As Life Goes On

Buh bye Boston

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:07:52 -0500

The last couple of days have been some of the best I have ever had. First we spent a couple days in Newport with Molly and her roomies who are too funny for words. We walked the cliff walk and Thames street and got some really good seafood and food. We had a pretty laid back couple of days there and then Sunday we were off to Winthrop to meet James’s parents and family. We got off to a late start but hey we’re the sweetest and we went out to thi Italian place for dinner. Then the next day we walked around deer island and then met Matt James’s best friend at panera. We also went for a little home to skull rock. Then the next day we went to Salem and walked around the shops and then went to Nahunt which is soooooo frickin beautiful. The next day we went to Cambridge and went to the museum of science and went into the butterfly room and the planetarium and saw a lightening show it was so cool. Then we walked around Cambridge which was beyond beautiful. Yesterday was the most fun though because we went into boston. We took the T in and went to long warf which is right by the water and beautiful and then we went to umberto’s which is I the north end and has the most amazing pizza I have ever had. We then went to modern pastry and they have the best chocolates and cannollis I have ever had. We took our pastries and coffee to the green way and it was 64 out and sunny and laid down in the grass. We then went to fanuel hall which is this little shopping area. Then we went to Boston common and the public garden. Then we went to newburry street and then visited old south church and trinity church in Copley square. One of which is the boondock saints church. Then we went and walked along the Charles river and sat on a statues head and I got Stuck on top for a little bit and hen we went to the north end again and had the most amazing food I have ever consumed lol

Newport RI

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 07:17:45 -0500

So James and I just left PA and stopped now for a stretch break on our way up to Newport,RI. I’m really excited to see Molly and Megan and to just be in that lovely city I miss so much. The plan is to spend the next couple of days there and then head to Boston on Sunday, where I will meet James’s parents for the first time (eekkk soooo scared lol) then we will stay in Boston until Friday-ish and then we are heading to my house to see my family and Emily. I think it’ll be a lt of fun! Anyways I better go, James is prolly wondering what happened to me! Goodbye for now!

When I grow up, I want to be miserable

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:57:50 -0500

When I grow up I want to be miserable…..

I mean who really says that right? Then why are there so many people walking around miserable all the time? Why are there people who seem to be addicted to feeling like crap? Well I remember I had read something a while back about misery and I found it today on the internet so I figured I’d share it with you.

10 Great Ways to be Miserable

1. Turn Molehills into Mountains

2. Dwell on it

3. Worry about things you can’t change

4. Let everything mount up

5. Blame other people

6. Beat yourself up

7. Complain, whine and grumble

8. Never accept help

9. Follow the path of least resistance

10. Never take a break

I think the most frustrating thing in the world are these people. The people who sit on their ass and complain about the same thing over and over because they like to see other people sympathize with them. Get over yourself. Everyone has their own shit to deal with, their own problem, their own past….what makes you think yours is more upsetting or important than everybody elses? Grow up. We are in college and are adults now. It’s about time you start acting like it. Do you think your boss is going to deal with your drama and complaining? Try again. I hate to be harsh but my dad went through a lot in his life and he never complained about it. I can guarantee it’s a million times more difficult than the majority of the problems people here have to deal with.

“Happiness is evidence of a grateful heart”—If you have food to eat, a place to live, warm clothes to wear, someone to love/loves you, healthcare, and are in school……you are better off than the majority of the world. Start being grateful.

By Chance (Curious Ramblings)

