Petrol, where are you?

The thirteenth day of our honeymoon was a Monday bank holiday. On the Sunday before, we decided that we needed to try to drive a ways before making camp. Problem was, we only had about half a tank of petrol. We checked the map and there were a lot of little towns along our route. So, on we drove.

Well, after driving a while and passing through a couple "towns," we were getting low on petrol (gas) and looked at the map again. There was a bit bigger town shortly ahead so we kept driving. We got to the town and behold, a petrol station. Problem was, it had closed about half hour before. See, it closed earlier on Sundays and even earlier because the next day was a bank holiday. The petrol station was also closed on the bank holiday or we would have just camped and waited for it to open the next morning.

At the petrol station, a guy was standing around so John asked him where the nearest petrol station was. It was back in the direction we had come! We ended up driving about 50 kilometers back in the direction we had come (but not on the same road) and passed 4 petrol stations, all of which were closed because of the bank holiday! We finally found one in the town we had originally started in.

Later in the trip, we saw warning signs that the next petrol station was X kilometres away (sometimes over 100)! We learned from our adventure and made sure that we had at least half a tank of petrol before venturing out to the next "destination."

I wanna Wii

In May, John and I went to a game night at my friend T's house. We spent the whole night playing various Nintendo Wii games, including the Wii fit. It was so much fun, that I decided that we should get one. John has talked about wanting one for a while as well. So, I decided that I should get us a Wii for when John moved home. Easy, right? Well, not so much.

I went around to the major stores that should carry them one day. Nobody had them. One major electronics store said that they were going to get a shipment in for Sunday morning and to come about half an hour before the store opened to get in line to get one. So that Sunday, which was the day John was coming home, I went to the store at 9:30AM and sat in my car waiting for the store to open. There were a couple other people waiting as well for the store to open. When it opened, I went in and asked if they had gotten the shipment of Wiis. The guy at the desk said that they hadn't and that they don't get shipments in on Sundays unless and it would be in their store ad if a shipment was coming in. So, no Wii. I then went around to more stores searching. Still no Wii.

Since I couldn't get him a Wii, I decided that I'd make him cookies as a coming home present. I didn't have any ingredients so I stopped at the grocery store and got what I remembered needing and continued shopping. Finally, I gave up on the Wii search and went home to make the cookies. Problem was that 1) I didn't get everything I needed and 2)because it was summer, the chocolate chips turned into a smooshy melted mass! (no leakage, though)

The following weekend, I went up to my sister's to collect some stuff. While there, we checked the ads and the same major electronics store had Wiis and Wii Fits in their ad! So, I consulted with my sister and we discussed which store had the best chance of having the best shipment and what time we needed to be at the store. So, we got to the store about 40 minutes before it opened and we weren't the first people there! We got in "line," pulled out our knitting/crocheting and sat outside the store for about half an hour before employees came to give us our vouchers for the product we wanted. So, about half an hour later, I was the proud owner of both a Wii and a Wii Fit. We've been having fun using them, too. The Wii fit is so much fun and I am actually "competing" with John to try to get top scores (normally I don't care about such things).

moving

Yesterday, I left Dublin. I woke up early to get ready to go to the airport. John went with me to help me take care of things. We got there about 4 hours before my flight but weren't able to check in until 3 1/2 hours before. So, John went on to work and I waited until I could check in. I waited in the line, got myself checked in and was told that I had to go wait in another line to pay the cats' fares. The guy at the counter was really nice and helpful though and he seemed to feel bad at how much the airline charged for the cats.

After paying for the cats' fares, I then went back to the counter, got my ticket and then the guy accompanied me to get the cat carriers scanned. That got done and then I waited for the next guy to come and collect the cats. Then I went through security and just patiently waited. Overall, I am glad that I got there early because I didn't have to rush to get anything and had a decent amount of time waiting but not so painfully long.

Eventually, we board the plane and I was only 2 rows out of first class!!! The seats were a bit more spacious and we got served first. It was nice but made me really want first class. :) It also meant that I got to get off the plane sooner (which is why I think the guy in Dublin put me there so it would be easier for me to collect the monsters). So, I ask in the arrival airport where to collect the cats. I was told one side of the baggage area. An hour after arrival and still no cats, I asked another person. Nope, there are two special baggage areas and I had to go to the other one. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue. However, I had two large bags with me on a cart and needed a second cart for the casts. Also, this is a major airport so the baggage reclaim is at least twice the size of Dublin's. So, there I was, pushing one full cart and pulling an empty one trying to navigate a full baggage area where no one paid attention to someone coming their way. I was very happy that I didn't actually hit anyone (but Tiffin's crate did fall off the cart after I had collected her).

The kitties were "waiting" for me in this far away special baggage area. Then, I had to go back across the baggage area again to get them cleared from the government. I rang that bell and waited. No answer. Rang again. Still no answer. Waited some more. Rang a third time. Still no answer. Then I decided to go to customs and ask them. They thought the public health people went home since it was a holiday and told me which area of check out to go to to leave the airport. While trying to get to that area, I got flagged by a different customs person and got to have all my baggage inspected! So, they then asked about the cats and managed to get the health and safety person to look at my paperwork.

So, about an hour and a half after landing, I was finally able to call J to ask her to come get me! Luckily she was on her way and I only had to wait about 5-10 minutes for her! And she had a milkshake for me! We packed up her car to the brim (pictures will follow) and headed to the new humble abode.

J had set up her memory foam mattress into a bed for me and had gotten some basic cat supplies. She then went to the grocery store and the pizza place to get us takeout! After eating, she went home and I tried to sleep...

Ugh!

