Barbra Streisand.

Today, I got a bag of chips- salt and vinegar, they were delicious- and besides having the brand name "Hunky Dorys" there were some other quirky things going on with this bag. On the back, there's some info that I think I should share with you people.
Exhibit A (reads as follows): "Allergy Advice: Doesn't contain Kryptonite (but does contain Wheat (Gluten))"
Next, the "Storage Conditions: Treat Hunky Dorys like Gremlins, Keep them cool, dry & away from bright lights &strong flavors."
And finally, the description of the flavor ends with a universal call for eaters of these crisps to: "Tingle on my friend. tingle on."
So next time somebody describes their current state of well-being as "tingly like a crack addict" you now know why. Hunky Dory salt and vinegar chips are crack and they've just consumed some.

P.S.
I know I already did a post of music videos in Ireland and the UK, but come on, music changes, and if this music video had been out at the time it definitely would have made it into my top 8.
Go Barbra Streisand!
Barbra Streisand by Duck Soup

Battle of the Doors!

So, here's how it is:
Our apartment door is situated in an alcove off of the main hallway in our apartment building. Straight across from our door, sharing our alcove,  is the door to apartment 12.

At some point during August/September, our apartment hit a coloring book obsession point. Cranking out pages a day, our apartment soon became decorated with random festive Disney villains. At the same time, we also found the phrase "Shit just got real!" to not only be hilarious but also to be a great catch-phrase. Combine these two things and you got our front door: A bad-ass looking Sher Khan with the phrase "Shit just got real!" written underneath it. We thought we were really cool, and everyone who visited commented on how appropriate it all was. Then our neighbors decided to disturb the peace.
One day, we opened the door of our apartment only to be greeted with this gem of a sign on our neighbor's door:  "Shit just got realer?"

Clearly, this meant war.
Our retaliation came in the the form of another sign "Shit just got Most real! P.S. it's on"

Then, apartment 12 pulled off the unbelievable.
A couple days later, Molly and I proceeded to have our minds blown. Upon exiting the apartment, we were greeted by a sign reading: "Shit just got surreal" accompanied by a banana, also taped to the door, with a face drawn on it.

Damn witty bastards.
We still have no worthy come back, but the banana has since rotted and been disposed of, which I feel is slightly the same as victory.

But Jaffa Cakes...

Today, I went to the store and discovered the best thing ever: Jaffa Cakes.

Important men talking about Jaffa Cakes

Diagram of a Jaffa Cake

That's right, this is not only a hilarious nickname for Jaffar (courtesy of Aladdin and the Cave of Cheeseburgers) but a delicious cookie! Described as: "a golden sponge cake base with an orange flavoured centre half coated in plain chocolate" Jaffa Cakes are all that is good in this world!

Off Brand Jaffa Cakes

sports dude presumably eating a jaffa cake!

In the past three days I have consumed a grand total of 54 Jaffa Cakes. Molly thinks i'm addicted. She's planning on holding an intervention. I told her I wasn't going to attend unless she was serving Jaffa Cakes.

(a very informative and weird video i found concerning jaffa cakes. P.S. i DO NOT eat them this way. at all.)


What is this crazy jaffa cake??

HOSTILE TAKEOEVER!!!

Hostile
Cons:
-They didn't even hose us down! Don't know how they plan on keeping out disease.
-I was forced to be in close contact with 34 other human beings for over 48 hours. Must of whom were hipster/indie kids.
-"Molly, does this bunk bed seem stable to you?"
-ratio of 3 showers to 28 girls is a 'cause for panic.
-no running water from 8pm-8am = no flushing the toilet.
Pros:
-I didn't have to pay for it
and it makes for great puns such as "Hostile Takeover" that you can endless giggle about during class.

Quintessential Ireland

A little summary for those who want to read about my life:

The many fields of Inisheer.

