One of Us

"If I wasn't one of us I would be so annoyed by us."
"I know! Because we're young, we're smart, we're beautiful..."
"Actually I meant because we are making so much noise in the library."

I spent about 12 hrs in the postgrad reading room yesterday working on my paper. Its a building that is architecturally brilliant from the outside and bloody awful on the inside- the carpet is puke green, the shelves are old and dusty, and there are horrible neon lights. Its saving grace is a mini rotunda, that during the day lets just the right amount of sunlight in... clearly I have been working VERY hard on my research.

It was a semi-productive day, really just what I needed to get back into the swing of things. Mom and the girls left Tuesday after spending a week tearing through this beautiful country, leaving me with 5 days to write another 10 pages. Now 4 days an counting... I met Laura and Erin N in the reading room- a wonderful and horrible idea. Wonderful because I had my girls to take coffee breaks with, horrible because by the end of the day when we were all getting a bit punchy, there was absolutely no work getting done. Just lots and lots of giggling.

When I wasn't working, I bought my ticket home (finally) and caught up with some of my closest friends- Katie, Coll, and Ryan, to be exact- and my heart ACHED for them. It literally groaned. I am more excited for this Holiday than I've been in years. I want to see my Dad, I want to decorate the house and listen to Christmas carols, I want to go to the movies with Jared, I want to party with the Masque kids, and I want to go out on the town with my Girls. I want to go shopping with Katie and drink cocktails, I want to play with my dogs, I want to see my family and hang out at home, and eat my Mom's vegetarian food. I just cannot wait to go home.

But first.... ughhhh.... this bloody essay.

I Give Thanks

This post is dedicated to/ inspired by Matt Demizio, whose profound influence on my life I will be eternally grateful for.

WHAT/ WHOM I'M THANKFUL FOR THIS YEAR: (in no particular order)

...Matt, Jared, Mom, Dad, Bryn, Keely, Family, Kyle, Friends, Katie, International Peace Studies, Coll, Ryan, C-71 (old and new), Ireland, Jenny, Yeats, Krit, Carol, Chris, Tony, La Salle Track and Field, Schiding, Torpey, beans on toast, the Killers, Buckley, Kling, Hill, Turzanski, Cicala, Br. Ed, Melissa, the Masque (everyone), Connemara, all the Sean O'Casey plays I have to read, Ann, the Fabulous Ireland Crew, journals, the death of my procrastination habit (knock on wood), Broadway musicals, idealists, Jon Stewart, Erik, Steve, Skype, Arthur Miller, Bon Jovi, Sex and the City, the Beatles, letters, Louis Goldberg, Horatiu, Howard, Pat, Fritsch, Meet the Press, Irish music, bloggers, Dublin at sunset, Bulmers Cider, laughs that make me cry, nights I wish would never end (and especially the ones that dont)...

The list could go on for a million pages- I am a very lucky girl- but I have to get some sleep.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Pizza

I love pizza nights. They remind me of my childhood- dinners at my Grandmom's that were not holidays inevitably resulted in pizza. Pizza reminds me of my cousins, my sisters, and I all climbing trees like monkeys outside, running around the yard, getting the mysterious red ink from the bark of the tree in the backyard all over our clothes. We would crawl with anticiption around the green porch, knees red with rug burn, eagerly awaiting one of my Uncle's to arrive with the hot boxes of delicious pies.

We squeezed around Grandmom's kitchen table (the dining room table was for adults only) laughing until soda was just about coming out our noses. We'd have eating contests, burping contests, and just about every obnoxious contest imaginable. We'd eat slice after slice until we were almost sick. With big, full bellies, we would plan for a "show" or "performance" to torture the adults with, and concoct the inevitable Stow-Away Project, where a chosen sacrificial lamb would be hidden away in someone's car in hopes of continuing the fun back home. I think Abby and Kyle were most often the chosen victims, hidden under coats on the floor of our station wagon. I cannot remember ever making it further than a block. Upon being discovered they were returned to Grandmoms, we'd say goodbyes all over again, and my cousins would run after our car as we waved and blew kisses and eagerly anticipated our next engagement.

I ordered pizza in last night, and even though pizza in Dublin is absolutely AWFUL, I still got that warm and fuzzy feeling. I am really looking forward to seeing my family over the holidays. Even though we are almost all legal adults now, we will still be squeezed around the kitchen table, only now instead of soda, it will be beer coming out of our noses. Laughs will be had and it will be fabulous.

And I can still out eat most of them.

Heaven

Prince Charming stepped off the plane a day later than planned due to passport complications, but he made it nonetheless. His trip was every bit as fairytale-like as I had hoped.

After a whirlwind tour of Dublin we decided to buck the Big City and go out to Galway to explore the west coast of Ireland. After one missed train and the most painful bus ride in creation, we finally made it. Our first night in Galway we ended up in a comedy club, Bulmers and Guiness in hand, to be delighted by Canadian comic Mike Wilmot, by far Canada's greatest export. We laughed our tired asses off- it was fantastic. In the days that followed we toured the Burren region and the Cliffs of Moher- which were every bit as beautiful as I remembered- Kylemore Abbey and my FAVORITE place in the world- Connemara.

