Yesterday, Ceili House aired on RTE 1. I can't say it was the greatest performance ever made by the international student group, but it wasn't bad either. If you haven't yet heard the radio program, you can go to RTE's Ceili House website and stream it (you'll need the latest version of Real Player to be able to do so; the link for the website is in the post below).
I spent this morning at St. Fin Barre's, the cathedral across the street from my apartment. As I mentioned last semester, it is Protestant--Church of Ireland--but retains a lot of Catholic elements, as it is considered to be 'High Church'. Today, in addition to being the feast of Candlemass, was also the last Sunday that the Assistant Dean, Helen, would help to preside over--she has been located to a different church in the Diocese. I have only met Helen once, but she is an incredible person who always made service a little more interesting, and I am sorry to see her go.
The full choir was present this morning, meaning that service was slightly different from what I am used to seeing there. Instead of reading the responses that are given in the BCP, the choir will sing them, confusing many of the new parishioners. Today was also, apparently, the day for alliteration. The sermon focused on they journey of the Holy Family to the temple for Mary's purification (but also the journey that Helen and her family will embark on), leading the Dean to consistently comment on 'Persistence, Purification, and Prophecy' as well as the importance of prayer. Whew, that was a lot of p's.
The rest of today will most likely be spent preparing for the week ahead--yet another jaunt to Tesco (so that I can later make my weekly meal), some cleaning, and possibly a trip to the gym. I'm not sure yet what I'll be making this week, but as of right now, I'm considering a greek salad with ham, feta, cucumbers, radishes, onion, olives, and a lemon poppyseed vinaigrette. Perhaps I'll make some soup to go with it, and have a soup and salad kind of week.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Recording and Recouping
Recording for Ceili House (to be broadcast on RTE 1 this Saturday at 9:00 PM GMT) went very well, despite a late start and some mishaps during the recording session itself (first years had problems tuning their harp, which led to some interesting takes). If anybody is interested in listening to it, they can stream it (live or for the week after it airs) by clicking here.
Rag Week continues with alarming pace--just last night, as I was finally tired enough to sleep, the guys upstairs got back from the clubs and decided to continue the party in their flat. From 2:30AM to 4:30AM, doors were banging, music was blasting, and phones were ringing (and by phones, I mean ours, but only until I unplugged it from the phone line). This has meant an increasing lack of sleep as the week continues, so I've decided to spend tonight in with Karin after running some errands--tesco (this week's meal is tomato sauce and meatballs, but tonight, instead of pasta, I want a meatball sub, which means I need cheese and bread), the English Market (I need more yarn--finished Barby's scarf, pictures later--and I might buy my bread there), and the City Library (can always use more music and Karin wants to get a library card).
Tonight, Karin and I will watch a movie and possibly make cookies. Because, you know, cookies are yummy.
Rag Week continues with alarming pace--just last night, as I was finally tired enough to sleep, the guys upstairs got back from the clubs and decided to continue the party in their flat. From 2:30AM to 4:30AM, doors were banging, music was blasting, and phones were ringing (and by phones, I mean ours, but only until I unplugged it from the phone line). This has meant an increasing lack of sleep as the week continues, so I've decided to spend tonight in with Karin after running some errands--tesco (this week's meal is tomato sauce and meatballs, but tonight, instead of pasta, I want a meatball sub, which means I need cheese and bread), the English Market (I need more yarn--finished Barby's scarf, pictures later--and I might buy my bread there), and the City Library (can always use more music and Karin wants to get a library card).
Tonight, Karin and I will watch a movie and possibly make cookies. Because, you know, cookies are yummy.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Re-adjusting (and Rag Week)
Well, Rag Week has officially started with a bang--at our door, that is. Of course, once the boys upstairs got back from their weekends home, they decided to start Rag Week a little early (when have the guys upstairs EVER turned down an opportunity to party?) which meant lots of yelling, prank calls, and banging on floors, ceilings, and doors. Karin has now experienced all the joys of living below 22 on a party night, but she certainly wasn't expecting the pounding on the door that happens every time the enter and leave the building.
I've decided to celebrate Rag Week a little differently--I bought a UCC Rag Week sweatshirt (it was on sale at the student union) and I'll be playing tonight at the Spainpin Fanach for the student session (maybe even making an appearance during the ceili that starts at 7 PM on campus). After a few rehearsals, the international student division of TradSoc is ready to make our radio debut with a set of three reels--Gravel Walk, Twelve Pins, and Providence--which will be broadcast on RTE 1 Saturday night at 9 PM on the radio show, Ceili House, after our recording session tomorrow.
In other news, I've gotten a letter from our favorite missing flatmate, Lauren, and it makes me miss her all the more. Good thing she lives in Ellicott City, hey?
(New pictures are being added to the Picasa Web Album as I type this, just a head's up.)
