A Jamaican-American Expat in Cork, Ireland

Way Back Home

2011-11-24T20:44:00.000Z

I love Scotland. I love nature, open views, vistas... evocative music and excellent storytelling. I am not an extreme sports enthusiast, not any more than the average person anyway. But this film is simply breathtaking and left me speechless.

What Are The Hardest Languages To Learn

2011-11-14T11:44:00.000Z

Some real surprises here. I would never have thought of Dutch or Norwegian as easy languages to learn. Italian though, definitely!

What do you think?

Friday Pearls

2011-02-12T00:44:00.000Z

Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of its trouble, attempts what is above its strength, pleads no excuse for impossibility, for it thinks all things are lawful for itself and all things are possible.
- Thomas a Kempis, 1380-1471, German Catholic monk and probable author of The Imitation of Christ (Source: Criminal Minds, Series 6 - Devil's Night)

Dark and Distasteful

2011-02-09T21:33:00.000Z

I've just finished the last page of the new book by Audrey Niffenegger, Her Fearful Symmetry. Her debut novel, The Time Traveler's Wife, was moving, sad and ultimately engaging.

This one kept me reading from start to finish all in one big gulp. But the end result was starkly different. Frankly, it creeped me out. It's billed as "dark and delicious" on the cover, but the truth is I ended up actively disliking all four main characters and feeling uncomfortably unsettled by the whole thing. It's one thing to finish a book thinking, "it didn't have to end that way", it's another not to have any sympathy at all for anyone but a secondary, prop character.

Now I wish I hadn't blown 11 euro on the darn thing.

Death, Be Not Proud - Emma Thompson in Wit (2001)

2011-02-06T16:29:00.000Z

I've watched this movie twice in the last 24 hours. It's not funny and sweet, like I prefer my entertainment most of the time. Nor even because recent events in my life have brought home to me, again, just how fragile the people in our lives are.

But, because Emma Thompson and HBO have crafted in "Wit" (based on the Margaret Edson play), an unsparing, wrenching, true, and ultimately beautiful portrait of death and dying. I couldn't look away.

The poetry of John Donne is literally (hah!) another character in the movie. In the last scene, showed here, Emma's character recites again "Death, be not proud" in the way I will always from here on hear it in my head.

Death be not proud though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe,
For, those, whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee.
Thou’art slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better than thy stroake; why swell’st thou then?
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more, Death thou shalt die.
by John Donne (1572-1631)

YouTube's Ad of the Year 2010 - LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

2010-11-30T21:07:00.001Z

EU Overlords, Welcome to North Carolina!

2010-11-16T11:33:00.000Z

I KNEW I made the right decision when I moved here to Ireland from North Carolina. Now even economists are telling me I was right :-)

OK, so the economy here is in disarray and we're all (by this I mean ME) panicked that our salaries are going to get dumped in the toilet, but here is somebody saying not only that some of the basics of the economy are actually quite strong, but that Ireland is North Carolina's sister state.

I knew it all along!

Independent Faith, Civility, and Wearing the Purple

2010-10-21T23:17:00.000+01:00

The God's Politics Blog is one of my go to reads every week. Jim Wallis' Sojourner's organization is a voice representing Christians from all different traditions; its mission is to articulate the biblical call for social justice independent of any particular political affiliation. Civility, not partisan politics. Really, who can argue with that?

Wallis' most recent blog post is on a topic that's been very much in the news lately. Christians and Bullying: Standing with Gays and Lesbians tries to take a Christ-like approach to a divisive issue. The point is well taken... no matter how much disagreement there might be on an issue, no matter how deeply felt, there is no Christian justification for disrespect, tearing someone down or violence.

And to go another necessary step further, "to paraphrase Christ, if you oppose bullying, what reward will you get? Isn’t everybody against it?.... The fact that any community or group of people is regularly the target of harassment and hate means Christians should be on the front line of defense against any who would attack." We should be standing with the vulnerable in our society, whoever they are, not just looking on and shaking our heads at their plight.

Friday Pearls

2010-10-15T09:01:00.001+01:00

For hatred is corrosive of a person’s wisdom and conscience; the mentality of enmity can poison a nation’s spirit, instigate brutal life-and-death struggles, destroy a society’s tolerance and humanity. I hope therefore … to counter the hostility of the regime with the best of intentions, and defuse hate with love.
- Liu Xiaobo, a literature professor, essayist, human rights activist and Chinese political prisoner, awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. (Source: Los Angeles Times)

The No1 Ladies' Detective Agency

2010-10-01T17:58:00.002+01:00

I've seen all the books appear over the past few years, but have always resisted buying them. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I tend to avoid most anything hinting at "literature" or afrocentric or that everybody tells me I should be buying.

What a fool!

Having taken a half-day from work - complete aversion to work today combined with an overabundance of comp time/time-in-lieu not yet taken - I ended up watching the movie I'd recorded from the BBC onto my DVR a couple of weeks ago.

As you can see, this has motivated me to write a blog post for the first time in a month. And why? Because my experience was so fantastic, so amazing, I think everyone should know about this. This wonderful movie was funny, engrossing, empowering, touching, and flat out beautiful.

I guess it should be no surprise really. With a director like Anthony Minghella, of The English Patient and Cold Mountain fame, there was little chance that this film wouldn't work. Add in a screenplay co-written by he and Richard Curtis, of Four Weddings and A Funeral (see earlier post) and Bridget Jones' Diary, and you have a wonderful script. Round all this off with the acting chops of some fantastic actors and cinematography actually shot in the true location (!), and you have a film where everything rings true. I laughed. I shed real tears. And... now I want to go to Botswana.

But first, I need to read the books.

Different Tongues, Different Minds?

2010-09-01T21:42:00.001+01:00

Fascinating, fascinating article here from The New York Times on whether and how our native languages shape (or don't) how we think and experience the world.

Photo Courtesy of Horacio Salinas for The New York Times

Barack Obama and the Voice of God

2010-08-31T23:33:00.000+01:00

I came across this great Time Magazine article, Barack Obama and the Voice of God, while studying up on my my new, emerging passion, voice over narration.

You know voice overs, you just don't know you know. Actually, you hear them 50 million times a day - virtually every TV commercial, radio promo, continuity spiel between TV shows, public service announcement, documentary, telephone on-hold or interactive or voicemail system. Every cartoon character, stuffed toy that speaks or makes a funny noise, video game character, company training video and audiobook, ALL use professional artists to voice the script.

They're like air, you never notice how ubiquitous voiceovers are until you start paying attention. Well, I love to read and my job is already to talk, so I think this would be a natural transition for me. Now, just to get some training and coaching so I actually know what I'm doing!

Anyway, back to my original point... this is one of those articles that points out something that you never ever realized was case, but afterward wonder how you could have missed it! "God" is African-American. He used to be British, but that's so last century! So, is it so much of surprise that Barack Obama actually won the Presidency? If "God" can be black, why not the most well-known man on the planet?

Funny... Ouch!

2010-08-30T23:59:00.001+01:00

My favorite Laugh Out Loud moment from the Emmy's yesterday - Ricky Gervais presenting one of the awards starts naming well-known actor troublemakers. He comes to Mel Gibson's name and catches himself... "I'm not gonna have a go at him. He's been through a lot.... Not as much as the Jews, to be fair."

Hahahaha! Classic delivery. That got my donkey laugh going, the one I have to cover my mouth for because it startles me just a little :-)

Friday Pearls

2010-08-28T22:42:00.000+01:00

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

To Be Loved That Way

2010-08-22T22:41:00.001+01:00

I'm watching Four Weddings and a Funeral for what must be the seventh or eighth time and I'm still in love with it, for so many reasons.

Hugh Grant in the early 90's was the ultimate leading man. What was there not to like? Cute British guy, slightly bumbling like we all (American girls) imagined cute British boys to be. And that accent! This was before the "incident" of course.
Romance, romance, romance.
With English accents!
Even though I can't stand her now (she's the worst part of the movie for me), Andie McDowell was one of my first role models for the whole American girl living abroad idea.
I love the idea of such a disparate but fun group of friends.
Gorgeous wedding locations - village churches, Scottish castles... loved them all.
Weddings. Like so many other girls, I still wish it would happen for me.
It's actually been awhile since I last watched it and doing it for the first time while living in Ireland gives it a whole other resonance. There's actually a sense of familiarity now for the landscapes, the city locations, the characterizations. And, yes, the accents! Less exotic, but fun in a different way.
Great soundtrack. I especially like Love Is All Around by Wet Wet Wet. Mostly because of it's fantastic cover and co-starring role in another of my favorite movies, Love Actually. Again with the Hugh Grant!
Finally, what for me is one of the most poignant scenes of any movie I've seen. Matthew's reading of W.H. Auden's poem, Funeral Blues, at Gareth's funeral. Isn't that what we all want, to be loved like that?

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

"Stop All The Clocks"

2010-08-22T22:40:00.000+01:00

Friday Pearls

2010-08-20T22:49:00.001+01:00

Nothing is so strong as gentleness
And nothing is so gentle as real strength
- Ralph W. Southland (Criminal Minds, Series 5: Exit Wounds)

Differing Mindsets

2010-08-17T21:42:00.001+01:00

Ever received that email forward giving a list of cultural references for incoming college students? The one that immediately makes you feel old and decrepit because it shows just how different these young 'uns are? How different their lives have been. They have drastically different assumptions, worries, obsessions, shock levels and jokes.

