Monthly Archives: April 2008

Ouch…

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um…..i was typing….and then i pushed a button….and now everything i wrote is gone…

Ok so 10 of us went up to Dundalk(or Fun-dalk as we now call it) for the BICS awards, the Board of Irish College Soceities and we cleaned up at the awards. Our college is considered a small college so we were in the small college categories, and won Best Fresher, Best Society and Best Society Person. Go on Maynooth!!! Pictures will be put up soon.

Pretty much drank too much, though I remained fairly sober up until I got my award, ‘cos I didn’t want to risk making a speech while drunk….. spent the end of the night throwing up in the bathroom sink in our hotel room. Feeling a little tender today as a result, but diligently went to my two hour ethics lecture this morning when we got back. SO TIRED.

Oh movie for you Ger, Run Fatboy Run. It’s got simon pegg and dylan moran in it. Good giggle.

Pretty much in closing, I will repeat my acceptance speech.
” I want to say thank you to Amnesty and the Fencing Club for giving me this opportunity. Free Tibet! So long and thanks for all the fish.”

The spinning dish, a post for the tree hugging hippy!

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I was doing some admin work on the site honey and I saw a post you started, and may still be writing. From what you have said the parental ones have not been supportive of your latest accolades. I am sorry to hear this sweetie. As a parent I can understand and respect what they are saying, however I am proud as punch of you that you have done so well.

Life here has been busy, but then again when is it now here? I can understand busy and understand why you would like to have some more support from both. Remember I love you and think great things of you. Just yesterday my wife when she was able to talk (she had her wisdom teeth removed, all 4 of them) she was talking to her mom about you. She spoke very highly of you, and we all miss you here.

Just as I know the parental love you very much. So hang in there honey.

Rev. F

Gun Control! – the Virginia Tech shootings a year later

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So on my way home I was listening to KSL Talk radio and they reminded me it has been a year since that sad event at Virginia Tech where a student went out and killed a number of those attending the college. (News Article)

The questions tonight come from a video that is now supposed to be available online which supports certain courses of action should you find yourself in the face of one of these tragic events. I have not seen it, nor can I find it. Essentially it allegedly  encourages students to take action. What type, well I have not seen the video. But from the radio show it did indicate if you were armed you should respond.

Well I tried to call the radio as the entire idea of more guns on campus is just as insane as I have heard. The word responsible was never mentioned. If you can carry a gun on campus perhaps we should look at ensuring that your part of a gun club, your checked for eligibility (mental being one of them) and criminal. How about we have them certify to carry on campus? Now all that is fine and hunky dory there folks, but should we encourage kids to shoot back?

The US military has noticed that it can train the solider to fight, to be the best, to survive. But it cannot prepare someone for the mental turmoil that taking a human life can cause. If you think this is bogus what else would you say accounts for the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? Some bad Chinese food? No the reality of war.

I don’t believe you need to go to war to have this, nor kill lots of people. I believe one life can have a profound effect on the human soul and mind.

Another charming individual said that the common thread was that those involved in these style of killings were on anti-depressants! Well I got news for you! Get the hell out of Utah buddy as it is reported that half the women in this start are medicated for that same thing. So since they know where we hide our guns, we need to run for the hills now if this statement can be taken at face value.

Yes it gets better, another attending BYU had a problem (issue whatever split hairs here folks) over the fact that the Campus is a gun free zone. Hey you picked the college buddy. Just as you have a right to carry someone else has a right to say hell no you don’t carry near me!

So am I anti gun? Nope love guns. But don’t give guns to stupid people. How do we define stupid? Well I feel we could answer the meaning of life quicker. So if you own a gun don’t get paranoid! Don’t think you need to kill to survive. In the words of my old Martials Arts instructor, your first line of defense is don’t be there. Your second line of defense is run like hell. Your third line of defense when the other options have been exhausted, kick the ***t out of them!

So remember folks, be safe, have fun and don’t forget to stay in school! I suggest home school!

