Delphi

I was up early today - even before my hotel's buffet breakfast - for a guided one-day tour to Delphi.  The ruins at Delphi are in a beautiful setting in the mountains about 2 hours' drive northwest of Athens.  We were the only tour group there, which was also very nice.  The museum has some amazing artifacts in it, such as a Sphinx statue and a nearly complete bronze statute of a charioteer (I think that's how they spelled it).

The bus was about 1/2 full, and I met a few people from across the world - Malaysia, India, Slovenia, and Brazil, for example.  There was only one other American (who is currently living in Leeds).

However, I am not a huge fan of guided tours.  There is little else to see en route, although the guide tried to make the trip more interesting with information on Greek mythology and other tidbits.  The coffee shop for our morning stop was absurdly expensive (nearly as much as yesterday's lunch), and the afternoon stop was pointless - 15 minutes at a shop in a village.

Still, I'm glad I went, as the trip would have taken forever by public bus.

Here are some photos:

 Temple of Apollo

Slightly confused blogger in front of the theater

Our second tour guide

Treasury of Athens and other monuments / ruins

 

Sightseeing in Athens (Part 1)

I had the day off from teaching today, so I wanted to explore the area a bit.  The choice of what to do was a bit challenging.  I've spent the week largely re-visiting sites I've seen on previous visits - Acropolis, Agora, Kerameikos, Temple of Zeus, etc.  I did manage to do something new on Friday - did a self-guided audio tour of the "original" Olympic stadium (i.e. for the first modern Olympics).

For today (Saturday), I wanted to do something new (even the Olympic stadium wasn't really new - we'd seen it from the outside during our 2007 trip).  I didn't want an all-day trip because I knew I'd be tired from teaching 4 hours a night all week.

After much deliberation in the guidebook and on-line, I decided to tour Eleusis.  See Wikipedia for more information.  Anyway, the site was fascinating and nearly deserted.  It took a bit of time to get there via public transit (2 subway lines and a 30+ minute bus ride), but I put my weekly metro / bus pass to good use!

Here, hopefully, are a couple of pictures:

Random artifacts lying around

Lunch was a slight adventure.  The ruins are in a Elefsina, best known for being the location of Greece's main oil refineries.  Most of the places near the site were cafes or bars, and many other places were closed.  After a while, I was getting pretty hungry.  So I went back to a place that looked like a casual restaurant (Greek version of a diner, really).  Despite being empty, it was open and the woman who greeted me spoke good English.  So I got a hearty plate of salad, fries, pork and chicken  (spit-roasted), pita, and tzatziki.  With a Mythos to drink, it was 8.50, much cheaper than in Athens (and probably better, too).

Now, I'm resting in my hotel room before doing a little work (grading homework).
 

Greetings from Athens

Yep, that's correct.  I figured the best way to feel better about Ireland's economy was to go somewhere even worse - Greece.  No, actually I am teaching an economics class in English (joint program between a Greek university and an American one).  I've done this a couple of times before.

Also, I really like Athens.  I've only been here between October and December, when the weather is quite nice.  This trip, for example, the weather has been in the 50s and 60s.  It has been sunny every day but one, and it only rained for a couple of hours (mainly during lunch, conveniently).

Poor Athens had been treated very poorly in the press.  It is generally a very safe city.  When the demonstrations occur, they occur in the same place.  So, it's pretty easy to avoid.  The only struggle is if a strike results in stuff being closed (museums, monuments, public transportation, etc.).  But the city has plenty of nice parks and gardens, and the strikes rarely last more than one day.

For example, there was a demonstration today, and I didn't even notice (aside from a couple of metro stops being closed).

Today, I toured the old olympic stadium (a pic from my phone):

When the Olympics were about sports, not commercialization

Not sure how many more posts I'll have from Athens, as all the Google Blogger instructions are in Greek, so I'm not sure if I'm choosing "edit", "delete", etc.  I'd expect this kind of behavior from a Microsoft product, but c'mon Google!

By the way, the only down side to this trip is that I'm away from my family (my ladies).  I'm just not that big a fan of traveling alone, especially for this long (12 days).

Ok, let's see if I can add another picture or two (from previous trips with the family - I re-visited these places on this trip, too; and I'm having technical difficulties with the camera).

Atop the Acropolis

Kerameikos

Youghal, Y'all!

We had another long weekend - the October bank holiday weekend.  So we explored the South of Ireland (as FABJ called it) to a place in the county of Cork called Youghal.  The best part of the town is how it is pronounced, which is very close to "y'all".  So I knew that we had to go!

The town is beautiful.  It's near the mouth of a bay, so it has a great location.  It has a bunch of historic buildings, and you can take a self-guided walk with lots of signs and explanations.  Although FABJ and ORBJ didn't have the patience to take the full tour, LBJ and I enjoyed the sites we were able to see (such as the old town walls).  Plus, thanks to a tip from a tennis-playing friend, we had a great lunch in the pub part of a nice seafood restaurant.

We stayed in essentially a town house, i.e. a holiday home.  It had three bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen (and even 3 bathrooms).  It had an indoor pool within walking distance, as well as being walkable to the sea (and a sandy beach).  The water was way too cold to get in, but the girls enjoyed building a few sand castles (as well as playing among the rocks).

OJ on the rocks

We also enjoyed two outings.  The first was to Cobh, a harbor just outside the city of Cork.  It is well known for being the last port of call for the Titanic, as well as the nearest port to where the Lisutania was sunk in 1915.  Plus, it has lots of well preserved Victorian buildlings, not to mention a scenic harbor.

