Ireland update
Wednesday, July 18
I awoke at 11:30 to an empty house. I showered and got ready to do some work. I headed up to the studio at noon and grabbed my negatives and headed to the scanner. It gave me trouble for a while. No scanning by lunchtime at 1. There was a lecture by Tim (the dean) at 1:30 about art and vandalism. It started off interesting with slides of pictures of different rock formations made by people (called “little dolans”?), ranging from well-renown artists to everyday Joe tourist. But then I feel like things got sidetracked and the discussion turned into a waste of time. It turned into a conversation between a few people while the rest of us had to sit and wait, uninterested. I don’t think that was the aim, of course, but it is what ended up happening. I almost walked out a couple of times. It ended, and I talked to Robert finally and he took me over to the digital lab in the reception house where there is a better scanner. It worked pretty well over there. I scanned 2 complete rolls and got a third in on the third. I will finish tomorrow. The president had to kick me out at 6 because they have to lock up that building. That is ok, I was getting photoshop-ed out.
I started to edit my recordings. I am making some decent progress on them, I have at least 5 hours all sorted out. Blair was kind to give me shots of Jamison, and we left the studio at 10 or so and went home to make some quick food before we were to go down to Monk’s. I brought my recording stuff to Monk’s with me and got some conversations of about an hour. At around 12 we got the boot and Conan bought 16 beers to bring back to our place. We were originally going to sit on the pier, but it was a bit too cool out to do that comfortably, so we decided to go back to Orchard House and hang out in the laundry shed as not to wake the sleepers. This night turned out to be a riot. We were all fairly drunk and telling hilarious stories and creating collective drumming sessions. I taped most of the hilarity, so I won’t go into too much detail presently. It will surely appear in my work. We migrated inside and hung out in the kitchen for a while and when it got really late (when I should’ve went to bed) Rachel and I and Conan and Chris and Laura decided to watch X-Files until pretty much all of us passed out. Somehow I made it upstairs under my own power before the couch consumed my tired soul.
Thursday, July 19
Thank God Katie woke me up at 9:30, or I would’ve slept a lot longer, considering I passed out at 5. The bus never picked us up because Robert was out taking the other group around, so we were sitting around until 10:15, and I was wishing I just had another half hour of sleep. Got to the studio and continued editing my sounds. I imported the recordings from the previous night and edited the rest of the Shane Burren recordings. Mira and Rich came around to see how I was progressing. They like what I’ve got. I ate lunch at the café, which I never do because it is expensive, but I thought maybe once a week is ok. That was my excuse. Afterwards I set up my speakers that came in the mail, which refuse to work, which is seriously pissing me off, especially considering mom shipped them to me from NY for $75, and now I have to take them home with me and return them and deal with that whole all-too-familiar shuffling process. Sucky. I also finished scanning the rest of the film I had developed. I listened to the tracks I recorded the night before and continued to for two hours because they are so comical. It is a gold mine, a material treasure cache sent from the heavens or something. It is honestly one of the most rewarding things I have done, recording that night in the laundry shed. And I’m not just saying that. I can’t wait to integrate it into my piece. I stayed until 5:30, at which point I had to go back to the house and make some pasta for dinner. I ate and packed for Doolin and Galway; I had to catch the bus at 6:53 to Doolin to see Beoga at Magnetic Music…the ticket for which I bought last weekend when I was in Doolin. I was late getting to the bus stop, but no matter, since it was 45 minutes late anyway. I met a nice lady who was there waiting for her family to dropped off. I’m glad I at least had some sort of company. Finally caught the bus and got into Doolin around 8:30. I immediately went to the bar (Gus O’Connor’s) and got a take-away Guinness North Star brew, which was delicious, if you like dessert-y beers. Got in line for the concert at 9:10 (doors were at 9:30). When we were let in I picked a seat near the wall and got my recording gear all set up within my backpack as to not be obvious. I feel a little guilty for secretly recording another band, but I am not going to use it degradingly. My rationale is this: My objective was to capture music of Western Ireland, because it is part of the Irish culture of this area. It didn’t matter what band it was, as long as they were of local Irish decent. So I recorded Beoga not because they were Beoga, but because they were Irish. I hope that makes sense. Anyway, the show was phenomenal. It was a very intimate setting in that small shop for about 90 or so people. The musicians were top-notch. There was a baughan player (a native Irish drum), a concertina player, another concertina/guitar player, a keyboardist, and a fiddler who sang. They played two sets, and everybody enjoyed themselves, I can guarantee that. I am very happy with my purchase and trek to Doolin for this very show. It got out around 12:30, and I started up a country road towards the cliffs to find a spot to camp in a field. After 30 minutes of walking I found a sufficient spot and set up my tent. I also made a recording of the nighttime atmosphere in the country because my spot was next to a spring, and it sounded great. I also stood and looked at the perfectly starry sky for a good 15 minutes too, and sort of meditated my way into a half-asleep state, and I retreated to my tent and fell abruptly asleep on the grassy meadow.