Rev. F

another day …

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So another Sunday has passed. I go in phases where I can tell the passing of time by pay cycles in work as I am so immersed that there is no other calendar or method of telling time. I think perhaps the more scary method of time keeping is the age of your kids.

My eldest is 9, my twins 7, and my youngest boy is 2. The newest addition to our family is our little rose petal and she is 9 weeks. So the first 9 years vanished, the 7 years went hand in hand and blue, not sure how he snook up so fast. Yet 9 weeks ago rose petal was struggling for life. How does that work? So many blessings and all of them counted and loved.

Is nice to be the family we are. You can get a great level of satisfaction if you pause and take a breath and count your blessings.

Rev F.

DIY – what is happening to me?

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So today I went to Lowe’s Home Improvement store and went shopping on my own for the garden and house. WOW! we have reached a turning point in my life once again. Did a lot of DIY for someone else in the past and never got the benefit from it. However now we discuss where the flower beds will go and what we will do with the flooring and so on so forth.

So I think when I slipped at the mall I may have dislodged something mentally as I was event looking at replacing the shower unit in the basement for a full bath and shower unit combo, and even installing it myself. So where have I gone too? I used to dream of adventure, excitement and so on so forth, now I find myself fascinated by the ads for the bolder look of Kohler and DIY fixtures!

Am I becoming middle aged? What the hell? Well more later !!!

REV F.

Awards, my ego and I

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So on Tuesday we had the Clubs and Societies awards in the college. I knew I had been nominated as best society fresher by one of the co-presidents(Therese) of Amnesty, but I honestly didn’t think I’d win. Saying that though I had been preparing myself for the possibility nobody else would get nominated in the same category and I’d win something else by default. 🙂

Tuesday is my worst day in college, normally I’m in nine ’til five if I don’t have anything else holding me back after language labs. However with some luck on Tuesday morning I didn’t have to go to my first lecture, my lecturer has buggered off to India for the moment, so I got a little bit of a lie in, but still finished at five and had to be back on-campus for the wine recpetion of the awards at seven. Funnily enough getting ready for the awards took an almost similar amount of time to getting ready for the Debs, not as long as most of my female peers would take, but then I guess maybe I’m low maintanence like that. Shower, simple make-up, hair up in a neat bun and a nice vintage looking dress, chuck stuff into my little bag and out the door.

Mom gave myself and the other co-pres (Gearoid) a lift to campus since we were running late, he lives in the estate(neighbourhood for you americans i guess) across from us with some others from the committee, so we were all going to walk down together, but then the others were running late and we were ready, and the others had a car. Long sentence, gosh. So anywho we got a lift down and funnily enough ended up entering old campus behind the fencing club taxi. I wonder if that set tounges a wagging, since I spent my evening with a guy they didn’t know?

Anywho we got into Pugin Hall and the place looked like something out of a Harry Potter film with the high ceiling and rafters and old portraits. Pugin Hall
It looked fantastic and they were even playing music from Harry Potter and LOTR, which Omega(sci-fi society) thought was brilliant because there were nine of them!!! Lol. Looking around Therese had a table for us past the stage and fencing came in not long after and grabbed the table beside us, so I wasn’t too strained for socialising. Ah my spilt loyalties.

So anywho spent the night sitting at the Amnesty table, but occasionally disappearing to go talk to Omega or fencing. I’m starting to come to terms with the not great offerings vegetarians get in most establishments, so the food was ok, and Gearoid got his vegan option, which was the veggie option minus the dairy really. But the wine refils went down a treat. Oh! The college has its own special delf! I’ll put in a picture. We had a conversation at the table about trying to take some of them home, but none of us had bags/pockets big enough. Damn.

College Delf!

Myself and Joe, man of many titles and societies

When it came to the awards ceremony, well more specifically the society’s fresher award, they were reading out the little hinting piece they did for everyone else, stuff like “her work with a club and a society”, and “by candlelight”, and the Amnesty committee are nodding their heads at me smiling and I kept shaking my head thinking they were totally wrong, then my name got called out. I was gobsmacked! The giggling that started when I got it, has only just stopped in the past day or so. 🙂 So much fun. Now I get to go to the pen awards, as myself and Therese have nicknamed them, the BICS, get it BICS? As in the pen?……Nevermind..
So this weekend gets to be spent writing out my own nomination form, cause I have to explain why I feel I deserve the award now. Damn, there’s nothing like having to write down everything you’ve done to actually make you question what the hell you’ve done. I know I’ve done alot, I’m always busy, but just what was it with?