The tour guide accurately described Connemara as heaven on earth, and I must agree. Breathtaking mountains, green hills, blue waters, winter sun. Magic. I want to own a little Irish cottage there someday with my Prince Charming. A retreat to escape the stress of the world. A place to work, write, read and be at complete, undisturbed peace. I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life. If heaven exists, it certainly looks like Connemara.

So the trip was by far a success. It was lovely to escape for a few days- away from Dublin, school, research, and everything else that has been driving me mad lately. Ofcourse it was even more wonderful to see JS after over a month... absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder.

Bad Day

I woke up today with an awful feeling... a hangover of unanswered questions, doubt, and confusion. Bad news from home soon followed, and since I have felt as if an elephant is standing on my chest. It is agony to be here, so far away from everyone I love. I want to be in Philadelphia.

Insomnia

"I don't think its politically correct to mock Gandhi."

Oh, its been one of those days, in Dublin's Fair City, and its after 1am and I am nowhere near sleep. The day began as usual- I stumbled into the kitchen in my pajamas at half ten, gave Ann a sleepy hello, and began to make the breakfast of Champions- bagel, egges, and NY Times. Our serene morning was interrupted when the fire alarm in our building went off- it took us about 5 minutes to figure out what the hell the noise was (no judgements, please, we hear LOTS of strange noises in this flat). Out into the hallway in our pajamas we went to try to decide if we needed to evacuate (my Uncle Pat, a fireman, would absolutely murder me if he was aware of these shinanigans). We were greeted by one of our neighbors, a grumpy old Polish man. Do you know whats going on? we asked... "FIRE ALARM", he said, and ran down the hallway. After a few more minutes deliberating in the hallway, we decided to go back into the apartment and chance it. "After all, we're on the first floor... we could always jump. Just take your computer." So as we made our way back to the flat we bumped into another neighbor who said we had nothing to worry about- and then made a smartass comment about it being a bit late to still be in pajamas. (I felt like saying "if you were up half the night writing about female genital mutilation maybe you would sleep in too"... but I didnt).

So after that mildly eventful morning, the afternoon was pretty chill. Went to my International Politics seminar, argued a bit with the disagreeable French girl whom I may have to tackle before the course is through, and came home to work on my paper. For some reason my brain was not working this evening and it took me hours- HOURS- to write my introduction. When I asked my dear roomie Ann for quote suggestions, she responded in her infamous-yet-unoffensive Indian accent (see Gandhi quote above)and thus began one of our accent discussions, analyzing what mumbo-jumbo we picking up here in Dub. We also mercilessly made fun of eachother, ate gingersnaps, and listened to Tchaikovsky on repeat for about six hours... seriously. It was delightful.

So after I read a few NY Times articles on how the religious right is ruining my country (thats America- not Ireland), I check my email once more before I hit the sack. Had a newsletter from the Phil about their debate this Thursday. The topic? "This House Believes that 9-11 Was a Legitimate Form of Resistence to American Pressure in the Islamic World." And two of the five speakers? Islamic fundamentalists- and with a "special message" from a Sheik whom is in bed with bin Laden. Umm... are you fucking serious? So I looked up these fundamentalists and became more outraged. We are talking about guys who hung posters up in Britain after 9-11 referring to the hijackers as "the Magnificent 19." Its unreal. I am honestly appalled that the Phil and Trinity would allow for speakers who literally advocate terrorism. You must be joking?! So now my blood pressure is about to go through the roof and I am trying to decide how to act exactly to do... do I go on Thursday, flip my shit, and leave? Do I peacefully protest outside? Write a letter to Trinity about how absurd this is? Not sure at the moment. I am not generally one to be easily offended, but I truly find it irresponsible and insensitive to host these speakers. The only thing they have to gain is shock value, and frankly I think thats cheap. We'll see- maybe I'll go to the debate and the other panelists will eat them alive and I will be content to just cheer them on. Maybe I should avoid the scene all together? Not sure yet... but I am sure it will prove to be an interesting evening.

Okay- rant over. Night all.

Saturdays

I love productive Saturdays. As one of my few free days of the week, Saturday is desperately important: big blocks of uninterrupted time for doing... things- its heaven. Heaven in my gray sweats and leopard print slippers.

I locked myself in the house today- contemplated going to the bookstore and/or library to pick up some new books for research, but ruled it out due to the array of distractions I would inevitably walk past. So here I sat at my kitchen table with my lap top, nursing my cold, and taking notes- completely obsessed with researching my first essay (which is on religion and female genital mutilation- no worries, I'll spare you the details). I only got out of my seat to have the most wonderful creation for dinner (thank you, Ann Hoag)- a toasted peanut butter/ nutella/ banana sandwich... okay, so its a bit desserty, but it was divine!

