Rag Week

Alright so it is now Week 12. I haven't blogged since Week 6, so I'm clearly slacking, but in fairness it has been crazy hectic. I am juts gonna recap a few of the highlights from the past 6 weeks in the course of about 3 posts. Brace yourself. The nostalgia is going to be out of control.

So to begin Rag Week was week 6. This is also called Charity Week, although I saw very little charity going on in the traditional sense. It was more like a week long bender for charity. UL puts on various events at a cost, and the price of the ticket goes to charity, or people donate to the cause. To the students however this is seen as an excuse to drink. I had a bunch of assignments due at the time, so I wasn't able to go out every night, but I made up for it the nights I did. The two sponsored events I attended were a concert from Hermitage Green, an Irish band, and UL Fest.

Hermitage Green was great, but I had had a few too many drinks and did not get to see much of the show. For some reason I felt it was more important to chat with friends during the concert and not really pay attention to what was going on until I realized it was over. typical. But from what I can recall they were actually really good.

UL Fest was lame. There is no better way to put it. I stayed long enough to walk through the student union square to see it was not worth staying for. It was basically a lineup of local bands, that weren't very good. I had pre gamed with Angie at Alice's and we went to hard to begin with, so by the time we made it over to campus we just beelined for the stables where we had a wonderful night. At least the money from the ticket went to a good charity.

Charity Week would never pass at USC, it is like a 5 day tailgate. That is really the only metaphor I can conjure for it. The teachers know whats up, and the students definitely know whats good.

I regret not taking any photos of even just chilling drinking before going out at the nights, but I was a bit busy consuming beverages and just forgot.

Let's Play Catch Up.

Alright, so last weekend I went to Dublin. I know an entire week has passed, but seeing as the weekdays were rather uneventful, I'll just recap last weekend. It was epic enough to cover for this M-F slum.

I decided very last minute to go with a friend, Katrina, and a few of her friends to Dublin to catch Walk The Moon on their european tour at The Academy in Dublin. My original thoughts were to do down for the concert, and try to get a late night bus back that same night potentially. I had a lot of work to do for the next week that I wanted to get out of the way while I had the chance. But, peer pressure got the best of me, and I ended up staying for two nights. [It really didn't take much convincing, there was a pub crawl on the line, compared to writing a paper...]

So once the six of us got on the right bus [after the first bus completely dissed us and drove off] we were on our way to Dublin. It took us awhile once we were in the city to find the hostel, since our map reading skills were less then adequate. We then meandered our way over to The Academy. While the opener band, The Rubens (?) were doing their set, Katrina, Erin, Ricky and myself decided to get face paint that is customary at a Walk The Moon concert. As we are getting our faces all colorful we begin to chat up what I assumed was just some guy who worked for either the band as a PR rep or someone from the venue... nope. Turns out is was the lead singer in casual clothes, and glasses... nothing gets passed us. Regardless, he was incredibly humble and just a chill guy to chat with. If you haven't listened to any of their music, I strongly suggest checking them out, and he wasn't to shabby on the eyes either ;)

So after a great set by the band, we headed over to the Temple Bar area to sip down some seriously over priced drinks and enjoy good company.

The next day we woke up early to get the hostel's free breakfast and went out adventuring around Dublin. We started out with a meal at Supermacs. Our go to eating spot for the weekend, I'd say we ate the majority of our meals here or the attached Papa Johns. After lunch we headed over to the Trinity College campus, which was absolutely gorgeous. We stopped of into an exhibit about movement that I believe is put on by the colleges science department. Some of the pieces that stuck out was a sound proof dark chamber that you go into, where they play what it sounds like to be in a mouth. It was in fact  as weird as it sounds, of course I couldn't stop laughing through the whole thing, so I doubt I got the intended experience. There was also a room where flashing lights at different rates and sounds played, and they reorganized the firing pattern of your neurons. It sounds like a torture chamber, but after about two minutes you really don't notice the changing patterns, and it becomes rather relaxing.

After the exhibit, we hit up the Oscar Wilde statue in the park and went into an art museum where they had a great installment of drawings done by Yates as well as some other great pieces of art. By that time we figured we should get some food, so the girls [Katrina, Erin, and myself] ventured off in search for some chinese takeout while the boys [AJ, Jacob, and Ricky] went to Spar. We linked back up at the hostel where we started drinking with fellow travelers. By the time we were supposed to leave for the pub crawl the majority of us were fairly drunk and ready to go.

