Socs and Blues

Well, sorry I took a day off (not that I expect any of you to read this compulsively...), but I'm back now, with plenty of geekiness to make up for the gap. Just to keep you updated, the hunt for suitcase number 2 continues! I faxed them a detailed description of the bag and its contents today, so let's all hope for the best. Yesterday was "Soc Day," where all the societies (like clubs and groups) put out little booths and bowls of candy and entice you to their table to sign up for activities. I signed up for "TradSoc," a group that gets together once a week to go to the pub to hear and (if you can) play traditional Irish music, as well as the "Celtic World" society, which does Celtic-y things and plans to take a trip to the Aran Islands at some point, and a Choral society. Today was "Club Day," where all the sports put up little booths and entice you to their tables with lollipops. For two Euro you can kayak, play ultimate frisbee, learn Tae Kwan Do... I signed up for archery, which is something I like to do but don't get to do very often, so that should be fun. The boys at the table seem like they'll be cool, and they were all Irish, so I may finally make some Irish friends too!

Also, I've been to most of my classes by now (all but one), and I already like all of them. I'm taking two Lit courses and three Celtic Civ courses through the Scoil na Gaeilge. It's actually really sad how excited I am for my courses, but hey, why would I want to take boring ones? My Lit classes are a modern Irish literature class (Joyce, Wilde, etc.) and a Post-Modernism course (Nabakov, Lawrence, Woolf, and the like). The Irish courses are Celtic Civilization and Culture, Poets and Courts (Celtic literature from 1100-1700), and Celtic Mythology, Religion and Folklore. If Caomhan is reading this, I have Kikki for half of the Celtic myth courses, and she's just as great as you said! Kikki Ingridsdotter is one of the Irish professors, and I've been hearing rave reviews, both from people at home and many people here.

We finally went out for fish and chips tonight, and it was delicious! I'm usually not a fish eater, but this was good stuff. I know you were all dying to know about everything I eat... We met the boys who live downstairs last night, a whole pack of Irish first years, and they seem nice enough, although they really really like going to dance clubs to find girls. They amused us =) We're going out tonight as well, probably to hear some music.

Finally, I just wanted to say that my Grandma, Eileen Marie Matthew Prial Meagher, died on Tuesday morning, and she will be greatly missed. Thanks to everyone who's been so supportive of me and my family =) "She will be greatly missed" sounds so stupid, but I can't really think of anything else to say. I loved her very much. We used to swap books. We sang harmony and swooned over Richard Armitage together. She had an excellent collection of hats and another of spoons. She got more mail on any given day than most small countries. She was always up-to-date on the activities of her 11 children and their spouses, her 28 grandchildren and their spouses, and her 6 great-grandchildren (all of whom are too young for spouses). She will be greatly, excessively, horribly missed.