Friday, July 20
I woke up several times during the night because it got colder than I expected it to. I finally put all my clothes back on in my sleeping bag and slept until my phone alarm went off at 7:30. I got up and packed up and walked back into town to catch the 8:30 bus to Galway. I read a bunch of the Joyce book and converted some American cash into Euros at Paddy’s Doolin Hostel. Got the bus and met Chris and Conan and Emily and Rachel in Ballyvaughan. I slept on the bus because I was still pretty tired. Only averaging 5-6 hours of sleep a night recently. We got in around 11 and I ran a few errands. Got cash. I looked a few places where I could develop my XP-2 film, but a lot of the places claimed their color machines were broken. It wasn’t until the 5th shop I stopped in that they could finally do it for me, so I dropped them off and went on my merry way with the group. I checked for negative sleeves in the Galway Camera shop and they didn’t have any because there was no demand anymore with digital taking over. That was a disappointment. He said I would have to get them in Dublin. I said screw that and decided my makeshift methods will have to suffice. We went to an internet café for breakfast and I used the internet to buy a ticket for the Mikel Rouse show Saturday night. We walked through an open air market and I got a cheesy bagel that was delicious. We went to the Roisin Dubh at 12:30 to get in line for the 1 o’clock concert being held as part of the Arts Festival. Maureen Browne, fiddle player, and friends were the artists. It was a good show. I got Galway Lager for the sake of saying I had it. The music I have heard the past 2 days is inspiring. I wish I had recorded this one too, but it would have been too noticeable. We got out around 2:15 and decided to try and get Funnel materials, considering that was one of the main objectives of the venture to Galway in the first place because neither of the Irish guys had ever funneled beer. We hit up the mall to check out the scene. They have a store just like Spencer’s that had whoopy cushions, which was the only interesting thing I saw in the whole mall. We walked to the other side of town and checked the DIY store, and to our dismay, the tubing was outrageously expensive. We got upset and tired all at once, and decided to pass the next couple of hours very passively, and maybe take a nap, inside the movie theater. We watched the new Harry Potter. It was cheesy (what do you expect, considering the target audience), but the special effects were insanely awesome. The fight seen at the end was incredible. A feast for the eyes, so they say. None of us slept, and I drank some wine I had bought at Aldi, kind of a preparation for the rest of the evening. While we were out Conan ran into one of his old rugby buds, which was a very good thing because he offered us his house for a place to stay. He said he was working until 12:30, but he said when he got out he was going to bring back 60 Millers. That’s what I consider a party. His parents are out of town, and his house is right on the water, very close to where I had slept last time I was in town, and also close to the Spanish Arch.