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:49:16 -0500

So I have been thinking a lot about this concept of “by chance” recently (Thank you Keith Urban and your song “Only you can love me this way.”And I say this with the utmost sarcasm). I was trying to decide if things are better when they are guaranteed or when they happen by chance. First, I figure I should come up with examples of both-it’s always easier to reason through things that way. So what are some things that are guaranteed? Well anything that costs money is not guaranteed, because that would imply you would be guaranteed to a job (or to keep a job) which no one is unless you are a teacher or a Supreme Court justice (also keep in mind I will be taking some creative license with this—so this argument is more for fun and less concrete…). Anyways back to what is guaranteed, I’m thinking nothing is really truly guaranteed…..therefore it might be best to considered guaranteed if it is more than 70% likely that it happens(and here on out that is the definition of guaranteed we are going to use). So for the most part, us lucky people, are guaranteed our necessities (shelter, water, food, health care, heat, etc.) and pretty much our jobs even in this economic climate. We are also pretty much guaranteed to education up until college and that we will pay the government taxes( thank you so much for taking all my money :) as if I’m not broke enough). So in summation, we are guaranteed to what we need to survive and we are guaranteed to have to work for the rest of our lives (minus retirement if we are lucky). Okay, so then everything else is pretty much up in the air? There is no guarantee you will meet someone special and have a family. There is no guarantee that you will be able to keep up your hobbies, that you will be able to fulfill your dreams, that you will be able to travel, or to have kids. So far the “not guaranteed” stuff seems to be better to me. So then, aren’t there some non-guaranteed things that are more or less guaranteed then other non-guaranteed things…..like the chances of you hitting the lottery are a lot less likely than you being able to take a dance class in your free time. Does the less likely for a thing to happen make it even more valuable an experience? I think that there is almost a sense of romanticism associated with things that happen by chance.——Like stories of people meeting by chance sounds more attractive then those who grew up together…..perhaps because the idea that with maybe the matter of a few minutes or a yes as opposed to a no is what made all the difference. Let’t take story A….boy and girl are friends since preschool and are always kind of in each others’ life….they date a few people and nothing really happens…and then one day they fall for each other and get married…the end. Let’s take story B (with multiple possible variations) boy and girl live separate lives…..both go to school….both date along the way…..both do there thing…..and then one day…by chance…..they end up in line together at a coffee shop and strike up a conversation….or they meet at a bar….or in a class at college…..or on a plane ride to a distant place because one had a business trip and the other a wedding to attend……Idk….Both strike up what I like to refer to as the “Aww” reflex (The compulsion to say/think awww when something overwhelmingly cute or adorable happens). I think that if something happens by chance though…..we appreciate it a little more….because there is always the “what if” factor incorporated…..like what if I hadn’t decided to join that club…or go on that service trip…..what if I had slacked off on my application and had to reapply? Idk….it’s quite a curious thing….

"fix you"

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 23:24:03 -0500

“when you try your best but you don’t succeed, when you get what you want but not what you need, when you feel so tired you can’t sleep, stuck in reverse.”

Working Title: Ashley and James 2012 Bucketlist

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:14:01 -0500

Go to Longwood Gardens
Feb. Van Gogh exhibit in Philly
Bar in Philly with friends
Take dance lessons
POWER feb dinner
Yoga
Karate/ Ju Jitsu
Piano
Trip to Newport…TBA
Martha vineyard/nantucket
go to a concert….TBA
go on James’s boat
camp on unspecified island
Go to observatory
Philosophic ___days (TBA tea and conversation to be had)
visit east meets west
Dinner at yang ming
Take James Ice skating
More to come

New years resolutions

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 09:27:43 -0500

Okay so new years eve is right around the bend (aka tomorrow) so I figured I should start thinking about what I wanted my resolution to be. Last year, I decided upon self acceptance- I figured that be a better goal than the typical and over used ” lose weight” that everyone throws on their list to motivate themselves for the month after and clog up the gym treadmills for those of us who have already made the gym a permanent part of our life style. Although I guess presently I can’t really speak to that, which brings me to my resolution. To once again find balance in my life. This past semester probably consisted of the worse couple of months in my life. A lot was going on. I had my RA job, my babysitting job, the class I’m teaching the freshmen, two clubs(which fell by the wayside), and A full course load of the worst nursing classes I have had yet. Now I have never been one to sit still, I thrive on being continuously busy and even more so from being under the pressure. This semester was entirely different. I did not anticipate throwing into the mix my mom being told she may have breast cancer, my sister getting sick and passing out at a track meet, my uncle having emergency surgery and a heart attack. I would wake up at 5 on Monday’s and Wednesday’s for clinicals and then right after babysitting until 6/7. Monday’s I also had building meetings until 10. Tuesday’s and Thursday’s I had class from 830-3 and on Tuesdays my forth hour with the freshmen from 4-5 and an area meeting at 10pm. Fridays I had babysitting and duty if I was on that night. I could be on any day from Thursday night to Saturday night. Add into that either a one on one with my HRA or area coordinator or an extra assignment( RA report). Plus don’t forget all the community builders we need to do, making time for residents, and resolving any building issues. I didn’t have time to keep up my normal schedule of running or yoga(had class during every yoga class) and all the babysitting money i made went towards groceries and gas for my car. All my free time I devoted to catching up on the sleep I missed or hanging out with a friend for a bit or idk the all important studying. I went out a grand total of three times and two of which were for my friends birthdays. I can’t party on campus because I’m an RA so whenever someone was having something I couldn’t really go…. I wouldn’t want to take the chance. And the worst part was I knew what was going on and what needed to be done but I couldn’t really do anything about it. Everything was an important obligation. I stopped my clubs for a semester because I seriously could not juggle that on top of everything else. It was the only place I could cut myself some slack. The other crappy part was it takes about a half hour to get to and for babysitting so that chopped out another hour of my day. My mom said I couldn’t use my obligations as an excuse or a crutch but it def played into a lot of the issues this semester. I mean I am my worst critic- I always feel like I could have and should have done better than I did. But, in all fairness I did do all of it somehow and I did a good job as an RA according to my evaluations and my residents. The girls I babysit for loved me, so much so that when their mom lost her job they begged her to have me back even though they didn’t really need me. I did well in three of my four classes and got an A in clinical and pathophysiology, and a B in pharm. there was bound to be somewhere I’d slip up a bit and I did and missed the average I needed for one of my classes my .06% which is ridiculously close and Villanova needs to revise its grading policy but nonetheless I think for the most part I made it threw. But this semester was like going threw labor….feeling the worst pressure and feeling like I was going to die but without the triumph at the end because I didn’t really achieve what I wanted or what I needed. Don’t forget the fact I didn’t take care of myself at all physically and now I’m addicted to caffeine and I was in the ER for some unbeknownst cause. I know I should be focusing on the positives and other than doing a good job with my obligations I am happy to say meeting James was another positive in my life this semester. God knows what I would have done without him. He was def my saving grace and one of the people who kept me from going off the deep end( Gabe has always been there for me too whenever I need him ). So anyways back to the resolution and my point to this rambling- I need to re-establish balance in my life. Everything was work all the time, I had no time to enjoy myself. I want to add yoga and Zumba and running back in. I want to add having fun and seeing my friends more back into my life. I think part of the issue is I have never been one to like being tied down to obligations. I like to be able to move about freely and when I get bored to move onto something new. It’s time to reestablish boundaries for myself and to figure out some way to have fun amongst this crazy frickin schedule. Make some time for mediation and prayer again and make some time for me. Cause at the end of the day my health and my happiness are the most important things to consider. Well I think I have rambled enough for one day. Happy new years everybody!

