TravelStream™ news feed for member tini1985 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/tini1985 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:49:54 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tini1985/6/1226781960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tini1985/6/1226781960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tini1985/6/1226781960/tpod.html Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:49:54 -0500 Dublin, like.

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Are you ready for this?

Backing up two weeks again, one night me & Will did go to see Burn After Reading, not the greatest of movies but fine, nice enough night.

Then two fridays ago it was Halloween + Allan & Ukongs leaving party at the Barge.
I had gotten a lot more comfortable being in charge of the HR Office and after work hung around for hours waiting for Concetta to come over with scary looking make up and what not.
We were both dressing up as devils getting ready in the girls bathroom and I was all gigglish about putting on a costume. The barge was only so-so in the beginning, shitty music to be honest but a big enough hotel crowd & everyone in a real good mood. First few hours only office staff but then after function ended loads of operational & kitchen people came over. Great times actually, a perfect crowd, an amazing general vibe and loads of drunken fun. I was hanging out with most everyone and got pretty pissed in the end insisting on Pawel to walk me home, which he did with Arek. They ended up coming in for tea and I was real gigglish, soaked from walking home in the rain and half falling asleep on the couch. They left in the early hours and I got myself into the bathroom to get ready for bed but I was really freezing so I turned on the heating, covered myself with a duvet and sat down for a few seconds.
Next thing I know I'm looking at Ali standing in the bathroom door laughing at me and I have no clue what is going on. Turns out they had come back home from work and after realizing I had been in the bathroom for about 30mins they decided to see if I was OK, sure I was, head on my knees crawled up in a duvet in the bathroom sound asleep. Haha, I'm sure that sight made their night ; D

Was incredibly tired the following day as well so went over to 10CH to an empty apartment and fell asleep on the couch watching TV-shows. Then Will called to wake me up and asked me to come out for dinner with him, his sister & soon to be brother in law. I felt like a major wreck but made an effort to sexy up and the four of us went to Rhodes. Nice meal, nice times.
Then me & Will went home for some drinks, got in a great mood again, stopped by Brazil land to put on something semi-sexy and then went down to Dublin 2 for a house party. Once again to be honest I had a hell of a lot better time being just me and Will chatting, drinking and playing tunes than I had at the actual party. Maybe I'm getting old like? Anyways I was exhausted and we didnt stay that long but instead went back home where I stayed for the night.

The following day I had invited a bunch of people over to cook (cook? me?! HA!) Swedish dinner. I was a little bit stressed out about it but in the end only Arek showed up and he ended up cooking the whole dinner himself + bringing amazing cheesecake for dessert so it was just a real nice chill night. : )

Then it was Monday, back to work, back to pretending to be the HR Manager. At that stage I really wasnt that comfortable about it. It was fine but I just, I didnt particularly enjoy all the responsability and being all by myself.
The day was fine, real busy then after coming back home Lukasz called me, obviously already fucked and wanted me to come over to Gabrielas friends house a couple of streets down from mine. And of course I did : )
And what a night, I'm actually smiling right now just thinking back about it. I had more fun than I've had in a really long time, we were just getting really really really fucked up and random neighbours showed up chatting away, playing great tunes and just spacing out big time.
Around midnight or so some headed off and other headed off to bed so Lukasz & I got out of there as well and I ended up going back to his place. Had a nice chill time and didnt get to sleep until 3ish or so. Was still real giggly when the alarm went off at 6.30 and Lukasz got me out of bed to take a taxi home to get ready for work.
Still giggling in the shower, still giggling at breakfast and wasnt until lunch time or so that I was ready to pass out. Funny funny day though : )

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful, the end of it I was in a freakishly sad mood (hormones for sure) and on the thursday as I was helping Will buy a tux I was actually close to crying for no apparent reason at all. Will was such a sweetheart though he knew exactly how to handle me buying me things, giving me candy & alcohol and in the end I was so incredibly greatful to have him in my life. One of the best people ever.

Friday I had actually planned not to go the Barge for once and instead do something healthy but who am I kidding right? Arek caught up with me in canteen for dinner and asked me to come over with him and Greg which of course I did. And of course Allan was there with Sinead. I made sure we all hung out together as there was something of an operational vs administrative vibe happening and after a few pints we were all laughing and discussing stupid stuff (is that guy gay or not? would you chat someone up in Irish?) As the night went on Sinead & Allan took off and Aleksandra, Sophia & Matthias showed up. There were some mistakes and drunken issues happening so the general mood actually dropped substantially and in the end I just went home. Or did I? ; D (for more details contact HR).

Saturday I went over to CH as usual only Will was away for the weekend so I hung out with Steve for most of it, it was nice but all I remember looking back is on Sunday morning when he made me feel incredibly guilty and useless for not doing anything productive on a lovely Sunday. He is probably right but then again, I dont care. If I want to wake up and do absolutely nothing I will god damn it.

Now this was last Sunday, Fernandas birthday and we were having a party at Brazil Land.
Getting ready, balloons, make up, music, moving furniture, the whole lot. I had invited a bunch of people from the hotel but as usual almost no one showed up. There were plenty of people though, my guess is about 40 or so in our little place. I was actually having a great time and when the party seemed to be ending around 3 or so I decided to stay there for the night thinking I would be able to sleep.
Then what happened was the bars closed and all bar staff showed up for the party. And so I spent a couple of hours in bed listening to people being ridicously drunk and screming, laughing, slamming doors, playing music and all that great stuff. Around five or so it all got reasonably quiet and I slept for a few hours, got up, got into the shower and was only semisurprised when Fernanda burst in to throw up. Walked in to the living room where there were random boys sleeping on the floor, cake & drinks all over the walls and carpet and just general discust everywhere. Got ready for the office and had an extremely tired & slow day.
After work went home to CH who had a new couchsurfing hanging out in the living room when I got there. I had been looking forward to falling asleep on the sofa but she was nice enough to chat with and later the boys came home and I fell asleep watching a movie with Will. He woke me up at 6.45 the next morning to tell me to go back to Brazil land and I was actually really really happy to wake up there, felt really well rested and great about everything. I miss living there : (

Then Tuesday I met up with Nathan for drinks at The Village, nice enough. Nothing too eventful just some drinks and then home.
Wednesday I met up with Roberto for drinks at "the pub with the red door" in Temple Bar, nice times again, came home not too late.
Oh yeah! Wednesday also Eva came back from holidays. Really nice to have her back, being back to my intern position but at the same time a whole lot more aware of what is going on and also its great just to have some company in the office! : )
Thursday finishing my dinner as Arek walked past in the corridor he signalled to come drinking in the Barge which I didnt really object too so me, him & small Adam went there for a few pints and I was having a great time as Arek walkd me home not too late.
Was a bit tired then yesterday at work and I got pretty busy, payroll going out and all but nice enough and again I wasnt sure about going to the Barge but again of course I went.
As I came over Sinead was there with Arek, Sophia & Aleksandra. I was in a really really sad mood as I had just gotten some really bad news but Arek got some drinks (Swedish cider even ; ) and as the night progressed I did cheer up somewhat. I was really really really glad to see Andrew a few hours later and have a chat. Henrik also came over with Greg & Meegan. Matthias, small Adam & big Adam were also there and of course Allan showed up in the end even though he had originally ditched us for his new shiny co-workers. I was real tired and not really in a great mood so I left early (and the rest is a story apart).

And here we are today. Saturday the 15th. About a month left in Dublin. And I don't think I want to go : (
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... since I updated this thing and now what I've done is all mixed up.
I'll try to untangle it for ya ...

