Dubliner Vince

Quick game of catchup.

2008-07-08T22:03:00.009+01:00

A short while ago, a particularly keen individual pointed out to myself that I am attachment avoidal (at least towards my parents). While I resented the unwarranted diagnosis from an uncertified psych major, I was more than familiar with psych majors' capacities for accurate analysis. Nevertheless, I filed away the information, rationalized under the psych student syndrome category.

Fast forward to 25 June 2008.

I love my parents.

I still feel awkward saying it. When people profess their most intimate emotional states, they have to abandon any notion of stability and order. One of our grandest failures as a civilization is our obsession with order. Why do people dream of flight when they cannot bear to accept the chaos that is their animalistic container? That's right, human beings are animals, and the sooner people understand that, the sooner people can begin to understand why some people do things the way they do. Abandon any sense of order imposed on the common individual; let the body take control and take flight.

For once, be the car crash, not always just the traffic jam.

Don't keep screaming under your breath.

Two Dublin Buses arrived at the stop, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Recap.

These past few weeks have gone by like a blur. No grand voyages of any sort. Spent a many a good weekend exploring various pubs/clubs in the area - always a fun and relatively cheap expedition. Saw a couple of movies for the first time in a long while (The Ruins which was awesome, and Kung Fu Panda which was funny but not as great as Wall-E will be come July 18th [save the date, Dublin 18th of July = WallE day!]). The Cineworld theater has a bag inside with very liberal access to coffee cups for consuming inTheater, a very nice touch if I do say so myself.

One random weekend, we went to Belfast on a day trip (it's only 3 hours or so away). Good times, saw lots of stuff, ended up getting really sick and it was raining the whole time so pictures are limited. See my facebook albums for more details. The political tour was fascinating, yet entirely eerie. The whole time we were in Shankill (the Protestant community), it was raining, desolate and abandoned save for a lone ice cream truck dinging its delapidated tune off the walls which bore witness to countless beatings and killings. Perfect set for 28 Years Later (if it's ever gonna be made).

Another weekend, Devin and I went on a photoadventure towards the docklands. Although we never made it, we did find an abandoned trainyard to shoot in. Look for results shortly via facebook.

Later that day, we celebrated July 4th and July 5th, Patrick D(H)(B)orsey's birthday. I would have more to say about it, had I remembered more of what happened the morning after. Regardless, I'm sure that all my jovial celebration was done the same way July 4th is always done, freely, and happily. There was dancing, an ironic game of Kings, Fitzsimons, Messrs, and the singing of the Good Ol' Song in the heart of Temple Bar, Dublin. Next year, I can only dream of on-upping myself. Perhaps a return trip to London will be necessary?

That same weekend, I met up with the others in Dalkey along the DART southbound. I had hoped to stop at Dun Lagohaire, Bray, Killiney, etc but poor planning on my part. I did, however, have the best Thai Food in Ireland for the past several years. True to it's masonry (awards displayed in stone plaque form), the food was quite tantalizing, albeit expensive. Dalkey was a great quaint little town with narrow winding cobblestone roadways and small shops lining excessively tiny sidewalks - a photographer's wet (because it's always raining) dream.

Still on that weekend, Jess and I wandered about several exciting shopping malls scattered and hidden throughout Dublin City Centre. Urban exploring led to the discovery of delicious Mauricien food, and ultimately the Museum of Modern Art in Dublin. Some creative exhibits included the Self as Selves collection (focus on the changing and varied states of self) and the one that focuses on the transient space between reality and art (think half developed photograph, only infinitely more complex, yet simple at the same time). As Jess would say: oh Modern Art...

Concluding the busy weekend with the Day After Tomorrow, I slept and slept and slept.

Note to self: sleep more.

Note to self 2: I want a motorcycle.

Note to others: I'm sure I forgot some stuff these past weekends cause my memory is worse than my ex-pet goldfish Pyro. If you remember something that my blog and I have left out, please let me know and I'll spew poetry in your namesake.

Hey now, hey now...

2008-06-18T07:10:00.003+01:00

...don't dream it's over.

