Summer Sunshine!!

It is amazing that as a race, the Irish people rejoice at any sign of sunshine. Last week we were treated to the first good weather of the year and even though it is stll early in the year, people started hitting the beach. Although I cannot confess to being one of these brave beach-goers, I must admit that I too began to rejoice. Filled with plans and ideas for a sun soaked summer, I was brought back to earth with a thump this week, or at least by the steady banging of rain on my window.

The truth is, that however much we plan and hope for a glorious summer,  we live in an unpredictable country with unpredictable weather. However when it is bad it can be very bad but when it is good it is brilliant. The below advert is for Discover Ireland and throughly shows what Ireland has to offer to its fullest extent:

As a nation we have learned to make the most of our good weather for the short time it lasts with Bulmers evenings, barbeques and beaches. I for one have started planning my sunny summer days already and to be honest I wouldn't have it any other way

Celebrity Insanity!!

Why is it that in celeb land the more crazy you are the more popular you are? Case in point; Charlie Sheen.

Who else in the world could set up home with two women, go on drug fuelled tantrums and lose his job due to his unpredictability and still be admired by fans all over the world. In fact in 2011 he set a new guiness world record for "fastest time to reach 1 million followers on facebook". Basically we all want to know what Charlie Sheen is doing.  He has never exactly been the quite, retiring type but his latest antics would put Lyndsey Lohan to shame.

After countless rehab stays, arrests and blond haired beauties it seems as though Charlie Sheen is in a downward spiral with no way out but who is to blame? Of course a grown man must take responsibility for their own actions but the people who have pampered him and catered to his every whim over the years also deserve some of the blame. These celebrities are given everything they could possibly ever want; they are never told no. Soon they come to believe that they are indestructable. We have seen this happen with a number of different celebrities; Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan even Christina Aguilera of late. You can't help but think if someone doesn't knock some sense into Charlie Sheen soon, this story could have a disastorous ending

Here we go again....

Here we go again...as April approaches we are once again entering into our study month. Unlike other years however I will be hoping to make the most of this one, in other words I will not be resorting to cramming in the last week as I have in previous years..........I hope.

It never ceases to amaze me that the most menial tasks can look attractive when faced with the task of studying; as one of my lecturers commented last week "student accommodation is never as clean as it is during study month. I must admit that I am no different. I would easily clean my kitchen before I would sit down to study. After that my room needs to be tidied (you can't study in a messy room). Once I do sit down at my desk to study, I have to organise my notes which of course can take a full day.

Procrastination is definitely my enemy but now I have identified it, I think I can overcome it this year. Otherwise you will see me cramming in the library late into the night on the 30th April.

St Patrick's Pride.....

That one day has come and gone once again when we can all say we are proud to be Irish. In these bleak economic times full of distress and uncertainty, I for one am glad that we can raise a glass on St Patrick's Day and toast ourselves as a nation.

As a small nation we have a much achievements to be proud of and we are appreciated throughout the world. As president Bill Clinton once said "Ireland is one of the best brands in the world." The video below which is a advertisement for the new terminal in Dublin Airport in which many of our accomplishment as a nation are explored. You cannot but help be proud of ourselves as a country when watching this:

Not only do we as the nation of Ireland celebrate this day but also do countries all over the world; from New York to Tokyo people have taken St Patrick's day into their hearts.

Green River in Chicago for St Patrick's Day

Irish Dancers walking in Parade inTokyo

Pipers walking in Parade in New York



Young children walking in parade in Tokyo

We should be able to at least once a year remember that as a nation we have much to be proud of and also look upon our achievements instead of our failures.

Election time is near......

With the election nearing with every minute that passes the question must be asked "Who will be our new Taoiseach?" and better yet "Will they be any better than the last?" Little else has featured so prominantly in the media over the last few weeks and I must admit I will be happy once the election is over....at least then all the fighting, sniping and mud-slinging in the press will be over.

A poll on the Irish Independant website today showed the ranking of parties in the polls:

Election 2011

Tuesday February 22 2011

Which party will get your first preference?

• Fine Gael 40%
• Fianna Fail 14%
• Labour 16%
• Sinn Fein 13%
• Green Party 2%
• Other 7%
• Undecided 8%

If we are to belive these, then it would be clear that Enda Kenny will be our next Taoiseach but  can these pre election day polls be deceiving?...Only time will tell!!

It's that time of year again.....

Once again that iconic time of year is approaching, one week once a year when it is acceptable to go out every single night of the week. I must admit however that a certain sense of melancholy accompanies this RAG week as it is of course my last. I suppose I can't complain however as by the time my college days are over I will have enjoyed four epic RAG weeks the likes of which will never be bet.

Of course over the years the true meaning behind RAG week may have been lost and the week has earned a poor reputation with people all over the country. It has become associated with general anarchy and divilment.

http://irishexaminer.ie/ireland/gardai-to-lead-ucc-rag-week-crackdown-111352.html

It should be remembered however that while a small proportion of students are running wild there are many that are doing their best to stick to the true values of raising and giving. The measures that some students will go to raise money for charity is amazing:

I for one cannot wait for RAG week and I believe everyone should experience it at least once in their lives. All I can say now is.......Bring It On.

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding

Switching aimlessly around the tv channels the other day there was one program which caught my eye. The colour, the extravagance and the tradition means that this program is my new guilty pleasure.

The dresses are flamboyant and colourful and while they are something that most of us would never wear, there has to be some respect for these young women who know just what they want.

