all of a sudden:

CUSTOM'S GUY: How much money did you bring with you?
JULIE: How much do I have in cash?
CUSTOM'S GUY: How much money will you have access to while you're here?
JULIE: Ummm......(says amount)
CUSTOM'S GUY: Is that all?
JULIE: Um, I think so.
CUSTOM'S GUY: (makes a face) Are all you're hotels paid for?
JULIE: Um, the booking fees are. We're paying once we get there.
CUSTOM'S GUY: And where are you staying?
JULIE: Abagail's for the first three nights, then we're heading west.
CUSTOM'S GUY: And you only have ($ amount) for your whole trip?
JULIE: Yeah, I guess.
CUSTOM'S GUY: That's not very much.
JULIE: Yeah...I guess...I know....
CUSTOM'S GUY: We expect you to contribute back to our economy. I mean, what would happen if you got sick and needed to be in the hospital while you were here? We want you to be able to take care of yourself. And you didn't bring much money for that.
JULIE: Okay...
CUSTOM'S GUY: How long are you here total?
JULIE: About two weeks.
CUSTOM'S GUY: ($ amount) is not very much for two weeks. D' you understand?
JULIE: Yes.

i was super upset about this. i just wanted to scream at him. scream something like, 'UM, HOW MANY DAYS OFF HAVE YOU HAD IN THE PAST THREE MONTHS?!?!?!' for serious!! he had no right to say those things to me. and it makes me angry everytime i think about it. i had been working for three months straight to save money for this trip and it was the number one thing i was stressing about. and then i was free from work, all set, landed in dublin, feeling good, and then he goes and says these things to me. UGH. he had no idea of my situation and i think it was completely out of line.

and, i bet he didn't know he was talking to the number one hater of airport and custom's employees. he had no idea. and he did not help me get over this at all.

whatevs. i try not to think about it.

but, i'm going to charge my ipod now. and then we're leaving for the bus stop. yesterday we were on the hottest bus in the world for about 5 hours. it was horrible. the most hottest i've ever been for such a long period of time. it was like, 100 degrees C. no joke.

anyways. hope you all are having lovely times whatever you're doing!! i'd still love to hear from you. i check my email somewhat frequently. i love you all. miss you all. perhaps another update before the wedding??? i think this upcoming hostel has free laundry and detergent. so that's exciting.

OK! LOVE YOU!!!!!

<3<3.Jacuzzi.Jacuzzi.<3<3

turtle:::update

NO TURTLE GETS LEFT BEHIND!!!!

<3

we're in Boston at kate's beautiful house. cambridge in the morning. davis square in the early afternoon-ish. logan in the late afternoon. ireland in the evening!!!!

<3

:::buck:::

(i like that my last two blog entry titles have rhymed!)


so, the big debate is whether or not i should bring Buck to ireland. my mom says absolutely not. i think kara said that too.

i was assuming i would just bring him. he's never been to Ireland before either.

i guess i just have to blog about this a little because it upsets me.

in my 8+ years of having Buck, i've only slept without him for one night. it was the night of Amy's wedding. the night the 7th Harry Potter book was released. i was planning on sleeping over Matt and Meg's after the wedding and i just forgot to bring him.

this is why i like bringing Buck places: he makes a great pillow. he can turn any uncomfortable situation into a comfortable one. for serious.

i don't know. i guess part of me is like,

JULIE 1: Yeah, why would you bring such a large stuffed animal to Ireland with you? He's just going to take up space. Also, you're 23, get over it.

and the other part of me is like,

JULIE 2: Why wouldn't you bring him to Ireland?? You've only slept one night without him in 8 years! You've taken him on all your other vacations, why is this one any different? Who cares if you're 23?!?! Not Buck.

i suppose he's a security thing. but, i never thought of him like that until now. so maybe he isn't. it was never like, "ok, i need buck there too." it was always like, "oh great, buck is coming!"

the people love buck. he's been up the east coast, over to the canadian west coast, the canadian east coast, driven through the rocky mountains, been to his homeland of florida multiple times....he loves vacationing!

i don't know. i suppose if there's room i'll bring him. i just feel like if i don't bring him, i'll be upset about it. sleeping alone in a foreign country with no Buck?? ugh. what a horrible time.