Well, apparently the original list has a pedigree; it's based in academia. Who knew? The Beloit College Mindset List has been put out by two officials there for the past twelve years, designed to alert faculty there to their students' cultural touchstones and help them avoid dated references. We've all been there. You make a joke, reference somebody famous, give a funny tagline and... the silence has crickets, it's so loud!

Anyway, the new list has just been put out for the incoming class of 2014. !!! It's certainly interesting, but actually the points it makes are so far beyond my own cultural touchstones that it loses some of it's impact. So I checked back on the list, to the very first list for the class of 2002. Now THAT made an impact!

Read on and let me know if it's as disorienting for you as it was for me.

The people starting college this fall [1998] across the nation were born in 1980.
They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan era, and did not know he had ever been shot.
They were prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was waged.
Black Monday 1987 is as significant to them as the Great Depression.
There has only been one Pope. They can only remember one other president.
They were 11 when the Soviet Union broke apart, and do not remember the Cold War.
They have never feared a nuclear war. "The Day After" is a pill to them, not a movie.
They are too young to remember the Space Shuttle Challenger blowing up.
Their lifetime has always included AIDS.
They never had a polio shot, and likely, do not know what it is.
Bottle caps have not always been screw off, but have always been plastic. They have no idea what a pull top can looks like.
Atari pre-dates them, as do vinyl albums.
The expression "you sound like a broken record" means nothing to them.
They have never owned a record player.
They have likely never played Pac Man, and have never heard of "Pong."
Star Wars looks very fake to them, and the special effects are pathetic.
There have always been red M&Ms, and blue ones are not new. What do you mean there used to be beige ones?
They may never have heard of an 8-track, and chances are they've never heard or seen one.
The compact disc was introduced when they were one year old.
As far as they know, stamps have always cost about 32 cents.
They have always had an answering machine.
Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, nor have they seen a black & white TV.
They have always had cable.
There have always been VCRs, but they have no idea what Beta is.
They cannot fathom what it was like not having a remote control.
They were born the year Walkmen were introduced by Sony.
Roller-skating has always meant in-line for them.
"The Tonight Show" has always been with Jay Leno.
They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool.
Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.
They have never seen Larry Bird play, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a football player.
They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.
The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI and WWII or even the Civil War.
They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran.
They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.
They don't know who Mork was, or where he was from.
They never heard the terms "Where's the Beef?", "I'd walk a mile for a Camel" or "De plane, de plane!"
They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. is.
The Titanic was found? I thought we always knew where it was.
Michael Jackson has always been white.
Kansas, Boston, Chicago, America, and Alabama are all places, not music groups.
McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers.
There has always been MTV, and it has always included non-musical shows.

Another Reason To Miss Target

2010-08-13T19:37:00.000+01:00

I'm attending a potluck meet up of Americans tomorrow with the theme of Mexican food. We're all so excited because, Mexican food here? Not good.

While shopping for ingredients to the cucumber salad and the avocado and goat cheese dip I'm making, I had a brainstorm... margaritas! Woohoo!! What would make Mexican food even better? Tequilaaaah.

Unfortunately, I quickly came up on another roadblock placed by Rip-Off Ireland. One pint-sized bottle of tequila = 35 euro! What???

I soooo miss the Margarita Bucket mix from Tar-gay! Add a bottle, freeze to slushiness in the (full-sized) freezer, and voila! Good times.

Friday Pearls

2010-08-06T20:37:00.000+01:00

This week's quotes are given in honour of Jamaica's Independence Day today. Happy 48th Birthday Jamaica!

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.
- Moshe Dayan

Trust on Fire

2010-07-27T12:02:00.000+01:00

In another one of those incidents fitting the category "It Would Never Happen In America", we just had a fire drill at work this morning.

Now, forget the fact that this is the first one we've had in the THREE years I've been here (!); something even more shocking happened.

Of everyone in the building, almost all of whom are female, only one other woman brought out her handbag!! Am I the only one who thinks that is just weird?

I've gotten used to the whole not locking my car door thing while I'm driving, but this... this is just crazy! Or... is it me still stuck in the American suspicious mindset?

Friday Pearls

2010-07-23T23:43:00.002+01:00

He that speaketh against his own reason, speaks against his own conscience, and therefore it is certain that no man serves God with a good conscience who serves him against his reason.
- Bishop Jeremy Taylor, 16th Century

Turophilia

2010-07-20T11:56:00.005+01:00

I can't believe this country has yet to discover the joy that is fake orange cheese. For a nation built on the back of agriculture and with such a strong dairy background, you'd think they'd have made the wonder-filled leap to virtual cheesiness by now.

Boxes of Cheez-Its and tubs of Utz cheese balls? Nope, not a bit. True Vermont sharp cheddar cheese? Nowhere to be found and, to be frank, "mature" cheddar is just not the same. And my most immediate frustration at the grocery store today....Why, oh why can I not find any cheddar-flavored rice cakes?? Caramel, triple berry yoghurt flavor, organic hazelnut and chocolate, it's all there. But no cheesey goodness.

Really Irish people, there's no reason to fear the fake cheese. Embrace the chemically formulated goodness!

Day One

2010-07-06T01:23:00.000+01:00

The theme for today is Family and (locally sourced) Food.

Happily spent a couple of hours letting my dad name and give the back story for virtually every tree and flowering stake in his yard. In the process have eaten a not quite ripe cherry, and a young guava and orange, picked limes and ackees, and helped cut a banana bunch from on of the many trees with my dad's trusty machete. Who knew you had to let the "hands" drain after you cut them from the bunch?

The trip to the outdoor farm market was only slightly less adventurous. It would have made a fantastic picture. Too bad I stupidly forgot my camera. I'll have to try to make it back there again. before I leave.

Friday Pearls

2010-07-02T16:45:00.002+01:00

Marriage hath in it less of beauty but more of safety than the single life. It hath more care, but less danger. It is more merry and more sad. It is fuller of sorrows and fuller of joys. It lies under more burdens, but it is supported by all the strengths of love and charity, and those burdens are delightful.
- Bishop Jeremy Taylor, 16th Century

It's A Wonderful Life

2010-07-01T22:13:00.000+01:00

April 21 - flights booked to Jamaica for family reunion. Looking forward to hanging out with my dad for a couple of weeks and seeing my 93 year old grandmother.

June 29 - pull an allnighter to pack, all the while ranting back and forth with sister and a duo of cousins re crazy, last minute family drama. Thank God for the chance to vent or my head might just have blown off.

June 30 12:45 p.m. - British Airways flight delayed 90 minutes due to minor technical difficulties. On the plus side, find out that crowding has bumped me to Business Class. Nice!

June 30 1:45 p.m. - board flight that leaves less late than expected.

June 30 1:50 p.m. - am offered champagne by nice ~~waiter~~ steward. Am good and take juice instead.

June 30 2:15 p.m. - because my Business Class seat cubicle just isn't perfect enough, I switch from aisle seat next to someone else to empty middle double seat. Now that's the ticket!

June 30 2:25 p.m. - first round of alcohol cart makes it's pass. It order a Kir Royale 'cause I'm smooth like that.

June 30 2:30 p.m. - already am stretched out on reclining seat with free socks, puffy blanket, and movie previews playing out on my private video screen.

June 30 2:40 p.m. - have just given my 4-course meal order and am contemplating the extensive wine list.

June 30 3:00 p.m. - I give the salad a 3/10, but the smoked sea trout with horseradish creme fraiche is definitely an 8.

June 30 3:10 p.m. - apparently I do not drink anywhere near the rate of the Brits either. I'm still only halfway through my Kir Royale AND my Bordeaux, and the stewards have come by to ask me if I need a refill twice already!

June 30 3:35 p.m. - grilled beef is slightly tough but the ragout with buttered leeks and wilted spinach make it still quite tasty.

June 30 3:50 p.m. - these stewards are the most efficient ever! Let me digest a bit before you bring the next course, why don't you? I'll have to save the Baileys till later.

June 30 5:00 p.m. - 2 glasses of wine, a Kir Royale and a Baileys have me quite mellow. The movie's pretty good too. How To Train Your Dragon: 4.5/5 stars. Time for my nap now.

June 30 6:40 p.m. - am wide awake again. Weird. Is this all the sleep I'm going to get? Maybe I should get back to the drinking.

June 30 8:45 p.m. - Up In The Air was both poignant and sad. Does it say I'm cynical that I guessed George Clooney's love interest was married the whole time?

June 30 10:00 p.m. - "afternoon tea" on board involves finger sandwiches and scones with jam and clotted cream. If only I could travel this way all the time!

June 30 10:30 p.m. - am ready to disembark. What are the odds of a similar glimpse of the high life on my way back? Sadly, probably not that high. But hey, no time to dwell. Jamaica here I come!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday Pearls

2010-06-25T09:17:00.000+01:00

"Many persons have the wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose."
- Helen Keller (via Criminal Minds, series 5: A Rite of Passage)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday Pearls

2010-06-19T23:27:00.001+01:00

Men do not differ much about what things they call evils; they differ enormously about what evils they will call excusable.
- G. K. Chesterton

I've been thinking a lot about repentance and forgiveness lately with the final report of the Bloody Sunday Commission, 28 years after the events of that horrible day, and David Cameron's unflinching apology on behalf of his government and country. Remarkable.