So back up about two weeks then, I was seriously pissed off about this french guy f-ing me over.
But then at night, Lukasz invited me over for dinner and it was really really really great.
He picked me up at the Spire & we took a taxi to his house, I can't believe how amazing this guy his, he just totally and completely took care of me like. Bought me beers and fed me and just made me feel so incredibly welcome. Lukasz is prob one of the most generous people I've ever met to be honest. He has this ability to offer me something that I didn't even realize that I needed or wanted.
Anyways so we had dinner (a really great meal) and then some beers and I was having loads of fun getting all tipsy so we didn't get out of his place until 11-ish I bet. We took a taxi downtown and stopped to pick up his housemate Mariusz who, as it happens, I had just spoken to the day before to offer a position at the hotel. The three of us walked towards Tripod and came across a bunch of kitchen boys on the street heading in that same direction. I was all fun and games and in a great mood and we met up with Aleksandra & Sophia outside.
Tripod was allright like, OK music, OK people, OK stuff but in comparison with hanging out at Lukasz it wasn't really the same and after not too long Lukasz proposed the three of us to go back to their place so that's what we ended up doing. Again, great times at their place, just chilling and feeling great in general. Lukasz insisted on me staying on the couch, which I semi-did. Meaning I did sleep there for a couple of hours but in the end I woke up early morning and walked out. I just really want to wake up hungover in my own pyjamas in my own house like. I did wake up Lukasz (or so I thought) to tell him I was leaving but even as I was speaking to him I wasn't 100% sure that he was awake and as it turned out when he called me the next day he really wasn't. Oh well, I didn't get killed walking home anyways so it's all good, plus it was a really nice walk, I def enjoy walking around on empty streets. : D
So that was that weekend then ...then.. then Monday.
Monday I randomly got a text from Greg which was a bit surprising since I did def not give him my number. But anyways he proposed to go out for a pint which I wasn't at all against, even though it was Monday like.
We went to some sweet little pub that I quite liked and then moved on to Bruxelles which was allright but a bit loud and crazy for a quiet Monday night drink in my opinion. Well, one pint for me turned into 2 pints whereas for Greg it turned into a whoole lot more. We were def no where near the same stages of drunkenness when the clock was closing in on midnight and I decided to head home. It was fine though, he really seems like a sweetheart if yet a bit lost maybe.

Later that week was the staff party that I surprisingly enough ended up not going to. Along with most staff.
Then... weekend.... hm.. oh yeah, friday I was out with Mariusz. Now, ok, like, going out for a pint is .. it's just going out for a pint. No strings attached right? No obligations.
Well, in my opinion Mariusz was just a little bit to .. physical for my likings. And so I told him. Once or twice. Or maybe even three times. And yeah well. Let's just agree to disagree.
He obviously didn't think he was and that is appearantely just the way you normally act in Poland. Fine. Fair play, I wouldn't know I've never been. Prob won't ever really understand that guy, nor him me as it seems. But that's fine and that's just another experience.
The rest of the weekend I spent chilling, real nice to just relax and do nothing for a while. Of course some of it over at 10 Chancery Hall as well : )

Then last week.
Monday, again Greg asked me out for a pint but I was just too freakin tired and not at all in the mood.
Wednesday though. Wednesday wednesday wednesday : D
The day started out in a whole new way as it was my first day by myself in the office. Eva had left for three weeks holidays and left me in charge. Woah, scary, fun, challenging and everything at the same time. That particular wednesday I also happened to have an intern (yep, irony hello, I have an intern like?). So that day was very interesting and a little bit scary. After work I inteded to hang out around Dublin 2 as me & Will were meeting up at 20.00 for a - wait for it, wait for it - ROBOTNIK GIG!! : D
Yaaaayyy!!!!!!
So I hung around the hotel for as long as possible and thankfully ran into Tonya in the girls locker room and she ended up sticking around with me for hours. What a great girl!! As Will said later on "OMG Martina, you made a female friend?!" And so I did! This girl, without getting into details had, as it turned out, already proven herself more than worthy to be my friend. I also got a bunch of gossip out of her, some completely new, some I already suspected. None of it suitable for the world wide web though.
So, finally walked over to the George Bernard Shaw & met up with Will. We had some pints and waited for quite some time for Chris to get his act together and get on stage. But, gosh when he did : D Hallelujah this is my new hero like. I'm so expecting to here his songs on the radio a couple of years from now and I'm def looking forward to being able to say that 'I was there'. : D
Wandered home w Will in the night a bit wobbly on my high heels singing 'Weird Road' and getting Weird Looks from passers by. But what a night : D

Theeen.. friday.
Of course I ended up in The Barge. It was Andrews stag night so a bunch of none-regular-barge-goers were there as well. Got there real early and as the night progressed people left and other staff who just got off work came in. I was there for the whole of it though and I was actually the only one. Maybe I shouldn't admit then that I was actually in this freakin pub for 8 hours? Anyways I had a great bloody time, and in all fairness Andrew was there for at least 6 of the hours. Around 11 I guess, most operative staff showed up and in the end Lukasz, Mariusz, Arek, Aleksandra & I were left when closing came around. They wanted to go to some other pub and I walked them there but they couldn't get in so when they proposed we'd go to Lukasz & Mariusz I tagged along. It was all good, I was freakishly tired but it was still very very nice and chill. I really like their place even if I'm not the biggest fan of Mariusz I'm just completely in love with Lukasz (in a strictly friendship only way of course) so it balances out. : )
We were all chilled out on the sofas listening to old tunes and I was having coffee (felt I should after several "omg you look DEAD" comments). I did semi fall asleep on the couch and then somewhere around 5 Lukasz proposed the two of us should go down to Cork for the weekend. I of course said yes but I also realized that I was not sober and in desperate need of sleep, shower & packed bag which I told him.
In the end (as usual by now more or less) after getting sick of listening to polish I decided to go home. Lukasz woke me up a coupld of times in the afternoon and told me to go back to sleep, so I did not go to Cork in the end but to be honest it was prob for the best since he ended up staying til Monday evening and came back half dead. ; )

So ... Saturday. Got out of bed around 5 and called Will. We decided to go to the cinema and I crawled into the shower, incredibly tired & lazy like. Eventually made it over to 10 C.H. and we had a major epiphany deciding to go to the Wok Inn for dinner instead of cooking ourselves (nzaa who am I kidding instead of Will cooking). So there we were eating a 7 course meal drinking chinese rice beer and giggling hysterically about these really fat fishes in an aquarium next to us. Borderline normal to be honest.
Was on to Roberto about meeting up to see Burn after Reading but in the end he called to tell us there were no tickets so we just went back home where Steve was back from Belfast with a new object of lust. Bike, that is.
I was exhausted, fell asleep on the couch and barely remember Will (sweeheart :) waking me up to tell me to go home. Refused to move from couch but in the end stumbled into bathroom and then for a change into Steves bed. Don't tell Will but I do like Steves room better. You tell me what girl will say no to candlelight and incense??
I was so happy waking up on Sunday. Just loved it being with the boys, watching Steve drool all over his new bike and Will stressing about going in to the office (which we all know he never will).
Went back to St Augustine Street for a couple of hours and then came back for Sunday night razz (as monday was a red day). Me & Will had some czech beers and played all kinds of music for a couple of hours before heading towards Buskers to say hello to Ali & Fernanda. Not the loveliest pub of all but mission accomplished we headed to Sth William Street. And it was f-ing cold as well.
The night really wasn't happening so as we ran into Steve & co on George Street and decided to head back home I was real happy about it. Came back, had some coffee & toast and hung around for quite some time in the end watching Steve with his new bike again. Real soothing to be honest.

Monday - red day - woke up and got ready to get over to this Mind, Body, Spirit expo. Steve called and wanted to come along so we walked down there. Great walk, great weather, real cold but great.
Expo real good times as well. Loads & loads & loads of rainbow rhythms and I'm glad Steve came coz he seemed very much in tune with the general atmosphere. Tried this real cool yoga / meditation thing & listened to some great music. Steve of course bought some rainbow coloured items for the apartment, which I'm sure Will would not have approved of : ) All in all great times.

Steve invited me over for some soup so spent evening again at Ellis Quay, real nice, and, believe it or not I don't really like going to work these days. Being in charge all by myself is actually all it's cranked up to be. It's a bit scary, it's a bit too much and .. I don't know.. I just don't really enjoy it. Plus, it's no fun being alone in the office either.
It's been OK so far, I have had some minor scares but I've gotten through it. Had this real scary episode yesterday where some managers stormed into my office real upset over a contract issue. That's when the 23 year old baby intern inside just really want to run away and hide but, whats that expression.. fake it until you make it, right?

