week 5

so today we continued to polish. nip and tuck if you will the various bits of the show. it's really coming together i think. i'm looking forward to seeing all of us in costume. the few items i've seen have been great and despite my complete inability to play any of our warm-up games this morning i think it turned into a good workday.





justin came with the music today and i think it's really working.





we'll have another voice workshop with peter balance on thursday. my critical incident log has been well neglected as of late. i need to buckle down and really start putting some of my ideas to paper. you know instead of writing a blog i'll do my actual work.





a change of subject





i just want to say that i am quite lucky. my living situation as far as the people i'm living with is really fantastic. we all get on so well and while i'm certainly missing new york and home i will truely miss all of my new friends.





another change of subject





my dinner tonight was really yummy and you'll laugh when i tell you what it was. boiled potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, a fried egg, toast, and tea. i was just so pleased with it i couldn't tell you why.





and another change of subject





my two lovely sisters will be arriving in belfast in just a few weeks and i could be more pleased. i am very much looking forward to seeing them. we'll be traveling to london the first few days that they're here and then i'll be sending them off on a few day trip adventures without me as i'll be in class. hooray for sisters!!!





well i suppose that's it. nothing more to say at the present moment.





best





jen

(note on photo: our totem pyramid i'm on the right standing on Siobhan

a belfast birthday

so "happy birthday" was sung to me about three times today.

the first rendition followed my late entrance to the group warm-up after trekking through the rain to rehearsal. the entire group sang as they continued their jumping jacks and i removed my soggy shoes and jacket laughing quite hysterically at the entire scene.

the second round of the tune came during lunch when Joe, a dear classmate of mine and our milk/biscuit lady, unveiled a special treat. TEA CAKES. Quite yummy.

the third refrain of "happy birthday" came directly after lunch when my housemates, who had already given me flowers and a card earlier that morning, walked in with a cake.

now I'm either dearly loved or I'm just dealing with people with poor communication skills. I'm going to pray for the former.

the day itself was lovely. my neighbor dropped a card for me through our mail slot, very nice of him. we went for a drink after rehearsal at our local pub, oddly enough it was the first time we've actually gone there. made a nice dinner. saw a show, that I have to say was not my favorite. went for another drink after and headed home. all in all a good day. I'm am quite please and settling into the start of my 26th year quite well.

Rehearsals have been going well. We had a run through this afternoon. All of the pieces are fitting together very well. We have about a week and a half of polishing and tweaking ahead of us. Should be fine. There are still a few bits that don't feel just right yet, particular the sections with text, but I'm assuming that will all gel together shortly.

tried on my costume for the first time yesterday. think old timey swim gear.

tomorrow some of the other girls and I will be drawing on some moustaches and hitting the streets to hand out fliers for the show. we'll be doing human pyramids and blowing whistles all over town. hopefully we won't get in trouble for it as we don't exactly have permission, we'll see. If you don't see a post for a few days it's because I'm in jail.

well i am a bit sleepy after a very long week.

i shall be off to bed!

hope all is well!

best, jen

(picture from abby inch in downpatrick)

i still have joy

Today was a quiet day. I slept in a bit. I went to the market. I bought some vegetables and bread. I rode in a taxi with a nice driver. We talked about Florida. I wished him well. I was angry with a phone representative from Orange. She hung up on me. I spoke to my mom. I spoke to my sister. I made dinner. I ate dinner with Daithi and Andrew. It was yummy. I walked to the waterfront. I arrived late. I watched a choir performance. I smiled. I walked home. I made a snack. I drank some milk.

I'm supposed to be doing work but I can't quite get myself going. I just need to type up a few items and read a few books, memorize a collection of words, memorize another small collection of words.

I turn 26 on Friday. I didn't think I would feel anxious about 26 but I am. I'm feeling a tad bit nervous about Friday. 26. Well I'm glad I'll be turning 26 in a foreign country it's almost as if I could go home and pretend it didn't happen. I'll get used to it. I suppose I also just don't particularly care for the number 26 I prefer 27 ten times better. I know I won't feel anxious turning 27 because 27 is an enjoyable number. Ah well the day will be full of fun things. Class and show building. Will be seeing a show that evening and will most likely grab a few drink after the fact. The next day I'm hoping to have a biscuit party with red lemonade. Biscuits meaning cookies and red lemonade meaning an Irish delicacy that all feel I should get to try.

I need to decide what other parts of the world I wish to travel to while I'm in this neck of the woods. I'll be traveling to London with my sisters. I'm thinking of going to Southern France as I've never been there before and perhaps Germany, Frankfurt to be exact to visit friends. I'll of course be visiting other parts of Ireland. I suppose I'll have to play it all by ear.

I wish I had a snugly bed with flannel sheets on it to crawl into. I'm definitely buying a hot water bottle for warmth and muscles.

Alright I've work to do. No more distractions.

