Really it is, if you live in Dublin. We decided to make an imprompt-unplanned-completly spontaneous organised visit on our way back from Mammy2’s bday weekend in the wilds of Dunboyne. Bear in mind it was a Monday morning at 10.59. The place opened at 11.00. There was about 50+ people queued up outside. Mammy2 compared it to a concert or football match. She never ceases to get amazed at the sheer volume of people who go to it. Thankfully once inside you can navigate without fear of getting your toes cut off by a high powered pushchair. Just when Mammy2 thought she couldn’t get any more suprised, we were both taken aback to see a tibetean monk in full regala with hat putting curry on his chips. I was more suprised that he was having chips at 11.15
in the morning

Of course we went to Ikea for a couple of things and came out with a shopping trolley. Mammy2 invested in a knife sharpener. Which she is using a lot. Anytime I enter the kitchen all that I can hear is the noise of the knive being put through its paces. Thankfully it isn’t followed by manical laughter else I would be getting a bodyguard.

We are just back from an idyllic long weekend in Dunboyne Castle Hotel. For Mammy2’s bday weekend we stayed over and as there is a spa there, she had a couple of treatments. I tend to avoid any of that stuff that involves complete strangers getting within a 10 yard radius of me and espeically not when it involves less clothes. Not my idea of relaxation at all. Lots of reading, relaxing and chats. The only way to end the month of January. It was very considerate of Mammy2’s parents to ensure she was born around this time From one long weekend to another, we head to Holland to see the sister and wee niece. This time the kid is coming with us. All the titches reunited! I can’t wait. Well apart from the flying bit. Which I could do without but sure its all for a good cause. Half day on the Friday which will also involve us dropping off the kid’s portfolio to NCAD. Even though she is insistent she is not going to go there, she wants to keep her options open which is fair enough. Her course is ridiculously biased towards NCAD though. They don’t even consider any other colleges. Whilst I agree it might look good for them to state that they have sent a lot of students onto NCAD, they should really even out their preparation. For the students who aren’t interested in NCAD. Which is all about name anyways. She is worried about leaving the portfolio with them over the weekend, you’d swear they were going to steal her artwork!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 11:24 am You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

I think I may need help. When I’m not listening to the soundtrack of it, I am looking for clips on youtube. When I am not doing that I am reading fan fiction on it. I dream about the many different version of Defying Gravity performed by Rachel, then April and then Kurt. Its becoming an obession. I join in conversations with random strangers just because I hear them talking about it. I stayed up late with the kid the other night watching clips I had already seen around 14 times. But I have managed to resist buying the t-shirt (pic on the right). I mean look at this beautiful piece of apparell. How could you resist. Good thing I don’t have access to a cc. Else there would be trouble I fear. Its also a good thing Mammy2 and the kid are both big fans. Part 2 of Season 1 starts back in April. In the meantime I must settle for re-watching the entire season after I ordered the box set and organising Glee-a-Thons. So I can talk about my habit. With other people. Who also don’t have a problem.

Its been a strange week. We got news at the weekend regarding Mammy2’s family. I can’t really go into it but its one of those situations you hear about , and you think lord that must be so difficult for the people involved and then suddenly you know the people involved and its so much more then difficult. There are so many layers to the whole thing. It just sucks.

Speaking of sucks, the kid is still trying to get the grant sorted. We thought it had been sorted cause she got the first cheque but then a week ago the form arrived back saying they want proof of residence. Because a passport and a bank statement are not enough?! Do they want a pint of blood as well? Feck sake. I found a letter from the legal aid board who dealt with Mam’s case but no divorce papers. Perhaps she had them framed? I rang the legal aid board and of course as the case is so old its been filed. For filed I read ’somewhere in the back of a dusty cabinet’. The nice lady took my details and said she would get back to me next week as to whether they have a copy. If not then its onto whatever the courts. Apparently, when the kid rang to explain that she has no parents, the VEC lady was confused. The kid explained the situation so they said well if you can prove that your ‘father’ doesn’t
support you and they were divorced. Hence the treasure trail we are on now. Fun and games.

The kid is in good form, she has nearly completed her NCAD brief you have to submit with your portfolio. Although she claims she has no intentions of heading to NCAD, its best to keep your options open. I think at any rate. She came training with me on Tuesday and didn’t die from it. Or kick the crap out of me. She was fairly wrecked afterwards but she thinks she might
give it a go once a week.Perhaps she won’t need therapy afterall

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 4:41 pm You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Watching some more season 7 of Will and Grace last night and realised how much I love Karen! So I found some of her best quotes

Oh kids ruin everything. I mean look at the stitching on this. You cannot trust a ten year old to do a good hidden button.

Oh I have half a mind to throw this martini right in your face! [starts drinking it]

Gosh, I don’t think that I’ve ever been stressed out. Why would I be? I’ve got practically no responsibilities, my job’s a breeze and I’ve got a KILLER rack. Good morning.

