Winter Solstice in Dublin

Winter Solstice in Dublin
Originally uploaded by Dave G Kelly

Happy Yule everyone!

Photo by David Kelly.. Solstice 2007

3 Months tomorrow!

Well i've been here 3 months tomorrow! While there isn't a lot to report since mid October as can be seen by the action on this here blog... things are still settling themselves in. ie: I am still amongst the unemployed in this country. Funny how unemployment is at the highest rate it's been since 1996. Guess when the last time I was here was! Yep, 1996. I know how to follow the financial trends eh?! haha.

I have of late been staring at the sky a fair bit. Well more precisely, the view from my 'quasi home office' - ie: the dining room table until I get a desk. One thing i have loved about Ireland and Scotland is the ever-changing (and rapidly so), sky. (I'm thankfully told that my friend Nat stared at the tree outside her window when she wasn't working f/t and has many pictures of it too)

here's one view...



and about 1/2 later!



So, keeping my spirits up can be trying on some days, but I do believe things will fall into place and as long as I stay calm, keep applying for work and believe in the choice I made, it will all work out.

Christmas is in the air and the decorations and lights went up early here for two reasons.



1. to boost moral and 2. to try and boost spending. I agree with the first aspect, not a big fan of the 2nd for a couple reasons. One Christmas shouldn't all be about the gifts, though I like giving and of course receiving, but I like the coming together with friends and family more. Also, the fact that I am not financially able this year to give the way I normally would, i'd rather the holiday sneak by and my guilt can ease itself off as we enter the New Year!

Christmas has also been an interesting time in my life. (Great as a child, not so much as a teen and onward, with hope for when i have children to make it magical again) It was truly a magical time when I was a child. In our house we celebrated a few tradtions...one, on December 6th, Saint Nikolaus Day.

The most memorable of this tradition happened when I was 4 years old. Saint Nikolaus would come to our house in the afternoon for a concert. The children who lived on our road and a few from town would also come by and we would sing a song, or read a poem or play a song on the violin (my contribution), and he would give us a little gift and all was well with the world. This was actually the 2nd part of the day. The first part of Saint Nikolaus Day starts the night before when you put your shoes (shined preferably) at the end of your bed and if when you wake in the morning there are chocolates and treats, then you can rest on your laurels til Christmas, because you've been deemed good for the year. IF however, you have stones and twigs (I never did!) then you had a few problems and you had until Christmas to prove yourself.

Anyway. Saint Nikolaus had a side-kick. His name was Krampas or Schmutzli (literally translated: Dirty Man!?) He did not come along everytime and in fact he didn't come again to our house after that first visit when I was four. The day was lovely, Saint Nikolaus was there, we sang, we had treats and then BANG! The front door slammed open and you could hear chains clanging down the hallway. From around the doorway came a man dressed in burlap and twigs and chains and soot all over his face. He informed us he was there to take away the kids and adults who had been bad that year. (I guess the parents thought it would be funny or teach a moral lesson) When he said he was coming to take my Dad, my sister started crying and said NO NO TAKE ME! and I was so scared I peed my pants on my Mom's lap.

Another tradition was that we celebrated was that we put the tree up on the 24th and also celebrated on that day. My sister and I would be sent upstairs for the afternoon to sleep, (instead we were far too excited and either lying there with upset stomachs or jumping on the bed). My Mom would decorate the tree in the living room blocked off by a thick velvet curtain and then hours later we would be called down for dinner and listen to the radio of the satellite tracking Santa's sleigh. After dinner a bell would ring signaling Santa's escape back up the chimney and the curtain would open to reveal the tree! The tree with real candles and gold and silver ornaments, some with mirrors and some wooden ones sent over from Germany, and some that we had made. The room was lit only by the candles for the most part and it was a warm and beautiful sight. Music was played by us and carols sang and then we would each take turns giving gifts.

Now I am here and it will be quite different than those memories, but it is part of the adventure I set out on this year. I was going to go to my sisters in Spain for the holidays, but it's not the right time to travel. I may go over to Scotland to see my friend Ann, but again it's a wait and see situation.

Other than that I have not been on lock down and have been able to get out a little also. Ah yes, and not without incident. One night after seeing the band, Eli Paperboy Reed and the True Loves I was chatting away with some people I had met not watching where I was going and WHAM! I slammed into a lamppost, knocked myself out and almost got hit by a car when I had fallen partly onto the road after knocking myself out. Yes, in all honesty some pints had been drunken beforehand, but it was truly because I was looking at the person I was speaking to and not looking in front of me. Luckily, it all ended well and although I had a concussion and a headache for a week I survived another adventure. Haha! Andrew almost bought me a t-shirt today that said "I love lamp" (post). hahahaha

Another great band I saw was Prenup, made up of Hothouse Flower & Pogues alumni, Fiachna O Braonain, Dave Clarke and Cait O'Riordan. I had met Fiachna many years ago at the Horseshoe in Toronto and had contacted him when I arrived here in hopes of making contacts and through this, he was gracious enough to send an email to his mailing list to introduce me and my work experience. I thought it was very sweet of him and thanked him heartily after the show.

