Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Go on, go on, go on, go on.

I can't post in depth right now but. Basically, I went out to Temple Bar for the first time really with my Canadian girl friend here for the first time last night. Beyond words. I had.....ssoooooooo much fun. I also had a guy who wouldn't leave me alone, drop down on one knee and propose. "Give us a kiss. Go on, go on, go on." And met another fellow who was bummed that he just broke up with his girlfriend. He was hot. I did give him a kiss, go on, go on, go on. The hot one, not the one that proposed. Tell you more later. For now I have to go shower and figure out my hostel situation and where I will stay for the next few days. I very well might stay put where I am. Who knows.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Don't worry....

Bout a thing. Cuz when I was a kid, I loved this song. I remember watching it on the tellly cuz they'd always play music in between programs on Jamaican television. Besides that, I love Bob and wanted so badly to be one the Wailers when I was a little kid. Enjoy!

What are we going to do now?

I seriously do not know where to start. Last I updated this thing, I was feeling a bit down cuz I didn't have anyone to hang out with and was having the negative thoughts creep into my head about not finding a job. I quickly dismissed them because I've learned there's no sense in thinking negatively. So. I stayed in the library sucking the life out of their internet connection as much as I could. Until they closed. And I was thrown back into the cold Dublin air. I had a new friend cancel plans on me for Friday night because he had too much college work or something. Another friend was working. Didn't matter, all I knew was that I was on my own for the night.
Since I'd gotten here, I was intrigued by Supermacs. It's pretty much the Irish version of McDonalds. I just wanted to know what it was like. So with no other prospects, in I went. Ordered a chicken burger or that's what I think they called it. Took my tray and made my way towards the second floor. There was a space to sit by the television and I was surprised to see there on the big LCD screen "Judge Judy". It's very popular here I'm told. Why the Irish would want to watch American white trash and ghetto people show their ignorance on television I will never understand. 'Cept maybe to point and laugh, I can't figure it out. I fiddled with my laptop for a bit to see if i could get a signal but alas, could not. One day, I'll just have them plug the interweb into my veins. =) Yeah. I'm jonesing for it. Lolz. Anywho. While I was doing that I noticed a fellow wearing a Kings of Leon T-shirt next to me. He seemed nice enough so I started talking to him about them cuz they are one of my favorite band, and just about music in general. We talked, and talked, and watched Judge Judy intermittently, and then talked some more. I even forgot to eat my chicken burger we talked so much. When I finally did it was god awful and cold. No more Supermacs for me thank you. Then he asked me if I wanted to go for a drink. Course I said yes. Course! We ended up bar hopping. I had fun. We ended up spending Saturday together as well. He's an interesting fellow. We shall see what becomes of this. After he went home on Saturday night, I went back to my hostel and passed. the. fuck. out. We'd walked around all day and went to the museum.
I, unfortunately forgot my camera. I know! I'm horrible Muriel! (Inside joke)
The good news is I got a call back from the temp agency my program recommends. I'll have to do an interview and then they call me if they have any assignments. The same as in the states. Fingers crossed like a bazillion times.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Completely random but......

It seems I have a follower that I don't know. Kinda weird.

Banking Crisis

Oh where to begin. I kinda screwed myself by not telling my bank I would be using my ATM card in Ireland. In all fairness, I wasn't planning on using it. I have two. The one I planned to use, I called the bank ahead of time to tell them I would be using it in Ireland. Unfortunately, that card doesn't work here. Don't worry kiddies, I'm not stuck without money, I just needed more to go register with the Garda (police). Cuz I'm an immigrant. (Shut up Sam!) They make you register so they can keep tabs on ya. So. I basically have to wait till next week when my money gets transferred. Bollocks! Which means I can't spend much till then.

