Only in Ireland . . .
After many days of waiting around on phone calls about my start date for work, it has finally been set for Jan 3rd. So I've got another 2 weeks off before I'm obliged to actually do anything (aside from the Christmas dinner that I promised to make my flatmates). Sitting around the house and aimlessly wandering around the streets has started to grow a bit old, so I decided to do something useful. By chance I saw an ad for blood donation, so I found the nearest clinic and went through the usual process. Unfortunately, because I'm not an Irish national, they have to use the blood in testing this first time, but assuming that I get cleared, I'll be able to donate again in 90 days. After they took my blood I went for the usual OJ and cookies, but the guy following behind me asked the nurse for "crisps and a pint". It took a second for this to register, then I did a double take when she reached under the counter, and brought up a bottle of Guinness and a bag of cheese & onion chips! Needless to say I finished my OJ, then asked for the same. Now if that isn't Irish, I don't know what is.
Dublin is a super busy place over the holidays - in the evenings I've been walking through the Temple Bar area and browsing a bunch of the Christmas Markets that have been on. Usually they have Trad and Christmas music too. Last night I went to see a pipe band, but almost missed them as I showed up right on time, but they didn't stop by until 45 minutes later. However, this was just about the time that a crowd started to gather, so I guess it's probably my fault that I didn't assume things would be running late, as they usually are. It's supposed to be cold and foggy the next few days, but I'm planning watching Scrooged in an open-air theatre in the city center on Saturday night, then heading out to the horse track after Christmas to bet on some ponies. Without the usual Christmas movies/cartoons it just doesn't feel like the Holiday Season. A bit of Bill Murray's Christmas spirit should turn things around just in time.
Dublin is a super busy place over the holidays - in the evenings I've been walking through the Temple Bar area and browsing a bunch of the Christmas Markets that have been on. Usually they have Trad and Christmas music too. Last night I went to see a pipe band, but almost missed them as I showed up right on time, but they didn't stop by until 45 minutes later. However, this was just about the time that a crowd started to gather, so I guess it's probably my fault that I didn't assume things would be running late, as they usually are. It's supposed to be cold and foggy the next few days, but I'm planning watching Scrooged in an open-air theatre in the city center on Saturday night, then heading out to the horse track after Christmas to bet on some ponies. Without the usual Christmas movies/cartoons it just doesn't feel like the Holiday Season. A bit of Bill Murray's Christmas spirit should turn things around just in time.
posted by Trevor Schofield at 10:40 p.m.
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