On Friday as I rode on the bus, I listened to my MP3 player and cleared out old messages on my phone. As I got off the bus at my stop, I continued to play with my phone and listen to my music as I made my way to the jewelry store to look at wedding bands. I looked at the bands and decided that I needed one the same thickness as my engagement ring (which is thicker than average here in Dublin) so I will probably need a custom ring (which of course costs more).

Anyway, as I left the jewelry store, I decided since it was payday, I would head to the other jewelry store where we were going to order John's ring from. I reached back into my backpack and it was open! I know I had closed it on the bus. I reached inside the front pocket and there was no wallet!! I dug around a bit, and nope, it was gone. I then went back to the store I had just been in and asked the sales assistants if the bag had been open when I was in the store. It was! I then texted John and asked him to look up where a Garda station was so that I could report my wallet stolen. As we were talking, I saw a Garda and asked where to go. He directed me to the nearest station and I headed off. Meanwhile, John canceled one debit card and texted me the number to cancel the other. I canceled it and then went into the police station to report the theft.

The Garda was very nice and understanding. She took my details and asked what was in my wallet. I gave a brief list of what I could remember and explained that my driver's license is there and would be difficult to replace. She asked if I needed a letter from the police saying my wallet had been stolen and that she would ring on Monday to check if I needed a letter. I thanked her for her time and went on my way.

Saturday afternoon, I went wallet shopping. John was supposed to meet me after getting my bus ticket for next month and bus ID replaced (luckily Dublin Bus didn't charge me for it). While I was trying to find John and find out of if a charity shop near us took donations, the Garda from Friday rang to say that my wallet had been returned! That never happens! I went to go retrieve my wallet and see what had been taken. All my ID was still in it! I don't have to replace my driver's license. Hurray! The thief (thieves) took my money, bus tickets, prescriptions, and taxi voucher that I needed for Monday (can get another one easily enough). So, thanks to whoever turned in my wallet. I has made my life a lot easier. Now I just need to wait 5 days for my Irish ATM card back...

Doh!

The other day, I decided to make pasta and sauce for dinner. I was happily cooking the sauce and added goat's cheese as an experiment (it was tasty). I then decided that I needed to check the pasta shells to see if they were done since the sauce was ready. I used the cooking spoon to pick up a couple noodles. I carefully got the water out of the first noodle, the one I noticed on the spoon. I then tipped the spoon towards my mouth, only to feel boiling water on my lip! I didn't notice the other noodle and burned my lip.

Since my lip hurt A LOT, I made John finish dinner and find something in the freezer that we could use to ice it. All we found were frozen cranberries. I managed to cool my lip a bit but it still hurt. We then ate dinner and I convinced John to go to the store and get ice pops for me to use to ice my lip. They seemed to help and were tasty. :)

The next day, I woke up and my lip felt really tight. I looked in the mirror and there was a blister. I spent the rest of the day at work putting chap stick on my lip to make it better. Unfortunately, I also burned the inside of my lip and it hurt to talk the day after but it is all much better now.

Happy Birthday

Back in October, Redbird Knits offered free shipping internationally. Never one to turn down free shipping, I had a look on their website and found this scrumptious orange llama yarn from Peru. One I saw a picture of the yarn, I immediately thought of my future mother-in-law. I ordered enough to make a scarf for her and then put it aside. OK, every now and then I took it out to pet it. It was really soft!

Since my future mother-in-law's birthday is in the beginning of January, I had a few days after Christmas to work on the scarf without having to mail it. I decided to make it the faster way of knitting it lengthwise in garter stitch. I cast on 250 stitches on needles 2 sizes larger than the yarn called for and away I went. I knit in the car on the way to John's mom's house. I knit at her house. When his mom saw me working on the scarf, she commented on the color and that it is her favorite color to wear! I was quite happy. A lot of people asked me who it was for and I did tell a couple. The others, I just said it was for someone I know.

Anyway, I just happily knit away on the scarf and felt the fabric every now and then. I was quite impressed with how "squishy" it was, how warm it felt, and how nice it looked with the bigger needles. The day before we going to leave John's mom's house, I started the last ball of yarn. By the evening, I was almost done with the last ball. Midway through what I decided to be my last row, I looked down at the ball of yarn and noticed that it was quite small. I looked at where I was in the row. I looked at the ball of yarn. I got a measuring tape. I counted my gauge and figured out long the scarf should be. I then measured my yarn. By my rough measurements, I had enough.

After finishing the row, I got larger needles and started to cast off. I knit two stitches together every now and then, just to be safe and take less yarn. Then I measured again. I started knitting two stitches together more often. The edge wasn't quite as stretchy but then I might have enough. The yarn was disappearing. I looked at the tails from where I joined yarn. I trimmed one of them since it was quite long. I decided to see if the yarn would felt to itself. Yep, it did. This would have been good try earlier because then I wouldn't have had to weave in any ends (but wouldn't have had yarn to spare). I then knit it this bit of yarn. Still not enough. I tied a couple knots in another spot that I joined yarn and trimmed it to add to the cast off. I also started knitting two stitches together each stitch. I ended up trimming all the other ends to add to the cast off row. I then had a tiny bit to weave in. :)

Anyway, I think that the end product turned out well and my future mother-in-law seems very happy with it. Even though one end pulls in a bit, I think it still drapes well overall and should be quite warm. (Look carefully at the artwork that the scarf is hanging on, it is my future-mother-in-law's work)

Happy Dragon Day

This year we got to spend Christmas with my family. The day after Christmas, we drove down to John's mother's house to spend a few days with his family. Since we were at John's mom's house on the 28th, we were able to see his sister Dragon for her birthday. This year, we decided that we wanted to make dinner and birthday cake for her. This can be quite a task since there were about 25 people for dinner! During dinner the previous night (when there were only 15 people), we decided that we would have chili, cornbread and salad. We then decided to go grocery shopping because it was supposed to be quite snowy on the day of her birthday.

