Summer Internships

Alrighty....So none of these are for sure, still waiting on details and such from a few...

Option 1.
Rivercats (probably with ticket sales?)
got this from Kendall- the woman I helped over x-mas break for Kings Suit holders tourney
closest to home- but driving 30ish minutes everyday to help out

CONS:terrible hours

Option 2.
AAU Volleyball Intern
not sure where this would take place, waiting to hear back about the details. I inquired about helping them run their nationals tournament and added my resume and they asked if I wanted an internship- but would be very easy for me to do since I'm used to it (not what I'm going for)

CONS: Already have the Volleyball festival internship- pretty much the same thing...would not add anything different to my resume (experience yes, but the same kind)


Option 3.
Competitor Group, Inc.,
turned my resume and CV in this weekend..waiting now
headquartered in San Diego, CA, is the leading media and event entertainment company dedicated to the endurance sports industry of running, cycling and triathlons. My advisor Bob linked me up with this contact


CONS: Living situation is not finalized.

Option 4.
US Open of Surfing 2011 - Huntington Beach 
might be more of a volunteer thing, they are emailing me this week w/ internship details

CONS: same weekend as one of the jeeping trips- not a summer long, just the week or two

Option 5.
Volleyball Festival
internship/job same one I have done the last few years!
my summer job money maker!



None of them are paid, so I would have to see which (if any) will allow me to work the Volleyball Festival still to make some money! And see how many jeep trips I would have to miss for each one. I also need to figure out which one will result in me losing the most money. Which will offer most experience/contacts etc...

I am leaning towards San Diego. If I can find a place to live it will be set; Maybe I can ask my Uncle Barritt (Erin do you have an email address for him? I know he sails and is on the water constantly, but he has to have an email?)

If anyone else has any contacts in San Diego, let me know maybe I can work something out!

Ideally I would like to work the San Diego one, drive to Phoenix for 2 weeks and then drive back to San Diego

Just take a look...

They have events planned for each hour basically...I am scared for next week!
The amount of alcohol that the Irish students can consume on a daily/weekly basis makes me fear for their lives.... This could be interesting!

