DAY 25 – Thursday July 23, 2009
11:00 am I look creapy for getting a picture of the camper who looks like my cousin Bridget.
3:00 pm After camp we take a trip to Sligo to pick up some paper work? Whatever. I am just literally along for the ride.
6:00 pm Thought I was going to be able to stay at a coach’s flat in Cork, but it didn’t work out. Got a place in limerick for cheap. It’s cheap because it is a single bed. But it’s at least 100 euro cheaper than any other room.
6:30 pm Got a rental car for cheap. Yipee!!
7:00 pm Planned whole trip of when the Haggertys are here. We’ll let you just be surprised by the itinerary.
8:00 pm Went for jog. Saw the girl from the crazy euro “club” night. She was OBVIOUSLY trying not to see me, so I didn’t go out of my way to bump into her.
Day 26
3:00 pm Camp awards – There is now an annual Mr. Florida award that I of course give to the girl that looks like my cousin. What? Am I supposed to base it on basketball ability?
3:30 pm Called a kid a terd in front of another kid. They thought it was hilarious. Apparently that is not a common term of endearment over here.
My buddy Flo does this hilarious worm dance at every camp. He is a large man, so seeing him do the worm is pretty funny. Plus the camp made me do some Irish dancing. Needless to say that was comical.
5:00 pm Went for a jog and was denied by charity worker. He asked for money, heard my accent and said oh sorry, we need someone with an Irish bank account.
11:00 pm Finally heard some REAL traditional irish music. It was really, really good. Just five people sitting in a booth playing some unusual instruments and taking requests. I wanted to request my favorite, “Galway to Graceland, but withheld.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
DAY 24
9:30 am On the way to camp, TK plays a funny and telling song with the words, “The british need to get the hell out of here.”
10:00 am Instead of hearing Sonny and Cher’s “I got you babe”, my groundhog’s day consists of hearing kids count from one to ten while stretching. Not complaining, I love camp and basketball. We all know this. I added it up this summer. I’ve worked camp in FL, GA, SC, NC, NJ, MI, MN, PA, NE and now Ireland. But it is getting a little redundant. Only two more days and I will be done and on to the full on vacation.
11:00 am I’ve already bumped into a camper in Sligo who looked just like Kate Haggerty, one in Galway looked like me and now Foxford has a kid that looks just like my cousin. It is kind of freaky. We all have a twin out there somewhere.
4:30 pm Another jog. Went to a place called St. Patrick’s well. Apparantly, this is the spot whereSt. Patrick baptized people in Ballina. There was a monument for those who fought for the independence of Ireland. Also, there is a big alter looking table on the other side of a small creek. Also, there are the stations of the cross on mosaics along a wall. I guess they do masses there occasionally, but the priest has to have a little bridge made to get over the creek.
6:30 pm I showed TK the leprachauns in Alabama you tube clip. Trust me, it is definitely worth three minutes of your time to watch this. TK stated and I quote, “Only in America.” I responded with, “Only in Alabama.”
IF YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS WATCH IT!!! NOTHING IS FUNNIER!
IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SEEN THIS WATCH IT!!! NOTHING IS FUNNIER!
7:00 pm Steak tonight. These people are too good to me.
10:00 am Instead of hearing Sonny and Cher’s “I got you babe”, my groundhog’s day consists of hearing kids count from one to ten while stretching. Not complaining, I love camp and basketball. We all know this. I added it up this summer. I’ve worked camp in FL, GA, SC, NC, NJ, MI, MN, PA, NE and now Ireland. But it is getting a little redundant. Only two more days and I will be done and on to the full on vacation.
11:00 am I’ve already bumped into a camper in Sligo who looked just like Kate Haggerty, one in Galway looked like me and now Foxford has a kid that looks just like my cousin. It is kind of freaky. We all have a twin out there somewhere.
4:30 pm Another jog. Went to a place called St. Patrick’s well. Apparantly, this is the spot whereSt. Patrick baptized people in Ballina. There was a monument for those who fought for the independence of Ireland. Also, there is a big alter looking table on the other side of a small creek. Also, there are the stations of the cross on mosaics along a wall. I guess they do masses there occasionally, but the priest has to have a little bridge made to get over the creek.