Last weekend, Molly and I went on a field trip to Inisheer (the smallest of the three Aran Islands) for our Folklore class. The island itself was fairly small, with a population of around 700, and by the end I was definitely experiencing cabin fever and ready to punch my 34 other class mates. Yet, it has definitely been my favorite trip thus far! The entire island was my ideal Ireland, all the cliche things you think of when you picture the Irish countryside were present (plus a ridiculous amount of rocks. Even if you imagine a multitude of rocks in the first place, I assure you, there were far more then you thought possible). First of all, all the land was split up into small fields by man made rock walls, the only parts that weren't fields were the small town center, the 4 roads, and right along the coast line. Speaking of the coast line, IT WAS SO TOTALLY WICKED! Parts were cliffs, there was a light house and a ship wreck, but the majority was just a lot of rocks, but still really cool. Other great sites included the ruins of a castle up on a hill and the wild life (and by wild life, I mean the random apperance of domesticated animals). The castle was cool, not to mention totally climbable, and the view was quite spectacular. The animals were always entertaining. There were horses, and cows, and this sheep that fell off a wall, but the best were the dogs that would follow you around!
Besides forcing Molly to hike around the island approximately 2 1/4 times, we spent way too much time cramped in a hostel with 34 other people. We took over the hostel (HOSTILE TAKEOVER!) so there was no one else to worry about, but still, there only so much of other people that I can take. We played a lot of cards and bananagrams.
The ferry ride there was awesome 'cause we got drenched and saw a seal. The ferry ride back sucked 'cause I got sea sick and then had to endure about 3 more hours on a bus. But overall it was awesome, and I shall post more of the fun little stories and pics from the trip in another post...'cause i'm lazy and this post is getting too long!

Meet Margaret!

May I just start off by saying: there are way too many Margarets in my life!
First, we got Mrs. B, or Poggy, future gardener of by English estate. Then Magz, my joyful freshmen roommate. And now, two more Irish Margarets. The first being my land lady Margaret. She is quite the interesting lady. Upon moving in she gave us bedding and offered ethernet cables, hair dryers, hair straighteners, converters, blankets to our heart's content. Then she insisted on making our beds. She literally would not let me make my own bed. We later found out the reason for her being able to offer us all these goods. Turns out she's kinda a horder. She basically keeps what ever students don't want at the end of the semester, which is very economical of her, but kind hilarious to see the office and "The room of spare chairs".  The office holds just about anything, tons of books, purses, blankets, sweatshirts, even a guitar, all for the taking. The room of spare chairs is a place that only my roommate Amadea has gotten to venture so far when her chair broke and Margaret brought her down to get a new one, but we all see it on our way out of the building since one of the walls is made of glass...it's kinda reminiscent of abstract art really.
The second Margaret is our Folklore professor, who insisted on being called Margaret by everyone. She seems like she might be in her 60s and is outlandishly sexist at times. Once she asked the class if we would be concerned if a women were to drive our bus. Apparently, she feels women are not competent drivers and was shocked when few in the class felt the same way. She is also very laid back. In general she is about 10 minutes late to everything, gives us a half hour coffee break every class, and then lets us out about an hour early. Except for this one time. Our first night on Inisheer we had just arrived to the Hostile drenched after a lengthy ferry ride, and after quickly changing, she herded us all out the door, told us to follow her, and then began to run. And there went our tiny 60 something professor off into the winding, nondescript roads of Inisheer. It was pouring rain, dark, and we all had no idea where we were going, so we had no choice but to take off after her. Let me tell you, this senior can book it if she wants to, and as one of my class mates pointed out afterward "Not to be creepy, but Margaret has a well built body".

Top (not quite) Ten Count Down!

1 of the 10 thrilling channels that our little TV gets is called "The Chart Channel". It is what MTV used to be: music videos 24/7. This was amusing for the first couple days, and arguably is still good for background noise, but one can only stand seeing the same music videos so many times. A majority of the songs are also the ones that they play on repeat on KDWB back in Minnesota, some are big up and coming UK artists, and ALL of them are fantastically mockable. So with out further ado, I present my Top 8 Favorite Music Videos Of General Awesomeness Count Down!