While watching 8/90's music videos in the Handlebar Bed and Breakfast in Cork, Ireland... this song said it all with just one line.

How did I get here from my last posting you ask?

That's a good question. Not surprisingly, I haven't been able to keep up with formal posts ever since the onset of my full-time unpaid internship at Curam Software. The people there are quite interesting, but they all lead very different lives from mine. It gets difficult to make connections considering that a large majority of them are married/college graduates/employed with salaries. Additionally, most of the people at the office are software engineers, which gently places them into a field not of my own. Common ground is hard to come by. Nevertheless, I've come to know a delightfully motley crew. Their lunch-break antics and vastly different backgrounds/personalities keep me quite entertained; they make lunch something to look forward to.

The office has me working on automated testing javascripts. Watij tests from many months ago now need adapting to current release software, and I'm the man to do it. Daunting doesn't begin to describe it. However, I am glad for the opportunity to engage in high-profile work, as opposed to managing generic office duties. It keeps me stimulated beyond my five daily cups of coffee. If only I didn't have to wake up at 6am, only to return at 6pm, working merely 8 hours in between. 1/3 of my time spent "at work" is more accurately described as spent "on the road." If only I had a nice EuroSpec '08 Mazda 6 to call my own. Brilliant design move (IMO) by Mazda, abandoning flat sedans and creating a vehicle with much more flair. Bring it stateside if you really want to dazzle some disheartened enthusiasts!

Side note: I can't get used to the snooker cue sticks here. They're so tiny. I don't know where the limits of applied english and force turn into misapplied miscues. (Miscues can be applied properly when money laundering is the objective.)

This past weekend, the ladies upstairs and I went to Cork, a seaside city straddling the River Lee. We traveled in staggered formation via Bus Eireann ("Bus of Ireland" - Ireland's Greyhound equivalent - they even have a dog as the logo). Stateside, we were briefed on the causes and effects of culture shock, a psychological phenomenon of non-integration with your environment. Strangely enough, it was on this bus where I first experienced culture shock. It was nothing more than a passing, half-asleep expectation that the next turn on the rural highway would bring me to Wollaston Beach, Quincy, MA.

No such luck however. Wollaston Beach is on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. I began my trip weary and uncertain, tired from my first week's worth of full time work.

We pulled into Cork, Ireland via a roadway that could only be described as rural, industrial, and urban at the same time. The atmosphere and ambiance in Cork was immediately compelling. I finally felt as though I was away from home. Granted that I haven't held permanent residence in over 3 years anywhere, it isn't surprising that my settling into Dublin was fast, and psychologically efficient. Dublin became a new Boston for me to learn and explore. Cork, however, was vacation, a place to be experienced, not lived.

Hostel. Hilarious horror movie, horribly hilarious sleeping arrangement. We checked into two pretty decent places. Mine was the Bru Bar and Hostel, with reception un-neatly tucked away in the back of the bar. First things first. The reception desk computer was logged into Facebook. We proceeded to rage throughout Cork city pubs. At some point I danced in a circle of older (30's) people, but only because the circle was really awkward with nobody in the middle of it. Quality fun night - the lack of worry about finding a way back to our walking distance hostel combined with the idea of being on vacation for the first time amplified my party stamina.

80's. I woke up to 80's music played by 5 German speaking roommates at the hostel. They got in line to shower, while I tried to sleep off a mild hangover. Their wide age ranges and vastly different personalities made me wonder how they could all possibly know each other. I still have no conclusion. But no matter. I collected my things and left to drop off at the Handlebar Bed and Breakfast.

At this point, the 20D came out and played a prominent role in filling Dublin '08 Part II and III Facebook albums (friends only).

The Handlebar B&B was quaint, comfortable, had an amazing shower with separate knobs for power and temperature, and had receptive receptionists. We showered up, watched a plethora of eclectic 80's and 90's music videos; hilarity ensued (esp w/ the LSD cell phone commercial as one of the first things we've seen on TV in a long while). Then we headed out to Iarnrod Eireann ("Railroad(?) of Ireland") and journeyed to Cobh (pronounced Cove). Cobh is a fantastically altitudinous town off the coast, home to the world's 3rd highest cathedral (hand built from top to bottom too!) and the world's 2nd largest natural harbor.

