Twitter and other Geekiness/Travel

Well, as if Facebook, this blog, email, and my shutterfly site weren't enough for internet time wasting, I have recently joined the Twitter community. If you're unfamiliar, Twitter is basically a "status posting" kind of place, where you tell the world what you're up to throughout the day. It's a great way to stay connected, blah blah REALLY what it's about is following your favorite celebrities and indulging the impulse to have other people know and care about what you're doing. And I have joined! Yes, and, after finding a few friends I know on Twitter and following them (getting updates on their posts), I immediately started looking for celebs. I should insert now something about celebrity, and how it's so sad that we can't leave these people alone, and we shouldn't care so much about what they do. But I won't, because really that's just silly. I found Stephen Fry!! I get updates about what Stephen Fry does throughout his day! Also Rainn Wilson (The Office) and Greg Grunberg (Heroes). Why do I care? I dunno... maybe I'd like to be part of a larger sphere? Maybe I'm hopelessly curious about things that don't concern me? (a lifelong vice...) In any case, there we are. This all came about because I was (of course) stalking a friend of mine on facebook and read that she had been trying to get Stephen Fry to follow HER on Twitter, but had failed. So my new goal is to get Stephen Fry to follow me. Updates to follow.

Continuing on (I hope this all isn't too painful for you), Friday was the LOTR marathon on campus, and I had a great time as expected. My friend Jess met me there, and another girl I know was there, so it wasn't just me alone in a corner, fear not. There was actually a good showing, and other people (not the all-three-movies-so-we-can-get-a-t-shirt crowd) came throughout the day. As the first film started, and I began mouthing along to the opening monologue, I looked around and saw others doing the same... I was not alone! I like watching movies in a large group. The dynamics make it more enjoyable, don't you think? There was an hour break between the films, and they fed us sandwiches between 1 and 2, and pizza between 2 and 3. We watched youtube videos in between as well, which were mostly painful. Many of us were successful in remaining for the complete trilogy, and we should be getting our shirts soon - pictures will follow.

Paris is on Friday! We leave at six am, and get back around midnight on Sunday, so it's a full weekend. Our hotel is in Montmartre, pretty much down the street from the Moulin Rouge from what I could tell from the map and near Sacre Coeur Church. API has booked a bus tour for us on Saturday morning to hit the major tourist points - Champs d'Elysees, Arc de Triomph, the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame - and a trip to the Louvre on Saturay evening, but otherwise we have free time to run off as we will and explore the city! I've never been to real Paris before (we won't speak of the hours in Charles de Gaulle...), and I can't wait to explore another part of Europe! Ireland is different from the US in its own ways, and I'm interested to see how things will be in Paris. I've been warned that upon entering a shop you should always greet the staff with "Bonjour!" or risk being shunned by their Parisian wrath. I am now imagining me setting off a string of "bonjour"s throughout the store, workers popping up from behind display cases and clothes rack to reply, resulting in a musical shift to the song from Beauty and the Beast.

This weekend, in a further attempt to not spend money, was spent quietly at home, reading, using the computer, hanging around the apartment. For Valentine's Day Kristen and I made Cadbury cupcakes, which were very tasty, but otherwise the holiday was, as always, not really necessary since I had no paper valentines to pass out to the class. Sunday passed in much the same way, minus the cupcakes, but I decided I needed to get out of the apartment. Next to the village, between us and the river, is a path that leads me to school in one direction and to unknown places in the other... so I went that way. I knew what was there, actually: Menlo Castle and some sports grounds, but I had never been there, so off I trekked. It's a lovely path, with some sort of marshy land at parts on either side. Menlo (or Menlough) Castle was built in 1569 and was inhabited, I believe, up until the beginning of the 20th century. It was destroyed by fire in 1910, and no one has fixed it, so there it stands in its ivy-covered half-burned glory. It's across the river, so another day's exploration will bring me across to scrabble amidst the rocks, if I can. After that I strolled through the woods and along the sports pitches until I came to neighborhoods (and a horse in a small field!) and from thence wound my way back to Corrib Village just as the rain was starting. I'm heading off downtown now to meet Jess, Julie, and Jaye (I'm considering changing my name to "Jora") at La Salsa for some Mexican food and to continue planning our England trip. Yay! We're planning to go on April 3rd, spending two full days in London, a day in Oxford, and a day in Bath before returning home (in time for Mary and Tine to visit me!). I love exploration! More details will follow on the England trip when they become available, and of course stay tuned for my trip to Paris!