A sunny morning in Cobh

The second was a wild animal park called Fota (also near Cork).  It had a lot of animals around the grounds, and we could explore along a 2km walking path.  The highlight by far was the feeding of the cheetahs.  Basically, they put meat on a zip line and have the animals chase after it (to maintain hunting instincts).  They are definitely fast (and hungry)!

Cheetah version of lunch on a stick

FABJ also got to attend a Halloween party (as our visit was a few days before Halloween).

Does this even need a caption?

Dublin Tennis League

In my continuing attempt to meet tennis players and find a good, regular game of doubles (or singles), I joined a tennis league at the club I joined, Lansdowne Lawn Tennis Club.

The October league is the Floodlight League, on Monday night for men (5 weeks).  Each team has four people, and each match has three courts - one court of doubles and two courts of singles.  The wrinkle is that the allocation of people to singles and doubles is done randomly.  Because you have no idea whether you'll play singles or doubles on a given night, you have to be mentally prepared for either.  This is more difficult than it sounds.

The league has 5 classes; class 1 is the best and class 1 the worst.  Any guesses where Lansdowne LTC put me?  Yep, class 5.  However, the level of play was not bad, and, to be honest, I can lose to a mediocre player just as easily as a good player - ask my teammates back in the U.S.

Although the tennis wasn't great, my teammates were great guys and it was an enjoyable experience.  However, the weather was not great.  The first week it was super windy - I lost one point when the wind blew the ball two feet wide as I was about to hit it.  In my next match, it rained throughout, and the rain picked up in the third set.  Why win in two sets when you can stretch it to three sets in the rain.  Which remind me, the courts here are astroturf with sand underneath, so they are playable in a light to medium rain (or at least good courts are).

Match #3 was near the airport (our opponents were actually called Aer Lingus).  In fact, the directions were to head toward long-term parking.  Fortunately, we found the courts before ending up in long-term parking.

Matches #4 and #5 had good weather (as did #3, actually).

Our last match, the quarter-finals of the playoffs, had good weather.  I just played poorly, so my partner and I lost a doubles close match (7-6, 6-3).  We lost as a team, too, alas.  This was particularly disappointing, as we would have been moved to class 4 next year if we had won. 

It's an interesting system.  Rather than having rankings, the top teams in a class get moved up a class (say from 5 to 4) to the next class and the bottom teams get moved down a class (4 to 5).  I like the system. 

The only flaw is that all new teams are automatically placed in the bottom class, which creates a strong disincentive to forming a new team.  For example, they have a senior league - over 35.  But Lansdowne LTC only has one team, and I'm not quite good enough to make that team.  But I don't really want to try and form a new team and start off in the worst class.

Last, the league has a tradition, like some of the leagues in the U.S., of socializing after the match with tea and sandwiches.  Our team did pizza and beer (in addition to socializing), of course.

It was a lot of fun socially, but the quality of tennis was quite uneven.  I'm not sure what I'll do next year.

2 degrees of bono

You've heard of "six degrees of Kevin Bacon", the idea that no person is more than six degrees of separation from anyone else (or Kevin Bacon in particular).

Ireland is a small country, so I suspect that four or five degrees should just about cover it.

With respect to Bono, I was suprised to learn that I am only two degrees of separation from Bono.  I've had a beer with someone who has had a beer with Bono.

What's even more amusing is that my common link with Bono isn't even Irish.  He's Spanish; we'll call him Mr T.  He has a friend in Silicon Valley who is friends with Bono.  So, when this friend was visiting Dublin, he met with Bono and invited Mr. T along.  Mr T., who said he was nearly asleep (it was 11pm), made the journey of course.

Mr T. is the dad of one of FABJ's friends from school.  The family is taking a work break in Dublin, spending a year learning English.

Our first houseguest

Our first houseguest happily (I think) survived his first visit to Ireland and to Dublin.  Professor M (to protect his identity) visited us from Missouri.  He and I are collaborating on a couple of projects.  He attended a conference in Germany, and he accepted our offer of a stopover in Dublin on the way back to the U.S.

I guess it's not surprising to report that the weather was beautiful up until the day of his arrival.  His arrival day started off cold and windy, but it warmed up and became less windy by the time he arrived.  Given concerns about the weather, FABJ and I took Professor M down to Dun Laoghaire (pronounced Leary) Harbour so he could get a look at the Bay and the boats.  I think a good time was had by all despite a few complaints from FABJ.  But she enjoyed watching a couple of boys fish off the harbour, while Professor M enjoyed a walk to the end of the pier.

FABJ enjoying the pier, even with her eyes closed

LABJ cooked her usual wonderful dinner, and we enjoyed a relaxing evening of food and conversation.

Then, the rain started.  But Professor M, being a successful economist, took the weather as a sunk cost and made the most of his trip to Dublin.  He did a walking tour of Trinity and saw the Book of Kells (highly recommended for visitors), and we had a very nice two-course lunch at a restaurant overlooking Trinity's campus - the Pig's Ear.  The rain was so bad that we got dinner delivered.

On Tuesday, Professor M gave a talk at UCD (and braved the bus to get from our house to campus - two days) and met with some of my colleagues.  After helping me pick up the girls from school / day care, we took a taxi into town to have dinner with colleagues and a visiting prof from U. of Chicago.  It was a nice meal.

Despite horrible traffic and an inability to find a taxi, Prof. M made it to the train station for a trip to Galway and the Connemara.  Sadly for him, the rain stayed with him, while we had nice weather.  But Prof. M assured me that he had a great time out West.