Final(s): The end of SoMEthing

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:39:08 -0500

You know it’s finals when:

10) Every seat in the library is full.

9) The amount of caffeinated beverages you consumed is more than the hours of sleep you got.

8)You are too tired to wear anything other than yoga pants and sweats

7) You have created a playlist just for studying

6) Everyone’s status has one or more of the following words: death, stress, fucked, die, monster/red bull/coffee, kill-me

5) When you get pissed at those two gi(dumb bitches)rls for talking and giggling in the library

4) When you start to picture different ways to kill your professors for the massive amount of work

3) When you start to contemplate which building is the tallest on campus……and whether it would just injure you or not when you jumped off it

2) It’s the first time the whole semester you are staying up on a weekend NOT to drink

1) When you find stupid ways to procrastinate such as blogging or arguing with your friends over who has more shit to do.

MY LIFE:

So finals are quickly approaching and with it so is the end of the year(thank you baby Jesus). I remember being sooooo stoaked to be a junior and live in the apartments….now I’m kinda like….please bring me back to when I was just a baby frosh and we had all the free time in the world. This year kinda blows. On a variety of levels. Firstly, nursing this year fucking sucks. Like seriously who was the idiot who decided it be a great idea to put all the nursing students in one room…the same frickin room from 8:30-3? like really? and after having to wake up the day before at 5 to be at clinicals for 6 hours? plus the circulum is wayyy harder this year. IDK it just sucks. Plus add on top of that being an RA, babysitting, and leading 4th hour…..I didn’t get to see anyone this semester….I haven’t been able to go for a run in like 2 whole months and I haven’t done yoga in like +6 months at this point. I feel like this whole semester went by in a blur….like I can’t focus on anything cause I’m being pulled in 7 different directions all the time. Idk what I’m going to do but something must be done. Next semester I think I’m going to quit school and become a homeless person…..good it’s settled.

College Bucketlist

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:18:14 -0500

1. go to the philadelphia zoo

2. take a picture with all of the statues on campus

3. Visit the campus observatory

4. Visit Lancaster

5. Visit the magic gardens

6. Lead Search

7. Internship with the Bryn Mawr birth center

8. Visit Reading terminal market

9. Visit Italian Market, Rittenhouse Square

10. Visit South street

11. Visit Adventure Aquarium

12. Ice skating at hte River Rink

13. Kiss under the whispering arches

14. Day Glow 2012

15. Be a part of a flash mob

16. Cosi smores/melting pot with friends

17. Kelly’s on St. Patty’s day

for now more to be added after babysitting

What needs to be done vs. what I'm doing

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:10:42 -0400

So this is probably the 15th nursing class that I failed to pay attention in. Probably would speak to my last nursing exam grade. I need to figure out something fun to do because I am so busy with babysitting, nursing, 4th hour, POWER, LEAP, and RA life. Everytime I have a free moment I feel guilty for not doing my homework expecially because I am SOOOOO far behind. I really want to start doing Bikram yoga at the studio in Berwyn but its Halloweekend so I think I should probably wait until afterwards.ANYWAYYYYS…..My life is very confusing right now and I love how I get myself involved in the worse sitcuations.