The power of place and structures never ceases to amaze me. Part of it is human instinctive programming to place importance on shelter providing locations. But the other part has to do with my unwittingly apparent passion for architecture. Realizing this as I'm writing, I seem to have pronounced affective connections with places beyond that of "this place is nice/fun/awesome." I go to a place, and I derive meaning for my own personal life. I leave powerful places with a newfound purpose that will drive me until my next encounter. The cathedral was fantastic, the deck of cards (see Dublin '08 Part II) was quite vivid (perhaps the steepest paved slope I've been on). The experience of Cobh will remain a pleasant one encased in my memories. (See Facebook albums for more intricate details.)

As we returned to Cork for the night, our trip continued to drive us towards self discovery. Self discovery isn't a wholly internal process. Oftentimes you discover more about yourself through your discovery of others. This trip is unique in that it brought together X number of students from all around the States that didn't know each other at all. Every passing day, night, each adventure shared with others is a collaboratively dichotomous discovery process, that of self and of others. It's a wonderful feeling to get to know people. Psych calls it intimate self disclosure, when you share information about yourself that most people do not know. It brings people closer, tightens bonds, and creates those really obnoxious yet endearing "study abroad groups" that I'm sure you've encountered. They always come back with stories, memories, inside jokes, new close friendships - never to be explained because the experience was so profound. It happened at Kairos XXXVI; it happened during EuroTrip '05 with the NHS; I can only hope it happens this time around too.

We watched plenty of epic but old music videos (think Spice Girls, Shaggy, Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over, Wonderwall by Oasis, etc). All of which were ironically too perfect for a time-pressed experience overseas. It sounds cheesy now, but wait till you see how cheesy it can get reading this post post-Dublin. (Yes, cheesiness can now be described audibly and visually.)

Breakfast was amazing the next morning. All I can say about Blarney Castle is that Jessica Burris is a Crazed American (rock climbing, spelunking, frolicking in fields, and dropping the most baller line I've heard, since I last spoke with Tiff, at the guy working the Ice Cream stand). The remainder of the Castle can be summed up via my Facebook albums. The trip was quite short, didn't do much other than the aforementioned.

Acquisitions this trip: I captured a piece of the Rock Close, a rock formation outside of the Blarney Castle. Should I end up with some horrible curse, remind me to return it, but keep your distance. I also found a pair of Timbaland aviator shades. They're nice, they don't fit as well as my lost Armani shades, but I'll take this peace offering from the concept of karma and rest easy. I also purchased a couple of Garda bikes, one for a gift, another for mysel... my brother, for my baby brother.

People: the people I am here with are always challenging me to become a better person, albeit indirectly and likely unintentionally. Each person in our little group has a very different personality with very different views on just about everything. It challenges me to rethink who I am, what I stand for, what I am too weak to accomplish. I'd list positive qualities for each one of them, but I'd have to stay up for many days on end to finish. You know who you are, pat yourself on the back for being you, but please, do it in the safety of your own homes. Back patting can be harmful to those around you, especially if done with lots of badditude.

...so much badditude. =)

(A)Musings

2008-06-18T04:43:00.000+01:00

As promised many a day ago, the following is an essay that I wrote and turned in verbatim, minus the part from Borat because I was too lazy to cite it...

Vincent Zhu

Tester

Technical Infrastructure

Curam Software

Short Essay 1

Why? I suppose “why” is the definitive determinant of the human concept of intelligence. By asking me “why [I] chose to participate in UIP,” you flatter me with your assumption of my omniscience. I may never fully come to know why I chose to participate in UIP, but I can offer a few words dedicated to the journey towards this ever elusive “why.”

