Side Note

Hello, just wanted to apologize right quick for my sporadic updates! Especially with the epicness of Ireland. It's amazing. The only excuse I have is that my health has been rather variant, and coinciding with attempting to find a job (or two or three) that makes other things a bit difficult. However, I know that is just an excuse, and again I apologize for letting that get in the way of sharing my adventures with you, both who helped fund me and who just want to keep updated~ I will strive to be better!
(note: I do have some part-time work now, from a few places, so that is helping.)

Here are a few pictures from my adventures locally within the past month~ :3

 

(local library, which I now live right across from~ <3)

 

It's finally getting cooler, and I got a new scarf from a dear friend! Great combo~

I'll be updating more Ireland soon~

Ireland - Christ Church

Day one, part two! We went from Trinity to Dublin's Archeological Museum, right next to the library~ Both gorgeous places, inside and out, of course! But by that time I was too worn out to really appreciate everything, so I just kind-of sat in the museum for a while, trying not to fall asleep. XD' Then we went back to the hostel and I rested a bit, though didn't fall asleep. Our hostel rooms had awesome multi-colored wall art too. Then, all together, we went to the Church of Christ cathedral, right across the street from our hostel~ That third picture is Kristen, one of our leaders, pointing things out to Shelby and Lucy. I saw the opportunity to get a picture of two of our red-heads at once and had to take it. XD Sashah came along as well, of course. And look! Even the floors are incredibly detailed! :0

Strongbow was one of the most famous Norsemen in Ireland. After looking around there, most of the group went off to see a hurling match. I wasn't up for it, so a few friends who also stayed behind and I walked around Dublin and got some food. Also stopped at an open air art bazaar! Almost got a really cool hat, but I wanted to save my euro for the entire trip, not just the first day. X3' If I knew I could get it home safely, I might have bought some of the art pieces I saw, honestly, but I just didn't know how that would work out. Awesome talent though!

Eventually got to sleep, finally.  And that was the end of day one!
Dublin was great. Even though we were pretty much in the heart of town, and right on the street, of course, I didn't really have problems with sleeping due to noise. In fact, I don't remember much... Of course, some of that may have been how tired I made myself every day. XD
<3

Ireland Adventures - Trinity

Okay, these posts are going to be picture heavy! I won't share everything, and you can look at my Facebook for some more pictures. Here are some more fun ones~

Day one, part one! Well, somewhat; time changes throw ya off a bit. But these pictures are from the interim; riding to the airport, at the airport... First picture is me and Sashah, my Eevee plush! :3 (it was very cold, so layers were necessary. Plus, planes.) Shelby was a fellow red-headed friend along~ Maryn is another friend in the background to the right. Third, we've got Sashah chilling at the airport while we all eat our food. (I don't need to share everyone eating their foods. XD)

 

Then, 6+ hours later, we landed in Ireland! At like 5 in the morning. I was too excited to care. (no I had not slept on the planes.) Of course, as seen in the second picture on our double-decker bus to our hostel, some of the group was just as excited too. XD Then we finally got to our hostel, Kinlay House, the entrance of which is to the right in the third picture. The Church of Christ is in front and center there. Yeah, RIGHT there. :D

       

(the golden ball up there is actually outside of a large bank~ It's got a large courtyard-ish area to just chill by the street. :3)
 Friends had cameras, too! Jessica knows what she's after.

There was a gorgeous mosaic at the mall near where we ate breakfast, too. (Kilkenny's; seriously awesome food. The bread is so thick!!) The mosaic shows a whole bunch of tales from traditional Irish mythology, from the Black and Brown bulls, to Cuchulain and Badb in the form of a crow, and so many more! Love what research can make you aware of~ <3

Lucy was taking time to write in her journal~ Third red-head friend along on the trip! :3
Kilkenny's was upstairs of a nice little shop. There was a lot of awesome art there, including this gorgeous fox! X3

Then we went to Trinity College... Saw the Book of Kells!! Wonderful exhibit, not allowed to take pictures, but still totally worth it. It's a heavily illuminated book of the 4 Gospels. They have different pages of it on display at different times. It was gorgeous, beautiful, and amazing! It was pretty quiet in the exhibit area, although it felt more like a respect thing than an 'early morning' thing (it wasn't even terribly early, I feel like).
And then we went upstairs to the Library's Long Room! It is gorgeous. And that's where they had the "Wild Upon The Waves: Mythology in Children's Literature" exhibit. LOVELY. And so exciting. All kinds of mythology, listings...

It was amazingtastical indeed~ <3 Then walked around Trinity a bit with Maryn.

I will leave this post with that, and continue in the next one! Hope you enjoy it~ <3

Summerrrr

Weeelll, I do exist!
Things I have done the past month:

• WENT TO IRELAND!!! YEEAAAAHHH~!! <3 <3
• There will be pictures coming.
•  Finished my senior paper! YEAH! Topic: Emathy through Narrative, with a focus on the treatment of mental disorders (in a literary sense) in To Kill A Mockingbird and Jane Eyre.
• Graduated! Woo! I now have a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts!
• As well as minors in Creative Writing, Philosophy, and Family & Child Development.
• Moved into a new apartment that's shared living with some other girls! I've also got a roommate for now. Unanticipated, but that's life for ya. At least the room is large enough, mostly.
• Applied for a whole bunch of jobs, both online freelancing writing/editing, as well as some local jobs so I can pay rent. <w<
• Haven't heard from any of them yet. One I am getting an interview in June because that's when they get openings. The others... I haven't the slightest.
• WRITING. SO MUCH. IT'S BEAUTIFUL~ <3
• With at least two fantastical people on two different and amazing stories.
• I will be working on my own stories in the next month or two, as well.

