I’m officially a southsider, a towny in the making.

I finally live within walking distance of work and shops and other places that are useful which rocks.

The place is completely upside down with all of my clothes spewing out of suitcases and rucksacks and barely an inch of floor space to be seen anywhere apart from the bathroom and the hallway.

But I’m in. All of me is finally under one roof and this make me very happy.

See you for tea soon (soon as we find the tea).

Moving house is a pain in the bum. Through the changing circumstances of friends and others around me I’ve had to move house during the last two summers. I always forget how much stuff I have, I forget how long it takes to pack, I forget how much cleaning, sorting and nesting needs to be done before a new house becomes home. And that’s *after* you find somewhere to move to.

Now more than ever it feels like there’s not enough hours in the day. There’s so much good stuff on like the Carlsberg Comedy Carnival and the Festival of World Cultures. I have a stack of blog posts, articles and books I’m egging to read and now that the world cup is over good movies are hitting the cinemas once more. I haven’t had a chance to get to grips with the new version of WordPress yet or written about useful geeky things I’ve come across at work. I haven’t had a chance to get a haircut!

Hopefully in about 2 weeks time this will change. Living in town is going to give me back on average 2 hours per day. That’s a gain of 14 hours a week.

I’m determined to make good use of this gain. It’s probably going to be a challenge given I could easily spend one of those extra hours a day in bed in the morning by delaying the alarm clock!

It’s going to be an interesting and hopefully fruitful challenge.

BRB.

The 21st of June – the longest day of the year – holds some bad memories for me. In short, while en route to a family funeral on June 21st 2007 I answered a call from my dad where he told me that his cousin whom I was very close to has passed away. A bad day, thankfully I haven’t seen the like of since and hopefully will never see again.

I’m not sure if it was the unexpectedness of her passing or the fact that there were two hugely emotional losses so close together that I feel I haven’t yet gotten over her death.

Sitting in the National Library on Monday night as Cerys sang the opening bars of Spancil Hill with her acoustic guitar I was transported directly back to sitting in her beautiful cottage in Clare around Christmas. She would organise a gathering of the family circles to sing songs, read poems and tell stories. No televisions, no phones, just people enjoying each other’s company and talents. It was magic.

The same week I find myself wishing hard she was still around for a chat, a cup of tea and a slice of her honest opinion.

Isn’t it amazing the impact people can have on you?

Wherever you are AnnaMay, I hope the sun is shining on you. Wish you were here.

It’s getting quite a lot of coverage since being released last weekend but I enjoyed it so much I think it’s worth another wee push. I was lucky enough to see a preview of it a few months back in the Lighthouse cinema in Smithfield which I think might be just the place to try see it yourself being more cosy and intimate.

His & Hers is a documentary that follows the life of an Irish woman in the midlands from toddler to pensioner but told through the eyes of over 70 different ladies. It’s a really interesting concept for a movie provoking all sorts of questions while being beautifully shot and edited. A film with so many different characters must have been a major challenge to piece together coherently but it is done so excellently and the film flows seamlessly as a complete narrative.

The movie has been receiving a fantastic reaction both nationally internationally, most notably picking up an award at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. It’s funny, entertaining, moving and something that most Irish people will identify with – after all, between the lot of us we’ve all surely had a grandmother, a mother, a sister or a daughter at some stage of our lives.

It’s on nationwide release since last week. You can find out more about where to catch it here and meet the cast of 70 fun and fascinating ladies here. Thanks to Element Pictures for the chance to see it. Enjoy

Via @rtefrontline on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rtefrontline/status/9306422748

1. David Parkes’ Christmas Hits on repeat (cassette version too for a nice old school crackle)
2. Fixing the Christmas tree lights
3. Myself and the sisters wearing Santa hats *all* the time
4. Drinks and chats at my Nana’s before midnight mass on Christmas eve
5. The annual Christmas day swim fundraiser for the RNLI after morning mass in New Quay

The first one on that list is particularly close to my heart. It was an RTE production of the classic Christmas songs along with a cracking ‘disco’ medley at either end. The cassette has been wheeled out and left in the stereo every Christmas for as far back as I can remember and has been the sound I associate with being at home in Clare for the festive season.