After Harry Potter, Chris left because his sister was having a birthday party. We went back into town and got some food at MacDonough’s fish and chips. I got Ray Wing and chips, and they got chicken and chips. It was terrible, I must say. Not because the ray wing was gross, but simply because of the fact that it was deep deep deep fried…and there were lots of bones involved. But the fries were tasty. My fingers got that annoying film on them from fried food, which I hate. I felt very full and almost disgusting when we left to get beer at the Off License (The Offy). I got a fruity beer that Conan recommended. It was good, but I couldn’t drink it that fast because of all the food in my stomach. We went to the Spanish Arch and hung out a while, drinking. When 10 rolled around Emily and I went to shop street to see the ‘Saurs parade, which was 5 dinosaurs tromping through the streets and making noise. They were very well-designed and gorgeous looking, if a dinosaur every was attractive. You could barely even see the people inside them on stilts controlling them. Entertaining. Then we went back to the Spanish Arch where a movie showing was being set up. They showed a range of films that were from some random European film festival. A couple of them were very good, like this one abstract one that had great looping music, and another that was probably made in flash and everything was constructed with black and white images of different typed of city buildings. There were sexual innuendos involved, which just made it way better. Around midnight we decided to go find Dave’s house and hang out there until he showed up. He got in around 1 and we went in and started the whole party thing. He smoked us up, and very sufficiently at that. We went outside to throw the rugby ball (Conan got nailed in the face, it was great). I didn’t throw it, though, because I’ve never held one in my life. We drank wine and beers (I had picked up some Moose Head for the occasion). We talked and listened to music, mostly heavy metal and hardcore on Dave’s i-pod, which is no surprise considering how big, strong, and probably often angry he is. Frankly he is a monster. He knows not his own strength. He is also an obvious product of a wealthy household, needing attention and needing to prove how much everything he does is worth. Eventually Rachel and Conan went to sleep and Dave’s friends arrived (Peter, Max and Laura, and one other guy who was very quiet). Peter was hilarious. He must have something wrong with him because he uses special arm crutches to get around. At one point he and Dave had a sandwich fight and the bathroom got devastated. It was great. I also ate a lot of candy because I had serious munchies. Eventually 4am rolled around and we all decided to go to sleep. Emily and I were given a recliner leather couch to sleep on, which looked like a bad idea, but was actually really comfortable. Slept somewhat awkwardly, sort of like on one of those old people beds that you control with a remote and you can raise your head and your feet. That position lasts comfortably only for so long.
Saturday, July 21
Woke up at 9:30 and Emily and I went in to wake up Conan and Rachel to leave. Funny thing was, we were locked in from the inside. Eventually I tried opening the front door and the alarm went off. That woke Dave up and he let us out. It was very nice of him to let us stay there, but I wouldn’t be upset if I never saw him again. He was very arrogant, and I feel like if I hung around him much more I would just end up bleeding or severely bruised. We walked in and got some food and water. Picked up my film. Went to the bus station and got a ticket for Sunday morning to head back to Ballyvaughan. Conan left us at 11:30 to get back home because he had to work at 3. Blair and crew showed up at 11 to play in Galway. Most were only there for the day (Geoff, Laura, Jane, Jac, Katie, Sarah, etc). Blair and I and Rachel hung for a couple hours doing random shit. Rachel left to go home. Megan was here, but she went to meet up with her parents, and she left before we saw her again because she wasn’t feeling well. So Blair and I wandered the streets aimlessly. I convinced her to buy a ticket for the Mikel Rouse show. We went to the Box Office eventually and got our physical tickets, and wanted to get tix for The Devine Peaches transvestite show, but it was sold out. We continued our journey, off to see some art exhibits. We had to walk way over to the campus are of town, so of course we got some road sodas. She got a Hoegaarden and I got a Newcastle Brown and we headed over. First up was an exhibit at the university hospital of pictures of Antelope Canyon in Utah and of some Glaciers in Iceland. It was a big let down. I could’ve exhibited better material. It made me want to go to Iceland, though. I should just do it and get it over with and stop all the wanting. On our way to the next exhibit we got lost because a lack of signs or directions. We did find a bathroom, however, where I made a fudgie and put a Bill Murray quote on the bathroom stall next to the ‘fudgie’ one that I loved so much. We eventually made it over to the Women War Photographers exhibit, which was very moving to say the least. We were there for a solid hour, captivated by each and every picture, mesmerized at the plight of people we don’t even realize exist. It was sad, really. I felt terrible afterwards. Well, not really terrible…more just very lucky and unappreciative. It was one of the best exhibits I have ever seen, right up there with Dali and Ansel Adams. We left in a hazy mood to see the next exhibit, which was nothing special. It was a collection of pastel-y and colorful abstract paintings. The artist wrote about her exhibit. I