6:30 pm I showed TK the leprachauns in Alabama you tube clip. Trust me, it is definitely worth three minutes of your time to watch this. TK stated and I quote, “Only in America.” I responded with, “Only in Alabama.”
IF YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS WATCH IT!!! NOTHING IS FUNNIER!
IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SEEN THIS WATCH IT!!! NOTHING IS FUNNIER!
7:00 pm Steak tonight. These people are too good to me.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
DAY 22 and 23
10:00 am Camp begins. In the states camps have official looking tables that collect money and take down names. Here each kid turns in his money and then at the end of the day we ask each one if they have paid. Total honor system.
11:30 am Camp here is funny. The camp director will walk up to me and tell me I have the next hour and a half. Luckily the Haggerty family business is camps and I have drills to kill time out the wazoo.
5:00 pm After camp, took a jog around Ballina. It has a neat new pedestrian bridge and I went inside the cathedral. Very pretty. The town is right on one of the best Salmon Rivers in the world. Old men are waist deep in extremely cold water to get themselves one and only one (by law) salmon.
7:00 pm At dinner TK tells the funniest story. They have two cats now. About four years ago they saw one of their cats dead on the road. They scooped him into a box and buried him in the back yard. Then two days later the same cat came traipsing into the yard all muddy from his adventures. The daughter was only 13 and thought the cat had come back from the dead and crawled out of the dirt. But apparently they buried some other person’s cat.
9:00 pm Real Madrid trains in Ireland to get out of the heat. They just played a local Irish soccer team in a warm up match. The Irish team consists of part-time players and a total payroll of 25,000 a week versus 2.5 million a week for Real Madrid. This game is the equivalent of the LA Lakers playing a local men’s league team. In typical soccer fashion it was scoreless until three minutes left when Real Madrid broke the dreams of the collection of elevator mechanics and school teachers (actual careers of players).
DAY 23 10:00 am Camp begins. It’s like Groundhog Day for me at this point. Of the 23 days of this journey on 17 of them I have led the camp in stretch at exactly 10:15 am. Never 10 am due to Irish time.
11:45 am One of the wee campers grabbed a rebound and instead of moving up court, she takes the ball out of bounds. We figured she must have thought the ball went in, but when she did it again five minutes later, we realized there is an obvious rules interpretation problem with the young girl.
5:00 pm Arrive home from camp
5:02 pm Sit in recliner. Those that know me well know exactly where this is going.
5:03 pm Pull up bar on recliner.
5:04 pm Pull down hood on jacket to shade eyes from sunlight.
7:00 pm Wake up from greatest nap of all time.
7:30 pm Excellent meal of chicken curry and rice. NO PATATOES!! I am in withdrawal.
8:30 pm Cell phone plans are different here. Rather than monthly plans, you buy “credit” or a certain amount of minutes. Needless to say minutes are more expensive and more precious. Just saw ad here about cell phones with two people getting locked in a walk-in freezer. Spoofing on how precious the minutes are the guy refuses to call for help because he knows the next shift will be in there in four hours. So this reminds me of an actual story involving a freezer. A Clemson buddy of mine had to do community service for underage drinking. He was helping out a church by stocking their walk-in freezer. After being in there 20 minutes, they forgot about him and locked the freezer. He was stuck in there 2 hours wearing shorts and a t-shirt. They were polite enough to credit him for 8 hours worth of community service.
10:00 pm Jimmy’s pub is my new favorite pub in Ireland. Again, not that I am any connoisseur, but most in Ballina will tell you and I agree that this pint of Guinness is a 9.5. Plus, it is only 3 euro when everyone else charges at least 4. Obviously, I made sure to buy my round here before we moved to more upscale joints. Top it off with the fact that the owner/barkeep looks and sounds just like Peter’s dad in the Family Guy. He was wearing a tie behind the bar. I thought that was an extremely classy touch.
