Sunday, October 31, 2010
The One Where Rachael Considers 15 Mins of Fame...
Slightly addicted to TED Talks at the moment and to give you an idea of the gravity of said addiction, http://www.ted.com/ can overtaken Facebook in my most frequented haunt in cyberspace! Seems that seeing the latest drunken antics of someone i sat beside in Mrs Newell's Maths class can't compete with watching someone give a talk about condoms in Thailand or the evolution of poverty. Yesyes, all very highbrow stuff!
Speaking of Facebook; saw quite possibly the most depressing status update in all my time scanning the home page for the latest. So 'she-who-shall-not-be-named' decided to update the world on the fact that she 'needs some excitement'. This all very well and dandy except that this was followed by 'i've been engaged, i've got married, i've had kids..what next?' Sweet jebus, the girl is the same age as me and she's pretty much reached her peak at the grand old age of 23...she's bored. Maybe the status was written in a fleeting moment of frustration, so here's hoping that her grand ideas of emigrating Down Under don't materialise in her search for said excitement!
On an unrelated note, Halloween has been and gone. Was a tame affair compared to last years antics that saw guests catching fire, smashing pumpkins, frenchmen dressed as mexicans (or is that Mexican's dressed as frenchmen?) gategrashing the party and falling asleep in my flatmate's bed, almost severed thumbs (actually, the blood from aforementioned accident really added to the decorations) and finally, someone showing up 'dressed as Cher', but really just wearing her underwear and a big wig. Epic.
Having some thoughts job-wise too; mainly just wishing i was one of those people brave enough to jump ship and do the thing i think will have me skipping to work everyday. The 'thing' is to work in the charity sector (a professional fundraiser, *sighs*) but alas, i fear that i may have it too good when i think about the proverbial ship; the job is secure, relaxed environment, i get paid better than most and free breakfast, lunch and snacks are definitely not to be sniffed at. Is keeping perspective really a good thing when it stops you following your dreams though? Thought of the day right there lads.
Its shaping up to be a week of early starts and lunches at my desk this week if my calendar is anything to go by. Smack bang in the middle of it all is a recording for a Irish TV programme; Hands On. It caters primarily to the deaf community but presumably the hungover masses who are feeling sorry for themselves and happen across it upon a Sunday morning. Will be part of a segment on 'embarrassing stories' that would only really happen to a deaf person (sowee, but you'll have to watch it to find out what; but it does involve the police, and cats...dun dun DUUUUN!) The million dollar question now is; do i sign the story, or do i talk the story? I'm have no qualms in admitting that my ISL is of a patthetic standard and i've still a long way to go before i can reel off a hilarious story without trying to sign every single word (classic trait of a deafie who grew up in the hearing world; taking ages to fingerspell every word when in most cases, it doesn't actually exist in deaf grammar!) But christ alive, how brilliant would it be if I carried it off?! I'm going to pick Lisa's brains on this one, she's an interpreter so she's up to the job (media training if you will..) and the worse thing is talking on t' telly and looking like a demented goldfish what with my elaborated action in the gob area.
Wish me luck!
Speaking of Facebook; saw quite possibly the most depressing status update in all my time scanning the home page for the latest. So 'she-who-shall-not-be-named' decided to update the world on the fact that she 'needs some excitement'. This all very well and dandy except that this was followed by 'i've been engaged, i've got married, i've had kids..what next?' Sweet jebus, the girl is the same age as me and she's pretty much reached her peak at the grand old age of 23...she's bored. Maybe the status was written in a fleeting moment of frustration, so here's hoping that her grand ideas of emigrating Down Under don't materialise in her search for said excitement!
On an unrelated note, Halloween has been and gone. Was a tame affair compared to last years antics that saw guests catching fire, smashing pumpkins, frenchmen dressed as mexicans (or is that Mexican's dressed as frenchmen?) gategrashing the party and falling asleep in my flatmate's bed, almost severed thumbs (actually, the blood from aforementioned accident really added to the decorations) and finally, someone showing up 'dressed as Cher', but really just wearing her underwear and a big wig. Epic.
Having some thoughts job-wise too; mainly just wishing i was one of those people brave enough to jump ship and do the thing i think will have me skipping to work everyday. The 'thing' is to work in the charity sector (a professional fundraiser, *sighs*) but alas, i fear that i may have it too good when i think about the proverbial ship; the job is secure, relaxed environment, i get paid better than most and free breakfast, lunch and snacks are definitely not to be sniffed at. Is keeping perspective really a good thing when it stops you following your dreams though? Thought of the day right there lads.
Its shaping up to be a week of early starts and lunches at my desk this week if my calendar is anything to go by. Smack bang in the middle of it all is a recording for a Irish TV programme; Hands On. It caters primarily to the deaf community but presumably the hungover masses who are feeling sorry for themselves and happen across it upon a Sunday morning. Will be part of a segment on 'embarrassing stories' that would only really happen to a deaf person (sowee, but you'll have to watch it to find out what; but it does involve the police, and cats...dun dun DUUUUN!) The million dollar question now is; do i sign the story, or do i talk the story? I'm have no qualms in admitting that my ISL is of a patthetic standard and i've still a long way to go before i can reel off a hilarious story without trying to sign every single word (classic trait of a deafie who grew up in the hearing world; taking ages to fingerspell every word when in most cases, it doesn't actually exist in deaf grammar!) But christ alive, how brilliant would it be if I carried it off?! I'm going to pick Lisa's brains on this one, she's an interpreter so she's up to the job (media training if you will..) and the worse thing is talking on t' telly and looking like a demented goldfish what with my elaborated action in the gob area.
Wish me luck!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Weekend reminiscing...