I've decided to celebrate Rag Week a little differently--I bought a UCC Rag Week sweatshirt (it was on sale at the student union) and I'll be playing tonight at the Spainpin Fanach for the student session (maybe even making an appearance during the ceili that starts at 7 PM on campus). After a few rehearsals, the international student division of TradSoc is ready to make our radio debut with a set of three reels--Gravel Walk, Twelve Pins, and Providence--which will be broadcast on RTE 1 Saturday night at 9 PM on the radio show, Ceili House, after our recording session tomorrow.
In other news, I've gotten a letter from our favorite missing flatmate, Lauren, and it makes me miss her all the more. Good thing she lives in Ellicott City, hey?
(New pictures are being added to the Picasa Web Album as I type this, just a head's up.)
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Rag Week Approaches
I think this is the first time in the history of the world that I have not had class every single day of the five day work week--I'm seriously reveling in it.
This morning, I woke up on the early side (not by my own choice) to meet the two girls from my fiddle class, Tovah and Amy, so that we can swap tunes. This semester's fiddle class is being run a little differently from last, where I would just come in to learn tunes. Instead (because Amy and Tovah have far more experience in the fiddle area than I), we've decided to bring in tunes for Connie to help us ornament. To facilitate this (and to make sure that everyone knows the tunes we're going to be working on), we're going to meet at least once a week to swap tunes. This morning, we went over a Kerry Polka (one I learned from Connie before I joined their class), a reel titled 'Gravel Walk' (from Amy), and 'The Silver Spider' (from Tovah).
Tovah and I have also agreed to do a set with some international students (Amy, Emanuele, and Sean) which will be recorded on Tuesday next and broadcast on RTE 1. Our set will comprise of 'Twelve Pins', 'Gravel Walk', and some other reel yet to be determined. Next week at UCC is 'Rag Week', which is apparently much like Northwestern's Dillo Day (with the obvious difference that UCC's festivities last an entire week). Most students don't go to class, drink 24/7, and go to all sorts of events planned by the different student groups. Because Amy is on the board of the Traditional Music Society (TradSoc), I'll most likely be attending the Monday night session at the Spailpin Fanach and possibly the Ceili up at the pub on campus.
February also marks the coming of UCC's TradFest, run by TradSoc (are you surprised?). Tommie Cunniffe will be playing, in addition to Beoga. I'm most excited for the Ceili that will be run the Wednesday of that week--I do so love a good Ceili.
After my meeting with Tovah and Amy, I came back to try and work on my paper for Mel's class that's due Friday next. Unfortunately, I was so tired, I conked out at the desk, only to move back to bed until around 2 PM. Brunch (didn't eat much before I left for fiddle swap) was beans and toast--Lauren left a ton of food in her cabinet that we're trying to get rid of so Karin, the new flatmate, actually has a place to put her own food.
(Obviously, I'm procrastinating working on the paper at this point.)
I started my study of Arab music yesterday--it's a seriously complex topic, made even more confusing by the vocabulary used to talk about it. Luckily for me, I have a friend who takes Arabic helping with the language and pronunciation aspect of the course. It's very interesting how closely related so many folk musics are, even before globalization really started to effect world music as a genre.
Turkish music is coming up a lot in the readings, maybe I'll just have to make a trip out to visit Gabe in Istanbul to hear it in person, hey?
This morning, I woke up on the early side (not by my own choice) to meet the two girls from my fiddle class, Tovah and Amy, so that we can swap tunes. This semester's fiddle class is being run a little differently from last, where I would just come in to learn tunes. Instead (because Amy and Tovah have far more experience in the fiddle area than I), we've decided to bring in tunes for Connie to help us ornament. To facilitate this (and to make sure that everyone knows the tunes we're going to be working on), we're going to meet at least once a week to swap tunes. This morning, we went over a Kerry Polka (one I learned from Connie before I joined their class), a reel titled 'Gravel Walk' (from Amy), and 'The Silver Spider' (from Tovah).
Tovah and I have also agreed to do a set with some international students (Amy, Emanuele, and Sean) which will be recorded on Tuesday next and broadcast on RTE 1. Our set will comprise of 'Twelve Pins', 'Gravel Walk', and some other reel yet to be determined. Next week at UCC is 'Rag Week', which is apparently much like Northwestern's Dillo Day (with the obvious difference that UCC's festivities last an entire week). Most students don't go to class, drink 24/7, and go to all sorts of events planned by the different student groups. Because Amy is on the board of the Traditional Music Society (TradSoc), I'll most likely be attending the Monday night session at the Spailpin Fanach and possibly the Ceili up at the pub on campus.
February also marks the coming of UCC's TradFest, run by TradSoc (are you surprised?). Tommie Cunniffe will be playing, in addition to Beoga. I'm most excited for the Ceili that will be run the Wednesday of that week--I do so love a good Ceili.
