Irish Mobiles

Today's mission:  compare phone plans, buy a mobile.


Oye.  While at first it seemed "neat" to not be pinned to the ol' blackberry, it's getting old real fast.  Must find mobile.  I've heard that you have 2 options here:  1) "pay monthly" and 2) "prepay" - both of which are self-explanatory.  For the pay monthly, I don't yet qualify as they need to see a utility bill or something official with my Ireland address on it, as well as my bank account details so they can debit my account each month. 

   

Choices, choices.

My main concern is how much it will cost for calls and texts to the U.S.  Also, I'll admit it, I've been spoiled by the multi-function blackberry.  However, the cost of a comparable phone here is ridiculously overpriced.  I know how inexpensive they are in the U.S., so I'm not really open to the idea of spending €300 on a blackberry or similar device!  Nutty.  At the same time, I am not jazzed about the idea of going back to a bare-bones basic phone with no internet, no full qwerty keypad, etc.  Yes indeed, I've been spoiled by modern office technology. 

Dublin Culture Night: 25 September 2009

In my many hours spent online this summer researching all-things-Trinity, I did not realize Culture Night was the night after I arrived in Dublin!  Culture Night runs from 5pm to 12am and consists of live performances, workshops, tours, talks, all free admission.  It began in 2006 and is sponsored by the Temple Bar Cultural Trust.  Since then, it has expanded to Galway, Limerick, Cork, Waterford, Tralee, Sligo, Letterkenny, Mayo, Wexford, Roscommon and now in Belfast in "The North". 

When I was in Dublin in 2007, we were lucky enough to be here for Culture Night and took advantage of free admission to the beautiful Book of Kells!  (Incidentally, now that I'm a student at Trinity, I always get free admission to the Book of Kells as well as 2 free guests - awesome!)  This year's culture night is said to have over 120 organizations hosting both indoor and outdoor events, with activities for all age groups

I discovered that tonight was Culture Night when I picked up a brochure on campus early this evening.  At this point I only had a few hours to enjoy as much of it as I could, so I quickly planned my evening agenda:

I first stopped in to the ISS wine reception.  I didn't know anyone, but introduced myself to a few girls.  It turns out one of them is studying law as an undergrad here.  We chatted for a few minutes, then I made my way to the Irish Architectural Archive, near Merrion Square.  They were leading small groups through the house, including a room exhibiting portrait miniatures from the Comerford Collection.  

I next watched a brief film presentation from the Irish Manuscripts Commission.  This was very interesting, with discussions of its digitisation initiative, the history of the Dublin fires that destroyed many historical documents, and new publications available for purchase or to review at Irish libraries.

I then made my way closer to Trinity, planning to stop by the Alliance Francaise, but when I arrived they had closed early, with a sign on the door stating "out of food and wine!  sorry!"  Bummer.  Oh well, at least it is close to campus and I can visit another time.

Next stop was down the road to Taylor Galleries.  This small gallery is right down the street from Trinity and usually exhibits one or two artists' collections.  Tonight's event description caught my eye, as the artist was named ... Sean McSweeney.  Take out the S and you have the name of a crazy friend whom we could all agree specializes in a "different" form or art, typically involving a beer glass.  Mr. McSweeney is an Irish landscape artist, born in Dublin in 1935.  I liked his collection, especially those depicting the boglands and the coast.  The other room with another artist's collection was closed off for the night.

At this point it was getting late and many places were already closing their doors, so I just took a walk through city centre and made my way to Temple Bar where they were showing outdoor films in Meeting House Square.  When I arrived, they were showing "Voyage to the Stars" including footage from the space shuttle mission to repair Hubble.  It was almost 1am when the film ended; I made my way back to campus and called it a night.

For not having much time to plan, I was happy I made it to 4 places and was able to check out new places in town.  If you are here in late September 2010, I would definitely recommend checking out this annual event here.

"Fresher's Week" at Trinity + Joining Student Societies

This is probably what U.S. universities would call Orientation Week.  The semester officially begins next week, but I wasn't in any hurry to get here as my LLM reception was not until yesterday.  However, it appears that many of the undergrad students have been here all week and probably for one main reason:  they want to party.  Ah, undergrad days. 

There are signs posted and flyers all over campus advertising loads of theme parties at various clubs and venues.  I'm sure they are fun for the undergrads, but I would not venture to any of these unless I wanted to feel really old. 

