Day 24 in the broody hen's nesting box, and as existing housemates eagerly await the arrival of the new additions, it is becoming clearer and clearer that perhaps there may not be any new arrivals at all....
Yes, unfortunately, it looks like Roy has not been doing his job well enough, and although our broody hen still meets anyone that comes within 5 feet with low dog like growling and vicious pecking, there is no sign of chicks. Mom is deeply disappointed, but is now faced with the dilemma of how to remove the broody hen from her pointless nest while still keeping all her fingers intact. Rubber gloves are her answer.
Meanwhile, celebrations post-exam week took place last night, and the night was in Maynooth town spent bopping away to all the cheesy 90's music we grew up with. Unfortunately, upon returning to my car this morning, I found the drivers side window shattered into pieces and a leaking can of beer on the seat. The rear windscreen wiper was also lying on the ground, and the car was in fact parked in the middle of the car park (whether pushed or lifted to there, you're guess is as good as mine). So the morning was spent trying to get everything sorted and the car back home to be fixed. Nightmare!! Plus the thought of someone damaging what you work so hard to keep just cause they have had a few drinks and think its great fun just doesnt put me in the greatest mood for the day.
But, onwards and upwards. I am intent on watching Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory tonight, a perfect happy film. The cure to any bad day.
Broody Hens and Beer Cans
A bitta Irish pride
Oh, finally, the exams are done!!! Now I cannot say whether they went well, or even if I have any chances
of passing them, I dont like jinxing these things. But who cares, they are done and dusted, and I never have to face them again!!
What a week it has been. First the exams, then the Queen, but there is no doube that yesterday's visit by Barak Obama to Ireland really was the icing on the cake. I had the intention of studying pretty much all day. I even got up relatively early in order to get organised and set up an intense day of cramming. But of course, 12pm came, and I made the disasterous mistake of switching on the TV to watch something for a half hour or so, and I stumbled across the live coverage of the US President's visit. 6 hours later, the only improvements that were made to the dismal academic situation was the title of the novel on the top of my study page and the knowledge regarding the lineage from Falmouth Kearney in 1850 to Barak Obama in 2011. But it was a slice of history really, and as a history student I am obliged to do an indepth study of such a remarkable event in my country's history ..... Well thats my story and I'm sticking to it!
It was a really lovely visit though. The people of Moneygall looked like all their birthdays, christmas's, easters, paddy's days and pancake Tuesday's had come at once, and Obama and the Missus really looked like they enjoyed the entire trip. The party atmosphere and reinvigorated sense of Irish pride could be felt through the tv screen, and I must admit I have never seen College Green look so impressive. Of course, Obama's speech was magnificently phrased, but I do think the credit for both speech and general perseverence over the past week goes to probably the most stressed man in Ireland Taoiseach Enda Kenny. I was never a big fan of the man, but I have to say, for an aul bogger from the Wesht he didn't do half bad.
Overall, a very successful week for the Irish people, exactly the tonic needed to remind us all of the relentless Irish spirit. Tá mé an-bhródúil as a bheith as Éirinn.
Harold Camping's Apocalypitic Failure
I have a pretty bad obsession of needing to know the news of the world during the day, and so I find myself typing Sky News into the address bar everytime I turn on the computer. But when I came home today and scrolled though the highlights, one particular story caught my eye.
As I am sure most of you all have heard, according to an American Evangelical leader Harold Camping, the world and everyone in it would be oblitterated at exactly 6pm on Saturday 21st of May 2011...... Well considering it is now 6.45pm I bet he feels pretty stupid right now.
But it got me thinking, if the world was to end and you were given one hours notice, what would you do?
Personally, I would pick the obvious first ; Be with family, ring people that you havent talked to in years due to petty fights just to say that you regret the years of not talking, and try not to spend the time shaking with fear. I think most people would generally try to clear the oul conscience, as I think that even of one says that one doesnt have any belief in a higher power, there is alwways that niggling thought that maybe there is such a thing as a God, and you certainly dont want to run the risk of being on the smiting end of his stick come the end of time.
But then I starting thinking about little things. Like what would I do for that hour sitting at home. I certainly wouldnt spend the whole time wasting my call credit, plus I'm sure the phone lines would be clogged anyway (great minds think alike). So then I moved onto alternatives. After not a lot of though, I came up with my ideal pre-obliteration situation. It basically includes me, my family, an infinite amount of my special recipe bagels, and the home video's of Christmas. The reliving of the effort that my parents put in every year, and seeing the innocent excitement on the faces of myself and my sister when the door was opened to reveal what Santa and his carrot eating reindeer had brought, never fails to brings back that feeling of a time when tomorrow was never worried about.
I think when faced with your end, with unavoidable death, fear is the instinctual reaction. But why fear that which cannot be avoided? Why waste time crying in fear, when it can be spent laughing, and remembering all the great events that led you to that unavoidable situation, and thinking well wasnt that just perfect.
The Queen's Visit : God save us both
So, here we are. Its now May, the sun is blasting through the sky, everything looks fantastic in its brilliant light, the birds are singing and the flowers are blooming ..... Who am I kidding, its Ireland and its been raining pretty much constantly for the past week! Summer my a**.
And with May and its rain, comes EXAMS!! oh the dreaded word that inserts fear and panic into the average bummy arts student who has spent the year contemplating her educational situation over a constant flow of cheap tea rather than actually doing anything educational.
But this week is not just about facing the fact that I'm educationally screwed, for tomorrow the Queen comes to Ireland. At first I thought this was a fantastic idea ; it has been nearly a century since the Republic of Ireland had any conflict with Great Britain, and I think its about time the old lady hopped over the pond for a cup of tea with the neighbours.