Why girls don't date nice guys

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:20:57 -0400

So let me preface this with two things. First that this is very similar to Love’s tumblr posts so shout out to her for inspiring me to blog this. Secondly, I no longer have any sympathy for nice boys. Nice guys always complain that girls only go for the “bad boy” and that they are always single. I myself usually go for the bad boy and to switch things up a little, courtesy of Gabe’s advice, I finally tried to like a nice boy. So far this has not been working out to my advantage—like I was promised—and so I decided to compile a list as to why girls don’t like nice guys:

1) Nice guys don’t know when you are flirting with them

2) Nice guys never make a move

3) Nice guys do nice things for us, making it look like you like us

4) When a bad boy treats us like shit- it’s expected, when a nice guy does it, it just throws us off guard

5) Nice guys always have girlfriends/are in love with someone else’s gf

6) Nice guys let their girlfriends walk all over them—that’s just sad

7) A bad boy is a just a one time thing, a good guy makes you want a relationship-which doesnt happen (see #1 and 2 or reasoning)

8) Nice guys are too nice to tell you they aren’t interested

9) If you don’t like me, then don’t hang out/txt me everyday. kthanks

10)If you don’t want to be frustrated do yourself a favor and crush on a jackass- atleast that way you won’t be disappointed because your standards were already so low.

So obvi I’m just playin(kinda) but its somewhat(really fucking) annoying liking nice guys. I think I’ll just stick with the douche bags.

Today

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 22:27:56 -0400

So this summer is quickly come to an end. I have ten days before I go back to school and I’m really grateful that I had this time to really get a sense of what is important to me and where I am going in life. This summer I learned to be sure of myself, to value and appreciate that my opinions and feelings are equally as important. I am eternally grateful for all the wonderful people God has given me in my life. I have the most amazing friends. I love them all so much. I am ready to be me again. I have lost the person I became when the floor came out from underneath me. I will no longer apologize for the person I was in my weakest moment. I am back to the old me. I am back to loving life and loving people and being grateful for the wonderful life I have. Last night when Molly and Amanda were over, we got to talking about God. Over the past several years, i have felt an enormous distance between God and myself. I thought he couldn’t love me because I wasnt perfect. I thought he thought I didnt try hard enough and that I was destined to fail so he wouldn’t waste his time on me. I think that forgiving yourself for not being perfect is probably the hardest thing you will ever do. So amanda was saying how she wasn’t sure she believed in God, that she didn’t understand a lot and that she was confused. My response was that i think God only cares that we are trying. That he knows it’s hard and he gives us credit for trying to believe even when we aren’t completly sure. It was then that I realized my answer all along. It was then that I realized I needed to take my own advice. God loves me for who I am as a person. God loves me for me. He does not expect me to be perfect, he does not expect me to be a saint. God just expects me to be the best me I can be. He is supportive not dictorial. He wants me to succed, he is not waiting for me to mess up just so he can punish me. God is just like a parent, wanting the best for their child, hoping that they make the right decisions, just wanting the child to do the best they can do because thats all anyone can ask for. God just like a parent, just hopes we dont make so big of a mistake that we can’t fix. He gives us just enough rope so we can hang ourselves. He gives us the opportunity to do what’s right and to be ourselves, but just enough so he can reign us in again if we fall to far off the path. I know now that God is not disappointed in me, I know now that he is rooting me on. He is loving and forgiving and now I truely can understand what that means. There is nothing better than knowing u will always have someone there who will love you and support u and will never point out your mistakes but will help you work through them. Thank you and I love you Father.

