I had this weekend off and had the opportunity to do a little sight-seeing. Luckily I live in a great location, so I walked down to Phoenix Park, about 5 minutes away. It is the biggest enclosed city park in Europe. It's so big it has wild deer running around.
Anyway, it was pretty cool. There is a huge cross that marks the spot where the Pope offered mass to over a million people in 1978. The coolest part about that was that Ireland's population in 1978 was around 3 million. That means about a third of the people came to see the Pope. Apparently Catholicism is pretty big here. Ha.
Also of note was the HUGE obelisk that towers over the park. You can see it from any point in the park, and from many parts of Dublin. It is the second biggest obelisk in the world after our Washington Monument in D.C.
Anyway, Wellington was born in Ireland but ended up being a pretty significant general for the British. For example, he was the one who defeated Napolean at Waterloo. So the British decided to build him a huge monument. They built this monument, plus several others monuments dedicated to less impressive British people, scattered around Phoenix Park and the rest of Ireland. This didn't sit to well with the Irish people. Apparently people don't like being reminded of the time in their history when they were subjugated. Who knew??
The rest of the monuments were destroyed by the Irish Republican Army. The most famous of which being Nelson's Pillar in 1966. But the giant obelisk that looms over Dublin has yet to be destroyed, presumably because it is so large.
7/20/10
7/13/10
And that's when the transvestite hookers appeared
Had a rather interesting first day here in Ireland. After arriving at about 11 am, we did the standard stuff. Met the coach, met the athletic academic adviser. Then we got taken to the grocery store, where we bought a bunch of food. We arrived at our apartment (I'm sharing a 2-bedroom apt with the other American who came over) and I was pleased to see it was larger than I anticipated. The bedrooms were quite small and the place lacked storage space, but at least it was a large place. A lot of unused space, but I'm sure that will fill up. After arriving I quickly passed out, I had been flying for just under 24 hours.
Me and my roommate woke up about 10:30 that night, totally rested. Being that it was a Saturday night, and Ireland is known for beer, we decided to go out and find some bars. We didn't know where to go, so we started walking and asking people where to go. We got pointed toward Temple Bar, which is not really a bar but an area with a ton of bars. For people familiar with Seattle, it'd be similar to Belltown on steroids. For DC people, maybe Adams Morgan with less creeps and more drunks.
Anyway, we meandered around, getting a feel for the place. It was pretty wild, lots of foreigners and people getting dangerously intoxicated. We picked a random bar and went in, I don't even remember the name. We walked in, and I went to the bar to get some beers. I was eager to taste the Guinness, I had been told it tastes different in Ireland (which actually is true). So I ordered two beers, paid with cash and turned around. That's when the sh*t hit the fan.
I was ambushed by two rather tall, rather big-busted women whose clothes left little to the imagination. Obviously I'm not in the market for any female attention, so I avoided eye contact and searched in vain for an exit. Before I could spot an exit, they cornered me against the bar and started lobbing questions at me.
The questions weren't so bad, no worse than what anyone else asks. However, the fact that their voices were deeper than mine was rather troubling. A cursory glance at their feet was all I needed to confirm my suspicions. I can't remember much of what they were saying, I couldn't stop wondering where they got heels that big! I played the fool with their questions, saying I didn't know anything and had only arrived that day. As quickly as I could I escaped their firm grasp, but not without one of them handing me her number. Of course I didn't ask for the number, and I've never felt so....yucky....in my life after being handed someone's phone number. I disposed of it as quickly as possible.
After I got away, some girl who had been watching the scene approached me and told me to keep my distance from those two "girls". She informed me that they were transvestite hookers. I laughed and said, "No shit", which I felt immediately bad for doing because it made her upset. She had been trying to help me after all.
I thought the major excitement of the night was done, but I was wrong. We hung out there until the bar closed, at which point I used the bathroom. Upon exiting I couldn't find Maurice, so I walked outside looking for him. He wasn't around, so I stood there waiting for him to either exit the bar or come back. While I was standing there two girls who were sitting outside the bar waiting for their friend were talking to me. Maurice came out and we started joking around a bit. The girls were both funny and nice. After a few minutes we said goodbye when the girl's friend was about to exit the bar.