Alright thats it, I'm gonna shut up now. Hope you enjoyed, I'll try to update more often.
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Then Fernanda called to tell me Bruno & Chris were coming home to stay for the night and would collect their pillows and blankets that I was currently using so I gave Will an emergency call and I was of course more than welcome to come back home for one more night.

I still figured I should go out, it being Saturday and all so I pulled myself together put on some real upbeat music and got my high heels on. First stop - Czech Inn to meet up with Jiri and Sam from the hotel party. The place was rocking and the boys were supernice to me. I spent most of the time talking to Sam, real nice guy and more important smart, educated, kind of sweet and funny. As it was getting late I really had to move on to meet up with work people but to be honest I wasn't all that keen on saying goodbye.

It was almost 2 when I arrived at The Odeon and Kinga and Greg had to more or less drag me inside past the guards. Maika, Aleksandra and Arek were also there and I spent the final half hour with them having a nice enough time. Then me, Maika, Kinga and Greg all got into a taxi and went to Gregs place. Nice, chill, music, scones, beers. Melllowish but definitely good times. I walked Kinga home and ended up having some morning tea at her house. Stumbled home around 7 and felt really great about my weekend. Finally getting somewhere with the nightlife, coming home in the morning, going to electronic music events. It's obviously still not Paris but you know, it's good enough.

Slept way to little and hung out at the boys place all Sunday hiding under my blanket and hating the fact that it was ridiculously sunny and I should have been out enjoying the day. Finally walked "home" in the evening and went to bed real early.

Monday swoshed by, nothing to interesting, Tuesday had drinks after work with Sophia and Maarten. Niceish mellowish but I don't think the three of us are the optimum social gathering to be honest. Anyways it was fine.
Wednesday then...
Wednesday I met up with Sam at Diceys Garden after work.
And... it was great. Great times. I smiled most all the time, again he had lots of interesting things to say, he listened to me, we laughed at the same stuff. Really great times. Seriously.
Then I walked him to his bus stop and as his bus was approaching - he kissed me.
Probably not very surprising and to be honest quite nice. Not a very big deal but definitely appreciated.
Took me more or less 15 mins to walk home and I did not however appreciate that coming home I had one missed call and one text from him. Looking at my phone it started to ring (guess who?) and what did he want? Just to tell me that he wanted to see me the following day and that he was going to call me to arrange something. Very different from the casual way we left things half an hour earlier. No sense of choking yet .... :S

Anyways Thursday I sent him a text saying I couldn't make it and instead I went over to the boys place and snuggled up with Steve and Will, having them get me into a great mood. Steve was as usual up for Thursday night raz and Will had again been stood up by the Chilean guy.
Yesterday. Friday. Feeling kind of sick, I have come down with a bit of a cold but obviously I am not in any position to take out any sick days so I'm just powering through it. I didn't really have any plans to go out but then as the clock was ticking closer to 5 Andrew found me and offered to take me to the Barge. I didn't really see why not and Karin & Aleksandra came along as well for the first hour or so. Me & Andrew stayed around for a few more hours though, woah, probably 5 hours come to think of it. He is amazing though and we got into a serious rut of "you're the best" "no you're the best". He is really awesome, I feel really privileged to be able to ask him for things in general.
OK so then after those pints Andrew insisted on me drinking obviously I got on to Sam. Casually of course just asking for his plans for the night or whatever.
We decided on meeting up later on and so I wandered over there no clue what to expect really. Well. Here's what happened -
Met up, talked for a couple of minutes and then he kissed me. (smile).
That was going on for a while and then we walked over to some bar in Temple Bar, he got me a drink, we talked for a couple of minutes and then he kissed me (smile again).
After a significant amount of time spent kissing he says 'I shouldn't really be doing this'.

OK, why not?


(Here it comes .... )


'Because I have a girlfriend'



Oh no he didn't.
OMG was I upset, annoyed, frustrated, pissed off and confused.
I turned around grabbed my jacket & walked out of the bar.
He followed me outside wanting to "explain".
And I was just sooo, I just really liked him so I gave him the opportunity to "explain".
Mistake. Only made things worse. There was nooo explanation there, just "I shouldn't have kissed you" "I wanted to tell you earlier, that's why I wanted to see you on Thursday" "At least I'm telling you now".

And so what? What? What?!!
What the hell was he planning on with me? I'm not ever, ever EVER EVER EVER EVER going to be someones stupid little idiot mistress on the side. No one will ever ever ever ever treat me like any less than I am.
F-ing idiot!
And that poor girlfriend. I really feel for her. Here I am flirting away, having drinks, kissing her boyfriend like. It's horrible !! I feel so incredibly sorry for her and I tell ya if I had her email I probably would have let her know a true word or two on her amazing boyfriend.
Isch.
This sucks.
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Home alone again. Boys may walk in at any second and I seriously can't write anything while they're here, they're just way too fun ; )
Wonder if I could blame them for the fact that I havent even started on my internship report which half of it is due like today ... : S

Anyways back to my superinteresting life then, shall we?

Being back to work was great, I had really missed it and I loved being superbusy those first days having to catch up on everything.

Then last friday I went to the Barge after work. Andrew took me again, I kind of like being "taken" there and not just walking in all alone and Andrew. Omg he is just such an amazing guy, I'm def falling in love with him (in a strictly friendship only, total respect and impressed kind of way). I just had some amazing (if yet tipsy) conversations with him and I just.. gah, he's just so freakin great like : D
I had loads of fun, some great times with Sophia as well and of course all the other people there. No amazing events or what not and going to the bathroom I suddenly realized I was a bit more drunk than I would've liked to so I grabbed my stuff and walked home. (Isn't that great like? For those of you who know me from my horrible drunken years you'll know what an awesome sense of pride I felt actually getting out of there for being overserved).
I was supposed to go to Pedros leaving party but being drunk and all I never went. I texted Toni the next day but he hasn't come back to me so I really hope he isn't pissed or something ...
So I came home and Steve was there, also home from his night of adventures. Surprised he didn't bring a girl home actually, he's been looking for that for ages now.
Anyways I loved him being there and we had some food and a nice chat, he's such a sweetheart : )

Then saturday, just chilled most of the morning and then went to see a room in a house. Horrible stuff. Reminded me of some of the more dodgy places I've lived (Sevres and the likes... ) the whole place smelled of urine, curtains were drawn everywhere and the bathroom was more brown than white. Isch.
Later that afternoon went to see another place though. This appartment next door to Christchurch with a brazilian brother and sister living there. Seemed great so I told them I'd move in. Still def feels like the righ move, even more so as the girl., Fernanda, gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek as I was leaving. Now there's the home spirit I'm looking for!
So that was just great, got me into a very good mood. Came home and Steve was having dinnerish with this guy Nabi (I think) supernice fella, I hope I get to see more of him. I educated Stephen on the wonders of facebook before getting ready to go for drinks with Roberto, this spanish guy I work with.
Stephen of course was his normal cynical self ("He just wants to boink you") but I assured Steve that Roberto has a girlfriend and all is well like.

Oh wait ! I forgot this very important part!!
So coming back from my new apartment I stopped by SPAR to buy some water and there was a major line as only one of the tills was open. This random guy (super spanish looking) was at the end of the line sort of wandering around so I asked him if he was waiting in line and sure enough a very clear spanish accent told me that he was yeah.
His friends showed up with random items of food and they started this conversation on their amazement about food prices and how could water be freakin 2 euros like? All in spanish of course but it was a real amusing conversation to be honest and they were being sooooo amazingly spanish I just had to smile at them like.
Now that part of my day will be of very great importance because theeeeen....

Back to me going out with Roberto (guy from work with girlfriend).
I was meeting him at the Spire at 9pm but I got there earlish and as I was waiting who do I see?

Guesses?

Anyone?


No?!


Of course its the boys from SPAR!