Ireland Day 12/13- Prepare to die...I mean leave

Fri, 20 May 2011 13:30:51 -0400

So we did up going to Reardens that night and there was a liv band and we all danced the night away and I totally lost my hearing cause I was right up against the speaker the whole time. It was serious craic though and then we were off to Dublin the next day. It was supposed to be a 4 1/2 hr bus drive, but that turned into a 6 hour bus drive due to security measures for the queen. On the way to Dublin we stopped in Kilkenny and saw a castle. It was cool but we were all just so shot and wanted to get to Dublin for our hotel. So last night we all had dinner together and Deckland sat near m and entertained me throughout the dinner- I get a kick out of him though I know others dont think he’s as funny as I do. We then headed to the bars towards Temple Bar area. These stupid frickin boys followed us and cat-called and whatever and it took all my self control not to shout back at them for being immature and completely rude. Kathleen, Andrea, Laura, and I decided to bar hop starting with Temple Bar, then to 2 other bars, and finally we finished at the Dubliner. We met this amazing Spanish guy who bought us rounds of drinks throughout the night. He was so frickin nice and fun to talk to. Kathleen and I did some dancing, which was a lot of fun and I talked to the bartender a lot cause he was mad chill. Kathleen and I striked up a conversation with the bathroom attendent Marie and we were dancing to the music in the bar with her in the bathroom. I think we helped make her night a little more fun. We then hailed a cab and headed back to the hotel. Kathleen btw is my hero. Legit she’s so fecking funny I just can’t. She was talking to the cab driver from Nigeria the whole way back and when he told her how expensive it was for us- she was so funny about the whole sitcuation. I don’t want to say what she said out of context, it just won’t be as funny. So Today we went to Trinity College and saw the book of kells and the old library. The library looked like the library in Beauty and the Beast…it was so cool and when I grow up I want something like that in my house…tho I don’t know how well that will work but I yea lol. The book of kells is beyond fasinating….all the detail is redic and I was so impressed by it. I love it when things have layers of meaning and you have to uncover the meaning. Which is prolly why I liked St. Finbarr’s Cathderal so much too. Then w went to the Guinness Factory where the produce, duh Guinness. It wasn’t really my cup of tea, but the view from the sky deck was really cool. Too early is the morning to drink in my opinion but cheers to anyone who could stomach it! Tonight the plan is dinnerat 7, finish packing getting ready etc. and then pregame then club. Last night here and most of us are going to stay up as late as we can and sleep on the plane tomorrow-we are leaving the hotel at 6:30 am so yeah. and then I’ll be home in America spending the Saturday with my whole family to celebrate my little sister’s bday! so here’s to a good night- Slainte!

Ireland 10/11- Cork is like Heaven.....Sorta?

Wed, 18 May 2011 12:51:00 -0400

Okay so I didn’t blog yesterday because there really wasn’t any time, but i’m going to try and do justice to the last few days. So Dingle was a really cute town-really small- but cute nonetheless. We had dinner at Murphy’s pub and had the nicest guy serve us. Then we went to an droicad beag, the only pub in Dingle that stays open until 2 am. There were a lot of young people there as the night went on and some very nice boys tried to strike up conversations, but I was too tired to make new friends (Sorry Dingle Boys). We had a very chill night playing pool with the Irish and me switching up the music on the jukebox. Shazi even hung out with us This is the bar, very colorful as you can see. Our tour guide Deckland was there and bought some of us drinks. Then we woke up then next morn-yesterday- to head out to Cork. Before we left for Cork though, we traveled to this gorgeous Cove and took awesome pictures. Dingle is so beyond beautiful. My camera died so all of the pics are on Brianna’s camera so you’ll have to wait for those pictures. We also passed through Kilarney and walked around the National Park and had a zillion gorgeous views. Then from Kilarney we had another hour drive to Cork. So yesterday we arrived in Cork around 6, and checked into the River Lee Hotel.

The River Lee is so frickin nice and I went swimming, went to the steam room, and went to the sauna. It was so nice. Then we went to dinner at SOHO, which was lovely minus the fact that it took us 3 hours to eat because the service was soooooo slow and we didnt get to go out until 11pm. Then we went to Bailey’s bar. It was a nice place, the people not so much. These Cork girls are mad aggresive towards us. This one girl who legit looked like Snooki pushed Brianna…I was like are you serious? We didn’t stay out too late cause of the scene and woke up at 7 this morn to head out to St. Finbarr’s cathedral and Blarney Castle. My friend I made in Galway, Tony, told me that there is this great bar Rearden’s that has a night club above it and that Wednesday nights are good party nights. I am looking forward to that. St. Finbarr’s Cathederal was so beyong beautiful and the symbolism throughout the church was incrediable. He had staing glass that depicted the whole bible. There were three Rose windows, one depicting the creation, one depicting salvation/judgement day, one depicting the hierarchy of heaven. The cathedral is shaped like a cross, but the top portion was rounded. the rounded portion depicted stain glass of all the new testament, while the arms depicted the prophets, and the bottom of the cross had stain glass depicting the old testament. There are so many different things-symbolism in the tiles of the fish, and the different animals representing john, luke, matthew, and mark. Amazing. I even bought two books about the Cathedral because it fasinated me so much. Blarney castle was just as much fun and we went inside the dungeon, which I found a little morbid not going to lie. Then we climbed Blarney Castle and I kissed the Blarney stone. That castle is fecking high and I was nervous not going to lie. But I did it nonetheless. Then we went to the English Market for lunch- which I loved so frickin much! It’s like the farmer’s market we have in Ardmore. Good food, good times. Then I came back and took a well needed nap because my nerves were getting worn. Idk what the plan is for dinner just yet….I’m trying to decide whether or not to go swimming or to start getting ready…based upon the consensus of the group. but I do think we will end up in Reardean’s tonight and I’m hoping tonight is better than the last two-but no expectations!