Monday 11:00am...Raft Race................River by Kilmurry 12pm...Giant Connect 4 Champs.............SU Courtyard 12pm...Great Race Deadline..................SU All Day...Tag Rugby........................... Pitches 1pm...Charity jukebox.........................SU Courtyard 1pm...Jelly Wrestling...........................Stables Courtyard 2pm...Yard of coke/ale........................ Scholars 2:30pm...Dodgeball............................Stables Courtyard 2:30pm...Mass Musical Chairs.................SU Courtyard 3pm...Boat Race................................Scholars 3:30pm...Live DJ................................Stables 4pm...Kissing Competion.......................Stables 4:30pm...Blinddate.............................Stables 5:30pm...Fruity Games........................Stables 6pm...Lovely Girl Competition.................Stables Courtyard 6pm-9pm...Live Dj..............................Stables 7pm...Nom nom nom...........................Your Gaff 8pm...Live DJ...................................Stables Courtyard 7pm-9pm...Traffic...........................Stables 8pm...Casino Night...........................Sports Bar 9pm...Christy Moore Tribute...........................Stables 9pm...DJ Jeff...........................Scholars 10:30pm...Live DJ...........................Stables 11:30pm...Socialise...........................You Pick Tuesday All Day...Bucking Bronco...........................SU Courtyard All Day...Sumo Wrestling...........................SU Courtyard 12pm...Gladiator Championship....................SU Courtyard 1pm...Charity Jukebox..............................SU Courtyard 1:45pm...Shave/Dye.................................Stables Courtyard 2pm...Helium Karaoke................................Scholars 3:30pm...Live DJ........................... Stables Courtyard 4pm...Sock Pint Drink Competion...........................Stables 4:30pm...Bonny Baby Competion...........................Stables 4:30pm...Charity TV...........................SU Courtyard 5pm...Banana Hoop competion...........................Stables 4pm...Sex Quiz...........................Scholars 6pm...Live DJ...........................Stables 7pm...Get your eat on!...........................Your Gaff 7pm-9pm...Traffic...........................Stables 9pm...Undercover Creeps...........................Stables Courtyard 9pm... Hermitage Green...........................Scholars 11pm...Theme Tuesday........................... (Three Themes, Three Rooms) Angel Lane Wednesday All Day... Skydive All Day... Bungie Run........................... SU Courtyard All Day... Human Bowling........................... SU Courtyard 11:00pm...5-a-Side Soccer........................... Astroturf 12pm...Bean Eating Competition........................... Stables Courtyard 1:00pm...Charity Jukebox........................... SU Courtyard 1pm...Mud Wrestling........................... Stables Courtyard 2pm...Sausage Eating Competition.................................... Scholars 3pm...Iron Stomach Competition..........................Stables Courtyard 3:30pm...Live DJ.............................................Stables 3:45pm...Hypnotist Barry Sinclair........................... Stables Courtyard 4pm...Kissing Race...........................................Stables 4pm...Hooters Shooters...........................Scholars 4pm...Tug of War........................... Library Green 5pm...Wet T-Shirt Competition........................... Stables Courtyard 5pm...Balloon Hug....................................Stables 6pm...Live DJ..................................Stables 7pm...Stuff your face...............................Your Gaff 7:30pm...BYOB Cinema Night.............................SU Courtyard 9pm...Enemy Armada......................................Stables Courtyard 11:30pm...Socialise Town Thurdsay All Day... Spin South West..................................SU Courtyard 10:30am...Bungee Jump....................................East Gate 12pm...Charity Jukebox.....................................SU Courtyard 1:45pm...Charity Auction....................................Stables Courtyard 2pm...Mankini Challenge..................................... Scholars 2-5pm...Magician Steve Spade..............................Stables Courtyard 2:30pm...Cadbury Milking....................................Stables Courtyard 3pm...Sausage Eating Contest..............................Stables Courtyard 3:30pm...Wedges Eating Competion.......................Stables Courtyard 3:30pm...Live DJ.....................................Stables 4pm... Millkshake Drinking Contest................................Scholars 4pm...Cadbury Crème Egg Competition..........................Stables 4pm...Henna Tattoo Artist.....................................SU Courtyard 4:30pm...Male Female Outfit Swap .....................................Stables 4:30pm...Mankini Challenge Wrap Up.............................Scholars 5pm...Nose Pea Push Competition..................................... Stables 6pm...Live DJ..................................... Stables 7pm...Soakage Time!.....................................Your Gaff 8pm...Live DJ..................................... Stables Courtyard 8pm...Charity Ball Rubberbandits...................Arena 9pm...Naked Bear.....................................Stables 9pm...Silent Disco.....................................Scholars 10:30pm...Live DJ.....................................Stables Night Time Events Monday Christy Moore Tribute - The Stables - FREE Liam Byrne is sings the songs of Christy,and other artists Like The POUGES Tuesday The Undercover Creeps - The Stables Courtyard - FREE Consisting of Ireland’s finest two party DJs, Johnny Hammond and DJ Flip, the Undercover Creeps have been tearing up dance floors across the country with their unique blend of scratching, mixing and mash ups. Johnny is a full time, Limerick-based DJ of thirteen years. His CV boasts performances at Oxygen, Planet Love and Global Gathering. Described by many as Ireland’s most experienced club DJ, he has played memorable sets with Tiesto, Deadmau5, Faithless and Calvin Harris. DJ Flip (aka Ronan Carney) got major kudos when he scratched his way to the title of ITF World Scratch Champion in 2003. It’s been onward and upward since then. He’s here and he’s 150% in your face at all times. He says what he wants, when he wants, where he wants, to who he wants. He covers the spectrum. Wednesday BYOB Cinema Night - SU Courtyard - €5 What better way to raise money for Charity then bring a few cans and watch a good show with your mates? ULSU cinema will be back with Old School on the big screen in the courtyard. Tickets are €5 wich allows you to bring in 4 500ml unopened cans of beer or cider. NO glass, plastic or any other alcoholic beverage of any kind are allowed and only 4 cans. Doors open at 7pm and will CLOSE at 8.30pm. Show starts at 7.30pm. Thursday ULSU Charity Ball with the Rubberbandits- UL Arena - €12 We're basically decking out the arena with a savage stage, some epic drapage, unreal lights and we're going to party with Limericks very own Rubberbandits. A session not to be missed! Remember that all profits from all gigs during Charity Week goes to charity. This years Charities are the Mid-Western Cancer Foundation, Console, The First Tee and The Alzheimer Society of Ireland.

1500 views!

Wow, Thanks followers! That is impressive in a month and half!

Alright so guess what!?

I am halfway done with my school here in Ireland, and I have only had class for 5 weeks.

The time is surely "flying by" Literally I remember stepping off the plane, and before I know it I will be boarding to head to the US again. Wow

Basically I have class next week and that is week 6. It is called Charity Week, or Rag week to the students. It is basically Guilford's form of Serendipity, but on steroids. Serendipity, Rag week and Charity week can all be summed up by saying it is a week dedicated to drinking all day, not going to class, watching random bands, participating in events such as jello wrestling and slip n' sliding...I am not kidding. I got a copy of the itinerary for Rag week and they have schedules events like kissing contests and other ridiculous things.

It is a real, school sponsored event. The teachers basically expect no one to show up to their classes, I am trying to attend and maybe score tips for the finals since I can not hang with the amount of alcohol the Irish consume, at all.

After Rag week, I have a month left of classes, a week for spring break, 1 week for "studying" which means no classes, and then two weeks dedicated to taking finals. So basically after next week I have 4- maybe 3 weeks left of actual classes.

I can not wrap my mind around this.

Ahhh Congrats!!

She probably will read this last but CONGRATULATIONSSSS Coach! (and John and her amazing parents as well!)

She welcomed baby Madison Grace Gann into the world this morning at 5:12am  7lbs 15. ozs 21 1/4 inches long!

She will be a phenomenal mother! I can not wait to see her little munchkin in August! I am so excited for her!