[to Rosario]: Uh, okay. I don’t know what you people do in Costa-Guata-Mexi-Rico… But here in America, we don’t eat birds.

Honey, when I agreed to drive you to the set, you didn’t say it was on Staten Island. How the hell am I ever gonna get the stench of landfill and working class families out of tropical lightweight wool?

[looking into a mirror] Hello Starshine.

Good Lord. I can’t believe I’m at a public pool. Why doesn’t somebody just pee directly on me?

[to a waiter] Hey apron. Who told you you could make eye contact?

Oh honey, I would, but… I don’t want to.

By your inflection I can tell that you think what you’re saying is funny, but… No.

They’re trying to make gay people straight? Good Lord! Don’t they know what that’ll do to the fall line?

[Grace enters wearing a cow-print skirt] Woah. Got skirt?

Gosh, I just love gambling here in Vegas. Sure, I may lose $100,000 but the drinks are free so it evens out!

I thought, finally. A man who can make a woman feel like a girl. And who can make that girl feel like a slut. And who can make that slut feel like a woman.

Oh, coulda shoulda prada!

Well, deal me in. I’ve got a lifetime membership to the losers club. Hm-mm. I’ve been dumped by one-ton billionaires, heads of state, and every member of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, but I’m not naming names. What’s so great about another person, huh? All they do is manhandle your boobs and eat all the ham.

Oh honey, I love you like the mother I had committed.

You know what else is sad? Poor people who have dreams. [pause] Well that’s not sad as much as it is extremely funny.

Sorry I’m late. Oh God, that sounded insincere… I’m late.

You say potato, I say vodka.

Ahh to be surrounded by your closest friends on your birthday. Well it woulda been nice! Instead i’m stuck with you guys!

Jack: Hey! I’ve got the best Birthday present for you EVER! Karen: Is my new liver here!?!

I really hope that Pharmy and Back-up Pharmy don’t find out about eachother! That’s a catfight waiting to happen!

Grace: C’mon…Live and let God…Take it one day at a time. Karen: Who taught you that hate speech?!

Grace, that blouse hurts like a hangover!

Karen: “Oh honey, look on the bright side.” Grace: “What brightside?” Karen: (looks confused) “What? What do you mean - its just a saying honey… I mean..?” (shakes head in despair)

Im too tired to slap you; Bash your face against my palm.

Now Jacky…God didn’t give me the ability to…play the piano,or paint a picture, or have compassion..

Good Lord, that walk from the elevator is gonna give me calf muscles like a Hungarian shot-putter.

Beverley: Karen Walker….I thought I smelled gin and regret. Karen: Beverley Leslie…..you look more like a woman every time I see you.

[on hiring Jack to play a straight man in a commercial] No one in the world would believe you’re straight. You fell outta the gay tree, hitting every gay branch on the way down. And ya landed on a gay guy… and ya did ‘em.

I’m sorry; you must have mistaken me for someone else. My name is Anastasia Beaverhousen.

I think you’re missing the silver lining here. When you’re old and in diapers, a gay son will know how to keep you away from chiffon and backlighting.

Honey, I’m busy, touch yourself.

“Yeah? Well now my drink’s talking, & it’s saying ‘Drink me! I make life more fun! Everyone from a high school kid to a bum on the street knows that.’”

“Honey, I would suck the alcohol out of a deoderant stick…”

“Well don’t let it get to your head, your hair is already such a disaster that the Red Cross wouldn’t give it coffee.”

“Honey? Did you think you could get into heaven wearing body glitter? ‘Cuz you can’t…….No.”

If my brain could still send signals to my face, you’d see I’m horrified right now.

I forget, what are you these days, gay or straight? Wait, let me do a little test. Okay, there’s a penis and a vagina in a tent. And it’s on fire. Which do you save?

Rule number one.Unless you’re served in a frosted glass, never come within four feet of my lips.

Your boyfriend’s a big flaming feather-wearing man-kissing disco-dancing Vermont-living Christina Aguilera-loving Mikanos-going, honey, take it on home.

Husbands come and go but the Chanel sling back is forever.

You’ll do it like every self-respecting woman does. Get on your back, point your heels to Jesus and think of hand bags

She doesn’t know Jack’s gay? What is she, headless?

Sorry I’m late. Oh, God, that sounded insincere. I’m late.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 at 2:11 pm You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

For most but I think if you suffer from depression it has to be the pits. At least with darkening months of Oct and Nov you had christmas to look forward to, but January? The sweltering heat of the irish summer? The spring lambs jumping from the field onto your plate with a hint of rosemary sauce? Its no wonder the poor kid rang me this morning in a panic. She was supposed to catch up with me this evening for training and sister’s night but the poor thing rang me crying saying she couldn’t make it to the train station. Once I’d calmed her down, she said she hadn’t been in college since last Wed and she was worried they were going to think she was taking the piss. I explained to her that she had already had the doctor write her a letter which proves to the college that she isn’t taking the piss but she gets so wound up. The college therapist, whilst is a great idea in theory , never seems to be available for a chat. We’ve decided to book her in with Mammy2’s former therapist which Mammy2 reckon’s she’ll respond to. We’re not fond of therapists, us titches, we go through them like hot dinners. Its the whole ’silence until she talks’ malarky I don’t get. Anyhew, the kid is on her way back to bed and hopefully in the next
could of days she’ll be doing better. I reckon the trigger was last week when she brought in her art work and the tutor said something about them not being brilliant. The kid takes anything to do with her art to hear and so ripped up a few of her works. Whilst she is doing so much better then last year, I think a few sessions with a therapist wouldn’t go astray after all she’s been through.

