Ireland Fragments - Part I: Dublin

This past June I traveled to Northern Ireland (UK) as part of a graduate certificate program capstone class in conflict transformation. My wife went with me my first week to visit Dublin, NI and London.

Here are the fragments.


In December, I started scouring for a good deal. After about 3-4 weeks, I found a "deal", one that I couldn't pass up.  As you might imagine, the "deal" was better on paper than in the good ol' real lived-in world So it was SAT to Ft. Lauderdale (3 hour flight, 5 hour layover), to Stockholm (9 hour flight, 5.5 hour layover) and finally to Dublin (2ish hour flight). This meant it was over 24 hours of traveling. I mean, it was still "worth it" but it was still tough.

Oh yeah, the Stockholm airport bathroom was BOSS.

We arrived around 8:30 PM in Dublin tired but excited.  We had an Airbnb lined up and our host had given us directions on a bus-line, but finding the right bus was a bit of an adventure. We were to pick up the key at a bar named "The Red Parrot".  It felt a little like a spy movie, so that was a little fun. 

After we got the key, my phone was dying (that meant our map was dying) and the flat was harder to find than you might think. It was getting dark and a few sprinkles fell on us. While not quite panicking, I wasn't having fun anymore.  I should point out addresses in Ireland and generally in the UK as well can be very difficult to find. I could bore you with the insane details but here's a photo of me putting my key into the wrong flat....

Thankfully, I think the no one was home or they were asleep. After 35 minutes of traveling in circles, in courtyards and streets with almost exactly the same name, we unpacked and felt good.

The only restaurant still open in the area was a Middle Eastern place called Pasha (which was great, because one of our favorite places back home is called Pasha as well). We were hungry and we devoured our plates.

I had previously made tentative plans for us to hike south of Dublin (Wicklow area) but for a variety of reasons, at the last mintue we decided to stick to Dublin. I felt fancy free as we had no real plans other than to walk downtown and just see where our feet would take us. And boy did we walk on this first day. We walked everywhere and my-way-too-young-to-be-arthritic knee was acting up by the end of the day! I have no idea how much we walked but Google estimated I walked 55 miles in June (which after I looked into it, is still too low).

We stopped at a small coffee shop for scones and coffee at the Roasted Bean Coffee Company (right across from the Connolly Train Station). Although there were a few "average" cups along our travels, the coffee in Ireland and the UK were far and away much better than in the coffee in the US.

Dublin Street Art near Connolly Station

We eventually found ourselves outside Trinity College and went in for the tour. I had read that the Book of Kells was overrated so I wasn't thrilled with going but the college tour was great and the admission to the library and Book of Kells was included, so why not?

My favorite detail about the tour was about this library. Apparently this insane librarians organized the collection by SIZE. Yeah, not by topic, or alphabetical, the SIZE of the book. Was the purpose to make the library so un-usable to students that it would remain quiet and free of students? If so, librarians 1, students 0. Good game, chaps.  Also, the smell of this place was old book smell heaven. Ahh...the smell of rotting books.

From Trinity we went on to St. Patrick's hoping to hear a rehearsal of a choir but the choir never showed up. Then we went on the Chester Beatty Library. I have to say, if you love history and old stuff, then the Chester Beatty Library MUST be checked out. So awesome. Chester Beatty collected tons of books but not just any books, the oldest and most important books, scrolls and book fragments he could get his hands on. Amazing stuff. The earliest collection of the four gospels together resides here. But my favorite part of the collection was an ancient copy of a Qur'an, (I forgot how many centuries old it was) with an inscription from his wife that said (I am paraphrasing here)..."Happy Anniversary, honey! I knew you would love this!" So funny.

I cannot recommend this place enough if you give a fig about history and/or religion. We grabbed a late lunch at the cafe as well and it was very good (again, it was Indian food).

Then it was on the a few more churches that day, I mean it was a hell of a day for churches. As the day wore on, we started to realize how tired we were. That said, we weren't gonna back down. On our way to another Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, we ran into a a choir from Arizona that was going to perform at 5:30 or 6:00 PM. So, we decided to stick around for that. We stopped at Leo Burdock's for some fried fish that was right across the way from the church. It was okay, but nothing to go crazy about.

This guy (much larger than the seagulls here in South Texas) waited so long for single chip, but maybe it was something in his eyes, but I denied him. I was like, "Naw, man, naw". Also, can we take a second to talk about ketchup in the UK? Terrible, horrible, gross. It's sickly sweet and actually made me forgo even eating it and yet, I would forget and start using it again. Also, the "chips" in Ireland were utterly forgettable. Almost every single time, they were limp and disappointing. Give me some crunch and some good ol' American ketchup. Also, say no to the "Brown Sauce" - never even figured out what that crap was.