Good luck in the next few weeks, wish I could be there to help out with anything, even if it is just spring practices! Thinking about you!

soo... on a walk by myself, in another country with a dead cell phone and dead camera with random animal noises is....

pure bliss.

I absolutely enjoyed my walk today on campus. It was gorgeous I went on a new trail and found another old castle/ruin type thing. I walked for two hours probably before I turned around. It was so pretty. I will definitely be going again soon because my camera died pretty early on in the walk (remember, I blew up my battery charger last week). But I have posted pics to Facebook and will add some to shutterfly soon! (facebook link http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=278627&id=727325145 )

Now I am heading to Rachel's to have some dinner with her and a few roommates!!

Oh Irelanddd

Good morning all.
I just wanted to share with you that I just got an email from my school with step by step directions on how to cure a hangover.

Only in Ireland.

Have a great Monday, hope everyone's weekend was as great as mine. Thanks to Skype I was able to watch/listen to the Daytona 500 last night. :]

It is beautiful right now as I am about to walk to class :] No rain, nor early morning fog, no misty stuff :]

That could have been bad..

So I am known for locking myself out. I have had to have Frankie unlock my car for me I don't know how many times back at home (the worst was on prom night- it was 1 am after the races and my alarm was going off in a richy-rich neighborhood- just awesome- another was at my guy friend's grandmother's house- I had to leave the car there over the weekend...) And every year so far in school I have somehow managed to lock myself out of my apt, dorm or individual room. the thing is that I am always in my towel after just showering it seems like so it makes for a situation to turn awkward right quick. Well I did it again today folks...kind of.

Last night I decided that the bulging black trash bag sitting in our kitchen should probably be taken out before it smells or starts growing something inside. I placed it in the trash can outside our front door. Usually it is picked up everyday- or so I thought- It was too big to fit so I just left it assuming it would be gone in the morning. That was a big mistake. It was tied up and everything just did not have a lid over it. Well this morning the HUGE Irish crows found it. I kept hearing caw-caws and noises outside and I looked out my window to find like 6 crows on steroids and some trash outside the trash can.

I walked down and decided to shove the bag in and close the lid. I did not have my keys so I had my foot in the crack of the door so I could get back in.  I am pretty short so it was probably hilarious for anyone watching me like do the splits to get the trash to the can, shove the huge bag down and lean over to get the lid and swing it over the top, all while keeping a foot in the door. Silly me couldn't get the bag far enough down and forgot I needed my foot in the door and stepped out. OH NOOO! 


I looked down at myself, I am wearing hot pink slippers, short sleeping shorts, a shirt without any, uh support we will say, without my keys or cell phone to call security. Now what? Oh yeah and all of my roommates are gone, I do not know a single neighbor nor do I think they are on campus, and the reception office does not open til 6:30 pm on Sundays. I closed all of the doors and windows last night because I did not want any creepers crawling in.

I took a deep breath and pushed the door as hard as I could in hopes that it did not shut...woooshh it went flying open and I about fell on the ground. Luckily, the lock did not latch! I swear, everything works out in this country so far. I learned my lesson- always bring my keys, or at least dress as if I might get locked out for the day....

I got a good laugh out of this mornings adventure!

Oh yeah, I went to the Munster rugby game Friday and... Oh-my-gosh! I love watching rugby. They played Edinburgh and won! It was such an awesome sport. The men play for 80+ minutes without being subbed out and only take a 5-7 minute halftime. The ball never stops. It is like a high speed more intense game of football. I really loved watching it. They attack each other, dog-pile, throw punches, trip, scratch, gouge eyes out throw each other in the air and everything without ANY protection. I take that back I saw a guy wearing ear muffs. But seriously, no helmets, no pads...nothing. The trainers and water-boys just run onto the field in the middle of the game to tend to whoever needs it. The rest of the guys just run around them if they are taping or drinking on the field. Rugby is a man's sport without a doubt. I am so impressed with the skill and endurance of the players also! They never stop. It was a lot of fun! I wish I would have known more of the rules beforehand though, it would have made it easier to understand why they kick it out of bounds on purpose, or why the ref will blow the whistle when a guy pushes another but not when they punch one another...? It was worth it none the less :]

If you are lucky enough to be Irish, then you are lucky enough!

Just a short entry/thought.

I have been thinking that a lot of my blogs talk about how I am learning the hard way and going about everything all wrong here; but in reality I should be talking about how lucky I am that everything has turned out like it has. There are a lot of things that should have gone wrong, or could have been much worse than they were (I know a lot of you don't like to think of it like that-but it is true). I mean we got into a taxi with a guy and let him talk us into going to a totally different town. Good thing that town did not have the reputation like Limerick City does (Stab City-which is totally undeserved). The woman at the Hostel booked us tickets for a bus that I was technically supposed to be boarding three days ago... Everything I have done seems to be wrong or out of order, but it has all worked out in my favor. 