i guess i'd be willing to sacrifice clothing space for Buck. i could probably make room for him in my backpack. there was talk yesterday of adding straps to him and adding a zipper to his shell to turn him into a backpack.

i feel bad about even having this debate. why wouldn't Buck come!?! he'd love Ireland! it makes me nervous if i think about not bringing him.

i guess i'll let you know what i decide.



here are Buck, Oscar and Pooka napping in the hotel in Montreal. the housekeeper aligned them with Kara's pillow, thinking that the clown design belonged to the little child in our family. when, in fact, the three stuffed animals belonged to me, with the fancy teal design pillow next to the clown pillow. (ps::what a creeper clown on that pillow!)


ok. back to the pack.


:::PS::: the other day aliya and i were driving and, at a stop light, we pulled up next to this couple on a motorcycle. and the lady on the back had a sticker on her helmet that read, "Don't make me turn on my bitch switch!" we immediately decided it was the trip motto.


<3

:::luck:::

it happens every now and then
i hear the words i need to hear
coming from the tiny speakers
that i shove into my ears


our trip is here. our Ireland trip. we're leaving tomorrow, Monday. our flight is at 7pm from Boston.

we're heading to Boston today, sunday, to stay at Kate's house. she is a friend from Hampshire. we're meeting up with some of Aliya's friends on monday morning and will probably have a hip, hang-out day until our trek to the airport.

we've been packing and watching wedding movies all night. first was 27 Dresses. then was Mamma Mia. both were great and gave us some awesome tips for weddings!!!! now we know what is happening.

i made all my wedding jewelery today. earrings, bracelet, anklet. i ended up making the anklet in fear that there wouldn't be enough red accessories. aliya assured me i had enough. so, i'll bring the anket, but i might not wear it. i'm not that crazy about it.

i bought a backpack. from LL Bean. one of those backpacks. i don't know that i've ever owned anything from LL Bean before. i was going in hoping for a cheap, sale backpack that was teal. and i went there and asked the lady working,

JULIE: Hi! So, I'm looking for a backpack. Not like a super backpack, just a normal one.
LL BEAN WORKER: So, just a bookpack?
JULIE: ...Yeah.
LL BEAN WORKER: Ok, they are over by the kids shoes towards the back.
JULIE: And, do you have a clearance section?
LL BEAN WORKER: We actually don't. That's pretty much all we have because we're getting in all our summer stock. We'll have more sales towards the fall.
JULIE: Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Great, thanks!

so, i left this conversation and headed back to the backpack section. now i was totally thinking that i wouldn't buy one because it wouldn't be on sale. and they were $40! yime that's a lot of money. so, i was like, "ah well, no backpack tonight."

but then, i saw them. and i was looking through it. and looking at all the different pocket options. and it did seem really useful. and i decided it would definitely be a good trip bag. so, i purchased. navy blue.

and immediately i was like, "how can i make this prettier?!" (more later)

ALSO: the LL Bean store is in The Powerhouse Mall. now, before tonight, i had never been into this mall. but, i assumed that they didn't reall mean it was a mall, it was just the area that they called the LL Bean. BUT NO! it's a mall!!!

and so, i walk in the doors expecting to walk into the LL Bean, but no - i was walking into the mall! what a surprise! there are other stores ON THE INSIDE! there was a candy store! i stood there for a minute trying to figure out where i was, since i was not in the LL Bean. unexpected, and i will have to explore this more later.

so then, i also had to run into JoAnn's and buy some necklace clasps. did that. also found some pretty buttons with birds on them to sew onto my new backpack. everything was on sale because of Memorial Day, and then i had a 10% off coupon. perf.

and then i decided i needed a notebook. and some socks. and gum. so, i tripped to wal-mart. found some Sasquatch notebooks. i like them a lot. bought some socks. gum. pens. and a 5$ watch.

we're not bringing cell phones, so the question was, 'how are we going to know what time it is??' and so i wandered into the kids jewelery section for a watch. found a sparkly teal one for five bucks. nice.

headed home. organized. packed slightly. turned the watch into a necklace. aliya trimmed my hair. consolidated my bobby pins. cleaned out my purse and wallet.

ended up sewing three things onto my backpack:

1. bird button purchased tonight
2. CITIZEN pin from aliya's div 3
3. lucky turtle charm from my mom

i did all my laundry. washed and dryed. tomorrow i will sort and pack.