So I'm sort of looking at them, they're sort of looking at me and as they walk by I just have to smile like, so one of them comes up and we start chatting. Turns out they're from Argentina, living in Barcelona and here for a weekend of fun. I give Marcelo (the cuter one) my number and we make plans to meet up later. Good stuff : )

Then Roberto shows up and conversation is actually going great we have loads to talk about, he's supernice and very social and what not. We go to the Porthouse and just have great times really, I bet we were there for hours. Well, as we're walking to another venue he tells me he's been at the park that day with his girlfriend, oh no, I mean ex-girlfriend. No shit.
Anyways no worries, the night was still awesome, we kept on going to the Mezz where Roberto insisted on having tequila shots. Yay.
Then Marcelo calls and he's literarelly just around the corner so we go meet up with the Argentinian crowd. Of course Marcelo is more or less into me and I'm tipsy and what not talking to every single person in the bar (seriously everyone) so I was actually a bit worried the next day that Roberto would have felt left out or that I was rude. (Turned out later on though that he wasn't all that sober either and he seemed almost guilty about it so it's all good).

So Roberto took off and the bar closed (still amaaazed on how everything closes here at 2.30!). I was wondering the streets for a bit with los Argentinos and I did even manage to find them an afterparty but they didn't seem too interested so in the end Marcelo walked me home and that was that. More or less ; )

Then Sunday, great day, seriously great day! It was one of those amazing fallish kind of days, sunny but really chilly air like. So I brough along Stephen to Farmleigh for this foodmarket / live music thing and it was really really great!
We walked all the way there, like a one hour walk all throughout Phoenix Park with yellow and red leaves falling all around and families out with dogs and gah just so Sundayish!
We got there and had some great organic food, walked around the place, really nice and genuine, felt just like being in the countryside complete with cattle and even donkeys. Then we took this one hour tour on - wait for it - trees! This tree enthusiast took us around and showed us different types of trees and talked about them for a bit. Supernice and it just felt right. The one hour walk back to the house was also really great to be honest and we were of course all into trees and checking out various ones commenting on their leaves and sizes. (According to Stephen, in Ireland, small is beautiful ;).

Got back home and Will was back from his weekend away with work, all hungover watching The Office (I will most likely never understand what is so funny about that show...)
We had a nice meal and went to bed earlish.

Monday, great times at work, seriously I am LOVING my work colleagues. Everyone is great I wish I could just hang out with all of them and get to know them. This Monday was actually when I realized that I might be seriously sad about leaving them in December. May even shed a few tears. I don't particularly love Dublin nor my private life (not to say that its not totally fine) but the times I've spent with work people at the Barge or just in the staff canteen or hallways has really been some of the highlights. Along with Will & Steve then of course who are probably some of the most amazing people I've met in my life.

After work went home, hung out with the boys for a while, then went out for drinks with couchsurfer.com guy number 5 - Tommy.
We went to The Globe for a beer and I had a really really great time. Way better then I would have expected like. Tommy is really smart and kind of deepish like but still in a very positive way. We seem to share a lot of the same values and just generally did a lot of analyzing on whatever we subject came up. Ended up staying out for hours and walked home in a lovely drizzle.

Nothing compared to the amazing rain I walked home in yesterday though, it was seriously great! Again I had an amazing day at work and ended up staying an hour after I was done just chatting to people as they were coming out for smokes. God they're great people.
Anyways half way home or so it started to rain, but the sun was still out and it wasnt really cold and I just got really wet but I was loving it! It felt so freaking pure and I felt great just laughing out load and feeling really grateful on how great my life is.
Got back home and Steve came home shortly afterwards, we made dinner together and just had a great mellow early night like. One thing I love about Stephen is how he's very into setting the mood, he's all chill music, lit candles and insense and just rainbow rhythms all the way. : )

And thats it . Here we are. Wednesday.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tini1985/6/1219191420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tini1985/6/1219191420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tini1985/6/1219191420/tpod.html Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:41:13 -0400 Dublin, like.

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Dublin, Ireland

I know
I know
I know

It's been way way way too long since I updated this thing.
It's just... it's not the same.
It's not St Barths.
Nothing really happens here. I haven't been threatened to be put in the hospital, I haven't been doing any crazy partying, no Wet-T-Shirt contests or hitch-hiking on the back of a truck or even just a nice drink on the beach (HA, what beach?!)

Anyways, Dublin is really not that bad, it's totally fine and I'm having an OK time.
Compared to St Barths this is about as much fun as looking for my glasses but you know, without comparing it could be so much worse. : D

So ... where was I ...
Right.
Moved to Phoenix Manor.

Well, the living situation has gone from OK, to not-so-OK, to kind-of-sucky. The czech girls spend all their time in their room, I've seen them about three times I'd say. Same goes for Chris & Darren.
When moving in as I mentioned I think, there was absolutely nothing in the bed, no pillows, cover, nothing. So I spent a couple of great nights with a couch-cushion as a pillow and my (somewhat wet) towel as a blanket.
Not that I'm complaining though, living on the edge right? ; D
So Chris got back and dug out a duvet for me and Will was such a sweetheart to buy me pillows. Then after a week Darren got back from his holidays and went out to get me sheets. (This may seem like a very boring part of my blog but trust me, it will be of importance later on).

I also realized that the water pressure in the shower is almost non-existing so it takes forever and ever to get my hair wet, rinsed, rinsed again. In other words, showering is really not as much fun as its supposed to be.
Other great little treats are a leak in the cealing. Yeah I was wondering why there was a pot full of water in the stairs. Now I know. Oh, not to mention all our great little pets - this spiders. Spiders are our friends. Great craic.

Oh, remember Tony? The portuguese guy who took me to a masquerade party?
Great guy, great friends, real nice people.
Anyways I went over to his place for dinner a couple of weeks ago, had a great meal with him and Kristoffer (also supernice guy). Kris went to bed and I was about to fall asleep on their couch so I got up to leave when Tony says "Don't leave yet, I haven't even...."

Who can guess the end of that sentence?

Anyone?


Anyone?


Yes, you sir, in the back, with the green sweater.

That is correct!
The answer is "I haven't even tried to kiss you yet"!
Good job, sir, you win a weekend trip for two to our beatiful resort in Marbella.


OK, back to my life.
So yeah, turns out Antonio, is now the third guy from couchsurfing.com that I've met, and who's tried to kiss me.
Great stuff.
Awkward.
Isch.

I got out of their OK though, I wasn't drunk enough to leave him to it.
Last week he invited me to dinner again "I'm all alone in the house" ... but I actually never went.
He seems like a sweetheart though, I hope we can be friends at least.

What else...

Work is great fun.
No seriously I mean it.
Time actually flies by, I have loads to do and actual responsability for important things which is awesome.
And I feel like I'm on top of it as well (not like, wops, I accidentally lost the hotel 2500 euros: see Travel Blog St Barths for more info on that one).
+ the work people are amazing, I really really hope to make friends with some of them.
My boss is great as well, she's young and fun and very very disciplined and organized which I really like most of the time ; ) I'm so glad I changed the internship I can definately learn a whole lot here, and I've come to really love HR, I could totally see myself doing this in the future!

So yeah, about Phoenix Manor.
Darren then comes back from his holidays and hands me the sheets that he bought.
He also has a little chat with me on how I still have only paid half of the deposit and how that's not the way things work around here. And I explain to him that the other half I have on a check that I need to put into a bank account and in order to open a bank account I will need a written statement from our landlord saying that I live here. Great, no problem, that can be arranged, says Darren.
He's still annoyed though and explains to me how terrible its been for him being on holidays with the big issue of my bedcloths and no one wanting to take responsability for it, no one knowing where it all went.
Sure, poor Darren, I'm sure he had a rough time on the beach while I was shivering under my wet towel. Perspective anyone??