Yesterday was my long day of classes. I had class at 9am then again from noon-1800 (6pm) straight. My class at 1500 (3) was really pretty warm- maybe because I always choose the seat nearest the radiator/heater- but- I took my jacket off and put it inside the radiator. I went to my entrepreneurship class in another building. It is two hours long, but seems to fly by which is convenenient. When I was packing up I realized I did not have my jacket though! I tried to backtrack and figured I must have left it in the classroom before I walked over here. I almost panicked because it was much colder now than it was before, my apt is on the total opposite side of campus and my room/apt key happened to be in the pocket of my jacket. But guess what, I got to that other classroom and found my jacket where I left it. Tucked in the radiator. The heat had been on all day so my jacket was nice and warm for me! I was so glad, I found myself actually saying outloud that I am so lucky. Then I smiled. I got to walk all the way to my room with a jacket that felt like it had just come out of the dryer (probably the best feeling on a cold day!)

Whether you are a believer or not in karma, fate, destiny whatever it has been called- I can say that I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.

I also experienced a first today- My German roommate Katharina, asked me to read/revise/proof her paper for her. I felt honored. I am always the one asking someone to correct and read over my papers (or not because I never want others to read my stuff-which I find ironic because I am writing a blog with 1400 views!) I never would have been able to help her with her paper if I did not have dirty/party animal roommates the first week here- again, there is a reason for everything.

In class the other day my teacher shared this with us. We were learning about fairies, leprechauns, banshees (caller/predictor of death) and other folkloric characters. I got a good laugh while watching and figured if you have a few minutes you should definitely see this. Be sure to try to get a glimpse of their faces in between reading the subtitles- it is funny. I really hope this link works in the United States.http://www.vimeo.com/18982649

I will blog tomorrow about my Munster Game experience tonight!

Cheers!

PS I am aware that it is impossible for me to write a 'short' blog. So sorry!

Irish prize for whoever can decode this...

My teacher has the worst/laziest writing I have ever seen, I think this is worse than most doctors'. He is the tutorial teacher for my marketing class, and he is mad. I really think he should be taking medicine. He is alll over the place. Talk about ADD or something. Today he was 12 minutes late. Then rambled about something for about 4 minutes while he struggled to get his flash drive to load something. He then awkwardly/nervously paced the classroom, decided he had to go back to his office. He left in search for a new flash drive (after again pacing a few more times) then was narrarating as he was leaving. He is so awkward it is hilarious. He returned after about two minutes and retrieved his office keys from his peacoat pocket, and left again. We had a fairly short class today.

He did see me take a picture of his writing though, he said "I feel like you just took a picture of me? I saw a flash, did I look ok?" Oops.

Munster Rugby game tomorrow...can't wait to see up close how intense rugby is.

Shout out to Grandma and Mom & Scott. I got my Valentines letters/gifts in the mail this week. :] Definitely made me smile.

Hope everyone has enjoyed their week!


Oh nooo, my phone has the screen my computer did last week!!!
gotta mess with it, details soon. :/ greatt

Stumbleupon.com

I love.love.love. this website.
It basically is a place you go to click all of the things that interest you. Then shows you websites that you will enjoy based off of your selections.
http://www.globalone.tv/profiles/blogs/how-to-treat-others-5-lessons 
found this and figured I would share it with everyone...there are soooo many like this and I will continue to post them for you to enjoy as well :]

On a lighter note...

Thought I would share with you my little spinning class adventure.

I went to my spin class this morning. Last time I hated it- let's just say the seats are not very comfortable, nor do they make it easy to want to get up to go to another spin class- but I did today.

The class was pretty full but I found a bike and adjusted it. I had to lower the seat to reach my hip height and then bring the handlebars in about half a foot so it would reach my fingertips if I put my elbow on the edge of the seat. I was all ready to go and feeling confident that I did it on my own and then I noticed the seat was broken. Mind you- I did not find this out until after the class had filled up and there were no more available bikes. I asked the instructor if it would be a problem that it rocked back and forth rather than stay stationary, she said "oh no not at all."

WRONG.

Spinning is hard enough as it is, and I was trying to focus on the exercising and keeping the seat in one place. It is kind of hard to explain what the seat was doing but basically when we were sitting and pedaling the seat would tip backwards because of the applied weight and pressure I was adding on to it- naturally. So the front of the seat would kind of be pointing up- no big deal. I was not sliding off the back of the bike so I was not too worried.

When the instructor told us to stand and continue pedaling is when it became a problem. I would stand and pedal, but that seat was still pointing up- I will let you figure out on your own why that was an issue.

We were pedaling pretty fast and I was definitely uncomfortable so I went to stop to point the seat downward. Silly me did not take into account that pedals don't stop moving up and down immediately when you want them to. So I tried to stop my legs and the pedals were still moving at an insane pace. I like fell off the bike (as much as it would allow me to), thought I broke my ankle from the pressure of me straightening my leg and the pedal continuing to turn and move my foot (it was strapped to the pedal to avoid the feet from coming off). I was obviously off of my seat and not in control of my legs and the movement going on.

I finally figured my stuff out and pointed the seat down, got myself back together and caught back up to the pace of the other spinners in the class. Just about that time the instructor told us to put our hands in position two, sit back down on the bike and increase our resistance.