Prof. M and Dublin's liquid sunshne

Check back soon for an update on our second house guest, the one and only Purple Lisa.

wedding of the century

First, a little background.  Back in 2011, LBJ was traveling for work in Africa.  Her mum called the house wanting desparately to talk to her (although she assured me that everything was ok).  She called back the day after LBJ returned.  The reason for excitement was that her cousin (the cousin of LBJ's mum, not LBJ) was getting married.  LBJ's mum finally got approval to share the news and was just dying to tell her.  The bride (POL for her anyminity) is in her 60s and not previous married.  Thus, the wedding preparations were elaborate - hence the title of this post.

FABJ was very excited about the wedding, as she was a flower girl (one of 4, no less).  She was so excited about her new outfit, not to mention that flowers were involved.  ORBJ was excited too and did not seem to mind that she was not a flower girl.

The girls were very well behaved at the start of the wedding.  FABJ even shared her bouquet with ORBJ.  Trouble struck when FABJ wanted her flowers back.  ORBJ did not want to give up the flowers and started to cry.  Loudly.  So LBJ sprang into action, took ORBJ out of the church for a couple of minutes, and magically found a flower to give to ORBJ.  Yet another crisis solved by LBJ, who will be off to the Middle East any day now to broker a better peace deal between Palestine and Israel.

The kids had a very good time at the wedding.  ORBJ was smitten by one of LBJs cousins, who was happy to entertain as he has sons, not daughters.  FABJ played with the other flower girls.  And LBJ and I were entertained by the guests at our table, including a woman with several piercings and tattos.

It was an enjoyable outing for all, even the happy couple getting married.



FABJ making a break because she's not the center of attention.

"But it's not my idea to have my picture taken!"

Now I am willing to have my picture taken, but why can't my dada rotate this picture.

Aaaaargh me hearties!

(Guest post by resident nautical expert)

In honour of national "Talk Like a Pirate Day"

Late August, Dublin was invaded by a fleet of pirate ships - OK, maybe just "tall" ships. 2012 was the first year since 1998 that the tall ships race had visited Dublin - so it was a big deal for the city.  They arrived in Dublin from Lisbon.  The wind was so strong on this leg of the trip that most ships arrived several days ahead of schedule.  We saw one of them sail into the bay while out for our weekly Saturday afternoon race, and I had the pleasure of seeing another one sail up the River Liffy as I was stuck in an all day meeting in a conference room with views over the river. On the final day of the tall ships visit to Dublin, they sailed out of the city centre where they had been moored and across Dublin Bay.  We went down to Dun Laoghaire to view them on their final voyage out from port.  Believe it or not, the weather was stunning as shown by the photo of the two "shady ladies" below.

 

 

The ships were a bit behind schedule - apparently all those pirates had a late night the night before, so we only saw a few of them sail all the way over towards our side of the bay.  The Colombians got their act together first, followed closely by the Mexican ship.

birthday party

FABJ had her 5th birthday party a few weeks back.

Cupcakes (part 1)

At first, we were worried that we would have enough kids for FABJ at the party.

Then, a few days before, we had dinner with a good friend of LBJs (and her husband, of course).  She was going to be in the neighborhood in charge of four boys.  So, of course, we invited them to the party.

The party began with FABJ and a few friends going to see "Brave".  Aside from one scary bear scene, it was enjoyable.  She quite liked the archery parts.  One of her favorite parts of sports camp was archery.

Then, they came back and we were joined by a few more people, including the four boys mentioned above.

The weather was good (i.e. not raining), so the boys ran loose in the garden.  ORBJ had the attention of the for boys' chaperone (who was happy to have a girl for a bit).

The adults seemed to enjoy themselves with the devised by FBJ.

Most importantly, FABJ had fun.  (And we did, too.)

The birthday girl, her sister, and her cousin

Driving in Ireland

Sorry I've been slow on the posting.  I've been quite busy with work - classes start tomorrow and I have two classes this semester (including one I have never taught before).

Driving on the left (i.e. wrong) side of the road is a bit intimidating.  Everything is backwards.  In addition, most of the cars are manual tranmission, so there is an added degree of difficulty of having the gear shift in the wrong location as well.  I'm not all that comfortable with a manual transmission even on the right side of the road.

So, I did everything I could to put off driving.  First, I wasn't insured.  We solved that problem, although the insurance companies decided that 25 years of driving in the U.S. is equivalent to an Irish learner's permit.

Then, I argued that I needed some practice, preferably withouth the kids in tow.  And in a large parking lot with no other vehicles.

This strategy worked for about two months, until LBJ got sick of driving everywhere - especially since we had a substantial number of errands to set up house here (such as Ikea trips).  So, one Sunday morning, LBJ drove to UCD (with the girls in the back), parked, and the adventure began.

Turns out that my fears were largely unfounded.  Aside from drifting too far one way or another (and one instance of going straight in the turn lane without much traffic), I've done fine so far.

The closest thing to a funny story is when we asked the kids if dada could drive in Ireland, ORBJ (age 2.5) replied "You betcha Margie!"

Still, the process of getting a licence has been tedious.  VERY tedious.

First, I had to pass the theory test - the computer-based, multiple-choice test.  I ordered the study book and CD from the library, which took 3 weeks to arrive.  It took another couple of weeks to get a computer with a CD/DVD player to do the practice tests.  I took about 20 tests, passing all of them.

Finally, I scheduled the test - took another 2 weeks to get an open date.

I took the test about the same time as a couple other foreigners (no teenagers that day), and I passed.  I thought I could get my permit there.  Nope - I had to go to the motor vehicle office (where you pay parking tickets, fines, etc.).  But first I had to pass a vision test!  That took another 2 weeks to schedule.  I passed that, too.  Whew!