All the best,

jen

blame it on the rain

so today I as well as a few of my compatriots here in belfast were caught in a terrible storm. luckily we were able to find shelter in a nearby archway. We then relocated to the vestibule of our local library. this storm, while not so deadly, was still terribly fierce. it was reminiscent of say a small tropical storm. or perhaps those wild storms that whip in from the atlantic during hurricane season. today's storm once again confirms my theory that if sunshine was in fact more than myth here in ireland that it would in fact be a tropical island. the only difference is that the storm doesn't bring relief from the heat and humidity it just makes it colder and wetter. plus no lightening, at least none that i've seen. ah well. so it goes.

making excellent progress on our adaptation of How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Hired Sportsmen, which I always want to call How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His BAND of Sportsmen, all wrong. Anyway we've got a good chuck set in place. We should have the whole skeleton every little bone in place by next week...which is crazy because we then have a week or so to get the rest done. jayz

i was really inspired today by an improvisational music performance that I saw on campus. i've decided that I will collaborate with them, some of them before i go. it will happen. it has to happen. i love them.

yeah so. that's the end of the news if you will.

hoping to travel to someplace warm with a beach and REAL tropical storms sometime before I go..spain or the south of france perhaps.

i'll be up in london at some point or another and various locations that are located here in ireland, both North and South.

best jen

ps my dialect training is absolute shite i can't get a single one straight as i'm stuck listening to loads of accents from all over this rain soaked piece of land. ah well.

pps it may appear that i'm unhappy but i'm not. i really do like it. weather aside mind you.

there was hail in belfast and the laundry got wet

Is hail a common occurrence in Belfast? After hail-less year after hail-less year I have experienced hail twice in 2009. Once in New York and now here in Belfast. I thought it was just rain and as I began to pull in the laundry from the back courtyard I realized that no it twasn't rain that was lashing down around the house but hail. Decently sized hail I"ll have you know. At least twice the size of a dip n' dot, I would say four times the size of a grain of salt, and definitely larger than a lentil. Quite surprising. This change in the weather will certainly put a damper if you will on the day's events as we were to spend the day watching street theatre. Alas it may not be. Ah well there's always shopping!!

One small problem I am having is with my knee. It has been quite sore since the beginning of last week and has made it quite difficult going up and down stairs not to mention running along the waters edge a new favorite past time of mine. It's quite hard to let it rest as there is always some physical activity to be done in class and someplace to walk outside of class. Ah well.

Another small problem I have encountered here is the tea break. Now one would not necessarily associate tea with trouble however if said tea is accompanied by a variety of biscuits and other sweets it quickly becomes a source of unrest for one who is attempting to NOT indulge her sweet tooth. I would have to say that at this point I am still consuming more tea than alcohol though it is a close race indeed. I shall do my best to keep tea in the lead though it is quite difficult to avoid either around these parts.

The heat in our house is also proving to be a source of much annoyance as it continually stops working. We're all paid up. There's plenty of credit I even add some more credit just to be sure but alas it chooses not to produce heat which no heat fine wear another sweater. However, heat and hot water all come from the same place no hot water makes bathing shall we say a bit uncomfortable especially when your home is also quite chilly. Jaysus cut us a break.

Ahh well in just a few short minutes I have typed a small post of little importance and the sun has managed to come back out. See like I said Belfast is very much a tropical location without all the mess of heat, well yes as the previous paragraph states :), and humidity.

Time to dress myself and get on with the day.

Cheers!

Jen

places i've been

Today I was in Downpatrick. I visited St. Patrick's grave I didn't get into the neighboring cathedral as there was a very fancy wedding about to begin. Hats! Everybody had a lovely hat! I wished that I were able to attend the wedding but seeing as how I did not have a fancy hat I was not allowed entry.

I also visted the ruin of an old abby and climbed the walls. Layed around in a comfy field/hill and then rolled down it. The weather was beautiful! It was an exceptional day and I am grateful to my friend Shaun for being an excellent guide. Oh and I also rode a horse through the mountains this morning! A grand time was had by all, even the horses.

Now just a few pictures of places i've been thus far...no pictures from today as I've yet to add them to the computer and I'm too lazy to go upstairs and get the cable.

cheers!

Jen

just call me the queen of may

So today is May Day or the first day of May. It is also a bank holiday meaning no work for anybody except for us. I was wondering about this very special day that gets everybody out of work. Why is it called May Day? Why does it even matter? Most of the people I asked couldn't really give me an answer. "Well it's the first day of May so..." was basically the response I got. So...Facts that are neat about May Day:

• origins were pagan
• exactly 1/2 a year from Nov 1 another cross-quarter day (more pagan stuff)
• previously known as the Celtic celebration of Beltane
• One might dance around a Maypole today and even be crowned "Queen of May"
• on previous May Days you might have come home from dancing around a May pole to a basket of sweets from your neighbor
• May is the Virgin Mary's month so you might do something in honor of the Blessed Mother's favorite month
• Here in Ireland I might come across a bonfire or two
• May 1st is also known as international workers day-a holiday first celebrated in the Soviet Union

So there now we all can answer the question-What is May Day?

So Ireland seems to operate like a tropical location without the heat. It'll rain and then be sunny; then rain some more and be sunny. I don't know if I've planted myself in Belfast during a run of excellent weather or what but I'm quite content with the temperature. Despite having a keen dislike for extremely hot temperatures stories about 80 degree weather in New York created a small bubble of jealousy in my chest. Eh plenty of hot weather awaits me upon my return.

Having completed two weeks we, Curious Doings, are quite well along with the show. We've devised several pieces that have only to be cleaned up and fit together. Roles have been assigned I am most definitely a sportsmen as are most people in the company.

Wednesday night our neighbor Andrew took Daithi, Sarah, Aoife, and I to a pub someplace out of town to a session. It was lovely to go out and enjoy the music and the beer brewed right on the premisis. I had a chocolate stout which was very tasty and a lighter beer called Belfast Blonde, really, REALLY yummy.

Still adjusting small pangs of homesickness here and there. They come and go and mostly come when I'm sitting around doing nothing which doesn't happen very often.

Well that's all for now!

have a good one!

JEN