A Break From Ireland Talk

I thought I would give you all (yes, all 5 of you) a breather from the Ireland talk (only momentarily, of course)....and give you my March Song Recommendations before the month of March ends.

But in a way, this isn't really much of a break from the Ireland talk because a lot of these were songs I was listening to on my iPod on the train! So HA!

Something Beautiful (The Newsboys)
--An incredibly catchy song about love how it was meant to be. You wouldn't think they could make a borderline deep dance song, but there you go.

Eyes (Rogue Wave)
--I'm obsessed with this very short song right now. I keep making other people listen to it. "Missed the last train home......birds pass by to tell me that I'm not alone."

So Are You To Me (Eastmountainsouth)
--I hesitate to recommend Eastmountainsouth as they broke my heart. I found them a couple of years ago only to discover that this singing duo had already broken up! Boo. But their CD is beautiful....as this song will illustrate quite nicely.

Rum and Coca-Cola (The Andrews Sisters)
--I can hardly have a list and leave The Andrews Sisters off of it.

Street Map (Athlete)
--So soothing. "I would like to think our paths our straight, disconnected from choices we make. There is no reason why it can't be like you said. One day........it's going to happen. Don't know when....I'll be on your street. I know one day.....it's going to happen. You're gonna be swept off your feet."

Moonlight (Beethoven)
--Ok, this might seem a dramatic choice, but I've always loved this piece of music. And it makes for great "contemplation of the countryside as you whiz by on a train" music.

Steal My Kisses (Ben Harper)
--This song is irrationally catchy given the topic. "She said I love the way you think, but I hate the way you act."


Oh, and just so you don't think I've completely forgotten that I WAS LEAVING FOR IRELAND AT THIS TIME LAST WEEK....here's one of my favorite pictures from last week as a parting gift. It's called Peter the Angry Irishman Who Does Not Know How We Do Things In America

Two Ways to Approach Travel (Mom, You Might Want To Skip This One)

One of my favorite places we visited last week were the Cliffs of Mohair. For those unfamiliar with Ireland, here's one of my snapshots I took while we were there:





There are two basic ways to approach the cliffs (given a pretty, NON windy day like we had). The first consists of what could be called the "Recommended Route"-- or what we started calling it, THE SAFE WAY (meaning you were on the approved "tourist path" with a four foot tall wall between you and anything interesting....)




This was nice and all, but to be honest....seeing the Cliffs this way was kind of depressing and just kind of made me feel like a Treadmill Tourist. Much MUCH better was the second option---what I like to call FUN Tourism:











And sure, it may have involved scaling a small wall and going onto private property-- but some things were just not meant to be seen from behind a concrete barrier.


(Mom? Are you still breathing? I told you not to look!)

I Love Being 30

I never would have believed it, but turning 30 was a complete and utter blast. I have very few pictures of the actual "day" yet (most of them are on Erin's camera), but here's one that I do have:




This is lunchtime in Dublin and Erin and I are enjoying some of the yummiest food known to man. I'd tell you what it was called, but sadly I've forgotten. Erin (and her "sophisticated palatte") will have to post a comment reminding me!


Many more posts about the trip will be coming (I think), but for now I just wanted to share some proof that I did turn 30 quite successfully.

Being a grown up ROCKS!

Help

I'm thinking of making a list of places I want to see in my life. (Maybe I'll start with the old standby number of top 10....)

This is going to take research to figure out just the right places....but in the mean time, I am asking for help. Have any of you people (both the people who know me that read this and the people who don't know me who stumble on to this and happen to read this) read about places you think just sound amazing? Tell me about it!

Strange Is Good

It's 10pm in Hong Kong, and I really should be going to bed since I have another jam-packed day of looking at jewelry ahead of me tomorrow. (you know, it's amazing how much BLING can fit into one convention hall, it really is)....but I'm not going to bed at the moment.

What AM I doing you ask? Well, besides downloading the latest episode of Heroes to watch on the flight from Tokyo-- I'm looking at other people's blogs to see what other people have been doing and thinking while I've been gone. It's weird that I would think the world at home would just kind of stop when I'm not there......and I don't. Not really. (Ok, I do a little....sue me) But travelling really does feel like a weird sort of time warp to me most of the time. Things that happen here seem so seperate in a lot of ways from things that happen at home....from the people that are at home. I'm rambling....and I am aware that I sound like I've been up to all kinds of shennanigans or something-- which I haven't....(I'm saving the shennanigans for Ireland, it just sounds more appropriate, don't you think?).

I don't even really know what I'm trying to say. But I told people I would update and I haven't-- so now you are just getting a stream of consciousness (is that how you spell that? I'm too tired to check it) entry that makes little to no sense.

You're ever so welcome.

Let's try this:

10 Things About My Trip You Don't Yet Know

1. I had an amazingly cool plane ride from Prague to Paris featuring a fascinating conversation with my seat mate (who was not Jini)

2. I do not enjoy the bacon at the JW Marriott, Hong Kong

3. I got to shop at the H&M in Prague and had a good time doing it

4. The Mucha Museum in incredibly small

5. When people scan my passport, they sometimes get information about an Indian man. This can be problematic and confusing.

6. At the risk of sounding like a bitter old hag, I have developed a philosophy that includes this thought: Schmoopy couples that are in love should not be allowed to walk hand in hand along the street or the MTR tunnel or the hotel hallway if they are not able to walk at a normal pace while doing so. Your need for togetherness should not hinder my ability to get where I'm going faster than a snail.

7. I've now actually been to and used an airpot that only opens for a couple of hours in the morning and a couple of hours in the afternoon...and when you land, they just let you out on the tarmac and point you towards the building.

8. BMW 7-series vehicles have an absurd amount of leg room. I recommend them for all wealthy and tall people I know

9. I had my first McDonalds cheeseburger today in a year and a half.

10. I think there might be NBA players staying at my hotel. That, or I just have a need to stereotype freakishly tall men in their 20s who wear lots of Nike gear. It's a toss up.