Ambition

Stormy Nights

Last year (it still feels weird to write that about 2012), there was a full-on thunderstorm in Dubai.  Yeah, in Dubai… I know.  It interrupted National Day celebrations.  Apparently no one had seen anything like it in the country’s 41-year-history.  There was general uproar over it but nobody really knew where to direct their outrage.

It reminded me how much I love storms, so long as I’m tucked up inside somewhere and can watch it listening to Radiohead.  I was outside at the time.  Of course.

This is where I should have been.   It’s like being outside without all the fuss of being outside. 

Now, who’s going to be my Sugar Daddy and buy me a place like this?

Thing #4: Go on a road trip

Three be the things that maketh a road trip:  good music, good snacks and good company.  Stick to that recipe and you can’t mess this up.  It’s about as complicated as a three-piece jigsaw.

I started by securing the company.  I picked Lucy up from Dublin Airport and after I was done hugging her for an awkward length of time, we set off. 

Lucy worried about how my navigation skills would compare with her Tom Tom and I worried about how her bladder would hold up during the trip.  She kept asking “Are you absolutely sure you know where you’re going?”, to which I repeatedly answered “Do you need the toilet?” as if it were a valid response.  We both should have had more faith.  As uncomplicated as it was, when I did get us to our destination without any hiccups and within the expected timeframe, Lucy regarded me as if I had some kind of superpower.  In some ways, it was like watching someone tie their shoelaces and saying “Holy shit, that’s amazing!  How did you do that?”.

Killarney was our first destination since we were doing that run I told you about.  It was also where we met up with Marie who had went to the effort of making this welcoming sign:

The kindness didn’t stop there.  She came with breakfast, in the form of her Mam’s homemade scones (good snacks- check!), acted as tour guide for our stay and introduced us to the best ice-cream in the world.  Officially.

It was the first time Lucy ate brown-bread ice-cream, which is an Irish specialty (I think?). It’s one of those don’t diss it before you’ve tried it situations, so please eat it first and then try to tell me you’re not obsessed. I won’t believe you. I totally won’t believe you.

When we were in the car again, it was on the way to Marie’s  home place, near Bantry in Co. Cork.  We passed this sign-post along the way. (Love!)

Marie’s mother welcomed us into her home with Christmas dinner (in July).  Seriously, she cooked a Turkey for us and served it with Ham and all the trimmings.  It was entirely too charming.

The downside was there was none of my usual turkey-induced napping afterwards and we got back on the road to return to base camp.  We celebrated the end of the trip by drinking Guinness (another first for Lucy) in the smallest Irish pub I could find.

Just for fun, here are my favourite songs to drive to:

Guns n Roses – Paradise City

Foo Fighters – Wheels

Republic of Loose - The Steady Song

Lissie – Go your own way

Wheatus- Teenage Dirtbag

The Pixies – Here Comes Your Man

Iggy Pop – The Passenger

Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Road Trippin’

Billy Idol – Rebel Yell

Lonestar – Walking in Memphis

Live – All Over You

Fatboy Slim – Praise You

Mick Flannery – Tomorrow’s Paper

AC/ DC – Thunderstruck

Kerbdog – Mexican Wave

The Saw Doctors – Red Cortina

Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues

Vanessa Carlton – A Thousand Miles

The Eagles – Life in the Fast Lane

Rodrigo y Gabriela – Tamacun

We travelled 605 km on our trip ( 615km if you include the 10km we ran!) on laughter and ice-cream and tunes and oh yeah,  fuel, because that’s important too even though I didn’t include it in my original  3-part recipe.

€5 has been donated to UNICEF Ireland for the completion of this ‘thing’.  Click here if you too would like to donate online.

The Thumper Rule

This year, I’m trying to live my life right and pretty much do what Oprah (and Thumper’s Father) tells me to!

My Grandmother used to always say “If you can’t say something nice about someone, say they have nice teeth”, which led to confusion in my childhood self as to what to say if they didn’t have nice teeth either.  Of course she meant that you could always find something nice to say about anyone if you looked hard enough.

Thing #2: Run 10K

This is Fauja Singh and he is the oldest marathon runner in the world.  At aged 92, he ran the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 5 hours and 40 minutes.  The reason I’m telling you about this man is because his was the motivational voice in my head to run a measly 10K in Killarney last Summer.  And his will be the annoying, taunting, jibing voice in my head as I prepare to do it again this year.

I mean, after I’ve read that he can do 42K at aged 92 (92!), I can’t unread it, can I? And then can I really look in the mirror every morning and feel good about myself if I don’t muster the energy required to do a quarter of what he does at a quarter his age (give or take)?

I know what you’re thinking.  You don’t come here to think about running.  You come here because I talk about comfortable things- little t covers the pyjama pants of conversation topics.  And now here we are in January and I’ve caved and I’m talking about running like everyone else.  I’m sorry, I’m sorry about that.

But you should know that before Mr. Singh’s voice got all up in my head, I was under the impression that I could only run when I was being chased.  “If you see me running”, I’d say,” call the police!”  When you start (from scratch), it’s slow and it’s hard.  It’s dang hard.  You won’t like it at first, and if you’re me you won’t like it ever.  “I hate running”, I’d declare defiantly to anyone who would listen, “I hate every second of it”.  “Then stop doing it!” (came the obvious response), but I’m no quitter and there it was, on my list, so I was going to do it.