wanted to barf on myself because of all of the arty words she used. I can’t stand that sometimes, when people feel the need to describe their work in verbose and mundane vocabulary. I was secretly telling myself that if I have to write something about my exhibits while I am here I would write “blah blah blah blah blah.” I probably wouldn’t really do that, though. The last thing we saw was ‘Single Shot’, a collection of films created with one shot. Some were amazing, like the Automotive Action Painting, where the artist spilled 13 gallons of paint in the middle of the road and waited for cars to go by to splash it and create this cool image (the camera was directly above the road 40-50 feet looking directly downward). Another decent one was Pomegranate, where a bullet or something punctured the pomegranate and it exploded. It was all in very slow motion. There were some terrible ones, too, like one that was a slow movement over a forest floor, and you wanted nothing else but for it to just look above the horizon to see where it was going. Another absolutely appalling video was shot on the top of a huge carrier ship and the camera moved slowly around the railing over and over while someone spoke and at other times sang for what seemed like an eternity. I fell asleep a bit a couple of times. We left at or so. We headed over to the Aldi to get wine. Blair got carded so we had to go to the Lidl too so I could buy her a bottle. She was to meet her boyfriend’s mom at the Post to go away for dinner. We got there a bit early, so we got a pint across the road at The Cellar. I got Foster’s, and I don’t exactly know why. She left and I went and made another Galway street recording and then went to Eyre Square for a nap. I woke up at 8:53, realizing I should’ve met Blair at 8:30 since the concert started at 9 at the Radisson. So I called here and she was already there, luckily. Met up with her there and saw Mikel Rouse. Huge disappointment. So expensive, and there was basically nothing the entire show that I thought was worthwhile. Lyrics that were either over my head or just plain aweful. Music that was too washy and over-layered and sometimes digital. Video footage that was shaky and low quality and annoying and sparse. Alltogether a waste of time and money. Definitely not comparable to Bob Dylan in any way, and definitely not the best composer of our generation, both of which were stated in the Galway Arts Festival booklet that persuaded me to go in the first place. So Blair and I decided to get drunk to make up for it. We went to the Spanish Arch again and popped our Bubbly. Daniel and John and Crystal wanted to borrow our bottle opener. We ended up hanging out with them for a while and getting very drunk. We bought 2 more bottles of wine. The guys at the Offy must know my face by this time. Daniel was of Portuguese decent from South Africa. John and Crystal were both Irish. If I’m not mistaken, they all go to the Galway University for art. Eventually I asked if I could crash on their couch and they happily obliged, which I was happy about. Blair left around 1:30 to meet up with the brothers, and the rest of us walked back to their place. We stayed up and chatted for at least another hour. Daniel gave me soup and it tasted wonderful since I didn’t have dinner. We talked about collaborating. We made sure to make it a point that it will actually happen, that it won’t just be something that is mentioned and never followed through. I m excited to maybe do some scoring to some of their video. I think it is a good opportunity. I passed out on the couch around 3 and Daniel was to wake me up for breakfast and so I could get to the bus station. I fell right asleep.
Sunday, July 22
WHACK. A metaphorical kick to the stomach. Verbal abuse in my sleeping ears at 7am. I looked up and heard and saw a red-faced livid older man yelling at me asking me who I was and what I was doing there and who said I could be there and that I should get out. Only there were a lot more ‘fuck’s involved. This was totally surprising to me; I knew nothing of an older man staying in the house. The only explanation I could muster was that he was the owner/landlord of the place and Daniel and John were the tenants, and they all lived together. That must suck. This guy was an asshole to me, I was actually kind of frightened. I packed up and left immediately. Up way to early for my own good, but at least I could catch the 8:40 bus and get back earlier that I would’ve originally. I did so, and when I got back into Ballyvaughan at 9:30 I ran into Eli and Dan walking into town to catch a Hurley match that was supposed to me at 8. I didn’t even know there was a field in town, it is right behind the church. There was no game going on, only some Gaelic football practice. We watched for a little while and walked through the fields back to the road and came back home. I took an immensely long shower and got nice and clean. I then talked with Dan and Megan for a little while before I took a nice 3-hour nap - very much needed. Got up and read the rest of chapter 3 of the Joyce book. Made some rice and soup and green beans and corn. Got nice and full and read a little more until it was time to make family dinner. I went in to town to get sponges and spray cleaner on Sarah’s bike, and I stopped in Monk’s to confirm plans with Conan about nighttime activities. When I returned I read a little more while Sarah and Eli were making lasagna and ziti and salad. In due course the food was prepared, and everyone sat down for a nice, long-awaited family dinner. I headed up to the studio afterwards with some wine to write in this journal since I hadn’t for several days. At 10:30 I left to town for another night of who knows what.