I arose from my futon, bright and early one sunny morning and realized just one thing before heading towards the shower. I am late. I am late for class, late for work, late for dinner dates, late for life. It was my third year of study at the University, and I had wasted so much time being late, that my life as a student nearly went out the door without me. It was that day that I decided I absolutely must study abroad during my stint as a university student. Meanwhile, Responsibility called and nagged to me about finding internships and searching for jobs. As fate would have it, my housemate, Sarah Sievert, informed me of a wonderful academic internship abroad program offered over the summer. Meeting both my own needs, and Responsibility’s needs, I excitedly placed my name on mailing lists, scheduled appointments, and ended up here, in Dublin, Ireland.

My goals for this preciously short period of my life are numerous. To appease my higher brain functions, I intend to learn valuable, marketable skills in the workplace at Curam Software. While there, I intend to engage in plenty of social activities to develop an understanding of workplace social dynamics, and effective leadership techniques while still at the bottom of the totem pole. I hope to be able to remember my lessons from these few months when I gradually claw my way to the top. Higher brain functions aside, I seek adventures in total cultural immersion. Time taken for personal happiness is time well spent. As such, I fully intend to explore Ireland and the neighboring countries in Europe. My eternal fascination with these regions of the world fuels my quest of self-discovery and discovery of those unlike myself. It is such that immersion in the sights, sounds, and scintillating scents of these nations gives me a small measure of peace.

Over the course of the next several weekends, and the two weeks post-internship, I hope to cut a beeline through Western Europe. Should all go according to plan, I will spend a couple of days and nights in Ibiza, Paris, Austria, Switzerland, the Alps, Venice, Rome, and Vatican City. Along the way, I will create wholesome, user-friendly, photo-filled blogs for consumption by friends, family, and coworkers. By doing so, I can practice my on-site photography, and expository writing skills, all while enjoying my surroundings. Over the course of the next several weekdays, I plan to refine my programming skills, rehearsing JavaScript until it becomes a permanent member of my cognitive skill set. I also hope to gain key insight into the technical research, design, and development process on which my future career will depend.

During our numerous briefings, I found the sections on Irish culture to be of my liking. I anticipate that a good portion of my time abroad will be dedicated to the study and, eventually, the understanding of many cultures other than my own. Other than satiating my undying curiosity, these “cultural learnings for make benefit glorious” person of Vince, will surely come in handy in the future when working with international business partners. In addition to my cultural education, I hope to learn how best to socialize with the older crowd present at my workplace. Employed and married will inevitably end up on my 1040 forms in the future; I would like to be prepared. I expect to be fairly well versed in European cultures and in workplace and late twenties social life by the end of my overseas journey.

The goal that I have placed furthest down the road should be fulfilled around the age of forty. At the time of my mid-life crisis, I plan on purchasing a new Porsche Cayenne Turbo to satisfy my existential angst by road tripping across the United States. To get there, I must first get a well paying job at a defense contractor skunk works, such as at Lockheed Martin, working on integrating Psychology and Systems Engineering. With these two fields, I will work on human interfaces with machines, using knowledge of mind, body, and machine to improve interaction efficiency. To get such a position, I would imagine needing a master’s degree in Systems Engineering and Psychology. That means graduate school, preferably somewhere well known. Enrollment will be determinant on how many eligible candidates I can surpass during my time between undergraduate education and graduate school applications. That means getting work experience in technical and psychological fields in the meantime. As such, my internship at Curam Software is all but perfect. It satisfies my needs for international culture and office place social and technical education. I could do nothing better with my last summer in college.

PhotoBomb

2008-06-16T23:56:00.001+01:00

Spent 4 hours uploading and editing photos, and all I got was this lousy backache.

Facebook Friends only. Sorry!

Summer Part II
Dublin Part I
Dublin Part II
Dublin Part III

More posting in the coming days.

Today was delicious.

2008-06-07T21:45:00.000+01:00

Today was a culinary delight, but not fine dining mind you. Today was all about casual eats (think 3 meals for $20 with Rachel Ray - only replace that $ with a €).

First meal was a Crumbed Ham and Red Pepper Cheese Sandwich, home made with care. Crumbed ham is just regular ham with crumbs, likely to crisp up the ham when baked. The cheese was a derivation of spicy cheddar. The bread, which claims to be delivered to the store the day, never gets stale, despite being in the fridge, open bag, for over a week.