Also going to see Stereolab this coming Saturday and there are many other shows I'd like to go to but will have to wait til more money is coming in. All in good time.

k
well, have babbled on here long enough for the moment. Will write more soon and attempt at more often as well. :)

and the search goes on...

I am very happy to be here. There are days when I am missing my family of friends dreadfully, but those aches generally give way and I feel very happy. The weather has been gorgeous.. Sunny and mid-temps. Today was one of the first days to rain on and off but it’s such a soft misty rain that it really doesn’t bother you. Puts some nice moisture in my skin and a glow to my cheeks.

And I think about the book I could write…

Before I left I googled “how to move overseas” and surprisingly I didn’t find much. I found a few tips on packing but beyond that… nothing that could help someone prepare.

The last 2 weeks have been different from the first blush of the 1st two, I mean it didn’t come as a surprise… but some expectations of the move haven’t come to fruition as fast as I would have hoped. Though when you speak to people about it they say “You’ve only been here a month”, “You knew it would take some time, right?” and the like.

I suppose I knew it would take time, I didn’t think it would be this long to find a home. The ups and downs of looking almost ended on an up note when for 2 weeks we had been looking for a 3 bedroom and we found the perfect one in the perfect location. The glitch was that we were supposed to come up with 3 months rent up front as 2 of us don’t have jobs yet.

Well, the 2 without jobs came up with the money and the one with a job didn’t even come up with 1 month on the day it was needed. This was the final straw and we, the 2 remaining, quickly realized that yes it was a huge disappointment to lose the place, but somehow the Universe was keeping an eye on us and protected us from living with someone who was bound to cause a year long headache.

Back to the drawing board.

Another discovery was that the agency you look with has a large part in what sort of place you see, quality-wise.

One agency we looked with on the North Side showed us shite-hole after shite-hole, complete with dirty toilets and stained beds. Oh but they would remark… “Ah, you won’t find anything better”… Luckily, we had seen better, found better and ARE better people than to submit to living in squalor.

Luckily I had the gumption before I hung up with the agent who was to let us the 3 bed, to ask her if she had any 2 beds and she did. We saw it yesterday and now wait on pins and electric needles to cross every crossable body part, pray to all the gods and ask the universe (and my dead grandparents) to please, please, please, let us get what we want this time.

Admittedly, it’s not the 100% place, but it is definitely 85% with the potential to become everything we hope for. A safe, warm place to lay our heads and host our guests and nest just a little.

I haven’t done much on the evenings out front this past week. Luckily had one of my dearest friends Meredith Sands Keator here. I know her from Toronto as my shiatsu therapist, who is so much more than a shiatsu therapist. I try to tell everyone about the magic that is Meredith, because she is one of the most phenomenal people I have ever known. She has been living in California the past 6? Years and was overseas for a funeral in Vienna and a conference in Edinburgh, with a few days over here to visit her niece, and sister-in-law and me! She will progress further and be in the south of France before heading to India for another conference and a pilgrimage with 500 thousand people! Something I don’t think I could do.

We had a lovely few days together, where I was fortunate enough to spend time with her niece Ciara and sis-in-law Rachel, and now I have a few more contacts to add to my community here.

Other friends from home, Alana & Declan, were here for the day on Saturday and we tried to go to the Guinness Brewery but the line stretched it’s long foamy Guinness arm around the building and because Declan is Irish and here a fair bit we decided that visit would have to wait til next time.

It’s been a wait and see game since… luckily I have freelance work to keep me sane, at least sort of sane when the server is connected. Plus walking the entire city to find a home has had 2 benefits that I can see so far. #1. I get to know the city inside and out. #2. I lose weight from all the walking. I keep thinking, hmmm, I’ll have to walk to work ea. day so I don’t gain it back. I think I am down 24 pounds since I started the lose game in April. I think that’s almost 2 stone for the conversion to how they weigh you here.

Anywho. I have a job interview in the morning and won’t write much about it until we see what comes of it.