I awoke at 11:30 to an empty house. I showered and got ready to do some work. I headed up to the studio at noon and grabbed my negatives and headed to the scanner. It gave me trouble for a while. No scanning by lunchtime at 1. There was a lecture by Tim (the dean) at 1:30 about art and vandalism. It started off interesting with slides of pictures of different rock formations made by people (called “little dolans”?), ranging from well-renown artists to everyday Joe tourist. But then I feel like things got sidetracked and the discussion turned into a waste of time. It turned into a conversation between a few people while the rest of us had to sit and wait, uninterested. I don’t think that was the aim, of course, but it is what ended up happening. I almost walked out a couple of times. It ended, and I talked to Robert finally and he took me over to the digital lab in the reception house where there is a better scanner. It worked pretty well over there. I scanned 2 complete rolls and got a third in on the third. I will finish tomorrow. The president had to kick me out at 6 because they have to lock up that building. That is ok, I was getting photoshop-ed out.
I started to edit my recordings. I am making some decent progress on them, I have at least 5 hours all sorted out. Blair was kind to give me shots of Jamison, and we left the studio at 10 or so and went home to make some quick food before we were to go down to Monk’s. I brought my recording stuff to Monk’s with me and got some conversations of about an hour. At around 12 we got the boot and Conan bought 16 beers to bring back to our place. We were originally going to sit on the pier, but it was a bit too cool out to do that comfortably, so we decided to go back to Orchard House and hang out in the laundry shed as not to wake the sleepers. This night turned out to be a riot. We were all fairly drunk and telling hilarious stories and creating collective drumming sessions. I taped most of the hilarity, so I won’t go into too much detail presently. It will surely appear in my work. We migrated inside and hung out in the kitchen for a while and when it got really late (when I should’ve went to bed) Rachel and I and Conan and Chris and Laura decided to watch X-Files until pretty much all of us passed out. Somehow I made it upstairs under my own power before the couch consumed my tired soul.
Thursday, July 19
Thank God Katie woke me up at 9:30, or I would’ve slept a lot longer, considering I passed out at 5. The bus never picked us up because Robert was out taking the other group around, so we were sitting around until 10:15, and I was wishing I just had another half hour of sleep. Got to the studio and continued editing my sounds. I imported the recordings from the previous night and edited the rest of the Shane Burren recordings. Mira and Rich came around to see how I was progressing. They like what I’ve got. I ate lunch at the café, which I never do because it is expensive, but I thought maybe once a week is ok. That was my excuse. Afterwards I set up my speakers that came in the mail, which refuse to work, which is seriously pissing me off, especially considering mom shipped them to me from NY for $75, and now I have to take them home with me and return them and deal with that whole all-too-familiar shuffling process. Sucky. I also finished scanning the rest of the film I had developed. I listened to the tracks I recorded the night before and continued to for two hours because they are so comical. It is a gold mine, a material treasure cache sent from the heavens or something. It is honestly one of the most rewarding things I have done, recording that night in the laundry shed. And I’m not just saying that. I can’t wait to integrate it into my piece. I stayed until 5:30, at which point I had to go back to the house and make some pasta for dinner. I ate and packed for Doolin and Galway; I had to catch the bus at 6:53 to Doolin to see Beoga at Magnetic Music…the ticket for which I bought last weekend when I was in Doolin. I was late getting to the bus stop, but no matter, since it was 45 minutes late anyway. I met a nice lady who was there waiting for her family to dropped off. I’m glad I at least had some sort of company. Finally caught the bus and got into Doolin around 8:30. I immediately went to the bar (Gus O’Connor’s) and got a take-away Guinness North Star brew, which was delicious, if you like dessert-y beers. Got in line for the concert at 9:10 (doors were at 9:30). When we were let in I picked a seat near the wall and got my recording gear all set up within my backpack as to not be obvious. I feel a little guilty for secretly recording another band, but I am not going to use it degradingly. My rationale is this: My objective was to capture music of Western Ireland, because it is part of the Irish culture of this area. It didn’t matter what band it was, as long as they were of local Irish decent. So I recorded Beoga not because they were Beoga, but because they were Irish. I hope that makes sense. Anyway, the show was phenomenal. It was a very intimate setting in that small shop for about 90 or so people. The musicians were top-notch. There was a baughan player (a native Irish drum), a concertina player, another concertina/guitar player, a keyboardist, and a fiddler who sang. They played two sets, and everybody enjoyed themselves, I can guarantee that. I am very happy with my purchase and trek to Doolin for this very show. It got out around 12:30, and I started up a country road towards the cliffs to find a spot to camp in a field. After 30 minutes of walking I found a sufficient spot and set up my tent. I also made a recording of the nighttime atmosphere in the country because my spot was next to a spring, and it sounded great. I also stood and looked at the perfectly starry sky for a good 15 minutes too, and sort of meditated my way into a half-asleep state, and I retreated to my tent and fell abruptly asleep on the grassy meadow.
