Kate’s Rants

i’m annoyed.

i want to work in the bagel shop.

that’s all.

hello blog readers!

i know it’s been awhile. and ha ha ha aunt annie, it’s not just because brad is here.

most or all of you have regular access to the internet, which makes you forget how hard it is to post on your blog on a regular basis when you are without it. (as i have been for nearly a month.) so, most of you just forget that i don’t have internet since you have it.

well. i have it now so i can post on a more regular basis! yay!

i should do a recapp.

i left edinburgh on march 6th, arrived in dublin. did orientation, learned that dublin was soooo not as cool as edinburgh, and promptly left. went to galway, which is much smaller but to me, much nicer than dublin. (but nothing compares to edinburgh, which is quite possibly my favorite city…)

once in galway, i stayed in a hostel where i had lots of free internet. i used the internet to start the job search and find a place to live. i found out when i checked into the hostel that the next weekend was St. Patricks day weekend, and they were fully booked out and they informed me that i would have to find alternative accommodation. so my main priority when getting to galway was to find a house/flat/apartment to rent by the following thursday. i had one week.

i hit the papers and the internet hard. results: i found a house to live in! i got to move in the wed. before st. patty’s day.

this also meant that i did not have internet anymore. i joined the library which allows each person 20 minutes of internet per day. i would use this time to check email or do more important internet duties than post on my blog. you wouldnt believe how fast 20 minutes goes by!

i’ve been spending my time getting the house in order: got some pillows and a comforter for my bed, some stuff in the kitchen, etc. i also have been constantly looking for work, but it’s been hard. i think a lot of people are turned off by the fact that i’m leaving in the height of tourist season and that i’ll only be here for 4 months. (now it’s more like 3…) i’ve applied at lots of places, but i’m hoping for a call from the grocery store. they’ve got to have lots of turnover and hopefully they’ll be able to take on little ol’ me for 3 months.

i had to take a break from the job search this weekend to go back to dublin to get brad and simon.

if you want to read about the weekend, you should go read brad’s blog. i dont feel like typing about it.

anyway we got back to galway yesterday around 1pm and then met up with brianne and got food for dinner and made mexican fiesta! (aka burritos.)

to field some questions that i KNOW you will be asking:

- brianne is living here in this house. she was using simon’s room, but now that simon is here, she is sleeping on the couch. she will be returning to the UK around mid-march to go to juggling festivals and start her travelling adventures. she likes it here, but agrees that edinburgh is hard to beat. she’s been going on lots of walks/adventures here and doing lots of juggling (4 times a week!)

- i dont know if brad likes it here. he said he likes dublin. if i asked him, he would probably say he likes it here. you’d have to read his blog or ask him to get an answer.

- i have no idea what simon likes besides sleeping because simon doesnt talk much.

- simon is brad’s friend from davis.

- our house is comfortable and now (thanks to brad’s computer genius skills and motivation to get internet) we have INTERNET! yaaaay.

i think that’s about it. i really have to be in a posting mood and i’m not in much of one. i’m sitting in the living room right now (that is decorated like a grown-up’s house… what i mean is, the walls are all a dusty-yellow color, except for the wall with the fireplace on it, which is the focal wall and is painted a deep ruby red. there is molding along the celing and around all the doorways. there is a dark-wood corner entertainment cabinet on one side of the fireplace, that holds the stereo and various knick-nacks you can see through the glass in the entertainment center. the curtains AND the carpet are a floral motif, and the furniture: one couch and two overstuffed chairs, are black leather. and the knick-nacks around the room- on the mantle, on top of the entertainment center- are all so bizarro but somehow still make it a grownups house. even the stuffed animals perched atop the giant wood carving of an eagle seems grown up somehow. or maybe all of it together just seems like an old lady’s house.) i’m on the couch, brianne is in the chair to the right of me with her laptop looking at myspace. brad is on the chair to the left of me posting a blog that you should go read to hear his point of view of travelling and galway and such. there is a partly-finished puzzle on the coffee table in front of me. we are listening to Rand McNally by Jason Mraz from my computer. brianne is drinking tea, brad is drinking cola-flavored beverage (that only cost 29 euro cents for a two liter bottle) and i’m not drinking anything. i have leftover taste of thin-mint in my mouth from the thin mint brad gave me that he brought over from the states.

hope you enjoyed that description of the room/situation that is currently happening in this moment. yay.

the end.