I went into town today to try and find a book for one of my modules that I’ll need for the next two years, to no success I might add, but enter Amazon.co.uk. Et voila! Probably spelt wrong but I don’t speak French. So on the bus journey home I wrote out all the things I can remember doing like “organised Fencing Xmas dinner”, and my list now has 32 things on it. Funny that. So looks like I’ll have plenty to harp on about in my form, and then during my interview on Thursday before the next awards ceremony. Yes, the next bit is that close! And it involves spending a night in Dundalk and missing lectures, but if it looks like we won’t get back on friday before 11 for my double psych lecture on ethics, I’ll get a train back that morning. Oh my dedication, I reak of narcissism right now. Lol. Plus I get to take someone else from the Soc with me, but thursday is the night we have a debate with PsychSoc and L’N’D (literary and debating) to end Mental Health Week, so since we’re such a small society, I feel bad about taking someone else away. But I have Therese’s approval to steal Gearoid for the night, since he’s not partaking in the debate he can be my PA for the day and get my coffee and keep me calm before the interview. Lol. Should be a fun time.

Hmmm, other stuff to mention….I got my hair cut as you can see in the pics, and it’s red and black right now. Also I got some of the pics back from the photoshoot. Still ix nay to the parentals. I’ll chuck one or two on here for you to see Ger. Think I’m going to head to bed now, have to be up bright and early to get some work done. Yay.

Netblack

dischordia-3.jpg

Soft heads and hospitals

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Well this week as marked our daughters 10th week of life. My wife took her in for a check up and was rather concerned about the sides of her head being rather soft. So as a result of this the doctor recommended we take her to the LDS Children’s Hospital for tests.

Well Wednesday they went in for tests and Wednesday afternoon they called and they confirmed that all was well. So if nothing else was nice to have everything come and go with little pomp and ceremony.

Work continues to keep me busy. We have a new boss and life could be interesting in the coming weeks and months as we get used to his logic. My old boss, well he seems to be doing just well. Which is nice. He called the other day and the laptop I worked on for him fried itself when he connected it to a docking station.

In addition to this I have finished working on another laptop for a friend and will be replacing the power supply in his main system tonight. This should take care of his computing needs and life should get a little quieter hope.

Dad if you happen to read this please note everything arrived and in good condition and thank you! Loved the card by the way!

Grass and sun burn!

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Amazing as this may sound I now have grass in my back garden. I was getting used to the element of white trash I was becoming and had considered placing one of the two lawnmowers on blocks just to help emphasize a point. Two lawnmowers and no grass? There is a front garden you know folks!

So Friday I came home from work and tilled the back garden, not once, not twice, not three times but four. I also mixed in some gypsum in order to help break down the soil better for sod. So Saturday morning I finished the last small section of dirt and then it was sod time.

The delivery man brought the sod and  looked at our garden and the five and a half pallets of sod he brought. Well someone calculated the yard dimensions wrong and well I had enough sod left over for – well a double layer. I have not started to refer to me as someone, so that was not me folks. Anyways life goes on and sod is not returnable. 

So with the best intentions in the world my wife begins to water as your told with sod. However I did ask if we needed to water it as much as she was, and was told yes. So after awhile my yard looked like a rice paddy and the dog looked like he was on a permanent slip and slide. So we stopped watering and God started to do it for me. However the rate of water from him allowed the rice paddy to drain and the migrant workers from China to return home to farm their own rice fields.  

So Saturday night my head felt a little warm. Needless to say I now have a full fun sun burn on my head. I look like I was cooking lobsters with it.  I am convinced I could get a sun burn in a dark room with a flash light. So now my head glows folks!

Ah the joys – okay love you and will write more later.