I organized my printed portfolio and really need to update it. Think I may even have the pages printed at home and sent over, as colour printing here is comparable to putting a downpayment on a house.



oh and I saw Royal Wood play here at Doyle's The Ruby Sessions it was really great to see him play. There was an irish guy before him that was alright and then Royal then Emm Gryner, who was also alright and then we didn't stay for the last performer.

When I got there I was on my own, the 2 Aussie gals who were going to come bailed because they were tired, so I went off on my own only to be immediately glommed onto by weirdo the giant. He was telling me that he lunches with George Bush every Wednesday and sometimes he goes there, sometimes George comes here. I sort of laughed thinking he was joking and he got a little upset so i texted Dave and asked him to come join me. Upstairs before Dave arrived, the weird giant was telling another girl who sat at the table I was sitting at that she was a bitch and he hated her. I thought maybe he knew her, but quickly figured out he didn't. Luckily Dave came along just in time to hear Royal and enjoyed it.

Next week, Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland are coming to play the same venue. Can't wait.

anywho... enough for now. Will write shorter entries more often when I can.

trying to keep my chin up and believe everything will turn out well soon.

bumping along...

So, what's new in the last week. Last Friday went to the Culture Night thing, saw 2 lectures at the Abbey Theatre. The first one didn't really hit a chord with me, but the 2nd was presented by a newscaster from RTE and he was very passionate and heartfelt in his presentation of the Photography of Bill Doyle . Great work evoking the essence of the country and how it has changed over the last 50 years.

After that we went to a pub and heard some traditional music and then we went to see a famous Dj, Danny Tenaglia ( i hope I got his name right - I only asked Dave a kajillion times what it was ) It was fantastic. I never was much into dance music, I mean I liked going dancing at clubs but clubbing sort of passed my by in Toronto. This was a great experience and the best Dj to experience it with.

It was a night that took us well into the wee hours of the morning so Saturday was a bit of a lay about day.

Sat. night was Lisa Hannigan at Whelans. A mellow set but completely what I needed after the festivities the night before. Brian, Maeve's man thought she O'd and Ahh'd alot, but i really loved it. Sort of gypsy inspired, salt of the earth music that reaches in and winds up the key in your side and keeps you rocking like one of those tin toys.

Sunday although feeling a little under the weather I took the DART to Howth and sat by the water and just watched the world flow by. I did notice and have been noticing that I am often the only lone person experiencing these places. Most are in pairs or families but rarely and even more rarely is there a lone woman. Surprisingly, it doesn't make me lonely, though it makes me feel sometimes that I am an observer who can't be observed. Does that make sense? weird?

The rest of the time this week has been the continued house hunt and job hunt. Tuesday was for the birds in more ways than one. Had a bad sleep and then headed to see the first shitehole (on Amiens St. near Connolly Stn.) of the day... on the way a pigeon shit on Léa's head and although I told her it was good luck, we think in the end it fortold of a shitty place ahead. haha get it shitty a head. Anyway...

The next place we ventured out to see took much walking, a bus, and we still didn't get there as it seemed like we were going forever, nearing what we thought was near, a big black crow started screaching at us. It was then and there we decided the day was for the birds and they could have all the shite places for themselves.

Today was far better, the sun was shining... and there was an extra glint on the world. Saw a great place near Phoenix Park, but it was a bit overpriced for it's location and then the 2nd place in Stoneybatter was a fantastic location, and I think with a coat of paint it could have been great the other 2 weren't sold. Next was a place on North Circular and Lower Dorset st. and we had a good laugh as we walked up and there was a line up around the bend.

Tomorrow is another day and a few more places to see.

Tonight I bought a bunch of tickets for the IFI Stranger Than Fiction Film Festival

Tonight: 8:30 was Sleep Furiously
Tomorrow: 8:45 is: Patti Smith
Then Inishark Sat at 12:45
Gabriel Byrne Sat at 3:15
and Sunday night Annie Liebovitz

I really enjoyed tonights film/doc. It was like a piece of poetry or an ode to the small Welsh village where the director grew up. The images were powerful... the old way of life is changing for these small places but life and death and how it all just keeps bumping along doesn't change. Change happens but the core stays the same?

Favourite quote from the film was:
"It's when I see the end is close, I find the courage to speak... the courage but not the words"

...

pub hopping

So on a surprisingly hopping Monday night I met up with Dave and we proceeded to go on an impromptu pub crawl. Conversation flowed freely as did the pints. Well, pints weren't all free - 4.40Euro ea. Made me remember why when i lived here as a 20yr old i used to have Guinness as a meal replacement... hmm soup or a Guinness?

