Nizlopi

I dragged Tennille with me to go see Nizlopi at Whelans. I partially just wanted to go to a gig at Whelans so I could see the room where P.S. I Love You was filmed. They are a duo out of the UK and are amazing. Check them out on myspace or i-tunes.

Tommy Keeney

Cathal’s brother’s funeral was today. I have officially survived my first Irish wake and funeral. For unknown reasons, Tommy drove his jeep off of the pier in Killybegs on Sunday at high speeds. There were witnesses at the scene but the water is deep, dark, and extremely cold. Divers recovered his body about a half hour later and then they had to use a crane to remove the jeep which was then sent to be scrapped. He was pronounced dead at the scene. There was no indication that this was going to happen and nobody had any idea that anything was wrong. I think that is the hardest part for everyone right now, no one knows why. Irish wakes and funerals are pretty different from anything I’ve been to. Tommy was removed from the hospital where the post mortem was performed and taken home. He stayed there Monday and Tuesday where the wake was happening. I went up on Tuesday and went down to the house in the early evening. Cathal urged me to go say hello to his mom, Kathleen. Unbeknownst to me, Tommy’s body was in the same room. I got a little bit of a shock. They had cleared out the back bedroom and Tommy’s coffin was there against the wall. The rest of the room was lined with chairs where various family members were sitting. It was weird to me to think that he just stays in the house for two days and nights. Like if you woke up to get a glass of water, there he would be. Now, it’s not quite like that. There were a load of people that were there all night. Someone is always with the body. Another thing about Irish people is that they think everything can be made better with tea. I must’ve been asked over a hundred times if I would like a “cuppa”. They also had little silver trays of candy and cigarettes (yes, cigarettes) in various places around the house. Everyone just hangs out there for hours, I was there for five hours myself. They then have a rosary at 10 p.m. I snuck out before that. The body was then removed from the house to the church on Wednesday morning. The service was packed and there was a crowd of people outside as well. In a bit of comic relief, Tommy’s nearly 3 year old son Oisin called the priest a f!@*ing bastard when he tried to take a toy tractor out of his hands to put in the casket. Luckily everyone just kind of ignored it. Oh, did I forget to mention the amount of alcohol that was consumed on each night after the wake and funeral. Irish people must think someone’s chances of getting into heaven are directly proportional to how much alcohol you drink during their wake/funeral. So, it was pretty much totally stereotypical I guess. It’s going to be a hard winter for the Keeney’s. Christmas time is also the anniversary of Cathal’s cousin’s death. He went missing a couple of Christmases ago and was found drowned in a river. Then Oisin’s birthday is in early January and the three sisters all have babies due in January/February. Please keep the Keeney’s in your thoughts.

Introducing...Alannah Frances Cannon

Little Alannah finally made her way into the world today. She weighed 8 lbs 4 oz. The middle name is in honor of Dermot’s Dad Francis. I’m very proud of Alisha, she was a trooper through the long, long labor. She also survived the Irish healthcare system, so...props to her. Everybody is happy and healthy and as you can see, she is absolutely perfect.

