New Semester Approaches

The start date of the new semester is coming up very quickly and I have to admit that I'm not quite ready to start the grind yet.   Since I returned from Scotland it seems that there has been little R & R time.  It has been hectic; back to work, trying to get things set up and ready to go in new directions as well as getting used to the time change again.  For the longest time I was in some strange kind of time warp, not quite U.K. or B.C. time.  I think I'm finally getting a little closer to B.C.

Postings are now up for Peer Tutoring, which is one of the things I was interested in taking on this fall, as well as the writing opportunities that are coming my way.  I have a full course load this fall, looking at four more for the winter semester, then graduation in April.  Well, actual grad will be June, but you know what I mean.  Somewhere in the mix, I'll have to make the decision as to when, where and whether I'll try to enroll and get accepted for either SFU or UBC.  Right now, that's looking a little far ahead for me, but it's going to have to be dealt with sooner or later.  I wonder what kind of impact the difficulties with Douglas and China are going to have on my ability to be accepted in either.  That is a question that has been on my mind since the news broke last winter.  Just what repercussions are there going to be?  However, since that is beyond my ability to control, I can't waste time worrying about it.

Another Milestone Reached!

OMG!  I still  have to be medicated everytime I think about this one.  Carl, the old fart and I, celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary yesterday.  And that doesn't include the year and a bit we were "living in sin", as it was known back then.  As I had mentioned in an earlier post, I had bought our rings in Galway when I was there.  We had both lost ours somewhere along the lines years earlier and I had thought it appropriate to exchange new ones for our 35th.  That was if we could come up with new contract terms.  After that length of time, the original vows require amendment to reflect the reality of things.  I had refused to have "obey" in the first ceremony anyway, but there were still a few changes to be made.  Obey,  my %$#*.

In any case, after we got rid of the children, it doesn't seem to matter how old they are, they still have a habit of walking into the middle of things, we struck a new deal and exchanged the rings.  It feels odd to have a ring on that finger after all this time.  I'm sure it does for him as well.  The honeymoon over, he's now headed back up to Sorrento for the week to finish a job up there.

Back in the Land of the Living?

I've been back home for just over a week now and am gradually getting used to the time change.  Adjusting to U.K. time was considerably easier than the opposite.  Even so, I'm still like as not to need a sudden nap and will do so at the drop of a hat.  Makes it interesting at work.

As a result of my trip and my experiences in this last semester of school, I've made some decisions and some changes.  One relates to work and changes in earning potential.  I did some research on the potential for professional blogging.  It appears to be a viable idea, though as with everything else, will take some time to work up to decent $'s, if at all.  As a backup plan and one I came across while conducting my research, I decided to kill two birds with one stone.  There are a number of companies that require blog, article, review and similar writers.  By getting a job with one or two of these companies, I figured I could hone my writing skills, improve my own blog writing and earn some money in my newly chosen career choice.

I applied for a couple of these slots; the one is no longer taking this approach or so they say.  It could have been just a polite reject.  The other, however, asked for a sample of my writing after reading my blog then followed up with a request for a couple of very quick corrections.  No sub-heading on the intro or conclusion and to remove the title quotes from the body of the piece and re-submit.  I think, from the correspondence, that I have a new job, but not entirely sure at this point.  I'll have to wait for confirmation.

One of my goals upon my return was to start writing my childrens' books and have started that.  If I can turn out a decent product, the potential for publishing seems to be pretty good from the research I've done on that subject.

There are a couple more plans in the background.  I can't do anything about them yet, but I plan on applying to become a peer tutor and also to look into writing for The Other Press.  That's the Douglas College newspaper.

So, all in all, I am putting my money where my mouth is.  I've done a lot of yapping about the changes returning to school has brought about and the impact this trip has had on me.  Talking about it is one thing, now it's time to act on it.

Home, But Still Moving On

T’is home, I am and glad to be here.  It was a phenomenal trip and one that I am glad I took, but it was time to be wrapping it up.  I missed all of my babies, two legged and four.  Now, the only trick is to get used to the time change and all things Canadian again.  It’s amazing how quickly one adopts the customs; habits, language usage and the way things are and work when overseas. 

If I had to sum up in a couple of words the effect and outcome this trip has had on me, I would have to say “success.”  This past semester has stretched my boundaries in so many ways.  Much of it was way out of my comfort zone and I am proud to be able to say that I believe I met those challenges and did well.  Personal narrative, poetry, blog writing, performing arts, playwriting, map reading, mineral identification and figuring out where north is – yes, I even managed to figure that out.  None of these things were in my repertoire previously, but it had gotten to the point where I’d hung my ass so far out on the branch, that I figured I might as well go all the way.  There was nothing to lose and everything to gain.  I’ve always been one to push the envelope, to one degree and another, but this whole plan of returning to school, going to Scotland and then travelling around the countryside on my own exceeded the limits all the way around.  It’s not the easiest thing for someone my age to do as a “first.”  Thank you, Calvin, Christine and Susan.  I have learned much more from you all than curriculum.

In looking at this experience in that way, I’ve also gained some affirmation, courage and hope in my ability to succeed at the goal I set out for myself when I returned to school.  At the time, the plan was to give myself the chance to get there, not necessarily attaining it.  Now, I have more of a belief that I can succeed.  So much so, that I have made some choices that will take me closer to that and allow me to work towards those career choices.  Carl, bless his boxers, supports me in this as he supported me in my plan to return to school and in trundling off overseas.  I may just keep him around for a while longer.

Looking Homeward

Today it’s off home, I am.  It seems as if I have been here a long time and I suppose I have been.  There are more than a few things that will seem odd when I get back to Canada.  I’ve gotten so used to the way things are and work here.  Just everyday things that become the norm.  Like looking the opposite way for cars when crossing the road or calling chips “crisps.”  Toilets that flush from the wall.  Even escalators run the opposite way around and up is down.

