NorthDownMuse

Tyres O'Flaherty

One more picture of the walled garden. We returned to a marquee in the walled garden tonight to hear a conversation with the appropriately named Michael Smiley. He spent 10 years in London as a bike courier, then became a successful standup comedian, and now he is an actor in

Zumba

I went to a zumba class for the first time in a few months and reminded myself of my clumsiness. In my clubbing days, I fancied myself a good dancer (this was the 80s, when there was lots of great dance music). Now I look in that wall-sized mirror and

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

I've been spending some time at the award-winning McClay Library on campus trying to get my laptop and phone set up on Queen's Online. While there, I like to visit the C.S. Lewis Reading Room, which celebrates the Belfast native who brought us the incredible

Scotland and our house

In case you were wondering, we converted the rest of our house money from dollars into pounds before the Scottish vote. The pound snapped back a bit in the wake of the no vote, but not much. Still, we could sleep at night knowing that we were not putting our

Annie get your gun

When I was in West Virginia recently visiting my mom, I was very aware of how guns permeate every facet of life in the U.S. Here, I've never seen a gun or anything that glorifies guns. In Parkersburg, I went to the mall to get David a

Postgrad blues

All last week I tried to register for classes and I was told I couldn't do anything until I had my Right to Study form, which I applied for last week by filling out another form and having my passport copied. I collected that form this morning at

Another festival!

At today's autumn festival at Botanic Gardens, we ran into a woman from church. I told her I've never been anywhere that has so many festivals. She said this is all recent, since the troubles. I said there must be a lot of suppressed talent. "

Game of Thrones, chocolate, monks

I counted the number of events/exhibits/performances at last night's culture night--nearly 200 in the space of five hours. Nuts. After recovering, today we went to the Killyleagh Chocolate Festival, then the harvest festival at the local Presbyterian church, then the free pass day at Castle Ward,

Culture Night

David went to Belfast Culture Night last year and raved about it. So we had to go, even though I've had a sore throat ever since I got back from the U.S. and am not 100%. But I'm glad I got to see and hear

Orientation

Most of Thursday and Friday were spent in presentations for international students. A lot of it isn't relevant to me (life in dorms, nightlife, understanding Belfast culture, etc.). I walked away very impressed at how concerned the people who run the dining halls, security, health center, residence halls,

Queen's for a day

I learned this afternoon that I was missing today's orientation for international students at Queen's. My registration has been slowed by having a spouse visa instead of a student visa, something that is apparently totally unexpected. So I ran to campus and caught the last event--the

Tick tock

I arrived in Belfast on time at 9 a.m. today (4 a.m. EST). After a groggy day of reading literature from Queen's University, David took me out for a wonderful meal at the Jamaica Inn [http://www.thejamaicainn.co.uk/index.aspx] on the Belfast Lough.

Airport adverts

Yesterday's post bothered me because it was too simplistic. Ulster isn't perfect by any means. The U.S. has its advantages. So there isn't much nuance when I simplistically explain why I prefer Ulster. That said, here's another non-nuanced observation of why

The revolution is not being televised

One thing I notice in the U.S. is the prevalence of loud TV monitors. Doctor's offices. Bars. Car dealers. Gas stations. Supermarket checkouts. They don't do that in Ireland. You are not subjected to overly animated women's overly loud voices at moments when

When the going gets tough

Yesterday I was musing about how deprivation can intensify your focus on a more-limited universe. Today I'd like to totally contradict that idea. When I read back through the blog, I occasionally find one paragraph totally contradicting the prior one, often when I change topics and don'

Allegheny reverie

On my long drive back and forth between Parkersburg, WV, and Frederick, MD, I had no CDs and three types of radio stations: preachers, country and western, and public radio. There's a limit to how many times I want to hear the latest on ISIS and congressional reaction

Day trip

I drove roundtrip to Frederick, MD, today (nine hours!!) for a two-hour meeting with three women who manage/edit/write mutual fund performance materials. I'm joining the team this month. It was great to kibbutz with my team, but my back ached for much of the trip. I

Queen's for a year

Today I was accepted into Queen's University to pursue a Master of Laws degree. A little daunting, perhaps, but I am also excited about returning to school. The degree allows professionals, who don't have to be lawyers, to focus on a specialized area of law. I

Eating well

Thanks to Hema, Judy, both Sandys, and Carol, we won't starve. We have an entire buffet of Indian food, homemade coleslaw, baked breads, and chocolates. I love visiting mom because of the constant stream of lovely women who stop by to chat. Fresh corn, tomatoes, and salads have

Mac attack

When I arrived five days ago, the MacBook Air I ordered was waiting for me. Every day, David asks me if I've opened it and every day I have lots of reasons why I haven't. I have good reasons. Wiring money is complicated and time consuming

Scottish independence and me

I haven't given a great deal of thought to the Sept. 18 referendum on Scottish independence. Those uppity Scots want to throw off the English yoke. I'm currently reading an economic history of Ireland, which highlights the degree to which Ireland was prostrated to the crown.

Seasonal reflection

Is it possible there is a positive correlation between the number of pumpkin-flavored items in America and the percentage of people who are pumpkin shaped? One of the things that has saddened me about Belfast is the number and size of retail establishments. There are at least two malls downtown.

House update

I brought mom home today and she is quite happy about eating food she selects and sleeping in her own bed. Even when it is good, institutional care is bad. I forgot to give a housing update. The day before I left town, I got the seller to agree to

Carless

Mom's garage door opener is broken so I couldn't get the car out. Mom's friend Judy took me to mom's rehab center twice today. Mom told me one of the exercises involves shooting air pistols at cans on a shelf. Only in

Fly the friendly skies

I don't think there's any such thing as friendly skies anymore, with United or anyone. You learn sympathy for cattle and chickens stuffed into trucks for long journeys. At least we aren't slaughtered at the end. I shouldn't complain. All three flights