We started out at the Globe at 11 South Great Georges St. and then to Hogans a few doors south, it's closing time here at 11:30 and what had started out to be a plan to have a few drinks and call it a night turned into bar #3 being a late night bar and one of my old haunts Bruxelles - off Grafton St. (it's in the movie Once - the place with the statue of Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy where Glen and Marketa meet the other guys who record with them)

It was an interesting experience going back there, I was there A LOT when i lived here 12 years ago. Met a lot of people there that played a big role in my time here. Some good some bad. Isn't the way though.

Upstairs is a traditional pub and downstairs more of a Rock bar - we had a pint upstairs on the patio and then went to rock it up a little and play Space Invaders. Tonight a guy who has been staying at the hostel, Markus Nylund is playing a songwriters circle there so I will go see that.

Anywho, the pub crawl with Dave was a lot of fun. Good to find a friend who loves music as much as I do. He's a Dj so he'd have to non? We're going to go on a tourist bus or something soon and also talked about going to Galway, except i'd have to drive and that may be interesting.

Nothing planned tomorrow except for more house hunting. There is a place in Portobello that I really hope we get. Cross your fingers. It's a great area and sounds like a good place.

Friday is Culture in the City, i think it's comparable to Nuit Blanche in Toronto... all night events going on. Will def. check that out. Saturday is Lisa Hannigan can't wait for that. Bought the album when i got here and am really enjoying it. Eventually i'll have to get my violin over here and tune up to become a fiddle or the like.

Think on Sunday i'll find the movie theatre... Dave was saying that you can buy a 20Euro pass for the month and go see unlimited movies - i'll buy that!

Oh, last night went to Maeve and Brian's for dinner, had some wine and some great veggie wraps - i was pretty knackered from the previous nights activities so didn't stay too late. Nice to see familiar faces. They live in Ranelagh, great area not far from where I'm staying.

k need to eat. forgot again!
: )

and then...

Today there were a few downs and then it got better.
I haven’t looked at too may places… often they are gone by the time they are posted and anyway the ones I have looked at can only be described as moldy hobbit holes.

As I walked back from the place today that was honestly, if you know my old bachelor apt. on Euclid, it was half the size of my bedroom and that included the kitchen and bathroom! It was semi-basement also! AND! They wanted 600 Euro! It was however on a gorgeous street so I’ll give it that much.

I came back to the hostel and thought I’ll ask the 2 girls I’ve befriended the last 2 days, Cath from Australia, and Léa from France, and ask them if they’d like to get a place to share. All were in agreement. That made me feel better.

Internet was down at the café in the hostel so I decided to go for a walk and get some dinner, because as it is when I am working on my own, I forget to eat. Then I get woozie and think what did I eat? Oh ya, I had a gross little mango power bar at 8am! And it’s now 5:30pm! Whoopsie!

So I toodle down the road to #1 get food, and #2 get some foot powder for my shoes cause aye caramba! Zee shooes zzhey SMELL like something rank in Denmark! All the walking without socks makes for some fromagie smelling soulier!

I went back to Cornucopia the great little veg place and as I sit down with my polenta I look up and there in the line up is someone I know! Doth mine eyes deceive me? No! it’s Brian! Maeve’s boyfriend! Maeve is the sister of my dear friend Louise, an Irishwoman who lives in Toronto. Isn’t that funny! I know Brian also because by coincidence when I went to see my sister Diana in Lanzarote, Canary Islands last January, Brian was there surfing. He came out one night to see Diana play at one of her gigs. It was a fun night.

So Brian and I had some dinner and then he took me to a very interesting pub for my first pint. By very interesting I mean, full of crazies and 1 celebrity! Irish celebrity – a character from the tv show Father Ted… I can’t remember the characters name at the moment, but he was the young priest on the show.

By crazies I mean, stumbling large drunk French man who fell over a stool and then yelled at the stool and told it to get out of his way. There was also a crazy woman, this time an American who looked a bit high on something not so nice, though she was having a nice time. I thanked Brian for taking me to such a classy joint and headed out.

Am going to go to Brian and Maeve’s for dinner tomorrow night. Good fun. I was so happy to see someone I knew. Who knew I was missing that so much already and it’s only day 4. : )

Feels like I have been here longer, but maybe because I am a little familiar with the place.
Brian also suggested that I find a 3bdrm house with the girls, that it would prob. Be easier than ea. Of us looking for single bedrm’s ea.

So tomorrow, if the internoot is back up – it’ll be a house we are looking for and hopefully no more hobbit holes… and I don’t mean the sweet little hobbit hole that the Baggins fellow lived in in Lord of the Rings. I mean stinky little holes that were abandoned by hobbits and now have a leak in the roof and are moldy. : )

Am heading out tonight again shortly for a pint with David at the Globe. I think I mentioned David the other day. Friend of my friend Mikala’s. Should be fun.