My seat was pointing down at this point and I slipped right off into the main bar of the bike but caught myself before anything traumatic happened. The elderly lady that was kicking my butt as far as spinning goes looked extremely concerned and asked If I was getting along alright. I smiled and laughed and said I am used to this kind of stuff- but something about the face she made tells me she thought I was a complete idiot.

Luckily my bike was in the back of the aerobics room so no one could really see me, or they were too focussed to show any reaction to the girl struggling. I find it hard to believe I got away with no one noticing (except the hot grandma next to me) something because there is a huge wall-long mirror in front of us...
needless to say- I wont be attending another spin class unless I purchase a cup or diaper or something.

a penny for my thoughts, oh no, I'll sell 'em for a dollar

I don't really know why I am writing this but...
I am going to brag a lot about my friends and family in this blog. Just forewarning you :]


I have been a very lucky young woman when it comes to evaluating the relationships I have made in my life. I can honestly say that I am a family person. I am not the 'family person' when I am trying to impress a guy or when I am trying to sound more responsible and whatever else that may make me when I am talking to anyone. I am a family girl through and through. I do not enjoy anything more than spending time with those closest to me.


My family is one of a kind. Although it is HUGE and totally dysfunctional at times, I would not trade them for the world. I have my Mom's side and my Dad's. I can not imagine my life with them together, nor do I want to imagine it that way. They are both so much happier in the paths they have traveled down. I am not trying to put all of my families business out there, but I want to make it clear that I love my life, and everyone in it. I love that I spend my summers at home with my families instead of with friends causing trouble. I would choose jeeping with my mom's family and extended jeeping family, or playing volleyball with my dad over anything my acquaintances would invite me to. [in fact I have done that MANY times] I turned down a free Giants game last summer to play in a little pick up volleyball game with my dad and his close friends. I went jeeping last year and spent time with my mom, grandparents, siblings, best friend, uncle and all the other crazies that I could not live without instead of attending a high school friend's wedding. At the time I was upset and bummed that I was missing those things with friends, but I am so grateful for all of the family time I have had in my life. I knew I was lucky and fortunate enough to have that much time, but have not fully appreciated it until recently. (Don't get me wrong I do love the girls very dearly that invited me to their special days and attempted to include me in their fun summer plans).But lets face it- I am always that girl that "has something to do". My friends know I am busy, and understand that I am with my family 94% of the time. It is what it is, and I want everyone to know I love that. It is by choice and I thoroughly enjoy every thing we do together.


Everyone thinks that they have "the best family" or the "best friends" and I respect your opinions and really hope you believe that rather than say it to say it but I honestly do have the 'bests'. [sorry]


My best friend Shasta has been there for me through thick and thin. We have built our friendship since 2nd grade; we finish each other's sentences and know what the other is thinking before we even think we are thinking it. There is no replacing this girl.


I have friends at Guilford that I am very close to, and hope to continue talking to after graduating college, but understand that probably wont happen.


But I have to say, I have found another set of friends in Ireland that I would call my best friends. It is a completely different bond. At home, many many years and specific events and circumstances have helped build those friendships. Here, a few weeks and immediate need contributed to building these friendships. I realize that I have found lifelong friends, not just college friends that I will lose contact with once leaving Ireland. These are not the girls that I will ONLY spend nights with in the bar playing cards, gossiping and drinking with. I have laughed until it hurt, cried from laughing so hard and shared our most personal stories with one another. I feel an immediate sense of comfort with them that I have only found with my family and Shasta. And that- to me- is truly what friendship really is. I can not wait to see what Ireland has in store for us, and then what we will get into once we return to the states.


I am so thankful I get to share this adventure in my life with these girls. It is in the conversations and stories that I realize I am not only learning about them, but a lot about myself as well. I truly believe I am finding who I am more and more every day. I just smile when I think about my life and who I am sharing everything with. 


I do not like to say I will do things with no intentions of going through with it; whether that pertains to friendships and staying in touch, or studying abroad in another country. I want to do everything in this life that makes my to-do list. I want to thank all of the people in this life, you are all making this possible for me. I have so much support and love that it should be illegal. Honestly.

Thank you so much. It is because of every single person I have encountered in this life that I am the way I am. This is a journey to find myself I believe, and I am very satisfied with how this has panned out so far :]
{Ps. the title of the blog is from the country song I'm listening to :] }

The people who can’t love you for who you are, don’t deserve to ever be with you at all.

I learned a lot about friendships. I lost people that were once my best friends. I lost old friendships that I thought would last beyond high school. People I once trusted ended up showing me the opposite. Although I lost those people, I also built more valuable relationships with the people who stayed. I kept the friends that really mattered. I gained stronger friendships with people who were there for me. I realized that besides family, I only have a few people I can truly rely on, but that's okay. Having a huge group of friends isn't that great when most can care less about you. In the end, having a few valuable friendships with people who really have your back is always worth so much more.

Don't forget...

to check out www.taylorireland.shutterfly.com


I posted pictures from the Blarney Castle today! You can also find them on my facebook!