Its now 10pm in beautiful Dublin and my adrenaline is still flowing! I'm still at the kitchen table, drinking Lemsip, listening to Madame Butterfly, and plugging away at my research, feeling very studious and accomplished.

Oh, the simple things in life... I love Saturdays.

Hope

BRAVO to the Senate Democrats for creating a long- overdue stir this week in Congress. THERE IS HOPE FOR AMERICA AFTER ALL!

NY Times:
November 3, 2005
Democrats Seek a Shift to Issues That Will Favor Them
By CARL HULSE
WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 - The Democratic decision to bushwhack Senate Republicans this week with a surprise procedural maneuver reflected a larger political strategy to shift the terrain to issues that Democrats believe will play to their common advantage in the 2006 elections.

After infuriating majority Republicans on Tuesday by forcing the Senate into a closed session over the Bush administration's handling of intelligence before the Iraq war, leading Senate Democrats said Wednesday that they would not shy from using any means available to have their say, though they would not tip their hand on specific plans.

"There is still a lot of fight in this Democratic Party, and on the right issues we are going to get up and fight," said Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat, as the Senate clash continued to reverberate on Capitol Hill.

Arguing that Republicans are vulnerable in light of misconduct accusations reaching the highest levels of the White House and Congress, a rising death toll in Iraq and record fuel prices and oil company profits, Democrats are taking a more aggressive adversarial posture.

They are pounding the administration in the C.I.A. leak case while simultaneously fighting a Republican budget-and-tax-cutting plan and exploring the idea of a filibuster against President Bush's new Supreme Court pick.

At the same time, they are promoting a party message under the theme "Together, America Can Do Better," a slogan seen at Democratic events. In the coming months, they also intend to unveil a platform that Democrats see as their version of the Contract With America that began the Republican takeover of the House in 1994. It will cover such issues as employment, higher education, energy and technology.

"We are going to assert ourselves," said Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, chairman of the Senate Democratic campaign effort and one of those involved in mapping out the surprise floor attack on Republicans. "What has given us new vigor in this is we think the American people are on our side."

He and other Democrats said the public response to their Senate fight was positive. And a CBS News poll issued Wednesday showed Mr. Bush's approval rating at 35 percent, the lowest point of his presidency in that survey. It also found that 51 percent of those polled considered the C.I.A. leak case a matter of great importance to the nation.

While Republicans acknowledge that they are struggling at the moment, they reject the idea that Democrats can employ a national theme to win Congressional elections, particularly in House races.

In his own closed-door planning meeting with House Republicans on Wednesday, Speaker J. Dennis Hastert sought to reassure worried lawmakers.

"I submit to you that even today, as tough as things seem, it is much better to be us than them," said Mr. Hastert, according to an account provided by a Republican official. "Why do I say this? First, they have no plan. Second, if they ever announce one it will be consistent with their philosophy of bigger and bigger government and higher and higher taxes."

Other Republicans say Democrats are overreaching to politicize what the Republicans describe as a narrow indictment of one White House aide. They say the opposition runs the risk of appearing petulant and more concerned with scoring political points than with dealing with substantive issues people care about like gas prices, immigration and the flu threat.

"My own guess is that people wonder why we are playing those kind of games," said Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas. "They are frustrated with Congress and politicians enough anyway and see that as another example of why they are frustrated."

In initiating the the Tuesday blowup in the Senate, Democrats cited frustration at what they saw as stalling by the Senate Intelligence Committee on a promised inquiry into the way the administration had used intelligence reports to justify the war in Iraq. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, invoked an obscure rule that resulted in a closed session to air out differences over the intelligence investigation.

In the end, Democrats won the creation of a bipartisan six-member group to assess the progress of the inquiry and report back in mid-November. Republicans said any victory was far outweighed by the hard feelings Democrats caused with the maneuver.

"They didn't get anything out of it, other than some headlines," Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, said in an interview on the Fox News Channel.

Others, however, said Democrats had been able to draw attention back to the indictment of a senior White House official and differences over the war in Iraq and away from the choice of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. for the Supreme Court.

"I thought it was a pretty deft move," said Charlie Cook, a nonpartisan political analyst. "If the focus is on Iraq, that is a bad day for the president."

Democrats continued to press the administration on the subject on Wednesday. In a joint letter to Mr. Bush, Mr. Reid and Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, called on the president to clean house, apologize to the nation and cooperate in Congressional hearings into the leak.

"We urge you and Vice President Cheney to support full Congressional investigations and to make yourselves available to respond to questions on these matters," the letter said.

Members of both parties expect that rancor from the confrontation will complicate the consideration of Judge Alito's selection. And it could completely boil over if the confirmation fight results in a filibuster, prompting a Republican effort to ban that tactic.

But one Republican said he thought such procedural fights were losing political causes for both parties. "I don't think it gets any of us anywhere," said Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama. "I think the country is uneasy now, and I think it is important that the government, Republicans and Democrats, listen to what they are asking about."