The beginning of atonement is the sense of its necessity.
- Lord Byron

An Actual Summer

2010-06-16T22:51:00.000+01:00

Sunglasses on the drive on into work. A persistent house fly. Car windows that need to be left cracked open.

It's almost like being back home in the Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill/Carrboro) again. Now all we need are some dogwood petals, violent yellow pollen staining everything, and debilitating heat and humidity :-) Ahh, good times!

You Shouldn't Have!

2010-06-15T21:02:00.000+01:00

Here's another unexpected, sweet but sometimes confusing difference in how things work over here. "Work" pun intended! I've never been to so many goodbye lunches or contributed to so many birthday/baby/goodbye gifts. I'm attributing this to a strong cultural value placed on generosity, one that sometimes seems overboard to me coming as I do from an Americanized background.

Some examples: a short-term contract worker ("locum") comes to the expected end of her time and everyone assumes there will be a lunch, flowers and gift. An intern approaches the conclusion of his year-long rotation and lunch out with the whole team is a must, as is another collection around the whole building for a nice gift.. Milestone birthdays as well are marked by contributions, good food and expensive baubles.

Now, don't get me wrong. Please don't. I'm not stingy. Nor do I have a heart the size of a shriveled peach. I care about people. I really do! I'm just not used to all this celebration and gift-giving for what I'd see as normal comings and goings. In my previous life, work was work except for the special things (e.g., new babies on a close team, etc). Interns come and go. So do contract workers. There's nothing really special about that. Except... I must be wrong because here there is.

Case in point, a coworker and I just concluded running a group for parents as part of our overall service to our clients. At the final session, we each received a card. Very nice of you. Thanks, but you really didn't have to. I so wasn't expecting it! Nor was I expecting... this:

Really? Isn't this a little above and beyond?

Rock That Anthem

2010-06-12T23:52:00.000+01:00

Ok, yes, OF COURSE I'm stoked about USA tying England in the World Cup soccer/football game tonight! [cue cheesy grin and fist pumping] But, I'm actually struck by something else very telling in how the teams, and the fans in the stadium, responded tonight.

God Save The Queen vs. The Star Spangled Banner. The Americans ROCKED it! Did you see? The American players with their hands over their heart, most singing along, the American fans shouting out the words with glee.

I'm not sure how much of the difference was culturally based emotional expression (stiff upper lip vs. brash enthusiasm), knowledge-based (I assume most Brits actually know the words to their anthem, right?), emotional investment in the anthem per se as representative of patriotic pride, and/or the anxious energy of the underdog team going against the big gun. A little bit of all? But, the difference was palpable.

Of course, I was singing "The rocket's red glare..." as loud as anybody else in the stadium as well.

Friday Pearls

2010-06-12T13:37:00.002+01:00

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Friday Pearls

2010-06-05T14:29:00.002+01:00

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.
- Desmond Tutu

Family is a haven in a heartless world.
- Christopher Lasch

What was I saying?

2010-06-03T22:53:00.012+01:00

Wine and tapas-fueled conversational topics at Cafe Gusto tonight, egged on by Sabrina Dent and her friends Grace and Catherine (did I mention the excellent wine?):

The validity (or lack of) of ethnic self-identification by non-immigrant (e.g., 2nd or 3rd generation, etc) Caucasians in the U.S. (don't blame me for this one!)
Obama's chances of winning re-election in 2012 (Ok, yeah, this one was mine)
The beauty of the neti pot (see my previous post here)
Differences between the use of the family doctor and specialist gynecologist by women in the U.S. vs. Ireland
Childbirth
Liking or not liking your progeny
Mental health status of old flames
Why is it that my friends and family STILL haven't found me a cute guy
Why parents of my patients piss me off so often
The deficits in Ireland's foster care system
Similarities between Ireland and Jamaica (see one of my blog's most read posts here)
Different world views between Jamaicans (West Indians in general) and AA's
How the attached found/met their spouses and (have I mentioned?) the need for my friends to get on the ball and introduce me to their single male friends!
How my standards/requirements for men have changed (e.g., drastically reduced) as I've gotten older

I wasn't bored :-)

Happy Memorial Day!

2010-05-31T18:50:00.006+01:00

This is the day we remember our fallen soldiers, those who have given their time, energy and, ultimately, their lives to protect and serve their nation and the democratic principles on which it is based.

No matter your political leanings or feelings about the various administrations that come and go, this is something we can all agree on. These are people who deserve our respect.

I'm proud to say I have a (retired) member of the military in my family and, despite our loving political "discussions" :-), I have nothing for respect for him and those like him who volunteered to serve. Politics dictate where they're sent and why, but honor, courage and loyalty keep them there doing their job.

We salute you.

Brainwashed by Eurovision

2010-05-25T21:57:00.005+01:00

There's no other explanation - it must be Stockholm Syndrome. Oh no, even the name taunts me!

The first year I was here to hear about it, 2008, I was confused. What the heck? Why? What's the point? And why a turkey?!

The second year, I remember turning my nose up in disdain at the silly Europeans and their weird song contest with the silly costumes and the bizarre dances and the totally unnecessary hoopla.

This year, bring on the Eurovision Song Contest! I actually set the DVR to tape it, found myself twittering about it, and was insulted (insulted I tell you!) that we in Ireland weren't allowed to vote tonight.

Sigh.

Friday Pearls

2010-05-21T08:25:00.000+01:00

"Hope" is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tunes without words
and never stops - at all.
- Emily Dickinson (via Criminal Minds, Series 5: Mosley Lane)

Ode to the Neti Pot

2010-05-16T14:37:00.003+01:00

Yes folks, this post is about... wait for it!... my nose. Nostrils, honker, beak, face flusher... you name it, it's been the bane of my life since I first got my cat 13 years ago. (Mwahh, love you sweetie!)

I hate being stuffed up all the time! Hate it, hate it, HATE IT!! But, there's only so much I've been able to do about it. Despite the years of allergy injections, purchases of hypoallergenic bedding and trials of various medications, the core problem has never gone away. Really, I'm just not willing to kill off my cat, no matter if my sinuses would sing hallelujah and throw me a party :-) Evil and object of cursing by my friends and family she may be, but she's MINE darn it!

My latest attempt to fix the darn thing is to try out a Neti Pot I bought online on eBay. It's actually not a pot per se, more of a plastic jug with a nozzle on the bottom, but it fits the general definition I guess - implement for nasal/sinus irrigation. I've been using it for a full week now.

It's sort of an odd sensation, usually people try to keep water out of their nose, but it actually doesn't feel bad once you try it the first time and it's dead easy to do. The process happens almost completely on its own without much work on my part. Gravity and pressure does it all. All you have to do is bend over the sink a bit and tilt your head, and voila!

The good news is it works. Ok, it's slightly gross, especially the first few days with all your old crustiness is getting flushed out, but it's certainly no worse than have to blow your nose multiple times a day. Ugh. Since I've bought it, I've cut my use of nasal spray/medication almost two-thirds, my savings in tissues is immense and, need I say it?, I can breathe!

I actually received my new best friend in the mail the day after I started having the early symptoms of a cold/flu. By that morning, it had moved into my chest and I was doing the wet cough, low grade fever, general crappy feeling thing. I was not a happy camper. The last time this happened, just 2 months ago, I ended up in the A&E (ER) in the middle of the night because I just couldn't breathe! Lucky me got told I don't "technically" have asthma, which is kind of good to know, but didn't help when I thought I was going to die because my chest was so tight. I did get my very first Nebulizer treatment and a brand new inhaler. Yeah for new experiences, right?

Thankfully, this time turned out differently. After I started using the Neti last Monday, the cold symptoms retreated rapidly from my chest and, in fact, were almost gone the next day. My fever and fatigue symptoms abandoned ship as well. I still have a cough hanging around from nasal drip, but it's episodic and never lasts long.

I have to say, for a homeopathic remedy - albeit one that's been used regularly by Indian devotees for centuries - this thing is working wonders! My goal is to eventually get off medication completely and to NOT be asked almost daily "do you have a cold?" That would be nice. So would not having to think about how my nose is working at all.

Friday Pearls

2010-05-15T17:15:00.000+01:00

Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn. My God, do you learn.
- C.S. Lewis (via Criminal Minds, Series 5: Risky Business)

Friday Pearls

2010-05-07T23:14:00.000+01:00

Anything you can not relinquish when it has outlived its usefulness possesses you.
- Mildred Lesett Norman

Resistance is Futile

2010-05-04T17:59:00.006+01:00

The assimilation continues... sorta. Today I spontaneously and unselfconsciously asked my (office) Team mates, "Shall we have a spot of tea?"

Now, I'm no longer surprised by my capitulation to the dominance of the tea break. Or to the gentle, questioning mode for making a suggestion. But, where the heck did "a spot" come from? That's the British style, not Irish.

Maybe, it's too much U.K. TV. Or maybe I'm just resisting the humiliation of actually hearing myself suggest we get "a cuppa". All I know is it's a battle zone inside my head and the U.S. ain't winning!