After dinner, John's mom, one of his sisters and myself went out to the grocery store. We had the menu for dinner and ideas about cake, but we didn't really know what ingredients we needed for the cake or what ingredients his mom had at home for either the chili or the cake. Therefore, we wandered up and down the aisles and got everything we thought we might need for the next day. On her birthday, I was glad that we went to the grocery store when we did, because it was quite snowy but pretty.

About two in the afternoon, I started making chili (people were supposed to come about 6:00). By this time John had looked up recipes online for the cake had chosen one to make. It was a raspberry chocolate cake. It was supposed to have white chocolate filling, but we didn't have any white chocolate so we just used milk chocolate instead. So while I worked on the chili, John worked on the cake and made the cornbread.

Since we had so many people, we had to double the cake recipe. While this didn't seem like a problem to begin with, when it came time to assemble the cake, it was quite interesting. When we took the first layer out of the pan, it came out alright. However when it came time to take the second layer out of its pan, it just wanted to crumble. While this may not have been a problem if the cake had actual frosting, because it didn't, it made putting the top layer on difficult. We tried a few different things, and ended up just piecing it together. However, because the cake had to chill and the chocolate set, it turned out pretty well. But most importantly, Dragon said that it was the best best birthday cake that she has ever had. All of the guests said it was tasty as well. And if I do say so myself, it was delicious. Chocolate and raspberry go very well together.

Most importantly, I think everyone had fun. It was another good food, interesting conversation, family gathering. Note, unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of Dragon!

water water, I want water

Last night, I came home and John was doing dishes. He said that there was no cold water in the kitchen so he had burned his hands a bit doing the dishes. I said, "yeah, that happens" and started making dinner. While making dinner, we checked the pipes in the apartment and still no cold water in the kitchen (this has happened before). It was working in the bathroom, but not in the kitchen.

About 11:00 PM, we were getting ready to go to bed. I decided that I needed to figure out why our bedroom smelled musty (besides the fact that it has rained every day for the past month). I checked the usual culprits of the windows, floor, and carpet on the other side of the bedroom. Nope, not wet. I then started sniffing around on my side of the room. Yep, smelled musty. I picked up something that was on the floor. It was damp. I then checked the floor. Yep, it was damp. I then reached under the dresser. Yep, wet. I took out a pair of shoes that happened to be under the dresser. They had mold on them!!! Yes, I said mold on my sandals! I have thrown them out since they weren't comfortable anymore anyway. We then cleared off the dresser, took out the drawers, moved it and picked up the stuff that happened to be on the floor and vacuumed. Thank goodness for the Dyson. It cleaned well. We then dried it with my hair dryer.

During this process, we tried to figure out if we could see where the water was coming from. Nope, couldn't tell. We have two guesses. One, a couple bathtub tiles are loose and they could be leaking into the far wall. Two, it is coming from the walls/ceiling from all the rain.

So this morning, we wake up. John starts getting ready to shower. No water. None. Zip. He gets dressed and I go back to sleep. I got up a bit later and washed off with the face wipes I bought while in Galway because of their contaminated water. I then got ready to go to work. After work, I went to the DIY store and picked up the stuff we needed to fix the tub tiles. Now, you may wonder why we didn't just tell the landlord. Well, I feel bad because the tiles have been loose since we moved in and I've never said anything and it has caused water damage to the wall by the tub. So, I got the stuff and went home. I made frozen pizza for dinner because we still didn't have any water. John then started working on the bathroom and who should be at our door but our landlord giving us an update on the water.

In their infinite wisdom, the Dublin county council decided to turn our water off but not tell us. Apparently they verbally told the Internet cafe downstairs (they are supposed to give written warning). Well, they seem to have forgotten to turn the water back on! Oops. So, my landlord's plumber turned the water on and now we have water. We have also attempted to fix the tub so we'll see if it continues to leak and if it is the tub affecting the floor in the bedroom because that carpet is dry right now!

W.I.P.s

While K was here in late March/early April, I told her she could look through two beginning knitting books to see if she would like me to make her her birthday present. She chose a poncho from the Stitch and Bitch Handbook. I figured since it was in there, it would be easy enough and the stitches didn't look that hard. It would be my first time knitting in the round, but I was up for the challenge. Besides, it used very thick yarn so it should be a fairly quick knit.

So, we went to the yarn store to get the yarn. They don't carry the thickness that I needed and they didn't know of anyone in Dublin who would have the size round needles that I needed if I did find thicker yarn. So, we picked a medium thickness and I discussed how to modify the pattern to make it work on the new yarn. We agreed that I should follow the directions for the size "large." So, I cast on the stitches I needed, went to a knitting circle to find out how to do the "magic loop" technique I would be using so I didn't have to switch needles as much, and started knitting. It was awkward at first but I got the hang of it. Then I looked at the size of the hole for the head. I stretched it. It looked small. John said it was small. I kept knitting. I had about 6 inches done and I decided one day, the hole for the head really did look small so I tried it on (when John wasn't around). It didn't fit. So, I was glad I figured it at an early stage, realized I could fix an aspect of the design I wasn't mad about and frogged it (rip it rip it rip it) back to the beginning. I should have taken a picture of how far I got, but I didn't.

