Slainte!
That's cheers in Gaelic, prounounced slahn-cha. And Happy St. Patrick's Day to all! I have a half cooked corned beef at home in my fridge, and cabbage, carrots and potatoes to go with it. My last class of the term is at 1pm today and I have tomorrow off from work. That means that as of this evening, I will be on vacation. And what better way to kick that off than with a traditional irish-american boiled dinner. Mmm...I do love me some poor food.
I love the irony in St. Patrick's Day. When my great-grandfather arrived in this country in 1924 the Irish were hated. Signs bearing the letters N.I.N.A. were everywhere and no irish need apply was the feeling in the nation for these impoverished people. my great-grandparents eventually became comfortabley employed, nanny as a nurse at an insane asylum (they even named a building after her, although it is long demolished) grandpa shoveled coal at the same asylum, although i'm not sure he did that all his life. (my great-grandfather was quite the character--he came to this country because there was a warrant out for his arrest; dead or alive, because of his political views). They struggled to make it for many years, and then my grandparents did the same. Pop-pop, my dad's father was a member of the Irish-American society and fiercly proud of his Irish Catholic parents. It still strikes me as ironic that "everyone is irish on st. patrick's day" in a country that hated the irish when they first arrived.
Being of Irish heritage has always been a huge part of my life. So today, on St. Patrick's Day, eat a potato, drink some whiskey, and for pete's sake, don't drink green beer. Drink a Guiness, its good for you!
If ever…
I was looking for some archives of NDSU's student newspaper this morning and while they no longer have them online I did see a link to an article entitled a taste of fargo. Its a review of the closest bar to campus, The Bison Turf which is crawling distance, as it is directly across the street from the eastern edge of campus. I have spent many many hours in the turf and as much as i love it, its a dive bar. the food is great, the booze is cheap. and on saturday nights you drink out of plastic cups because they run out of glassware. the exterior is bright yellow with green trim and you'd have to be living under a rock to not know what it is and that it is the place for beer after a test. it is also as in need of review by the campus newspaper as i am in need of a vasectomy. i just find their lack of anything to write about mind-boggling. also, words like succulent and scrumptious do not apply to anything produced in a dive bar, as excellent as they may be.
Norbert the snorbert.
I am writing a term paper about the evolution of the skyscraper. There is really nothing funny about that. However, one of the books I am using is written by a man name Norbert Messler. I was writing my bibliography (I like to get those and my footnote notations done first so I'm not burnt out when I get to them) and typed his name in as Norman. Then I looked closer. Who names their kid Norbert? Isn't that one of those names where you would be better off naming your child KickMyAss?? Because you can bet he got teased and/or beat up on the playground with a name like Norbert.
Where am I?
Last night I did something vaguely foolish. There's been a bus strike going on here in town and as I'm pretty dependant on the busses to get home from school, I've been pretty antsy for them to come to an agreement and settle this darn thing. Well, TheBoy saw a little scroll-y banner on the bottom of the tv that mentioned busses and he told me to check the local news websites. I did, with the one he told me to, no news. So I wracked my brain for other call numbers and typed in wday.com I stared at it blankly for a moment thinking "this isn't right". Finally, I figured out why. In the process of checking news for Eugene, I called upon a news station from Fargo, ND. Most of the time I can remember what part of the country I'm in. Last night, not so much.
once upon a time…
one year ago november, i was sick as a dog with mono. i struck up an aim conversation with a guy from a webcomic forum that i was frequenting due to boredom. his sarcasm and his wit intrigued me and in a great twist of fate he was living just an hour away from my top choice of grad schools. we started talking on the phone at night, sometimes for hours, and became very close. i knew his best friends via aim, he had told his mom all about me, and a visit was planned during spring break.
one year ago tonight i stepped off a plane in portland, oregon. i was nervous, excited and exhausted. i finally got to the security point and my eyes searched out the boy that i had been bonding with for months. it only took me a few moments to find him in the crowd, holding unessesary [but very sweet] flowers and grinning from ear to ear. as soon as my eyes met his i understood that i would be with him forever. and today, one year later, i am more resolute that this will be the way it is. its been a year of ups and downs, of great sorrow and great joy, and i look forward to the many many years of this to come. so, theboy, i love you and can't believe how lucky i am to have you in my life.