Friday Pearls

2010-04-30T09:51:00.000+01:00

I laugh, I love, I hope, I try, I hurt, I need, I fear, I cry. And I know you do the same things too. So we're really not that different, me and you.
- Colin Raye (country music singer)

Wait... what?

2010-04-29T23:45:00.001+01:00

Common sights here that still make me do a double take or go "huh", even after 2-1/2 years:

Shoppers walking away from the grocery store with 1, 2, even a stack of items in their hands. Likely they either forgot their reusable bags and didn't want to pay the 21 cents for a cheap plastic one, or didn't have anymore space in their backpack/shoulder bag/etc.

Dogs being walked without being on the leash. Small dogs, big ones, scary ones, multiple ones. And forget pooper scooping. I think I've seen a couple of people with the telltale plastic bags in their hands since I've been living here. Keeping an eye on the sidewalk when you're walking is always a smart idea. You never know what doggy "gift" you might run into.

Men and boys pushing prams/strollers while out for their walk or strolling around the neighborhood.

Color-dotted sheep roaming the fields. What's the meaning of the pink and blue markings?

Tiny little cars everywhere. So cute!

Friday Pearls

2010-04-23T10:00:00.000+01:00

I have 10 hearts and 100 arms. I feel too strong to battle mere mortals. Bring me giants!
- Cyrano de Bergerac

I love great quotes, don't you? My problem is that there are just so many of them, and I never seem to remember them for very long.

So, I thought I'd do something about my leaky memory and preserve some of my favorites for posterity. Since I'm such a TV addict, that's where I'll be getting most of these. And my best source? Weirdly enough, it's Criminal Minds. Great drama, even if it is about catching serial killers. Sorry if the source offends your sensibilities, but that's what makes me such an enigma - my eclectic interests :-)

I thought I'd try and make this a recurring series, so I'll be posting them on Fridays as pearls of wisdom to finish off each week. As a first outing bonus, you get two for the price of one.

There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They are messengers of overwhelming grief and of unspeakable love.
- Washington Irving (by way of Criminal Minds, Series 5: Retaliation)

Great Things Go Together

2010-04-22T20:46:00.019+01:00

... like amazing food made by great friends. And I'm not just talking about your run of the mill good meal appreciated by a friend's not-so-amazing palate.

My good friend, Sheila Dalton Neal and her husband, Matt, started Neal's Deli in Carrboro, NC (The Paris of the Piedmont!) a couple of years ago. They make tasty seasonal and locally sourced food that anyone would love. Including, it seems, the food critic from the The New York Times. Yes, THAT New York Times!

So, the article seems to conflate Durham, the headlining Southern town, with it's neighbor (and my old stomping grounds) Carrboro - two very different locales - but it's still plugging gourmet Southern/homestyle food so I can't complain too much.

I just love it when my amazing - and deserving - friends get what they deserve!

Oh, and this isn't Neal's Deli's first literary mention. Take a look at their previous mentions in Gourmet Magazineand Bon Appetit as well.

Now, if only I could get me some of dat right now!

Photos courtesy of New York Times

ROFLMAO!!

2010-04-21T22:04:00.002+01:00

You know those people who are just too funny for their own good? The ones who make you cackle like a witch with laughter because their snarkiness makes you forget there might be people listening?!

I have a friend like that. LoRay, you know who you are!!

If she wrote a blog - after deciding to chuck the Orange County country life and go live in Sudan of all places(!) - she would be Facts Are Strictly Optional.

Stop making me laugh, damnit, I have a stitch!

Spring Has Sprung!

2010-04-11T18:48:00.005+01:00

Sexy open-toed sandals, a pretty patterned top and my new "boyfriend" jeans were the wardrobe of the day today as I lounged on the river balcony of the French wine bar with a friend enjoying a lovely dessert and a sparkling drink under a cloudless blue sky.

17 gorgeous degrees Celsius (63 F) after our bitter winter made this just a gorgeous day. I even had to take off my light jacket because it was too warm.

It was niiiice and, as a result, I'm feeling pretty full of myself as you can tell :-) Watch out, the sap it is arising!

Easter Goodness

2010-04-09T23:07:00.007+01:00

I did it. I ate the chocolate bunny.

He had to go. Better to be consumed as a baby than to hide in the depths of my kitchen cupboard taunting me.

I know I'm weak. Fine, I accept my fallen nature. But you, you were empty inside. Mwahaha!! I mock you for your lack of substance and character!

An empty shell you were, but sweet and tasty!

Yikes!

2010-03-24T22:59:00.009Z

Keep Your Distance

Or Death could be closer than you think

Sign on the back of fuel truck I passed on the commute home*. Needless to say, I drove very, vewwy carefully as I went past and for the rest of the drive.

Nothing like a warning about imminent death to raise your alert levels!

*The picture wasn't actually on the truck but it adds a nice touch don't you think?

Girl Alone in the Dark

2010-03-16T23:19:00.003Z

So I get a call from a friend saying "hey, wanna catch a movie?" Well, in somewhat less American terminology. I'm leaving the gym feeling virtuous and tomorrow's a holiday, so I release my spontaneous side and jump on board.

Of course, since this is my life, she got irrevocably delayed (reasons very valid), so I end of watching Shutter Island by myself. In the dark.

Now, this is NOT a movie you really want to see by yourself. I felt kind of silly doing the fingers across my eyes thing with no one else familiar beside me to get the joke... and share the fear.

Suffice it to say... freaky movie. Really good and not at all horror, which I was afraid it was going to be, but freaky. I won't tell you what other freaky but good movie it reminds me of - I hate spoilers - but once you see it yourself you'll know exactly which movie I mean.

Just don't see it alone.

Dark Places

2010-03-09T15:48:00.007Z

I still find myself being blindsided at times with grief over my Aunt Pearl's recent death from cancer. It's been just over a month and I'll go long stretches without consciously thinking about it. But then something happens to let my usual walls down - a certain song at church, watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (always a tear-fest), it could be anything really - and it washes over me again.

Christine Sine's post, "Nouwen on Lent: Strength In Dark Places" on the God's Politics blog just really spoke to me today. Especially this quote which reminds me that grief is as much a part of life as anything else:

the hard dark places strengthen and give shape and form to the soft and vulnerable places of light and laughter

This is only the second major bereavement I've had in my life that I can really remember. I know, I've been very lucky. Still, I think I'd prefer to avoid any more "hard, dark places" for another good long while.

Baby Love

2010-02-28T17:29:00.011Z

Babies is a documentary film that followed four babies from across the globe for the first two years of their lives.

Just saw the trailer and all the oxytocin in my brain stood up and sang "hallelujah!"

I have GOT to see this movie! Why, oh why do we have to wait till May?

Pretty, Pretty

2010-02-28T00:04:00.005Z

Sun. Blue Skies. Palm trees. So much to love about Miami. Fantastic jewelry? Hmmm, that wouldn't have been the first thing to come to mind, but now I'm convinced.

While hanging out with my sister on my recent trip, we had to do a quick drop-in at a jewelry party for a friend of a friend. "Five minutes" we thought. Two hours later....

I am so in love with my new Silpadajewelry. Definitely worth the pain in my wallet :-) Beautiful, top quality, and a lifetime guarantee. Give me more!

Brain Fart

2010-02-27T15:38:00.000Z

Mea Culpa! I can't believe this, but while doing some housecleaning on the blog today I found this post from October that I never posted.

Sorry Niamh, I promise I didn't mean to be rude or ignore you!

Original text of post below:

Niamh is so cool! She nominated me as a Kreativ Blogger because she likes my take on expat life in Ireland and she thinks I'm funny. Boy, do I have her fooled! :-)

As with everything though, there's a catch. As in rules. But definitely ones I can live with: Link back to Niamh at Writer on the Way Home (now Irish Wanderings) because I think her blog is really thoughtful... and funny; List 7 things I love.

7 Things I Love:

Spending the day in my pajamas reading a book or catching up on my DVR
My cat lying on my chest and kneading my collarbone with her paw. Kitty love!
Belazu Balsamic Vinegar. When was the last time I actively researched a food item on the net and tracked it down because I couldn't live without it? I'd do it again for this lovely item!
Hugs from my niece and nephew. Any contact with my niece and nephew :-)
E-books. Having gone through the trauma of packing up (most) and selling (too many) of my books for the big move, I'm never putting myself in that position again! A portable harddrive is sooo much easier to move :-)
Speaking of which... my portable harddrive. Almost as small as my Palm Pilot PDA, but can hold 300 Mb.
And, as always... fried, ripe plantains.

Old Spice - The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

2010-02-27T13:24:00.003Z

This is one of the best commercials I've seen in... heck, forever! Does it trump the Cadbury gorilla commercial? I don't know. That's just how good it is!

Sunshine and Flowers

2010-02-25T22:11:00.000Z

My new blogfriend, Imperfect Stepford Wife, just gave me a great award!

Thank you so much. I love to feel the love! :-)

Now onto the rules and, since this is one of my most conservative traits (rules are good for you!), I'll be following them (almost) to the letter.

Put the logo on your blog in your post.
Pass the award onto 12 bloggers.
Link the nominees within your post.
Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blogs.
Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

Dum, dum-te-dum!! And the nominees are:

Shenanigans
She's Not From Yorkshire
Dixie Peach
Irish Wanderings
I Married An Irish Farmer
Not From Around Here
I'm Leaving On A Jetplane
Black Girl in Prague
....