It turned out the race was lovely.  It’s called the most beautiful road race in the world and I believe it.  It was a cold but calm, drizzly day (perfect for running) and the 10K route circled the scenic lakes of Killarney, one of Ireland’s most stunning areas of natural scenery.  Most of the loop is off-road and at times, it was quiet enough to hear the steady rhythm of your own breath.  No annoying cheer-leader types to deal with until the last kilometre so that’s a bonus.  Last year, they had some guys playing steel drums at the 9K mark and free massages and hot tubs at the finish line.  Awesome touches in my opinion!

I had thought I was keeping up running out of perseverance to see things through to the end, but then after July 14th (race day) came and went, something weird happened. I didn’t feel like chucking my running shoes into the nearest bin.

The week after the 10K run, I drove to Oak Park in Carlow and ran a 4K loop and possibly for the first time in my life, actually enjoyed it. Instead of listening to Mr. Singh’s voice in my head, I had Jay-Z rapping to me through my ipod about being super-rich and all the ladies that love me.  I probably looked really cocky.

Again, apologies for the January motivational speech.  I’ve turned into the annoying cheerleader I loath so much.  We can talk about peanut butter tomorrow, and they’ll cancel each other out.

On the other hand, if you want to sign up for this year’s race (you can do a marathon, half-marathon or 10K; they are all on the same day), do it here!

€5 has been donated to UNICEF Ireland for the completion of this ‘thing’.  Click here if you too would like to donate online.

Emergency Compliments

In case of emergency, when your usual bunch of reassuring fans friends aren’t around, there is always Emergency Compliment (.com).  I love both the concept and that most of the compliments are based on things we are secretly and inexplicably proud of (but would never be complimented on under normal circumstances).

Introversion

I read this recently in Quiet, by Susan Cain and just thought, Jesus Hemingway Christ, I’m an introvert!:

"Introverts, in contrast, may have strong social skills and enjoy parties and business meetings, but after a while wish they were home in their pajamas. They prefer to devote their social energies to close friends, colleagues, and family. They listen more than they talk, think before they speak, and often feel as if they express themselves better in writing than in conversation. They tend to dislike conflict. Many have a horror of small talk, but enjoy deep discussions."

Best of… December 2012

via Le Blog de Betty

Love this!  In fact, the best thing about December might just be all the men in woolly hats.

via Because I’m Addicted

Scrap that!  I forgot about Christmas.

via Sincerely Jules

via Le Blog de Betty

via The Sartorialist

via Street Pepper

via Village

via Vanessa Jackman

More on pinterest.

Best of… November 2012

via Cocogroove

In November, it was frequently hitting 30°C here, but I was dreaming of chillier climates and shopping online for a parka to see me through three weeks at home (I eventually settled on this one!).  It served me well and the novelty of the cold and rain didn’t wear off while I was home.  Besides, winter clothes are the best kind… if I could only get over that exhausting indoors-outdoors, layers on layers-off routine!

via Vanessa Jackman, The Sartorialist and Fashion Toast

When I got home, my beloved leather and knits were all mine again, and completely acceptable (if not advisable) to wear with regularity.

via The Locals and Sincerely Jules

Candy stripes and flimsy shorts were not.  I guess that’s one of the benefits of straddling two opposing climates.

via Sincerely Jules

I had an opportunity recently to buy designer bags at an insanely reduced price; one which I ended up passing up on after the search for this Celine one proved fruitless.  I really really re-ally wanted that one, so much that no other would suffice.  One love and all that.  Is there a word to describe missing something you never had to begin with?  There should be.  That’s how I feel about this.

More on pinterest

Memory Bank

This year on January 1st, I started this thing.  Instead of banking savings (okay, I never actually did that!), I’ve begun banking memories.    It’s an effort to focus more on emotional value than financial value, or in other words, on the stuff that really matters.  True riches. 

The idea is that you fill a piggy bank (I’m just using a big jar) with little notes of jotted down memories as they happen.  Then as the year draws to an end, you empty it and read and remember and toast to how much richer you’ve become!

Words

Attempting to expand my daily vocabulary as one of my new year’s resolutions…

… you wouldn’t believe the detrimental effects of conversing with 3-year-olds more often than with adults.  A deteriorating vocabulary is one such effect.  I’m beginning to describe everything as simply ‘nice’ or ‘not nice’.  The effect on my mental health is another issue, but I won’t go there.

Simple Virtues

via Oh Joy

Plane picnics

The food on planes sucks.  This is true no matter which airline, no matter how hungry you are and no matter how good it smells on the way down the aisle.  It always sucks.

That’s why I love the idea of packing an in-flight picnic that you’ll actually be excited about eating.

I fly back to the UAE tomorrow morning and this time I’m taking a roast chicken sandwich on cheesy Avoca bread, baby potato and grated carrot salad and homemade rocky road treats.  I’m taking extra treats for an easy way to make friends with fellow airline passengers.

What would you pack?

Related: the best letter of complaint ever written, based on a particularly nauseating experience of airplane cuisine.  Ouch!

2013

Well, it’s here.  Usually I’m feeling very optimistic at this time of year but lately, silly little things have been getting me down.  It happens. If Britney Spears could get through 2003, I’m sure I can do 2013.  Lucky for some, eh?    

Illustration by Ellen Van Engelen

It’s Coming!

If this doesn’t put you in the Christmas mood, I don’t know what will.