So I took my application to the motor vehicle office, waited for 20 minutes, and dropped off the paperwork.  A week later, I got my learner's permit!  I now can drive like a 17-year old Irish kid.

Now, all I have to do is take a bunch of driving lessons and pass a driving test, and I can get a full Irish driving license!  Oh, and I need to wait 6 months.  Good thing I got an international driving permit before leaving the U.S. (good for one year).  So I have until May 2013 to complete this process.

Fortunately, one of the other parents in FABJ's school is a driving instructor (saw his car with "AJ's Driving School" on it), so at least I have found my instructor.

U.S. Open Woes

Normally this is one of my favorite times of year.  The weather is nice, and my favorite sporting event is underway.  Nothing more enjoyable to me than sitting back and watching some evening tennis at the U.S. Open after work.

Last year I was without ESPN, but I was able to substitute live streaming on www.usopen.org.

However, I was sad to learn on Monday that the website doesn't work in Ireland.  Instead, I get the following message:

"We're sorry, this stream is not available in your area.  Click here to listen live to U.S. Open Radio presented by American Express."

It looks like Wimbledon or the French Open will become my favorite grand slam, as I get great access via Freesat (see earlier post).  I have no faith in the Australian Open either.

Aside from Queen's club at the two grand slams, it looks like I won't be watching tennis here in Ireland.

There is U.S. Open tennis on Sky Sports channels, but those channels are quite expensive due to all the English Premier League soccer / football they show.

Otherwise, I'm quite happy with the TV situation (Freesat).  I'm becoming a fan of HNK, an English-language channel from Japan.  We're big fans of some of the travel shows, although the accents are a bit odd - sounds like someone trying to sound like an announcer on the Simpsons (i.e. on the shows watched by Homer Simpson).

Quality parenting

Some days you feel like you do a good job as a parent.  Other days not so much.  Then, there was last Thursday.

It started off fine.  It was a warm and sunny morning, so no jacket/fleece was needed.  FABJ rode her new bike as far as grandma and granddad's house (5 minute bike ride for me - 15 to 20 for her) before riding the last part on the kid's bike seat on my bike.

I completely ignored the weather (and basically everything else) while working away in my office after lunch.  Then, as I prepared to leave my office to get FABJ, I noticed that it was drizzling / spitting / however you wish to describe ever-so-slight rain.

I was not thrilled, as FABJ has yet to accept the inevitable fact of Irish weather: sooner or later - usually sooner - it will rain.  Thus, you will get wet.

At least she has the right gear: rain jacket, rain pants, and wellies.

But, when I arrive at camp, I discover that she does not have ANY of her rain gear in her backpack.  We left it all at home!  She doesn't even have a long-sleeve shirt.  I don't have my rain jacket / pants / extra shirt either.

This is not good, even if the rain is very slight.  I will not win any parent-of-the-year awards for cycling next to a busy road (in the bike lane) during rush hour with a kid getting wet.

Then, I remember that I bought a wetsuit for FABJ earlier in the day for use at Irish beaches in the summer (when the later is still freezing).

Well, you can guess what I did next.  Yep, we put her wetsuit on over her t-shirt and leggings at camp, and she rode home in it!  I can only imagine the looks of the commuters who saw us.  Needless to say, we did not stop at grandma and granddad's to pick up the bike that afternoon. 

That is what I call "quality parenting," (note the sarcasm font).

How did FABJ respond? She fell deeply asleep ("sleep sleep", she called it) and had a big grin when we got home. Sometimes, when you least expect it, she can be a real trooper.

Katie Taylor

If you live in Ireland, you know all about her by now.

In case you don't know, she is the sole gold-medal winner for Ireland - women's boxing.  It's very impressive that she won, given the immense pressure on her.  She carried the Irish flag in the opening ceremony.

The country basically shut down around 4:45pm on Thursday during her gold-medal bout.  I never thought that I would be watching her fight and rooting for her in the lobby of the UCD sports center, waiting to pick up FABJ from sports camp.  FABJ was very excited as well when she found out that Katie won the gold.  It makes up for her disappointment from Ireland's disastrous Euro 2012 campaign.

The interview with the state television station RTE Thursday night was hilarious.  The various announcers were gushing with praise for her and her coach.  In fact, the whole country was.  For example, the Taoiseach said:

"She has won the hearts and minds of the Irish people who admire her greatly and love her to bits."

See here for the full quote.

Other officials had equally gushing praise.  In fairness, Ireland won more medals (5) in London since 1956, and it was the first gold since 1992 or 1996 (controversy in 1996 because Michelle Smith was "discredited" but not stripped of her medals - do we count them or not?).

The future is bright  for Katie.  She is expected to make up to a million Euros in endorsements.  And, according to today's Irish Times, "Taylor's football career showed she was destined for greatness."  She was 14 at that time, about the same age when Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.

Getting back to RTE announcers, they've been pretty humorous with their off-the-cuff comments.  I wish I could remember the quote from one of the boxing matches other than "the little boy from Belfast."  Admittedly, Paddy Barnes weighs something like 108 pounds.

Summer camps

This is the first summer that we have had to find summer camps for FABJ to attend.  She finished preschool, called junior infants, at the end of June, and kindergarten (i.e. senior infants) starts at the end of August.  In the U.S., we would have planned to send her to the daycare (which offers aftercare / summer care for preschool kids).  Here in Ireland, however, we had no plan.