10:30 pm TK tells a hilarious story about a hole in the wall pub where his mom now lives. He tried to order a hot whiskey, which apparently involves heating up the glass and adding lemon and some other stuff to make an amazing liquor concoction. But when he ordered she said come back when the band is done. He said, “Huh.” She explained they couldn’t do it while the band was playing. If she turned on the burner to heat the glass, they would blow a fuse. She says, “Love, just come back at intermission.” Then he has to pee later and can’t find a toilet. He asks the same pretty lady and she points out the door to an outhouse 50 feet out in a field. He says, “Really? There’s nothing else, it’s pouring down rain?” Plus its five degrees Celsius. She replies, “Oh love, just stay along the walls of those buildings and you’ll be fine.” TK does say even with all that it is his favorite pub in Ireland. Great music, beautiful girls, fun people and an outhouse. I think Toby Keith talks about an outhouse in the last verse of “I love this Bar.”
11:00 pm We went next door to hear some really, really good jazz. I try to get into jazz, but I find it so boring on CD or on the radio. But live jazz is usually excellent. This was no exception. We then walked home, stopping for the two I am with to pee into the river, right in front of a “river guard.” His job is to ensure no one illegally fishes at night or urinates into the river, but lucky for us he was playing away on his lap top.
11:30 am Camp here is funny. The camp director will walk up to me and tell me I have the next hour and a half. Luckily the Haggerty family business is camps and I have drills to kill time out the wazoo.
5:00 pm After camp, took a jog around Ballina. It has a neat new pedestrian bridge and I went inside the cathedral. Very pretty. The town is right on one of the best Salmon Rivers in the world. Old men are waist deep in extremely cold water to get themselves one and only one (by law) salmon.
7:00 pm At dinner TK tells the funniest story. They have two cats now. About four years ago they saw one of their cats dead on the road. They scooped him into a box and buried him in the back yard. Then two days later the same cat came traipsing into the yard all muddy from his adventures. The daughter was only 13 and thought the cat had come back from the dead and crawled out of the dirt. But apparently they buried some other person’s cat.
9:00 pm Real Madrid trains in Ireland to get out of the heat. They just played a local Irish soccer team in a warm up match. The Irish team consists of part-time players and a total payroll of 25,000 a week versus 2.5 million a week for Real Madrid. This game is the equivalent of the LA Lakers playing a local men’s league team. In typical soccer fashion it was scoreless until three minutes left when Real Madrid broke the dreams of the collection of elevator mechanics and school teachers (actual careers of players).
DAY 23 10:00 am Camp begins. It’s like Groundhog Day for me at this point. Of the 23 days of this journey on 17 of them I have led the camp in stretch at exactly 10:15 am. Never 10 am due to Irish time.
11:45 am One of the wee campers grabbed a rebound and instead of moving up court, she takes the ball out of bounds. We figured she must have thought the ball went in, but when she did it again five minutes later, we realized there is an obvious rules interpretation problem with the young girl.
5:00 pm Arrive home from camp
5:02 pm Sit in recliner. Those that know me well know exactly where this is going.
5:03 pm Pull up bar on recliner.
5:04 pm Pull down hood on jacket to shade eyes from sunlight.
7:00 pm Wake up from greatest nap of all time.
7:30 pm Excellent meal of chicken curry and rice. NO PATATOES!! I am in withdrawal.
8:30 pm Cell phone plans are different here. Rather than monthly plans, you buy “credit” or a certain amount of minutes. Needless to say minutes are more expensive and more precious. Just saw ad here about cell phones with two people getting locked in a walk-in freezer. Spoofing on how precious the minutes are the guy refuses to call for help because he knows the next shift will be in there in four hours. So this reminds me of an actual story involving a freezer. A Clemson buddy of mine had to do community service for underage drinking. He was helping out a church by stocking their walk-in freezer. After being in there 20 minutes, they forgot about him and locked the freezer. He was stuck in there 2 hours wearing shorts and a t-shirt. They were polite enough to credit him for 8 hours worth of community service.