Simply Amazing

I am happy to say I got my computer back :] At first when I got it back and turned it on, it was set to Gaelic (Irish Language), and the keyboard was also switched to an Irish setting... (the / problem I was having before was happening and the @ was not in the right spot, it was so confusing.) I had no idea how to switch it, even though I am in Ireland,  I have not mastered the Gaelic language. I played around and opened windows and menus and finally figured out how to switch it from Gaelic to English; then I changed the time, homepages, backgrounds and customized it to my preference. I could not figure out a few other things, so I took it back to the guys in the PC shop, and they set it right :] Thankfully.

Since I last wrote I booked my tickets and apartment in Italy for Spring Break :] Bought my Munster Rugby game ticket, and kissed the Blarney stone.

Seven other girls and I traveled to Cork yesterday. It was about a two hour bus ride to the southern part of Ireland. We all slept on the bus because we left at 7:30am so that we would have enough time to do everything we wanted in Cork and Blarney. Once we got to Cork we got on a bus to take us to the Blarney Castle. It was gorgeous. I had so much fun. We were laughing and enjoying ourselves the entire time. I hate to break it to ya, but nothing bad happened to me that I can tell you about to give you a good laugh.


I kissed that stone at the top of the castle. I decided to ignore all the rumors about how the locals urinate on the stone. I basically ruled that out once I saw it. It is obviously too high for anyone to 'reach' from the ground, and there is a sweet old man at the top that helps everyone lean back to kiss it; so I was pretty confident in the fact that no one just pops a squat or whips anything out in order to soil the stone while there is someone keeping watch during the day. The castle/park area is locked up at night and blocked by fences, thus making it difficult to get to the castle anyways. It was a lot of fun. Kissing the stone was actually kind of scary. We had to lean almost vertically backwards/upside down to kiss it.

After we explored every single room in the Castle we ventured back outside to the Rock Close. It was basically a secret garden. It was gorgeous. There were multiple waterfalls, bridges and garden/rock beds. We walked through the walking path and found "wishing steps". In Ireland they believe that if you walk up and down the stairwell with your eyes closed and focussing on one wish only, then that wish will come true within the year. Sounds simple, but keep in mind it was dark and wet and we had to focus on the wish only, not about slipping and falling, or walking off the steps, or hitting your head. (I technically had it easier since that last one was not an issue for me). I made my wish, repeated it in my mind as I scaled those steps at about the speed of smell.
We ventured back into Cork after exploring everything in Blarney.

Cork is a cute city. We window shopped for a few hours then some split and went to eat and others to an art gallery. When it started to rain we found our way into an inside mall. One of my good friends (Stephani (no e)) found a cute dress and was going to get it in a store called "California" (we HAD to check it out!), Rachel and I did not have much luck, nor did we want to spend money and headed to the grocery store while they were checking out in California. We got a phone call saying the Steph had lost her wallet, and they were going to back track in the city.

Rachel and I ended up staying and looked inside but had no luck. So we stuck around for a little bit, then decided to go to the bus station to check when we could catch busses back to Limerick. If you know me, you know I am loud. Well Rachel is my twin, just imagine when we get together, we are silly, loud and constantly laughing. (Dave, it is very similar to when Paulette and I are working in the Office on Friday Mornings but more!)Well, this time it came in handy.

An older woman heard me talking as we were walking into the bus station and was calling out to get my attention. "excuse me, excuse me!" I turned around and noticed she had a card or ID or something in her hand, and she asked if I was American. Right then it clicked! I was like yes I am, is that my friends ID Card? She asked me to give her information before answering any questions or showing me the ID. I told her my friend Stephani from Tennessee had lost her wallet. She went to University of Limerick and I told her all the details I knew about Steph like her last name and where she might have lost her wallet. The woman had me and Rach get ahold of Steph (of course she was not answering her phone.) A few minutes later I got ahold of Steph and the girls and told them to come to the bus station because her wallet was here!

This woman and her husband were out shopping. They usually do not leave the house, but her back was giving her grief yesterday and she wanted to walk around. It started raining and so they walked through TK Maxx (its basically TJ Maxx) to get through to the other side to get closer to their car. They saw a bright green wallet on the ground right outside TK. She picked it up and saw that there was a bus ticket to Limerick in there. So they walked to the bus station and radioed for a Stephani Turner. When no one came to claim the wallet, they went to the Garda station and reported it, but kept the wallet (Her husband works for the court, so they trusted him). They had gone home two times already and returned to the station every hour to call for a Stephani!

I am so glad that Rachel and I stayed in the Grocery store and headed to the bus station when we did! We were no more than 5 feet in the bus station and were being stopped becuase we sounded American. We were shocked when we heard the story. Not only did Stephani lose her entire wallet (and already call home to cancel her cards) but she had it returned to her IN ANOTHER COUNTRY! She showed up and was in tears. We were all soaked from looking for it in the rain. She was so grateful (we all were just amazed). This woman and her husband definitely have good Karma coming to them for being such great, caring people. She and I were talking while we waited for Steph and the girls, and she had explained that both of her sons were students and she knew that we do not have the most money and wanted to be sure she returned it personally. She would not let Rachel or I give Steph her stuff. She also told Steph that it was not smart to have all of her credit cards in the front row with her ID and Immigration card, so she suggest she switches it around.

