The one with no title.

Greetings, from the slowest computer on the planet!

I am on the verge of caving and actually spending €15 to get a week's worth of wireless access, even though I'd have to sit on the stoop of my building to use it... because as much as I love the Post Graduate Reading Room, the insane slowness of these computers is driving me mad!  Mad I say!!

In other news, Dublin is still lovely.  We've had the entire weekend off to recoup our sanity after the 2 day whirlwind tour of Belfast, which left more than a few of us feeling a bit raw for one reason or another.  One thing I'm finding personally difficult about this experience is that unlike the majority of my fellow students, I've been here before.  Particularly in dealing with a place like Belfast, which has such a mottled history, it seems that most of my compatriots are still processing this information on a very emotional level... which I've done already.  I'm approaching much of this work from a very different place, mentally, and that can be alienating.

I had my little emotional breakdown on Friday night, and Slater walked me around campus in the drizzle as I chainsmoked and vented my issues, and I'm feeling much better for it.  Yesterday I spent most of the day wandering aimlessly around Temple Bar on my own, which was lovely--though I wish I'd chosen my footwear more wisely... my arse muscles are killing me today!  I bought some pretty jewelry at the Designer's Market, watched some hot breakdancers, and got all my hair chopped off--hooray!  So much easier to manage now!!  Now I just have to figure out what "normal" colour I'm going to dye it before I hit South America.  I don't need to wave my tourist flag for all the Brazilians to see.

Last night we got very drunk.  Snippets of the evening--like sprawling across the cobblestones at Trinity, speaking in Scottish accents while waiting for friends who were buying cheeseburgers, and one of our group nearly getting run over by an ambulance--keep flitting back to me throughout the day.  Hi-lar-i-ous.

Today a few of us wandered over to Marion Square, where artists line the sidewalks on Sundays to sell... well.. art.  Some of it was positively astounding (and positively out of my price range) and some of it was less impressive.  I ended up buying myself a cute little ink drawing of two men hunkering down behind pints of Guiness, and I also found a pretty watercolour to give to my parents.

For the record, I've spent a lot of money this weekend.  A lot.  But by the same token I've barely spent any during the days when we're in class, so I'm thinking it balances out.

And now I should probably repair back to my room and try to work on my Grant Narrative which is due in a few days.  We'll see how productive I'm feeling by the time I get back there.

Oh!  And Round One of postcards went out last week... from the looks of things at least one has found its mark!  I just bought another stack this afternoon, so keep your eyes peeled, and thanks for playing!

Slainte!*

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*That's "cheers!" in Irish