10:00 pm Jimmy’s pub is my new favorite pub in Ireland. Again, not that I am any connoisseur, but most in Ballina will tell you and I agree that this pint of Guinness is a 9.5. Plus, it is only 3 euro when everyone else charges at least 4. Obviously, I made sure to buy my round here before we moved to more upscale joints. Top it off with the fact that the owner/barkeep looks and sounds just like Peter’s dad in the Family Guy. He was wearing a tie behind the bar. I thought that was an extremely classy touch.
10:30 pm TK tells a hilarious story about a hole in the wall pub where his mom now lives. He tried to order a hot whiskey, which apparently involves heating up the glass and adding lemon and some other stuff to make an amazing liquor concoction. But when he ordered she said come back when the band is done. He said, “Huh.” She explained they couldn’t do it while the band was playing. If she turned on the burner to heat the glass, they would blow a fuse. She says, “Love, just come back at intermission.” Then he has to pee later and can’t find a toilet. He asks the same pretty lady and she points out the door to an outhouse 50 feet out in a field. He says, “Really? There’s nothing else, it’s pouring down rain?” Plus its five degrees Celsius. She replies, “Oh love, just stay along the walls of those buildings and you’ll be fine.” TK does say even with all that it is his favorite pub in Ireland. Great music, beautiful girls, fun people and an outhouse. I think Toby Keith talks about an outhouse in the last verse of “I love this Bar.”
11:00 pm We went next door to hear some really, really good jazz. I try to get into jazz, but I find it so boring on CD or on the radio. But live jazz is usually excellent. This was no exception. We then walked home, stopping for the two I am with to pee into the river, right in front of a “river guard.” His job is to ensure no one illegally fishes at night or urinates into the river, but lucky for us he was playing away on his lap top.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
DAY 21
9:00 pm Finally made it to church on a Sunday. As advertised, the mass is only 30 minutes long. On Sunday there is a sermon, but only music at communion. Per swine flu regulations, we also do not shake hands as a sign of peace. We just look at each other and wave two fingers in the air.
11:00 am Some more pickup. I had to say something I don’t think you would ever say in the States and I hope never to say again. “Somebody guard the guy in the capris! He’s killing us!” The other team had a 6’10” Bosnian and a 6’11” Lithuanian. I’m not exaggerating. Needless to say we did not win.
1:00 pm We start walking home. We are 10 miles from our temporary home. My buddy Flo assures me that someone will pick us up. Again we are about 50 years back in time. Sure enough, only one minute down the road someone who knew Flo took us the 10 minutes back to Claregalway.
4:00 pm Huge Gaelic football rivalry in one of the four provincial finals. County Mayo vs. County Galway. Galway is known as the Tribesman, but Mayo has no mascot. I suggested they should be the Naise. Get it, Mayo Naise. They could get a guy to dress up like a big bottle of Hellmans. They could use cheers like, “Let’s spread it ON!!”
The game was fantastic. Mayo dominated throughout and had a 7 point lead with three minutes to go. This is a sizable lead since a ball in the goal is worth 3 and a ball over the goal and between the uprights is only worth one. So Galway scores four quick points and force a crucial turnover with 30 seconds left and of course fire a Hail Mary pass which is caught and put in the goal for the tie. Mayo comes back with a great kick for a point in the last 10 seconds.
6:00 pm Two hour bus ride to Ballina.
8:00 pm In an interesting quirk of fate, for the second time this week I ate the same exact meal twice in one day. Pot roast, corn, carrots and of course mashed potatoes. Both excellent, but funny. Maybe there is a set meal for each day of the week in this country.
10:00 pm Out to the pub for a pint. Very good Guinness and the cover band was excellent. The speakers here have super duper bass. When you are within 20 feet of the speakers you can feel the bass reverberate through your body. My wingman Flo disappeared and I navigate the twenty minute walk home, never sure of the route until the moment I see the doorway.
2:30 am I guess wired from the live band, I watch some awful British version of Grey’s Anatomy. After, I got important news, such as the Pope broke his wrist.
11:00 am Some more pickup. I had to say something I don’t think you would ever say in the States and I hope never to say again. “Somebody guard the guy in the capris! He’s killing us!” The other team had a 6’10” Bosnian and a 6’11” Lithuanian. I’m not exaggerating. Needless to say we did not win.
