Oh the stress of life! I thought I was doing so well today. I have taken lately to making heaps of lists in order to keep on top of everything I have to do, from deadlines, to reading for lectures, to shopping lists. And today I had my lil list ready to pack my bag for the weekend home from Uni. I had a lot of stuff to remember, and I was feeling so good that I had it all organised and ready to go.
I decided to go and do a bit of shopping first, maybe get myself a nice pair of heels, and get birthday presents for a friend or two. I was standing in 'The Body Shop', admiring a lovely cupcake shaped bath ball, loving life and the fact that for once I was being asked 'would you like any help', and then it hits me, like someone just whacked me in the face with a really big frying pan ......... a frying pan displaying the words 'you forgot your purse, YOU IDIOT!!'. My lovely lil flowery purse was sitting on my coffee table in my sitting room, a good 40 minutes from where I was standing.
And if it couldn't get any worse, I was parked in a multi-story car park ..... I currently owe the lovely security guard 50 cent .... the shame!! Moral of the story, don't get cocky thinking that you have everything organised. More than likely, you have forgotten the most obvious thing, and you are about to look like a complete knob.
The stresses of life
Writers Block
It has been pointed out to me that I have been severely neglecting this blog lately ..... and that is very true .... shame on me!! But I have to say that I been having a bit of a writers block at the moment. My lovely housemate, when faced with my moaning about this block of mine, simply reminded me that my blog is completely abstract, and therefore thinking of some deep and philosophical topic to talk about is a simple waste of my time. So that rules out my recent class on theories of gender versus sex based on the theories of Micheal Foucault and Judith Butler ..... darn!
So, something not so deep methinks ..... you cannot get more simple and shallow than the X Factor now can you .... ah no I'm not that desperate! .....
So I decided to go for the first thing that came to me, and as strange it seems, that thing is the annoying fact that Jennifer Aniston never seems/seemed to wear a bra that hides her nipples. Is it a thing that she felt like she needed to fit the sexy woman in rom com role and that could only be fulfilled if her nipples were displayed through her string top in at least 75% of her scenes. I mean I would not consider that woman sexy in any sense. She is very boney and her arms are all muscular, now Tulisa Consostavlos ..... Ok this writers block needs serious working on.
And .... Life Resumes
So, its been a looonnngggg time, but I have an excuse, I swear. Well, I have been working A LOT!!! Been doing the full 40 hours a week, plus a 120 hour TEFL course, which took up a lot more time than I thought. So now, with the whole TEFL thing finished last Friday (wooooo) I can now get back to actually having a life!
I am still working the whole 40 hours a week thing, and finding it quite difficult I must admit (there is only a certain amount of time one can remain interested in the antics of the sickeningly rich), but there is light at the end of the tunnel ..... college starts this day next week!!!!! So that means an endless amount of tea while drowning in seas of 'critically acclaimed' works of literature (note the ''s) and fun filled nights of cheap drink promos and little Maynoothian discos ..... CANT WAIT! Last year of college sounds like its gonna be a friggin blast!
I have also made the big move outta the nest, and have left the mother and father and animal antics behind in place of student life in a house filled by Playdo Soc people :-) its mad craic lads! Yes I must admit I miss the mother's cooking, it was bloody handy after a day's work, but I return home on a regular basis to be fed, watered and generally babied. Difficult to foresee how the mother will take the whole change of scene when it really starts to sink in (the sis has also uprooted to save the world (inbetween drinking sessions) in UCD's General Nursing course), but I imagine it will be a sequence consisting of tears and lots of wine and movies, followed by replacement of children with animals, and then a resolution of finding a new and better life by way of some governmental course or epiphany, ending with me arriving home one day to find my room transformed into a pole dancing studio complete with strobe lights and surround sound system ..... ok maybe I took it a lil far there, but u get where I'm going with it .....
Anyway, dossy college life has very nearly resumed, and after a summer of non stop working my lazy artsy ass off, I say BRING IT ON!!
I hear tapping ...... I HEAR TAPPING!!!!
'What a strange title' one may say, but if one was sitting in the kitchen having breakfast and found that to be the first utterence that they hear that day, one would think it was a little more than strange. But in the Dalton household, nothing can be ruled out. And sure enough, that was the first thing my Mom said to me this morning. It appears, that after numerous tries, and equally numerous fails, one of our lovely hens has managed to work with nature, defeat her boredom, and produce 3 out of 5 viable eggs which, as of this morning at approx 11am, were declared 'TAPPING!!!'.
The parents are venturing off to accompany the lil sister and two of her posse to Galway this weekend (talk about asking for a headache, 3 screaming 18 year olds falling in the caravan door after a night on the town, fun), so as the new arrivals are, well, arriving, I will no doubt be on baby watch, with eggs stuck to my ears at least once a day, and recieving constant phone calls from a worried mother (mine, not the hen, last time I checked she doesnt have thumbs). I swear, you would think she was the one having the baby! Talk about living vicariously.