Friday, July 20
I woke up several times during the night because it got colder than I expected it to. I finally put all my clothes back on in my sleeping bag and slept until my phone alarm went off at 7:30. I got up and packed up and walked back into town to catch the 8:30 bus to Galway. I read a bunch of the Joyce book and converted some American cash into Euros at Paddy’s Doolin Hostel. Got the bus and met Chris and Conan and Emily and Rachel in Ballyvaughan. I slept on the bus because I was still pretty tired. Only averaging 5-6 hours of sleep a night recently. We got in around 11 and I ran a few errands. Got cash. I looked a few places where I could develop my XP-2 film, but a lot of the places claimed their color machines were broken. It wasn’t until the 5th shop I stopped in that they could finally do it for me, so I dropped them off and went on my merry way with the group. I checked for negative sleeves in the Galway Camera shop and they didn’t have any because there was no demand anymore with digital taking over. That was a disappointment. He said I would have to get them in Dublin. I said screw that and decided my makeshift methods will have to suffice. We went to an internet café for breakfast and I used the internet to buy a ticket for the Mikel Rouse show Saturday night. We walked through an open air market and I got a cheesy bagel that was delicious. We went to the Roisin Dubh at 12:30 to get in line for the 1 o’clock concert being held as part of the Arts Festival. Maureen Browne, fiddle player, and friends were the artists. It was a good show. I got Galway Lager for the sake of saying I had it. The music I have heard the past 2 days is inspiring. I wish I had recorded this one too, but it would have been too noticeable. We got out around 2:15 and decided to try and get Funnel materials, considering that was one of the main objectives of the venture to Galway in the first place because neither of the Irish guys had ever funneled beer. We hit up the mall to check out the scene. They have a store just like Spencer’s that had whoopy cushions, which was the only interesting thing I saw in the whole mall. We walked to the other side of town and checked the DIY store, and to our dismay, the tubing was outrageously expensive. We got upset and tired all at once, and decided to pass the next couple of hours very passively, and maybe take a nap, inside the movie theater. We watched the new Harry Potter. It was cheesy (what do you expect, considering the target audience), but the special effects were insanely awesome. The fight seen at the end was incredible. A feast for the eyes, so they say. None of us slept, and I drank some wine I had bought at Aldi, kind of a preparation for the rest of the evening. While we were out Conan ran into one of his old rugby buds, which was a very good thing because he offered us his house for a place to stay. He said he was working until 12:30, but he said when he got out he was going to bring back 60 Millers. That’s what I consider a party. His parents are out of town, and his house is right on the water, very close to where I had slept last time I was in town, and also close to the Spanish Arch.