We started walking across the street when we heard shouting. We turned around and saw one of the girls we were talking to outside yelling at her "friend" who was inside the bar. They started to fight and me and Maurice started to walk away. But then I looked back, and there were about 20 people standing around watching this fight. And this wasn't a normal girl fight. There was no hair pulling, grabbing or anything. This was full on MMA. One girl had pinned the other girl to the sidewalk and was ruthlessly beating her face in. I could tell nobody was going to intervene, and I didn't feel like watching a girl get murdered so I ran back and yanked the girl on top off the other girl. The other girl got up and started to rush at the girl I was holding, and I actually ended up holding each girl with one hand by the collarbone area. I pushed the second girl away and started dragging the first one down the street. I got her and her friend about a block away and told them that was the extent to which they could expect my aid.
Me and Maurice quickly left the Temple Bar area and went home. When I talked to some people later about the Temple Bar area, I was told it is mostly a tourist visited place that is expensive and overrun with people who are far to drunk, far to crazy or perhaps both. I doubt I'll be going back there any time soon. Still, it made for an interesting first 24 hours in Ireland!
Me and my roommate woke up about 10:30 that night, totally rested. Being that it was a Saturday night, and Ireland is known for beer, we decided to go out and find some bars. We didn't know where to go, so we started walking and asking people where to go. We got pointed toward Temple Bar, which is not really a bar but an area with a ton of bars. For people familiar with Seattle, it'd be similar to Belltown on steroids. For DC people, maybe Adams Morgan with less creeps and more drunks.
Anyway, we meandered around, getting a feel for the place. It was pretty wild, lots of foreigners and people getting dangerously intoxicated. We picked a random bar and went in, I don't even remember the name. We walked in, and I went to the bar to get some beers. I was eager to taste the Guinness, I had been told it tastes different in Ireland (which actually is true). So I ordered two beers, paid with cash and turned around. That's when the sh*t hit the fan.
I was ambushed by two rather tall, rather big-busted women whose clothes left little to the imagination. Obviously I'm not in the market for any female attention, so I avoided eye contact and searched in vain for an exit. Before I could spot an exit, they cornered me against the bar and started lobbing questions at me.
The questions weren't so bad, no worse than what anyone else asks. However, the fact that their voices were deeper than mine was rather troubling. A cursory glance at their feet was all I needed to confirm my suspicions. I can't remember much of what they were saying, I couldn't stop wondering where they got heels that big! I played the fool with their questions, saying I didn't know anything and had only arrived that day. As quickly as I could I escaped their firm grasp, but not without one of them handing me her number. Of course I didn't ask for the number, and I've never felt so....yucky....in my life after being handed someone's phone number. I disposed of it as quickly as possible.
After I got away, some girl who had been watching the scene approached me and told me to keep my distance from those two "girls". She informed me that they were transvestite hookers. I laughed and said, "No shit", which I felt immediately bad for doing because it made her upset. She had been trying to help me after all.
I thought the major excitement of the night was done, but I was wrong. We hung out there until the bar closed, at which point I used the bathroom. Upon exiting I couldn't find Maurice, so I walked outside looking for him. He wasn't around, so I stood there waiting for him to either exit the bar or come back. While I was standing there two girls who were sitting outside the bar waiting for their friend were talking to me. Maurice came out and we started joking around a bit. The girls were both funny and nice. After a few minutes we said goodbye when the girl's friend was about to exit the bar.
We started walking across the street when we heard shouting. We turned around and saw one of the girls we were talking to outside yelling at her "friend" who was inside the bar. They started to fight and me and Maurice started to walk away. But then I looked back, and there were about 20 people standing around watching this fight. And this wasn't a normal girl fight. There was no hair pulling, grabbing or anything. This was full on MMA. One girl had pinned the other girl to the sidewalk and was ruthlessly beating her face in. I could tell nobody was going to intervene, and I didn't feel like watching a girl get murdered so I ran back and yanked the girl on top off the other girl. The other girl got up and started to rush at the girl I was holding, and I actually ended up holding each girl with one hand by the collarbone area. I pushed the second girl away and started dragging the first one down the street. I got her and her friend about a block away and told them that was the extent to which they could expect my aid.
Me and Maurice quickly left the Temple Bar area and went home. When I talked to some people later about the Temple Bar area, I was told it is mostly a tourist visited place that is expensive and overrun with people who are far to drunk, far to crazy or perhaps both. I doubt I'll be going back there any time soon. Still, it made for an interesting first 24 hours in Ireland!