1:00 pm We start walking home. We are 10 miles from our temporary home. My buddy Flo assures me that someone will pick us up. Again we are about 50 years back in time. Sure enough, only one minute down the road someone who knew Flo took us the 10 minutes back to Claregalway.
4:00 pm Huge Gaelic football rivalry in one of the four provincial finals. County Mayo vs. County Galway. Galway is known as the Tribesman, but Mayo has no mascot. I suggested they should be the Naise. Get it, Mayo Naise. They could get a guy to dress up like a big bottle of Hellmans. They could use cheers like, “Let’s spread it ON!!”
The game was fantastic. Mayo dominated throughout and had a 7 point lead with three minutes to go. This is a sizable lead since a ball in the goal is worth 3 and a ball over the goal and between the uprights is only worth one. So Galway scores four quick points and force a crucial turnover with 30 seconds left and of course fire a Hail Mary pass which is caught and put in the goal for the tie. Mayo comes back with a great kick for a point in the last 10 seconds.
6:00 pm Two hour bus ride to Ballina.
8:00 pm In an interesting quirk of fate, for the second time this week I ate the same exact meal twice in one day. Pot roast, corn, carrots and of course mashed potatoes. Both excellent, but funny. Maybe there is a set meal for each day of the week in this country.
10:00 pm Out to the pub for a pint. Very good Guinness and the cover band was excellent. The speakers here have super duper bass. When you are within 20 feet of the speakers you can feel the bass reverberate through your body. My wingman Flo disappeared and I navigate the twenty minute walk home, never sure of the route until the moment I see the doorway.
2:30 am I guess wired from the live band, I watch some awful British version of Grey’s Anatomy. After, I got important news, such as the Pope broke his wrist.
Monday, September 21, 2009
DAY 20
9:00 am Nothing in Ireland is ever planned. People here live by the seat of their pants. They must firmly believe life is what happens while you are busy planning. So I too wake up this morning without a clue how I will fill the day.
11:00 am It is finally decided the Spaniards want to go into Galway. I go with, hoping to catch a tour to Connemara, an area just north of Galway with beautiful landscape. Once at the visitor center we are informed the last bus left at 10:45. So, now what. Luckily the kind tourist lady informs us the last bus to the Aran Island ferry leaves in 10 minutes. This turns out to be one of the biggest best breaks of my trip. The bus ride out was spectacular. You drive along the coast and see an old school links golf course. Then, half way there the terrain turns to something peculiar and rarely found anywhere in the world. It is a world of rocks, except there is grass growing on and around these rocks. This proves that even if you planted grass seed on your car in Ireland, by the next day your car would be green.
12:00 pm The 40 minute ferry ride is filled with interactions with my first real Americans. They are from Illinois and, not surprisingly, 3 of the 4 are teachers. Who else can have a decently paying career so that you can afford and have the time to gallivant all over the world.
1:00 pm On the island you can either walk, “hire” a bike or “hire” a car. Since I love biking and love having the freedom to have a self guided tour and love only spending five euro, the bike was a no brainer. The bike was a solid 10-speed and I headed out on the ancient Irish speaking island. It’s about 10 miles long by two miles wide. Cycling along the coast was geourgous, with the blue Atlantic and the small mountains of the other Aran islands in the background. Then I went up the mountain a piece. All of a sudden I am walking around terrain I have never experienced. Slabs and slabs of rock, with of course grass in between them. Back on the bike and I pedaled ferociously to reach the highest point on the island, where the locals wisely placed a light house and signal tower.
After the tower, I headed down a path to an ancient monument. The last 100 feet have to be done on feet. I turn the corner and two massive horses are just eating grass on my path. After the horse bucked and made me think it was ready to attack, they both ran off quickly. The monument was neat, a stone igloo. Don’t know if you are supposed to go in it and it is creepy to think there is no mortar holding the rocks, but I went in thinking, “if its held for 4000 years I think it will hold another two minutes.”