I did partake in one part of Fresher's Week:  I joined several student societies.  Front Square is full of students manning the society tables in hopes of luring in your euros...er, uh, your loyal membership.  Most societies charge between €2 to €4 to join.  The return on investment:  lower cost to attend events, a discount card to various places, a list-serve, etc.

Here are the societies I joined:
 - International Students Society
 - Philosophical Society (aka "The Phil") (note for Lexi and Susie:  Bono spoke at a Phil event a few years ago...)
 - Sign Language Society
 - Climbing Club
 - Dance Society
 - Law Society
 - Food and Drink Society

I'm most anxious for the Climbing Club, as we get to use the indoor climbing wall in the Sports Centre.  It sounds like a good number of CC members do actual climbing events around Ireland, so we'll see how brave I become after a few lessons.  I had read about this society over this summer during my many sessions of sitting on the sofa exploring all I could find out about Trinity.  I probably wasted a lot of time doing that when I should have been enjoying my summer. 

This summer I had also read about the Dance Society, which sounds like a lot of fun.  I have no clue how to do the salsa, cha-cha, waltz, but I'm willing to try!  I have been known to bust out a mean Roger Rabbit or Cabbage Patch at the office (hey, stress results in insanity at times), but I somehow doubt those would be useful here.

The Phil is mainly known for debating events, which I don't see myself participating in.  I joined it for their speaking events and look forward to observing some good debates amongst students and guest speakers.  Lexi and Susie, I'll keep my eye open for a Bono reappearance.

Tonight the International Students' Society (ISS) is hosting a wine reception in the Atrium, which is a small meeting place near Front Square.  Many societies can make use of this space for similar events, and many societies in general have their offices in other parts of the Atrium.  I don't know anyone yet, but it should be fun to check it out briefly.

TJ Maxx, meet your Eurpoean Cousin, TK Maxx!

I was on the hunt for a hair dryer, utensils, bedding and wasn't finding much at Dunne's, when what to my wondering eyes should appear?  The comforting red and white sign of TJ Maxx, only here it is "TK Maxx" - oh, the TJX Company...so clever, it is.

I found a hair dryer for €12, nice!  Didn't find much in the line of sheets or duvet cover, but as the U.S. jingles have taught me, it's never, never the same place twice... so I will check back again later.

Sept 24, 2009: Arthur's Day!

After the LLM reception, my new friend Juliette invited me out with her friends who were meeting her at Front Gate. 

Conveniently, today was Arthur's Day, a day to celebrate 250 years of The Guinness Brewing Company and, of course, Sir Arthur himself.  Read about it here.

I had read about this before I moved here but had forgotten about it until tonight.  The day's events took place across the globe and were broadcast live in certain areas.  At 5:59pm worldwide, you were supposed to raise a glass of the dark goodness to Sir Arthur Guinness.  Did you?  (I was still in the LLM reception, so we raised glasses of wine instead.)

We left the LLM reception around 7pm, then met Juliette's friends at Front Gate and headed to the pubs to celebrate Arthur's Day.  Side streets were closed off for this fun evening and people were enjoying their Guinness in the streets.  We enjoyed a drink at Dame Tavern outside with everyone else.

We then headed to grab some food at l'Gueuleton , a french restaurant down the street.  Delicious and reasonably-priced.  I had "Cassoulet of Salt Cod and Mussels with Haricots Blanc and Crispy Breadcrumbs" in a saffron butter sauce.  Translation:  YUM.

 

After dinner, we headed to a pub upstairs, had a beer and called it a night. 

My first day in my new city.  I love it already.

Le Premier Jour a Dublin

What a gorgeous day today!  After unpacking and catching up on Zs, my first day in Dublin consisted of:

1) quick shopping to find essentials:  towels and bedding.
2) LLM Reception
3) new friends
4) pubs

Trinity is central to everything.  A quick walk down Grafton Street led me to St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre which, oddly, I had not been to on my prior 2 trips to Dublin.  What I thought would be a quick trip to pick out towels, sheets, pillows, duvet, duvet cover, etc. ended up in indecisiveness.  You're all shocked, I know. 

