Oxegen 2010!

So since that last update a bunch has happened. I’m going to split it up a bit though or else one post would be at least a novel long.

First I went to the Galway Film Fleadh (film festival here) and saw a couple films including this amazing low budget Irish film called My Brothers and watched a Q&A afterwards with the actors and director. Then I also saw a French animated film from the same animator who the The Triplets of Belleville several years ago and won an Oscar I believe. Both films were really brilliant and the animated one was absolutely gorgeous. Well done.

Now to the main event, Oxegen. So when my buddies and I got jobs working security, one of the big events we were covering is this humongous music festival called Oxegen. It’s along the same lines as Bonnaroo and Coachella so there’s camping, music, and mud. Tons of mud. And rain. So there are honestly a million stories to tell but the main points are that standing in a dance hall with dance music pumping to the point that it rattles your core for 16 hours a day… is brutal stuff. We had earplugs so the noise level wasn’t too bad but listening to pretty much the same music all day is absolutely killer. At least we were inside for the most part since it rained like crazy the whole weekend which in turn made every single person super muddy and gross.

 

 

Overall it was an ok experience but I wish I could have gotten some more time off to see bands since we worked from 10am to 2am everyday pretty much. Killer on the feet but hey! We got around 400 euro for just a 3 day period working. That’s pretty solid I’d say.  And I did sneak off and see like a minute of Black Eyed Peas, D12 and Temper Trap. Success! And I heard Prodigy, Eminem, and Mumford and Sons when I was directing 80,000 to the busses home. Crazy stuff.

Then we camped in the rain too which meant pretty much everything was wet. Perfect. But I did sleep relatively well. If only the gruel the  company gave us for food tasted better… oh well. Free food is free food. And also free tea. Which I love.

 

Overall, Oxegen was quite an experience but dang did my feet hurt!

Relaxin’ and explorin’

Well things have calmed down a little bit now that the ladies have left and the US are out of the cup. Sad sad day. But it’s allowed me some time to relax in Galway and explore it a little bit more. It’s a pretty legit city ya know?

The guys and I has a nice argument over exactly how tall the wall is at the   Spanish Arch and luckily since it was so low we could go down there and have a looksy for ourselves. It turns out it’s around 8 feet tall. And Patrick looks goofy. So it’s a win-win situation.

I also bought some tickets to the Galway Film Fleadh which is one of the biggest film festivals in Ireland and it’s next week. Unfortunately I’ll be out of town for most of it at the Oxegen music festival which is a huge bummer but I’ll still be at a sick music festival with the likes of Eminem, Mumford and Sons, Vampire Weekend and tons of other sick bands. But I will be missing out on a screening of Banksy’s new film which will be at the film Fleadh. Oh well. Such as life. Can’t have everything.

Other than that, Leigh and I decided to go investigate the big Catholic cathedral in Galway and it was a wonderful choice. I only had my iPhone with me but you can still see the absolutely amazing architecture in this cathedral. I’m not sure how old it is but you can really tell that the style is very old and very open. I loved it.

 

And we also checked out the nearby Galway university called NUIG… not sure what it stan ds for but one of the letters is university and one is Galway. But it’s really beautiful as well and I really love the greenery all over the buildings. Great stuff. Such a beautiful city.

Mayhem Time

Goodness.

Another big update (huge in fact). Crazy stuff happening the last few days. Some ups. Some downs. A roller coaster of feelings I'd say. But let's do things the proper way. In order. (But first, I'm soooo sad the USA lost to Ghana...)

Anyways, back from Dublin but not finished with our adventure, the 5 of us got up early the next morning and barely made it on our tour bus to go to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren but not quite in that order. We barely made our bus and we were off. We first stopped by the Burren which is essentially a miniature size Stonehenge. Sorta. But it was very cool and the whole landscape around it was completely  covered by rocks so it looked pretty neat.