Clearly I need to get online more. Some of my fave blogs are no more, some are haven't posted for awhile. So I'm stopping at 8 not 12.

Maybe I'll add some more once I've gone through this year's list of Irish Blog Award nominees. That's always a great source of new reads.

On A Good Week

2010-02-17T19:32:00.005Z

Image by Paolo Màrgari via Flickr

Aero Tone on Monday
Spin and Tone on Tuesday
Total Tone on Wednesday
Spinning and salsa class on Thursday

With this schedule, you'd think I'd feel in better shape. So why does climbing that second set of stairs at the gym kill me every. single. time?!

Airport Pick-Up

2010-02-11T15:43:00.003Z

This is why I like Irish men. Many of my Irish female friends may dispute their value, but there's something unique in the blend of shyness, humor, and lager-induced bravado that can be quite appealing at times.

Last week was a perfect example. Somehow, I got picked up on my flight to the states, without even realizing it! It was like a dating "Sixth Sense" - the ball didn't drop for me until almost the very end :-)

This guy was smooth, patient, non-threatening, but not afraid to move in for the kill at the end of the silent chase. From sitting across the aisle from he and his buddies on the plane, to the final walk and wait at Baggage Claim, it was an exercise in patient hunting. And, by the time the prey copped on, she was already hip deep in conversation, admitting that no she wasn't married, and willingly passing on her mobile number.

Now, I like to think I'm pretty self-aware, but, in this case, cluelessness probably served to keep me calm, unflustered, and distant enough at the start to ensure that the chase kept going. Rather than anxious and self-conscious, I ended up feeling pretty pleased with both myself and him, and smiling a bit as well. The smile had to get bigger when, as we caught up with each other in the snakey Customs line, he sent a smiling wink and his friends chorused out "Hi Sirmelja!" :-)

All in all, an interesting flight.

Reluctant Truth

2010-02-11T15:37:00.004Z

Those of you with sharp eyes may have noticed an update I just made on the side-bar. Sadly, it had to be done. As much as I'd like to pretend, I'm just not a 30-somethinger anymore :-(

But, hey, I may have just turned 41, but I still feel 31! And as long as people keep telling me I look it, I'm going to keep on smiling :-)

Reflections in an Airport

2010-02-11T15:08:00.005Z

I recently flew to Miami for a sad occasion - the death of a very much loved aunt. I'm actually still there, writing in a spare moment while spending time with family. Thankfully, I hadn't had to attend a funeral of a loved one in years before this, so I'm trying to focus on the positives rather than dreading the inevitable outcome of my certain age where this will start happening more and more :-(

But, that actually wasn't the point of why I started to write this. While waiting for my next connection, on one of the layovers of the flight here, a few thoughts hit me:

That first few hours on U.S. soil always brings a welter of mixed emotions. I feel blessedly normal (it's so much easier to blend in) but jarringly anonymous at the same time (there's nothing that special about me here... weird). In Ireland, I'm kind of exotic (not that many other Americans/black Americans/Jamaican-Americans running around). Here, I'm a dime a dozen. I'm literally of two minds about it.

When did the whole world switch from laptops to netbooks? (All of a sudden, laptops look big and clunky). And, how can I get one??

Being surrounded by rushing, semi-panicked strangers, tight spaces, bright lights and loud, clashing noises is NOT the best place to be when the worst sinus headache in the world comes crashing down on you! Don't. Do. That. Again.

Party Diversity... Irish Style

2010-02-03T17:12:00.004Z

Four French, two Polish, one Russian and a Jamaican-American go into a bar... Ok, it was an apartment, but it still sounds like a great beginning to a joke. And, happily, there was lots of laughter.

An evening out at a friend's place in Cork is definitely more international than ones I would be used to. And not just the guests, the menu too! Lots and lots of crepes, handmade by the authentic French husband of my Polish friend. Washed down with wine, juice and, most intriguingly, a lychee liqueur that I have just got to try again! Not often though - 21% alcohol. Eeek!

The entertainment was just as new to me (though probably not to anyone else on the planet). Besides the fantastic accents and lots of French flowing in the background; we ended up playing Rock Band on the XBox. As a XBox virgin, let's just say 62% to 77% in 3 songs ain't too bad!

Can't Stop Dancing

2009-12-23T10:42:00.001Z

I just can't stay away from the flashmobs it seems! How weird is it that I've done two in just a couple of months? :-)

Don't things come in threes? I wonder what's next.

Tis Finally The Season

2009-12-07T19:52:00.006Z

I've been putting off getting too involved in the Christmas mania till now, not so much for any deep-seated trauma or drama... I'm just a procrastinator. There, the truth is out!

Combine my little personal foibles and the dread of dealing with the Cork Christmas shopping nightmare or braving the post office, and that means 3 weeks before Christmas was the first shopping foray.

I'm keeping things simple this year - largely because I'm plumb out of ideas - so I'm actually delegating much of the shopping handiwork to my mother and sister in Miami. I've dredged up some ideas and I'm leaving it up to them to drive to the Miami shopping malls to carry out their appointed missions. Cowardly, I know, but this year I'm embracing my spinelessness without a hint of shame :-)

If this all works out the way I hope, I'll stop procrastinating even further by finishing this post, then doing the wrapping and the boxing in preparation for the P.O. run tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Cork Island

2009-11-20T13:13:00.004Z

The Grand Parade in Cork early this morning.

I live just a 30 sec walk away. How my street avoided the flooding, I don't know!

Let Mr. Blue Sky In - Flashmob Cork

2009-11-20T10:41:00.002Z

This was so, so much fun to do! Hundreds of people did it. The view you see is only one of 8 stations along Patrick Street.

A bit of an anti-climax though after all the practice. And so typically Cork in that it wasn't at all a surprise (like a flashmob should be!) because it seemed everybody had heard about it beforehand! Believe me, even Patrick Street during Christmas shopping season isn't usually this crowded. People were set up with cameras waiting for it to start :-)

Still, LOADS of fun. And I met new friends, so even better :-)

Unlike the A-Team, I can't seem to make this plan come together

2009-11-10T13:35:00.000Z

I love birthdays. I think it’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the lives of others… and to be celebrated of course. Everyone needs to feel special at least one day of the year.

Historically, I’ve had a close group of women friends who made it a point to get together to mark each other’s special occasion with dinner, drinks, funny cards, and great camaraderie. Then, as each of us reached our 40th, we would get a special ring. Not all of the group have reached that milestone yet but, once we do, I’m planning to nominate we change our unofficial name from the Friday Night Girls to the Fellowship of the Ring :-) I know, I’m a geek.

Reaching even further back beyond what feels like half a lifetime of the FNG fellowship, there’s the unique bond I’ve always shared with my sister (aka C.B.). Our family is weird. For many reasons, but one of the best is that she and I have the same birthday a year apart. (My mother’s is the day after… I know, weird). All my life I’ve shared birthday celebrations with my sister. If it made for fewer gifts for each of us, I don’t think either of us ever cared even when we were young and selfish. We’ve always felt like odd sort of twins, despite my being the older sister and taking massive pride (and advantage) of that fact, and have hung on to our family birthday traditions as much as we can as we’ve aged and moved away… and away… and away.

So, birthdays have always been a good time for me. Well, almost always. I can only remember one year that I hated it. Ahhh, 27. Drama, emotional angst, wallowing in self-pity. Picture this dear reader: me lying flat on my back on my living room carpet with a huge glass of red wine in my hand and music blasting from the stereo loud enough to bring my upstairs neighbor down to bang on my door.

Why the patheticness? It had hit me that The Plan was shot. Girls, you know the plan! Most of us had something just like it. I was to have met Prince Charming sometime in the my early 20’s (despite the distractions of grad school and establishing myself professionally), married Mr. Right, and had a couple of years luxuriating in our marital bliss before proceeding to have our 2-3 children all before I turned 30. This was so all the kiddies would be grown and gone before I got “too old”.

Hitting 27 with no man in sight crushed that plan like a ton of bricks – a growing career, supportive family, great women friends and a couple of good male friends as well to feed my need didn’t count. It was clear that I would have to re-imagine my future, my goals, my self-image. Thus the pity party.

Thankfully I was able to scrape myself together well enough that future birthdays were again causes for celebration rather than self-pity. And, as my new picture of myself solidified, my confidence grew. So much that I hit 40 last year with a freight train’s worth of satisfaction and conviction that the 40’s were going to be My Decade. After all, hadn’t I made a new life for myself? I’d left my job, my home, my friends and family and hauled myself all the way overseas in search of adventure. I was high on a sense of accomplishment.

Now with a month left till 41, I find myself with the urge to pour a large tumbler of something alcoholic and play Linkin Park as loud as I can. Not so much out of self-pity as of sober realization that no matter how young I feel inside or look on the outside, I’m about to fall over the crest into the second half of my life. Right now that feels more like a downhill slide – single, alone, making a new life for myself at a time when it feels like everyone else… isn’t.

Ok, so there’s some self-pity there. The truth is 41 is the suck. I think I’m just going to have to wallow here for a bit before strapping on my boots, sucking it up, and coming up with The Plan 3.0.

