Madrid Dos

So, Sevilla it is, via Cordoba.
We wanted to go to Lisbon, but they only has 1st class tickets which, even with our Eurorail passes, were very expensive.
In any case, I am pleased with our plan.
So, Madrid has been very enjoyable. Mostly, we saw lots of art, and sat in parks or plazas in the shade.
This is the best thing, I think, about Madrid. There seems always to be a nice place to sit down every few steps.

From Madrid

So, Madrid is very lovely and not as hot as I expected. I have to say, though, that it feels more ´big city´than ´foreign country.´ Except of course, for the people making out on benches in parks, which feels a bit ´junior high´except that actually I am jealous because I had no boyfriends in junior high and well, Bill and I are a bit too American for massive public displays of affection, unfortunately.
In any case, for the additional info, please see Bill´s blog, as I don´t feel like rehashing the day´s events.
So, we will be in Madrid until Sunday probably, at which point we will either go to Portugal, or the sister city of Kansas City, Sevilla. Any thoughts?

Aloha from Paris

Dear all, Paris is lovely although humid and grey out so that sucks.
We arrived Friday and met up with our friend Ryan who is living here with his lovely Austrian girlfriend, Natalie.
Spent Saturday wandering about as we were exhausted from our 6 am flight. At the Arc de Triumph, bizarrely enough, we ran into a girl we went to high school with but moved our sophomore year. so we went kept her with us and then went to drink wine on the steps of Sacre Coeur, which was exciting. Then bar crawled near Bastille where Ryan lives which was very exciting.
In any case, spent Saturday on the Champs Elysee watching Lance Armstrong defeat the world, which was exciting though we couldnt see much. There were about a million Texans there, most of whom were in cowboy hats. I think I may have even got a picture of him, though its hard to say as they all looked about the same. Also did the Eiffel Tower which is always nicer than expected.
Monday and today we spent doing museums and other historic sites. I think my fave was St. Chappelle church and the Musee DOrsay. I cant get enough of that Manet, no sir.
So tomorrow, we head to Bordeaux where we will stay one night and drink lots of wine... then off to Spain on the night train, very exciting.
So, we are enjoying Paris very much, I had forgotten how much more attractive it is than most cities.

Tomorrow

begins the great european adventure!
wheee!

Grrr man.

It would be cool if this post was going to be about Germans and how crappy they are. Unfortunately, I've not really met any crappy Germans, although Monday some dickhead came into my work and was telling me about how much the Germans will hate me when I go there because I'm American. This may well be true, but at least they will have some decent food and reasonably priced cigarettes... I hope. Please tell me Germany is still sensibly allowing people to make bad health decisions at low cost.
In any case, I digress. Today some other dickhead came into my work and started talking to me about my typing speed, which is quite fast. But not, I'd imagine, significantly faster than most of my American peers.
Fine, compliment my typing, it doesn't mean much, but I'm pleased with it. But then he starts comparing it to playing the piano, which is weird. I mean, my piano teacher was always telling me to slow down when I played. So not the same at all. But then, even weirder, this dick starts telling me that you know, it's great I've found something so good at, and can have a happy career at, blah blah. And I'm like, what, as a typist? It's like, yes, I have traveled my way across the sea to make a career as a typist.
I definitely did some glowering at this. I suppose, though, when sitting at a computer hooked up to a dictaphone typing, one looks like a typist.

Some Bullet Points for Funness

• Saturday Bill and I went to a club with flatmates, friends, and lots of strangers oddly tanned considering the weather. This club was very hip, and they made this evident by projecting images on a screen of starving children in Africa while we got down to Billie Jean. As far as I could tell, the 9 EURO cover was not for an Oxfam benefit or something. Maybe it's to go with the African prints that are all the rage this season.
• Sunday Bill and I saw the Wedding Crashers, which made me laugh. I was happy to see an insanely stupid comedy which was not too revolting for my tastes. Also, I find Vince Vaughn very appealling.
• Yesterday Bill and I got to eat Laotian cuisine and cake at my friend Alana's, which was tremendous. In addition, she totally spoiled our little pants off by letting us watch Law and Order (SVU). I hadn't seen this one before. Where was Olivia (even if I hate her effing eyebrows, I missed her)? Maybe if you all are lucky, Alana will spoil you same when she visits the US in October!
• Today I hope to get my hair cut. Nothing fancy, just trying to keep myself well-groomed, which is increasingly difficult.
• Also today, my calendar notes that today in 1631, the English mathematician William Oughtred introduced the symbol for multiplication. I am shocked that this tidbit of information has surviced nearly 400 years, and that indeed, the x was ever such a big deal. Also I am curious as to what they used before.
• Yesterday, some dickhead came into my office and hassled me about travelling in Europe before seeing all of Ireland and told me about how everyone over there hates Americans. I bit my tongue and pretended like I thought he was funny. I hate having subservient jobs and the way middle-aged men talk to me.
• We leave for France in 4 days and oddly, all I want to do is buy stuff. I feel my shirts are woefully inadequate, and I don't know what I was thinking not packing any denim skirts.
• Fin.