We noticed signs for “Camp Blackrock” shortly after arriving here.  I called up, and they had availability in her age group.  So she spent 3 of the 4 weeks in July there.  It was good value, although the young kids (4-6) have a fairly boring schedule aside from swimming for a bit in the early afternoon.  FABJ loved swimming, so she had a great time at the camp.  The swimming was a hit in large part because she normally is in the pool for swimming lessons.  She does not like following instructions, so she does not like swimming lessons.

Given her flair for drama (and the nickname DQ), we enrolled her in drama camp nearby for one week in July.  It finished at 1 each day (unlike 4pm for Camp Blackrock), but it was very close.  She seemed to enjoy that, too, especially since her cousin (who lives just down the road) was also enrolled at the camp.  Her grandparents and I attended the final performance at the end of the week.  She did well but I was hoping for more drama.  Instead, they recite a very short story, sing a song, and dance to another song.

FABJ at drama camp

For August, she is attending the UCD sports camp, which has the convenience (and inconvenience) of being located where I work.  It takes forever when we take the bus (but is an easy and pleasant bike ride), so I’m hoping for good weather the rest of the month.  Anyway, she quite enjoys it, and she’s tired in the evenings.  So far, some of the sports she’s tried include: lacrosse, kickboxing, yoga, volleyball, climbing, bouncy house (did not know this was a sport!), trampoline-ing, soccer, hockey, and athletics (which appear to be games).  She seems to enjoy pretty much all of them.  Here she is on the rock climbing wall – she got as high as 8 or so feet (not bad for an almost five year old).  A few days later, she climbed to the top (over 20 feet up) twice.  The student assistant was quite impressed with that feat, and FABJ was also very excited.  She certainly has the build for rock climbing.

FABJ on the UCD climbing wall

Overall, she seems pretty happy with camp.  Her biggest complaint appears to be transportation to and from camp, as I don’t drive her there (more on driving in a future blog entry).  In future summers, we hope to spend some of the time on holidays.  But with LBJ in a new job and no reimbursement on moving expenses, our only holiday was a long weekend over a bank holiday (i.e. a day that LBJ got off from work, like Labor Day in the U.S.).  Paid days off from work tend to be bank holidays, what seem like random days off, rather than holidays with names like Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc.

Cute photo of ORBJ - looks like her mum

Holiday - Day 4

Our last day of the holiday began without rain for once.  We loaded up the car and headed off for breakfast (another Irish fry up).  After breakfast, FABJ asked where the box of toys was.  We soon determined that it was back at the rental house, so we headed back (only 10 minutes’ drive away).

Our plan of the day was to visit Warrenpoint (on the way back to Dublin) and hopefully take the passenger ferry to Omeath.  We took the mountain road for variety.  The scenery was beautiful, but it distracted me from my navigational duties, so we wasted an extra 10 minutes thanks to me.

We arrived in Warrenpoint a bit before 11, and I foolishly thought the ferry stopped at 11.  So I rushed off with FABJ to find the ferry.  I found the dock but no sign of people.  Then, two people (who looked like tourists) went down the ramp to the pontoon.  FABJ and I followed, only to discover that the boat they approached was headed to the Isle of Man (and was a sailboat).  So then we headed off to the tourist booth a few blocks away.  Meanwhile, ORBJ needed the potty, and we were nowhere to be found.  Good thing we had her potty in the trunk (boot).

But I didn’t win any father of the year of awards for running off on a wild goose chase for the ferry.

After eventually returning to the car and LBJ and FABJ, we called the ferry phone number, which went straight to voice mail.  So we gave up and took the girls to a nice playground nearby with great views.  Then we headed to the main part of town (a walk nearby) for lunch.

Is this playground as good as a ferry ride?

On the walk back to the car after lunch, FABJ spotted the ferry coming in.  We looked at each other and decided to give it a try.  But then the boat went toward the commercial dock rather than the pontoon.  So I convinced the family to head toward that dock, only to have the boat turn and head toward the pontoon.  So we got some extra walking, but we had plenty of time to reach the ferry.

The ferry ride was quite enjoyable – great views of Carlingford Louch.  The girls enjoyed it quite a bit.  We poked around Omeath a couple of minutes before taking the return trip back.

Girls enjoying the ferry trip (honest!)

Scenic town of Warrenpoint

Carlingford Louch

The kids were exhausted from the trip and slept much of the drive home (under 2 hours).

Sadly, we arrived to a flooded garden level (i.e. basement).  LBJ did a great job of cleaning up with my assistance.  We finally ate a meal in our dining room – Thai take away.

No good!

It was an enjoyable and well-needed vacation.  LBJ and I agree that we’d like to spend future bank holiday weekends exploring other parts of the country.  We have plenty of time and places to explore.

Holiday Day 3

Once again, we woke up to cloudy skies but no rain.  Again, rain descended upon us during breakfast, a proper Irish fry up (without pudding, though).  Our strategy of heading north worked well originally, aside from getting stuck in traffic for a car boot sale (like a garage sale, except that the stuff is in the trunk/boot of the car rather than your garage) in Dundrum (the village in Northern Ireland, not the shopping center in Dublin).  We eventually found the castle and enjoyed poking around the castle ruins.  Our next plan was to do a coastal walk, but the Dundrum coastal walk was thwarted by all the car boot sale traffic.  So we found a spot with beach access (for the kids), but the rain was too great.

Ruins of Dundrm Castle

So we headed back to Newcastle, where – surprisingly – the rain had stopped.  So we let the kids explore the beach again, although we chose a different spot for at least a little variety.  After working up an appetite, we headed off for lunch on the main strip.  We planned to go to a place recommended in LBJ’s guide book, but it was way down the other end of the strip.  It took forever and the kids were not amused by the forced march.  Still, it was a good lunch – lamb burger for LBJ and fish and chips for me.  LBJ kindly got the car (a short walk away sans kids) while I got ice cream for all of us.