This is the part where the weekend gets a bit hazy. I'd say we went to about 5 to 6 bars, each of which we got a shot on the house, and then we would buy additional drinks. At one of the bars we were ushered downstairs to play some good ole fashioned Beer Pong. Erin and I partnered up, and I failed the team miserably... it was an embarrassment, but to be fair I think AJ and Jacob lost as well. As we progressed throughout the night we ended up losing AJ and Ricky at Whelans, but at Dandelion we met some nice Irish fellas who were absolutely hysterical. Once we decided to call it a night we ended back at Supermacs until closing for some late night drunchies [drunk + munchies]

Sunday morning we woke up and decided to get some food and try and get a bus back to Limerick. We ventured back into the heart of Dublin to Bewley's. A great cafe, famous for their tea, but I had to get some coffee before I passed out and opted for an equally delicious cappuccino. We ended up missing the bus we wanted to catch, but that just meant another hour of exploring. So we went to St. Stephens Green for a quick visit and then hurried back to the bus stop for the next one out to UL.

Overall, It was a fantastic weekend, and I am glad peer pressure got the best of me and I ended up staying for the entire weekend.

Let me apologize now for the photo quality. They were mostly all taken off of my phone.

 Some of our face paint. At the concert everyone does a bit of face paint to match the band's tradition of doing it. 

Walk the Moon.

One of the only group shots where we are all looking sane and smiling. This was after we got our face painted by Nick from the band. From left to right: Myself, Erin, Ricky, Katrina, Nick from Walk the Moon, AJ, and Jacob. Photo courtesy of the wonderful Katrina Lim.

  

 To the left is the river that runs through Dublin, the River Liffey.

To the right is the floor mosaic of the original Bewley's cafe. It is now a really nice Starbucks [shocker.] and a larger Bewley's Cafe is open around the corner.

 Getting Wilde at the park.

Here we are at the Old Storehouse on out pub crawl around Dublin. I have no idea where AJ went in this photo.

Wonderful cup of coffee from Bewley's to hopefully make make me look less like the walking dead from our night out. 

The entrance to St. Stephens green, and a bust from the art museum that I thought had a striking resemblance to Bill Murray.

Seriously Though.

Let's face it, I suck at keeping a blog. I have now had this blog for how long, and only have 4 posts. . . that's shameful. So I have since then decided to make it my Ireland blog.
Its currently Week 5, terrifying since it is getting scarily close to the midway point of this whole adventure. It has been filled with great laughs, travels, and drinks thus far.

Limerick City has its charm, but the rural side of the country is really where it is spectacular. So far The Burren, Cliffs of Moher and the Blarney Castle grounds have caught my eye.

Gotta have a selfie somewhere in here.

These are from The Burren, in County Clare. The rocks are all limestone, which get rather slippery when wet.

The Cliffs of Moher, on the west coast of Ireland. 

The city of Cobh. This was the last port before the Titanic shipped off.

Cathedral in Cobh, the ceiling was truly spectacular.

In Cobh, this statue is a replica of a statue on Ellis Island of the first three immigrants to be checked through from Ireland. In the pockets of the children, people have left coins to represent their prosperity.

Blarney Castle. Of course I had to kiss it for good luck, and the gift of the gab. Not that I really need the push to talk any more then usual. Picture coming soon though.

These last two photos are personally two of my favorite that I have taken thus far. They are on the Blarney Castle grounds in a garden, forest type trail. I still can't get over just how green everything here is.

Living in Ireland for the past month and a half, I have come to learn two things: craic and crack are two way different things, and if it is a gorgeous day out, it will most likely rain later in the day. I've slowly gotten used to the sudden rain and wind gusts, but I don't think I will really be missing them once I have to return to the motherland.

Liberal Arts

Josh Radnor. Elizabeth Olsen. & Zac Efron as a hippie. 

If it sounds like a weird mix, it is. But it oddly works. Very well actually.

Usually after going to a movie, I am not ranting that everyone should go see it because of how life changing it is, but this movie is that good. It won't be life changing by any means, but it will make you think. After the movie I found myself reflecting on the movie about how I feel about after graduation and what exactly I am doing in college right now. I suggest it to anyone in college or older finding themselves wondering about their life, and reminiscing about the past. 

It was easy to watch and also seemed to be the perfect length.

much love. 

Pull & Bear

So as promised, I am trying to keep up with posts. 

My newest obsession is Pull & Bear.

They are a European based brand that is relatively on the cheaper side, but sadly they have no stores state side. They have many good basic items to build a wardrobe, as well as good statement pieces. 

These are a few of my fans, and I can't wait to go crazy once I am abroad in their Dublin store.

much love.

November Loves.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine.

Its literally been a month since my last post... 

needless to say, I am so sorry. So to make up for it I made this post packed of all my favorite goodies from my latest online window shopping frenzy. & swear I'll be more on top of actually posting on a regular basis.

much love.

Daily Obsession

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven.

black + gold. The combination of the chic black mixed with the glitzy gold, to me is the perfect combination.