I’m looking forward to getting home.  I miss everyone and my babies.  No doubt Padge will be pissed off for the first five minutes or so, until she forgets why.  Wiggy will just boink and wag himself off his feet.  It’s going to be hard getting back into the normal routine.  And that may not be a bad thing.  After all, going back to school, making this trip, it is all about change.  There have been a few very positive pointers that show me that that change is possible.  My review has been deemed “publishable” and the suggestion put forth that I try to do some work for The Other Press.  The blog has also been a positive and I may be able to parlay that into something as well.

School for September is all set to go.  Classes are registered and my funding for the term is approved.  I would like to do some peer tutoring.  My marks qualify me for it and I am a good teacher.  I just have to decide what to do in other areas and that decision won’t be made until Carl and I have a chance to talk.  If I can write for the paper and tutor…..

As my grandfather would say, “Well, there you go.”

The Search

It was a bit of a scramble getting out this morning.  Not that I’m not very good at packing and unpacking, it was more trying to get everything in, then trying to get out of the place.  By the time all was said and done, I decided that I was taking a taxi to the station, rather than walking.  I’d done quite enough walking, thank you very much.  To get to both Templemore and Galway, I had to get to Heuston Station, which is a good 3 k from Trinity College.  As bus schedules are a little sketchy, I ended up walking. 

Having said that, I did enjoy Galway yesterday.  There are no end of little shops in the “tourist” zone, some with a lot of junk and others with some unique items.  After searching nearly every jewellers in the area, I finally found my ring.  I’d gotten Carl’s pretty much right off the top, buying it even though there was no match to it for me.  But, I liked it very much and I thought he would.  In the end, I got a ring that was somewhat similar to his and that was as good as it was getting.

That called for a sit-down and a pint.  The pint demanded something to eat to go along with it.  I still needed to get back to Dublin in time for the storytelling that evening.  There was still a bit of time after all that, so I meandered around the town a little more, finding a few music stores that demanded my attention.  One had a beautiful Irish harp that I would have given my eyeteeth to own, but they were expensive and there’s always the getting it home problem.  So, I contented myself with a drum.  The word doesn’t quite describe it adequately.  It’s the traditional Gaelic handheld drum with a beater.  I have to admit that I’m still pining for the harp, though.  It’s a good thing I had to get the hell out of Dodge before much longer.

Back in Dublin, I walked once again, not so far this time, to the Brazen Head pub.  It’s the oldest pub in Ireland, built in 1160 or thereabouts.  The evening featured dinner, traditional music and some storytelling – faeries and the like.  The singers were great, mixing song and humour and everyone got very involved very quickly.  There’s no room for being shy in Ireland.

Today now, I am starting my trek back home.  From Dublin to Belfast, then Belfast to the ferry, to the bus, to the train, arriving in Glasgow tonight.  It promises to be a long day.

Templemore

Having gone to Peterhead to visit the place where Carl’s people were born and lived, it was my turn to do likewise.  So, it was off to Templemore.  Normally, it would be an hour and a bit to get there, but yesterday’s trip took almost twice that.  It seems that one of Irish Rail’s trains broke down on the track.  I did make it eventually, but not before having to hear one too many pre-recorded announcements, hoping that I’ve had a “pleasant and enjoyable trip and thank you for choosing Irish Rail.”  By the time I was into over an hour’s delay, it became a tad annoying. 

Church of Ireland

These days, Templemore has grown to a population of about 19,000 bodies.  The first place I visited was the Church of Ireland, not catholic, but close to in terms of pomp and ceremony.  After wandering the graveyard, I was able to locate a couple of gravesites.  There may have been more, but as in Peterhead, many weren’t readable any longer.  Most of the Fitzgerald family left Ireland over two hundred years ago now.  Even so, it was an experience being in the place where my 4x great grandparents were born and walking the same streets they did.

Downtown Templemore

The town itself, especially the downtown core, is an attractive place.  Most of the shops are well cared for and for the most part, seem to be thriving.  Moving out of the immediate area, though, there are many empty and boarded up places looking to be let or bought.  There are some industries on the edge of town, but a couple of those have shut down as well.  Like everywhere in Ireland and Scotland, the best cared for are the pubs.  Oh, and the bookmakers.  Yes, bookies are legal in both places.

I asked around a bit, to see if there were any surviving Fitzgeralds left in the town, but seems not.  If the cemetery is any indication, the last couple died back in 1957 and 1973, both named John and apparently single.  I would have liked to go to Roscrea as well, as that may have been the Talbot site, but being a Sunday, there was no way to get there other than walking or thumbing a ride.  Neither was high on my top ten list of things to do.  The only things open in the entire town were the groceries and the pubs, so after a few hours of exploring, I headed back to the rail station for a return to Dublin.

Tomorrow, Galway and I did un-cheap and book the story-telling for tonight.  It leaves my time in Galway rather short, as I have to back in Dublin and to the Brazen Head by 6:30.  I had intended doing laundry last night after I got back from Templemore, but was more than a bit too tired.  Nor will I be able to do it tonight, as the show isn’t over until 10:00 p.m. and I really should catch 7:35 back to Belfast tomorrow.  There is a later train, but it cuts it a bit close to the time I have to catch the bus for my ferry back to Glasgow.  I’ll have to buy a top or two or go topless.

Update:  The storytelling evening at the Brazen head was just a blast.  There was no such thing as strangers sitting beside one another at the tables.  Combined with a great meal, a bit of the irish history, song and stories, it was a more than enjoyable evening.  The web-site address is http://www.irishfolktours.com/ if you'd like to check it out.