Ireland Day 9: Dingle Pennisula

Mon, 16 May 2011 14:44:44 -0400

Hello all. I am officially in Dingle, Ireland. It took us all day to get here, but it is one of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen. Let me back track a little to yesterday so I can record that. So we went to McSwiggin’s Bar and it was such a lovely dinner. We had a bottle of wine with our food and the atmosphere was incredible. From there we headed to the King’s Head to listen to the Elastic Band until 11:30ish then Laura and I headed to the Front door followed by Karma, a night club. At the king’s head there were these really obnoxious guys hitting on us and it was making us mad uncomfortable. This one girl was dancing in the middle of the bar by herself incredibly intoxicated. She came over and literally pulled Brianna out of her seat and forced her to dance. I found it funny, but Brianna felt mad uncomfortable. Since the Nova boys didn’t show up- Laura and I wer able to peace out and leave the others at the King’s Head while we went off and did our own thing. At the Front Door we met Connacht Rugby players- which I thought was pretty cool- they were mad loud and all over the place, but it was cool nonetheless. Lastly Karma was the most fun. We were able to dance and for a Sunday night there was a pretty good amount of people there. This one kid fell down the stairs and landed on his face in the club from being intoxicated and didn’t move for a solid 20 minutes. I got really nervous that he had gotten really hurt, but the bouncers got him out and moving eventually. Laura and I had a good time chatting it up with some boys, talking, and shifting :). I met this really nice guy named Connor who is a farmer in Galway. He was too cute. He told me, he gets really nervous talking to girls and that he didn’t know how to dance. He was too frickin cute. So I taught him how to salsa and how to dance oh the dance floor. He was a ton of fun. Laura got to really know one boy Roman and they hit it off. Then we headed home round 3 and woke up this morn at 8 to pack up fast and eat before leaving at 9. We went to the Cliff’s of Mohr today and it was super duper windy out. I’m going to be honest that it wasn’t as awesome as I had built it up in my mind to be. I think it was because there was railings up everywhere and so I couldn’t get the type of pictures I wanted. A couple of people jumped the fence and took a path leading away from the railings. I wanted to go but couldn’t convince anyone else to join me in my adventures. We then visited the town of Tralee, we didn’t get to get out but it was pretty. Also I got to see a dwelling place of acient Irishmen also known to the Irish as Fairy Forts. I got to hear a bunch of Irish folklore which I personally found to be captivating, but I just like that kind of stuff. And after a long journey, we are now at our hotel, Benners which is frickin beautiful. Tonight the plan is pretty simple, but I’ll tell all tomorrow when I figure out what we are doing. til then!

Ireland Day 8: Slainte Galway!

Sun, 15 May 2011 14:32:00 -0400

So I don’t really feel like blogging right now. I just finished getting ready for our last night of fun in Galway. Tomorrow we are heading out and stopping at the cliffs of mohr and connemara on the way to dingle. Last night was pretty fun. We grabbed a quick dinner and then we headed to the front door to start off our night. We then went to Carbon night club where there was legit like 5 people in the whole club, so we peaced and went to club K and Brianna got kissed by this guy on the dance floor, which legit made my night. We then went and finished out night and the Kings Head and it was beyond crowded. I forgot to mention I ran into Cassie and her nova friends at club k and we hung with them for the night. I was so happy we ran into each other cause her internet wasn’t working and we couldnt get in touch earlier in the day. Today Bri and I went to La Salsa, and I got the best vegetarian dish so far on this trip. It was so good. We are now heading to dinner to McSwiggins, or something and then to the kings head. So yeah not much interesting stuff going on except partying and having a good time :)

Ireland Day 7- Aran Islands

Sat, 14 May 2011 15:39:41 -0400

So last night I decided to go to visit Cassie at her apartment. It was mad chill and I got to meet all of her suite mates. On the way over I had the nicest Irish man driving me. He was so frickin funny, I was actually looking forward to the cab ride home(second guy wasn’t so nice haha). Speaking of nice, I really liked the two girls who are Cassie’s suitemates. I would put their names in, but I don’t know how to spell them so I’m not even going to try. We hung around and watched Irish shows and I learned about hen parties and prawn cocktail. It was fun catching up and hanging around. Today we went to the Aran Islands and it was frickin beautiful. I uplouded the pictures to facebook in case anyone is interested in seeing some of them. There are more to come when my friends upload theirs! I had the most amazing homecooked lunch there and we hiked up to Dun Aengus. There are pretty cliffs and I think we all got a little too close to the edge for comfort- but the pictures came out nice. I bought a really pretty scarf with different shades of blue and red in it. The ferry ride over and back was very rough and a lot of us got sea sick- but it was well worth the trip. On the bus ride back my proffessors were talking about hand jobs and drowning donkeys…..weird doesn’t even begin to cover it- but I got a good laugh out of it. Tomorrow is my last day here in Galway and then Monday we are on our way to Dingle! Hopefully tonight will be a fun night since I didn’t really go out the last two, but I’m not holding any expections.