In other news, I was in McDonalds, which is now going to be known as my office as stated by Sharon, with a fellow Work in Ireland participant and we noticed this little kid who seemed to be on speed hopping all over the place. His mother, nowhere in sight. He started talking to us. He was so cute. Blond hair, blued eyed, cherub of almost 7 he told us. He said, "I'm six but a little bit 7." He cracked me up and just didn't stop talking. He was an old soul, you could tell. When he spoke he did this chin stroking, in deep thought thing with his hands. Then he told us that his mom said he was cute and everybody wanted him. "It's true, everybody wants me," he said. He was too precious. He just got all comfy and started to sit next to my friend and just would not stop talking. The whole time she and I were like, "does your mom know where you are?" He insisted that she did. From what we saw I don't think she gave a fiddlers fart where he was. Sad really. He went over to his mom and got his school bag and returned to showed us his books. Then he said he was from Poland, and then the Ukraine and now Dublin. I wish I could have taken a picture of his cute little face but that would have been a majorly creepy thing to do. You know Jody love da kids! Lolz. Only if I can give 'em back to their parents. =)

Then he told us he was learning Irish but couldn't tell us any. So he decided to dazzle us with his knowledge of religion. He informed us of a big flood that would wash away everything. That's when I said, "Isn't there supposed to be a boat involved as well?" His little eyes widened in surprise and I swear to you, screamed, "Yeah!!! You know about it too?!" Haha. I was utterly amused. My friend was not. Oh well. My little friend eventually left and so did my other friend. She took the bus home and I stayed. Doing what? Lord knows. Sorry that I haven't done anything exciting yet for you people that keep telling me that you're living vicariously through me. This weekend I shall change that. Going out later. Will bring camera for photographic evidence of the excitement that y'all think I should be having.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

I'm a lady

I wish Santogold would make a video for this song cuz I can't get it out of my head.

Guinness and stuff

I had my first pint of Guinness last night. I'll get to what it was like later. I just wanted to point out something peculiar I've noticed here so far. No matter what you buy, you'll get a receipt for it. I bought a pint, and I got a receipt for it. I'm going to have to steal part of Mitch Hedberg's stand-up routine right here but, seriously......"We do not need to bring ink and paper into this transaction. I give you the money, you give me the donuts (or pint in my case). End of transaction!" I saved that receipt. Cheesy, yes I know, but it just felt right. Here's the stand up bit. Dunno why its in anime format. But, whatevs.



In other news, I began job hunting today. I don't think I did the best I could but I did give my CV (resume) to a manager at a cafe I overheard was hiring. He was nice and said, he'd call me for a trial. That made my day. I somewhat think it helped that he wasn't Irish. I have not a clue where he was from but not Ireland. I just overheard a couple saying that it's really hard to tell who's Irish or not these days. Dunno if that was meant as a bad thing or just a matter of fact thing. I'm still new here and have a lot to learn so I dunno.

Last night, I also met a friend of a friend's who's from New York but living in Dublin. That was fun. She was nice and its nice to have a friend when I don't know anyone here. What else, what else? Oh yes! That pint! To be honest, it tastes the fucking same. It's bollocks that it tastes different here. The only difference is my pint glass was smaller, I payed the barman in Euros and I got a bleeding receipt!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Today's bit of craic

I saw this headline and immediately erupted in a fit of laughter.
Nation's Blacks Creeped Out By All The People Smiling At Them.

This is just absolutely awesome in every way. This has happened to me a bunch of time. While it didn't creep me out, I did find it a bit peculiar when people did this to me. After Obama won, the first thing out of any white person's mouth was "Obama this, Obama that". A guy even tried to pick me up by starting the conversation about Obama.



I literally had to cover my mouth from bursting out in laughter after reading the caption for the little old lady above. The look on her face is absolutely priceless.

Enjoy the article kiddies!

Freedom, thy name is wifi!

Free wifi is like a god send in them here parts. My hostel charges an exorbitant fee for the wifi and use of their computers. Luckily the McDonalds on O'Connell Street has free wifi. I'm so gunna like camp out here. Anywho. Now that I'm done ranting about wifi. Its 9:10 in zee morning here and I better finish this blog before zee Germans get here.

My first day got off to a timid start. Least I'm over my jet lag =). I can't tell the last time I was so intimidated. Being in a foreign country doesn't seem like it would be so intimidating, maybe I'm not as bad ass as I remember. Lolz. I tried to sleep in the lounge when I first got here but it was so cold I gave up and decided to go wander around. I went to the USIT office, which is right across the river. Used the puter. Then went to the meteor store and got myself an Irish mobile. El yeah! Unfortunately, the Irish sim card didn't work in my iPhone. =( So I had to buy a phone. The cheapest. It was 49 euro. Here's a pic.