I still am in awe that she got her wallet back. We figured she lost it between 430-530 and the woman found us at 7:15! She had dinner plans and decided that returning to the station every time a bus to Limerick was due to leave was more important. Simply amazing.  Proves that there are good people in the world still (I have my doubts that it would have found its way back to her with all her money and cards still in it in the States...it's possible, but the fact she is in another country and it was returned to her is just wild) :]

I always start these blogs thinking I have nothing to say, but I guess I was given the gift of gab prior to kissing that Blarney Stone (Hopefully-for ya'lls sake- it isn't increased or anything now!)

I can not believe tomorrow is Valentine's Day. We have planned a girls night. We will have some take-out, cupcakes, pancakes and whatever else we feel like stuffing our faces with while we watch chick flicks on our computers all night. Should be good craic!
I hope you all enjoy your days tomorrow with your loved ones. :] Missin everyone bunches (but not enough to leave yet :] )
Cheers
<3

What side of the sidewalk do we walk on?

My computer is supposed to be fixed tomorrow :] I made sure to tell the guy good luck when I left, he will need it...If anything else happens to my computer I will sell it (since it is brand spankin new) and purchase a Mac...if thatttt messes up then it will be confirmed that it is me...thoughts?

Since I have not had a computer for almost a week now I have color coded and organized my jewelry and hung it up on a bright neon orange shoelace that made it into my luggage. It looks kind of cool, not gunna lie. I have watched almost the entire first season of Friends that the Irish tv shows downstairs (there are ONLY 17 channels) They play Glee, Criminal minds and Friends (the first few seasons of each only). Oh and I caught an episode of  'my hampster is pregnant' - yeah, really. They started doing hampster dna tests to find out which was the father...It was like Maury for fuzzy creatures without all the screaming and embarrasment.

I received an email the other day...it was, interesting to say the least. I will let you form your own opinions...

In regards to the title of this blog, my friends and I have yet to determine which is right and which is wrong. In stores the escalators are on normal sides that we are used to, but they only go up. There are no 'down' escalators, just stairs? Either way everyone switches where they walk on the sidewalks, we do not know if we are supposed to walk the same way cars go, or the other way. Once I think I have figured out the flow on a sidewalk, someone is always walking right towards me and we do that awkward dance thing in the middle of the sidewalk (I know you know what I am talking about).

I just realized the time, I have a class in 15 minutes, I do not know where I am going though. There is no classroom listed, and I am convinced lecturers (not teachers or professors?) do not check their emails, so it makes it extremelyyy difficult to find anything out here. I don't know why they even bother saying 'shoot me an email, we will figure it out through that' Makes no sense.

Also, I tried going to a volleyball game or something last night in the gym from 9:30-10:30 turns out it was a men's team and it was practice not a pick up game. The coach suggested I play on the women's A team..he gave me a card with info, I will check it out next week.

Got to go, sorry this is centered, after I added the picture it tweaked the rest of the body of the blog. oops (silly irish computers)



I knew I was overdue for a technical problem...

You guessed it, my computer crashed. Hardrive problems. I took a long nap Friday  and so I was up pretty late that night, did not realize it was 3am until I looked at the clock. I was facebooking, listening to music and marketing podcasts and reading the materials for my folklore class. I realized I should probably head to sleep before I messed up my sleeping schedule even more. The next afternoon after I did a little ab workout and made breakfast I decided to check my facebook and email accounts only to find...

BOOTMGR is missing. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to restart
with a series of funky symbols and junk all over the screen in cool colors

....AWESOME!
ctrl + alt + delete doesnt work FYI, it just brings me back to the same screen, it's like a never ending cycle for me. I do not know what it is- I did not download anything (I learned the hard way over Christmas break), I did not open any funky sites or pop up ads...

I will be honest though, not having the computer on a rainy Saturday led to a pretty productive day. I worked out for 2 hours this time, cleaned the entire apt, took an inventory of what dishes and stuff we had and were missing to turn in to reception (finally), swept upstairs and downstairs, cleaned the ladies' shower, cleaned the stove, washed the dish rags, swept the kitchen, took the trash and recycling out, did the dishes, color coded the clothes in my closet, did my own laundry, and then read and annotated a 30 page article/journal for my networking class project due in a month. I found an episode of American Idol auditions (in Texas/LA- don't know if that is caught up or a few weeks behind, then watched a few Criminal Minds episodes from 3 years ago I'm pretty postive. Maybe not having a computer will be better for me, I might just give in and forfeit to all technology. My phone glitches now and flickers between two screens (Not worth it to complain anymore- I'm giving into whatever force that is within me)

Yesterday was the Superbowl. Maybe I should say last night or early this morning. Either way...

