Benchwarmer's

Worked on my own for the first time, and did fairly well... no serious errors, at any rate, and none that needed to be corrected by management. Pulled in a lot of tips for a Tuesday!

=)

I have the most AMAZING days in my future.

Saturday: Glory Hole with Bermuda, my new club team. SMALLS and RJ visit!
Sunday: Glory Hole with Bermuda. Afterwards, Smalls, RJ, and I drive to Worcester to see Owen!!
Monday-Friday: Worcester!!! <3 Yay yay yay
Saturday: Denner, Smalls, and Sticky move into the apartment! Double shift at work... mad moneyz.
Sunday: BenA moves into the apartment! Double shift at work... doubly mad moneyz.
Monday: Ultimate recruiting in my sandwich board sign. Work.
Tuesday: Classes begin!

Return to Ithaca

I don't know how many of you are still reading this, because apparently I've been abysmally wordy. So, the short version of this month's events, in eleven points!

1. Returned home. Immediately played pickup Ultimate and tooled. Much rejoicing. Hung out with Mom, too!

2. Went to Ow My Knee with my brother. Were slaughtered due to overall team suckage and many bad decisions leading to many bad hangovers. However, partying was great.

3. Went to Wildwood with Owen. Less slaughtering, more injuries. Partying was minimal but team was amazing and lots of fun. Swam and played all day... who could ask for more?

4. Went to New Paltz to visit Lily and met several chickens named Chicken in different languages.

5. Went to work at Dad's for a few days, entering numbers into computer. Deservedly mind-numbing for the Ireland expenses they gave me, but Catherine is very cool and therefore we will hang out more.

6. Returned to Ithaca. Immediately played pickup Ultimate and fell over a lot. Much rejoicing.

7. Found a job at Benchwarmer's Sports Bar, where I can serve beer and wear a baseball cap simultaneously.

8. Played Jenga with Ithaca summer leaguers and did NOT knock over the tower and owe everyone a PBR. Mike D did that. Ha!

9. Went walking in the creek with Charlie and attempted to catch crayfish bare-handed. Charlie finally caught a crippled, clawless crayfish. Returned the poor thing to the water.

10. Joined a club team named Bermuda and have resolved to become much better at Ultimate.

11. Cleaned entire apartment. Seriously. Scrubbed out every single one of the cabinets. Found moldy potatoes and eight bottles of sesame oil. Jeff Lounsbury has earned my wrath.

Hitchhike to Newgrange

Hi all! Just had the most exciting day, and I'm in the computer lab of the single most incredible hostel in Ireland right now to fill you all in. Seriously, this place is like a resort, and only €18/night. =) The space bar is broken though, so if I miss some spaces, sorry.

Okay. I've been staying in a hotel with a very generous Hannah, but we go to the hostel to steal their internet. There wasn't any yesterday, however- it wasbroken. Last night I met a girl in the hostel while I was washing dishes, having just stolen more bread from the free food section. She'd been around for a while, and I said hi, and asked how things were going, and she said she had to get out of Galway. So I asked, as a joke, if she wanted to hitchhike with me to Newgrange and Dublin. She said, "Okay!" Just like that, I wasn't alone anymore!

We walked as far as we could and were eventually picked up on the N6 by an archer from London en route to Athenry. He dropped us off near Athenry, where we were almost immediately picked up by an American from Maine who had spent the last few years in North Africa and Palestine, and now traveled around Ireland refurbishing stained glass windows. He dropped us off near Ballinasloe, where we were picked up by a 22 year-old trucker from Poland who gave us his number and offered to share 'some really goot grass' with us. He left us at Tullamore, where we caught a ride from a friendly passing car parts deliveryman to Navan. From there we hitched with a nice couple who took us all the way to Newgrange!!!

Newgrange. Wow. The exhibit is awesome. So detailed, with intricate reconstructions of what the site looked like through the ages. The tour guides are jerks. This one was so obnoxiously boring and slow... oy. But the site itself... it was so cool! The roof was built with no cement, no mortar, just rocks but it's completely watertight. Some of those rocks weighed upwards of ten tons and they hauled them from 20km away... same with the quartz that the outer facade is made from. The site was just covered in a certain familiar symbol- my tattoo! The carved entrance stone had the symbol on it, as did an antechamber within the site itself. No one understands what the art at Newgrange means, but the complexity of the design of the chamber itself indicates that it's not just decorative; there has to have been a purpose. The site was so interesting because the inside hadn't been touched for 4,000 years before they opened it in the 1600s. It's older than the pyramids, and demonstrates an understanding of astronomy, because for the five shortest days of every year the chamber fills with light. Unfortunately flash photography within the site was prohibited, but I got some great videos of the outside. I'd post them now but this internet connection is horrifically slow.