After Harry Potter, Chris left because his sister was having a birthday party. We went back into town and got some food at MacDonough’s fish and chips. I got Ray Wing and chips, and they got chicken and chips. It was terrible, I must say. Not because the ray wing was gross, but simply because of the fact that it was deep deep deep fried…and there were lots of bones involved. But the fries were tasty. My fingers got that annoying film on them from fried food, which I hate. I felt very full and almost disgusting when we left to get beer at the Off License (The Offy). I got a fruity beer that Conan recommended. It was good, but I couldn’t drink it that fast because of all the food in my stomach. We went to the Spanish Arch and hung out a while, drinking. When 10 rolled around Emily and I went to shop street to see the ‘Saurs parade, which was 5 dinosaurs tromping through the streets and making noise. They were very well-designed and gorgeous looking, if a dinosaur every was attractive. You could barely even see the people inside them on stilts controlling them. Entertaining. Then we went back to the Spanish Arch where a movie showing was being set up. They showed a range of films that were from some random European film festival. A couple of them were very good, like this one abstract one that had great looping music, and another that was probably made in flash and everything was constructed with black and white images of different typed of city buildings. There were sexual innuendos involved, which just made it way better. Around midnight we decided to go find Dave’s house and hang out there until he showed up. He got in around 1 and we went in and started the whole party thing. He smoked us up, and very sufficiently at that. We went outside to throw the rugby ball (Conan got nailed in the face, it was great). I didn’t throw it, though, because I’ve never held one in my life. We drank wine and beers (I had picked up some Moose Head for the occasion). We talked and listened to music, mostly heavy metal and hardcore on Dave’s i-pod, which is no surprise considering how big, strong, and probably often angry he is. Frankly he is a monster. He knows not his own strength. He is also an obvious product of a wealthy household, needing attention and needing to prove how much everything he does is worth. Eventually Rachel and Conan went to sleep and Dave’s friends arrived (Peter, Max and Laura, and one other guy who was very quiet). Peter was hilarious. He must have something wrong with him because he uses special arm crutches to get around. At one point he and Dave had a sandwich fight and the bathroom got devastated. It was great. I also ate a lot of candy because I had serious munchies. Eventually 4am rolled around and we all decided to go to sleep. Emily and I were given a recliner leather couch to sleep on, which looked like a bad idea, but was actually really comfortable. Slept somewhat awkwardly, sort of like on one of those old people beds that you control with a remote and you can raise your head and your feet. That position lasts comfortably only for so long.
Saturday, July 21
Woke up at 9:30 and Emily and I went in to wake up Conan and Rachel to leave. Funny thing was, we were locked in from the inside. Eventually I tried opening the front door and the alarm went off. That woke Dave up and he let us out. It was very nice of him to let us stay there, but I wouldn’t be upset if I never saw him again. He was very arrogant, and I feel like if I hung around him much more I would just end up bleeding or severely bruised. We walked in and got some food and water. Picked up my film. Went to the bus station and got a ticket for Sunday morning to head back to Ballyvaughan. Conan left us at 11:30 to get back home because he had to work at 3. Blair and crew showed up at 11 to play in Galway. Most were only there for the day (Geoff, Laura, Jane, Jac, Katie, Sarah, etc). Blair and I and Rachel hung for a couple hours doing random shit. Rachel left to go home. Megan was here, but she went to meet up with her parents, and she left before we saw her again because she wasn’t feeling well. So Blair and I wandered the streets aimlessly. I convinced her to buy a ticket for the Mikel Rouse show. We went to the Box Office eventually and got our physical tickets, and wanted to get tix for The Devine Peaches transvestite show, but it was sold out. We continued our journey, off to see some art exhibits. We had to walk way over to the campus are of town, so of course we got some road sodas. She got a Hoegaarden and I got a Newcastle Brown and we headed over. First up was an exhibit at the university hospital of pictures of Antelope Canyon in Utah and of some Glaciers in Iceland. It was a big let down. I could’ve exhibited better material. It made me want to go to Iceland, though. I should just do it and get it over with and stop all the wanting. On our way to the next exhibit we got lost because a lack of signs or directions. We did find a bathroom, however, where I made a fudgie and put a Bill Murray quote on the bathroom stall next to the ‘fudgie’ one that I loved so much. We eventually made it over to the Women War Photographers exhibit, which was very moving to say the least. We were there for a solid hour, captivated by each and every picture, mesmerized at the plight of people we don’t even realize exist. It was sad, really. I felt terrible afterwards. Well, not really terrible…more just very lucky and unappreciative. It was one of the best exhibits I have ever seen, right up there with Dali and Ansel Adams. We left in a hazy mood to see the next exhibit, which was nothing special. It was a collection of pastel-y and colorful abstract paintings. The artist wrote about her exhibit. I