Then last weekend I met my fourth couchsurfing.com guy - PJ.
To be honest I was almost anticipating getting kissed, I think I might even have shaved my legs, what do you know, nzaa I'm kidding ; )
It was pooring down as usual (think it's actually been raining everyday but two or three since I got here) and I met up with PJ and Aoife at Trinity College. We walked about a bit and they both seemed great, I was actually delighted to have met such nice people!
We went to Purtys kitchen where we met Shai, Markus and Carlos and had a beer and listened to some live music. Still great times, a bit loud so not that much conversation going on but fine.
Then we moved on to The George. Gay club. Karaoke night. May sound like a fun night but trust me it wasn't.
So we get there and more people show up on the way and it appears as if everyone already know each other except for me Shai and Carlos, so for some reasone the three of us get sort of cut out of the group and left at a table by ourselves.
Now, they were nice guys and all but my mood sank considerably with being ignored by the rest of the group and it didn't help that after coming back from the bathroom Shai and Carlos were gone as well.
Oh yeah I was doing the bitch face alright.
After ten minutes or so of standing by myself at the table (thats another thing about gay clubs, all guys just look right through you and when a girl looks at you it's just creepy - so you end up by yourself) Carlos came back and was like "where have you been?". Here. Obviously. (biiiitchfaaaace)
And the karaoke. God. See I really really really get annoyed with transvestites. Why do they have to be soooo dramatic and over the top?
I don't care if you're straight or gay or dresses like a man or a woman or a camel but making jokes on prostitution and drugs every 5 seconds is not fun it's just tacky. And that was exactly what karoke was all about. It was blowjob this and bend over that and look at me and look at my body and whops parts of it fell out.
Finally karaoke was over and when I turned around, of course, everyone was gone again. I found them outside smoking, said goodbye to my fellow outcasts Shai and Carlos and completely ignored the rest of the group. Ha, serves them right. Victory! ; D
Tried to met up with Jul but he was being all french and so I just walked back to PM in the pooring rain with one of my shoes actually falling apart. Half of it was gone by the time I stepped inside my door : )

The next day, last Sunday, Will got back from London and the french girls returned to the appartment after traveling around Ireland, so I called down to say hello. To Will & Steve more than anything.
We had a nice chat and ended up going to Hughes for some drinks. Great place. Amazing music. You come visit me and I'll definately take you there : )

Then last week... hm.. I mean, it's not like I have all that much free time on my hands.
I wake up around 7, leave the house at 7.30, get to work at 8.30, have breakfast there (for free!) work from 9-5, have dinner there (for free!), leave around 5.30, get home around 6.30.
Then just tidy up, do laundry, look for another place to live - oh yeah, I haven't even told you about that yet!

Soo... I was getting more and more depressed from living here. Seriously I get home, the place is always dark, there is never anyone here and if they are here they are obviously always in their rooms. The vibes here are awful, it's as if the house has died and the spirit has gone to heaven.
And then one day, I got a text from Darren saying something like 'hurry up with the 200 you owe us coz its the end of the month and I need money to eat'.
I just got soooo sick of it.
He appearantely remembered absolutely nothing about the whole signed-statement-that-I-live-here-thingy.

Texting went something like this:
"Could you please hurry up with the 200 euros"
"I'm still waiting for the statement of adress"
"Well, it's the end of the month and money is pretty tight"
"OK, what do you need me to do?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I thought you were going to help me with the statement but I can totally do it myself just give me the number to the landlord and I'll take care of it"
"What are you talking about? I have not heard anything about this"

I was ready to kill this guy, honestly, but consulted it with my lawyer first who adviced me to wait until night and try to make it look as if I was sleepwalking while killing him as that is the most effective way to get me off the hook in a court.

A couple of hours later I texted Darren:
"I will try to get you the money tomorrow, actually I will be moving out in the end of August, you were right I need a more sociable living situation"

Darren then freaks out:
"That's fine. The way you spoke to me in your text earlier was very surprising and disrespectful, it's not my fault that you can't lodge a check. Being social covers how you treat people and from my experience you don't do that as well as you might think."

Darren keeps on going:
"By the way Martina, I think being social starts with saying hello when you come home, rather than going upstairs ignoring everyone else."

(The reason for that I'm not sure of, I think what happened was I was completely soaked, so I opened the door, SAID HELLO, then spent a couple of minutes taking off my shoes and socks outside the door while Darren was standing a couple of meters into the hallway with his back turned towards me - not turning around, not saying hello - and then when I walked into the actual house I was kind of freaked out about him not aknowledging me so I didn't say hello a second time as I walked up the stairs)

I then texted Darren back:
"Have I done something wrong? Why are you being so mean to me?"

Darren again:
"Maybe its a culture clash, I don't know. I take it personally the you're moving out. As soon as I got back on thursday and saw you had no bed linen I went to town and got what was needed, I didn't even get a thanks for that! You came in this evening and didn't say a word to us! Look it doesn't matter now, you're leaving in a few weeks. Good night"

It's great how when you travel around the world you get to meet so many interesting charachters, isn't it? ; )

So I am now again looking for somewhere to stay.
It's gonna be great though, the first two weeks of September Steve and Will are going to Israel (will miss them loads that's for sure) and I get to apartment-sit, obviously nothing to do with free rent from my part, someone needs to take care of Darren! (plant not rapist)

So last Thursday, the sun was shining (I know, Hallelujah!!) and so I called Will and we met up the Dice Bar with his friend John and some random guy Terry. We had a few beers and what not and Will was actually banned from the appartment as Steve wanted some "alone-time" with this american couchsurfer girl Melissa.
So I mean, it was only logical that Will would come home with me. I was glad for the company in the house of doom and besides I really owe him a place to stay!
We were about to watch Across the Universe (best movie ever!) but he was drunk and what not and couldn't shut up so in the end I just fell aslee.
Great hangover the next day at work as well. Isch.
I'm going to be completely honest here though and say that it was actually a great feeling to have Will there in the morning as opposed a freakishly quiet house with an eire ghost-like feeling to it.

Then this past weekend, come to look at the length of this entry it seems like I have actually been up to things. Or maybe it's all just bullshit. Oh well.
Saturday it rained as hell. Not really surprising so I grabbed my umbrella and went vintage shopping. Made all kinds of finds, bought loads of clothes for only 20 euros. Then called Will and had him come meet me for coffee.
We had gret craic actally and ended up going to the cinema - The Dark Knight. Three hours solid action and Batman doing his usual soulsearching. OK movie, exactly what I expected.
We passed by Cobblestone to say hello to some of Wills friends, then got back to the appartment where we both met this mysterios Melissa for the first time. Cute girl. Very american. Very. American.
The four of us went back down to Cobblestone which was very crowded and hot and just not at all what I was in the mood for so I left very early.

Sunday I once again took a stroll around town and once again it was pooring down.
I invited myself to dinner at the boys place and Will cooked us all a great, great meal as Melissa and Steve were mysteriously camped out in his room all day. Not at all the Steve I know. No Rainbow Rhythms in that at all!
Anyways had a great meal, loads of fun, really tired and giggly, hard times walking back up the mountain to Phoneix Manor.

Then Monday, yesterday, same old story. Today same thing.
Work is fun though, and I bet the walking is doing me good, I really need to get back in to shape.

That's it folks, if you read this far you get a free lollipop in the mail when you subscribe to my newsletter.
Or not ; D

Be safe!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tini1985/6/1217904420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tini1985/6/1217904420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tini1985/6/1217904420/tpod.html Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:39:19 -0400 Dublin, like.

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Dublin, Ireland

Tuesday.

Stayed in all day just watched movies and rested, great day, really. In the evening these two rrench girls arrived to couchsurf, leaving me in sort of a conendrum on where to sleep. I left to meet up with Darren at Cobblestone anyways and he ended up buying me a hot whiskey for my throat despite my very clear indications that whiskey tend to make me sick. We had a nice chat, he seems ok like, just that he's clearly not at all into planning ahead or keeping things clear or simple.

Wednesday.

Not much happened to be honest. Darren, of course expressing his need to complicating everything, randomly in the afternoon lets me know that he needs 400 euros that same evening. 400 euros that I did not have. I offered him 200 if he came to get them himself. Which he did. So me, Steve, Will, french girls + Darren all had a nice evening get together in a very small appartment. Thankfully Will was being a sweetheart and took great care of Darren, chatting on about politics and laws and what not.

Thursday.

