Alone again (naturally)
I'm baaaaaaaack! I mean, hi.
So my family left this morning. Mostly, the visit went very well: I was happy to see them, they were happy to see me, and their greatest criticism was that I hadn't put up more posters in my room. (Me: I decided that I would rather be able to eat than decorate. My mom: Even poor peasants try to make their space homey. Why don't you clips some pictures out of magazines and make a collage? Me: Because last I checked, my life isn't part of the nouvelle vague. [Okay, I didn't really say that last bit.]) We did a lot of stuff and I had a great time, although I'm very much feeling that I could use a vacation from this vacation, especially since my dad gave me his cold.
But they gave me other stuff, too! We were doing Christmas as "See something you want in Dublin, tell us what it is, and we will buy it for you (within reason)" this year, so I got to choose everything myself. Prezzies:
1. Don't You Have Time to Think? by Richard P. Feynman (Feynman was very much the type of man I would like to see Rodney become in 20 years. Minus the thing with bongos. *g* )
2. Creating Web Pages in Easy Steps by Nick Vandome (Finally!)
3. Cordelia's Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
4. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough (*vbeg*)
5. Flannel PJs
6. A beautiful wool throw from the Avoca handweavers (Perfect for when I'm working at my computer--IOW, 98% of the time)
7. The complete first series of the new Doctor Who (It comes in a TARDIS! *geekgasm*)
I have excellent taste!
My parents also brought me presents from my aunt (A California Farmers' Market shirt) and my uncle (Nick Drake's Bryter Layter). Oh, and slodwick made me this:
*loves*
The best thing, though, is that my parents brought me the correct kind of charger for my camera, so I can take pictures again! Many were taken over the last week, so I'm going to break them into smaller groups. I'll start you off with:
Dublin Signage
All signs in Ireland are bilingual--English and Irish. This is out in Ballsbridge (British Islands place names = win!), which is a really posh neighborhood that I'll post more about later.
This is what Irish traffic lights look like: in the foreground, you can see the signal for cars; in the background, the one for pedestrians. *shakes head* It's the little differences, man.
And these are Irish exit signs. Or as my brother dubbed them, "This way to the monolith!" (This one is from the Guinness Storehouse, BTW.)
Dublin is a city of contrasts. *g*
No, really.
It's also a city with some of the best shopfront signage I've ever seen.
South Great George's Street.
O'Connell Street.
An arcade on O'Connell.
A jewellers on O'Connell.
Somewhere south of the river--possibly Leeson Street. Baggot Street!
Wicklow Street, just after sunrise.
And again, with a warning.
I still have no idea what this means.
Or this, really.
This is pretty clear.
And then there's the graffiti.
A post box near St. Stephen's Green.
On one of the derelict buildings behind Trinity College.
The Simpsons--International School of Cultural Relations.
Near the Guinness Storehouse, a reminder of why we should all pretend to be Canadian.
And again, with my father, myself, and my brother, standing around like we're posing for an album cover. (Possibly something by The Smiths?)
In Sandycove (about which more later), this cracked me up.
But not as much as this:
And frankly, I'm confused. The first sign provided the helpful red slash, but this one, not so much. Therefore, is it a warning, or a recommendation? *g*
And finally, my favorite sign in all of Dublin, gracing the bottom shelf of my bookcase:
More to come!
And finally, I'm at something like skip=200 bagillion, so if you said something to me in the last week, can you just poke me or link me or wave your arms and stomp your feet? I'm paying attention now, I swear. Well, mostly.
So my family left this morning. Mostly, the visit went very well: I was happy to see them, they were happy to see me, and their greatest criticism was that I hadn't put up more posters in my room. (Me: I decided that I would rather be able to eat than decorate. My mom: Even poor peasants try to make their space homey. Why don't you clips some pictures out of magazines and make a collage? Me: Because last I checked, my life isn't part of the nouvelle vague. [Okay, I didn't really say that last bit.]) We did a lot of stuff and I had a great time, although I'm very much feeling that I could use a vacation from this vacation, especially since my dad gave me his cold.
But they gave me other stuff, too! We were doing Christmas as "See something you want in Dublin, tell us what it is, and we will buy it for you (within reason)" this year, so I got to choose everything myself. Prezzies:
1. Don't You Have Time to Think? by Richard P. Feynman (Feynman was very much the type of man I would like to see Rodney become in 20 years. Minus the thing with bongos. *g* )
2. Creating Web Pages in Easy Steps by Nick Vandome (Finally!)
3. Cordelia's Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
4. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough (*vbeg*)
5. Flannel PJs
6. A beautiful wool throw from the Avoca handweavers (Perfect for when I'm working at my computer--IOW, 98% of the time)
7. The complete first series of the new Doctor Who (It comes in a TARDIS! *geekgasm*)
I have excellent taste!
My parents also brought me presents from my aunt (A California Farmers' Market shirt) and my uncle (Nick Drake's Bryter Layter). Oh, and slodwick made me this:
*loves*
The best thing, though, is that my parents brought me the correct kind of charger for my camera, so I can take pictures again! Many were taken over the last week, so I'm going to break them into smaller groups. I'll start you off with:
Dublin Signage
All signs in Ireland are bilingual--English and Irish. This is out in Ballsbridge (British Islands place names = win!), which is a really posh neighborhood that I'll post more about later.
This is what Irish traffic lights look like: in the foreground, you can see the signal for cars; in the background, the one for pedestrians. *shakes head* It's the little differences, man.
And these are Irish exit signs. Or as my brother dubbed them, "This way to the monolith!" (This one is from the Guinness Storehouse, BTW.)
Dublin is a city of contrasts. *g*
No, really.
It's also a city with some of the best shopfront signage I've ever seen.
South Great George's Street.
O'Connell Street.
An arcade on O'Connell.
A jewellers on O'Connell.
Somewhere south of the river--possibly Leeson Street. Baggot Street!
Wicklow Street, just after sunrise.
And again, with a warning.
I still have no idea what this means.
Or this, really.
This is pretty clear.
And then there's the graffiti.
A post box near St. Stephen's Green.
On one of the derelict buildings behind Trinity College.
The Simpsons--International School of Cultural Relations.
Near the Guinness Storehouse, a reminder of why we should all pretend to be Canadian.
And again, with my father, myself, and my brother, standing around like we're posing for an album cover. (Possibly something by The Smiths?)
In Sandycove (about which more later), this cracked me up.
But not as much as this:
And frankly, I'm confused. The first sign provided the helpful red slash, but this one, not so much. Therefore, is it a warning, or a recommendation? *g*
And finally, my favorite sign in all of Dublin, gracing the bottom shelf of my bookcase:
More to come!
And finally, I'm at something like skip=200 bagillion, so if you said something to me in the last week, can you just poke me or link me or wave your arms and stomp your feet? I'm paying attention now, I swear. Well, mostly.