The sales lady was so nice. She showed me how to top up (put more money on it, it's a pre-paid) and told me to register online and I'd get more credits or the likes. After that, I walked around Henry Street and looked around the malls and such. I got trapped in a convo with a Nigerian fellow who was excited that he'd just gotten a US visa. Then of course he asked me if I was married. I told him I was leaving in a week and had a boyfriend. Lies, all lies. Then made a hasty escape. Walked around a bit more and found a supermarket. Sharon and I share this obsession with supermarkets. Perhaps because we both love to cook.

After that it was almost time to go check in to the hostel so I made my way back. I checked in. Didn't even bother to get my luggage from the luggage room and promptly passed out for some well needed rest.

When I woke up, I was no longer the only person in the room. The girl in the bunk across from mine was from Oklahoma. We talked for a bit and decided to go get a pint. It was nice having someone from back home (even if it was the Midwest) to talk to. She was really nice. Here's to meeting more peeps like her!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Finally In Dublin

This blog's been leading up to this day and it's here. I'm finally in Dublin and it's 6:30 in the morning here. I'm so tired. I seem to be having pretty good luck with flights these days. Not only was my flight comfortable, We landed at Dublin airport 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Going through customs was kinda nerve racking because the guy looked at my passport then my visa papers, then the computer screen, then my passport, then the computer screen. Then my visa papers again, then back to my passport. Then he finally looks up and asks me how long I'd be staying. I tell him four months. He scans my passport. Stamps it. Then tells me I have one month to register with the Garda. And send me on my way. That. was. it. I freaked out for absolutely nothing. They're definitely not as harsh as they are at Heathrow.

Got my bag. Didn't take long. Since it was 5:20 in the morning, I thought it best to forgo figuring out the cheap way to get to city center and I got on the airlink. Really short ride. Got off on O'Connell Street. My first sights of Dublin being the Spire. It was kinda eery walking down the street at 5:50 in the morning. The cold chill from the River Liffey, the sounds of the seagulls and the almost deserted street made me feel so out of my element. Having studied the map for some time I pretty much didn't have any trouble walking to my hostel. Which is where I am now. I can still here the seagulls in the background.

Check in time is at 2:30 Ireland time (which is four hours ahead of you guys back in New York) which means I'm either going to curl up on this coach in the lounge here or ignore my jet lag and go walking about. All I know is as soon as 2:30 comes, I'm so passing the fuck out.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Snow??!!!

It's supposed to be the first day of spring and it's snowing outside. Mind you it's just flurries but still. I hate the schizophrenic New York City weather. I have definitely gotten used to the sunny 80 degree weather of south Florida.

So three days and counting and I'll be leaving for Dublin. This still feels very surreal. I still don't feel like I'm going. Someone pinch me!

Tonight should be hella fun. I get to see a lot of friends I haven't seen in ages and some I have. Enough blogging for now. No point in rambling on and on just to write something. I'll leave you with this piece on the top 10 worst Irish accents on film a friend sent me.

Hope everyone has an awesome Friday!

Kisses!!!!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Jamaican Food




I must first say that I stole this video from someone else's blog. A very well written blog that I rather enjoy reading. Thanks for posting this video. My mom and I rather enjoyed it and I hope whoever watches it enjoys it as well.

I bring the Sunshine where ever I go

Back in New York City! St. Patty's day was gorgeous and sunny. It actually still is now. I thought I would need my winter jacket and was pleasantly surprised. Being away from it for a couple weeks, I gotta tell you that I was not happy to have to wear it again. Strolling to the car in my pajama shorts and flip flops and driving to the shopping center was kinda nice.

Anywho. Since it was St. Patty's day, I was watching The Today Show on the airplane and it was broadcasting live from Ireland. Dublin in particular. There was an interview with the President of Ireland and they were discussing the harsh economic times Ireland is facing. With record unemployment rates, I'm hella worried about finding a job. Trying to remain optimistic though. Baby Jeeebus. I'm looking in your direction!