Work was real nice, had a very productive day and learnt a lot. Got out of it only to discover two new and thrilling texts from Darren. Nr. 1 - 'Good morning and hope you re well! Having seen the very relaxed, student style flat your friends have, it made me compare with our house. Its quite a different style, prob because me and chris are older. We tend to do our own thing alot rather than cooking for each other etc. I just wana make sure you re ok with that and to manage your expectation.'
Nr. 2 'Hi! Any views on my earlier mesage would be welcome!'
I was just fed up with the whole thing and had no clue on what my views would be, but, following very strong advice from Steve I did reply. Eventually. Later that night. A bit tipsy.
I was actually out with some people from work, Franzis leaving party at a pub just across the street from the Hilton. Had a nice evening, Andrew and Henrik really made most of it for me, they seem like real nice and fun guys, looking forward to be working with them actually.

Friday.

Woke up with Will as usual by then. Had an amazing day at work actually, very very busy but loads of fun and again learnt a lot. As it was Franzis last day there were some tears and present exchanging and in the end I even managed to persuade her to come to the Barge after work even though she was terribly hung over and hadn't eaten all day.
The Barge was great fun actually, way better than the night before to be honest, a whole other crowd, some girls from front office that were real nice and a great atmosphere.
I still left earlish to get back home to just Will actually as the french girls had left and Steve had once again gone off to some music festival. Me & Will though had a great time, real nice just being us in the appartment again, we had some beer and lots of laughs and ended up watching a movie and going to bed (me in Steves of course).

Saturday.

Woke up in a great mood! Made lots of fun of Will all throughout breakfast and analyzed him to bits and pieces. I bet he was seriously annoyed with me but he was still that same sweetheart he's shown to always be and helped me move all my things into my new house, Phoenix Manor.
This house is quite different to say the least, one of the guys who live here I still haven't actually met and everyone keeps their doors closed at all times. No sounds, no sights, no life almost. This will take some getting used to I bet.
Besides that upon my arrival I realized that there were no pillows or cover or sheets or anything in the bed. Great. More texting back and forth with Darren which hasn't really gotten me anywhere as, today, 3 days later, still all I have is the mattress.
Will had some tea and a cigarrette and then left. Strange. No more appartment, no more boys. Felt strange, a bit lonely to be honest.
Unpacked my things and still didn't feel at home at all. I did hear the girls were home and eventually ran into them in the kitchen, they do seem very nice but they still stay in their room most of the time.
Anyways I decided this was no way to spend the evening and so I made plans with another couchsurfing-com guy - Antonio. He picked me up and took me to his house and then over to his neighbours where we had some beers with Pedro and Peter. Great guys, had loads of fun with them : )
We all then went on to a masquerade party in a mansion, very nice people, spent most of the party outside drinking cold beer though so a bit chilly to say the least. Antonio took me home not too late and in the end I was very glad I had gone out with him. I was also tipsy enough not to care too much about sleeping flat on a mattress using my towel as a cover.

Sunday.

Woke up and had no motivation whatsoever to do anything. I blame the house : D
Watched a movie, had some breakfast, intended to do laundry but that never happened, walked around the neighbourhood a bit and just generally stared at the ceiling for a scary amount of time.
As night began to fall I realized I needed to do something with my life and so that is when randomly, another guy from couchsurfing.com (see the pattern yet??) asked me to come out with him that night. Sure thing : )
I walked into the centre and he took me to this french style birthday party at a french restaurant with all french people and oh, did I mention that he is french? Enter: Jul.
He seemed very nice at first if yet not too attentive, his friends were also totally OK though and I was having a pleasant enough time. We then moved on to Samsara, this bar at a fancy hotel where I for some reason ended up paying Jul's entrance fee. Hm. Don't know how we feel about this.
Anyways he did get me a beer later on and I don't know what he put in there because the next thing I know he's kissing me and I'm not really fighting him off either.
I really didn't feel the vibe though and him seeming to be either very drunk or with the memory of a goldfish, asking the same questions over and over again + going on and on and on about how we should get out of there to have some tea or just "talk" did not make me groove either. Finally getting the message though Jul actually got me a taxi which was very nice especially compared to the idea of walking all the way back home, and I got him to drop me off at the boys appartment even, just loving the idea of not having to go "home" to my mattress and anti-social house mates.
The boys were both away for the weekend anyways and so I just made myself some toast, borrowed a pyjamas and slept like a baby in Steves bed. Am I taking advantage of them yet? I sure hope not but I would see how this could be taking too much liberty.

Monday.

As thanks though I did clean up the place and did the dishes before leaving. And besides they did let me keep the keys for the weekend, what did they expect?
Will, still that amazing sweetheart, had bought me some pillows that I took "home" with me and of course ended up falling asleep as soon as I got back.
I woke up from Jul texting me and did not at all feel inclined to text him back until I relized he was offering to take me out to lunch. Free food. Yes!
Very late lunch though, probably around 5ish or so but it was OK. French guy was way nicer than the night before, he was surely very drunk. He wasn't the most talkative person though and for some reason I wasn't my usual 1000-questions self either so we had kind of a quiet chill afternoon. He took me to some sidewalk cafe which was allright and then we went to St Patricks Park and just hung out, sort of talking, sort of not. It was kind of nice though, something I didn't expect.
In the end he went off to have dinner and I stopped by the boys appartment to hear all about their weekend and return the keys. My keys :( Gone :( Sad :(
No all I have are the keys to my new "home".
Anyways I know I'm welcome to call down whenever I want, which I most likely will.
I really need to get some sleep right now, tomorrow will be my first really long walk to work. Yay.

Goodnight.
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Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

So.
After 27 hours of traveling I was back in Sweden where I stayed for four days, unpacking, washing and repacking. Doing various medical check-ups (including getting a moll removed which might be of importance later on in this blog) and seeing various friends. All fun and hectic and very jet-lagged as I found myself for the third time in Dublin airport last Monday the 21st.

I had last minute found this guy Stephen on Couchsurfing.com who had promised to put me up for a couple of nights but Steve wasn't coming home until later that night so I figured I'd be better off just hanging out at the airport for a couple of hours, and to be honest I did feel quite at home there anyways : )

Eventually I made my way into the city centre and rang Steves doorbell without any answer, called Steves cellphone and still no answer. My suitcase had just lost one of its wheels so I decided to just wait outside the door and pray Steve would show up, which he did thank God a couple of minutes later.

Spent a couple of hours with Stephen, he made me tea and we chatted about most anything. Very interesting and peculiar man, Steve. But also hilarous and extremely goodhearted.
As he started making us dinner I didn't feel comfortable just sitting there waiting for my free food so I did the washing up and while I was busy the roommate, Will, came home and Kevin came over with his bike. The three of them then spent about three hours trying to get one of the pedals off said bike. May sound tedious but it was actually a lot of fun and I did feel very blessed for having ended up with such nice guys. Later on we all went down to the pub on the corner, Dice Bar and had a drink before closing, which, to my surprise is at 23.30. Who said Irish people were big on drinking?

The tuesday, the guys were already comfortable enough to give me my own set of keys to the place and when I woke up they were already gone off to work (both of them unsatisfied lawyers). I went to see a possible room for me and ended up chatting for hours with Darren living there, very nice place, a bit outside of the centre though and Darren later on has shown to have some pretty big issues on clear conversations and decision making.
I also spent some time walking around Dublin, very nice little place, I think I will like living here : )
In the evening the boys came home and Steve cooked me dinner again, his brother Brian came over with his bike to fix something and Kevin came too as the four of them were taking off on their bikes the following day to some artsy music festival in England. Will and myself, not really involved in the preparations for the trip went down to another pub, Cobblestone. Nice place. Very irish : )

Wednesday, my first day of "work". Said goodbye to Stephen in the morning and then walked myself down to the Hilton. Easy enough to find. Arrived and Eva came to pick me up in the reception. She introduced me to Franzi, the intern that I will be replacing and Franzi took me around the hotel showing me all the daily routines and duties, introducing me to different staff. I really did like it alot, apart from the fact that the office is in the basement with no natural light whatsoever. Came back home and Will made me dinner, don't really remember that night even, seems very distant to be honest.