oh. and patience is a virtue because even though i was without internet for awhile, i waited it out and now we have it in our house. also, i’m sure i’ll have a job soon i just have to be patient. also you have to be patient for my posts.

i’m in dublin. the end.

ok so i got all excited about this supposed event planning job.

turns out there’s nothing event plannery about it. nothing at all.

turns out it’s selling JUNK door to door.

i would never want to do that. it’s bad enough working in a retail-based store. but at least your customers WANT to be there and are looking for something. this is harrassing people to buy stuff that they dont even want!

and i dont blame them for not wanting it because it’s all crap anyway.

today we were selling:
- video game device with “all the classics” including racecar, tetris, and snake!
*translation: crappy toy that will probably break in two seconds and makes really annoying sounds and will end up being sold in all the dollar stores.

- makeup kit from a top US designer who works on all the top models.
*translation: wanna-be designer who couldnt cut it in US market and had to come to ireland and be sold door-to door. plus no top designers have kits like that. they sell their makeup individually. it’s just what they do.

- tranquility fountain
*translation: small plastic fountain that takes up space on countertops or tables and will probably never be used.

- desperate housewives boardgame
*translation: well, this needs no real translation. that’s what it is. and you have to BE a desperate housewife to want this game. seriously people.

- UV pen that lights up!
*translation: crap pen that doesnt have much room for ink because all the space is taken up by batteries that enable the “UV” light to work so people can shine it on money to identify counterfiet stuff. but, “there’s a catch!” it also lights up when your phone is about to ring, so you’ll always know when your phone is going to ring! who cares! that’s what the RING is for!! gahhhhh.

anyway, i spent the whole day with these people, going door to door promoting this crap. and people actually bought it. why people? WHY?? granted, most people said they were not interested, or politely listened to the little speal and then politely declined. but the people who bought stuff: man you got conned.

yeah. so event planner job: never existed. boo on them.

i’m going to go with plan B: take a stack of CVs and walk around the city handing them out. i saw a full time position available sign in a window of a shop… i’ll have to check it out. because ANYTHING has got to be better than door-to-door sales. honestly.

the end.

i got to ireland on tuesday. that’s less than a week ago.

i already have a house to live in.

i already had one job interview and got called back for a day-long second interview for tomorrow.

man, do i move fast!

the job i interviewed for is some marketing firm or something. i was a little sketchy on the details. actually when i went to the interview i had no clue what i was interviewing for. i found the ad in the paper and called the number cause it said “full time and part time positions available NOW!” didnt really say for what, but meh. i called anyway. soooo yeah i think they sell things. they said they take a product that might be really famous in America and then sell it to people/companies here in ireland.

*side note. massive headache right now! ouch.*

anyway, cool. interview day tomorrow. i’ll probably get free lunch! yes!! (he said the “interview” is from 9am to 6pm… ok…. i think it’s like a training/see how the newbies do/pick the best one thing.)

tomorrow i will find out more about this company and the goin

** edit***

no idea what i was saying here but obviously it got cut off. thanks mom for bringing it to my attention!

see above post for details about what happened with the interview….

yesterday i was walking around the city center, trying to find out where i was supposed to go to see this house i was going to have a look at, and i walked past the big fountain in the middle of Eyre Square (the city center) and there were a bunch of teenagers hanging out there. AND there were soap bubbles coming out of the fountain.

yes. they had put soap in the fountain. crazy irish kids.

also, when i was waiting by the house for the landlord to come, a bus happened to stop right in front of me and a bunch of pre-teens started to wave at me. so of course i waved back. this simply delighted them. so one girl did some sortof sign language and said “i love you” and so i cocked my head to the side and went “awwww” and they loved that too. then the bus pulled away. crazy irish kids.

currently i am waiting for:

-brad to wake up and sign online and talk to me about the apartment i saw today
-guy to call me and tell me if we got the apartment or not

that’s about it. i cant really do anything tomorrow cause it’s sunday and nothing is ever open on sundays. maybe the supermarket. maybe i’ll buy some food so i’m not eating doritos all the time.

and then on monday i have to go to the bank to see if i can set up an account and i have to find a place where i can make copies and i have to make copies of my resume and my letters of rec. and then i have to go to a job interview at 4. hopefully that pans out. actually maybe i’ll wait until after the interview to make all the copies. that makes more sense. cause if i got the job then i’d have made all those copies for no reason. der. but i should make at least one copy of all my letters of rec and my resume. so i still have to do that.

and on tuesday if i dont get that job then i’ll have to go out and submit my resumes all over the place. if i DO get the job then i might have to start working.

and at some point i have to move. because if i dont get the apartment then for sure i’ve got to get the house. unless joe decides on someone else.