Kilkenny

Tennille, Bridget and I went to Kilkenny last weekend just to get out of the city. It’s about a two hour bus trip south westish from here. Tennille and I went down on Saturday while Bridget nursed a migraine and caught up on her sleep. Friday night we stayed at Foulksrath Castle, a 16th century castle turned hostel. It’s also said to be haunted. It is about a 20 euro taxi journey from the city center but it was well worth it. I didn’t get any ghost vibes or anything and there aren’t any odd shadows in our photos. We went out to a couple of places that were recommended to us by people from work. Kilkenny is a popular place for hen and stag parties so the nightlife on the weekends is super good. The highlight of the night was Langtons, a hotel/nightclub. They had a live band for the first part of the night and a d.j. after that. It was a blast. Sunday we met up with Bridget and had some brunch at the Marble City Tea Room...delicious. Then we checked in to our new hostel for the night, Mac Gabhainns Backpackers Hostel. This one was right in the city center. Very nice. They gave us the four bedded en suite to ourselves so it didn’t even really feel like a hostel. We then did the obligatory Kilkenny Castle tour. It was really good. They also have a small art gallery in the basement which had a super awesome show going on, it was the art of Atsushi Kaga (www.atsushikaga.com). It’s the kind of art that’s right up my alley. There are loads of cute little boutiques in the city so we did some shopping for the rest of the afternoon. We had some really good meals too. I didn’t want to leave on Monday. It’s the kind of place that I could see myself living in. Good shopping, good eats, good nightlife, small town feel. See my photos in the Kilkenny link above.
On a sad note, Bridget bought her plane ticket home. She goes for good on November 11th. It’s a long and complicated story but the gist is she hates work enough to go back home. We’ll be very sad to see her go. Tennille will be taking over her room at least.
Happy Birthday Chandra (I bought her New Kids On The Block tickets for me and her in January)!

Although We've Come...To The End Of The Road

So excited, just got home from seeing Boys II Men at Tripod in Dublin. It was great, took me right back to middle school. One of the members was missing but it didn’t even matter. I’d say about 75% of the crowd was American. I highly recommend them if they come to your city.
As far as work goes...I finally grew a pair and told my manager I think the ward is a really terrible learning environment. She pulled me aside into her office to tell me I didn’t seem happy, I wonder why it took her 5 months to figure it out. Anyways, she said she doesn’t feel the same way I do...shocker. I told her I think everyone is very catty and quick to point out everyone else’s faults. She said she didn’t agree with me but that she would try to be more in tune with what was going on. I simply told her that was the vibe I got and that is how I feel, that I doubt and second guess everything I do because I’m terrified I’ll get told I do something wrong. It’s enough to wreck your head. What I wanted to tell her is that she is the biggest culprit but I thought that would’ve been taking it to far. She’s extremely condescending and patronizing. She makes you feel like an idiot on most occasions. She’s always right and always knows what’s best for everyone. I doubt it will resolve anything but at least I told her how I feel and now she’ll know why I’m so quiet at work. It made me feel a little better when my preceptor told me I’m not the only one that feels that way but I still don’t think it’s any excuse. Please god let me work straight nights when my preceptorship is over.
On a good note, I bought a plane ticket to come home over Thanksgiving. I’ll be there November 14th-30th. I can’t wait to have some time off and be back in the States to see everyone.

Fancy New Blog

I discovered some awesomness on my Mac the other day which led me to make a new blog. It's way fancier and has the capability to hold way more pictures.
Here is the new site: http://web.mac.com/sarahstroik/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html
I'll eventually close this account.
Enjoy!

Niki's Visit

This past week, Niki was here to visit me. It was great because not only did I get to see my BFF, but I also didn't have to work. Here, now, I will attempt to remember everything we did. I picked Niki and our rental car up on Friday and after getting a little lost, we came back to my apartment to re-pack for our Donegal weekend and to pick up Bridget. On the way out of town, we also picked up Chandra. It was going to be a real girls weekend. We got into Glencolumbkille in the evening and had a bite to eat and a nap before hitting the (small) town. We did the obligatory pub crawl (there are only 3) and met some of the locals.

Saturday we did a little sight seeing. We went to my favorite beach (Silver Strand) for some photo ops and to wet our toes in the Atlantic. It was lunch at the Tea House in the Folk Village in Glen to warm up after that. Then it was off to Ardara via Glengesh Pass to see the waterfall. We stopped at the chemist to visit Alisha at work as well. After that, it was off to the pubs again and a long night is was. The pub we were at stayed open into the early morning and then a load of us went off to the beach for a makeshift bonfire and sing along and to watch the sunrise. Super fun and super cold.

Sunday we joined Captain Paddy Byrne on his boat The Nuala Star and he took us for a spin along the coast. It was very windy and the water was super choppy so it made for an exciting 2 hour ride. We stopped at The Rusty in Teelin for a drink and then had dinner at An Cistin in town before having another exciting night on the town.