A shocking view

So this is what I saw when walking home from work Tuesday. I would, obviously, have uploaded these Friday but stupid blogger was down. To set the scene, you should be listening to the Genius of Komeda... which you should own if you don't, as it's one of my top 10s of all time, or rather would be, were I male and prone to making such lists. In any case, I am walking down the street, at about 5:30, when, at a major intersection, behind a chest-high wall of the sort people like to put in front of parking lots here, I see this middle-aged man strangely close to the wall moving his arm in a suspcious fashion. When I cross the street, I can see behind the wall and what do I see but this:

Scandalous! He's totally yanking it at a busy intersection in Dublin's poshest area behind the wall of a funeral parlour!
For the third time in my life, I see some random old guy diddling himself in public. The two times, incidentally, occured at or near the shopping centre across the street from my middle school, when I was 14. Those times were more gratifying as I was with friends thus we could have a giggle about it. This time I had to just send a text and wait.
Now that I've told the story all weekend, it's not nearly as fun to post my pictures.

Perfect Mix CD Tracklisting

• Lali Puna- Faking the Books
• Dresden Dolls- Girl Anachronism
• M83- Run into flowers
• Les Georges Leningrad- Sponsorships
• - Soopa Doopa
• Interpol- Obstacle 1
• Radiohead- A Woolf at the Door
• Belle and Sebastian- I love my car
• Frou Frou- Let Go
• Azure Ray- Across the Ocean
• Camera Obscura- Let me go home
• Elliot Smith- Pretty (ugly before)
• Goldfrapp- Bedlam to Brooklyn f/ Turin Brakes
• Sondre Lerche- Sleep on Needles
• Lali Puna- Micronomic
• T-Rex- Cosmic Dancer
• Scissor Sisters- Laura
• - Filthy/Gorgeous

3.2 miles and the mix cd

So, as of yesterday, I have a new job at a law firm on the other side of town from where I live. I live 30 minutes by foot southwest of the city, this job is 40 minutes southeast of the city. The job is fine (although they use dial-up, what?!?), but public transport leaves much to be desired, as the buses only go into the city and out of the city--never through the city or, as I would prefer in this case, under the city. In any case, I refuse to pay E2.60 to ride two buses, one in and one out, so I am now, as of yesterday after work, officially walking to work, as although my house is exactly 3.2 miles from my job, it still takes less time to walk here than it would to wait for two buses and ride on them in city traffic. Instead, I get to walk alongside a fairly disgusting but still pleasant canal, listen to my Discman, and hopefully look better in my new bikini when I hit the Eurobeaches during my upcoming travels. I feel very proud of myself for making this decision.
In any case, this morning I selected for my Discman a CD my dear friend Michael made me for my birthday last year. He also mailed it to me in England which makes him a lot better than most of you. And this CD was perfect--the absolute best thing for a morning walk. And even better, most of the music is new to me, and I realized that all the CDs Michael makes for me are like this. In fact, for the past 10 years now Michael has been making me mixes of genius. As I walked to work this morning, I thought to myself, Man, could this mix be any more me? I thought not. Then I thought, hell, I'll even write about it in my blog today! And then maybe more people will send me mix cds. But then I had the sad (in this case) realization that I will only be in Ireland for another 11 days, not enough time for such CDs to arrive to me. Which is too damn bad, really, because I have very few here with me and as I'll be spending much of the next two months on trains and buses, really too damn bad. So it turns out I can't even use this opportunity to hit you all up for music.
Of course, my next birthday is only 2 months and 2 weeks away... and I will be restored to my home state by then.

Sad, sick, and worried.

London, you are in my thoughts.

End of an era

Man, I can't believe they just pulled my knox email out from under me like that. Lucky I spent yesterday reliving the good times and deleting everything before Sean Reidel could get his grubby paws on them. I will have to retrain myself entirely.
In any case, my new primary email is ruth.evans.mylastname@gmail.com
isn't it grand?