I then did some math to figure out what multiples I needed for the rib pattern and cast on a much larger number of stitches so that I knew it would fit (and used larger needles so I wouldn't have to change them later). I joined the yarn by myself and started knitting. I got about 5 rows in and twisted something so it didn't lay flat anymore. Again, I frogged it back to the beginning and tried a third time.

So, I cast on the number of stitches that worked, joined the yarn, and started knitting. I got to the point where I wanted to add a new color and I did. I then wanted to change to the third color and somehow I was making a wrong stitch. Luckily, I was at a knitting circle and one of the ladies knew how to do magic loop and she tried to figure out what I did. She had no idea but we just made the different stitch a design feature and she then showed me a different way to do magic loop that she thought would be easier for me. At first it was more difficult, but now it is far easier and I like it better.

Anyway, I knit happily along and occasionally looked at the poncho and how it was turning out. I just didn't seem wide enough. Then one day, I had 10 inches of the poncho done, I decided I should look at the pattern again. I read it for about the 20th time and this time I noticed that I was supposed to be making 4 stitches every other row and I had only been making 2! Oops. So, I emailed the lovely ladies at This is Knit and went down to the shop to discuss the project. Luckily, I only going to ripped out a section of the poncho and hope for the best on the shaping of the shoulders. I also managed to get the project back on the needles which I thought would be harder since it is knit in the round. Needless to say, I'm a bit frustrated with the project and it is going to be put on hold for a bit (maybe).

Meanwhile, a friend is retiring soon and moving back to the U.S. I thought it would be nice to make her something. While at This is Knit on Friday, I discussed my design ideas with the lovely ladies there. Lisa had some good suggestions for the borders and how to make it drape better and we came up with a plan. When I got home, I looked through the cable book that John got me a while ago, realized that they had the directions written out so I could in fact make most of the cables in the book, and picked a pattern that would be one part of the design.

I then had to do math again to figure out how to best combine three different stitch designs into a pattern. I needed an odd number of stitches for the border but my patterns ended up with an even number and I wanted the symmetry. So, I figured out how to fix this problem (add a stitch after I did the border and decrease it at the end) and moved on to the design and then wrote the pattern on paper. I didn't have the exact sized needles that the yarn suggested so I started on larger ones since I knit tightly anyway. I cast on the number of stitches I had calculated and decided it wasn't enough. So, I added in more but then had to add them into the rest of the pattern. I figured out where to add them but didn't add them in properly on my written pattern because I got confused as to where they were actually added in. So, at about midnight, I convinced John that he wanted to add up each row with me and put the pattern on the computer since it would need to go there anyway. He begrudgingly agreed and I read each row to him. He used Excel to sum up the rows and if I didn't have the right number of stitches, it was easier for the two of us to figure outwhere the pattern was off since we could both see the patterns in the stitches. Finally, we got it and went to bed about 1:30 AM!

However, during theprocess of starting the knitting, I realized that the bigger needles are in fact too big. My knitting isn't tight enough so the stitches don't show up as well as they should. So, I'll be heading back to the yarn shop for different needles...

Another Misadventure

Yesterday, I met up with a friend who I haven't seen since before I moved to Dublin. She had emailed me to say she was in Dublin for a few days with her husband and wanted to know if I had any free time. We scheduled to meet up on Friday afternoon. I left work a bit early and thought I'd have plenty of time to get to city centre from Ballymun. Well, I saw a bus passing the stop as I walked out of the office. Then I waited. And waited. All taxis were full. The buses that went by were out of service. Then, finally, I saw a bus. It was full and not stopping. I waited a bit and finally saw a bus just labelled "city centre." It was pretty empty so I hopped on it. It was 30 minutes after I had left work. I was supposed to meet my friend at Molly Malone in 5 minutes and was still in Ballymun!

Needless to say, I was late. Luckily for me, however, the bus driver was a "speed driver." We got into town in amazing time and then I legged it to Molly Malone. I was only 20 minutes late! Anyway, I met up with my friend and we meandered down Nassau street and did a bit of shopping. We then headed to her hotel which was near Merrion Square. Somehow, we just ended up there. I didn't intend to direct us and we weren't paying that close of attention. We just got it right! I was quite happy by this. We then went into her hotel and chatted until she had to get ready for her dinner plans.

As I was leaving, my friend asked me if I was OK getting back home on my own. It was only 5:45 PM and Merrion Square isn't that far away from Temple Bar. I assured her that I was fine, that I knew my way, and if I didn't, I could just hop on a bus. Ooops.

So, I started walking. Instead of paying close attention to where I was headed, I texted John to tell him about the amazing deal I got on a cashmere sweater at the Kilkenny shop. I also thought about going to the Louis Malcahy store to look at the pottery. Before I knew it, I had no idea where I was. I walked past Pearse St. dart station. It wasn't the side I was used to seeing and shouldn't have been on the way back home. I thought I still had a clue so I kept walking.

And then I saw a lot of Council housing. I knew that I wasn't in the right area. I called John again to try to help me figure out where I was. I walked down Pearse street and headed towards what seemed to be a bridge. It was. But it wasn't the river like I was hoping. It looked like it might be the Docklands (later found out it was). While talking to John and trying to figure out where I was and how to get back to Pearse station, I saw a bus that said it was going "an Lar." I hung up with John and waved the bus down. I wasn't exactly at the stop. The bus driver waved to me and I thought he meant to go to the next stop since many drivers won't pick people up unless they are at a stop. Well, I ran over the bridge which had the sidewalk closed so I was actually running on the road where the cars drove (but there were no cars since they had a red light).