Then we made our way to this hostel, which is so pretty and comfortable... two living rooms, a beautiful courtyard, two porches for lounging, free breakfast- I could stay here forever! And we met some wonderful people and had a cheap meal at a pub 2km away.

Tomorrow we leave in the morning for Drogheda, and then Dublin! I'm meeting Todd at Trinity and tomorrow (I think?) we're going hiking in Wicklow Mountains National Park, with Ultimate on Saturday and Sunday! Then Monday I head back to Galway- on a bus this time- and crash at the Sleepzone one more night before leaving on Tuesday!

I miss all of you but I'm sorry that this trip has to end. Today was the most exciting day so far, and I hitchhiked across the entire country- not saying much but still- and I can't wait to see more!

Love,

Annie "loves me the Ireland... might just get an accent" Mc

Side note: I am SO excited. No, this has nothing to do with Ireland. I might actually get the chance to play Ultimate with my brother for the first time ever, at Ow My Knee before he leaves for California! We both play and have for the past few years, but our schedules never worked and we were never at the same tournaments. It will/would be so great to get to play on the same team! (Note to self: try not to play like an idiot due to excitement.)

Dolphins and Jellyfish

Hannah and I are back from a very expensive trip to Dingle. We stayed in the Hideout Hostel, which turned out to be a bad idea because Dingle, for being a tiny port town, is actually incredibly loud at night. We were both very grumpy the next morning when we had to wake up at 7:30 am to go see Fungie the Dolphin in Dingle Harbor. We squeezed ourselves into wetsuits and waddled down to the boat, where it turned out we either had to return the wetsuits and lose the 20 euro we'd paid for them, or pay an extra 12.50 each for the couple that hadn't shown. So no choice at all, really. Once we were out on the water, I felt better for a while, especially when we saw Fungie for the first time leaping alongside us. Hannah took it very well that Fungie fled whenever we managed to get into the water, but by the third time I was starting to get ticked off at the jerk. It didn't help that someone at one point suggested that we look for him underwater, and I looked through my scuba mask to see a GIANT freaking jellyfish with a tentacle wrapped around my leg. I screamed and panicked and swam back towards the boat. I don't take surprises well.

Then we went on a ridiculously long bus ride back to Galway, during which both Hannah and I were exceedingly grumpy and didn't talk much. It was an exhausting weekend, even though we didn't do all that much.

I'm in a Supermac's now, stealing their internet, but I won't be online after today until the 13th, as I'm headed out to Newgrange and then Dublin and don't want to hitchhike with my laptop. I'm pretty nervous about hitchhiking alone, especially without a phone, but everyone I've met who's done it has assured me that in Ireland, at least, it's perfectly safe. Anyway, Hannah has my itinerary and I'll call her at certain points to make sure she knows I'm okay. And then on the 13th I'm taking a bus from Dublin to Galway, so that's safe at least.

Miss you! Home in 7 days!

The Unthinkable

I've done it!!! Today, I QUIT the crap job at Sleepzone, and my ticket has been rescheduled for the 14th of July- 2 weeks from now, friends, I will return home to you. Not because Ireland blows, because in most aspects Ireland is infinitely preferable to the good old US of A. But if I were to continue working here I'd have only 8 days off and be working this boring job for the next 40 days. You know what I say? F that.

I'd like to thank all the people who made this possible. Most of all Janet, poor beleaguered Janet, who I nagged time and time again about flights. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! Also Dad, Mom, Owen, Dena and Hannah, who helped convince me that I wasn't in Ireland to work my ass off at something I hated. I'm here to travel! To explore! To see new things and meet new people!

