Stomping on the accelerator again

I recall a few posts ago I wrote about how life seemed to have sped up to a frenetic, almost whirlwind pace. Now it seems as though the great cosmic brakes have been put on my life, and it has slowed, not to a screeching halt, but at most a crawl. Well, even that isn't strictly true. What my life has become is routine. I get up at 7.20. I go to work. I get home. I cook (sometimes). I watch TV or read. I go to bed. Repeat. This kind of life is comforting for me - I take a lot of pleasure in routine. But it's also what I moved to Dublin to escape. Living each day like the day before it leaves little room for learning and growth.

I do accept that life can't be an adventure the whole time. The levels of adrenaline going through your system if you did something new and crazy every day would be at best unsustainable and at worst would probably kill you. But now I've had some downtime, and it's time for me to break the routine again, lest I get stuck in the same trap I was in in Melbourne.

Therefore, next weekend, I'm actually going to Belfast (as opposed to last time, where I planned to go but didn't). I'm sure I'll actually get there this time, because

a) I’ve been paid my first month’s wages (hurrah!) and
b) I'm going with my friend Kath who I met on the tour and she's coming from London especially so I can't change my mind.

And in reality I'm burning to go, I just lack motivation to organise it...does that sound like me or what? If you haven't heard, the IRA has agreed to decommission all its weapons (leading to the aptly but humorously named Commission of Decommissioning) and abandon all non-peaceful and criminal activity. The British government has responded with the promise of withdrawal of half of the troops stationed in Northern Ireland (from about 10,000 there will be about 5,000 left). The Irish Unionists (Pro-British) are up in arms about this, saying it's putting the safety of NI citizens in jeopardy, but most people agree that they're just power-hungry and don't want to share power with Sinn Fein (the political wing of the IRA, who they promised they would talk to once they agreed to pursue only politics, not violence). Anyway, to cut a long and probably boring story short, it's an exciting time for Belfast, and I'd like to go and check out the mood.

You won’t believe what has just happened. This morning I turned on my laptop – and it asked me if I wanted to join the DIT wireless network (there’s a Dublin Institute of Technology across the street). I clicked yes and hey, presto! Free internet connection! It’s extremely unstable but it’ll do to check email and update my blog and such. I can even use web messenger but it sucks because the connection keeps dropping out. Anyway, who cares? Free internet! Who cares if I’m kinda stealing it? It serves them right for just leaving it there for anyone to take. Right? Hmm, lucky I don’t believe in Hell or I probably just bought a one way ticket.

I didn’t do anything exciting today, just shopping (guess where? Yep. Penneys! And Dunnes, the second-cheapest store in Ireland.) I bought really exciting things like towels, an oven tray, a dustpan and brush, mop heads, etc. I never thought I’d spend

a) so much time cleaning and
b) so much money on cleaning chemicals and accessories.

I’m very tempted to take some from work (we’ve got boxes of the stuff) but I think Khalil and Joe might get mad. Plus I shouldn’t steal things. But I think it should be a criminal offence to make basic necessities like cleaning accessories expensive. It’s not like we’re going to stop buying them, they’ve got a guaranteed lifetime demand for their product, surely they can afford to make it cheap! I’ve found I can’t stand the place to be in a mess, which it is in most of the time, so Saturdays I clean up – vacuum, mop, clean the bathroom and kitchen. Sometimes the others help, sometimes they don’t.

Maria’s found a flat with her own room so she’ll be moving out soon, maybe even on Monday which will be really sad. I don’t want her to move, but if she needs her own space, she needs it. I am happy for her, but I just don’t think that having her own room will be as great as she thinks it will be. Besides, for someone who doesn’t like being alone, wanting your own room is kinda strange. I love sharing a room, well, really I don’t mind it, as basically I sleep in there and nothing else. I hang out in the living room if I’m at home, so why spend another 100 euro a month to have my own room?

By the way I bought a camera – 250 euro down the drain but I really needed it (no really, I did!). So pictures of Dublin etc are on the way (finally). Oooh, the sun just came out outside. The weather here recently has been true to its reputation, that is to say, terrible. Anyway, I’m going to post this now, with my stolen internet connection. Muahahahaha!