Again, the weather improved during nap, so we took the kids to a nearby beach recommended by the owner of our rental farmhouse.  It is a blue flag beach, a designation for clean water.  The girls had a great time splashing in the cold water under LBJ’s supervision, at least once their swimming shoes were removed.  They are too young to understand that swimming shoes can get wet.  FABJ even swam around a little bit.

ORBJ does not like cold water on her feet

Wading into the Irish Sea

Holiday Day 2

The day was off to a reasonable start.  It was overcast but pretty.  However, by the time we got of the house for breakfast, the weather was looking worse.  By the time we finished breakfast, it was raining.  I went next door for tourist recommendations while LBJ and the kids looked around the harbor.

We decided for a scenic drive up the coast to Newcastle, either for better weather or at least to kill some time.  Somehow, in the 10 or so miles up the coast, the rain stopped.  So we parked the car and headed off to the beach so the kids could run around.  LBJ explained that the cool and overcast weather is typical of a beach holiday in Ireland, so I should adjust my expectations.  Not having any beaches of note in Iowa, my beach experiences were primarily Florida and, more recently, the Caribbean or Hawaii.

FABJ and ORBJ enjoying a typical Irish beach holiday

The kids had a great time as we explored different parts of the promenade and beach.  I moved the car to the end of the beach where the family migrated, making a wrong turn and ending up in the Lidl parking lot.  So, we decided to stock up on groceries and headed home for lunch.

The weather continued to improve during ORBJ’s nap, and we left the house with positively sunny skies for an afternoon hike in the Mourne Mountains.  It was a wonderful experience (I’m more of a hiker than a beachcomber) with glorious weather and amazing mountain views, topped off by ice cream to celebrate a successful hike in Silent Valley Mountain Park.  The park even had a nice playground.

Beautiful weather for a hike!

We returned home for a dinner of leftovers followed by some Olympic watching.  It was a good day.

Holiday arrival

After a tiring cross-continent move, we have been ready for a holiday (i.e. a vacation) since we arrived.  We finally got such a holiday this past weekend, where Monday was a holiday (i.e. a day off for LBJ).  The plan for the holiday was to find a house / apartment to rent where LBJ would only have to drive approximately 2 hours.  I got a late start on planning, so we quickly leaned toward Northern Ireland because Monday was not a holiday there.

Specifically, we chose a nice farmhouse near the town of Kilkeel, about two hours away.  It’s in the Mourne Mountains, which are amazing, and we could see the Irish Sea out the window (in the distance).  It was a great home for our needs – the fact it had only one bathroom was never a problem.

The weekend did not get off to an amazing start.  I was running late getting the girls from camp / daycare (called a crèche here) and getting packed.  I forgot a few items like diapers for ORBJ – good thing the place had a washing machine as we arrived too late to go shopping on Friday.  I slipped and fell on the back steps trying to take out the compost.  Eventually, I managed to get the kids in the car and drive without LBJ’s assistance / navigation to our meeting spot (a parking lot) near work.

The kids were a little cranky, as was I, and LBJ did not get her afternoon coffee.  A pit stop for coffee, a playground, and a snack helped, but it meant that we arrived after 7pm.  We arrived at the outskirts of Kilkeel, where our rental is on the other side, to learn that the main route through down is closed due to a band parade.  I need to learn more about these parades, but my sense is that this parade, by the Mourne Young Defenders, is a chance for youth to show their partisan spirits.  In this case, I think they are Ulster Scots.  We noticed a lot of Union Jack flags around, which is not necessarily great for our car with Dublin / Ireland plates.

While there, I read a newspaper article detailing a recent “merger” of three extremist republican groups (i.e. groups wanting to unite Northern Ireland and Ireland), although the article implied that the groups did not have much sway.  Still, it hinted at the possibility of random violence.  This saddened me, especially since everyone I met was very friendly and helpful, and the place was quite beautiful.  Still, I got the sense that towns (or at least neighborhoods) were deeply divided, even now, between Catholic (Republican) and Protestant (Unionist).

Anyway, the second set of police was able to direct us around the parade and we eventually found the rental without further difficulty.  We even had a greeting party of several sheep.  Later in the weekend, I mistook their bleating for a car alarm – clearly, I’ve been living in cities for too long.

More on the holiday, including pictures, in the next post.

Olympics

I am not a huge fan of the Olympics, particularly the coverage in the U.S.  But it has been a pleasant change watching them here.  One of the main differences is the lack of ads on the BBC and RTE.  In the U.S., the Olympics feel like a giant advertisement.

Even better is the random commentary from our kids.  We were watching the some gymnastics the other afternoon, and ORBJ pipes up excitedly “Look, he’s upside down” as one gymnast is, well, upside down on the rings.  There were other random comments that I can’t remember.  Perhaps a “You betcha Margie!” (it’s important to teach half-Iowan kids important phrases from Fargo.)

Another enjoyment is the random sports featured on BBC1 or BBC3 (BBC2 has other programming like El Cid, our friend RB’s favorite movie, no doubt).  I’ve seen some sailing, men’s (field) hockey, badminton (mixed doubles), women's weightlifting (not the highlight), synchronized diving (also not the highlight), and rowing, as well as the old favorites like swimming, gymnastics, and basketball.  Also tennis – saw Serena Williams destroy her first-round opponent, as well as Andy Murray losing his doubles match with his brother.

This evening, FABJ, LBJ, and I made the swimming more exciting by picking (different) swimmers to win.  Our attempts to teach FABJ basic probability fell on deaf ears, though.  I tried to point out that she did quite well by picking the person who finished second out of eight, but she was disappointed that her swimmer finished behind LBJ’s.