Along with the extravagance of the wedding this documentary gives us a great insight into the lives of young gypsies living in England today. These girls are getting married at 17 or 18 years of age and some are as young as 14 when they get engaged. In today's world it is amazing to see how driven by tradition these people are and how they live their lives by the history of their people. It is also interesting to see how they handle discrimination against them and how they deal with discrimination on a daily basis.

The serious issues of this documentary are very much balanced by the glitz of the weddings and this ensures that this is one program which will have my attention for a long time.

http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/813871-my-big-fat-gypsy-wedding-was-a-show-to-remember

CAO - Deja Vu

There are three letters that transport me straight back to my leaving cert, 4 years ago...CAO. The stress, the panic and the incomprehansible feeling of finality come flooding back to me, I just wish that back then someone would have told me that it was not the end of the world, that  the decisions I made at that time in my life although important were not the be all and end all.

Year after year the CAO deadline approaches and nervous students prepare to make that decision which they feel will shape the rest of their lives. Yet again that date is approaching and it signals to leaving cert students that their exams are fast approaching as seen in the clip from RTE news today below:

http://www.rte.ie/news/av/2011/0130/media-2895872.html#

I can't help but feel that I am in the exact same situation now as I was 4 years ago trying to make up my mind about what college course to study except now I am trying to decide what to do when I finish college. 

If I was to give any piece of advice to students filling out  their CAO today, it would be not to stress over it. Although we feel at the time that it is the biggest decision we will ever make, it is simply not true. We will be making decisions until the day we die be it big, small, professional or personal and although the CAO is important, far greater decisions will be made during the course of our lives.

Black Swan....One of a Kind

After watching Black Swan last night I can honestly say I have never seen a film like it; an intense, psychological thriller which will have you on the  edge of your seat throughout. It is based around Natalie Portman's character Nina, a ballerina who is given the prominent role of the Swan Queen in the production of Swan Lake. This role involves being both innocent and pure as the White Swan and sensuous and dark as the Black Swan. As Nina learns to embody the Black Swan aswell as the White, the role threatens to destroy her.

Full of sex, drugs, catfights, violence and hallucinations this film leaves you with quite an uneasy feeling and leaves you wondering what was real and what was not. This thought provoking work is a tribute to the acting skill of Natalie Portman and the Golden Globe she was awarded was well deserved. She portrays both the pure and dark flawlessly and depicts the descent into insanity in frightening detail. This truly is an unforgettable film that stays with you long after you leave the cinema.

A Country in chaos!!

What is happening to our country? We have just experienced one of the most unbelievable weeks in the history of the state and the drama seems set to continue. With a week that saw a confidence vote in Brian Cowen, the resignation of several senior ministers, the resignation of Brian Cowen as Fianna Fail leader  and now the Green Party's withdrawal from government we must ask ourselves what else can happen.....

The link below explains the Green's reasoning for withdrawing from government:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0123/breaking18.html?via=mr

With a general election fast approaching and the Fianna Fail Party in crisis the question has to be who in their right mind believes that they are the right person to lead Fianna Fail to victory and to restore the faith of the Irish people. I suppose all we can say is; "watch this space"

The Countdown is on!

Ok so who else is starting to panic? Christmas is over and that means the countdown is on to final exams, graduation and then entry into the real world. I for one will admit that I have never been more terrified in my life.

College has sheltered most of us from what has been going on in the real world for four years, I mean when else in your life is it acceptable to go out every night of the week  and sleep until midday. It is only now that we are preparing to move on from our ignorant bliss that the severity of the job market is really beginning to hit home. There has been a drop of 2% in the number of graduates being employed since 2008 and an increase in graduates deciding to pursue further education. This is explained in greater detail in an article from the Irish Independent  as seen below:

http://www.independent.ie/education/going-to-college/graduate-employment-levels-2376237.html

It is difficult to be positive about our futures when we are constantly bombarded with media portrayal of the recession and unemployment. There is no denying that it is a prominant issue in today's world facing young people.

When all is said and done my college days have been the best days of my life to date but as much as I hate to say it, it is time to move on and make new memories. My mother said the other day that it is such an exciting time in my life, finishing college and moving onto the working world and while at the moment I am finding it hard to agree with her, I hope that within the next few months I will  see my future in the positive light that she does. The future is frightening to think about, especially in the times we are living in but for now I will live for today and enjoy my last few months of college.

A White Christmas

                         

We all dream of a white Christmas but this year many Irish people realised that maybe we are better off with our run of the mill green Christmas. Many parts of the country looked as picturesque as the most 

beautiful postcard but the reality was far from the Winter Wonderland we all expected.

The country was sent into disarray and  proved to us that  essentially we are unprepared and unable to deal with the extreme weather. Many of the roads around the country were hazardous and others completely impassable as was reported in The Irish Times on Christmas Eve.This article gives a good indication of just how dangerous our roads really were: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/archive/2010/1224/Pg006.html#Ar00602:03C32607533307B3BD0983CA04D45406B4621503A116D3AF

With airport closures there were many who would not spend Christmas with their loved ones and were instead stranded in airports all over Europe. Usually Christmas eve is a time of celebration and rejoice in Dublin airport as families and friends are reunited but this year because of the continuing downfalls of snow it was a time of disapointment and despair. This news clip from RTE on the 21-12-2010 shows just how bad the traffic in the airport was and the desperation of many people to get home for Christmas.

After all is said and done I have to admit that the snow looks beautiful and is exciting when it first starts to fall. People all over the country act like children and it is accepted. I think however after the Christmas we have just experienced, the people of Ireland will have no problem accepting a green Christmas for the year to come.