 

So after Stephanie and I jumped back on the tour bus as it started driving away we were off to the big show, the Cliffs of Moher. These are cliffs that are like a mile or so above the sea line and are famous for it and it really is gorgeous. But ya we got there and explored a little forbidden area of the cliffs (which pretty much everyone did despite the clear signage) and it was really cool because it was right up next to the edge. So close in fact that our dear friend Patrick couldn't quite stomach us being so close to the edge and nearly had a panic attack. He had to go wait for us to come back. It was cute.

 

 

 

Well the next day we got up and after eating a quick breakfast the gang of 5 (Patrick, Jessie, Annie, Stephanie and I) set off for Cork. But as is par for the course, we missed our first bus. Ha. But luckily this bus line has buses running every hour so we decided to grab a quick bite from a convenience store and then we caught the next bus going to way down south Ireland. The reason for this journey is to kiss a piece of rock. But let me assure you. This isn't just any rock my friends. It's a stone. And was there a sword in it? Yes. Ok. No. But it is actually called the Blarney Stone and it is located in Blarney Castle outside Cork. Apparently it's tradition to kiss it and it will give you magical powers or maybe just some good luck.

 

 

 

 

Well the short story is we got there to Cork, sneaked 5 people into a 2 person bedroom in a super small hotel with one entrance. Got up, missed our bus to Blarney, made the obligatory food run during our wait, then jumped on the next bus. We explored the castle and the castle grounds which were gorgeous. Kissed a rock at the very top of an ancient castle (although no evidence of my kiss exists due to camera... malfunctions) and then checked our a nearby mansion and  headed back into the town of Blarney where we missed our bus... again. So we made our food run and got back on the next one into Cork and stayed put in the bus station so we wouldn't miss our 4 hour ride back to Galway.

Then we danced the night away at some bars and clubs for a good finisher to the trip and we hit the hay so we could get up early to get the girls (just Jessie and Stephanie) on their planes home. Well of course we were cutting pretty close as we barely missed the bus from our house to the bus station so we could catch another bus to  Shannon where the airport is. So then we took a cab, hustled the mean bus driver a bit, and we were on our way. And good thing too because if we missed that one, the girls may still be sitting here, which wouldn't really be such a bad thing after all really. But we got them there and all was well. Plus I forgot to mention that in Cork, a woman from Sword Security called me so I now have a job in Ireland. Woo! Finally. Which means I'm going to this huge music festival too.

As far as the days since then, I have attended training for my job, gotten my heart and soul broken by the USA football team, and even seen a few 8mm films in this local film festival here which was absolutely great. So like I said, ups and downs my friends. Good times though.

A cross country adventure

So the past couple days Stephanie and I have basically been doing a crash course on Ireland. Of course. So we already hit the Aran Islands and now we are going wild in Dublin visiting all the cool places to go. Yes. All of them. Her travel book isn't letting us miss any. Which is actually pretty cool and fun. Dublin definitely has a freaking ton to see. And a ton of a history to go along with all of that. It's great.

Last night we basically walked around a bunch and investigated the main quays (said keys not ku-ways... don't sound like an idiot now.) which are beautiful and house a lot of pubs and restaurants and what not since it's right on the river. Then we checked out some of the MANY shops here in Dublin and let me tell you something. It's ridiculous. I gotta say this is without a doubt one of the biggest cities I've ever been in and it's definitely the biggest that I've actually gotten to spend time in. The only other contender for me is Chicago or Atlanta but I've hardly had much more time than a few hours to investigate either of those cities. But dang this city is huge and freaking jammed with people. And with a million shops to go along with them.

It was honestly a little weird because since there were so many people in the shops, the floors or shelves were a mess. Seriously. I'm talking clothes, jewelry, shoes, whatever! All on the floor or in heaps everywhere. It was kinda funny and ridiculous at the same time. I felt really bad for all of the floor attendants that work at these places. Oh well. That's what they get paid for right.

But it was very cool seeing all of those shops that I usually don't get to see despite the fact I live in the Lou. You know what's not cool? Cameras breaking on their own. Yup. That's pretty much the lowest of the low my friends. And that is where I'm at right now. Killer timing let me tell you! Seriously I get to Dublin. In the biggest city in Ireland with tons of sights (not to mention plenty more places to see in the next few weeks) and my brand spanking new Nikon S8000 that I just got has a lens error and so now the lens motor sometimes freaks out and the lens cover won't open fully. Brilliant! Luckily I have now figured out that I can push the lens cover open so that I can continue taking pictures but I have honestly no idea what to do seeing as I bought the camera in the States. Oh well. That's how it goes.