Last Minute Panic

2009-10-31T03:01:00.004Z

What is it with guys? Or maybe it's just Irish guys.

Barely a whisper of interest at the (salsa) club all night and I leave demoralized by the lack of dancing. Then 2:00 am hits and the minute the lights go on I'm getting random lines thrown at me left and right. The whole walk home is an exercise in keeping a straight face while getting hit on by the drunk and the unlucky.

Should I just be pleased that I'm getting any interest at all or insulted that it all seems to be prompted by last minute desperation?

I think I'm choosing Door #2.

2009-10-21T15:43:00.002+01:00

A friend posted this on Facebook and it was too amazing not to share. Enjoy!

Even the smart ones have their spazzy moments

2009-10-09T19:54:00.004+01:00

Image by Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton via Flickr

Yesterday over lunch (paraphrased):

Coworker #1: I'm really unhappy because my Japanese Maple tree at home is dying.

Coworker #2: What's wrong with it?

Coworker #1: All the leaves are shriveling and dropping off.

Coworker #2: I think that's called Autumn.

Coworker #1: Oh... yeah!

One story of an American's fight with the healthcare system

2009-10-05T21:08:00.003+01:00

Most of the time I end up ignoring Move On.org's emails, largely because they end up requiring just a little too much real activism on my part. I like my politics kept somewhat at a distance. Yes, I'm kind of a hypocrite.

But, Dawn's story as relates to the fight for healthcare reform in the U.S. really hit me and I realized that I actually can do something about getting her story out there, just by doing something as easy as posting it here on my blog. So, here goes. Take a look at her story in the Huffington Post and keep up with her fight against the bureaucratic juggernaut of the private healthcare system via her blog.

Sun Holiday - Cheap and Cheerful!

2009-10-03T23:46:00.016+01:00

I love Portugal. Love it, LOVE IT!

Sigh... this is actually kind of a hard admission for me to make because Portugal has been my travel bugbear for years. The one western european country I'd never been to. Ever since - gulp, I'll admit it - I was kicked out of there years ago.

Yes, I was expelled from a foreign country! Sigh again, I can hear my friends shrieking with laughter right now. This is an old story, one they've heard before.

Short story, sweet... 19 year old girl enjoying semester abroad in Scotland makes plans for Spring Break with friends in Portugal. Neither she nor travel agent (this was *shudder* decades ago... remember travel agents?) think to check on whether someone traveling on a Jamaican passport would need a visa. The border agents at the Portugal airport were happy to enlighten me and not at all dismayed by my buckets of tears.

But, all things work together for good. Because I was deported back to London, I got to meet cousins who'd been estranged from the family and triggered a cascade of family reunions. Now it's just a funny story from my college days and a cautionary tale to always, always check the details!

Anyway, enough with the distractions. Here's what you're really here for. Pictures! I just got back a week ago from 7 days in Lisbon and the Algarve coast (Lagos and Faro) where I took over 300 of the darned things. There was a bounty of really great ones to choose from, but I chose only a handful of the best to subject you to. You can thank me later.

One of Lisbon's main squares - Rossio aka Praca Dom Pedro IV

Approaching one of Lisbon's main scenic lookouts, the Miradoura Santa Luzia

Amazing tile work in the Palacio Nacional da Sintra. Sintra was the summer retreat of Portugal's kings and aristocracy. Gorgeous architecture and colors, like a Disney fairytale town.

Fonte Mourisca (Arab Fountain) on the outskirts of Sintra, where many of the locals come for fresh spring drinking water

Church of Santa Maria on the long uphill hike to the Castelo dos Mouros that overlooks Sintra

Inside the church at the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos in Belem, a suburb of Lisbon

Sentry outpost at the Torre de Belem, an offshore fortress built in the 1500's

One of Lisbon's trams climbing the hill from the Baixa to the Bairro Alto neighborhoods

Street art along the tram line - too beautiful to just call it graffiti

Street in Lagos, a town in the Algarve coastal region

Huh?? Art installation in the entryway to Lagos' fortress museum

House detail in Lagos

Cliff detail at the Ponta da Piedade cliffs outside Lagos

These trees are all over the place. I wonder what they are?

Cliff detail at the Punta da Piedade beach outside Lagos. Beautiful place!

Punta da Piedade beach

Faro is usually only a quick stop for people flying into the Algarve and then moving on somewhere else, but it's worth a day's look in it's own right. This was a beautiful little corner inside the walls of the Cidade Velha (historic old town)

Almost tropical scene on the walk around the city walls of the Cidade Velha of Faro

More views along the walls of the Cidade Velha

They certainly know how to set the stage here. Who could resist taking a picture of this scene?

Just inside the main gate (Arco da Vila) of the Cidade Velha

Street scene in the center of Faro

Did I mention that I fell in love with all the colors? Oh, and the music. And the amazing (and amazingly cheap) food! I almost overdosed on fresh seafood. Not to mention the port wine. This place is definitely on my "must return" list.

U2 - Irie!

2009-09-15T14:25:00.010+01:00

I'm a big fan of U2. HUGE. Longstanding. Committed and not deterred by the "pooh pooh the native son" attitude that seems present so much over here. If I hear one more person say that their "friend" has a "friend" who kinda knows Bono and thinks he's an arrogant langer, I'll get violent.

Anyway, that was just to set the stage. You all know :-) that I'm originally from Jamaica and quite proud of my heritage. Living in Ireland has raised interesting parallels to life and culture over there, so in some ways adjusting to life here hasn't been quite as strange as it could have been.

OK, stage fully set. Well, except to tell you that, along with my U2 fan-buddy from the states (we first got into the band together in college oh so many decades ago!), I went to see them for 2 of their shows in Dublin this summer. Woohoo!!!!

U2 has just opened the U.S. leg of their tour (and, yes, my friend also has tickets to see a show over there as well!) and gave an interview with Chris Cuomo of ABC News.

Back Stage With U2

All I can say is, you've got to watch the video in it's entirety to truly get why I now love them even more :-) Great minds do think alike!

Cat Fancy

2009-09-11T00:30:00.000+01:00

Image by Harshad Sharma via Flickr

I had one of those wonderfully random conversations during tea break today. Somehow, one of my coworkers got onto the topic of how much she hates cats. For oh so many reasons including: their tendency to slink around your feet, brush you with their tails, and how they'll quietly sneak up on you (like a little furry, evil serial killer). Not to mention the "fact" that the minute their loving humans breathe their last breath, the little carnivores immediately start munching on their owner's meaty parts.

This was said in such a tone of horrified distaste and atavistic terror that the cat lovers at the table passed right by insult and dissolved into hysterical laughter.

But the best visual came when she recounted a recent news story she'd seen in which an American woman (it's always an American in these stories) was filmed breast feeding her cat! EWWWWW!

All I can say is, she has a lot of trust in our maturity if she doesn't expect months of teasing and taking the piss to come out of this. You can only give people so much material before they have to use it against you :-)

Close Call

2009-08-28T14:30:00.009+01:00

I love living in the center of town because of how close I am to all my haunts. For example, it only takes me 5 minutes to walk from my apartment to my gym. I take the same route every time.

Luckily, this happened 90 minutes before I would have been taking my familiar evening trek.

Otherwise, that would have been me under that building and not just a car that looks eerily like mine.

I guess the moral of this story is don't attach heavy scaffolding to the shell of dilapidated buildings with inadequate bracing. Or, maybe, don't park next to buildings under renovation? Or even, make life more interesting and vary your route sometimes!

Balance, Rhetoric and Talking about Race in America

2009-08-28T14:10:00.000+01:00

Always a sensitive issue, it can be hard sometimes to find a relatively fair analysis of what happened at Harvard and the fall-out in the media. Luckily, Hal Crowther who writes for the Independent Weekly newspaper in Chapel Hill, NC, is pretty good at just that kind of thing.

Lessons from the Henry Louis Gates case: Black, white and shades of gray

Why The NHS Isn't An Evil Socialist Hellhole

2009-08-19T12:03:00.007+01:00

Luckily, I'm protected by distance here in Ireland from the at times vicious nature of the debate in the U.S. over proposed health reform. Public option? Non-profit co-op? Small business decimated by unrealistic coverage rules? Public option equals socialism? All these and more have been argued over, screamed about, and prompted threats ad nauseum.

The British NHS, as an example of a health care system that covers everyone, has been particularly vilified as a horrible example of what Obama is trying to turn the U.S. into. Now, I myself have not been altogether happy with the vagaries of a public health system, as I've experienced it here in Ireland, but that's not to say I don't think the U.S. system needs a drastic overhaul and that a public option is probably just the injection that sick system needs. That or something that makes a real effort to cover the 46 million Americans who have no health coverage now at all.

Today's New York Times article describing an American expat's experience with both health systems was particularly enlightening for me about this issue - "Health Care in Britain: Expat Goes for a Checkup".

Just My Luck

2009-08-18T23:06:00.003+01:00

I finally got in to see my new "female doctor" on Monday, after waiting for five months for an appointment. No, don't turn away! You're wrong, this is NOT another whiney post about the ups and downs of the medical system here in Ireland. It's a whiney post about the ridiculousness of my life.

What do I find when I get in there? My doctor is gorgeous, young (about my age), SINGLE (at least no ring), and has a beautiful British accent.