Second meal was truly unique - for me at least. I was wandering around the stores on Henry St. and North Earl St. after giving up on Radiohead. It was expensive, and we didn't have enough time. Plus, looking for the bus ticket vendor and Ticketmaster booth proved complicated. Nevertheless, second meal was in the Jervis Shopping Centre on Henry St. Since it was kind of hot today, I felt like getting ice cream. The booth in the mall was the natural choice. There was a custom build option for the ice cream Swirls that they make. You get two flavors (I got Strawberry Raspberry and Chocolate Truffle) swirled together with any 3 fruit toppings (I got Kiwi, Melon Mix, and Strawberries), and 2 other toppings (I only got granola). It was light, refreshing, and absolutely amazing. Anyone that knows me knows that I love to consume fruits. This was the perfect snack option. Tasted like Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Raspberry Yogurt with fruit bits and granola in it, if you can imagine such a thing.

Third meal got even more exciting. I was still wandering around the shopping areas, and I found a Polish food mart. Upstairs, there was a little eatery serving hot food. And for the first time ever, I sat down at a public restaurant (that wasn't a fast-food joint) and ate my meal in solitude. For a mere €5, I got mashed potatoes, two buffet items (a patty of medium-well done meat and a thing of chicken), and two vegetable items (a sauerkraut type dish, and tomatoes). Amazing. I'm going to have to head back there at some point.

Fourth meal: simple yet delicious. Nothing like unwinding a long day with a bowl of cereal and milk. The cereal is by Kellogg's: a blend of hi-grain rice and wheat flakes with freeze-dried strawberries, cranberries, and raspberries. If they had this in the states, my quest for the perfect cereal would be complete. The cereal itself tastes unsweeted, except by the inclusion of the fruits. It felt filling, tasted delicious, and was a quality source of healthy nutrients.

Today: I bought a one-foot long wind resistant umbrella that auto-opens and auto-closes its golf umbrella sized canopy. I also bought two suit jackets on clearance for $97, using the money I saved from not going to Radiohead. Worthwhile replacements for my lost/stolen items I think. One suit is a dark casual cotton suit jacket. The other is a glossy black on black pinstripe for more formal events. Both actually fit me, which is a blessing, as my other suit doesn't fit me well at all. Shades are still not replaced since all the shades here are ridiculously overpriced (€184!? = $280). I also need to find another copy of Ender's Shadow for my collection, and an apple... and some used napkins.

Theft calls for retail therapy.

"Please don't strip my mind...

2008-06-06T14:28:00.000+01:00

...Leave something behind."

I can feel my mother's gradual memory loss sneak up on me every once in a while. The beauty of the city is that it gives you a chance to reinvent yourself; shape yourself into whomever you want to be. I keep this blog because I want to have a record of my life, when time comes again for me to decide who I want to be.

The day before yesterday started via oversleeping until mid-afternoon. First stop was to the Blarney Inn for the EUSA organized Treasure Hunt. We got there late - but since creativity was rewarded for providing answers, we sat at the pub entering bad pick up lines into the responses. Officially we came in last place, but the guy running the show seemed to take personal interest in our responses. No matter though, the first place prize was only a massive bottle of Jameson (we should have tried harder). At some point, we left to the Spar (the equiv. of 7-11 over here) and bought a bottle of Merlot. Then we got coffee cups and lids. Then we hit the streets. Note: deep fried pork sausages are amazing.

There's gotta be 50 different versions of this image floating around the nets. This is iteration 51. Full party minus photographer Monica.

After leaving the coolest ass in Ireland behind (employee shirt tagline), we headed towards O'Neills for live music. The best thing about O'Neills is that it feels like home during the holidays. There's people all over the house that you don't know, but it doesn't matter. Everyone is busy doing their own thing: eating, drinking, chatting, waiting to meet someone, listening to music, etc. No one bothers to keep track of what's going on, there's no "game" involved. When you're at O'Neills, reality is an illusion caused by alcohol deficiency (see below).

Photo credit goes to Patrick Dorsey. The place has numerous rooms (like a house would) and plenty of new places to sit at each time. If you thought American clubs have complicated layouts, then you have never "made love in this pub," because after briefly meeting with Monica's parents, we headed towards Fitzsimons for the rest of the night.