Thursday, more of the same I'd say, walking down to Hilton, working, meeting more people, coming back home, Will made me dinner, actually Wills friend Alfie came over I think. Very nice guy, very funny : )

Then Friday, gotten to know Franzi and Eva a bit better and knew my way around the hotel a bit more so work was really good, got some cake also since it was someones birthday : )
Then walking back home, I did the blondest thing ever. Almost don't want to put it on my blog but you'd probably get a laugh out of it.. I went into a supermarket to get some wine and tuna, and when I left I forgot that I had crossed the street before going inside so I took a left, thinking that I was still going towards home. And then, being the way I am, I kept walking for about 35 minutes before I finally caved in and had a look at the map.
I was so exhausted already and realizing that I would probably have to walk for over an hour to get back home I was seriously close to tears. I did it though. Good work out : )
Oh, that wasn't the only blonde thing I did friday though! Being somewhat stressed in the morning I grabbed what I thought were "my" keys on the table, but which later turned out to have been Wills keys. Yep, so the apartment where I am staying for free with these guys I have never met before was unlocked all day friday all thanks to me. Nice move. Will didn't even get upset about it, can't belive how nice that guy is!
I cooked dinner on friday and we had a very nice meal before going out to this bar, Dakota where we met up with some of his friends. Not the best place to be honest, but it was a nice time and I'm glad I got to see it..

Saturday.
So, Will had always wanted to do one of the touristbuses but had never really had a reason for it so I kindly enough, voluntereed to be the reason and therefore Saturday afternoon we went on a Viking Splash Tour of Dublin. It was OK, cool to have seen about of the city, not the best guide, kind of shitty water part of it but all in all it was OK. We also stopped by a farmers market and later on had some coffee with Will's friend Declan.
Originally Will was supposed to cook me dinner due to a bet he lost on wether or not Jim, the nightwatch downstairs would talk to us about the weather when we got back Friday night, but none of us really felt like cooking so we ended up going to this restaurant Seven, very nice place and great food. Had an amazing meal actually. We then went on to Cobblestone where there were some alternative music performances going on. Very cool, esepcially this pianist, Alberto something, great great great music.
I was very tired though and my voice had actually start to deteriorate during the day and at that point I could barely speak anymore.

Then Sunday,
Will cooked me an all Irish breakfast. Sausages, scrambled eggs on toast, OJ and tea. Good stuff : )
We then went to get the train to Thurles to see not one, but two, games of Hurling. It was actually fun, yes I know, sports and myself usually do not go very well together but I did like it even : )
Lots and lots of people, very interesting sport and Cork won their game which was a good thing, since I am now officially a Cork fan. My voice was completely gone all day though, and trying to speak I sounded like a teenage boy so that wasn't too much fun but it was a very good day, and I bet Will cooked me dinner in the end as well.

Monday, yesterday.
I really did not feel very well so I called in sick to work, spent all day in bed and Will got back home and, what do you know, he made me dinner : )
So .. we decided to have some wine with dinner, no big deal, not the first time, and even after we'd finished eating we kept refilling our glasses. Normal, just chatting having a really nice time actually.
So, it's now been 10 days since I had that moll removed (see first phrase of entry for more details) and it was time to take out the stitches. Will had assured me that he was more than competent to get them out. Yeah, right. ; )
Anyways we were both very tipsy and to prove that as Will was boiling (you know, sterilizing) the scissors we were planning on using, he completely forget them on the stove which resulted in a melted (!) pot.
By that time we were laughing real hard about the whole thing and I was getting all pumped up about the operation, encouraging him to just cut them out with whatever he had. We ended up using the boiled scissors, Will forgot to wash his hands, I actually cut two of them myself, laughing hard while doing it, Will at one point blew onto my wound (no idea why, adding more germs to them mix?) and then insisted on pooring brandy on it because that would be the best thing to do.
We had so much fun though we decided to open a second bottle of wine. Should not have done that.

Today, tuesday.
I am home from work today as well, feel really feeverish to be honest but I still think I'll go tomorrow.
I do feel I should turn my life around a little bit. These past months have been one crazy stupidity after another and I've been playing with very dangerous things way too much.
Right now most concerned about that wound looking awfully red and praying that it won't get infected.
Isch, I really need to stop getting myself into trouble.
Anyways I'm off in a sec to meet Darren who I actually decided to move in with, I'm moving on friday, which will then make it 10 days that I've stayed here with Steven and Will. I have no clue on how I could possible repay them for what they've done for me, feel sort of guilty about it too. Isch.
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Dublin, Ireland

Soo, what up?

Last week, nice and calmish.
Wednesday night Will had me over for dinner. Don't remember where Steve was actually, big chance he was out with rainbow which none of us knew back then has a boyfriend. Not even Steve.
Had a great meal, great craic, great wine and ended up falling asleep on their couch. Yep I feel sooo much more at home at 10 Chancery Hall.
Will woke me up at half 11 and I bitched, moaned and stumbled up the hill to my own house.
Not too much of a hangover the next day although my boss had started to act as if she had a stick up somewhere.

Last weekend then, not too much going on. Steve wanted me to come to two different music festivals but I don't know. Festivals have truly never really been my thing. Friday night Will wanted me to come down to this bar on the other side of town to hang out with him and his lawyer friends but nzaaa... too far. This girl from work also wanted me to come out to a club, which I actually had plans to do but it just got really late and for some reason I started to suspect that she might be into me which I really didnt want to deal with. Now, some weeks later I dont think that is actually the case but that night it seemed pretty possible to me. Toni also wanted me to come to this portuguese birthday party but I was just too freakin tired. Work is hard and the 2 hour walking every day certainly takes its toll on me as well.

So then Saturday. Toni invited me for lunch at his place. Actually Pedro was making lunch and the two of us were just there to eat it. Great times actually, I ended up staying to watch a movie and Toni was a gentleman and let me eat the left overs from lunch before going home. That's how you survive when you have no money and no food : D

Sunday, it was - wait for it, wait for it - SUNNY. And I mean really really really sunny. Only a few clouds.
So I went to Phoenix Park. Finally, after living next door to it for 3-4 weeks I walked the 500 meters or so. Met up with Will who was hysterically cycling around trying to get into shape for his and Steves two week cycling trip to Israel. I was in a medium-PMS-mood though so I'm sure I wasn't as delightful as usual but we had a chill time and as I mentioned, the weather was awesome.
Later that night Toni, again, invited me for dinner. Great guy : D He cooked cod, which I'm not sure what that would translate to in Swedish but it was an OK fish. Pedro and Tiago came over as well and we had a nice meal. Afterwards Pedro & Tiago went to watch some soccergame upstairs leaving me and Toni to talk and actually have kind of an argument. See Toni really isn't the greatest guy in the world, he has this ability to try to make himself seem like he knows everything and has been everywhere and done everything. Really not a humble guy. But you know, he gets me food, beers & other stuff and OK company. Plus I really like some of his friends so of course I'll sit there and let him talk about whatever he feels the need to enlighten me about.
Only this time I was sort of out of it (and as previously mentioned in a subtle PMS-ish mood) and so, Toni starts telling me about this awesome business idea him and his friends had in Portugal : To start a shoe-shining business in the airport. Awesome right? Only it didn't work out cos the airport wanted a huge amount of their profit.
I sort of put in that that makes sense and that's what I would have expected them to do, whereas Toni gets all rallied up and No, that doesn't make any sense because they should be really happy about the shoeshining business because it makes customers happy.
Sure... then again, not that many people would go to the airport just to get their shoes all shiny, wouldn't you agree?
Toni, however doesn't really see this at all and feels as if you know, airports should be just so damn lucky in having his amazing shoe shining services available.
So this is not really what pissed me off though, this was just really interesting conversation. Then what happens is I start to explain something and Toni after hearing 3-4 words of it interrupts me saying "All right OK, I know what you mean".
Which he doesnt.
Obviously.
Since he didn't hear me out.
And man oh man, is that so not the right way to go with me.
Here comes the intense and pissed of Martina.
Then after 5-10 minutes of actual discussion, he goes and does it again.
Martina: "Do you understand that-
Toni: "Yes I understand!"