Now compared to her problems, mine seem minute. Which they are. The last week I’ve had 2 run-ins. One with clingfilm, and another with the washing machine. The clingfilm one, well I’ve ranted enough about that stupid household product to last me a lifetime but yesterday it went too far. As far as clingfilm can go whilst stuck to a roll. I ended up ripping it into small bits, which of course everyone knows covers nada. By the time I was finished it sat there mocking me. I suspect this had to do with the restless sleep I had the previous night. Due to our ‘intruder’. Not so much intruder as poster falling off the wall, but when its nearly 4 in the morning, your brain can play all sorts of tricks on you. I heard a noise. I decided I wasn’t going to suffer by myself and continued asking Mammy2 did she hear it, until she eventually woke up , so I followed with “sorry to wake you, but I think I heard a noise” In other words I’m scard and hiding under the blanket, would you please investigate. Pleae bear in mind I have been training in kickboxing for the last 2 years and am hoping to go for my belt at the end of Feb. Oh and did I mention I love horror movies? So there I huddled under my blankets as Mammy2 with 0 years training in any sort of martial art unless you count the Wii about go forth and see what was making the noise. As it turns out it was something as innocuous as the Leinster poster falling off the kid’s door. Mammy2 returned to the bedroom triumphant with the knowledge she had secured the apartment for her wife. Meanwhile her wife was wondering when she became such a wuss.

Perhaps I know to go to ‘How to deal with an intruder if they break into your house classes’ instead of my kboxing classes. Or more ‘how to deal with a poster falling from the wall whilst it sounding like an intruder’ classes. Its a specialist area I know, but they do say there is an evening class for everything.

I have class this evening with a different instructor. I usually head to the Mon and Wed’s class as I am familar with the class pattern and the instructor but I skipped last night’s so I could go with the kid to this evenings. She was thinking of getting into it as it might help her deal with stuff. Its definetly a good way to deal with stuff. I find it very thearputic after a stressful day but I think there are a few things she needs to clear in her head first I think before she can move on. The guy who does the class this evening is meant to be very tough so chances are I shall be writing my last will and testament tonight afterwards. I’ll keep you posted

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 at 9:19 am You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Today’s post has been brought to you by the words hung and over and the phrase “it was the final glass that did it”. I met up with the mate J last night, it was going to be a quiet one, she had a glee-a-thon to go to so we thought a couple of hours, a glass or 2 of wine and we’ll be sorted. 2 bottles of wine and 2 free glasses later we swayed home well under influence. As a result today is not one of my better days. I am thinking the highlight of the day will be a hot shower and an early night and tomorrow will be a gloriously hangover-free day. The brother has been driving me demented. And the sister K. Basically he’s already booked Mam’s anniversary mass. After last year’s debacle which involved the priest giving out about unmarried couples during his sermon and don’t get me started on the whole church and gays malarky, we decided that the whole mass thing is not for us anymore. We’re going to do our own thing. Whether it be dinner with our good mates, the framily or something by ourselves, its our choice. Mam was never a big mass goer anyways and its not like we’re going to forget the day. So he txts. I reply along the lines of we’re not going, we’re doing our own thing. Then he’s asking about his bday. In fairness it does suck that he shares his bday with Mam’s anniversary. This year he’s 30 so there was talk of a party, then no party, then a party. He was going on about his party so I told him we’d come down for it, even though I’d rather do his bday the previous day so we could mark Mam’s anniversary. Alas with his stroppy txts we’re better off attending his party. His knickers is already in a twist because the sister K is not coming home for it. She’s coming in June for  the kid’s 21st. Which is a lot bigger deal then a 30th. In most people’s eyes except the brother who is obviously having some sort of emo day. I was saying to the sister K that the older he gets, the more needy he seems to be.

Thankfully the weather has calmed down a lot since I last posted. We’ve gone from snow to gales and sleet and now there’s talk of high temperatures. Next thing you know there will be a plague of locusts. Mark my words. The snow was fun while it lasted though. Dublin looks so peaceful under a few cms of the white stuff before it turns to slush and people keep falling over. I managed to avoid falling but there were some 10 pointers to be had. I wonder would people have found it amusing if they went belly up and when they stood up, you were holding up a
scorecard. Maybe its just me who would find it hilarious. I do have a strange sense of humour.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 4:35 pm You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.