Ireland Day 6- Silly Americans

Fri, 13 May 2011 11:59:57 -0400

So yesterday was pretty uneventful. We tried to go to Central Park a night club here in Galway, but it was just too crowded to dance and after getting shoved a multiplicity of times we peaced out and tried to salvage the night at the Front Door. When we left the club, this Irish girl asked us why we were leaving and we told her becaue it was too crowded and he laughed at us. She was like ” crowded is good! You girls need to learn the Irish way! You just use your elbows and and if a guy comes up pow! and you make space for yourself. Irish boys love Americans!” and then her friends came over to ask why we were leaving and she told them cause we said it was too crowded and they laughed at us and went into the club. Eventually we just ended up at McDonald’s and met this Irish boy Garret who probably knows more about American history than anyone I have ever met. He was teasing us about being Americans in McDonald’s ,but we were hungry and everything closes early so we ended up there. He explained to us that it’s cause of GW Bush that the world thinks of Americans as cowboys and girls. Which makes a lot of sense. We asked him what the irish phrase cheers meant and he told us it means anything-that you could basically say it about anything. I was like so if I walk around the street saying cheers to people they won’t think I’m a stupid American? and He was like no! they would think theres an educated American! Anyways he was quite entertaining and he left and we left shortly after him and on the way home I was talking about what a chill person he was….and then this guy in front of us turns around and its Garret and he’s like I was wondering why I was still hearing American girls! I was so embarrased lol, but he lives right near our B&B and he knows the people who run it. Anyways, I got to sleep late today because we didn’t have class and then we went to NUI and we presented a powerpoint to the faculty about the difference we learned between Irish life and American Life and we gave them a thank you card and some bakery stuff. They were so appreciative. I was so happy they liked it. Now we are just chilling at the B&B. I think I am going to catch up on Glee and relax until dinner. :) Idk if I’m doing anything tonight-we will play it by ear.

Ireland Day 4/5- Poor Life Choices

Thu, 12 May 2011 12:50:05 -0400

So last night was fun…and this morning was not. :-) I really need to stick to my intuition and not drink more than that-or rather let people convince me to drink more than I can. Anyways I didn’t blog about yesterday during the day cause there wasn’t anything really interesting to talk about. We spent the day at NUI learning about psych and what not but nothing overally interesting happened. I had a ton of fun last night though- Anne, Jen, and I went to Fagans for dinner which was mad good and then went back to get ready while the other group went to grab food. We were supposed to meet up at the King’s Head, but they were mad late so Anne, Jen, and I went into the bar and had a drink and listened to a live band while we waited. Then we met up with Cassie which was a lot of fun! We went to the Dail Bar and had a couple pints of Bulmer’(correction for last blog) and chilled and talked and got to hear all about Cassie’s Ireland experience. Then Cassie’s American friends (also from Nova) showed up and they were very nice. The bars/pubs we had planned on going to were all closed, so we decided to go to The Front Door again. So when I got there I order my fourth pint of Bulmer’s(already pushing it cause I was feeling very drunk already-yes I am a light weight…I have no problem admitting it lol) This kid walked up to me and started talking to me about how classly I was drinking Bulmer’s (whatevs lol). I don’t remember his name haha, but he was really cute. He said something about my braids being sexy and bought me a coke and captain morgan which is really yummy and we talked for quite awhile. Then his friend came over and started talking to me about my accent and he was from Cork and his name was Tony. He wasn’t cute but he was very nice and we had a good chat. He bought me a coke and whiskey which was very yummy and he asked for my email so he can tell me where to visit in Cork. Anyways I was pretty drunk at this point from the alcohol and tony was like “don’t worry I won’t take advantage of you” which I found funny because I wouldn’t have let him even if he wanted to so I wasn’t worried about anything. Then the first guy came back and was jokingly like “oh you trying to steal my girl?” which I also found funny. Then I talked to the American boys and Cassie got rid of Tony and a potentially embarassing hook-up(tho I don’t think I was drunk enough to actually kiss him haha) well I talked to this kid Sean and he was cute and he’s in our grade. I thought we had a good chat but who knows? I was drunk he could be thinking that girl is crazy haha. Then I went home and we walked in the rain and I was talking wayyyyy tooo loud and then I woke up not feeling too well. Today at NUI I got to learn about midwifery and the midwife who spoke was frickin gorgeous and so nice. We then got to visit the hospital and there hopital and uniforms are so old fashioned which I think is beyond cute! On the way home from the hospital some Irish guy walked pat us and threw out his arms and was like “you are all gorgeous!”-Irish boys make me laugh…..American boys take note- girls like it when you say what’s up… atleast I do. I frickin hate playing the guessing game about whether someone is into you or not. But that’s another rant for another time. Anyways we are leaving to go to Dinner as a big group tonight at Muro’s or Monroe’s or something like that and then we have to come back and work on our presentation for the faculty before we go anywhere. I really want to go dancing tonight at CP’s or one ofthe clubs…Idk about drinking tonight after last night I think that might not be a great idea, but we’ll see what happens. I want to meet up with Cassie again and go to her house, but Idk if anyone is going to join me so I might need to call a cab and just go by myself. I don’t know how long the project is going to take so who knows I might just need to meet Cassie somewhere on shops street. But anyways tonight should be great Craic and I’m super excited and hope I didn’t make too much of a fool of myself last night and if I did oh well I am in Ireland just trying to have fun :)