OK. i guess this might be the last update before i leave.....before i get back? i'll try hard to update from Ireland, but i'm not promising anything. i will keep a journal, duh, to update you as much as possible when i return.

i'll take pictures for you to see. i'm actually pretty excited about my backpack.

alright, friends. i'll miss you.

tonight marks my THE END OF MY THREE MONTH WORKING STRAIGHT MARATHON. words cannot express how happy i am about this. i was starting to go crazy in this house.

and now, i feel like i have to bring things back for the girls. because i live with them.

whatever, i won't get into that because i have lots of feeling and opinions about it which i am too tired to express.

man, i'll really miss you. will we seriously not be talking for over two weeks?!??! no, i'll have to make time. for you? definitely.


love you.


j.ulie

"reach and throw, but never go"

that's the motto you have to remember if you are helping someone who is drowning. you can reach to them, and throw something to them, but never GO to them. UNLESS they are in water that is waist deep or below. or, if you're like, an olympic swimmer. because when someone is drowning and they realize that someone is there to rescue them, they will immediately try and climb on top of you to get out of the water. and then the situation could turn from bad to worse and become a double drowning.

i learned this and other super important information at water safety training tonight in claremont, new hampshire. it was a required course for residential staff. especially because it's summertime now and that's when people like to go swimming.

i found this training highly emotional. it took a lot to get through it. there were many times in the evening where i just wanted to cry. so hard. it was basically like 2.5 hours of "how children die."

did you know that drowning is the number 2 accidential cause of death in the united states overall, but number one in the state of new hampshire? NH is the only state where it's number one! and he said that new hampshire has some of the strictest water safety regs ever. so, that just doesn't make sense.

it only takes 10 seconds for someone to drown. TEN SECONDS. i had no idea. if you are watching people in the water you have to do face counts every 10 seconds. and we practiced this. he chose random people from the class and assigned them rows to count every 10 seconds. i was chosen and i had 12 people i had to count. there wasn't enough time in between the face counts to do anything else! no talking to others. no reading a book. changing a diaper. taking out a splinter.

and then we had to watch this movie. it's the only footage in the world of people actual drowning. taken from Orchard Beach in the bronx. there's this like, huge drop off underwater and tons of people get caught it in and drown. so, this guy who made the movie was the head life guard there and set up a camera on the back of the lifeguard chair and filmed it for a few days.

omg. soooooo strange to watch. i mean, the water would be JAM PACKED with people. and he'd be like, "see that boy in the back? he's drowning." and he would be surrounded by people who clearly just thought he was splashing and playing. it was horrible. and then at the last minute the lifeguard would swim in and save them.

except for this one guy. 6 foot tall man who had been drinking. drowned in 4 feet of water.

and then, at the end of the movie the narrator (who was the head lifeguard at the beach) was like, "i'd like to end by telling you this tragic story." and it was like, 'oh great, a tragic story to end with.' and he was telling the story and started crying and it was just awful.

so, the training was so eye opening. and also really scary to think that thousands of parents will take their children to the beaches this summer not knowing all this information. and that some of these parents will lose their children because of things that probably could have been prevented.

UGH.

so, the training was 2.5 hours. and he started by saying, "this is a 6 hour training that we're condensing to 2.5 hours! so i'm going to go really fast!!!" and then he'd be like, "oh, we can make it, we've only got half an hour!" or, "hang in there, almost done!!" and this just really bothered me that he had to keep saying this.

like, this is so important. we shouldn't be rushing through it. and i wrote that on the evaluation of the class. (i was the last person writing the evaluation in the room and i thank Hampshire College for that.) like, make the training longer. why does it have to be 2.5 hours? make it a whole day. get some pizza involved. get more comfy chairs. there's no reason this has to be rushed.