 Superbowl in Ireland < Superbowl in the United States 

There were no fancy/funny/witty/memorable commercials, no superbowl party, no bets, no munchies...just not the same. We went to a bar called Flannary's. We got there at 9:00, listened to an awesome guy on the guitar for about an hour then watched the pre-game stuff, by watched I mean just that; there was no sound, and if there was it was too loud to hear anything. The American football team that plays here in Ireland took over our table, it was fun, but could not hear anything. The place was wild once the game started of course, it was packed. 95% of the bar consisted of Packers fans. I think it's funny that they have 'teams' and jerseys and merchandise here...seems weird to me. We did not leave the bar until 3:30 this morning. Somehow I woke up before my alarm though for my 10am class, so that worked out for me.

Monday's are marketing & this morning's funny add winner goes to... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x89xAXHd2l8 ... I think I will enjoy the class. Its easy to understand.

Since I am in the Library I will end this now- don't know if this is a long or short one. Prior to my computer crashing I was going to post shorter entries rather than novels, silly me for assuming it would be so simple...

Enjoying the feedback. Although it may sound like everything goes wrong here (because it kind of does)-I LOVE it. I really do. Even when it rains we seem to not get wet (hard to explain), it is warmer when it rains, and im either acclimated to the temperature, or it is getting warmer in general... I really do like it and fear that I will have to leave sooner than I will want to :/

Off to find a computer person to solve my problems (with the computer at least)

The girl that broke the elyptical...

As if I don't already trip or talk loudly to unintentionally draw attention to myself enough already, I had to go and almost break the Elyptical in the gym the other day.... I was going along doing my thing listening to my music and all of a sudden the machine was like off of its tracks... I was like omg what did I do, I looked down and my headphone had fallen down and got sucked into it. That made me feel reallly good...after like seven minutes of trying to untangle the headphones from the elyptical machine stair things I finally was able to start going again...Even if I tried getting away with it without anyone seeing... Danielle was next to me and just started laughing really loud, and I of course was too and I looked behind me and everyone was looking- I am special sometimes...

All of my classes are really great, I am excited for them. I am bummed, I thought I could get away with taking 4 classes (The study abroad adviser guy actually told me I could), but since I always double check everything I emailed him earlier this week and wanted to make sure, I have to take 5 now...kind of a bummer because the way I had my schedule set up allowed for me to take off on the weekends and not return til Thursday (IF I absolutely had to do it that way). Now I have to add a class and it will surely mess up my schedule. Bummer, I still do not have classes on Wednesdays, and I like that! So I ended up in Irish Folklore, Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Interactions, Relationships and Networks and Irish Music and Dance.

In marketing the other day I saw a kid drinking out of a milk carton, yeah a whole milk carton, just chugging away like it was totally normal and the guy in front of me had salami breath, besides that it was a good class.

I signed up for the photography club and skydiving club. I am going to go skydiving solo for the first time. Last time I went tandem (with an instructor attached to me- now I am going alone:)) I cant believe it! It is cheaper than going with an instructor too, weird. (Shasta, you'd looove this!)

I am hoping the photography guys can teach me the fun tricks about my camera :] I look forward to messing around with it and taking a lot more pictures.

My blue room/roommates are great! They are so nice (and clean), funny (and clean), they like the heater on (and they're clean)- I am really happy I moved. I have a roommate from Germany, and she is sooo funny when she talks! The other day she said, "i am off to the pool cause sometime I just need sport. Bye Bye!" and then after a night at the 'Lodge' (another club) she said "the guys here is gross and ugly and they grab my ass like it is ok. That's is not ok! ew!" hahaha I love hearing stories and talking with her, her english cracks me up but she is the sweetest thing. The other girl is Anita, she is from Ireland, and is really nice, we rarely see her though. Downstairs there are 3 guys, I could not tell you their names, I have only met two of them though, and they don't remember the 3rd guys name, so I don't feel too bad either! They are really funny and nice and from Ireland as well, except for no name, we all call him Shane when we refer to him...

Basically I have just been going to classes, working out, hanging out with the girls and trying to figure out life in Ireland. I really am enjoying my time here, a lot. I havent written in a few days and wrote myself a lot of little notes to add into my blog, but it would make another reallly long entry, and none of it is really relevant or important enough to write down. At least not in this blog, maybe I'll add another this weekend...

 I found a funny video clip to show you (I hope it works in the US. This basically hits on all of the weird things irish guys (and girls) do that I have been trying to explain. Remember that shifting is making out, riding is- well, think about it, and I am not sure what the 'hole' is but I can imagine.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DcjL-89Yjk

Also, I am planning on going to .... Cinque Terre Italy for Spring break! Donations will be accepted and appreciated (joking, kind of...) I am also planning a weekend trip to Paris with the girls and I want to go to London to meet Megan, the one working for the Olympics. I am figuring out my budget this weekend to see if I can fit those 3 places in :]

Also, check out my website, I was bored one night and made it, there is no point to it, just adding some of my pics and pictures that I like onto it. It is a wide website so be sure to scroll on the bottom to see the whole width of the page and all of my pictures and such. I am still playing around with it to see what else I can add... www.wix.com/tayphilly12/taylormmade