I walked out of Dunne's with cheap and cheerful towels.  On the rest of the items, I was torn between two voices:  the student budget voice and the voice that really enjoys high thread-count bedding.  These two do not mix well.  I'll admit it, after working at Pottery Barn and getting 40% off nice soft (and visually appealing) bedding, I'm somewhat spoiled.  However, if you saw 50%cotton/50%polyester bedding, it may give you shivers as well.  I just couldn't do it.  The 3-pc set was €12 for a reason.  No gracias.  As my mother taught me, you get what you pay for.  (thanks, mom, that excuse is often convenient!).

Not wanting to be rushed to get to my LLM reception, I paid for my 6-pc towel set (2 bath, 2 hand, 2 wash) at the bargain price of €10 ($15) and walked back to College.  The hunt for nice bedding could wait another day.

LLM Reception

The Law Department hosted a wine reception at 5pm for the LLM students, where we could not only meet others in our programme, but also meet faculty and staff. 

I arrived a few minutes early and met a fellow classmate as we stood outside waiting for the doors to open.  Once inside, the reception was in what we later discovered was one of the classrooms...small room!  I met students and faculty, then said hello to our LLM Programme Director, whom I had emailed several times over the past year.  Before I said my name, he said "Molly, isn't it?"  Lexi, he asked about you as well!  He was very nice, and I thanked him again for the 1-year deferral and also for bearing with all of my email questions.  I also tracked down the Product Liability professor, who then introduced me to other faculty.  I would estimate there were approx. 50 people there.

In all, orientation was short and sweet.  We learned that this year's LLM class is 107 students, compared to only 55 who were in the programme last year.  A sign of the economy, indeed.  The Director told us that they had over 320 applicants this year.  I'm curious how many they had last year.

The Dorm Room

So here is the snazzy new home.  Exquisite, isn't it?!

With a little TLC, this will be the perfect little place for 1 year of school.

• 3 excellent underbed drawers (and yes, that's a twin mattress!)
• 4 humongous storage cabinets over the bed
• 1 oddly-placed cabinet next to desk (although to open cabinet door fully, one must move desk, which I have not yet found to be possible).
• lovely sitting area next to window, brilliant for afternoon tea
• functional corkboard and hip chrome desk lamp
• perfectly-placed reading lamp on wall by bed
• charming combination of russet-colored carpet with warm-hued window treatments.

Le Bain:

Note the separate hot and cold faucets. 

To avoid scalding the hands, it's either back and forth between cold/hot or use the drain plug.  It seems the Irish are green in many ways, as it certainly teaches you to use less water!

and now, the saddest part of all:

...a small closet indeed.  5 lone hangers, soon to be donned with jackets, dresses and cardis.  Must find new Irish woolen companions to keep them company.

So this little charmer of a dorm is referred to as an "ensuite" room, just like European hotel rooms.  It basically means I have my own bathroom, which I feel very fortunate to have. 

Each floor in my building has 4 dorm rooms and a shared kitchen, which is almost large enough for Barbie and Ken.  I will post photos later.

However, I'm not complaining.  It's unlikely that all 4 of us will need the kitchen at the same time.  We have no oven, but the microwave oven allegedly doubles as a convection oven, which, I'll be honest, I initially had no clue what this meant, other than it can kinda/maybe double as a regular oven?  Regardless, I'm not currently motivated to learn to use it.  Focusing on necessities, the only thing this kitchen is truly missing is a wine refrigerator.  :)

Other dorm buildings have, in addition to a community kitchen, a "common room" with sofas and television.  However, those dorm buildings also have community bathrooms.  I can do without the common room in favor of my own clean bathroom.


So you could say I've considerably downsized from my little Irvine home.  Here are a few pics for old times sake.  This little 516 sq foot haven provided 7+ years of cozy good times!  Goodbye, little apartment.  I will miss you, but it's time for new adventures now!

(I do miss that walk-in closet...)

Arrival in Dublin

I'm here!  This day has long been on my mind and it's finally here!

My flight from JFK to DUB was lovely.  and brief.  An hour after we took off, the captain announced that we had a great tailwind and would be arriving in Dublin over an hour early!