The concert was pretty okay, K really enjoyed it more than me and really that was the whole point. The setting was beautiful, what more could you ask for. At Christ Church Cathedral, you can go to the catacombs and that was the highlight for me personally as it was cleared out at this time in the early evening.

This was a mummified cat and rat that had been found stuck in the organ years ago. It was too cool not take a photo.

This was the burial of a knight named Strong Bow (the child or smaller body was not marked). I thought the name was something out of She-ra, so for the rest of the day I would say "Strong Bow, look out" or "Sir Strong Bow, how mighty you are!". Turns out he was pretty important.

After the concert we walked the 100 million miles back to our Airbnb, stopping at a pub on the way home for some drinks and music (pretty good). When we got back it was well after 10:00 and we had been walking around Dublin for 13 hours straight, with a few breaks sitting in old churches.

It was an amazing day, one that I won't forget!

Day 2-4 coming up next.....

Top Summer Memories

 I almost just wrote blog post that I already wrote last year.  I was just going to write a list off the top of my head about what I "believed". Wow, I'm more redundant than I thought. Well, here's something else.

Top Summer Memories Off The Top of My Head

1. When I was 14, my friend Doug was over at my house and we walked about a mile to the nearest basketball court. It was July and hot as hell. We played one game and then sat in the shade and realized how stupid it was to play at 3:00 in the afternoon in July in San Antonio.

2. The summer after my freshman year in college, there was a week where my friend Eric's parents were out of town and we hung out there every day. It was so much fun, so many different people and friends came over, (only good clean fun, I'm sad to report)  - late nights, video games, movies, personal drama, cute girls came over, cruises for junk food, I stole part of Taco Cabana sign, just lots of fun.

3. My 21st birthday (not clean fun, but fun nonetheless).

4. Waking up the first day of the summer and feeling so good.

5. Lots of grill cheese sandwiches at home with my sister. 

6. Lots of TBS and WGN re-runs - Little House on the Prairie, Matlock, Leave it Beaver, I Love Lucy, The Brady Bunch, The Monkees, I was a little TV fiend at age 10.

7. My first two summers of college, almost every other day, we'd play basketball with a ton of guys after work. Good stuff. 

8. Dancing with my friends at Midnight Rodeo on Thursday nights.

9. Eating at a hole-in-wall Taco place at 2:00 AM after going out with the guys. The place had like five tables...really.  Reading the menu, I felt something on me. It was a roach crawling up my leg onto my crotch area.  I yelled, "Oh Shit" (sorry kids) and stood up and swiped it away. It scurried somewhere towards the kitchen. We still ordered and ate there. What can I say? We were hungry and drunk.


10. The Wondrous Adventures of Blueguy - the summer after my senior year I created my TV show with my old toys. My friends loved it, they are mainly terrible (I still have them) but that's what made them so good at the time. The next summer I made a few sequels but the magic was gone. 10 total episodes were made. I think two of them were halfway decent.

11. On a church camping trip around 13,  I asked for a sip of my friend Doug's newly opened 20 oz. Big Red, and proceeded to chug the whole thing. I have no idea how I did that or why he just watched in horror (all he had to do is just take it from me). 

How I Met Your Mother Part IV : Two Steps Forward, One Step Back (1999-2000)

My last year in college (1999-2000) proved to be a lonely one. All my close friends graduated in the fall and I couldn't find a roommate in the spring. I learned what real solitude was and I found out it isn't all that bad (at least in small doses). I was discovering myself by exploring the arts - I turned my roommate's room into my art exhibition hall of my paintings (mainly badly done abstract art). I also was turned on to great music (The Beach Boys, Bach, Nirvana, etc.), watched a lot of Woody Allen movies and wrote love-sick poetry.  Sometime late that fall I found out Marie had a boyfriend at LSU. In some ways I reveled in the heartbreak, channeling my loss into the art I was creating.

Summer was approaching and Marie let me know she would be spending the summer in Dallas with her sister. I was bummed but a little bit relieved. Marie's parents lived two streets down from our house so I was always running into her. When she was in town, I found that even driving by her street I was tempted to give her a call. I told myself I was ready for a new start in life (even if I didn't totally believe myself).


Quick Note: Did your dad ever date other people besides your mother and Marie? The answer is yes but let's just let those stories be forgotten.  


In May I graduated and moved back home to go to graduate school in San Antonio. My friend from A&M Jeff had moved back to San Antonio in the fall and he suggested we go to Midnight Rodeo on it's Wednesday's "College Night". I wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of going to a country dance bar but I had to admit the club was absolutely huge and this meant there would be tons of cute girls. Jeff brought his friend Toby and I brought my friend Philip to the club. We were there early and hung out along the sides of the large, circular dance floor. Sure there were "normal" people like us, but at least a third of the men were wearing cowboy hats. This just wasn't my style....but it just so happened that one of those "cute girls" at the dance hall that night was your mother.