But anyways, Stephanie and I did a lot today. Went and saw the Book of Kells, this amazingly illustrated, monk copied, version of the gospels from hundreds of years ago. It really was beautiful. And we saw Trinity College which was both beautiful and hilarious thanks to our goofy tour guide. She was quite the cynic. Then we saw Dublin castle, Merrion Square (I think that's the spelling) where there was a street performer competition. Quite exciting stuff. Lots of fire and what not. Then we saw a bike race going through town, and then ended the night with a tapas dinner with Patty and his girl Jessie and then hit up a pub for some live music.

We do so much. It's insane.

And now I'm adding on a short description of our third day in Dublin. Travel into town for a late breakfast because we got ditched sorta. Jerks. Then our little gang of Stephanie, Jessie, Patrick and I were joined by Patrick's little sister, Annie and we all went to the Guiness Storehouse to take a tour. And we got our free pint. That stuff is strange. I almost like it but something about it gets me. Oh and I sold Stephanie's free pint ticket to Patrick for 2 euro. Good deal. Then Stephanie and I went to the nearby abandoned jail that was used during WWI and the Irish civil war. Very neat stuff and lots of old creepy abandoned hallways and atriums and the like. Then we ate possibly the worst meal of our adult lives at this cheap buffet “international cuisine” place and checked out this super sweet bridge and headed back to Galway for a wonderful walk home.

Stephanie is Here!

So I was going to try and write this as Nick but to be honest I would have no idea how he would describe the events of yesterday and today. First of all yesterday Nick spent all day at the airport because my flight was supposed to come in at 9:40 am but due to lots of storm issues didn't get here till 9 pm. Anyway we then waited at the airport until 12:45 for a bus to Galway. While waiting I decided I needed a welcome to Ireland picture but there were none to be had just "welcome to Shannon Airport" signs. So we took a walk and happened to find one...




Needless to say it was a late night followed by an early morning. We took headed out to the Aran Islands for the day. Leaving the house at 8 to catch a bus, to catch a ferry and getting there around 11. We rented bikes for the day and set out on a crazy adventure around the island.














We met a donkey, Nick named him Samuel...














We went inside the smallest church in Ireland...













And went to what I thought was the big tourist attraction of the islands but ended up not being the right site. With about 3 hours left till our 5 pm departure and still no food, we decided to grab something quick and try and make it to the actual ruins and cliffs. I was so worn out from all the travel and no sleep that I didn't know if I could make it up all the hills. We ended up making it there with only an hour and a half left. Ran up quickly to the top. We stayed there for a little while and it was beautiful. But we couldnt stay for long because we had to head back to the boat. I'm kinda tired of writing now. So I think I'm done. The end.

Stupid Bathrooms

So it has definitely been a few days since I've updated. Sorry about that. These few days have had some good times and some chill times. Let's think back. Monday we went on a failed hiking expedition for Tyler's birthday because the girls we were with thought they knew what they were doing but that was a big fib on their part. We ended up going the super wrong way to this castle and it was raining and what not so we decided to call it a day and just chill at home instead of camping.

But funny story though. So you have to pay to use the restrooms in the malls and the squares and what not. Ridiculous I know. Us Americans would never stand for such outrageous money making operations. But anyways, Tyler and I are walking around this mall getting some stuff for the trip and we decide man I need to go to the bathroom bad. So we go and it says it costs 30 cent so Tyler puts in a 50 cent piece and the door doesn't open. Great. But then we realize it says must use exact change (i.e. 20 cent coin + 10 cent coin) and so we go get that change and come back. We put it in and the door STILL doesn't open. Perfect. So I'm just like “Come on!!” and I give the door a slight kick with my foot. Now I'm taking if I did this to your shin you hardly feel it. Well the customer service guy nearby wasn't having it and says “Hey don't kick the door. You can leave” to which I'm in a little disbelief because it stole 80 cent from us and I hardly even touched the thing. Having given up, Tyler and I walked back to where the rest of our gang was hanging out in the mall and we sit down. A security guard comes up and says that we can't sit there and we have to move and then while we are getting up he has a little chat on his radio. He then says to me “Hey were you kicking the bathroom door?” To which I honestly replied “uh... Ya?” and then he said I need to leave and he escorted me out of the mall.