Next stop: Ireland
A quick background post, I'll be here in Dublin for about the next ten months. I'll be going to graduate school at Dublin Business School and playing for Tolka Rovers and the college team. It should be a pretty busy time, but I'm looking forward to it. Alisa is coming out here in less than a month, she has already gotten a job with Habitat for Humanity. She'll be working as a Project Manager, which is great for her.
So I'm living in Dublin, a bit west of the city center. My location is pretty good, it's about a 20 minute walk to the city center where I'll be going to school. I also live a 5 minute walk from the Guinness Storehouse, Jameson Distillery and Phoenix Park.
So I'm living in Dublin, a bit west of the city center. My location is pretty good, it's about a 20 minute walk to the city center where I'll be going to school. I also live a 5 minute walk from the Guinness Storehouse, Jameson Distillery and Phoenix Park.
4/16/10
Season. Over.
We traveled to Konya (home of Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes) for game two. The crowd was great, a packed arena that made me feel like I was playing basketball again. Unfortunately we just weren't good enough to win the game. We played them tough, but we had some foul trouble and lost a key player to a sprained ankle midway through the first quarter. Ended up having to play two players who haven't played more than 5 minutes all season...combined.
With the loss means the end of the season. I got a call from management today, my flight is tomorrow afternoon. Flying through Frankfurt to Boston. Hopefully I can get out of Frankfurt, but I don't know with all this volcanic ash floating around.
So now it's the offseason. Going to Peru and Chile with Alisa on April 25th, so that will be really cool. Other than that, who knows.
Thanks for following along this shortened season, hope the blog was not a total waste of your time!
With the loss means the end of the season. I got a call from management today, my flight is tomorrow afternoon. Flying through Frankfurt to Boston. Hopefully I can get out of Frankfurt, but I don't know with all this volcanic ash floating around.
So now it's the offseason. Going to Peru and Chile with Alisa on April 25th, so that will be really cool. Other than that, who knows.
Thanks for following along this shortened season, hope the blog was not a total waste of your time!
4/12/10
2nd round and parents visit
We lost game 1 of the second round on Saturday afternoon. It was a close game, we ended up losing 54-51. As the score indicates this game was as much WWF as it was basketball. We are leaving tomorrow to go to their gym in Konya. It's a 10 hour drive, but I've heard we're flying so that's nice. The second round is the same format as the first, a best of 3 series.
Also my mom and dad have made it out to Istanbul! They got cheap tickets less than 48 hours before the flight took off, so they jumped on it and flew out here. They're doing a Rick Steeves tour, but came out 4 days early to see me and watch my game.
Their tour didn't start until today, so we spent yesterday sightseeing. Walked around Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque and Taksim Square. It was a good day. Hopefully the weather holds while they are here.
Game 2 is on Wednesday. Depending on the outcome, game 3 on will be on Saturday or I'll have a whole lot of free time on my hands on Thursday.
4/5/10
Next round!
Wow, we won a crazy game in double OT. It was nerve-wracking. I fouled out in the fourth quarter so I had to watch from the sidelines. We came back from 4 down and a minute to go in both regulation and the first overtime. Then in the second overtime we were down 85-79 with 2:32 to go when we took a timeout. A three, a steal and a layup led to a timeout by the other team. We ended up getting a few more stops and buckets and going up 91-85. We ended up winning 92-86.
So now we're moving on to the second round. I have no idea who we play, when we play, or where we're playing. I do know it's another 3 game series. So we'll see what happens.
The photo above was taken immediately after our victory.
4/1/10
Still alive...
We won game 2 on the road by three points. I played a lot better this time.
The last game of the series is at home on Saturday. Quick turnaround, but I can't wait to play it. I want a conclusion to this round.
After the game we went to a restaurant that is in the Guinness Book of World Records. It is the home of the largest kebab meat...thing. The kebab meat..thing..what's the (proper name for it???) weighed 2,698 KG. That's almost three tons!!
While we were at the restaurant my seat was facing a giant plasma TV that was playing a 4-minute TV news report on loop. The report was about the giant kebab (of course) and it was....DISGUSTING. I almost lost my appetite it was so bad. I didn't know how they made those things before, and I didn't want to know. But it's almost impossible to avoid glancing at the TV when you're sitting there with nothing but your own thoughts because everybody is speaking Turkish. Suffice it to say that I ate much less than anybody else. The team manager was bummed because he thought I didn't like it. Actually the taste was pretty good, but I can't get the images of a dozen people slapping and kneading raw, unidentifiable meat into a giant mass of dead animal.
Anyway, so we got game 3 in a couple days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)