Fitzsimons is a four story hotel/bar/night club/event venue with public access to the roof terrace. It's rumored to be the most popular hot spot amongst the locals. The place was relatively full on Thursday night, claustrophobia-inducing ridiculously full on Friday night (but that comes later). Thursday night, was mostly uneventful. I'm frequently relegated to being a wingman, saving my EUSAmates from various different types of creeps. It's different going to a club when you've got someone waiting for you at home. But I'm glad I can be of help to my friends, and it remains entertaining to people watch in the club. The music typically is either house or trance, spun by an unknown DJ of the night. On Thursday, the DJ was dropping house remixes of popular hip hop songs, and Milkshake by Kelis. On the whole, I found the place to be thoroughly dance-friendly.

I also found the locale to be much less homophobic than at club at home. Metrosexual is the key to attire and disposition here, which I found to be much more chill. I didn't have to think about whether or not the drink I had was fruity (even though I ended up with a Corona), or whether people would judge me on my clothing/behavior. The atmosphere of tolerance is truly a refreshing change. People also dance, on their own, with or without anyone else to dance with. Indeed it felt like I was dancing with the crowd than any particular person.

When we came back, we burned the image of Technoviking into our skulls, punching our way to slumber.

Fast forward to yesterday.

Yesterday, I ventured into City Centre to purchase bus tickets. However, I got there too late and the office was closed. I'll make another attempt today. Afterwards, I played American pool, except with snooker equipment. As in, snooker cues, snooker sized pool balls, and a snooker table. Everything works differently. The balls are super light, so they make every table feel really fast and they make every rail extremely bouncy. The pockets are narrower (to accommodate the smaller balls) but the corners of the pockets are not pointed, they're rounded. That means you have to make every shot a spot on shot, otherwise it'll bounce away from the rounded points. It was a good exercise in power and accuracy control. I even beat a local that challenged me to a game towards the end. His name was Derrick I believe. The tables are coin operated, as in you drop a coin in a control box, and the light turns on. When the light turns off, your time is up. And there's someone watching to make sure you're not just playing with the lights off.

I then spent the next several hours, wandering, finishing Ender's Shadow, and looking for the Church (an actual church converted into a night club, cafe, bar, and restaurant). That lasted from about 7 or 8pm until about 11pm or midnight, when everyone else showed up. We ended up going to Fitzsimons again because the crowd at the Church was late 20s early 30s, a bit old for a bunch of undergrads.

At Fitzsimons, things quickly escalated and got ridic. First of all, the place was packed like when Benny Benassi was at Ibiza, DC this past year. Only problem was, Fitzsimons has more floors, but less space on each floor. While optimal for the club downstairs, it made traversing the space elsewhere impossible. After checking my coat in at the front, we proceeded into the fluid environment of a trance dance floor. I lost myself in the crowd multiple times, randomly bumping into the people I came with here and there. But then again, that's the only way to trance out. Unfortunately, we started losing track of people and a suit jacket by the end of the night. But luckily we found the people. My suit jacket that I checked in, still no word on it. The Garda are on the case. My best guess is that I dropped the ticket at some point during the night and someone took it, and my jacket, and left the club. Good thing I took all the important stuff out of it prior to checking it in (Tiff's Palm). All I lost was my completed copy of Ender's Shadow, an apple, my Armani Exchange Sunglasses (the most expensive item total), and my Jacket which I got from good will. Losing the jacket sucks because I'll have to replace it, which will be much more costly than the price of the jacket that I lost. The coat check lady told me to wait until the end of the night to retrieve the coat, but she said to her coworker in mandarin (which they probably assumed I didn't know) that she remembers what I checked in, and it's not there anymore. By that time, everyone had left to track down missing members of our group. So I walked across a footbridge over the Liffey, and caught the first taxi I saw at sunrise.

I came back, spoke with some friends from home, then met my party as they returned, with everyone in the group. It was a somber way to end a fantastically eventful night.