I got tired of running and looked back to see where the bus was. He was slowly behind me. He stopped and opened his doors. I got on the bus and he asked where I was trying to go and why I ran off. I said I thought he wanted me to go to the next stop. He said that he was trying to wave me onto the bus. I said but he didn't open the doors. That is the universal get on sign. And I also mentioned that other drivers don't let people on if not at the stop. He told me the next stop was the end of his line! He also said that route 77 drivers are nicer. He was really nice. So, he let people off at the last stop and told me to stay on the bus and he'd help me get sorted after I calmed down (I was a bit out of breath from running). I explained where I was trying to go and he laughed. I was in the completely wrong direction (actually heading south instead of north). He also laughed when I asked if I had been heading north or south and reminded me that Dubs don't use north and south. While chatting, he drove into the bus depot and pulled up next to another bus. He asked the driver if she was going on her route soon as he had someone who needed some help. She said the bus in front of her was going out next. He pulls up next to this bus and asks the driver if he'd help me out since I have such a pretty smile and I was lost.

The two drivers joked around for a while and laughed. The other driver agreed to take me on the bus and help me get to where I needed to go. I then asked him where I was. He said I was in RingsEnd! Yep, I ended up near the Docklands and was walking away from city centre, not towards it. So, the driver had me sit in the seat closest to him and we chatted a bit. He got to another stop and two women got on who didn't know exactly where they were going. They asked him if the bus went where they needed to go. He said to get on the bus, sit next to me and he would get them near where they needed to go. Then, near Trinity College, another couple got on and again asked if his bus went where they needed to go. He tried to explain that they needed a different route but they didn't seem to understand his directions. He told them to get on the bus and stay up front and he'd get them to the other line.

So, we get to Dame street and I get off the bus. The driver tried to give me directions to Temple Bar but I assured him that I did actually know where I was at that point! He then told the couple who had gotten on the stop before to get off the bus and go a little bit up the road and what bus number they needed. There are some really helpful people out there and those two route 77 drivers really were friendly.

Doctors

Yesterday I had a doctor's appointment at a local hospital. My doctor referred me for some tests. A bit over a week ago, I got a letter in the mail saying that my appointment would be at 11:15 AM. I didn't get to make the appointment or have any say in when it was and the doctor was only in on Wednesdays so the appointment had to be a Wednesday at the time they specified. I also had to rearrange three things to make the appointment because if I had to change it, there was no knowing when I'd get another appointment.

Anyway, I left my apartment a few minutes past 10:00 AM. I stopped to get cash and a litre of water. I got to the train station and had to wait 20 minutes for a train. Finally, one came and I took it to the stop I needed. Since I am directionally challenged, I went in the opposite direction that I needed to go. So, I walked for a few minutes and got to the sea. I turned around and then followed the map to the hospital. I got there about 11:20. I then waited in line to "check in" until 11:45. I then waited until about 1:15 to be seen by the doctor. One of his registrars (still don't know really what they are) saw me instead of the person I was referred to. He read the referral letter and I recapped what my concerns were. He then handed me a bunch of paperwork for a ton of routine blood work and put another referral into a different basket. I was in his office 5 minutes at the most.

After leaving his office, I went down to where blood is drawn. I had to take a number and they had one of those displays showing what number they were currently on. So, I waited some more. Since I was freezing by the time my number got called and it is difficult to draw blood from me anyway, I had to run my hands under hot water so that the lady could get blood out of them. She then drew the blood and I got to go home. It was 3:00 PM by the time I got home. Now I get to wait 4-6 weeks to go back to the hospital for more tests...

Animal Adventures

On Friday, I had to take both cats to the vet. I (thought I) had arranged to leave them both for the day so I could pick them up after work. Darshin needed an exam and his yearly vaccines and Tiffin needed to be spade and have a microchip put in.

Friday morning, I get ready for work. I then put both cats into the two carriers and leave the house. I put Darshin in the bigger, hard sided carrier. Tiffin got the soft sided one that can be carried over my shoulder like a bag. OK, so I had both cats in their carriers. I went down the stairs. I started walking to the train station. I got to the train station, was lucky that nobody was really guarding the entrance and snuck both cats on. We rode to the stop. And then the 20 minute walk began. It was a windy day and the walk would normally take 10 minutes but Darshin is really heavy and it is awkward carrying a cat in a carrier. Especially when he keeps moving around the carrier and changing the weight balance. I had to stop a couple times because my hands were getting sore from the carrier.

At 9:45 AM I got to the vet. That was the time that I was supposed to be able to drop the kitties off. I waited outside in the cold until 10:00 when they let us in. I then waited to check the kitties in. They took Tiffin away quickly and told me to wait with Darshin. I waited. And waited. And then the vet called us in. He examined him and gave him his shots and sent me home. Now, that would normally be fine except that I then had to go back home to drop him off and then go into work instead of just going into work.

So, I leave and walk the 20 minutes back to the train station. Because Darshin is 13 pounds (6.3 kilos), he got really heavy. I kept switching which side I carried him on. I put the carrier on my shoulder. I stopped for a rest a bit. Finally, we got to the train station, waited for the train and got off. I then had the 10 minute walk back home. Again, I had to keep switching how I carried him because my hands were so sore. When I carried him on my shoulder (the carrier, that is), people looked at him and commented a lot. People were in awe that I was carrying a cat around in city centre. Did they move out of my way, no. They just marveled at my kitty in his carrier on my shoulder.

Finally we got home, and I let Darshin out of the carrier. He purred and purred. I grabbed the paperwork for the cats that I had forgotten to take earlier, and headed to the bank and post office to pay my phone bill.