8. Coming in at #8 is Kickstart by the Examples. The plus to this one is that it's so much better then the band's other song that also frequents The Chart Channel! And, it's pretty creative. The appearance of the ride on horse toy always cracks me up!
 Kickstarts

7. So Creepy. So Catchy.
 I Was Drunk

6. Double-Dutch hasn't been depicted as this bad-ass since Sesame Street.
 Gold Dust

5. And the award to the song that is in my head the most HAS to go to this little diddy. The whole "emerging from a suitcase" thing though is a little strange, yet convenient.
 Pack Up

4. There's a ninja with a keytar.
 Stop Giving Me Choices

3. 'Hmm, well this is a pretty catchy tune....dumdadadumdada...'k, some artsy pans of city life, band's sporting the trendy hungover look.......wait...wait, hold on! Is that Emma Watson?!......well, that's just weird. I mean, she's dressed like some model and being chased/lead around by this dude now......oh look, and know he just ran around a corner store. manly......................................WTF!?!? DID HE JUST LICK HER!???!
yeah, it's pretty great. And if you're wondering about the dogs, I have no idea.
 Say You Don't Want It

2.  It was a close run for first, but take condolence in the fact that if this was showchoir we could call this one "first runner up" and confuse everyone :D
We No Speak Americano

1. And now, Apartment 11's song of the semester: All Time Low, by The Wanted! Playing with flares in an abandoned warehouse. Genius.
All Time Low

Hope you enjoyed a little taste of Ireland and the UK's topnotch music. Apparently, you can switch your i-Tunes store's country setting, a helpful hint, that will allow you to browse all of Ireland and the UK's up and coming music, and look at actual Music Charts!
  

My Pad

Here we are in Ireland! Cedric is completely moved in (not that he had much to do...pssh) and my room, for once, is clean! The apartment is quite a ways from the University (20-30 minute walk!?) but still, it's Ireland and I get to walk along the river and through winding little roads to get there.
Now, here are some extensive pictures of the apartment!

'K, so not quite to the apartment yet, put I'm always very impressed with plane technology (this one had movies, tv shows, and video games you could play by pulling the remote out of the arm rest and turning it into a hand controller. Wha!?) and Cedric is always happy to pose by the t.v. screen.

Probably the only time Molly will ever pose for a picture with Cedric. Apparently this counts as a public act of weirdness.

As part of our in flight dinner, they gave us these wrapped wedges cheddar, labeled "gourmet". In actuality, they were triangle shaped chunks of Velveeta.

Trekking through the Heathrow Airport.

yeah, there's a good idea.  Put this in our hallway...

So many knobs and things I don't understand! Our stove also has a bunch of knobs with icons meant to represent things that I didn't even know were necessary.

The door that Molly likes to think is a magical front hall closet...in reality it's the second door to her bathroom. It's fun to watch her be confused though.

Ireland does compact like nobody's business! Our kitchen/den is more then proof. It's pretty awesome though 'cause the window is facing our neighbor's kitchen window (literally, when you have both open the window panes hit each other), giving us extreme stalker points!

Crazy tiny fridge!

The tiny combo washer and dryer (??) Also, the stove has a on/off switch on the wall...

The hallway phone that has only one large black button.

Our front door is a fire door?? Also, trying to find the door to the apartment is difficult cause it's hidden away in this dark alcove. It's pretty sneaky like that.

The hallway leading to our rooms. I'm the closest on the right,  Molly's is the one on the left, and the one all the way down is Amadea's room.

Door way to my room of awesomeness, rightful labeled #1. Note the converse door stops.

It may look pink, but do not be alarmed! It is indeed a beige, AND I don't have to share it with anyone. WHOA NOW! The sink is rather frustrating though, the taps are so far away that the water streams don't mix. Leaving you to choose whether you want to use the hot or cold water.

The bedding was provided, but, as everything else in the apartment, it is just what someone else left behind, and is VERY worn...I try not to focus on how much this weirds me out.

Desk/shelves. Totally blew up my converter, by the way. It started smoking and crackling. I had to let it air out by the window for a while....

As organized as my wardrobe will ever be.

The view from my window!

Another view from my window.

Cedric diggin' the view.

Some people thought it very necessary to label all the cracks in the hall way outside the apartment.

Sorry it took awhile to post. I am currently practicing being an ill hermit while trying to conquer jet lag. And, Ireland does not believe in Nyquil or any other "this will knock you out for 8 hours" medication for that matter. Curse them and their lack of sedative antihistamines!

To Ireland!

Roaming in Red Wing

Cedric the Gnome would like you all to notice this beautiful (now appropriate) blog that I painstakingly created for him. He would also like you all to know that he is totally stoked for tomorrow, the time which he can finally begin his roaming, and that you should all follow his travels (via the beautiful blog you are now looking at). 