Retropost: The following are photos from Dublin Castle and the Charles Beatty Museum from a few days ago. If you're wondering why some photos seem to be of so much higher quality, it's because I have a second camera system (Canon EOS 20D) that I shoot with every once in a while. It's old, but it's sensor is like 4x the size of a digital compact (not megapixels, but actual physical size; both my digital compact and my digital slr shoot with the same number of pixels) thus the crisp clear images.

Mother and child playing in the courtyard.

The view from the rooftop garden.

The lobby in the museum. I love the inclusion of water in this interior space. I feel like lots of places would benefit from the use of water, such as... between the sidewalk and roadway opposite of the UVa bookstore on Emmet St.

The Period

2008-06-05T12:36:00.000+01:00

The period as pictured here: "." is a great punctuation mark. It ends sentences and it's a great way of displaying sarcasm over the internet.

For example:
"funny."
"good job."
or...
"i hate you."

When I checked into my room here, there was a carepackage from the administration awaiting me. The care package included much needed toilet paper, bread, tea biscuits, and corn flakes (which are huge here for some reason). Tea biscuits, TP, bread are all good things... corn flakes however are not. The box was massive; I can't stand eating it anymore, but I also hate wasting food.

The following is based on true events. It is totally unbiased and non-related to recent conversations between myself and Tiff. Shredded wheat is a viable alternative. Shredded wheat has a better texture than the melting sponge feel of corn flakes. Additionally, shredded wheat maintains its original crunchiness better than corn flakes. This allows for some texture contrast, such as by adding bananas or other fruits. Thirdly, shredded wheat can be eaten out of the box, whereas corn flakes... not so much.

Upcoming events:
6 June, 2008 - Radiohead at Malahide Castle, Dublin, Ireland. Big, in a castle, but expensive. Looks to be about €80.
7 July, 2008 - DJ Tiesto at Privilege, Ibiza, Spain. The worlds largest dance floor coupled with the opening event of Tiesto's 12 week residency at Privilege. Rounds out to be about €45.

"Suit up, because tonight is going to be....

2008-06-04T19:41:00.000+01:00

...legendary."

Shows like How I Met Your Mother are great because they make fairly insignificant life moments into stories that are to be passed on from generation to generation. The right mindset can make all the difference, transforming the mundane into the magnificent.

Irregardless (eat it, extra syllable haters), this entry commemorates the beginning of my excursion to Dublin.

It begins with..... AN ALARM! My cell phone alarm is set to "most annoying sound ever." It sounds like an English police siren run through a high-speed filter. I should really change it, but then I would never wake up. Ever.

"Fast forward to a more recent memory." Instead of packing intelligently, I packed a few hours before departure, got a grab to eat with the guys one last time prior to departure, then gave up on packing and shoved all my belongings in either my luggage or my car trunk. Should my car explode while I'm away, I will be less one pair of sneakers, and one "suspicious box." My pool sticks are resting at Joe's, although I wish I had brought them now that I've found several pool halls.

Upon arriving at Logan International Airport (Boston, MA), I had already been sleep deprived (in order to resynchronise [British English spellings take precedence here] my circadian cycle to the 5 hour time difference) and fairly tired. It was expected that once I boarded my plane, I fell asleep promptly. I was awake to see northeastern Massachusetts zip by underneath. The next time I woke up, I was passing over the Irish countryside near Shannon (apparently, the neutral Irish gov't allows US military aircraft to land and refuel there, potentially compromising neutrality - a big deal). I fell asleep again and woke up docked at Dublin Airport, somehow ignoring the entire landing in the process. The ravioli tasted stale, the cheesecake tasted runny. The water was delicious.

Met randomly at the bleary hour of 8am with Yumi, Meagan, and Jessica by the luggage carousel (in that order from left to right - I can only remember useless details). They apparently knew I was coming. Taxis are expensive. I somehow remembered something useful and got our keys and checked in. Our internet was non-functional for several days, because the instructions provided at check-in were horribly outdated. Manual TCP/IP configuration is now being used, over the automatic detection of old.

The first thing I did upon arriving in my room is burn out my power strip. It kind of blew up in my hand. I'm more or less completely settled in now, sans a few electrical accessories.