also, this guy teaching. he was really animated and very easy to listen to. and i kept hearing that all week leading up to the training..."oh, this is a great training, the guy does a great job." and yeah, he did do a great job and he was very engaging to watch. but, at the same time, i thought he was borderline insensitive. and that also really bothered me. and i wrote that on the evaluation too.

so, after the training i just felt like i was in this weird space. like, 'okay, so i just listened to hours about how children die....now what?' and it made me feel even weirder than it didn't seem that anyone else felt this way.

like, the first question i was asked after the training was, "can we stop at dairy twirl on the way home??" and it was like, "how can you think about ice cream after that?" it just didn't make sense to me. (we didn't end up going to dairy twirl because we went a different way home.)

hm. so, now i have a certificate from the training. i hope i never have to use any of the information i learned. we also got whistles. they are the second most powerful type of whistle in the world. they can be heard for 2 miles! and they are bright orange. and they float! and they are self-emptying of water. i feel like i should make it into a necklace and wear it all the time.

soooo. water safety training is done. not again for another three years. i'm glad about that. it was hard.

aliya is here now!!!! adventure begin!!! we're having a blogging session right now. and then we're going to go to bed.

tomorrow is my last morning of work until 12 JUNE!!!!! i can't believe it's here.

my last overnight is saturday night. EXACTLY THREE MONTHS from when i had my last night off. these last few weeks have been really hard to get through. it's like i feel semi-trapped in this place right now. and i've been in kind of a panic in trying to separate work from home. i realized how hard that is. and how stressed it makes me. it's a lot harder than i thought it would be.

i have more to say, but i think i'm done for now. i'm really tired and still feel sad from training. i'm very happy aliya is here, though. we have lots of projects to complete. awesome. i'm excited.

alright friends. have a good end of the week. and a good weekend. and everything in between. i'll talk to you soon again, promise.


<3

bad decision

i was like, "oh, i've got an hour before water safety training, i'll just watch the Private Practice season finale. it will probably be super dramatic and emotional, but i'll risk it anyways."


I SHOULD NOT HAVE RISKED IT.

pretty lame

i know, i know. i promised you the part 2 update and i haven't given it to you. YET. i'm too busy and tired. but let's recap some exciting things i've done over the past few days:

1. became red cross certified in first aid.
2. wrote 3 songs and finished recording a cd with andrew.
3. make 4 possible red earring choices for kerianne's wedding.
4. watched A Chorus Line.
5. bought a pair of yoga pants for all the non-yoga i will be doing.
6. made my student loan payment early because it's due while i am away.

hooray for me. tonight is thursday, i think. tonight i am going to be certified in water safety. it's summertime, and that's when some people like to go swimming.

anyways. i think i will eventually need another bead case. i have soooo many beads!! (i am saying BEADS, not BEES, for all you Gobs reading....) and they are all gorgeous. i just want to quit everything and become a jewelery maker. and also a broadway star.

actually, i really just want Michael Douglas's job where he just sits at the desk in the audience and judges people. i guess that could also be Simon Cowell.

the bottom of my toes have cuts on them and they hurt when i walk. i've tried putting band-aids on them but they just fall off immediately. that's my sad news.

aliya is coming up tonight!!!! we are going to make curtains for my living room. i'm pretty excited about this.

i'm supposed to get the movie Incendiary in the mail today. this is the one with Michelle Williams and Ewan Mcgregor. where she is having an affair with him and she's married and has a little boy. and then one day when she's away with Ewan, her husband and son are killed in a terrorist bombing and she never forgives herself for not being there with them. the first time i saw the preview i cried my eyes out. so, we'll see how the movie goes.

i'll hopefully also get Last Chance Harvey on saturday. i'm excited to see it because i want Emma Thompson to be my best friend.

ok. i prrrrrromise that the part 2 update will be coming soon. WITH PICTURES. oh, it will be great.

have a nice day. i hear it's supposed to be hott and sunny. dreadful.


<3

dee lay

ATTN::: there will be a delay for part 2 of my graduation day posting. i'm too tired. it was a long night at work and i was just not in a good mood. i felt bad for the girls because i was irritable. and stressed.

anyways. i'm going to sleep now. i'll update some tomorrow.

have a great start to the week!