The Irish are still waiting to get their first medal, although they’ve had some solid results in sailing (two races done out of 11).  And they have a few good boxers, perhaps not surprisingly – it involves fighting and it is done by weight.

Oddly, the BBC call it “Team GB” here – what about Northern Ireland?!)  I loved how people at the University of Kentucky call the UK "the other UK", as though the University of Kentucky is the center of the universe.  (A friend of mine half-jokingly called Rupp Arena the center of the universe.)

Updates

First, the hostage situation was diffused without casualties.  It was surprisingly easy.  LBJ called the customs people.  Someone actually answered the phone.  A week or so later, the wine glasses arrived (without paying any VAT).

The second update is on my work computer.  The monitor finally arrived on Monday.  I was very excited.  But the computer didn’t work.  Specifically, nothing would show up on the screen.  This was the same problem I had with a couple of different monitors (borrowed from elsewhere in the department), so I was quite disappointed.  I suspected that part of the problem lay in the cables.  Dell provided a VGA cable, but the computer has a DVI connection.  Dell included an adapter, but I don’t think it works.  I went into city center (as they call it here) for a meeting on Tuesday, so I went to an electronics store (where LBJ got our transformer for running our wine fridge and mixer, which we brought from the U.S.) and got a DVI cord.

Lo and behold, the computer worked fine when I hooked up the cord.  I had a few challenges installing Microsoft Office because I didn’t realize that the computer had a preloaded “starter” version (that doesn’t really work) as well as the version I downloaded from the university IT website (i.e. the version licensed for staff).  But I eventually worked that out.

All I need for my work computer is a copy of Stata.  I could have more challenges here.  Although there is a “spare” license I can use, all the department's licenses expire in late August.  One of my colleagues has inquired (multiple times) about getting a renewal, but he is not optimistic.  So I plan to run a lot of Stata between now and late August and hope for the best.

Work

I started work at the beginning of the month.  It was very low key starting an academic job in July, particularly in Ireland.  There are no summer classes, so the place is VERY quiet.

Preparations for the start of work went well.  First, I went to school, chatted with the department head, and figured out which office would be mine.  The offices are pretty similar, but I opted for the one with relatively more light and more modern furniture.  As that office isn’t available until August, I’m spending July in an office with furniture from the 1970s.  Plus, the office has lots of old papers and books, as the previous occupant died a couple of years ago (not in the office, literally).

I was even pleased that I could order my computer in the last week of June.  That way, I would have my PC shortly after starting work.  Despite warnings about atrocious customer service, I went with Dell because my last 3 (if not more) work computers were from Dell.  The computer arrived later that week, but the monitor was delayed.

Alas, the monitor still hasn’t arrived.  I borrowed another monitor, but the PC didn’t work with that monitor.  Dell, as I was warned, has provided no help on the monitor’s location.  Apparently one was shipped long ago, but it never arrived on campus.  Another monitor was due to arrive last week, but it still hasn’t.  If needed, I’ll use the monitor left behind in the office I’ll inherit in August.  Ugh!  So I’ve been lugging my “netbook” to work every day, focusing on teaching / referee reports rather than research.

I have plenty of teaching work.  A schedule change has me teaching two classes in the fall / autumn semester.  One of the classes is a new prep – a non-majors class with 300+ students and no textbook.  Although the previous professors shared their notes, I’ll probably make a bunch of changes (I’m just that way).  Fortunately, the other class is one I’ve taught in the U.S. a couple of times, and my U.S. syllabus is quite similar to the one taught last year.

I’ve gradually been meeting colleagues (I knew a few people before arriving), and they’re quite nice.  So I’m hopeful about the job, at least once my PC arrives!

Tennis in Ireland

The first difference between the U.S. and Dublin is that there are not really public courts in Dublin, at least not in the part where I live.  Although there are a fair number of courts in parks, one needs to belong to the appropriate association / group in order to play on the courts.  For example, these courts are in a park about a ten-minute walk from my house (http://www.carraigtc.ie/).  The courts are not in very good shape.  So far, I haven’t tried this club.

Another big difference is the surface of the courts.  Here, the courts are Astroturf with sand underneath.  Apparently, these are the only courts that are playable in this lovely climate.  It simply rains too much for hard courts – they’d be wet all the time.  It even rains too much for clay courts (and they’re a lot more work to maintain).  They are not so bad, but they are different – like a slow hard court (not good for my serve-and-volley style).

There is a nice club about five minutes’ walk from the house.  And it has a bar on site.  Furthermore, the annual fee includes a tab for the bar.  But it is not accepting members at the moment.  However, they anticipate that they will have an opening in the fall or winter, as there is a lot of turnover in membership.  Still, they let me come down and hit one evening.  Too bad that it was VERY windy and I hadn’t played in six weeks.  So I was terrible.  Still, I enjoyed meeting some people, and we had a pint afterwards while watching Wimbledon (Federer’s five-set match against Benneteau).  I fear that they were trying me out for their league team, and I failed.

In the meantime, I have joined the staff / grad student tennis club at University College Dublin.  It’s what they call here “cheap and cheerful”.  Membership is only 45 euros a year, and they have free court time on Monday and Thursday evenings.  My first event was a mixer – what they called a summer barbeque.  It was a mixed doubles round-robin followed by burgers (or hot dogs) and beverages.  Two or three were similar in ability, so I’m hopeful that I can arrange matches with them.  It was very multinational – I talked to people from Spain, France, Columbia, and Mauritius.  Rumor has it that another person from Iowa is a member of the club!