Our €73 bus passes give us free rides everywhere. And by everywhere, I actually mean everywhere but where I work. The first afternoon (it gets dark at 10pm here, true story), we went grocery shopping in the Omni Shopping Complex and the Tesco grocery store. I got all of the stuff that my room lacked at that time.

Afterwards, apartmentmates and I went to the Comet, a local pub-style pub (which stands for Public House, as in a casual gathering space). It was comfortable, the Guinness drafts were rich, frothy, and delicious, and the food was fairly decent. Lots of locals were there just to sit, chat, watch tv, and pass time. It truly is the equivalent of an American coffeehouse.

On my way back, bumped into Monica, Meagan, Yumi; went to O'Neills (bar and pub-style) for more Guinness, and live music.

I got my first encounter with slagging (making fun of people with good-will) from one of the guys in the band. He was ragging on us for being obviously American, and I apparently am now from San Francisco. It was pretty hilarious to be a part of, highly recommend it.

We also ventured to a more bar-style pub afterwards in the Temple Bar area. It was packed, lively, with great live music, and was 21+. Some places are 23+ just to restrict the clientèle to a particular crowd.

Next morning was orientation at the National College of Ireland. Tom Kelley (who's quickly rising to notoriety amongst the students) presented a bunch of random stuff and gave us our internship placements/interview schedules. It was followed by visiting the Charles Beatty museum in Dublin Castle. The museum had all these like ancient relics of various religions, such as age old deteriorating papyrus leaves printed with bible passages and other such things. No Pic. Quite a powerful place. There was also a carving done by a microprint artist. He became so talented over the course of his life that I couldn't read his microprint even with the magnifying glass that they provided. We also scouted out some workplaces, ate at a delicious sit-down cafe, and went to Comet. Kopparberg ciders are delicious. Returned early for interview sleep. Also that was when I got my internet to work. About damn time. They gave us the instructions from years ago.

Present Day.
Tom's directions were very vague. I have to take the city bus into the city centre, and then take a private coach to Parkwest Business Centre. The AMC bus only takes print out tickets. I have no printer access. I had to fudge the ticket and call in to the office to confirm that it was ok to not bring it with me. I woke up at 7, 710, 715, 728, and finally at 730. After getting ready, I followed googleMaps directions to the bus stop for the 19A DublinBus to city centre. googleMaps failed. (insert shock) I got directions from a local, missed my bus, didn't take the next one because it was the 19C instead of the 19A for some reason, and then got on the bus. Got off at Aston Quay (pronounced 'key') and waited at a random place to fudge my entrance to the AMC bus. Got off that bus one stop too soon in an industrial park. Wandered a bit, got some coffee/breakfast fruit tray, then found the "large squiggly sculpture" that was described in the directions.
The interview was very specific, to the point, and happened very quickly, post consumption of breakfast and coffee in the glass building to the right.
At Curam Software, all the people were walking around in t shirts and jeans. The hours that we need to be in for are from 10 - 4, but we need to show up for 8 hours per day, we just choose when those extra 2 hours are covered. There's a pool table, a foosball table, and Friday luncheon out with the crew. Sounds like a good deal. Should I get the position, I'll be working on the testing team with one other person, testing all the products/updates prior to release. Hopefully I'll be trained on design theories and whatnot as well. I'm quite excited about this place. It's exactly my cup of tea.

Parkwest is this business park that has new offices, residences, and shopping centers. An enclosed community if you will. Quite neat if you ask me. The place is about 20 minutes west of city centre, which is about 30 minutes south of Santry (where I live). Met with people, journeyed up the coast to the shore. Got delicious fresh seafood from right off the shore... best fish and chips that I will probably ever have. Local place, but delicious despite its relative lack of fame. The weather has been nice for the past few days, but this day, it started to rain. Last year, it was the same exact way, except that it rained for about 60 consecutive days. Good thing history never repeats itself. It's about the same temperature as at home, but rainy-er on average.

My doctor says I shouldn't drink anymore. Then I went to Dublin. I'll go buy a second opinion sometime this week.