So, the babies are arriving, which is such a relief for the whole family. Mom's months of effort has finally paid off, the hen has proven that she can defeat her desire to abandon her natural vocation in favour of a life of following Roy around, and Roy, well, he keeps his neck attached to his head. All is well in the Dalton madhouse.
Travelling Bug
Wow, what an amazing two weeks I had in Germany! It is completely impossible not to love the place. The trains are always on time, the scenery is magnificant, the history is fascinating, and the food is always delicious, as well as constantly available wherever you turn.
For anyone who is a lover of food, I highly recommend visiting the Turkish Market in Berlin (as far as my memory serves me you take the U1 to Gorlitzer Bhf, then walk the whole way up the street, and its just beside the river). The place was full of fresh food, whether its veg or fruit or meat, or even just take away Turkish meals or snacks, and all taste superb. The Turkish know how to do real food and seriously low prices (99 cent for a Kilo of apples!!). Who needs Tesco??
So, after bopping around Germany for the past two weeks, learning more of the language and culture, the ever present travel bug has gotten a new lease of life, and rainy Ireland suddenly seems even more depressing than when I left. The result of all this?? The TEFL (Teach English as a Foreign Language) course is well under way. With 6 out of 20 modules done in a week and a half, my September 10th deadline cant come fast enough. And when that is done and dusted, there are only a few mere months in college between me and the world!! How much more exciting can u get??
So for the moment, I will have to simply get my fix from the travel channel, German music in the car, google images of Asia, and my desperate attempts to recreate some of the amazing meals I had in Germany. Will keep you posted on how that goes. For now, here are a few images from the country that has stolen my heart.
Start of Summer Shanninigans
Well, dear bloggers, it's been quite a while. So what is happening in the world of Dalton? Three words .... Work, Work, WORK!! I suppose I shouldn't complain in the economic climate in which we live in and all that jazz.
But I have still found time to take a look at the reading list for my college course next year..... bad idea. Ulysses is number three on the list of 17 texts .... Shoot me now! But on the upside Ian McEwan's 'Atonement' is also listed, which isn't a bad book, though I think the film did it more justice than it deserved.
I have also found time in my busy work schedule to fit in some light reading in the form of Jane Austin's 'Emma', which is purely perfect. Although Emma clearly has her faults, and borders on sickeningly shallow with regards to her attitudes towards personal attributes and love in general, the book is a great escape from the hustle and bustle of exam stress which has taken over my house. You see the sis is doing her Leaving Cert, which is code for enduring child cruelty at the hands of nitwit governmental examiners whose goal in life is to trick smart kids and ruin their lives. Doesn't it sound like such fun.....
But, despite the exam related stress and the narky customers which have come to make up my summer life, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. On Monday, I jet off to (not so sunny ... grrr) Germany to meet up with a lovely friend who I haven't seen in two years!! Sooooo excited!!!! So, lots of glasses of wine at sunset and discovering of German cities is on the cards for the next two weeks. Will keep you all updated, no doubt there will be lots to talk about :-)
Til then.
A Rare Summer Day
Hello everybody.
Well, the Irish Leaving Certificate Examinations begin on Wednesday, and slightly earlier than expected, the 2 weeks of blissful sunshine that accompanies the dreaded exams has arrived. And while my poor sister drowns in a sea of books and stress, I am currently sitting in my garden swing in the rare summer-like day. Yes, no doubt I will suffer badly for my actions tomorrow (being Irish my household is in short supply of suncream, and in high supply of freckly skin), but its not often I get to write outside, and I am certainly not letting the opportunity pass me by.
Up until this time of the year, it is easy to forget how beautiful this country looks in the sunshine. Where I live is relatively rural, and if it wasnt for the odd car travelling on the main road to Tullamore which is situated outside my front door, we would bask in complete silence.
Yet after growiing up in a city suburb, where the whoosh of passing cars and noisy neighbours never failed to cease, I appreciate times like these, and all the sounds that accompany them. For example, right this very second, the pidgeons are coo-coo-ing in the trees surrounding our land, the swallows which have decided to move their yearly home from the eaves of our house to the roof of our shed are making a racket as they wait for mammy to bring home dinner, and they are all being drwoned out every 15 seconds by Roy in the back field as he asserts his authority (very loudly moight I add) from his place of importance on top of the chicken coop. Poor Roy, he always seems so concerned that one of his adoring women may forget that he exists and find something else more interesting to do with her life, such as chase a butterfly.All of this is going on while my Dad quietly curses the BBQ in the corner of the patio as it fails to light properly, and Mom is inside looking at the meat in the fridge trying to figure out how to save it from the wrath of Dad's bunsen burner without affecting the fragile thing that is male pride.
So, with the birds chirping, Roy asserting his rooster authority, and Dad performing as all proper Dad's should on a summer day, it is shaping up to be quite a perfect summer day.