Apart from my arm falling asleep periodically, my flight was smooth and the old couple sitting next to me was very pleasant. We even landed at JFK 10 minutes early. I got my checked bag in less than ten minutes and met Sharon and her niece at the AirTrain. Note to self. I have packed waaaaaayyyyy too much. I could feel my right leg going numb when carrying my backpackers bag on my back. Serrrrriously need to re-pack and leave some stuff at my aunt's or at Sharon's.

We dropped my stuff off and then went to eat as I did not eat anything all day. I also didn't sleep at all the night before because I was so worried I didn't pack everything. We ate. Ogled some cute Irish boys and our waiter. Then I left Sharon and her niece and went to go "get ma hair did". Heehee. I was sooo tired I fell asleep in the chair. Lucky she wasn't an old Jamaican grandma or she would have hit me upside my head with a brush. Lol. No seriously, my grandma did that to me when I was little and she combed my hair and I moved. Ahhhh, good times =)

I was so tired I had to cancel meeting a bunch of friends for St. Patty's celebrations. Man, a week isn't really that long. I don't at all think I'll get to see everyone I want see. I'll just have to try to fit as much as I can in without tiring myself out.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Where do I live again?

Ok. So, ahhhh....where do I live again? A friend of mine has taken to calling me hobo Jody. Kinda funny. But rightfully so. I've moved so much that this friend and I have only known each other for a little over a year and I've lived in 3 different places thus far. Well hobo Jody doesn't really have a problem with that. Hobo Jody just doesn't feel like she lives in Florida yet and I suppose that I won't until I get back from Ireland.
Tomrrow I'll board a plane for NYC and spend a week there till I get on another plane bound for Dublin, Ireland. Only being out of NYC for two weeks, I've not missed it. Not missed it till it's Saturday night and hobo Jody's sitting in her room pumping lotion and perfume into those tiny plastic bottles they make for airplane travel, whilst she's on the phone with her buddies who are bar hopping in Williamsburg and flirting with boys. Sigh. For someone who moves so much you'd think I'd have mastered the art of packing. But, alas, I have not. I'm either gunna pack too much or forget something crucial. Like my passport.
Well. At least I'll be in NYC for St. Pattys day. Save some car bomb cupcakes for me Sharon!

Friday, March 13, 2009

10 Days and counting......

I am leaving for Dublin in ten days. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. On one hand I'm hella excited. On the other hand I will no doubt miss my friends in New York and my family that I've only been able to spend two weeks with here in Florida. I just seem to be moving a lot these days. I just moved from New York City to sunny Boca Raton, Florida. Something I swore I would never do. But. Never. Ever. Swear you won't do something ladies and gents. I've found that I'm eating my words more and more as time goes on. But. I digress. As I am prone to do. I've lived in Florida for a whole two weeks and it doesn't seem so bad so far. I actually like it. A lot! New York holds a special place in my heart that will never be moved, but, it was time to go. Before I left, every time I told a friend (well mostly acquaintances) that I was moving, they'd ask me why. It's a good question. And while I knew well enough what the answer was, I found it such a complicated question to answer. Mostly because the reasons were extremely personal, but the biggest reason was that I ultimately found myself going in a circle. A circle that did not bring me closer to my goals or to happiness, so I found it pointless to continue going around the round-about like the Griswolds in National Lampoons European Vacation. Hope that answers any ones questions. If anyone besides my brothers cat reads this that is.
Now about this Ireland thing. I'm aware of the impending doom that is their economic crisis and how hard it is to get a job there. That's all I can think about. I'm not at all worried about finding a place to live or making friends or what have you. Because as Sharon will tell you, leave me alone for 5 minutes and I'll make 5 new friends. Baby jeebus, if you're listening, can I have a job mmmkay?
So, basically all I need to worry about now is packing. Good lord, I am such a fucking nomad, I should just live out of a bloody suitcase! Just as soon as I've unpacked everything in my room here in Florida, it's time to pack again.
This time it'll be for a happy happy joy joy reason at least. At least.