Reflections on the Craic

IMPORTANT: Sadhbh Ní Bhaoill is the baddest bitch around #northside

Hey lads. I hate to say it but I'm down to less than a week in Ireland so I think it's time for one of these... Below are my absolute favourite and fondest memories of the last four months.  

The Hot Spots

• The Bleeding Horse. Always a classic for Rathmines 11. There we became addicted to Bulmers, Margaret got a kiss off the barman for her 21^st, and Eliza treated to a round of chocolate cake shots (Probably the Best Shots on Earth). And of course, I met my first friend at Trinity. Looking back that bar was the beginning of everything that followed, and the beauty of beginnings is that you don’t know how they will end.
• The Seomra na Gaeilge. 20 cent tea and priceless conversation. Cheers to anyone who was kind enough to chat to the Meiricéanach (truly, it did mean a lot).
• The Pav. No better place for lunch with my girl Brenna! The chips are fab. Plus I had some great times prinking with my Irish lunatics there. Chloё, you get my bar glass (I can’t have you hiding out in the bushes with Dómhnall anymore!)
• Saint Stephen’s Green. I had some superb Little Ass burritos with Margaret in that park.
• Trinity Chaplaincy. Genuinely, I’ll miss free soup Tuesday.
• Mother Reilly’s (specifically, Tuesday night Quiz Craic). The best moments:
• When Katie knew that the bonus question was Shawshank Redemption on the first clue (“a movie from 1994”) Atta girl.
• That time I guessed that the Japanese word meaning “one who serves” is “samurai”. Proud moment for me.
• Shannon blurting out “Why is George Clooney so ATTRACTIVE?!” just as the pub went quiet.

….Three of the six places are bars. Sound.

The Everyday Things

• When things in our apartment didn’t work properly, became inexplicably broken, or simply failed at their existence. We can laugh now because it’s water under the bridge— instead of dirty shower water from upstairs leaking into our living room (btw that was the source of the month-long leak catastrophe. Score).  Latest update: oven door broke off last week.
• Walking into my bedroom whenever Shannon was Skyping her friends…I could make an “Overheard in Rathmines 11” devoted to these moments (but she’d probably knife me for it). I could also include anytime she asked a hypothetical question.
• Whenever Katie and I decided to communicate via the internet (while in the same room). Out of the sarcasm, a fabulous friendship was formed—btw Katie, I can alliterate too. Bite me. 
• Any and every time that Jen came to Rathmines to make dinner for us. Great food and great company.
• Boiling water for tea in cooking pots because we were too cheap to buy a kettle (that said, thanks for the coffee maker Katie!)
• When we acted like morons because we’re Americans. Examples that went down in infamy: we didn't know how to turn on the fridge, we thought the clothes horse was a cot, we lived in semi-darkness for a month because we didn't want to change the light bulb….I’ll leave it at that.

The Top Ten

• Leaving the city for the first time and swimming in Killiney Bay.
• “Moone’s shifting a dead bird”
• Fresher’s Week, especially the CG pub crawl and the Toasted Cheese concert.
• Halloweek in Dublin, epic.
• Paris (duh).
• The best Irish Thanksgiving there ever was or will be. 
• When my grandfather’s relatives got me locked in Killavullen last weekend.
• When the Rabbitts got me locked in Oranmore yesterday.
• “Crouching tiger hidden naggin”—the official slogan of every night out. We got that nifty little catchphrase when my landlord saw me buying naggins at Dunnes. Oh, memories.
• TBD (I’ve got a week left! This spot is saved)

Also Katie and I have recently been communicating in haiku instead of writing our final papers. If you don’t mind a bit of crude content find the thread on Facebook, it provides an epic summation of Dublin in poetic form.

Always,

Lauren

I did try not to duplicate pictures from earlier posts but no promises....an assortment of beauts from the semester.