It wasn't until this week that the fun really started. Not only is it costing millions (and I mean MILLIONS) to have her over, but half of the country has become inaccessible due to road blocks. Not to mention my poor Dad is coming home on a nightly basis pulling what is left of his hair out (which isnt much by the way) because not only does he work in Dublin (which is quickly becoming fort knocks) but he works in Trinity College where the Queen is going to visit at some point tomorrow, and the process of just getting into his office is ridiculously complex and a nightmare to navigate.
And if it couldnt get any worse, the entire country is terrified that the poor woman will be the target of an attack by a small group of narrow minded idiots who live in the past.The majority of the country is perfectly happy to have her over, any excuse for a day out, but a few people are hell bent on ruining the entire thing. The entire visit has become an event filled with worry rather than excitement like it should be. To attack a little old lady is bad enough, but the Queen of England, now that just wouldn't look good after all the money the lil Brits lent us so we wouldnt have to set out on the famine ships to the New World.
All I say is, God Save The Queen .... or lets just cross our fingers and hope he doesnt have to.
Friday the 13th, unlucky or what?
Simon says : never walk under ladders. You get 7 years bad luck if you break a mirror, and a crow can bring enough tears to fill the Grand Canyon.
But Friday the 13th brings about more fear in people than any of these superstitions put together. It has such an impact upon the psyche of society, that some nerd in a cold dark room somewhere has even created a name for the fear of such a day ; friggatriskaidekaphobia .... try say that five times fast!
But lets take a look at whether Friday the 13th actually is unlucy. After a bit of googling (i will do anything, and I mean anything to avoid studying) I have found that a number of terrible things have taken place on this 'unlucky' day. For example, Hurricane Charley made landfall in Florida on Friday the 13th of August 2004, killing 25 people and causing 7.5 billion dollars in damage behind it.
Similarly, the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 551 crashed on October 13th 1972, killing a quarter of its passangers and leaving survivors stranded 3600 metres above sea level in harsh cold with little or no food.....
Ok so maybe this isnt turning out to be the happiest of entries ..... But there is hope!
According to the Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics (which yes, I got from Wikipedia, but shhhhh dont tell the lecturer) less accidents happen on Friday the 13th than any other Friday of the year. Why is this, you ask? Simple really. Due to the fact that its known to be unlucky everyone is extremely conscious of their safety on Friday the 13th, (thank you Clement V and your mass killing of the Knights of the Templar .... google it, or look at 'The DaVinci Code', its too complex to explain here) On this day, people stay in their houses, they drive a little slower, and take an extra look left and right when crossing the road.
So, to all you sufferers friggatris ..... friggatiska..... a fear of Friday the 13th, you can take comfort from the fact that you are more likely to die tragically on every other day of the year than this one ....
Great.
Eurovision Fever
Eurovision fever has set in!!! My mother never really understands my interest in the competition, but ever year it never fails to entertain. The trick, I always find, is to not take it seriously.
One must always expect certain things. For example,
1. The presenters will always be animated, fake and usually wear some ridiculously dress/suit.
2. The singers will smile waaaayyyyy too much.
3. And there will always be one song which makes you cringe .... see Ireland's entry this year for more details.
But this year, myself and the old man sat with a beer and, armed with a pen and paper (twitter for me), we compiled a list of our 10 from the 19 semi-finalists. Miraculously, 8 out of our 10 passed the post!! We should have made a trip to the bookies first. Personally, I like Finland's entry (see first link below), along with Serbia (see second link below). Serbia is really working the swinging sixties feel!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoDsA9PutU4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSxAdMHLYQw
Roll on Thursday is all I say, ah I do hope us Irish dont make a fool of ourselves. Its a catchy song, check it out below .... Wow we really are working the links tonight people!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAXp9ydgpNc
Royal Weddings, Ray Darcy and a Rooster
I felt it was time for another blog entry, Its looking a lil forgotten lately.
I know most people must be sooooo sick of hearing about it by this point, but I simply couldnt do a blog entry without mentioning the blushing Bride of the year and her Prince Charming (quite literally). Of course, didnt Kate Midleton just look picture perfect as she strolled, relatively calmly I must say, up that ridiculously long isle. I just hope the poor girl had comfortable heels on. The dress, as many have said before me, was the classiest interpretation of a timeless piece that anyone could have imagined, and I really cannot see someone looking back at it in 30 years and thinking badly of it.
As regards to the ceremony, I have to reluctantly say that I missed the entire thing as I was driving home from college. But I did here some of it (the main parts) on Today FM, where Mairead Farrell and Ray Darcy were giving a very entertaining running commentary. This commentary mainly consisted of Ray constantly repeating that he must regain his manhood by means of a beer and a good scream at the rugby match on the weekend, while Mairead shushed him only to replace his complaining with her sniffing and awwwwing. As funny as this was, and I am ashamed to say, that when the vows were being said (keep in mind I could only hear them and not see them), and as Mairead's sniffing got louder, I found myself throwing a slight sniff or two into the barrel ....... Ah come on people, its a nice ending to nice story.....
Anyway, as regards to life outside of dreams of finding Prince Charming, life at the Dalton's is relatively normal. Exams are coming up, essays are due in (as you can see from my presence here I am duely stressed), and Mom is being Mom. She arrived in the back door this morning after collecting the eggs to announce joyfully that one of our new batch of hens is sitting on what looks like a substantial amount of eggs. (The poor hen spent her days hiding behind the trailer from our testosterone-filled rooster Roy, but it seems he got his way in the end). So we should be welcoming a convoy of new chicks in approx. 20 days. Will post pics when they arrive.
Hope everyone had a good bank holiday weekend :-)
