Yet ANOTHER rant blog. About....

Amazing Best Friends.

(psych!!)

Like this:

 

 (But not quite, because i've NEVER worn loose leather pants that still manage to be too tight (O.O), and I don't think that I've EVER seen Abigail in all white. 

....

but still.

I just want to say that I have THE. MOST. AMAZING. BEST. FRIENDS.

BAR NONE.

Seriously.

Some talk to me on skype for hours.

Some send me packages, 

Some come visit. 

Some don't.

and yes, some may even space out about my birthday...

But thats ok because I love them all.

And they all have one thing in common...

they keep me sane.

Its their job to make sure I don't make this facial expression when life gets me down:

 

Yes, THAT face. 

the slightly pissed, REALLY stressed, and just a tad constipated, and...HEY LOOK! A SWORD!!

...

 And they do their job very well. 

Thanks guys for being my (in)sane sanity break. 

I'm being serious now.

I wouldn't be able to make it through this (fun, but) grueling trip abroad without you. 

And I miss you like crazy.

But you knew that.

Praise God; I'll be seeing you all in two weeks and four days... plus or minus a few hours.

And no, I can't wait. 

Know that without you I would have spontaneously combusted by now.
And no, I won't be able to ever pay you back for all you do.

So let me say thank you from the bottom of my heart.
You make me one very lucky girl.

Daisuki desu.  ("I love you" for my non-japanese-obsessed friends... yes, I forgive you. )



<3

...thats just disturbing.

But hey, thats just us.

<382

 Ja, ne!!!

Midterms...

Face, meet Desk.
...
Like this:

Countdown of my sanity?
Sure. Here goes...
SEVEN weeks and five days in an amazingly gorgeous country.
SIX classes I am currently trying to juggle.
FIVE weeks and four days until I'm home for Christmas.
FOUR insane roomies who don't really have midterms...
THREE days until midterms are over, for better or worse.
TWO papers due tomorrow...
and ONE homesick student who can't bring herself to write more than the beginning paragraphs...

THAT is a recipe for losing your sanity altogether.

Ergo...
Two seasons of ANTM, 1.5 seasons of modern family, and starting at the beginning of smallville, and I'm still losing my mind.
Combine that with copious amounts of coffee , Jrock, and homesickness, and you've got one insane Irish-American in the emerald isle.

Seriously though. I've seen amazingly gorgeous things while I've been here, and I really am enjoying my trip...
But the truth of the matter is that I am missing people like crazy.
There are a lot of people who mean the world to me who I am experiencing the world without.

I can't wait for Christmas.

SO.
Every time Megavideo maxes out on me because I share an IP address with people, I make packing lists...
And (for once) actually manage to write a blog post, of course.

So here's Sunday...day of rest...and I'm going to spend my day writing papers and going to mass and then writing some more...
IF facebook, youtube, and Nigahiga don't conspire to be my downfall.

But yes, packing lists are being made, gifts are being purchased, and I've had my agenda for December 17th planned out (to the hour) for the past month...don't judge.

...p.s. Smallville rocks my socks.

And so do my insane family members (genetic and adopted) who are keeping me from being actually admitted to the loony bin. ;)

And when I get home, there will be serious glomp-tackles all around.
    Trust me.
       You'd better brace yourself.

I'm gonna hit the tarmac at O'Hare and freak. out. 

           Anywhoodle...

I have papers to write...unfortunately.
     Midterms. Yuck.
Unfortunately, they have to be written.
To quote Lex Luthor (a sign that I've watched too much smallville), "I believe the term is 'Cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of War'."

Those papers are going down.

I'll see you on the other side...hopefully with some sanity left...but i wouldn't bet on it.

Ja! <3

Ryan Air Flight 9432: this is NOT my happy face...