The food on the flight was great (how can you screw up veggie pasta?).  I sat next to 2 lovely women who were vacationing across Ireland for 3 weeks.  One of them had lived in Dublin for 12 years and had a lot of wisdom and humor to share.  2 things she told me still stand out in my mind, as I experienced them very soon thereafter.  1) "Hi there" or "Hi" is conveyed as "Hiya!"; 2) When shopping, a typical greeting is "Are you okay?" instead of, as commonly heard in the U.S., "May I help you?".  The latter one I recalled from my prior visits to Dublin, but I did not realize how common it was until I had been here a week or so.  I think Americans' first reaction is to think "what, do I not look ok?" or something similar.  I reflected back on my 8-year Pottery Barn career and realized that my usual greeting to store guests was "Are you doing okay over here?" . . . hhmm, maybe life was telling me something all those years.  Either that, or I just hated the thought of pestering guests, so I tried something different. 

Per usual, I was barely able to sleep on the flight.  I was tired as hell, but probably only slept about an hour.  I figured this could easily be solved with a glass of wine and a movie, but that was not in the cards.  Yes, I know...you're not supposed to drink any alcohol on airplanes as it is very dehydrating.  However, desperate times call for desperate measures.  Close, but no cigar.  The movie started, but about 20 minutes into it, the volume for approx. 10 rows of the airplane, including mine, did not work for the remainder of the flight.  I don't even remember what movie it was, so I guess it wouldn't have been that memorable anyway!  The lead flight attendant apologised and after morning breakfast gave our 10 rows complimentary mimosas!  Excellent.

Just as the captain estimated, we arrived in Dublin over an hour early.  We landed shortly after 6am instead of 7:30ish. 

Customs was fine, not too long.  Luckily, I was one of the last ones in line, as the Garda guy took a bit longer with me as I was not simply entering the country for a holiday, but rather I was a student who would be here a while.  He mysteriously entered some information into the computer, checked my passport information on the computer, then advised me on when and where I needed to register with the Garda in Dublin.  I had done my research on this and knew that any visitor technically has 90 days to register, but the Garda typically gives a 30-day stamp on passports.  Probably smart. 

I then collected my luggage and waited in the taxi queue.  With my 2 large suitcases and 2 carryons, I thought I must be instantly pegged as the American who packed way too much luggage!  I felt bad for the cabbie having to load my heavy luggage into his taxi, but when I tried to help him he said "No, no, I'll get it for ya!"  I instantly smiled, relaxed and enjoyed the ride into the city.  It felt so good to know my traveling was over and I would soon be at Trinity.  My cabbie was the most pleasant and good-humored guy.  He was also a well-spoken chap who taught me a lot of quick Irish history, mainly small tidbits about the War of Independence and the differences north and south of the Liffey, history of the Georgian architecture in Dublin, and current political debates including the Lisbon Treaty, which I soon saw posters for all over town.

Mr Cabbie also knew his way in and out of the various gates at Trinity!  Whew!  He was able to drive onto campus, nearly to the door of the Accommodations office where I needed to pick up my room key.  I was wondering how this would all work out, but Mr. Cabbie made it so easy. 
The €40 cab fare (approx US $60) was a bit more than i planned (there was apparently a higher charge for certain hours of the day), but I didn't mind paying it for making my morning a lot easier. 

This is Parliament Square (more commonly referred to as Front Square) at Trinity. 

To the left is the Public Theatre (also known as the Examination Hall);

Center is Front Gate;

To the right is the Chapel, with the Accommodation Office to the left of the Chapel's pillars. 

Here is the Accommodation Office, behind the tree on left side. 

In light of the flight arriving an hour early, I was thus very early for the Accommodations office.  Thankfully it was not raining, as I waited outside for a half hr or so until they opened. 

I soon got my key and had the good fortune to meet a fellow student who offered to help me carry my luggage to my dorm.  I then lugged all 4 pieces of heavy luggage up 3 flights of stairs (ah, just like my apartment in Irvine...) and into my new abode:

My room was just as I envisioned from Trinity's website, even a bit larger than imagined.  Bathroom small as expected, but nice - and all mine, no sharing with strangers!  I was tired, but I also did not want to wake up to the task of unpacking, so I unpacked, folded, hung up, organized, etc.  My reward:  nap time!  Although the bed only had a mattress cover on it, I didn't care.  Sweaters and coats can be great pillows and blankets if necessary! 

I slept for about 2 hours and was awakened by a knock on my door from my neighbor who wanted to introduce himself.  He is an American student studying Classics, and is in his 4th year at Trinity, so he'll be a good resource.  He told me the good stores to go to for groceries, home necessities, etc.  I ingested his advice and then promptly went back to sleep for another hour.