After my meeting with Tovah and Amy, I came back to try and work on my paper for Mel's class that's due Friday next. Unfortunately, I was so tired, I conked out at the desk, only to move back to bed until around 2 PM. Brunch (didn't eat much before I left for fiddle swap) was beans and toast--Lauren left a ton of food in her cabinet that we're trying to get rid of so Karin, the new flatmate, actually has a place to put her own food.
(Obviously, I'm procrastinating working on the paper at this point.)
I started my study of Arab music yesterday--it's a seriously complex topic, made even more confusing by the vocabulary used to talk about it. Luckily for me, I have a friend who takes Arabic helping with the language and pronunciation aspect of the course. It's very interesting how closely related so many folk musics are, even before globalization really started to effect world music as a genre.
Turkish music is coming up a lot in the readings, maybe I'll just have to make a trip out to visit Gabe in Istanbul to hear it in person, hey?
Monday, January 14, 2008
Second Chances and Cheeseburgers
Okay, okay. Yah, I know. But I'm giving it another shot, right? And that has to count for something.
I arrived in Cork yesterday just in time for the start of the new semester after one canceled plane flight and a reroute through Chicago. I think I literally had a 24 hour journey from door to door. After a semi-quick settle in yesterday, things are starting to fall into place. I've already had my first class (Sean-Nos singing) and I've just gotten back from my first run to Tesco to pick up the things I need for this week. Given that I brought back about thirty pounds of 'American' food, I think I'm going to eat tesco stuff during the week (sandwiches for lunch, and something that I make on the weekends every night for dinner) and treat myself to American food on the weekends. Hopefully, this will cut down my grocery bill a little, as I'll only have to by the makings for one main meal (four days, Mon-Thurs) as opposed to two (each one made to last for three to four days to cover the entire week, plus lunches on the weekends). After talking about how to broil hamburgers (Barby tends to fry in oil), I've decided that cheeseburgers will be the way of the week. I've bought a pound of lean mince and six whole wheat sandwich rolls, meaning that this week's main meal can actually last me through to Saturday lunch, if I want it to. If I get tired of burgers, I'll freeze the remaining two for another week when I'm looking for a change, but don't want to break into the American food.
Since I'm done with class for today, I'm planning on using the rest of my time running errands and putting my room to rights. I've already hit tesco, but there are some things I'd like from the English market, and I need to buy more hangers from Penney's so that I can hang up all of the new clothes I've brought from home. Maybe I'll even stop at the library from some CDs. Later tonight, Amy's dragging me out to the Spailpin Fanach for a meeting of Traditional Music Society at UCC (Amy is the the other student in my class with Connie O'Connell for fiddle).
Things I love about Ireland:
1. Normal sized apples.
2. Sunny days (today has been sunny all day!)
3. being able to walk EVERYWHERE.
4. the phrases 'tanks a mil' and 'no, you're grand, like!'
5. the National Help line to Quit Smoking (posters are everywhere, now)
6. The crust on Bremmans' Wholemeal bread
I arrived in Cork yesterday just in time for the start of the new semester after one canceled plane flight and a reroute through Chicago. I think I literally had a 24 hour journey from door to door. After a semi-quick settle in yesterday, things are starting to fall into place. I've already had my first class (Sean-Nos singing) and I've just gotten back from my first run to Tesco to pick up the things I need for this week. Given that I brought back about thirty pounds of 'American' food, I think I'm going to eat tesco stuff during the week (sandwiches for lunch, and something that I make on the weekends every night for dinner) and treat myself to American food on the weekends. Hopefully, this will cut down my grocery bill a little, as I'll only have to by the makings for one main meal (four days, Mon-Thurs) as opposed to two (each one made to last for three to four days to cover the entire week, plus lunches on the weekends). After talking about how to broil hamburgers (Barby tends to fry in oil), I've decided that cheeseburgers will be the way of the week. I've bought a pound of lean mince and six whole wheat sandwich rolls, meaning that this week's main meal can actually last me through to Saturday lunch, if I want it to. If I get tired of burgers, I'll freeze the remaining two for another week when I'm looking for a change, but don't want to break into the American food.
Since I'm done with class for today, I'm planning on using the rest of my time running errands and putting my room to rights. I've already hit tesco, but there are some things I'd like from the English market, and I need to buy more hangers from Penney's so that I can hang up all of the new clothes I've brought from home. Maybe I'll even stop at the library from some CDs. Later tonight, Amy's dragging me out to the Spailpin Fanach for a meeting of Traditional Music Society at UCC (Amy is the the other student in my class with Connie O'Connell for fiddle).
Things I love about Ireland:
1. Normal sized apples.
2. Sunny days (today has been sunny all day!)
3. being able to walk EVERYWHERE.
4. the phrases 'tanks a mil' and 'no, you're grand, like!'
5. the National Help line to Quit Smoking (posters are everywhere, now)
6. The crust on Bremmans' Wholemeal bread
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