A Lesson Learned

Last night, Ellie, Claire, and I went into town for more exploring. We ended up back at st stephen's greene shopping center and the nearby park before meeting one of their other friends. We had a really good time out and eventually got a pint before making our way home. At that point, I was exhausted and not feeling too well, so I stayed in for the night. I am still having trouble with my sleeping schedule, as I am wide awake at 2 AM and I don't wake up until about 11:30. I really hope this pattern will change tonight, especially since I have school tomorrow and class starting at 9 AM. Yipes. But everything will work out, I'm sure of it. So, last night was pretty uneventful, but definitely needed after the crazy week I've had. Here's a few pictures from yesterday. Grafton street looked beautiful, even in the rain.

 So obsessed with all of the different colored doors!

This morning was also laid back and I had the apartment to myself without having a clue that I had the apartment to myself. All of my roommates had slipped out the door without me having any idea. It was very bizarre once I noticed. But eventually, Ellie texted me telling me to meet her and Claire and their new friend Liv downtown. "Okay, easy" I thought, and I was out the door before having a second thought. It was bright and sunny and relatively warm, so I thought how hard could it be getting downtown by myself. BIG MISTAKE. My first wrong turn happened when I thought I could cut down the middle of campus to the bus stop instead of walking along the side of the road. Well, I walked too far and literally turned my head in time to see my missed bus fly by. Okay so I have to wait 20 minutes, not the end of the world. So I finally get on my bus and I have all my directions set up on google maps when the internet stops working all of the sudden. I lost my page and am now just staring at a blank map with the words: network error. At this point, I begin to panic (see blog 2 to get my back story on keeping calm). I figure it would say the stop somewhere on the actual bus stop. Instead it says bus stop number _ _ _. So this is about as useful to me as reading the Gaelic on every street sign (hint: I can't read Gaelic). So I am kind of guessing where to get off on the bus (my stop was called Usher's Quay) and I finally show the driver the name of my stop. He says about three more stops, but then he gets off the bus and a new driver replaces him. Neither of the bus drivers were Irish, and had thick accents so I had a really hard time understanding them. Eventually I walk up again and ask the new driver when to get off. Well apparently quay in Ireland is pronounced like key, and I had missed the stop I where was supposed to get off. So the guy YELLS at me and he was like "I yelled out the name of the stop FIVE TIMES. You have to get off and walk back". Let's just say it was a good thing I was wearing sunglasses because the tears were flowing at this point. NOT a fun time at all.

So now I am texting Ellie and trying to find my way to them and after an eternity, I finally do. I was exhausted and in desperate need of a drink. How appropriate that we were going to tour the Guinness Factory. We walk a little ways down the road to the storehouse and make our way inside. The tour was really fun and got my mind off of my rough day. The best part was the end of the tour where you work your way up to the top of the factory and get to enjoy a complimentary pint at their gravity bar, which gives you a 360 degree view of Dublin. It was breathtaking. I had been there before in '05 when my family went with our good friends, The Heegs, but seeing it at night was so special as well. I told the girls "thank you for a good end to my crappy day". I guess all days can't be perfect, even in Dublin. If you guys could send me any love and good vibes, I would really appreciate it. So now we just got back and I figured the best thing to do was blog about it. Here are a couple of pictures from the factory and a few that I snapped along the way!

 Dublin Castle courtyard

 The lovely Christ Church Cathedral

 " " and me with a green car

 Gravity Bar!

Holy Gorgeousness

Tomorrow is my first day of class. How unreal is that? My Mondays won't be too bad, because I have three classes in the morning and am finished by noon. I also need to drop one of my classes, since I should only be taking five courses instead of the six I am currently registered in. I'm definitely nervous because I don't know how difficult classes are here compared to what I am used to at Marquette. Hopefully they aren't any more difficult than Marquette because I'm not sure I could handle that. I guess we will just have to wait and see. I miss everyone so much, and hope you all had a lovely weekend with friends and family!

Something that has stuck with me for as long as I can remember is a quote from the book Lily's Purple Plastic Purse. After having a rough day, Lily's teacher sticks a note in her backpack for her to read when she gets home. It says: "Today was a difficult day. Tomorrow will be better". Life isn't about how much adversity you experience, but the light that you show in times of darkness.

Here's to a better tomorrow!