Kicked out of a mall for being robbed by a bathroom. Completely absurd. I'm going to go demand back our 80 cent sometime or else they'll be hearing from my lawyer. Maybe. Ok I'm actually not that concerned about it all but it really did happen and I was a bit peeved by how the mall security handled it. I wasn't being belligerent or anything. Just a small token of my disgust for the door not opening. So stupid.



Other than that, I've waited in many a government agency line for different things necessary for jobs here. And walked several hours back and forth to get this stupid immigration card that when I finally got, had my birthday wrong on. Ha. Figures. And with all this walking I've just been exploring Galway which has been great really. The city is beautiful. Although boyo is it killing my feet. Totally worth it though.

Also Patrick and I formed a 2 man street performing act and it's fantastic. We've been practicing for a few days and Thursday night (last night) we had our debut on the streets and it was surprisingly well. We completely thought it was not going to work this well. We started around 9:15 after we calmed our nerves and then played til around 9:50 when Patrick broke a string and couldn't fix it. Also the garda (police) told us that in that area they draw the line at 10pm. But the other buskers (performers) nearby said she is just a mean woman and they still played. It was so fun and exhilarating AND the best part is in just that short time of around 30 mins we made 18 euro. And that's pretty darn good for a few half hour I'd say. We already have plans to tighten up and expand our act and we are so freaking pumped about it. It's going to be great. Galway loves us. We had people singing along with us and taking our pictures. Surreal.

Well that's it for the past few days. Living the life baby.

Boats and stuff

Another day, another exploration. There really is a lot to this city. More than I thought. And there's more to this Havana/Powerboat racing festival than Leigh and I thought as well. We've just been hanging out down in the Shop Street area because that's where a lot of restaurants and bars and music is at but we checked out the docks today and our eyes were opened to what we've been missing.

Vendors everywhere selling food, outrageous expensive and pretty boats everywhere, live music from some Irish pop star named Declan I think, merry-go-rounds, crazy swing thingies. Basically, the whole party was there. And we've been oblivious to it. Luckily we found it for the last day and explored around like crazy. The whole place really was jam packed with people. It was awesome. Although I've realized there is a significant shortage of red heads here. Disappointed Ireland. I think I may go home now. Ok not. But still. Weird. At least in a stereotypical sort of way.



Anyways, there are these powerboat races going on in the docks of Galway this whole week which I have yet to check out but definitely will in the next few days because it's a pretty big thing here. This pop star Declan or whatever was pretty good. All the people around us were singing the words to his songs (which we did not know one bit) and so clearly he's like the John Mayer of Ireland. Fantastic. Then when we were walking around this lady stopped Leigh and I and started talking to us “Americanos” despite the fact that Leigh is in fact, Canadian. But she was still sweet and gave us some great travel tips and tips about living cheap in Ireland. She loved us because she said she lived in both the States and Canada for some years so it was all gravy. She was a hoot I'll tell ya that much.

Then our night just consisted of walking around and hanging out with the guys while they worked. Some dude came up to Patty with this crazy red spatter design on his white hoodie. But then Patrick and I found out that he said this was all blood from his nose. Gross. The Garda here (police) then promptly ran after the dude and arrested him or something. Sheesh. Guess there was an intense fight or something.



After that the guys got off and we had a mini birthday party for T-love because he's finally 21 the little youngin'. It doesn't really matter if you're 21 over here but hey! We had a party. It was swell. Tomorrow (actually today seeing as I'm writing this monday, we are going hiking and camping as a birthday event for T-booty. It'll be grand. See ya!