BRAD HURRY UP AND WAKE UP TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!

i’m feeling very nervous right now. what if apartment guy calls me right now?? i wont have a clue what to say!

bah!

i should stop now. the end.

i am in love with Galway. it was def. the right decision to come live here. it’s small, but its still a city with things to see and do, and it’s by the OCEAN! i’m super excited about this. i havent even really walked around that much cause i’m so focused on finding a job and a place to live. but i took a little walk around and just smiled the entire time.

i found out that galway (and pretty much ireland in general) is booked out for st. patty’s day. i should have expected this, but alas, i did not. therefore, as of this minute, i do not have a place to stay next weekend. yikes.

however, i’m trying to find a place to live so i’m not stranded. i’m looking at a house today, and one on saturday. as soon as i’m done posting i’m going to go on a website i’ve been checking out to see if any new flats are listed.

i have good feelings about this.

i also have two job interviews lined up. one is for a job where i’d stand on the street and ask people to donate money to charities. not the ideal job, but whatever. another is for EVENT PLANNING! i have that interview on monday so that would be fantastic if i could get it.

i talked to a guy who is here doing the same program i am. he’s from new york. he got a job at a burger joint and gets paid cash under the table. i want his job when he leaves, so i can work as long as possible. maybe he can even hook me up with a job right now…. i’m going to have to have a chat with him.

that’s the good thing about living with people in hostels. there’s lots of ways to find out about jobs.

there’s also a paper here called the Galway Advertiser that has job listings and house listings all the time. and its FREE! so i picked up one of those and i’ve been searching through it for different jobs. thats how i found the event planning one. how awesome would it be if i got that job?! so cool.

this hostel is really quiet. it seems really big but there’s nobody here. i mean i guess most people are out working or shopping or something right now. but it still seems not too busy. hmmmm.

anyway, even though i’m poor and homeless i still LOVE galway. and once i’m working and have a place to live i will love it even more!

the end.

i FINALLY made it to ireland! the trip took over 12 hours (yes yes it took that long) because i took a few busses and a couple of taxis and a ferry to get here.

but i made it.

and i’m tired now.

the end.

when i say the word “pie”, what do you think of? in america, it’s usually some sort of sweet thing, like apple or pumpkin, which then leads to you thinking of either independence day or thanksgiving. right?

well in the UK, when i say “pie”, it’s more of a savory food. imagine a flaky pastry crust (not sweet) filled with meat and veggies and some sort of sauce. imagine a pot pie, only square.

anyway, there is a place called The Piemaker, located around the corner from the hostel. it’s cheap and tasty. sometimes i go there when i dont feel like cooking and i’m not REALLY hungry.

i went to the piemaker today. i got a pepper steak pie and a coke. i sat at a counter facing the large windows looking out onto the street. i watched pedestrians, looked at the billboard across the street, and enjoyed my pie. then my mind started wandering, as it usually does. when i eat at the piemaker, i cant help thinking of our old landlord. (he owns the piemaker.) then i think of sweeny todd.

if you’ve never heard of sweeny todd, then i must tell you. it is a play and it’s about an evil man who kills people and turns them into pies that everyone loves because they are so delicious. sick huh?

anyway, i’m sitting eating my pie and i think of johan and sweeny todd. and i think, johan could be a modern day sweeny todd. it’d be a lot harder to get away with killing people in this day and age, what with all the advanced technologies of the police and stuff.

however, he also owns flats, which he rents out to travellers.

hmmmm.

johan rents his flats to these travellers, gets to know them, finds out if they have much family/people who will MISS THEM, invites them up to his house in the highlands (yes, he invited brianne up there…), and then OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!! and he turns the people into the pies….

which i was sitting there eating.

you’d think this would make me lose my appetite.

well it didn’t. not because i’m a sick cannibal, but mostly because i know i’m making things up. it’s like when i drive by loch ness. i don’t REALLY believe that nessie is in those dark waters, but i can’t help looking anyway, just in case. i don’t really believe johan is a crazed murderer, but i can’t help wondering anyway…

after the pie i went to the bookstore with the intention of buying one book. i got 6. whoops.

and i called the post “pies and lies” because it rhymes and sounded cool. there’s not really any lies going on, except for the huge lie that johan is telling everyone: that the pies are anything but HUMAN! waaaaaahahahahahahahahahahaha.

the end.