Ireland Day 3: Great Craic

Tue, 10 May 2011 17:14:51 -0400

so tonight I am not going out. I mean…I may…Idk..prolly not. Cassie told me tonight is a down night so I don’t really see the point in going and spending money. Anyways I don’t really remember where I left off yesterday…..okay so firstly we figure out why the Irish boys hated us…and it was because we were with our guy nurse Shazi haha. I think they didn’t like him very much because we were fine last night when we went out without him. First we went and got pizza at Fat Eddie’s—which btw had the most banging pizza and i was in shock, but its true. then we went and got some bulmers and came back to the B&B after wandering for an hour trying to find Cassie’s house. Then we went to Taaffes and had strawberry and cream tequilla rose before heading to Sonny’s and I had some yummy butterscotch shot ……then we went to the Front Door which was pretty fun and I had a butter ball, blue and red after shock, and woo woo. Sorry I went to remember so I know what to order in the future. Anyways, so at Taaffes there was a live Irissh band playing Galway girl <3 and the bartender was super chill and filled us in on whats good craic(fun) around here. Sonny’s was a bust, but some old guy was talking to Kathleen, and then she stole his beer and we walked upstairs to the front door where he followed her in order to get his beer back. At the front door, the funniest things happened. For one thing Anne was cornered by this Irish kid Jason and he kissed her even tho she pushed him away. Two seconds after jason walked away, this other creepy guy swooped in and tried to do the same thing. This other Irish kid Carl was watching the whole thing happen with us and when the second guy came over he wa like “what perfume are you wearing!” to Anne, which we found funny. Kathleen met this 6 foot something rugby player who convinced us to go to this club called club K. Side note-Irish guyss have no clue how to dance…they dance the robot….and I’m pretty sure they are unaware of the concept of grinding…which I find entertaining. Anyways, I ran into Cassie- which I think was awesome luck! I was happy we were able to hang for a bit before she left. So the fun part: I was about to leave and this random Irish kid tapped me on the shoulder and was like “Kiss me!” and put his arms out. lol So I was like Eh, what the hell and was like “okay”…which I think caught him off guard…..lol and if you want the rest of this story I will tell you in person so ya…..anyways I walked away from him and then this second guy taped me on the shoulder(he was mad cute btdubs) and he was like “hi where are you from” and I was liek the United States. and he was like “where from?” and I was like “New Jersey” and he was like…”I am going to the Jersey Shore this summer” and I was like good choice! and he was like “I am visiting my friend Christine. do you know Christine?” and I was like hun you need to give me more then that there are a lot of Christine’s…and he was like “Chrsitine O’Connel” and I was like nope I don’t sorry and he was like ” I’m going to go visit on the 4th of July and we are going to go on the water, are you going on the water?” and “I was like yeah I am, that’s the only way to watch fireworks!” and he was like ” I look forward to seeing you this summer” and kissed me on the cheek and then I was like yeah (and in my head I was like this boy doesn’t realize how big the Jersey Shore is does he? haha) and then I backed away to leave cause my girlfriends had walked outside the club to go home, and he grabbed my arm and he was like ” you look really good by the way” and I was just like thanks and laughed and walked away. Idk I found the whole thing quiet amusing….these Irish boys are pretty entertaining. Then we walked back and crashed out. Today we went to NUI and learned a whole bunch of stuff….Erickson and company where late today-which means we were late AGAIN…which I think is both rude and embarrassing. We got to do this really cool simulation lab of emergency response to a Cardiac Arrest. Then we all went shopping and I got a Galway United Rugby Scarf, a trinity heart key necklace, and a Galway Hurling Jersey. So sick. I also got my mom and sisters there little trinkets and I got some post cards. Then we went to the Crepe place again for dinner and walked until we found chocolate and then came back here to Ardawn…..not much doing…cept my compy is about to die so the end!