Liam and I own and Wii now. :)

I've spent the last four days in the mountains, had two days off before that and spent four more days in the mountains last week. I'm going to Galway paddling for the weekend. I'm looking forward to it, although i am a little tired.

It's kinda funny, i'm in the library in Killorglin and there are two people learning how to use the internet, they are quite vocal as is the instructor. They haven't a clue, but fair play to them. It's not an easy think to learn.

I'm tired, I slept in the mountains last night. It wasn't the best nights sleep i've ever had, in fact it was pretty awful. There was a bit of a wind blowing and we were camped above a lake and for some weird reason i kept thinking that the wind would catch my tent and blow me into the lake and i'd drown. Silly irrational fears.

It's time to run again.

Oh, i'm buying a boat - a small burn, it'll be lime green with bits of yellow. :)

It's kinda funny, my body had been attacked by some kind of cold or little virus or some illness or other.  I feel like my body has been split in two, there is the sick half and the normal half.  The normal have is after taking over and blocking out the sick half.  So I go to work (which involves me walking through the beautiful hills of kerry) and i'm totally fine except that my nose keeps running.  Then i get home and the sick half creeps out...

I really should go home and get some dinner, i'm sitting here in my wet clothes just off the hills.  I'm hungry and a little tired. 

Hill walking is fun. :)

Last night was the best night out i've had in a long long time.  It was the best.  We started off with a nice quiet drink in the Mutton Lane Inn, my favourite pub in cork, then joined a zombie walk through cork city.  Had a few more drinks in the Franscis Well and then went to Camoflage.

It was fantastic.  I dressed up as a zombie, we all looked.

This is the fastest post ever, i've liam breathing down my back telling me to hurry up.

bye

I had a fantastic morning paddling down the Upper Caragh.  I've been a bit anxious about that river for some time now, I've just heard too many people talking about it, nothing bad just the usual talk, but it all sinks into ones subconsious.  It was at a nice scrapy level today.  i put quite a few scratches into Liams new boat.  I feel a little guilty about that, since i was the first person to paddle it on a river...  Lucky me.  It was a lovely river run with no mishaps at all.  In fact i was even complimented on my line on one of the tricker bits.  :)

Every Friday, myself, Danielle and either Peter or JP or both will be running rivers to improve our skills for our assessments.  It's fun.  Last Friday we did the Castleconnell section of the Shannon, that was a great re-introduction river.  It had been a while since i ran a new and exciting river.  I built up my confidence again and realised that paddling's really not too bad at all and in fact I kinda love it.

Work is going well.  I'm still loving it all.  We're off to the Burren on Sunday for a week.  I'll be traveling to Scotland in Feburary to improve my winter mountaineering skill.  There'll be a trip to Donegal kayaking, Arco, Itlay climbing and spaing climbing.  So much travelling and the best part it that it's all paid for under our training budget. 

Sorry i know that's the biggest brag every but I just had to.

On the down slide i have a gear shopping list that about €2000 long and because of my busy and somewhat expensive summer I can only afford the little things.

Shopping List

Boat	€700 - €1000
Tent	€200 - €300
Sleeping Bag	~ €200
Full Shank Boots	~ €300
Throw Bag	< €50
Knife	< €30
More warm clothes	???

Ha that was fun, I didn't know LJ did tables.  I'm sure there is more stuff i need that is just my on the tip of my tongue list.

I know i say this everytime i come online lately but i wish i had the internet  at home, then this would be updated way more often and I could actually keep up to date with what is happening in my friends lives.  We did investigate the internet, it won't be available until some time between january and march.

In big news, I now have a job.  I am working on this years FÁS course.  I will also be learning more stuff and sitting more assessments but to get the experience i'll be working with everyone down here.  It's such a fantastic opportunity, i'm super lucky.

So to the details.  I'll be helping to teach rock climbing, kayaking and hill walking and i'll hopefully end up with my Level 3 Kayak instructor, my Mountain Leader and my Mulitpitch award.  I'm very excited about it. 

Right now i must go and research some stuff for work tomorrow and for something at the weekend.

Have I metioned that i'm totally addicted to watching Battlestar Galactia at the moment.  Liam bought a box set with seasons 1 to 4.  I'm loving it.  I'm currently on season 3 disk 3.  I haven't a clue who the last 5 cylons are but the tension is wonderful.  I love watching an episode and guessing exactly who the cylons are.  Every episode it's a different person. 

The Mind Body Spirit Festival went well today.  I did 3 indian head messages.  It's very relaxing really.  I'm a little tired now but before i go to bed I must research a birthday present for Liam.

Right to research

How I wish I had regular access to the internet.  My world of Livejournal would be so much more interesting.  I do have things to say, I have quite a lot of words to share with you infact but the unfortunate truth of the matter is that by the time i get anywhere near an internet connection all i'm concerned with is how much money I have in my account and what my emails have to say to me this month.

I'll try once again and sum up my life to date with some flowery language.