Anywhoodle, that’s that for au jourd’hui.

Bisous to yous.

old city, new life

Well, I did it. I finally moved to Ireland. Dublin for now, and then we'll see. I would ideally like to be in Galway, but will settle in here and take visits over to the west.

Landed on Sept. 11th, for superstitious reasons.. and all was well, not even a hint of turbulence on the flight from Toronto to Amsterdam, and then only a whisper of it from Amsterdam to Dublin. While in Amsterdam, which was only about an hour, i kept having a song from my Montessori schooldays running through my head- "there were 3 jolly fisherman... they all came from Amsterdam, they all came from Amsterdam, Amster, Amster, ... (we weren't supposed to say the Dam, Dam, Dam part.. because we would have been saying Damn) used to make me laugh.

Anywho, had a great cabbie in to the city and he pointed out where U2 went to school and formed the band, and said what to look out for and said i'll be just fine here. I am pretty certain I will be.

The last 3 or 4 days... (i'm still a little mixed up with the jetlag), i've been taking it easy. The first Guinness will be passing my lips tonight when I meet up with my friend Mika's friend Dave. Met him at her wedding a few years ago and it'll be fun to meet again. Have a few other acquaintances and am meeting people in the hostel I am staying at.

The hostel is called Avalon House and it is pretty good. Clean, friendly, decent breakfast. As I was walking back from dinner the other night I took another look at the outside of the place and realized my sister worked here the last time we were here together 12 years ago.

12 years! It seems so long ago and I feel like a different person. It has been great re-walking the city and re-familiarizing myself with it. I'm amazed at how much I remember. Walked past an old boyfriends place yesterday - he doesn't live there anymore, but it brought back so many fun times. Like singing A-Ha til the wee hours of the morning... don't ask why- it something we bonded over. lol

So have just walked and walked and walked the last few days. Yesterday I was excited because the Fringe Festival is on and I was going to go see a play in the park at St.Patrick's Cathedral... i was hurrying there after looking at a moldy hobbit hole of an apt. and part way there realized, it's not Friday, it's Saturday. Hopefully i'll find work soon and the days will sort themselves out.

Finished my portfolio last night and resume and will send it out as soon as I hear back from Feefs, who I sent it to for her wonderful editing skills. Am feeling very good about finding something and also about finding a good place to live. I spoke to a painter who I met at breakfast this morning about flats, and he said the first one he looked at was terrible, but they got better and better after that and they were all in the same price range, so not to get discouraged. : )

anywho... going to go the the National Gallery today and take it easy. The pillow is begging me to come back to it but I am desperately trying to resist.

oh- I want to keep track also of the great places i've eaten. It is way more expensive to eat out here than at home... but 2 places I will revisit are:
Cornucopia: a veg restaurant at 19 Wicklow St. really good, freshly made, whole foods, i had a red lentil and herb soup with irish soda bread and a ginger beer.

2nd place I'll revisit is a tea house that also serves food called:
The Joy of Chà - on 10 East Essex St. (Temple Bar area) - had a veg. quiche and mixed greens salad with house dressing, and a fennel seed tea. Tea came in a sieve and was delicious. I got the fennel for it's calming and healing properties. It is meant to settle an upset stomach, which I've had since I arrived. My nerves don't generally affect my head... just my stomach.

I also tried the Farm on Lower Dawson St. - it boast an almost 100% organic, local, fresh menu. Like most places I have found thus far it is not cheap. Most meals start at 12 Euro. So I have been trying all the soups in town starting at 3.80-4.50 (incl. slice of bread at some places) - i will try the Farm again, once I get my job.

I will also be shopping! once I find work. Went into TopShop to see what the fuss was about and as part of my job from Canada, which is to continue and trend watch. The top 2 trends I've seen in the first few days for young women are leather bomber jackets and head bands worn the 70s way, across the forehead. Not necessarily a trend I will be picking up, but on those that sported it, it looked pretty alright.

Within TopShop the girls are a mix of tousled Victorian, with lace dresses and black stockings, hair is also tousled and make-up soft and minimal. Then there are the 80s rocker revives, in bright primary coloured leggings, asymetric hair styles and bright waves of eye-shadows applied heavily. Some look good and make me remember when I wore that style! (You know your older when a fashion you wore as a teen makes a comeback).

My own personal style can be comfortably accomodated here... but I am resisting any purchasing until the upcoming job in hand! It is exciting to be in a new place where no one knows me because I can be a little more daring in my personal fashion expressions. : )

ok.. off the the Gallery.
Can't sit here all day.