Ultranormal

Author: Kevin Lawver

  • Dublin: Day Four

    I went to my first traditional Irish pub this evening, and it wasn’t a tourist trap. Cobblestone is a cramped, smokey little hole in the wall with free-flowing Guiness (I had Coke, I swear), mislabelled bathrooms, and good company. We had a really good time, me apologizing for the bad reruns we stick them with and McDonalds, and I made one of them apologize for reality TV (even though it’s really a British thing and not Irish – but they’re neighbors). I learned about the Irish gorvernment, a little more about the culture, and had a lot of fun.

    I’m feeling a little better today, although I bet the smoke won’t make me feel any better tomorrow. We’re doing well at work, and I’m hoping we can cut out early on Friday and get some shopping done before the crowds descend on Saturday, our only real touristy day.

    Sorry I don’t have more pictures, but we leave in the dark, and come home in the dark, and the pictures come out crap. The sun doesn’t come up until after 8, and it sets at 4. Did you know that Ireland is level with Newfoundland, and the tip of Spain is pretty much even with Maine? I had no idea… Beautiful sunrises on the way to work though, you really should see them through the completely fogged up windows of the bus (yes, boss, we’ve been taking the BUS to work – but no more, it takes way too long to get to work).

  • Day Two, A Day Late

    I wrote this very early yesterday morning, but it didn’t post because of hotel network problems… cheerful, ain’t it? I’m much better now.

    It’s 5:25 AM GMT, and I haven’t slept in 24 hours. Why? I’ve been coughing all night, and retching up multi-colored volumes of stuff out of my lungs. I swear I tried to sleep. I did. I just kept coughing… and couldn’t stop. I sat in a really hot shower for half an hour, tried the cough syrup I got at Centra (7/11-ish, only nicer), and drank a gallon or more of water from my little Slimish Still Water bottles that I also got at Centra, so I could quell the coughing fits that have plagued me so far on this trip.

    What’s so disappointing about all this is that yesterday went really well. The discussions at work went very well, we ate at an amazing restaurant for dinner, and I tried to go to bed at a reasonable hour.

    Now, it’s about time to go sit in the shower for another hour, get dressed and see if I can get some breakfast downstairs (Jen, you were right, I should have brought more snacks).

    You remember what I said about the hotel TV? It’s even worse overnight. I know the weather now for every city in Europe, and I don’t want to… Make it go away…

  • 2003.12.08 Ireland AM

    I love Ireland AM. It’s the coolest morning show I’ve ever seen. Maybe it’s just the accents, but I still love it. Also, I love Irish Football (I think that’s what that was). It takes the best of rugby, soccer and football, and there are no pads. Very cool. Good luck to me finding it on DirecTV (oh, but I will look… trust me).

    I woke up a couple times last night after going to bed at 6:30. I just couldn’t keep my eyes open any more. I left Sean near O’Connell Street and trudged back to the hotel, sniffling, and quickly losing any energy I had left. I am rather proud that I made it back to the hotel without making any wrong turns and without a map. Sean commented (and I agree) that it’s a lot harder to get lost when you’re walking than when driving. I think that’s especially true here, since we’d have to worry about driving on the left, all the weird stoplight/intersection combinations and the horrible traffic. Walking, while hard on my poor feet (brought the wrong shoes, which I thought were the right shoes), is a great way to see Dublin (yeah, I’m an expert now). The people watching is priceless. The sounds of the city really seep in, and it’s just great fun. It’s too bad I have to work this week…

  • 2003.12.07 Dublin: Day One

    We made it! It took two planes, a dozen super-long lines at Heathrow, some confusion, the world’s funniest cab driver, and some luck, but here we are. Dublin is great. Everyone we’ve met so far has been friendly and helpful, and the city has a great vibe to it.

    The pictures are online from our first day.