I'm unemployed.
I've cleaned the house from top to bottom, inside and out for the last week.  It was great, our little house has never been so clean since we moved in.  Everything has a place and an order to it now.  I may now relax and start painting and being creative again, which is my plan.
I've done my second ever solo hike, it was another wonderful day.
The sun should shine in Ireland more often, everyone smiles.  :)
I'm working at the Mind Body Spirit Festival once again, i can't wait until tomorrow. 
I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow.
I love Lush, my hair smells of jasmine and henna...
I miss the internet :(
I bought new climbing shoes in Italy.
I'm turning into a loner, going days not speaking to anyone, it's a little weird actually.  I've started talking to myself and the fish and the plants.
iTunes Genius Mixes are the coolest things ever.

I've been in Italy now for almost a week.  It's fantastic here.  We've been doing climbing, hiking, walking across glaciers and loads of fun mountaineering stuff. 

I've taken loads of photos which i will post up when I get back home.

I really just wanted to boast that i am in Italy and of course:

Happy Birthday Ria.

Have a great day, i'll send you a text too...

As I was falling asleep last night i was thinking about loads of stuff and I remember thinking that some of it was pretty cool and that i should post it up here.  Of course I should have written it all down as i've forgotten it all now...  Silly me

I was sleeping in zarkia 's room last night.  It was really weird, I didn't really sleep all that well.  Her bed squeaks an awful lot and it moves more that any bed should do.  I kept dreaming that I was looking for a bed but everyone I found was occupied.  I guests that was the final sign that I really don't have a room in this house anymore.
I forgot to mention that i'm in Cork at the moment.

Oh I think i was falling asleep thinking about magic.  I asked Liam recently if he believed in religion, God, magic or science in that order.  The only one he did believe in was science.  I found that kinda interesting and obvious.  I don't believe religion.  But then i got on to thinking that science is in a way a kind of magic.  To someone who does not understand it it's total magic.  And just because we have rationalised and reasoned everything that happens we understand it and it is no longer magical.  But imagine hitting a switch and a light comes on, that is total magic.  It's amazing when you think about it.  We've just grown used to it all.

Something is only magical because it dosen't happen everyday.  And because we don't understand it. 

I believe in magic.  In fact i'm thinking about reading some books about it.  Of course i'd need to buy books first and for that i need a little more that €200.  Someday....

On that note i shall say good bye with a little request.  The next time you pass a tree say hello to it and see if it says hello back.  :)

I just thought the last of my physics grinds.  IT was fun although it's a little bit of a relieve now that it's over it was tough work having to do physics every evening.

This week i think i'll relax and do nothing at all.

I officially have no money again.  I'm mad to be going to the alps.  Once my credit card catches up with my account and I pay for my car tax i'll be left with a sum total of €200.  Aghhhhhh....
Funny the panic hasn't set in yet.  Next months rent should be interesting...
Ha ha i've never had so little money with so much to pay for in my life i guess this is the real world of unemployment.

I never mentioned earlier but I made it up and down Ben Nevis in 4 hours and 35 mins.  That about 1300m meters of asent and that not even counting the distance we walked.  I'm rather proud of that.  I think i'm hiking fit again.  I better be i'll be off to the Alps in a week.

Ha ha, bring on the mountains.

I'm really surprised my hour of internet is still working...

I think i need to update some more userpics.

I'm on the ferry back to ireland now.  It's cool they have free internet access.  It's only for an hour though so i'd better be quick.

We didn't stay in Skye for too long the weather turned miserable.  It was constantly cloudy and drizzley.  Miserable really.  So we left earlier than planned and hiked up Ben Nevis by the tourist path instead.  We did have fun on skye.  On our resting/taking it easy day we ended up to a 30 km hike which was total madness.  We were all pretty tired at the end of that day.  We all had a nice relaxing 10 km walk or so planned and then just kept walking.  Not the best of ideas really.  It was fun though and i now know that i'm very fit.

I think driving through Belfast is going to be crazy.  We arriving with the tall ships festival and half the roads are closed apparently.  We just want to get home...

We all had a lovely sleep last night so there'll be no crazy driving when we're all exhausted this time.  I think we all realised that was a bad idea the last time. 

I'm looking forward to being home in my own bed again.  To being able to dry off if i get wet and have a shower whenever i want to.

Bye for now.

So i'm in Skye now.  It's mad here.  The local put has internet access and i can just bring my laptop over and use the internet away to my hearts delight.

We arrived yesterday evening at about 7ish after some very large number of hours driving.  I was exhausted, towards the end we were pasing around the driving to the person who was least exhausted.  We got very little sleep that night.  Madness really.

Today i did Pinical Ridge up on some mountain over onto another mountain and then back down to the path off the mountains.  IT's amazing here, have i said that already?  It's quite alpine really and it also kinda reminds me of New Zealand.  Tomorrow we're doing another hike/scrambel it should be fun.

I'm rather tired still and I keep making loads of mistakes writing this so i think i'll go to be now.  Bye.