10.22.10

WARNING
This is completely a vent-blog.
About Ryan Air.
If that is in any way displeasing to you, feel free to skip to the next post.
I won't be offended, I promise. I might even laugh a little, and that will be so much more preferrable than my current mood...
Irritated, and wanting to hit something...like a wall.
...
OR just down espresso like its going out of style, and snarf down a chocolate muffin in under 2 seconds flat.
That works too.
    I've been checked for everything.
At every stastion.
    My contact solution that keeps my eyes from exploding got thrown away.
        My reliv lotion got trashed.
            And my toothpaste was tossed.
Toothpaste.
But Reliv that Caitlin said looked like cocaine in my individual bags, pepper spray, and a razor made it through.
...
SO
Lets explore this scenario, shall we?
    Due to Ryan Air's schitzophrenic tendencies with regards to rules and safety, I will now be a smooth-legged, flaky-elbowed, moldy-toothed, self-protected, bug-eyed crack addict during my stay in Italy.
Perfect.

    No, I do not understand how that works. But thank God that they didn't decide to terrorize me and actually weigh my backpack after a guy old enough to be my grandfather rifled through my underwear looking for more contraband toothpaste (and somehow missed the razor).  Because I'm fairly confident that it wouldn't have been under the weight limit.
     It's quite sad, actually. I was expecting them to weigh the backpack, and - in an attempt to decre3ase the (unknown) weight - I wore as many layers as I could stand. Two pairs of pants, and seven shirts later, and walking out onto the freezing tarmac at 6AM didn't bother me so much. Fancy that. All for naught, as that aspect of my carry-on was not contested. Figures.
    By the time they checked the size of my bulging backpack, I was so irritated that I shoved it into the bag-size-checker...thing using copious amoungs oof elbow grease, sheer determination and force of will, and a whole lot of help from a few beastly guardian Angels. Epic. Ask Caitlin though; the lady was a little disappointed that she didn't get to charge me another $60 for the bag being oversized.
     I needed a strong drink...
         Hence the double shot espresso. (gotcha)
    Although I did smile a bit, because only in Ireland would you be able to buy Guinness at a coffee shop.
    Sometimes I hate flying.
In any case, I will be in Italy in two hours and I can't wait. Hopefully once I'm on the ground, my horrific experience will be forgotten...even if I have to wipe it from my memory by force.
   By the way, the flight attendant just announced over intercom that smoking WAS prohibited, but if you wanted to smoke, you could buy cigarettes from the attendants, and THAT would be ok. I'm serious. I don't understand these people sometimes.
    *sigh*
Its much better now that I'm in motion.
   Although I haven't taken my Reliv yet today, and that makes me cranky. But hey, at least they let me take it with me, you know?
   My stress level is also decreased due to my unwinding via listening to Japanese music and Michael Bublè. Strange, but surprisingly effective.
   By the way, the sunrise over a sleeping Dublin is stunning. I'd take a pcture, but my camera is buried. Oops.
   And speaking of pictures, I'm going to guess that my total for the trip is going to come to around 1,300 pics. Just a guesstimation, you understand. Thank God for memory cards, laptops with SD slots, and extra batteries.
   I'll have to take a picture of Trevi fountain; four years ago, I tossed a coin over my left shoulder, and here I am again. Fancy that! :)
   First purchase upon arriving to Rome will be sunglasses for easier people-watching. Second purchase? A power converter for my laptop. Methinks I have a problem. Oh well, at least I'm happy with my current level of insanity.
   So, in the end, this wasnìt completely a rant-post, and for that I'm glad. I think the process of writing it down helps me calm down a bit...and maybe even laugh a little too, if I'm lucky.
   Here's to hoping that you managed to laugh a bit too. And if you are analyzing my insanity - as would be logical - just remember, you are friends with this...which basically means you are either laugning, shaking your head, or wishing you could be here in the empty plane seat next to me. Although, considering that we are friends, dear reader, chances are that its a combination of all three...
   I miss you too.
       And I'll say hi to Italy for you. :)
Wish me luck, ne?
   Grazie!