And finally, Cedric would like to point out that Ali has been procrastinating far too much in the past few days, leaving her packing to the last second...Ali would like to kindly remind Cedric that he is indeed a ceramic figurine whose luggage is perpetually packed by his side, so stop with the judging glares.

~"She can sleep while she's dead" Ali

A Fight to the Death!

For many years now, one of my favorite books has been Battle Royale. A gripping novel by Koushun Takami, Battle Royale tells the story of a future society where a yearly "Program" is held in which a randomly selected class of Junior high students are sent to a remote area, and then forced to kill each other. The novel shows a fascinating look at human nature and the different reactions people have when but in a life or death situation. There are those that try to band together, others who openly join in the killing, and even one who, as it is later revealed, is literally void of emotion. The book even takes a turn at politics, explaining that the "Program" was developed to instill a sense of mistrust in the population, thus ensuring an end to rebellion. As you can probably tell, I'm just a tad obsessed with this book. So, it was with great skeptiscim that I picked up a copy of The Hunger Games yesterday. After reading the back cover, I saw that it was basically the same concept: A future society invents an annual program, this time called "the Hunger Games", in which a group of randomly selected adolescents must compete. Effectively killing each other off until one is named victorious. But after reading the first chapter, and later the entire book, I was hooked. It may be the same basic plot, but it is also different. The author has choosen to focus on different ideas, and we really only get into one person's head. Here the focus is more on one girl's will to survive, her often coinciding struggle to open up to people, and the idea of rebellion. Plus, there's already a sequel out with a third to come!

Battle Royale is still a far more sophisticated novel, and The Hunger Games has a fair hint of teen romance, but I adore it nonetheless!

101 Things to Do With a Gel Pouch...Almost

"What in Merlin's name is a Gel Pouch??" you ask. A simple device really, invented by yours truly, meant to change the color of a strand of lights. Basically, a folded over piece of gel held together with some gaff and then slid on the light bulb. Yeah, I probably wasn't the first person to think of this, but they didn't work anyway. Started smoking and melting with in a couple minutes... But after spending an entire afternoon making 40+ of these things in various colors, I couldn't just let my failure rest at potential arson. Oh no, instead we came up with a list of 101 things to do with our now surplus of gel pouches. Enjoy!

101 Things to Do With a Gel Pouch

1. hat
2. finger puppets
3. collapsible cup
4. snack holder
5. instant 3-D glasses
6. drug holder
7. nose for disguise
8. obvious distraction
9. fish carrier 
10. goatee protector
11. personal lime case
12. pocket filler
13. pocket protector
14. straight edge
15. miniature pillow
16. weapon
17. umbrella
18. Totoro sleeping bag
19. noise maker
20. mini body bag (preferably for gnomes)
21. kaleidoscope
22. shot glass
23. guitar pick holder
24. mini oven mit
25. American finger trap
26. disco "tripifyer"
27. finger(s) mitten
28. oxygen holder
29. kindling
30. toupe
31. card holder
32. wallet
33. vacuum clogger (hose)
34. gel pouch holder
35. light bulb holder
36. light dimmer/changer
37. ear warmer 
38. cell phone/ipod holder
39. poison holder
40. salsa y dip holder
41. sugar packet holder
42. sexy antenna topper
43. laser pointer interceptor
44. camera picture changger
45. pocket garbage carrier
46. "It's a hoe down!"
47. mega handle holder
48. barf bag
49. finger sack race
50. scissor protector
51. audio cassette protector 
52. hyperventilation bag
53. party in a bag
54. firefly holder
55.  
56. scream muffler
57. envelope
58. condom
59. fruit snack holder
60. tea bag disposer
61. tounge protector from hot food
62. stop light changer
63. microphone cover
64. secret message holder
65. ice cream sandwich sleeve
66. eye patch
67. secret message decoder
68. drill bit holder

A lot of them are just "things that could fit in a gel pouch" and we never made it to 101, but I am quite proud of a few. Also, there never was a 55, beginnings of the "amonia bun phenomenon"? I'd like to think so.

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What Colorful Books You Are!

I have a blog? What??

I am blogging?? Yes.

And look at this spiffy background! Festively colorful books, Huzzah!

Now what....LIST!

In preparation for my semester abroad, I am cleaning out everything I own. One massive overhaul. Subsequently, I've found lots of stuff I had, until this moment, completely forgotten about. I shall now post them, forcing you to reminisce with me!

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