The perfect man turns out to be my GYN. Why does the universe hate me?!

Speaking of Sci-Fi

2009-08-15T12:04:00.003+01:00

Check out this very funny post from NPR's pop culture blog Monkey See - Five Ways Movie Governments Could Respond More Effectively To Alien Invasions.

I think they are all good guidelines that I hope our governments will pay close attention to. Last thing we need is for them to act as stupidly when the real thing comes a-knockin' as they always seem to do in the movies!

Future Affect

2009-08-12T18:12:00.001+01:00

Just watched the final episode of The Dollhouse. Well done, but sad. Sad and pessimistic.

I'm a longstanding lover of scifi, so it's no real surprise coming face to face with the world ending themes that seem to dominate so much of the genre. But, I still get bummed by it. Especially As brought to life on TV.

Image via Wikipedia

Remember Star Trek? Now Gene Roddenbury knew how to meld a good story with an optimistic worldview. Where's the G.R. for this new generation?

Still Alive And Well

2009-07-21T23:53:00.006+01:00

I came across two news stories today that made it clear how flawed our society still is, how the old prejudices continue to taint our reactions, however subtly.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., a prominent scholar and Harvard chaired professor was arrested last Thursday by a police officer at his own home a few blocks off the Harvard campus. The scary thing isn't that a woman called 911 to report 2 black males trying to break into a house. They were. Of course, it was his own house and he and his driver (he was coming home from a trip to China to film a PBS documentary) were having to force the jammed front door open, but you can understand why it may have looked suspicious.

The sad part was that when it came to the verbal confrontation between he and the police officer, even after Professor Gates showed photo identity proving who he was, he was still judged to be out of line. I wonder how the officer would have reacted to an angry, non-black man yelling at him for being assumed to be breaking into his own house. He might have gotten angry himself, but would he have arrested that almost 60 year old man, a Harvard professor, on his own front porch?

The second article's headline by the New York Times says it all - "New Jersey G.O.P. Candidate Picks Woman as His No. 2". Really? Still? We may have a black man as President, but the idea of a woman in a position of power is still surprising enough to warrant this kind of headline? I'm giving the NYT the benefit of the doubt because... well, because it's the New York Times! As my BIL would probably say, the bastion of liberal propaganda. That's why I love it! All humor aside though, it still got my goat... it just felt condescending.

Invitation Accepted

2009-07-17T19:00:00.004+01:00

So, yes, I finally did turn in the guest post kindly requested by another fave blogger of mine, Niamh Griffin of Writer on the Way Home, and I even beat my deadline! :-)

I'm kind of giddy about the whole thing. It's just so cool that someone likes my writing enough to want more than what I naturally sputter out on my own site.

It's up today, so head on over and check it out. And tell me what you think - comments are a blogger's best friend!

Aww, shucks!

2009-07-09T15:57:00.009+01:00

Yesterday I got this totally unexpected and wonderful email from Tripbase.com telling me that I'd won an award! How cool is that?!

It seemed they scoured (scratched?) the web for travel-related blogs and somehow came across mine.

I didn't win, but I was a finalist for the Expat Blog category.

Amazing! Thanks so much. I guess this thing does get read after all! :-)

Agh, the pressure!

2009-07-08T20:08:00.003+01:00

I've been invited to be a guest blogger on my blog-friend's site where she writes about life as a returned expat back home to Ireland - Writer On The Way Home. What an honor! Really, it makes me very impressed with myself :-)

Except, I've had this on my To Do list for weeks now and have not written word one! It's due tomorrow.

Eeeeek!

Anniversary Reflections

2009-07-05T10:54:00.002+01:00

We're now officially in July and you know what that means?! It's now just 2 weeks shy of two years since I started this mad adventure. Shock and awe!!

I could go on and on about what this experience has meant to me - actually I have, ad nauseum via this blog :-) But maybe the quickest way to capture how much I've been changed is through a look at how my language has changed. It may seem superficial on the surface, but language (grammar, spelling, usage) has always been an integral and deliberate part of how I present myself to the world. And changes therein have always represented core shifts in how I see myself and feel about who I've become.

I remember moving to Miami from Jamaica when I was nine. How strange everything was - flat, wide open, covered in tarmac. But, the greatest point of friction was the differences in language. I was a native English-speaker, but Jamaican English and it's Patois counterpart were not the same as American English. And, of course, as the outsider, my way was the wrong way. Not only did I sound strange with my Jamaican accent - it would be several years before I got the benefit of sounding "exotic" once I moved away from Florida - but the King's English that I spoke and wrote actually got me in trouble. It took several months for me to start getting the A's on spelling tests that I always strove for (and deserved!) because I would refuse or forget to spell words without the "u". Humor, color, flavor, etc.

Then I moved here to Ireland, and I started getting noticed for the weirdest thing! Suddenly, my language and accent started identifying me to others as American!! And, again, I was exotic. Ahh, how I'd missed it :-)

Now I found myself going through a strangely familiar experience. Holding on to my "normal" way of saying things while feeling acutely aware of sticking out by sounding different. The local way of saying things sounded both strange and fascinating. If I'd found myself somewhere that spoke a foreign language, I'd have been eager to try it out and show my respect by trying to make myself understood in the local lingua franca. But, because it was still (technically) English, I was resistant to the idea of making a fool of myself by trying to sound Irish. Plus, why give up being "exotic" again? I like being different. I was unique again.

Ah, but time moves on and before you know it you've been infected! First it was the little lilt at the end of every sentence. Then, it was substituting the gentle inquiry-style sentence for the brash, direct American one ("Will we go to the pub?" vs. "Let's go get a drink"). Now? Now, I'm stuck. I hear myself choosing to use the Irish vocabulary automatically, but it's too late, I've already said it - "That's grand", "Ring me", "Your new car's boot is tiny!", "Take the lift to the 3rd floor", "Where's your toilet" or "I've got to go to the loo".

The truth is I've almost stopped wincing every time I hear myself. The next step will be to not even notice what I'm saying. I've already found myself searching for the American term for certain words and concepts - how do you say "tailback" in American again? The process is well on it's way and clearly there's nothing I can do about it outside of abandoning my new life here and going back to the States.

Nah, I'll just live with it. Happily.

Celebration

2009-07-04T14:41:00.000+01:00

Image by Camera Slayer via Flickr

Happy, Happy Fourth of July everyone!

Here's to kicking some British butt and defeating the invading aliens at the very last minute. Oh... wait, that last part was fictional, wasn't it? Oh well, I say anything that involves Will Smith deserves celebrating.

Enjoy your grilled burgers (well done with cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles and ketchup), bucket of beer, and lazing around in the sun. Now, if only I had some sparklers!

Fine, Truly Fine

2009-06-23T00:11:00.004+01:00

You know it when you have one of those days. Before, you were languishing in the doldrums of "sorta okay" and "grand". Nothing too drastically out of place. Except for the persistent doubts about "do I truly know what I'm doing?" and "am I really helping anybody?"

One of the major perils of being a psychologist, I guess any similar health profession, is the self-questioning, the self-doubt. And the comparing. Even when you know the TV and the literary and the memoir psychologists don't reflect the reality of the day in, day out drudgery that can be your professional life, it's still hard to convince yourself a lot of the times that somebody else, anybody else, couldn't do a heck of a lot better.

And even though you know, after almost 15 years doing this, that this is just part of the rhythm of the ups and downs of what you do, you still get caught up in it.

People come to you in pain, expecting that you have all the answers, and get pissed or sad or hopeless when you don't spoon feed the miracle cure to them. You know this is how things work. You know it.

Then, when you least expect it, you have that day. When all the floundering you've been doing, trying to figure out what the heck your next step is, resolves into something resembling clarity and you remember that there actually is some substance to the facade you play out every day. The day that client walks in and you have that session where, even though you're only at the start of things, magic happens. You click. He or she connects. You're riding the flow of the emotional energy between you and you can almost see them lifted up. And it's a beautiful thing - enlightening, emotional, spiritual even.

That was today. It wasn't the first time and it won't be the last, but I needed it... to remind me why I do this and that it's okay to keep on doing this. Today was beautiful even in the midst of its flaws. A fine blessing indeed.

Great quote of the day

2009-06-17T14:16:00.005+01:00

... from this Op-Ed article in the New York Times, titled "You Be Obama", about how he's handling the political wrangle over health care reform.

You are daunted by the challenges in front of you until you remember that by some great act of fortune, you happen to be Barack Obama. This calms you down.

Heehee, love it! :-)

*Thanks to cousin Sekou for pointing this one out.

Stir Crazy and Blocked

2009-06-16T23:38:00.002+01:00

10 weeks. Ten weeks! That's how long it's been since I last had internet access at home. I'm shocked (and appalled) every time I actually try to comprehend the reality of it. Who in their right mind, having enjoyed the "benefits" of technology, would willingly put themselves in the position of being cut off from such a big part of their world?

Not me!! All I wanted to do was move to a (geographically and economically) better apartment. Who knew I would get caught up in the toils of what really feels like a third world telephony infrastructure?! Who knew I would become, among my friends and acquaintances, the poster-girl for the perils of "the Irish way" of doing things?

Finally today, after multiple false starts and outright misinformation from the various phone/broadband companies over the last several weeks, I found the one, single, discrete, UNO technical support person apparently in all Ireland who figured out where they had gone wrong and helped me find my way into the datastream again.