Then some ancient churches and the really breathtaking Celtic fort. Some poor German broke his ankle on the way up, probably Karma for that jerk I met in Cork- see Day 13. At the top you are surrounded by these incredible stone walls and looking down steep cliffs into the Atlantic Ocean. It’s like the Pacific Coast Highway meets Robin Hood. It is incredible that they built these forts. I picked up a stone on the island that was one foot by one foot and it weighed easily 80 pounds. So these other stones that are sometimes three feet by three feet has to weigh at least 720 pounds. Met a girl from Slovenia at the top and she asked, “You know where it is?” I replied with a description of where Slovakia exists and she went on to inform me it is not Slovakia.
After the fort I saw hundreds of dolphins swimming right off the coast. It is like today is a charmed day. On the ride back to the ferry it is a totally different experience, because now the haze has cleared and the view is even more spectacular.
Right before reaching the ferry I witnessed a man driving his car with his hand out the window. Connected to that hand out the window is a horse. He is leading a horse down the road in his Renault whatever. Just the amazing juxtaposition of ancient and modern.
5:30 pm Made the ferry by two minutes. Chatted with three more Americans (Clevelanders) on the bus ride home, of course one was a teacher.
7:00 pm Once in Galway, killed time waiting for my ride by watching a really good magic show and other random street theatre. Had some dinner and a glass of wine and slept well.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
DAY 19
10:00 am Camp goes well again. My boy Ian decides he will peg a ball from half court right off a kids bum. I had to yell at him and give him push-ups, but I was impressed by the sheer audacity and accuracy of his effort.
12:00 pm The Spanish coach became so fed up with the campers that he asked through his interpreter, “Are the Irish just not as smart as the British?” Apparently, he had worked a camp in the UK recently with a little quicker learning curve. He also fired a water bottle at one idiot camper that was running around like “headless chickens.”
4:00 pm After camp the Spaniards planted a tree in remembrance of their weekend. Don’t know if this is a Spanish tradition or what. We then made plans to go to the Cliffs of Mohr.
6:00 pm After waiting a while for the ride to the cliffs, we ring the driver and apparently my desire to go was lost in translation. Me gusta cliffs of mohr or vamos a cliffs of mohr is what I should have said.
7:00 pm So instead of seeing one of the top 28 wonders of the world, I spend the next few hours playing around and talking to the crazy local kids. We discuss how kids in Ireland don’t have school dances. This leads to the later realization that a favorite Irish pastime is BS. They do go to dances, but they love to pull your leg. They think the way I say things is hilarious and I can’t stop saying y’all which sends them into tumultuous laughter each time. One girl was being made fun of because in school one time she started to say, “in WW III the” Everyone laughed except for one kid who after ten seconds, said “Continue.”
9:00 pm Then we take a bike ride to the local historical sites. A 12th century monastery and castle is surrounded by a large cemetery. The gravestones in this country are so elaborate. Below the gravestone, the whole area is usually decorated with a bed of rocks and momentos. They take their dying seriously here.
11:00 pm Off to trivia at the country club. The winner of the 2009 US Open, Clemson alum Lucas Glover, was my big contribution to the evening. Knowing that it is Eldrick Tiger Woods, Clinton came from Arkansas, Schwarzenegger is the Governator of CA and that Geronimo was an Apache were all helpful. I got all of the American ones, but as you can see, they were pretty easy if you are from the US.
12:00 pm The Spanish coach became so fed up with the campers that he asked through his interpreter, “Are the Irish just not as smart as the British?” Apparently, he had worked a camp in the UK recently with a little quicker learning curve. He also fired a water bottle at one idiot camper that was running around like “headless chickens.”
4:00 pm After camp the Spaniards planted a tree in remembrance of their weekend. Don’t know if this is a Spanish tradition or what. We then made plans to go to the Cliffs of Mohr.
6:00 pm After waiting a while for the ride to the cliffs, we ring the driver and apparently my desire to go was lost in translation. Me gusta cliffs of mohr or vamos a cliffs of mohr is what I should have said.