I had a look online last week to see if perchance it ever came out on CD or there was still some way of getting a copy of it as I’m sure the cassette is bound to wear through sooner rather than later. To my delight and surprise it’s available on iTunes for €8.99! You can even get the individual medleys on their own if that’s your pleasure. Can’t believe it was released in 1992 – where the heck do the years go? I was still writing letters to Santa then!

Happy disco dancing

For someone in their early 20′s (barely!) that seems like forever. That’s at least 10,950 cups of tea between them. Yikes.

It’s wonderful, truly amazing considering the ups and downs they’ve faced along the way.

They’ll probably kill me but mam was 25 and dad 22 when they tied the knot in the 70′s. It’s really comforting for someone of a similar age to look at them and think that despite being so young and still very wet behind the ears, I shouldn’t be afraid to make big decisions and leaps of faith.

Congrats & enjoy the next 30

So where was I this time last year?

Ouch

This time last year I was living in the apartment I’m now looking across the rooftops at. Luckily, this apartment was quite compact and all on a single level as I tore ligaments in my left ankle and was resigned to crutches for about 3 weeks, unable to stand or walk on it. It was horrendous for someone as independent in mind as I am. But it helped me learn a lot of things about myself and people close to me at the time that I thought I could rely on so not all bad

I had time booked off work to (finally) take a holiday for the first time in nearly a year but had to leave booking it till the last minute as I wasn’t too hot on the idea of spending a holiday abroad on sticks. Thankfully it all worked out and I got to book a trip to France sans crutches where my long-held romantic notions of the country were confirmed. The food, the wine, the landscape and cityscape of Lyon and the Rhone Valley, the lifestyle, the attitudes. I loved it. Lesson learned: holidays are really good for you.

In summary, things were pretty good – nice new place to live, job I loved, had started learning to drive and in the full of my health (well, from the knees up anyway!).

And this year?

Right now, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I’m thankfully still in the job I love, in the full of my health, living in a lovelier (and cheaper!) new place with a great family and group of friends around me none of which I’ll ever take for granted. And I’ve found my best friend.

So, where were you this time last year?

In the past week/10 days I’ve seen a fantastic production of The Rivals at The Abbey, saw David O’Doherty record a fantastic live gig at Whelans and got to go along to the wonderful Bugs Bunny on Broadway at the National Concert Hall.

In between and around all of that I’ve got to meet some fantastic new people, catch up with friends I love, move into a new house, spend Sunday in Croke Park watching a great game of hurling, eat, drink, sing & dance. I’ve got a job I love, a wonderful family and friends around me and we’re all in pretty good health.

I’m not bragging. I’m just high as a kite & realise that I can’t take any of this for granted. I’m incredibly lucky and grateful for my lot in a time when so many are probably struggling to find the motivation to get out of bed in the morning.

I’m off out for a crazy day of adventure and (hopefully) fun with a wonderful fella.

Whatever you do today, I hope you have a great one. Sure maybe even see you out there

Moving on up?

The loathing is mainly caused by the amount of stuff I have. 7 years of renting in Dublin means I have accumulated quite a lot of gear. When I moved last summer it took my poor dad 4 trips with his big-ass Ford Scorpio & a lot of lifting. Since then I’ve been to Ikea twice & that’s enough said right there.  I want to do a serious clear-out this time around & need some advice on the hows and wheres of recycling my unwanted gear.

• Clothes - I have lots I want rid of. Not torn or destroyed, just well-worn. Who should I give to/where/how?
• Books - talking nerdy stuff here that’s probably out of date such as the Director MX 2004. Straight into the recycling bin or stow away in the attic to laugh at it in years to come?
• Packing - considering using those vacuum bag things but haven’t used them before – are they any good? Any caveats/recommendations ?
• Moving - (all going well) I’m moving to a house within the same little development I currently live in. It’s a 5 minute walk from my 3rd floor apartment down to the house around the corner. A shopping trolley would be ideal for moving but sadly, I don’t own one. Ideas for an alternative or have you got a trolley I can borrow?

Advice on any of the above would be superb, particularly the clothes side of things. Oh and of course, like I said last time, I’m never moving again