So, thank you Mr. Technical Support Man at Imagine! Thank you for actually returning my call after going off to figure out what the problem was. (The last guy never did). Thank you for picking up on the incomprehensible error your company had made. Thank you for saving my sanity!!

Now, if you could just help me recall all the wonderful ideas I had for posts to this blog over the past 2 months, I'd really appreciate it.

Maybe not quite so American anymore

2009-05-14T22:33:00.004+01:00

I watched the Eurovision song contest tonight from start to finish and snarkily enjoyed every minute of it. Especially the hotness of Mr. Denmark and Mr. Greece :-)

In the last month I've also gotten semi-hooked on Britain's Got Talent. I don't even like the American version!

Paradise Found

2009-05-06T15:37:00.007+01:00

Sunshine filtering through the trees, splashing on the redwood deck. Hanging baskets of orchids and poinsettias in tubs beneath palm and fruit trees swaying in the breeze. Water trickling musically in the new fountain off the front deck while the wind coaxes impromptu melodies from hidden chimes. Dog snoozing on the newly cleaned carpets, back legs twitching in happy dreams. Niece and nephew cuddling with me on the couch, manic grin on T's face, A's curly braids jiggling as she happily tells the story of her day. Sis and BIL snogging in the kitchen. Me soaking it all in.

Home Again

2009-05-03T14:17:00.001+01:00

I don't think I told you (my lack of Internet is still getting in the way of anything but the most basic blogging - this update is via iPhone), but I just arrived home to the Triangle (NC) for a friend's wedding and general having of fun. I'm looking forward to seeing loads of friends (I've had to resort to writing out my schedule 'cause it's packed full!), a quick jaunt to Miami to see family, and taking care of a few errands.

I got here Friday afternoon and the wedding was yesterday at Fearrington House in Chapel Hill. It was beautiful, but relaxed and fun. A total success! Weeell, except for the grooms's aunt tripping and dislocating her shoulder, but aside from that....!

Today I get to see my church family at CHBC and lounge around at Weaver Street in Carrboro, before meeting up with my cousin and her daughter later this evening.

I LOVE vacation! :-)

Out of context

2009-04-21T15:00:00.000+01:00

Ok, I was mad. Wait, I'm still mad. I'm so freakin' angry I could spit! But (because I don't have access to the web much... and whose fault is that?!), my Eircom rant went out without me having had a chance to blog earlier about all the cool things that have happened lately.

In the space of a week at the beginning of April, three great events occurred which made me very pleased with life. First, I passed my Irish driving test with flying colo(u)rs. Woohoo!! Then, the next day, I moved into my new apartment. Not quite enough space for my clothes (or my shoes), but it did prompt me to give away all the stuff that doesn't fit anymore, which is probably also a good thing. It's a great apartment and, despite the above mentioned drama, I'm glad I did it. I'm now right in the city and can walk to the gym, salsa classes, shopping (that I don't have space for), the English Market, etc.

Third, on Monday the 6th, the UNC-Chapel Hill Tar Heels male college basketball team showed why they're a DYNASTY and won the NCAA national championship. GO HEELS!!!!!

All in all, loads of good things happening lately. Including an upcoming trip home to the states for a friend's wedding and general having of fun :-)

Doesn't mean I'm not still pissed though.

A little late, but still funny

2009-04-21T13:06:00.001+01:00

I wish I'd seen this prior to the election, but it still makes me laugh.

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/canada.png

Unbelievable.... and not in a good way

2009-04-20T15:26:00.000+01:00

What kind of ridiculous third world infrastructure do they have in this country?!

As you can tell I'm pretty pissed off at the moment. Sadly, I haven't had access to either the internet or Sky TV for 3 weeks now, ever since I moved into my new apartment. That's a really loooong time to be cut off from the world. No email, no websurfing, no Skype, no blogging(!) except for what little I can get done on my iPhone (which, amazing as it is, is NOT a longterm substitute for a full-size computer). And why? Because the waiting period for hooking up my phone line with Eircom is ridiculously and inexplicably long.

But I tolerated it because they gave me a specific date that it would be turned on. They lie!! When I called today to find out why the technician never came, I get some sorry ass story about it being a new building and the date they gave me was only an early estimate. Hah! That's not what you told me both times I called to verify my order!

The actual truth is that it could take up to JUNE before they get their apparently single technician for the whole damn country to saunter on by!!!

What am I supposed to do till then? Are they serious? Even Jamaica does better than this.

Can you tell I'm pissed beyond belief?!

Are you kidding me?

2009-03-27T17:05:00.005Z

So, following up on my "women's exam" a few weeks ago (see this post), my GP decided to forward me on to a specialist for a GYN consultation. Forget the fact that I saw my GYN as a matter of course yearly back home. Today, I get a letter from said Consultant offering me an appointment... in August!

See dictionary definition of "whiplash" for the double take I did at seeing the date. Five months for a simple consultation? And that's before being kindly informed later on in the letter that if any procedures need to be performed I may have to wait "a considerable time".

Uhhm, are we talking 2009?

Unexpected Compliment of the Month

2009-03-25T21:46:00.004Z

Driving instructor at end of 1st "lesson": "You're a lovely driver. You should have no problem passing the exam."

Me inside my head: "WOOHOO!!! I'm good, I'm good, I'm so freakin' good! [sung in childish melody]"

**Note: Decided to be smart and take a few lessons before my driving exam next week for my full Irish license (and lower insurance). Of course I had to wait 6 months afer passing the theory test (by the skin of my teeth) to take it. Apparently 20 years of experience driving in the states wasn't enough!

**Extra Note: Passing your driving exam is a HUGE deal here, considering almost 50% of those who take it fail! They even have cards in the shops for congratulating the lucky ones who pass :-)

Am I spoiled?

2009-03-21T16:00:00.004Z

In preparation for my apartment move in 2 weeks - YEAH! - I popped over to An Post at lunch yesterday to pick up a change of address form.

Imagine my surprise, shock and outright horror at the realization that there's a charge for this service! Really? You need to rip me off for €55 just to transfer my mail for a measly 3 months?!!

I can understand this for businesses, but I may get 4 pieces of mail a week given the wonderful dearth of junk mail here. Why do I need to get charged in the first place?

I hate to resort to the "this doesn't happen in America" mantra, but.... Am I just spoiled? Does this make sense to anybody else?

Oh Happy Day!

2009-03-17T14:30:00.006Z

A four day holiday weekend centered around catching up on my reading, TV, and snacking.

Salsa dancing and some intense socializing at a great party on the weekend that, best of all, was held just around the corner from me so no lengthy trek home.

An actual date on Friday night that scored a 9 out of 10.

Lots of quality time in my pajamas and with comfort food.

But the ultimate topper was today's easy-peasy presale where I got U2 tickets for the Dublin concerts in the least stressful and most carefree interaction I've ever had with Ticketmaster!

Ahhh, now how else to loaf away my day?

What's A Brainiac To Do?

2009-03-09T18:20:00.006Z

You know the economy is really tanking when, instead of being a blessed escape from the harsh realities of life, grad school is actively being discouraged as a "career" choice.

This NY Times article , "Doctoral Candidates Anticipate Hard Times" just makes me shudder (mostly in relief that it's not me). The thought of having survived so many years of research minutiae, dissertation writing, teaching bored undergraduates and surviving on noodles and peanut butter, only to not even be able to find a job at the end of it is just terrifying.

. . . . excuse me while I suffer through the flashbacks . . . .

If academia isn't the last, best escape from the working world, what is?!

Girls, what's missing from this picture?

2009-03-02T20:20:00.011Z

Nothing makes it clear to you that you're in a totally different country, and culture, than getting an inside view into it's healthcare system. And, when you're a woman, the contrasts can be quite stark.

Let me start off by saying that this is not a complaint. In fact I've been relatively happy with the healthcare I've received so far here in Ireland. But, today ladies, I bit the bullet and went in for my "women's exam" and let me tell you, Ireland is a very different place than I'm used to.

I think it would help if I highlighted the differences by phrasing this in terms of what was absent or missing from the usual (i.e., American) picture:

No demand to see your insurance card, because there isn't one.
No paying up front before you even get in to see the doctor. (Yes, you do have to pay afterwards. This is Ireland, not paradise!)
No huge sheaf of papers to sign and disclaimers to approve in the vain hope of avoiding the inevitable lawsuits.
No waiting around while your doc rotates between you and 3 other people at the same time. One at a time, baby!
No extended contact with the nurse prior to your precious few minutes with the doc. No nurse, the doc does it all!
No being forced to wear a ridiculous paper gown that leaves you exposed, shivering and feeling grossly inadequate... because nothing but the most minimal stripping occurred (I was wearing a skirt so only undies went).
No privacy during the stripping that did occur. She just turned her back. (Now picture me with dumbfounded look on my face and quite a few seconds delay while it slooowly occurs to me what I'm expected to do).
No nurse in the room as the doc's insurance and proof against possible accusations. Ahh, the innocence. The trust!
No stirrups!
No fancy wipes afterward :-(

What was there was a kind yet authoritative demeanor by a skilled clinician with a fantastic bedside manner. All in all, an interesting but generally positive experience.