On the way home Monday, we stopped in Donegal town for a little sight seeing and shopping before really hitting the road. Stopped in Mullingar again for a breather and then had a quiet night at home.

Tuesday morning we had to return the car so we stopped for groceries on the way back. I introduced Niki to some of the delicious Irish foods such as Crunchy Nut cereal and Irish Pride bread, two staples of my diet. Tuesday night we went to Whelan's. It's the pub where P.S. I Love You was filmed. We saw a little live music by a Canadian guy. After that I took Niki to one of my favorite pubs in Dublin, The Hairy Lemon. It was dead but it turned out good because we didn't have to wait for drinks and we got to chat with the barman. He let us leave our mark on the pub, we pinned a dollar bill with our names and the date on it onto the woodwork above the bar. If you're ever there, check it out.

Wednesday we did the Wild Wicklow bus tour. The driver was insane and totally inappropriate which made for an excellent time. We drove along the coast and port and then through the Hollywood Hills of Dublin where we got to scope out the homesteads of Bono, Van Morrison, and Enya before getting to Wicklow. We stopped at Avoca for a bathroom break and to look around. They sell all sorts of cool stuff. They're sort of like Bibelot or Patina but they also do handwoven wool stuff. Wicklow was amazing, I would love to live there. We went to Glendalough, picked blueberries, had a pub lunch, and went for a little hike. Our bus driver even brought along a bottle of Jameson for us to enjoy. He put two Belgium dudes in charge of the bottle and they ended up drinking pretty much all of it...never trust a Belgian. P.S. I Love You was also filmed at Glendalough. The weather was gorgeous and sunny so we were exhausted by the end of the day. When we got back we had a cuppa at Bewley's (my favorite people watching spot) and then went home to catch up on some much needed rest.

Thursday we hit up Guinness where we did the tour and had a pint direct from the source. You'll never have a tastier Guinness. We had a unique and tasty dinner at Gruel after that. We went out to my other favorite pub, Flannery's, that night. It was insanely hot and packed but we had a blast watching a group of very entertaining dancers. Only in Ireland do they have Riverdance and they're national anthem as part of their playlist. I wish I could've videotaped the chaos that ensued when Riverdance was playing.

Friday, Niki and I hit up Phoenix Park. We walked around a little (the place is huge, bigger than Central Park), laid on the grass and people watched, and had a nice lunch. Friday, I took Niki and Rachel out in Temple Bar just to say they had been there. It's really touristy and full of stag and hen (bachelor and bachelorette) parties. After that it was on to a Dublin institution called Copper Faced Jack's. It's about the only "club" in Dublin and so has quite the reputation. It's something you only have to experience once. It's better on Monday nights when the clientele are mainly nurses, cops, and firefighters.

Saturday we did our shopping and sight seeing in the city center on Grafton St. and O'Connell St mainly. Niki wanted to see some live music so I bought us tickets to Sharon Shannon on a whim. She and her band do all traditional Irish music (she plays the accordion). I know it sounds lame but it was actually great and a very good way to end Niki's vacation. Sharon Shannon made "Galway Girl" famous with another Irish artist Mundy on the P.S. I Love You soundtrack. I know right, we had a total P.S. I Love You week...it was totally coincidental. Anyways, Mundy was also at the show and was sort of the surprise guest. It was great because Niki, Rachel, and I had heard a song playing at the Hairy Lemon one night that we were obsessed with. Nobody could tell us the right artist and Niki and I couldn't find the song anywhere online. Well, turns out it's Mundy, which we figured out when he sang it at the show (the song is "July" if anyone is interested). We met Sam and Chandra at The Hairy Lemon afterwards for a few drinks and to say our goodbyes. Niki made it safely home on Monday. I miss her terribly and wanted to hold her hostage. I'm currently working on finding her a job here so she can come back :). I wonder if Enya needs a nanny, we know where she lives.