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.