Kathryn was there with Christina and Jenny (yes, both from the choir crew and you all know Jenny today). We introduced everyone and we had a great time that night. This pairing worked for both groups; the guys had cute dance partners and looked cool hanging out with girls (think of it this way, if we are already hanging out with cute girls, then the other women must think these girls were on to something). Meanwhile, the girls got non-aggressive, semi-normal dance partners and the protection from creepy guys by hanging out with us. In fact, we had so much fun we made it our weekly get together every Wednesday.

I hadn't planned on dancing at the club that night as I didn't exactly know how to two-step (the standard country dance). Kathryn was patient enough to teach me that first night how to dance the two-step. She was gentle and encouraging with my clumsy effort. I loved dancing with all of the girls in our group but Kathryn soon became my "dance partner" out of the group. She gave me advice and encouraged me to ask other women to dance.

This was when Kathryn really became a true confidant to me. We were finally becoming real friends and not "friends in passing". She knew my past and she was finding out even more about me from Jeff and Philip. Sure I was attracted to her but I had already ceded her to JJ in my head.  I didn't know all the details but I knew they had feelings for each other and whatever they had was...well...complicated.  Besides, JJ was my friend and I didn't want to step on my friend's toes, even if I was dancing with his girl.

Within a few weeks my friend Jeff asked for Kathryn's number from me. I thought about it, "Why would you need her number...Ooooooh, I see..." He was going to ask her out. I was in shock but played it off as best I could. There was no doubt about it, I felt a little weird about the whole thing. It seemed like she danced with me more than anyone else, I mean wasn't it clear that we were the ones with the connection?

Jeff and Kathryn dated for the last two months or so of the summer. It wasn't anything serious (they both said as much) but I was still silently jealous. What could I do?  One weekend in July I even managed to go on a double-date with Jeff and Kathryn with friend of Kathryn's, Heather. We had a good time but Heather and I weren't a good match.   

Those Wednesday nights were a blast. Youth is a wonderful thing and we celebrated being young that summer (maybe even a little too much). There was dancing, hi-jinks, late nights that spilled into the early morning, more dancing, late night tacos, and lots of laughs. But it all had to end eventually. In August, Kathryn and the girls headed back to their respective schools, Jeff moved to Tennessee and Philip got his first "real" job out of college. It just wasn't the same. The rest of us (myself, Toby and Philip) even stopped going out on Wednesday nights all together.

Meanwhile at LSU, Kathryn started dating a guy named Rick. She seemed to be happy at first, so I was happy for her. I got Marie updates from Kathryn (remember, they were roommates) and I gave Kathryn updates to JJ here in SA. It was a little dysfunctional informational pipeline. That fall it became clear to JJ that he missed Kathryn and he wanted her back. He and I were in the same boat, as Marie was still dating her boyfriend, Clinton. It's true that misery loves company but we were becoming really good friends outside drying each other's tears. JJ and I would often meet up at Sonic for drinks and have long conversations about love, women, sports, pop culture, and life in general. In the fall 2000, I became convinced JJ was the right man for your mother.

Sometime in the fall Marie came back into town. We even went out to dinner which felt weird as she had a boyfriend. I didn't mind at all though, after all, we were just "friends". We had been keeping in sporadic communication that fall, but I was playing the long game.  This meant being patient and not making any rash decisions. I was going to try to play it cool and be the friend even though I was a mess underneath it all. You might wonder if I had any intentions of being her friend and the honest answer was no. I wasn't going to aggressively flirt with her but my goal was to show her that we still had something between us. 

My first semester of full-time graduate school was tough but still a success. Christmas was on its way and that meant everyone was coming back into town. It seemed like momentum was building towards the Christmas party for both JJ and I. Kathryn had been hosting Christmas parties at her house since 1996 - and most everyone from our old gang would be there. The Christmas parties were always so fun and this year was no exception.

As the party was winding down, many of us wanted to go to Midnight Rodeo to dance. Your mother stayed at the party with JJ while a contingent from the party (along with Marie and I) went to Midnight Rodeo.  I don't remember a lot about Midnight Rodeo but I was putting the skills your mother taught me to task. Marie and I danced for much of the time and this time everything felt right (although maybe that was just the beer). She drove me home and I found out the truth in the cliche -"breaking up is hard to do".  We embraced and kissed. This was the moment I had been waiting for. It vindicated all my heartbreak and feelings I had for Marie. It was true, we were meant to be after all.