It's funny how i've been updating this kinda regularly lately.  I've notice that most of my friends on here have moved away from livejournal.  Now that i'm checking my friends page somewhat often there is little new news.  That's ok.  I really keep this for my own enjoyment. It's not about anybody else.  I guess that why I never really friended loads of people. 

It's a life tracking device.  On that note lets look back and see where i was two years ago...

Well there was no entry from two years ago so instead i went back three years ago.  Here's what i wrote.

I'm in cork now.  It's wonderful to be back.  I love cork, it such a great city.  I think i've missed it somewhat.  I miss people and just being able to look in shops whenever i want to.  Ah well.  Life in kerry has it's advantages too.

Have i every mentioned that i love the iTunes genius button.  I just keep picking songs and making playlists out of them.  Some of them are fantastic some are interesting.  Heeee heeeee

Bye, i'm getting a little hungery now

I've loads of news and it's all good.  I'm finished my course.  The graduation was good, the food was nice but it wasn't anything too exciting.  Everyone scattered afterwards.

Since finishing i've been super busy.  I've been working in Cappanalea and teaching physics grinds.  So on the days when i'm not working in the outdoors i'm at home working out physics...  It's a little madness really, some days i get home at 6, eat dinner, do physics stuff till 10, fall into bed and sleep until the next morning when my day repeates itself.  I'm loving all the work though. 

I'm going to the Isle of Sky next week, that should be great fun.  We have plans to do the Cuillen Ridge.  Hopefully the weather will be with us otherwise it'll be a no go.  So i'll be up there for a week.  Then I get home for a week, i've nothing lined up for it.  Just some resting and relaxing.  Then i'm off again to the Italian Alps for 10 days.  I super excited about that.  I'm going with two other people from the course and we're staying with one of our instructors.  It'll be cool, I can't wait.  Climbing, walking and perhaps even some glacier stuff...

Happy days.  I am exhausted tho but i'll survive.  A holiday will be good.  I don't see much of liam these days either.  I know we both working in the same place and all but we don't work together and on liams days off i'm working and if i ever have a day off it'll be on liams days working...

Ah well.

So yes i'm good and there is a brief and happy update on my life right now.  :)

Ha ha, I must try out the new detection thing, it looks kinda cool. 

I feel at little lost.  I don't know what to do with myself right now.  I should go home and continue to clean the house but sitting here in Dromid everything feels a little weird.  On Wednesday i'll say good bye to everyone and perhaps never see some of them again.  Wow.  I'm a little sad but it'll be nice to just relax for a while.  And the people that i want to see again i'll make a point of seeing. 

All my gear is returned not that i actually had much left.  I now must buy a kayaking helmet and i'll be all set. 

My computer wants to shut down and install updates I suppose i'll leave it and say good bye to you.

The detect button doesn't work so well.  It put me in Cork.  Ha ha.  I'll leave it at that for now but i'm really not in cork.

Yeah so i will be able to hang out withzarkia  on friday and saturday.  My assessment will be on tomorrow.  I'm not too worried about it.  I'm fairly sure i know everything.  I've been practicing all week and I know most the routes around the quarry.  The only thing to damper the day would be if it rained.  That would just make the day miserable.

Did i mention that i'm staying in a friends house during our two weeks in Dublin.  I'm finding it a little hard to concentrate on what i'm writing here cos there so many people around. 

It was lashing rain earlier.  And there was thunder and lightning.  It made me smile. 

Did i mention what assessment i'm doing?  IT's my climbing one, my SPA.

Right i'm going to go now.  Bye...

Hmmm...  It's been too long.  Trying to recap all my news from the last few weeks is a little difficult.  I'm now a level one kayak instructor.  Which basically means i can only take people our on very flat water and must stay close to the shore.

I'm half way through my SPA assessment.  The second day of which is supposed to be on Thursday but which my now be moved to Saturday.  Hopefully not though.  I had planned on spending Friday and Saturday with zarkia .  

I feel like my body is falling apart.  I can't wait to have a rest.  Every thing will be over in a week.  My graduation is wednesday week. 

I'm a little tired now so i think i'll say good bye and leave you with this short post.


Oh happy birthday LJ

It's a really bad idea to leave it four weeks between internet useage.  My computer is going crazy downloading updates.  Agh... at this rate i'll never get home.

I'm back down in kerry.  It's nice to be back here.  Although at times i think i'll kill liam.  He's such a mess it would be nice it just once he cleaned up without me telling him to do it.  Perhaps he's learning, i hope so anyway.

I'm back climbing and kayaking like a mad thing.  Last week was all climbing this week is all kayaking.  I'm super tired and it's only tuesday.  I need it to be the weekend or just to have two days off.  But i guess I'm not even taking the weekends off either.  I just need a holiday.  Not a climbing holiday or a kayaking holiday.  Just a holiday to lie on the beach and warm up and fall asleep to the sound of the sea crashing up against the shore.  Yes a holiday would be nice.

I'm tired, did i say that already?

I think it's time that i spent my little bit of interent time elsewhere now.  Good bye.