7:00 pm So instead of seeing one of the top 28 wonders of the world, I spend the next few hours playing around and talking to the crazy local kids. We discuss how kids in Ireland don’t have school dances. This leads to the later realization that a favorite Irish pastime is BS. They do go to dances, but they love to pull your leg. They think the way I say things is hilarious and I can’t stop saying y’all which sends them into tumultuous laughter each time. One girl was being made fun of because in school one time she started to say, “in WW III the” Everyone laughed except for one kid who after ten seconds, said “Continue.”
9:00 pm Then we take a bike ride to the local historical sites. A 12th century monastery and castle is surrounded by a large cemetery. The gravestones in this country are so elaborate. Below the gravestone, the whole area is usually decorated with a bed of rocks and momentos. They take their dying seriously here.
11:00 pm Off to trivia at the country club. The winner of the 2009 US Open, Clemson alum Lucas Glover, was my big contribution to the evening. Knowing that it is Eldrick Tiger Woods, Clinton came from Arkansas, Schwarzenegger is the Governator of CA and that Geronimo was an Apache were all helpful. I got all of the American ones, but as you can see, they were pretty easy if you are from the US.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
DAY 17 and 18
The day after the day
Feel awful. Lost day.
Did see a documentary on Lions. After hours of not killing buffaloes they finally kill a sickly calf. Then some hyenas come and scare off the lions and eat their dinner. King of the jungle my butt.
Day 18
9:30 am Finally made it to a mass over here. True to the rumors, the weekday mass is only 20 minutes. The priest gives no sermon and wastes no time. They say the Lord’s prayer in Irish. Also, In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is said in Irish and at present is the only thing I can say in Irish: An anima aher, agus un vic, agus un spirit naive. The kids enjoyed teaching me as I probably sounded like Sammy Sosa trying to deny he did steroids in English.
4:00 pm After camp I go over to the camp coordinators mini-mansion. After playing some pool I eat a small meal of chicken, peas, carrots and roasted potatoes. Roasted potatoes are amazing. More on this later.
6:00 pm Back at my hosts I eat the exact same meal of chicken, peas, carrots and roasted potatoes. Very ironic.
9:00 pm Having a few pints at the local pub, I almost start a fight when I jokingly say that one Mom’s roasted potatoes are better than the other Mom’s. Then a dad and I somehow got on politics and I was on my best behavior, since he was a good bit more left than your average American. I might even throw the word socialist around, but that might be a bit strong. Also, at this point I am wondering if Obama and the Congress has brought us totally to Socialism. Alrighty then, let’s go back to the light-hearted blog.
11:30 pm I could head into Galway, but with it being so late and a little gun shy still I decide to just go home and call it a night. The crew that goes out ends up being 30 minutes late the next day, so I feel pretty good about my decision.
Feel awful. Lost day.
Did see a documentary on Lions. After hours of not killing buffaloes they finally kill a sickly calf. Then some hyenas come and scare off the lions and eat their dinner. King of the jungle my butt.
Day 18
9:30 am Finally made it to a mass over here. True to the rumors, the weekday mass is only 20 minutes. The priest gives no sermon and wastes no time. They say the Lord’s prayer in Irish. Also, In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is said in Irish and at present is the only thing I can say in Irish: An anima aher, agus un vic, agus un spirit naive. The kids enjoyed teaching me as I probably sounded like Sammy Sosa trying to deny he did steroids in English.
4:00 pm After camp I go over to the camp coordinators mini-mansion. After playing some pool I eat a small meal of chicken, peas, carrots and roasted potatoes. Roasted potatoes are amazing. More on this later.
6:00 pm Back at my hosts I eat the exact same meal of chicken, peas, carrots and roasted potatoes. Very ironic.
9:00 pm Having a few pints at the local pub, I almost start a fight when I jokingly say that one Mom’s roasted potatoes are better than the other Mom’s. Then a dad and I somehow got on politics and I was on my best behavior, since he was a good bit more left than your average American. I might even throw the word socialist around, but that might be a bit strong. Also, at this point I am wondering if Obama and the Congress has brought us totally to Socialism. Alrighty then, let’s go back to the light-hearted blog.