So as of Saturday morning, I'm headed off to Dingle with Hannah! We'll explore the Ring of Kerry together, and then I may crash with her for a few days before I travel across the midlands- mostly Meath, because I want to go to Loughcrew and Newgrange- on my way to Dublin. I'll stay with Todd for a few days, play some Ultimate, and then take a bus back to Galway for one night. Sleepzone took my leaving very well, and they offered me a room for free for the night before my flight. They also offered to keep my giant bag here for me, so I don't have to cart that freaking thing all over the Emerald Isle.

I am SO HAPPY. I haven't been able to stop smiling all day! Quitting is so liberating- I never quit a job before- and I'm on top of the world.

Also, dear friends, there's even better news. I will be home in time to play in everyone's favorite summer ultimate tournament: WILDWOOD!!! HELL YES!!!

I can't wait for Friday!!!

Love,

Annie "happiest person alive at this very second" Mc

New Resolutions

Okay. I've now been in Ireland for exactly one month, and it's time for a change. As of last night, I resolved not to buy drinks at bars anymore. Drinking will be done sparingly, if at all, unless it's a special occasion. And no, nothing particularly special happened last night to influence this decision, unless you count reading my bank statement and dying a little inside.

The job is finally (mostly) error-free, though it's unsatisfying and most of the time fairly boring. The time passes very slowly, and I have zero time off, and it's difficult to make friends. I find myself hoping they'll fire me, though I have no idea why they would or what I'd do if they did. Actually, that's not true... I'd go to Dublin and stay there for a while and play some Ultimate. And since I've never been fired before, my exit would have to be dramatic and explosive.

I went to the Roisin Dubh to see a band called No Banjo. It's the second time I've seen a band play there- the first was the Ben Taylor Band and they were so relaxed and funny. They had this one song where this guy loves this girl, but he hears her boyfriend's "a really nice guy". He's so tortured over how much he loves this girl. And then he hangs out with her boyfriend and he seems really cool. And it doesn't hurt anymore, because her boyfriend's "a really cute guy". Anyway, last night embodied everything I like best about the Irish pub atmosphere. Everyone was clearly enjoying the band, but those who were seated could see and those who were standing could dance without bumping into each other. It was very chill and the lead singer was dressed like Charlie Chaplin in his early days. Unfortunately, it was also Dena's last night in Galway. I stayed up till sunrise talking online, so I slept through her departure, but she left me a note. I'm going to miss her!

Another thing I've noticed while here is how fantastic the Irish are with children. I went to the farmer's market again the other day, and a little girl approached the cheese salesman and told him he had funny eyebrows, and the next thing you know they were chattering along like best friends. It was adorable- he instantly involved himself in her world and didn't judge, and he played along as if everything was very serious. I've seen this happen so many times in the square... adults playing football (soccer) with little kids they don't even know. The best part is that no one thinks it's suspicious or creepy.

Also, just a shoutout- Happy Birthday Janet!

Doolin and the Burren

I had planned to write an entire novel on my trip to the Burren, but for some reason I'm not feeling chatty, though I know you all deserve updates. So here's the short version of the awesomeness of my visit to the Burren.

1) Played cards in the hostel- gin rummy. CHECK OUT THIS HAND. I kicked BUTT.

2) Got attacked by a very territorial swan, who wasn't a fan of me photographing its baby. Did you know swans hiss? And also that they have teeth and move very quickly?

3) Walked 6.5 miles along the edge of a cliff to get a view of the Cliffs of Moher, also known as the Cliffs of Insanity from The Princess Bride. The water was so beautiful and clear, you almost wanted to climb down and go swimming. Smalls, it was the perfect place for a Pocahontas dive!

4) Stayed in the small town of Doolin. It was 16 euro to stay in the hostel, so I slept in the car. Sleeping in a car is a bad idea for several reasons. It's really really really really cold. It's also REALLY cold. On the plus side, yay saving money!

5) Ate a delicious breakfast of cheese on barm brack- btw, barm brack is a type of Irish bread. It's kind of hard and studded with raisins or fruit.

6) Hopped on a Galway Tour Company bus- I ride for free with the GTC- and left behind Signe, Dena, and Signe's sister Kirsten. Rode to the cliffs and this time saw them from the tourist POV. The tourist POV SUCKS. Check out the massive security failure.

7) Arrived back in Galway, exhausted and ticked off because I couldn't sleep on the bus- there was a really loud kid behind me.

OVERALL: What an awesome trip. The cliffs are so amazing... but don't sleep in cars.