wanted to barf on myself because of all of the arty words she used. I can’t stand that sometimes, when people feel the need to describe their work in verbose and mundane vocabulary. I was secretly telling myself that if I have to write something about my exhibits while I am here I would write “blah blah blah blah blah.” I probably wouldn’t really do that, though. The last thing we saw was ‘Single Shot’, a collection of films created with one shot. Some were amazing, like the Automotive Action Painting, where the artist spilled 13 gallons of paint in the middle of the road and waited for cars to go by to splash it and create this cool image (the camera was directly above the road 40-50 feet looking directly downward). Another decent one was Pomegranate, where a bullet or something punctured the pomegranate and it exploded. It was all in very slow motion. There were some terrible ones, too, like one that was a slow movement over a forest floor, and you wanted nothing else but for it to just look above the horizon to see where it was going. Another absolutely appalling video was shot on the top of a huge carrier ship and the camera moved slowly around the railing over and over while someone spoke and at other times sang for what seemed like an eternity. I fell asleep a bit a couple of times. We left at or so. We headed over to the Aldi to get wine. Blair got carded so we had to go to the Lidl too so I could buy her a bottle. She was to meet her boyfriend’s mom at the Post to go away for dinner. We got there a bit early, so we got a pint across the road at The Cellar. I got Foster’s, and I don’t exactly know why. She left and I went and made another Galway street recording and then went to Eyre Square for a nap. I woke up at 8:53, realizing I should’ve met Blair at 8:30 since the concert started at 9 at the Radisson. So I called here and she was already there, luckily. Met up with her there and saw Mikel Rouse. Huge disappointment. So expensive, and there was basically nothing the entire show that I thought was worthwhile. Lyrics that were either over my head or just plain aweful. Music that was too washy and over-layered and sometimes digital. Video footage that was shaky and low quality and annoying and sparse. Alltogether a waste of time and money. Definitely not comparable to Bob Dylan in any way, and definitely not the best composer of our generation, both of which were stated in the Galway Arts Festival booklet that persuaded me to go in the first place. So Blair and I decided to get drunk to make up for it. We went to the Spanish Arch again and popped our Bubbly. Daniel and John and Crystal wanted to borrow our bottle opener. We ended up hanging out with them for a while and getting very drunk. We bought 2 more bottles of wine. The guys at the Offy must know my face by this time. Daniel was of Portuguese decent from South Africa. John and Crystal were both Irish. If I’m not mistaken, they all go to the Galway University for art. Eventually I asked if I could crash on their couch and they happily obliged, which I was happy about. Blair left around 1:30 to meet up with the brothers, and the rest of us walked back to their place. We stayed up and chatted for at least another hour. Daniel gave me soup and it tasted wonderful since I didn’t have dinner. We talked about collaborating. We made sure to make it a point that it will actually happen, that it won’t just be something that is mentioned and never followed through. I m excited to maybe do some scoring to some of their video. I think it is a good opportunity. I passed out on the couch around 3 and Daniel was to wake me up for breakfast and so I could get to the bus station. I fell right asleep.
Sunday, July 22
WHACK. A metaphorical kick to the stomach. Verbal abuse in my sleeping ears at 7am. I looked up and heard and saw a red-faced livid older man yelling at me asking me who I was and what I was doing there and who said I could be there and that I should get out. Only there were a lot more ‘fuck’s involved. This was totally surprising to me; I knew nothing of an older man staying in the house. The only explanation I could muster was that he was the owner/landlord of the place and Daniel and John were the tenants, and they all lived together. That must suck. This guy was an asshole to me, I was actually kind of frightened. I packed up and left immediately. Up way to early for my own good, but at least I could catch the 8:40 bus and get back earlier that I would’ve originally. I did so, and when I got back into Ballyvaughan at 9:30 I ran into Eli and Dan walking into town to catch a Hurley match that was supposed to me at 8. I didn’t even know there was a field in town, it is right behind the church. There was no game going on, only some Gaelic football practice. We watched for a little while and walked through the fields back to the road and came back home. I took an immensely long shower and got nice and clean. I then talked with Dan and Megan for a little while before I took a nice 3-hour nap - very much needed. Got up and read the rest of chapter 3 of the Joyce book. Made some rice and soup and green beans and corn. Got nice and full and read a little more until it was time to make family dinner. I went in to town to get sponges and spray cleaner on Sarah’s bike, and I stopped in Monk’s to confirm plans with Conan about nighttime activities. When I returned I read a little more while Sarah and Eli were making lasagna and ziti and salad. In due course the food was prepared, and everyone sat down for a nice, long-awaited family dinner. I headed up to the studio afterwards with some wine to write in this journal since I hadn’t for several days. At 10:30 I left to town for another night of who knows what.