They have leagues and tournaments here as in the U.S.  I have learned a bit about a couple of the leagues, which I’ll share.  In the U.S., each player has a ranking, and then plays in leagues against people of similar rank.  It works pretty well aside from the people who are more interested in winning than in being ranked accordingly.  In Ireland, the leagues are divided like football (soccer) into divisions.  The top teams move up a division, and the bottom teams move down.

Another league is quite interesting, although I’ve forgotten the name of it.  Each match has four players.  The four names are put in a hat.  Two people chosen at random play singles, and the other two play doubles.  I think I’d like this league, as I’m happy playing singles or doubles.

I’ll conclude this post with a mention about tennis in Kentucky.  My tennis team finished third, and the first two teams make the playoffs.  However, my team got a wild card to the playoffs (because another team decided not to attend or because they needed another team to have the right number of teams overall).  However, we couldn’t field a team (I obviously could not attend).  It was the first time I’d made the playoffs in 6 years of tennis in Kentucky – bummer!

Grand theft candy

Our older daughter FABJ is enjoying summer camp, which is an easy 5 minute bike ride (with her in the bike seat) up the road.  The highlight is that she gets to go to the pool every day.  Moreover, she is not told what to do when in the pool, which was a major drawback to swimming lessons.  In general, she hates to be told what to do (except sometimes at school), which is a major drawback to learning just about anything (to read, to play tennis, to swim, etc.).  But she can swim and gets to go in the “second pool” without floaties, unlike the kids stuck in the “first pool” with their floaties.

Anyway, on Tuesday I pick her up, and she’s in an even better mood than usual.  She explains how she bought some candy at the “tuck shop.”  As far as I can tell, this is a shop in the school selling candy and other items to make money for the school.  Now I am a bit confused because a) she doesn’t have any money and b) the teacher told me that the shop was only open on Monday and Friday (i.e. not Tuesday).  So I foolishly ask how she bought the candy.  She goes into great detail that she “found” a two-euro coin at the art table.  Then she talked somebody into exchanging this two euros for some candy on a day other than the designated candy days.  This is not the kind of skill I want my daughter to have, but it was hilarious to hear her explain how logical the entire process was.  She had a look of utter disbelief as LBJ explained that if she found money in the future, she needed to give it to the teacher (to be returned to the kid who lost the two euros) rather than spend it on candy!

Here, I should point out that genetics are likely in play here.  My father went on leave at Stanford when I started first grade.  The teacher asked the class whether they preferred reading or recess.  To me, it seemed like a very stupid question.  Of course I wanted recess!  Apparently, we were supposed to ask our parents.  I knew my preference and did not feel the need to ask my parents.  When they found out about this situation a few weeks into the school, I suspect they had a similar reaction – laughter combined with fear about the teenage years.  Luckily for my parents, laziness and growing up in the middle of nowhere in Iowa largely kept me out of trouble as a teenager.

Furniture!

Finally, our furniture arrived on Saturday.  Needless to say, we’re very excited to have all our stuff.  There was one casualty, though.  The stand for LBJ’s mirror, from her grandmother (from her grandmother – it’s old), was damaged.  However, we believe that the stand can be fixed (using the insurance money). 

Otherwise, the move went pretty smoothly.  The grandparents kindly watched the grandkids for quite some time.  In practice, grandma watched the kids for much of the day alone.  Grandad went sailing (despite the lousy weather).  And LBJ’s brother, who was in town visiting, went off to town for much of the day.  So grandma deserves a gold star.  The kids seemed to have a good time.

They were very excited to wake up on Sunday morning with all their toys.  But the fascination was short lived.  By Tuesday, FABJ claimed that she would be SO bored if she wasn’t allowed to watch a DVD before dinner.  She must have cried for 10 minutes (I was busy cooking dinner and ignored the melodrama).

We exhausted ourselves unpacking (particularly LBJ, who unpacked nearly all the kitchen herself), but the place looks quite good.  LBJ did an excellent job of arranging our stuff.  Just need to figure out where to put all the stuff on the walls.

Next up is to sort out the tennis situation.  More on that soon…

Thank goodness for electronics

My last post complained about the lack of stuff – glass half empty (more like 80 percent) sort of stuff.

Now I’ll try to look on the bright side.  I am very grateful for the iPod and the docking station we purchased.  What little furniture we have is concentrated on the lower level (garden level or basement, depending on your point of view).  So I spend a nontrivial amount of time down there, often listening to music.
Lately, I have been amused by my rather eclectic musical library, with interesting sequences of songs.

Yesterday (which is indeed gone now), ORBJ (younger daughter) was very cute and she was shaking her fists (her version of dancing) to a somewhat obscure 80s hair band, Tesla.  The song – Yesterdaze Gone – did have a good beat.  She continued with the next selection of Abba’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man after Midnight).”

This morning had more amusing playlists such as Motley Crue, Jay Farrar, the Doors, the Cure, and Billy Joel.  All good stuff, but I’m not sure how many people would enjoy all the songs.

Here I should point out that a substantial part of my CD collection is from the late 80s and early 90s (which included my college years), where I joined, cancelled, and rejoined the BMG music club a few times.  Through careful purchasing, I bought 100 or so CDs for an average price of $3-$4.  Even now, it seems like a good use of my summer and part-time job money (grading papers, washing dishes, etc.).  During my time in San Francisco, I added to my CD collection via the clearance isles at Amoeba Records in the Haight.

Finally, I love watching Wimbledon the BBC.  I will love it even more after the Brits (other than Murray) lose so I can watch the best matches instead.