Much love -
   Me

So I know this is out of order, but...

I don't really care at this point.

We have to journal for our class with the SMC coordinator, and i really want to post what I wrote (which was hugely frustrating, by the way...)

Reflection on 10-9-10

Details:

   I woke up sick, and really wasn't looking forward to going on the tour. After being sick and bedridden for five days, the idea of walking around did not appeal to me. I took a shower, praying that I would be able to make it through the day...or even make it to the bus.
 I actually did make it to the bus. Deep breathing helps a lot. The rolling of the bus in motion, however, does not. Thankfully, the tour was worth it.
  My favorite part of the day was the Maynum Cemetery. Well...after lunch, anyway. (Which I did manage to keep down, thank God.) Anyway, Seamus, our tour guide, asked people if they knew their Irish surname, and I told him that my Irish name was O'Toole.
  He freaked out. There is no simpler way to describe it. It was as if his whole body quivered in excitement. He asked for my hand, and proceeded to vault over burial plots, pulling me with him.
      His best friend was an O'Toole.
  I will never forget the look of joy on his face as he told me the story of my family; the story of his best friend.
       I know where I come from.
          Someone else knows where I come from.


And somehow, I matter to someone I've only met once because bonds of history, and bonds of friendship last much longer than death. 

         

            I will never forget.

Adventure wa HAJIME!!!

Ok, so I just completed some serious detoxing...of my luggage anyway. 

See? Two suitcases, one backpack, and one ginormusly large, mutated purse. The best part? Each suitcase is under 50 lbs. Take THAT, Aer Lingus!...*ahem*.
Man, I got that done JUST in time.
No, really, just in time.
I leave in an hour.
60 min. to make sure I'm not forgetting anything.
However, by now, I think if I am missing anything, I'll just have to deal with it because either I'm not going to find it, I didn't really need it in the first place, or I'm not going to be able (or willing) to try to fit it into my already over-packed suitcases.
So. Question of the hour: is this an Adventure, or a Crisis?

Crisis.

haha, just kidding.
Definitely an Adventure.
I won't be crying over misplaced running shoes in a year...especially 'cause I'm not too teary-eyed about it now. 
With one hour to go, and after having received my travelers blessing, I am so ready for the journey of a lifetime to simply begin already.
I'm serious.
Can I just leave now?
Wait, scratch that. My new music isn't downloaded to my iPod for the plane flight yet, so I can't go...*insert dramatic hand gesture here*
You know; priorities.
:)

The next piece of business is for me to throw out my back carrying aforesaid luggage to the car. Wish me well, ne? (I could use it)

And let the Adventure begin! (Thank God.)

-Me

p.s. and yes, to all you doubters, mockers, and non-believers out there, i did, in fact, find a way to fit in all my favorite shoes...XD

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to dance a jig, and maybe caper around a bit to some Drop Kick Murphys and screeching bagpipe music. Thank you very much.

Ja.

Departure for the Emerald Isle

Wow.
I leave in four days.
Thats it.

The more I get ready for this trip, the more I find myself wondering if I'm ready for it.
Its going to be one huge adventure, thats for sure.
Good thing I'm up for a challenge, ne?

The hardest part of packing seems to be figuring out how many outfits are too many...either that or narrowing down my shoe collection. Either way, its proving to be very interesting...to say the least.

Now if only my computer will behave itself and actually WORK while I'm over there; that would be great. Otherwise, I run a significant chance of getting my head chopped off by a few friends in the States who will not be so thrilled if they can't get ahold of me. :)

Is it self-serving to wish the Irish blessing upon myself for this journey? I sure hope not.
Well, I'm off to pack and narrow down options some more.
One package of toothpaste or two?
And how many pairs of shoes does a spunky Irish-American need for a 9 month trip?
I'm not sure, but I bet I'll find out.
How's that for whistling in the dark?

So. In the words of Carol Sobieski, "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. "

ja, ne?