    Ok, what can I tell you before I have to go jump in the shower… Well, here are a couple tips. First, TV in the Alexander Hotel pretty much sucks. But, MTV Europe rules. They play videos and everything! And they’re not the bubblegum crap we have in the States. I’ve seen Snow Patrol, The Darkness, and the School of Rock video since turning it on, along with a bunch of other interesting stuff (like a song by a former Spice Girl that doesn’t suck!). Second, and more importantly, if you have to change terminals in Heathrow Airport, don’t fool around thinking that you have enough time to do anything else. Get there. You’ll have to go through no less than three confusing lines, and follow a dozen unintelligible signs. Good luck.

    I didn’t sleep at all on the plane. There was no way to get comfortable, so I watched Seabiscuit (good), and 2 Fast 2 Furious (horrible) and tried to read. International business class is awesome. I highly recommend it if you can get your company to spring for it.

    If you go to Dublin, talk to your cab driver. Our cab driver was short, red, hairy and hilarious. He was a driving confirmation of every stereotype I came into the country with. Thankfully, everyone else I’ve met since arriving has nullified a lot of those, but man, he was the best introduction to Ireland I could think of.

    Ok, I’m gonna shower, get dressed, and consider going downstairs to get a traditional Irish breakfast. Toodles.

  • The Single Greatest Post Ever

    Jon has a peculiar writing style. I assure you, it shows up in his speech too, which is why I love him, and want to have his alien wrestler love babies. His post about the stuff he got from Japan is the single greatest post on any blog, ever.

    And I’m all packed except for socks and toiletries. You’d think I’d have done socks first, considering I have so many of them. I have plane tickets, a passport, clean underpants, shirts, pants, and a sinus infection. Oh, and there’s four inches of snow on the ground and more expected. Let’s travel!

    On that note, I never thought I’d say, “I’m flying to Dublin to escape the weather,” but I did.

  • I Do Stuff

    I’m at work today, and loving every minute of it – really. Sudafed and Exedrin are keeping me awake, and I’ve finally got my plane tickets for Saturday. I do feel a lot better than I did yesterday, but I’m still far from “normal” (OK, “normal” for me…). I’m probably running at about 60, and hoping that the percentage increases to at least 85 by Saturday afternoon.

    I didn’t accomplish much in my two days at home. I am kind of proud that I finished all the special features on Finding Nemo and Pirates of the Caribbean, and most of them on X2. I also gained four or five levels in Kingdom Hearts. Yeah, I’m a doer…

    I think I’m going to go home now. I’m exhausted. Toodles.

  • Why????

    What a perfect time to get a sinus infection!! I’m supposed to get on a plane in about 72 hours to fly across the Atlantic… Perfect time to have clogged sinuses.

    I’ve been home for work for two days, missed a deadline, and still feel unwell. But, I’ll still be at work tomorrow in meetings and completing that thing that was due yesterday. Wheeee!!

  • A Dublining I Will Go

    My passport was finished and mailed out on 11/25, which means it should be here any day (any day before my trip would be perfect). I’m so excited that I can almost live with the cold I’ve had for three days, a deadline fast approaching amid numerous distractions (like sinus pain, documents and meetings), a sick kid (who sounds like a mini Joe Cocker at the moment), and a growing list of things to pack.

    In doing some research for the trip, I realized that Dublin has almost the same weather this time of year as D.C., so no new wardrobe will be needed. I just have to remember to take walking shoes and an umbrella. I just realized that I can leave my keys behind, which is weird. I’m so used to having the weight of them in my front pocket that I’m sure I’ll walk funny for a couple days until I get my “keyless legs”.