I got to work at 12:45 PM. Just in time for lunch. I worked until about 5:30 when I had ordered a taxi to pick me up to take me to pick up Tiffin. I had to wait about 20 minutes for it to arrive. We got to the vet's office and they handed me a very groggy Tiffin. I gave them the forms to fill out and at one point they take Tiffin back. She growled when she saw the vet tech. (Darshin also growled most of the time he was at the vet's and yes cats can growl). They took her away from me and I got to wait. And wait.

Finally I got her back and we left the vet's. Again, I walked to the train station but it was much lighter and easier with Tiffin because she was slung over my shoulder. The wind batted her carrier around a bit, though. When we got home, I let her out of her carrier to find her dripping wet. She had urinated in the carrier! The fabric carrier. I transferred her into the hard sided carrier because I didn't want her sitting in her urine and I certainly wasn't going to let her run around the apartment that way.

So, I text John to see when he'll be home so he can help me clean up Tiffin. He's still at the pub. He gets home about 9:00 and we eat dinner. Then we clean up Tiffin. By this time, the anesthetic has worn off and she wants out of the carrier. We had to lock her in the bathroom and I held her while John used a rag to wipe her down. We couldn't give her a real bath since she had stitches. So, she got her sponge bath but wouldn't cooperate with being dried off. We had to let her go still quite wet but she just licked herself dry. I felt bad, though, because I was told not to let her get cold or run around too much.

So now Tiffin smells like Caineal used to after a bath (all I had was puppy/dog shampoo or human soap) and has a shaved side and a small scar. She'll look funny for a while.

Sometimes, I really miss having a car...

Sunday Misadventure

John has wanted an elliptical for a long time. He likes the workout it gives and if we had one in our apartment, we would exercise more. And I do think we would exercise more. So, we did our online search and found a couple models that we thought we may like to test out to see which one we want to buy. Last weekend, we went to one of the Elvery's Sport shops in town. They only had a couple models and none of them were the ones we were looking for. They suggested that we go to the Liffey Valley shopping center store.

Today, we woke up and decided to visit a friend who has been in the hospital since Monday. We took the bus up to see her and left her about 3:00. We got into a taxi to get us to Liffey Valley since the only way to get there on public transit would have been to go back to city centre and then back west. So, we got in our taxi and 30 minutes (of slow, jerky motorway driving) and 35 Euro later, we were at the shopping center. We wandered around looking for the Elvery' store. When we got to the end of the mall, we stopped and asked a security guard if he knew where the store was. He said it wasn't in the mall and gave us vague directions.

So, off walking we went. At about 5:30 we made it to Elvery's. They only had three ellipticals. Again, none of them were the ones we wanted. I asked the sales guy about the ones they had and if they had any more. He asked if we had seen the one up in the front of the store and said that it was a popular one, a good name, and the most expensive one they had. He was shocked that we wanted to spend more for a more durable machine. After being surprised that their selection wasn't "good enough" for us, and us trying them out and not liking them, he gave us the name of another store to try.

A bit after 6:00 (I looked at runners also which I couldn't find any I liked), we walked to the bus stop and waited a bit. Then we took the bus to the city centre and decided to try a Chinese place we wanted to try. It actually had good Chinese food and they were able to tell us which dishes had MSG and made mine without it! That made me happy so I shouldn't have a migraine tomorrow.

After getting home, I looked at Elvery's website. They don't carry any of the ellipticals we want to see. :( I looked on the other store's website and they don't carry them either. The only place that seems to have them is Argos and you can't try things before you buy there. I guess I should have looked online BEFORE heading out shopping...

Adventures in "Customer Service"

After leaving work today, I had to go do some last minute shopping. I am not a huge fan of shopping in Dublin because the customer service is usually bad. By bad, I mean employees may ignore me or be downright rude.

Before heading home, I went to the train station. I had purchased a one-day bus and train ticket earlier this month but hadn't used it. The tickets similar to these I have purchased before were from the bus company. So, I went to put my ticket in the ticket machine to let me into the area so that I could go to the platform to wait for the train. I put the card in. It beeped and said something about being expired. I looked closer at my ticket. It had a date stamped on it that was the date I got it. Since I was late for my chiropractor appointment, I just paid in cash to get on the train.

When leaving the chiropractor office, I told the man at the train station about the ticket. He said that the train company (who I purchased this one from) always stamps a date on their tickets. If it was not today's date, there was nothing I could do. He also asked me why I purchased it for that day. I tried to explain that no one told me it was for a specific day and when you get the tickets from the bus company, they don't have a date on them. Basically, he expected me to somehow know that there would be a date on the ticket even though in the past there hadn't been. He then explained that the bus and train are different companies and therefore do things differently. He would not let me on the train without paying an additional fee. Therefore, I am out 8.50 because the train company does things differently than the bus company and I am expected by the train company to know when I plan to use a ticket that should be able to be used for a day of my choosing (without advance planning).

Anyway, after getting into city centre and going to the bank, I went to my next errand. I went into the mobile phone store to get a charger and try to get my phone unlocked so that I could make calls and send texts while I am in America. I waited in line (with the people behind me so close that they kept bumping into me) to explain what I wanted. The woman took my phone, looked at it a bit, and then turned it off. She took out the battery and said that it wasn't the right type of phone to work in America. She then got another guy who said that the only way I could use a phone of theirs in America was if I had monthly bill pay (I pay as I use the phone). He said that there was no roaming agreement with the U.S. and this is clearly stated online. He said that Vodaphone has never had a roaming agreement with the US even though multiple people in other stores have told me otherwise. He was not going to do anything to my phone (even though it is locked to not allow me to make certain calls like those in the U.S.). He just kept saying the same things over and over in a more agitated way. I rolled my eyes and then turned to the woman and told her that I still needed my phone charger.