11:30 pm I could head into Galway, but with it being so late and a little gun shy still I decide to just go home and call it a night. The crew that goes out ends up being 30 minutes late the next day, so I feel pretty good about my decision.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
ALL IN FOR DABO AND DAY 16
HERE IS HAPPY PRAISE GOD JOB EXTENSION DABOHere are all the possible senarios. I predict the one in bold. How bout you??
12-0 Dabo signs 8 year extension and takes on Barker's duties as well
11-1 Dabo signs 6 year extension and is named mayor of Clemson
10-2 ACCCG appearance- Dabo signs 4 year extension and gets to stay at my sweet new house
9-3 ACCCG appearance- Dabo keeps job and recruiting kicks into high gear.
9-3 No ACCCG but beat USC - I'm pissed but high powered IPTAY folks happy
9-3 No ACCCG and lose to USC - Still a good year, cannot complain.
HERE IS CALL TOMMY BOWDEN TO LEARN HOW TO PROPERLY SIT ON THE HOT SEAT DABO8-4 ACCCG appearance but lose to USC and TCU- Dabo wins the ones he heeds to!!! I see this as a possibility
8-4 No ACCCG but beat USC - Still a good year. Recruiting will be fine and the future will be bright.
8-4 No ACCCG and lose to USC - Mediocre year. One thing Bowden could do was beat the chickens.
7-5 Beat USC - Mediocre year. Still give it time. This means we lost to GT, BC, FSU, GT and TCU
7-5 Lose to USC - Now we are starting to get into a bad year.
6-6 Beat USC - Coaching search will start
6-6 Lose to USC - Coaching search escalated
5-7 This would mean we went 3-7 against real opponents. Not acceptable. I think Dabo would be fired at the end of the year
4-8 I think Dabo would be fired by Thanksgiving
HERE IS MRS. DABO AND CHILD FEARING FOR LIFE OF HUSBAND AND DAD3-9 Killed by Iptay mob
2-10 Begins selling real estate again by October
1-11 Clemson faithful tie him to balloons during the Hill by week 5
0-12 Dabo sleeps with the fishes of Lake Hartwell
Here is the behind the scene Dabo - pretty neat. I want him to well so badly.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.hisradio.com/myimages/dabo_swinney.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.hisradio.com/dabo-swinney-with-rob-kristin.php&usg=__ORZ7Wj_U9cVkZwglesyPK0eBrNw=&h=661&w=340&sz=45&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=IzhudoBh24oXpM:&tbnh=138&tbnw=71&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddabo%2Bswinney%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX
7 pm The Spanish coach gives a lecture. It’s pretty neat since he is one of the winningest coaches in Spain and right now the Spanish league is the next best league after the NBA. For quality of play it is probably better than the NBA. I can’t believe I am saying that, but it could be true.
11 am I get dropped in Galway with a girl named Hannah who lives in Galway. She is meeting her American friend and her boyfriend. Plus our old pal Flo and his cousin will join us for this night of craziness. We start at a pub called The Quay, I think. They had traditional Irish music. I thought it was pretty good, but heard it is crap compared to the really good stuff.
12 am Long story short, many pints flowed and had a great time. I tried to keep myself out of trouble by getting away from the endless rounds. Apparently, the American girl is either loaded or knows a bartender because every time I came back there was a pint and the now banned from my body “Baby Guinness” shot. During my touring of the pub, I bumped into groups from Australia, Germany and Dublin. All really fun groups. The Aussies were tired of the weather and ready for their next stop in Greece. At some point there was a pair of girls talking to our group who I would have placed at 21 or 22. They giggled to the point it was obvious they were younger and did admit to being 17 and 18 respectively. As a high school teacher, I thought I was decent at the age guessing game, but I was way off. I think this is due to the fact that I am used to everyone in a bar being at least 21. That is definitely not the case here. I do very much enjoy not being carded…ever.
1 am The long cab ride causes the biggest reversal of fortune. Getting too old for this, but I am too much of a wuss to turn down something that is bought for me, so I could not turn down the shots. I end up at Hannah’s house with the whole lot of us crashing there. At some point, I wondered off to get some fresh air and they were worried about me. But my just good enough sense of direction got me back to the house.
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