This is likely the longest post I will ever write, yikes!  If you've stuck around this long, thanks!  I will continue more later about my first day, which included my first shopping experience, the LLM wine reception, new friends and first night out in Dublin!

Farewell for Now, Part III (of III!)

And we're off!

Today (Tuesday, 22 Sept) was travel day #1, from here at SNA

to here at DTW

...aahh, breathe...

Call it an unusually long layover, but I choose to call it a much-needed and enjoyable family reunion!  After landing in Detroit around 7pm today, my parents picked me up and headed to a hotel in Ann Arbor (home of some unknown football team... maize and blue?) for a small Irish gathering.  Thanks so much to my sisters Patti, Karla and Maureen, niece Rachel, my brother Davey, and of course Mom and Dad for making the trek down and spending a fun evening together!  For those who couldn't make it, we missed you, but fear not - we had a drink in your honor.

The food was grand (thanks for the tofu dish - yummy!) and we had a lot of laughs.  I think we can all agree that Mom and Dad now have no excuse to not make that Ireland trip!  ("mmm hhmm, thanks, kids...") 

After not sleeping for the prior 48+ hours, I had a fantastic 7 hrs sleep.  Unfortunately, this meant that I unknowingly missed breakfast with my parents and Karla and Rachel, but they woke me up to say goodbye.  Then we were off to the airport for my flight to JFK then on to Dublin!

mommy and me at DTW (a few short minutes before I engaged in a brief battle with the Delta guy regarding my luggage fee.  I won.  :)

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for lightening my suitcases a bit.  And for the hotel stay and drive back to the airport.  And for putting up with my brief breakdown upon arrival :)

What NOT To Do When Moving out of the Country for a Year

Oye.  I am seriously considering writing a book about this.  I'm sure some of my friends would agree... :/  Thanks to everyone for your help! 

So glad that is over... 

Farewell for Now, Part II

Saturday, 19 September 2009:
This was a hectic day to say the least! 

• Breakfast with friend:  check. 
  
• Baby shower and birthday party in Santa Monica:  check.
• *Renew hopes of sub-leasing my car while I'm gone:  CHECK!  (whew!) 
  
• Rush home for party with friends: Check!
  
  

The original plan was to have a beach bonfire (one of my faves), but it seems that everyone had that same idea today, so all the firepits were taken... this was not surprising in light of today being such a gorgeous day.  However, all things for a reason, as the backup plan ended up being much better!  We relocated to Jessica and Jay's new house and it was a perfect evening! Great weather, good friends, yummy food, excellent (and creative) cocktails, hilarious reminiscings... what more could one ask for?

Thank you, Jessica and Jay for hosting a lovely bon voyage party at your new house!  It was great to see everyone.  Thank you, Susie, for putting the shindig together.  Thank you to all for sharing in a very fun night!  I will certainly miss each of you, but look forward to visits as discussed (see, it's now in writing, Michelle!  oh wait... so was that Hawaii thing...  hhmm) and to keeping in touch.

Farewell for Now, Part I

I said a fond “farewell for now” to my dear RCR coworkers this week.  Thursday evening they surprised me with a fun night at Strike, a great bowling alley/restaurant/bar in The District in Tustin.  Standby for photos.  I have never been given a surprise party; I was very touched.  18 of my coworkers showed up and we had a blast!  We had some contenders vying for the top scores each round, but I think we would all agree that Linda B. walked away with the prize for the Best Technique!  We love you, Linda!  It was a fun night, indeed.  Thank you, everyone, for such a fun night!

On Friday, we had a very nice luncheon, catered by Zinc Cafe in Corona del Mar, one of my favorite restaurants in CDM.  Although I think I noted some initial hesitancy at the sight of healthy food and vegetables (you know who you are!), it was delicious!  More important than the food, however, were the kind comments from my coworkers.  I am honored to work with such a great group of intelligent, caring and witty people. I admire each of you.

After work on Friday, 15 of us continued the farewell down at Muldoon's in Fashion Island…shocker, right?  My coworkers insisted that I try this new drink, something about a car bomb?  I had never heard of this before, but in the spirit of good sportsmanship I had one with everyone else.  Peer pressure…geesh!  I had a great time with all of you.  Thank you again for such a fun evening, it really meant a lot to me.