Aaand here are some pictures from Ireland! 8D Namely Dublin. On the first morning. As in on the bus to our hostel at like 4 AM.

 Sasha enjoyed the double-decker bus. :3

Dublin! After the sun rose~ 

 

I think this was at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

 Garden of Remembrance! It's a statue of the Children of Lir, in memory of those who died in the 1916 Uprising.

Cliffs of Moher! Goodness, it's gorgeous out there~ <3

Tara! Where the High Kings of Ireland once held court.

Blarney castle~

Aaaand I'll get more later! <3

FUNDED! And Schoolness.

I AM FULLY FUNDED FOR IRELAAAAND!!! *dances*
Thank you all, so very, very much!!! It would never have been possible without you, I know that. And this will be an amazingtastical opportunity to explore. And have fun. And learn. And... just so very much!

Ok, here's a tentative schedule of where we're going/what we're doing:

Friday, March 6th: Fly to Dublin

Saturday, March 7th:  Arrive in Dublin around 5:30 AM, go to our hostel (Kinlay Hostel), drop off our luggage, take a nap in the common room or start your wanderings around town arriving back at Kinlay to have breakfast and then depart for Trinity College, visit The Book of Kells, visit the National Archaeology Museum of Ireland, free afternoon

Sunday, March 8^th:  Church at the LDS Findlay Building, Evensong service at either Christchurch Cathedral or St. Patrick’s Cathedral (TBD), free time until evening meeting (approx. 8pm)

Monday, March 9^th: Day trip to Blarney Castle, the Rock of Cashel, and Cork arriving back in Dublin around 6-7pm, free evening

Tuesday, March 10^th: Kilmainham Jail, the General Post Office, free afternoon.  You are welcome to join us for the ghost tour we will be taking that evening.  It starts at 7pm.  It should be around $30 per person.

Wednesday, March 11^th: Day trip to Limerick and the Cliffs of Moher.  We should arrive back around 6-7pm, free evening.

Thursday, March 12^th: Free day.  You are welcome to join us for the Boyne Valley day trip. The trip should be around $40 per person (like the ghost tour, we may get a discount depending on the number of people that would like to go). We should arrive back in Dublin at 6pm.

Friday, March 13^th: A full Irish breakfast at O’Neills Pub then off to the airport to fly back home.

Tentative, as always. I plan on joining on the Boyne Valley day trip; it goes through a number of important and awesome locations regarding ancient Ireland, such as Teamhair, the seat of the high king of Ireland.
I've also been reading a book called 'Of Gods and FIghting Men' by Lady Gregory. (via the gutenberg project) Getting a better idea about the old legends of Ireland~
I'll be looking into more recent history soon. But still along the subject of legends, there's going to be an exhibit at the Trinity College library while we're there that I'm REALLY excited about: It's called "Upon the Wild Waves: A Journey through Myth in Children's Books." Yes. This exists. This existssssssss.

I know that I won't ever be able to read through all the things of Ireland in the weeks I have left before we leave. But I will try to get some things in there that will just make it even more exciting. >W<
Plus, you know, school work. <w<'


SPEAKING OF.
Thank heavens I was keeping track of my credits throughout my years. I don't have to go to classes on Fridays, and I have pretty open afternoons otherwise. Which is good, because I'm doing both Senior Paper writing and working on a novel for Advanced Creative Writing. Good news: I'm making progress on both! The novel has... Hm. I don't rightly know. 20-30 pages written in the past month, mostly edited once. Still need to put them through another round or two of editing. And then, once that is more together, there's rearranging everything because of course the first draft is going to be all over the place and go too far into things that take too long, and not get to more important points until people no longer expect anything that exciting. BUT IT WILL BE. Because pirates. Dang it these are horrible pirates but really, they add a lot to a plotline. And by horrible I do not mean comedic. Unfortunately. Thank heavens I have a wonderful friend writing with me. We work on the details, characterizations, oh goodness I don't even know how many pages of interviews we've done so far, and then I go through and make it like a novel. Because it kind-of reads like a screenplay otherwise. Which is exciting, for us, but not the same. Maybe performed- NO. No. This would be entertaining in some parts to portray on stage, but problematic in others. Gosh. Anyway.

I am progressing in things! I'm taking a History class (Western Civilization I) because apparently that slipped through the cracks wen I was looking at things I needed to take earlier. But I'm also taking Parenting, which is entertaining and informative, as well as taking Intermediate Ballet again! Add in Snr Paper and Adv. Creative Writing, and that's my schedule! Sort-of. Still working with the clubs on campus. But I'm not the only head anymore. Still kind-of leading the effort getting things started again, but this time I will hand things off to other people. Because I honestly don't have the time or focus to go after all these things together at once, and I'm graduating after this semester! Wow! That's really soon! Gosh!
Agh. I need a job.
Looking in publishing industries.
So many places wants you to do unpaid internships first. *sigh* And then most are also in New York. *drums fingers*
But I am continuing to search. And go to job fairs. And look online.

Talk to you all laterrr!