While I was waiting to pay for the phone charger, a woman tried to return her phone. The salesperson asked why she wanted to return the phone. The customer tried to explain. The sales lady then turned to another salesperson and asked if he could understand the customer because she couldn't understand a word the customer was saying. She said this in front of the customer! The customer still tried to explain why she didn't want the phone. When this didn't work because the sales lady just kept saying "huh" or "wha?" she started using one or two word answers.

On a more positive note, the rest of my shopping went better.

On an update, I can definitely receive phone calls and texts while in America. I haven't tried sending anything yet. Vodaphone may be sophisticated enough to not let me do that...

Adventures in Problem Solving

 Part of speech/language therapy can be working on problem solving skills.  When working in the area of intellectual disability, the students/clients often need real life examples to teach the skill instead of verbal/picture examples.  Here is one of my favorite therapy "mishaps."

The activity was making smoothies.  The student read the ingredient page (we are also working on reading comprehension) and then needed multiple prompts to go get the stuff off the table. Finally, we get all the ingredients in the hand blender container. We then get to the "blend the smoothie" direction. The student took the hand blender and plugged it in. She then tried to stretch the cord to reach the table. Doesn't work. She tried again. Doesn't work. I ask her if the lead/cord reaches. She says "yes." So I let her try again. Still doesn't reach.

Since she wasn't understanding that the lead couldn't be longer than it was, I said that I would bring the container with the ingedients over to her. However, she pulled on the plug. The plug didn't come out. She pulled more. And more. The plug came out. However, part of it stayed in the wall socket! Yep, the hand blender broke.

So, it took about 10 minutes to get her to understand that the blender was broken and we couldn't blend the smoothie. I ended up having her put it in the bin to help her understand because she kept trying to plug it in. Since we still wanted a smoothie, I got the idea that we could use the bottom part of the hand blender to mash the fruit (it had a blade). I showed my student how to do this. She asked for a turn. She lifted the part of the blender we were using and plunged it down into the container. Liquid splashed everyhwere! On the floor, on the counter, on my student, everywhere. After prompting, she cleaned up the floor. Then we tried to mix more.

About an hour after we started, we were drinking and cleaning up half mashed "smoothie." Yet, somehow, I stayed clean, which was good since I had an important meeting right after the session!

Ahh, navigationally challenged

I had a 9:00 AM meeting far away. Well, not that far but far enough. Since I didn't know of any bus routes going to where I needed to go to, I hopped in a taxi. I told the driver where I needed to go. Well, first I gave him the wrong name of where I was going. I corrected myself on that but had the wrong neighborhood of the suburb. So, we are driving around and making some wrong turns because I am directionally challenged and don't know where I am going even though I have been to this place numerous times already.

So, we are driving around and the taxi driver decides to ask someone. The guy we asked had never heard of where I was going. We end up at a place that the driver thought was where I was going but it wasn't. The taxi driver again asks where the place I want to go is and we get vague directions. After asking another person, we finally find the place. However, the taxi driver pulled into the side so I didn't recognize it at first. He gave me his card and asked me to ring him to tell him that it was the right place so he wasn't just leaving me in the middle of nowhere.

Thankfully, it was the place and I went in to have my meeting and I was only 10 minutes late. That meant that the meeting hadn't started yet. After my meeting, I had a cup of tea. Shortly after I got my tea, all the staff left. I was lone with the person I met with. So, I was sitting in silence drinking my tea. And we don't get along that well since we have very different ideas of how things should work and what different people's responsibilities are. Then in walks a priest. He had a laptop with him and showed the person I met with some ads that he had seen in Germany. He explained what the pictures/drawings on the ads meant. The person I met with seemed a bit uncomfortable during this interaction, possibly because the priest was making a couple off color comments. There was one add that the priest didn't understand. It was for airfare to Koln. I thought that he didn't know where Koln was so I said where it was. He then said that he didn't know what the picture meant. I said most likely the Cathedral. After telling one more story, the priest left.

In a fun day's work

I thought that I would post a fun story about being a speech/language therapist. As part of therapy for a client, we experimented with different foods and played with food. One session, I brought in bananas and whipped cream. We mashed a part of the banana with our hands and then tried to get the student to taste it. Then we decided that we should put whipped cream on our hands and mix it in with the banana.

I squirted out a bit of whipped cream from the can and rubbed it on my hands. I really didn't like the feel of it but I did it. Then we put some on the client's hands. And he clapped. This sprayed whipped cream all over. We then decided to spray some on the plate. The student had a difficult time getting the cream to spray out so I decided to see what happened if the can was upright. No, I had never sprayed a whipped cream can upright before. Well, a bit of cream squirted up and then some air came out. When the student did this, the can kept spraying cream out. It was in our hair. It was on our clothes. It was on the table. It was on my glasses. It was on the floor! Everywhere! After spraying the cream all over, we played a bit with it and then cleaned up.

Adventures in shopping

Today John and I wanted to go hiking. However, the weather didn't quite cooperate. So, instead, we decided to go shopping to get John some new work clothes which he has wanted to get for a while. We headed to Mark's and Spencer to look for trousers. While shopping, I noticed that some of the trousers had hips on them on the hanger! When did they start making men's trousers with hips? Why do men need to appear to have hips? Many of these trousers were slim through the hips and thigh and then got full, much like the cut of women's trousers.

Not deterred, we found some trousers in the size we thought John needed and he went to try them on. While I was waiting for him to show me how they looked, I watched the lady at the men's department dressing rooms. She was laughing at the men often. She was laughing because the men would come out and show the women that they were with how the clothes fit. The women would then evaluate the clothes. One even made the young man (I think it was a mother and son) turn around and she commented on how the bum made him look and the cut, etc. It was actually quite funny.