Toni has no idea whatsoever what would have been the end of that sentence.
I was so incredibly ready to leave by then, but then Tiago got out some great stuff and I stayed for it.
God was I out of it as I walked home, I was actually in a freakin jungle and it was totally awesome. Great times.

Monday wasn't the easiest though.
But I got through it. : )

Monday evening I even walked all the way from work to see a room I might be moving in to. Or will probably move in to. I was totally exhausted and all discusting from last night and work and walking 1 hour in the rain as I sat down to have coffee with a polish girl and an italian guy. They seemed real nice though and the place was good as well. So yeah, that'll most likely be my home in two weeks time.

Then wednesday.
Got off work and hung out for two hours waiting for 7 o clock to come around. Then met up with Jul and we went for a beer. Here's a surprise: Had a great, great time.
I sooo didn't see that coming. Flashback the two other times I met Jul: Time nr. 1: Jul incredibly drunk, memory of a goldfish, coming on waaaayyy to strong and just obnoxiously drunk. Time nr. 2: Jul (and myself) really really tired, not a whole lot of conversation going on, kind of chill, kind of awkward, didn't really expect to ever see him again.
Now, time nr. 3 though...
This guy turned out to be intelligent, semi-funny, real nice and actually attentive and generous. And what do you know - the guy has a functioning memory!
I really really had a nice time, we went to a couple of bars and had a couple of beers but the conversation was actually great. None of us really paid attention to anything else but just talking and having fun. I am so incredibly surprised still, I didn't think this guy was like this at all. Plus he was smiling - a lot. I'd never seen him smile before. This thing kind of made me think, think about those people that you just blow off at bars or at first dates. What if they are like Jul? Not really that good until the third date?
Anyways we had an awesome night and didnt get to bed until 3ish.
Got up and felt great though, thats never a good sign : )
Started to feel shittier around noon and afternoonish I was ready to go home and lie down.

Thursday went over to the boys appartment, didnt have dinner this time actually, wasnt that hungry. I did however have a shower and man oh man. That was the best shower I've had for a month (iow since I moved to PM). It was A-MAZ-ING. Can't believe how great that felt.
It was the last time I saw the boys before their big trip though and it did feel kind of sad and strange. But also a great feeling when Will was instructing me on eating all the food in the fridge and handing over the keys. My keys. Aww... these two weeks are going to be awesome! My own two bed room appartment, centrally located with a view of the Liffey, rent free and no responsabilities whatsoever. Great stuff!


Then friday, OK day at work. Loads to do which was great : )
Then at night Toni texted me to have me come out with him, Tiago, this guy who I think was called Ricardo and a girl whose name I am supposed to know but I dont. I think its Cecile. Not sure at all.
So I got home, just laid down for a couple of seconds and of course fell asleep. Woke up some time after nine and I was sooo not feeling it but luckily I got myself out of bed and suited up to get over to Tonis place.
They were all at Pedros house and I got a beer in my hand as soon as I stepped in through the door. Great guys : )
We drove down to O'Connell street everyone nicely buzzing and Toni running red lights like a crazy person but really once you get to a certain stage, who cares, you know?
Got there nice and early and the music was just - !!!! - - OMG - I haven't been to any sort of trance event since back in gymnasiet when me and Pernilla Bäckebo used to go to stuff like that. It was such an amazing rush and flashback and just soooo liberating!!
I was definately rolling and the looovee, hell yeah!! I had the best night I've had since I moved here that's for sure, and I really hope that Toni'll take me out for some more shit like that : ))

So that was friday then and woke up saturday just wondering where my head was. Couldn't be bothered to get out of bed until like 3-ish and then slowly got my shit together and took the bus down to Ellis Quay to move into 10 Chancery Hall. Did absolutely nothing whatsoever at night time and then today more of the same shit.
Just been walking around in my sweats all day enjoying the place and eating their food : )
I am however obliged to go take a shower and get my ass up to PM to get the rest of my stuff which I've been putting off doing all day.
Can't ignore it any longer though.
It is time.
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Dublin, Ireland

I wonder if this time this entry will actually get done ?

I've been starting to write a blog entry like 10 times already (exaggeration) coming home from work but then Steve comes home and is all like "step away from the computer - free your spirit" or Will comes home and we start chatting about our days and what not and even though I am extremely talented at multi tasking (I am for example listening to their conversation as you're reading this) it does feel very antisocial and semi-ungrateful not to be paying 100% attention to the boys who now have let me eat and sleep for free for a month.
Great boys though, seriously. I'm so in love with them both. : )

Anyways so these past two weeks then ...

Well, the boys left for Israel and I moved down here.
First week really really really boring, blogwise. Just woke up, went to work, same old story, actually loads to do coz Eva was away for conferences and what not and I got to run the entire HR Office by myself which was wicked but also crazy busy.
Then coming back home and slowly but surely trying to get the apartment into a liveable state.
Could hardly belive the shit I found living in the fridge (sauce from 2003 - come on like!!).
Then my mom got here for that first weekend and the place was no where near being even remotely clean. She managed to survive it though.
We just did some sightseeing actually, pretty uneventful to be honest. Took her around most of Dublin and we did manage to go to the Guiness Storehouse at least. Cool enough and a free pint at the end with a great view.

Then second week on my own. Was feeling horrible the first days of the week and called in sick to work even. Ended up sleeping for like 16 hours straight on tuesday, incredible don't think I've ever slept that long like.
Then kept cleaning the place in the afternoons and by last thursday the place was actually starting to look decent. : )

Last friday then I went to have some beers with work people at The Barge, it was Alans birthday but then again I dont think anyone really needed any other reason than just it being friday to get wasted anyways : )
Honestly though it was amazing craic. Great times like!
Spent first four hours or so at the Barge with -

oh no here comes Steve. He's talking to me. This is going to seriously mess with this blog entry.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tini1985/6/1221786240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tini1985/6/1221786240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tini1985/6/1221786240/tpod.html Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:42:22 -0400 Dublin, like.

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Dublin, Ireland

and will try my best to finish what I started yesterday.


So yeah, last friday at The Barge. Great stuff : D

It was me, Sophia, Sinead, Alan, Andrew, Henrik, Aleksandra and Annkathrin. Great craic : D
Me & Andrew had a seriously deep and very drunken conversation about the thrills and rushes of accounting and I just had a blast with all of them.
We eventually moved on to The Odeon with these two men Henrik supposedly knew, one of them which wanted to cheat on his wife with me. Eeek.

Then at the Odeon... well. It was a whole drunken mess. But a good one like : D
We were just drinking and dancing and chatting the night away, seriously. Had a probably very long conversation with Henrik in danish and danced like crazy at times. Later on (like 7 hours later even) Zhen, Ukong and Arek showed up and I have no idea what time it was when I finally got my shit together and walked home.
Woke up on the couch discustingly early the next morning with a cart of youghurt in my hand and someones phone number written on my arm. Stumbled into Steves room and passed out. (Didn't bring the youghurt though)

So Saturday pretty uneventful, made one last effort to get the place into top shape and went grocery shopping (carbs for Steve, beetroots for Will). And then Sunday the boys came back home. I was really really glad to see them, I def missed them loads. Just great times to have them chat about Israel and in 10 minutes time turn the appartment into a warzone again. : D

Then this week.. don't know, not too much. I've just been enjoying the boys and appartment fully, I feel so amazingly priviliged to be able to live here still even if it is just temporarily (again). I just love waking up in the morning and chatting to Will while coming alive, I love Steves constant questioning "if I have eaten anything" and I love them making a huge mess and me cleaning it up, I love their stupid music taste and old mans habits and I love wearing their big cozy sweaters and I love how they take such amazing care of me.

Besides the wonders of 10 Chancery Hall I've had quite a rough week at the office. Just loads of random little tough bits happening, but I'm counting on next week to be way more amazing.

Tomorrow, friday. Finally. And Alek is coming to visit. Looking forward to some great memories being created.

Gosh I'm bloody exhausted.

See yas.
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