The west of Ireland - Killarney

I accidentally overexposed this entire roll, and I was so pleased and relieved that it came out quirky instead of catastrophic. 

My mom and I were in Killarney on a bank holiday weekend that was also the weekend of the Rally of the Lakes (I still don't really get what that is, but something with cars). The main streets of this charming little town were consequently PACKED that weekend, especially at night. Young 'uns, couples in noisy cars, and hen parties galore.

My favorite part of it was this long walk we took along the Deenagh River, all the way to where it empties into Lough Leane.

Dublin - first days in Ireland

May 2024. My mother and I spent a couple weeks in Ireland and Scotland this spring, a long-planned and long-awaited trip together.

"Plenty of fresh air to be had in Ireland."
- our driver from the airport, in response to our commenting how nice fresh air felt after the long flight

Dublin highlights included...

• teapots at every occasion
• vegan afternoon tea
  
• beautiful parks full of holly trees and lush unfamiliar birdsong 
• especially St. Stephen's Green at 7 am, hardly anyone there but the birds and me, especially knowing its name from a Mary Chapin Carpenter song from childhood
  
• choosing a silver ring from a museum shop as my primary souvenir
  
• the charming pedestrian bridges across the River Liffey
  
• the history we learned on our excellent (and exhausting) walking tour
• the bookstores
• finding and buying two particularly interesting books on the Irish language
• the doors with doorknobs in the MIDDLE of them, hobbit-style
• vegan lunch at Cornucopia
  
• the Georgian architecture
• getting to see the Oscar Wilde memorial in Merrion Square

My feet were so tired. My mom and I were so jetlagged. It only rained a tiny bit.

 A few things I would have liked to see with a bit more time: Marsh's Library, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Phoenix Park, the Irish Emigration Museum, the Museum of Literature.

 "It's so multicultural now. It's just crazy how much it's changed. When I was growing up, there was nobody different. Now I get my hair cut by Mohammad and the guy I buy the paper from is called Raj."
- cabbie on our last morning, re: Dublin

I had really hoped to see the wondrous Long Room at Trinity College's library, but it was empty of books at the time, so we did not go.

"Is there any Irish connection?"
- literally every driver and guide we encountered - meaning, is there any Irish ancestry?

Warming up

Hopes and fears and
daydreams, all
a-whirl for now
The names of our destinations
alone are like wine
to my imagination
I fear the size of the suitcase
my mother will pack
I fear the days flying by
too quick for me to catch
I wonder what London
will look like from
its airport's windows - the closest
we'll get, having prioritized
Celtic splendor
I worry about my aerial calluses
and muscles failing, plot to find
all the monkey bars
I paint vague and glorious
landscapes in my mind
I am doing my best
to warm up
my writing muscles,
ought maybe consider
my photography muscles too...
(St. Christopher protect us
and grant us worthy travel journals)

- NaPoWriMo #14, April 2024

Dispatch from my continued aerial journey

Spinning is the new black.

Came to this class/sequence/song on a worn-out night, just tired enough to sink into the music and let it carry me.

I've been focused lately on spinning. It makes everything require more strength, to deal with the added forces, and more thinking, to figure out how to work with rather than against those forces as much as possible. 

It's also so much fun (and so much more interesting to watch). Feeling all that force, and being in charge of it, reminds me of the joyful feeling of accelerating on an open freeway - and of course, good music is a must in both scenarios.

Everything I learn is little by little, but there is everything to love about the process.

Changing of the guard

Thank you, old journal, for your service (April 2023-March 2024). I retire you now, bulging slightly with stickers, to the closet shelf of honor.

Welcome, new journal; I will enjoy your charming Tolkien watercolor cover, your smaller size, and the advantages of a hardcover for writing on public transit. We'll be best friends before I know it.