Since none of the first round of trousers fit, we tried another size and and found some with a slightly different cut. Since they were cheap trousers again and tend to only last a few months, we are planning on stocking up on trousers when we go home for Christmas.

Since we weren't too disheartened after going to Mark's and Spencer, we then went to the only store in the city centre that sells shirts to fit John. So, we got to the men's section and they had two shirts in his size. We bought them and a tie tack and then went grocery shopping.

We tend to go grocery shopping on Sunday afternoons lately because we are too lazy to go on Saturdays. Last week, the Tesco that we go to was out of most items. We wondered if the stock people were on strike or something. This week, they were also out of a lot of items like bread, eggs, and flour. How does a grocery store run out of bread, eggs, and flour?????????? They are a grocery store. They are supposed to have these things. Oh, they were out of the yogurt that I eat, too. Actually, they were out of most yogurts. Maybe we should start grocery shopping on Saturdays again...

A true misadventure

Today I woke up with a headache and a stomach ache. I have also been congested and so I was looking forward to a hot steamy shower to clear my head. When I turned on the hot water tap (faucet), the knob kept turning and water bubbled out and the knob turned all the way off! Since John had fixed the tap before, I phoned him to see how to turn the water off. He explained it to me over the phone and eventually I got the water turned off. I also turned off the hot water heater since it wasn't needed. After turning off the water, I remembered that I hadn't showered yet so I turned a bit of (cold) water back on and filled the tub. I heated one kettle full of water and added it to the bath. It didn't really help. I quickly washed up in the cold bath and went on to work. I was only 15 minutes late. That is quite good for me.

So, my head continued to hurt but I made it to work. I putzed through my day doing administration type work that didn't really take a lot of brain power. Eventually it was time to go home. I left work a little past 4:30 PM. I waited a bit for a bus. I decided that even though my backpack was heavy it was a nice day and that I would walk to a street that had more bus routes and it would give me a bit of excercise. So, off I went and it was a nice walk. After a couple minute wait, I got on my bus and rode. And rode. And rode. At 5:40, I got off the bus (it usually takes about 25 minutes to get home from work) and walked across the Ha'Penny Bridge.

As I crossed the bridge, I dug my keys out of my jacket pocket. I kept walking over the bridge and got to the steps going down. I took the first step. I stepped down and missed the second step. It threw my balance off a bit and I twisted my ankle. As I twisted, the hand holding my keys went up to balance myself. My palm opened. My keys left my hand. They flew over the side of the bridge and then fell, slowly, into the river. Yep, the keys fell into the Liffey. I swore as I watched them fall and sink like in a slow motion movie. I swore some more as they disappeared.

So, frustrated but finding humor in the situation, I started to phone John to see when he'd be home. I tried 5 times. No answer. I then phoned my friend M to see if she'd bring an extra set of keys that are in my office to me. Nope, she was shopping a ways from work. So, I phoned my office mate to see if she had left yet and to ask her to not lock the door. She had left and locked the office door (my office keys were now in the river).

So, I walked to catch a bus and there happened to be one as I got to the stop. 45 mintues later, I got to work. The security guy couldn't find the keys. I had 45 cents credit left on my mobile phone. I finally called my office mate and she drove up to unlock the office. She then drove me to Phibsboro where I could catch more busses. I caught a bus and got home. I got off on the south side of the river so I didn't have to cross it. I got into my apartment at 7:30 PM and phoned John. I tried to send a text to my office mate and M but I didn't have enough phone credit. We then went out to the Porterhouse and had a couple drinks and chicken wings. Now, I am making brownies.

Adventures in dog sitting

Since Blogger or my Eircom "DSL" is being annoying and not uploading pictures for me, I can't post pictures from Brussels today (or last night). So, last weekend my friend M was stuck for a dogsitter so we offered to do it. Friday after work, I decided that M didn't live that far from work so I would walk. So, I started out walking carrying my heavy backpack. Well, I walked for a little while. Then I walked some more. And more.

After an hour, I was still walking and the sky looked ominous. I had a small Google map but where I was wasn't on the map. So I walked a bit more. Then, I decided that I should look at the map yet again. Then a woman with small children walked by and asked if I was lost. I said that I was and where I wanted to go. She proceeded to give me very detailed directions. After she gave me the directions the first time, she said to turn left and took my left arm to indicate "left." I know my left from my right! Anyway, she gave me the directions three more times and then must have decided that it seemed like I didn't understand because she told me that when I got to a certain point that I should ask for more directions.

So I start out on the new path. I walk a little ways and notice houses decorated in light blue and dark blue. I guessed that there was a match either on soon or recently. So, I kept walking and turned where I was supposed to. Then I walked a bit more, and more and more.

Then it started to rain! At least it was a pretty light rain, not lashing. So, I got to a major street and guessed that it was the one street that hadn't been labeled from the street I was originally on (which I was correct as I found out Sat.). So, after an hour and a half with aching back and shoulders, I arrive at M's house. I then go to her boyfriend's house to get the dogs and bring them back to her house.

Then the adventure began. The dogs are sort of house trained. They are used to being outside all day so when we had them inside, they had a few accidents. We got to clean them up. Also, the older puppy is used to sleeping on the bed. With two people on the bed, that doesn't work very well. She woke us up all night because a 50 pound dog kept getting on and off the bed!

On Sunday, we returned the dogs and then went back to our little kitties. Now I remember why I like kitties better. And why I don't really want a puppy. Older dogs are the way to go for me!