    I’ve got three guide books (the DK Ireland book, Lonely Planet’s Ireland bood, and a pocket map book). I’ve read the Dublin sections of the first two multiple times, and looked at the map book over a dozen times now. I’m tired of reading about stuff – I just want to get there. I’ve got my reading material for the plane (appropriately, The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke and Right as Rain by George Pellecanos – I hear it rains a lot in Dublin), the power adapter for the laptop (thanks, Robin!), a schedule, a flight (plane tickets coming Wednesday I think), a hotel room (in the very chichi sounding Alexander), plans and a couple hundred hours to kill before I get on the plane…

  • The World’s Greatest Pot Roast

    Because someone asked how I made my perfect roast, I figured I’d share my recipe. This recipe is for a 5 quart crockpot. If you have a smaller one, use enough to fill up your crockpot and that’s it. If you don’t have a crockpot… why not? Go get one, now! So, here goes:

    Ingredients:

    • 1 \~5 pound beef roast

    • 5 – 6 medium sized potatos

    • 12-18 mini carrots

    • 5 large stalks of celery from the outside of a celery bunch (don’t buy the celery hearts, get the real stuff. The stalks on the outside have a stronger flavor.

    • 1 smallish red onion

    • 1 smallish yellow onion

    • 2 beef boullion cubes

    • 1 vegetable boullion cubes

    First, dissolve one cube of beef boullion and the vegetable cube in two cups of boiling water. In a glass baking dish or large bowl, put the roast in, and pour in the two cups of broth. The roast shouldn’t be completely covered by the broth. Now, cover the top in a healthy dose of salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cover the dish and put in the fridge for at least two hours (mine was in overnight).

    While your roast is marinating, let’s do potatos. Wash them, and then chop them up into 2-by-2 inch chunks (cubes are for the French… rest assured, they’ll be yummy no matter what the shape). Then, take the long celery stalks, wash them, and then cut to fit in the bottom of the crockpot (I just had to break them in half). Skin your onions and chop off the ends.

    Dissolve the last beef boullion cube in one cup boiling water, set aside for now.

    In a large skillet pour about two tablespoons of olive oil and turn on to high heat. When the oil just starts to smoke, take the roast out of the marinade and drop it in the skillet (then step back). Turn heat down to medium high, and brown on one side for five minutes, then flip and brown it for five more minutes. Turn off the heat and let the roast rest for a minute.

    Here’s the fun part. line the bottom of the crockpot with the celery stalks, then enough carrots to cover the bottom. Now, take the roast out of the skillet and plop it into the crockpot on top of the carrots and celery. Cram your two onions between the roast and the side of the pot, and then dump in your potatos. Your potatos shouldn’t be so high they’re overflowing (your top should fit snugly). Right before you turn your crockpot on and put the lid on, pour the beef broth over the whole thing.

    Turn your crockpot on high, and leave alone for no less than 5 hours (I think mine was in for 7 or 8). When it’s done cookin’, plop the whole mess, minus the celery on a big platter and serve. You’ll freakin’ love it.

  • Hi, Nice to Meet You

    I’m off being social and planning for my trip (waiting patiently for my passport, buying touristy books about Dublin, trying to figure out what the weather is like in Eastern Ireland in early December, putting together a shopping list, and trying to find things to do with the 18 hours of touristy time we’ll have there). I’m really excited about the trip, can you tell?

    Now the social bit… I realized something rather important about myself while driving around the beltway with half a ton of grain in the back of my truck. I was talking to a guy from church who was in the Army for a looong time about growing up moving around all the time. He said, “Well, I guess then you view all your relationships as temporary then, don’t you?” Ummmm, huh? I what? I… well, yeah… I do, don’t I? It’s caused a tidal wave of emotion as I look back over my life at all the friends I’m unceremoniously forgotten about as soon as I left a place. It was a shock to my system, to say the least.

    So, what am I doing about it? I’m trying to actually build relationships outside of my family. We had a family over for dinner after church on Sunday (I made a roast to end all roasts, no one needs to even bother anymore. I made the best roast EVER), we hosted a dinner party a few weeks ago, and we’ve been invited over for dinner this week to someone else’s house. I realized that I’ve been more introverted than I want to be. I’m working on changing that… So, as I spend more time in meatspace, and on nonDependant, I may spend less time here. I know you’re all disappointed.