I'm tucked up in bed with my freshly washed sheets and thinking i'll cram a blog post in before Monday rears its ugly head and my to-do list starts snapping at my heels. So another weekend has been and gone - spent quite a lot of it watching footie. Yes really. It was surprisingly watchable and i didn't launch into a daydreaming session thinking about impossible but entertaining scenarios which is my usual boredom remedy (and no, i'm not telling you the conjurations of this imagination of mine!) The first match was futsal (indoor footie) which Joey was playing - its much more watchable than football as the 'pitch' is much smaller so there is a lot more action. Also, there seems to be more skill involved - dribbling and the like rather than just going for a long shot and kicking the ball to the other end. Colour me impressed, the guys did well and won 4-3 (don't quote me on that though, but i know they won!) Second match was St Vincents Deaf FC which admittedly was more of a social occasion for me, nattering at the sidelines with one eye on the ball in case it made a bee-line for my head. Also saw a new face in the form of Colm's baby - this is the part where I try to freak out the boyfriend; "Aww he's so cuuute! Joey, my ovaries are quivering!". While on the subject, should mention that this week is my 3rd week training with the St Vincents Ladies footie team which is great as we train with the lads, gives us more of a challenge. So i've no problem fitness wise, i just have to work out what to do with a football and I'm all sorted.
After all that footie on Sat it was only right that i compensate with a girly night - this called for cupcakes and x-factor. I'm not completely hooked on the show but since my news feed on FB is invariably clogged up with updates related to the same, i pretty much know the story (i.e Cher walks like she has rickets and 'our meeary' will give you goosebumps as soon as she starts warbling some well-worn chart numbe)r. Was a good wee night of wine, gossip and x-rated i-phone apps!
This week sees the last week of cookery class (*tear*). Myself and Lisa are now planning on unleashing our culinary skills with a 'Come Dine With Me' style evening with 3 others. Thanks to the 4 week course, i can now chop like a pro and can do amazing things with a garlic clove. Naturally, my diners should expect something with lots of chopped veg and something very garlic-y. Nom.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Bob Dylan?! OMFG!!
Not sure all that tumbleweed hanging around my blog of late is doing my quest for more followers any good! Alas, i have plenty of news! Since i last updated i have been to Paris and Amsterdam, held a chav-tastic party in which many an alcoholic beverage was consumed, won a Googlely award, met Bob Geldof (kinda) and got a new flatmate! So yuh, i guess i should elaborate!
Firstly, Paris. It was great - we did all the touristy stuff minus that cliche hop on/hop off montrosity on wheels that carts the tourists aroound. Sure enough, we still looked like tourists as we clutched our 3 day metro pass on the way to the Effiel Tower or somesuch, but boy it was fun. Joey was in his element and immediately took charge of the metro map...tracing his finger along the various coloured lines that eluded me, and stood upright declaring "Right, perfect!" and pulled me in whatever direction we needed to go. This was fine with me, I was not required to do any thinking whatsoever. Another thing about the metro, its full of interesting people! Theres the dude who sings John Lennon in each carriage, theres the girl with questionable (bt admittedly awesome) fashion sense, theres the friendly old lady who loves deafies, theres the fighting couple and theres the people who give us much amusement with the jerking of the head thing they do as they fall asleep and their head lolls about looking for a pillow (bless!)
The Parisians love their deafies they do - we got free fastrack passes to Disneyland (nothing like looking smug as you bypass the 100 minute queue on the other side!), free drinks (befriending barmen with deaf relatives = win) and generally being really helpful and unpatrionising when we needed something but the thick french accent was getting in the way. J'adore Parisians!
Amsterdam was lovely too - the sun was always shining, the food was good and the wine even better, and i even tried space cake! Alas, it had no effect on me. for those who aren't in the know, its cake (brownie, muffin, anything with a 'cakey' consistency really) with a healthy dose of marijuana. Of course, the damn thing had no effect on me (much like the smoke i tried in Feb this year) whilst the other two were positively hopping from the effects. FFS.
Aside from marijuana fails, i held a chav party at the start of October which saw all my party people grab their trackie bottoms, fake tan, hoop earrings and helmets (FYI, the latter mention was for my baby bump effect). The craic was mighty and i met a few new faces - bonding in the name of chav innit.
The last two weeks have seen a new arrival in the form of Stef, a Romanian Googler who has moved in. She's like a Romanian version of me - has her finger in a lot of pies, loves charity work (she practically swooned at my 'toilet twinning' certificate, bless!) and is into keeping shipshape. Result! Will be interesting to see how it all turns out over the next few weeks, but so far so good!
Last week saw the arrival of the second sales conference for Google. The whole thing was quite tame compared to last year's jaunt in Kilarney but it was good all the same, for two reasons. One: i could finally follow what was going on "we have lots of money! money money money!!" thanks to the interpretor i'd booked for the the conference (hurrah to Lisa!) and secondly, i won the 'Big G' all Star Award! Its basically for being Googley and making google a fun place to work (their words not mine!). I'm pretty chuffed, who wouldn't want a big shiny star for being fun?! Although i have to say, when my Moma pic (googley speak for your 'employee' pic or ID) flashed up, a lil part of me died inside. Y'see my moma pic is of that dark preiod when i walked the corridors looking much like a mushroom as I didnt pay attention to edwoard scissorhands in Peter Marks, choosing to concentrate on the latest goings on in Cheryle Cole's lovelife as depicted by OK! magazine. Added to that, the angle makes me look like overdid the crunchies. Ah well, i won an award, no time for vanity! Oh and Bob Geldof turned up at one point, told his life story and gave a rousing speech of sorts about greed and doing your bit for the world. This would be cool except i kept confusing him with Bob Dylan in my texts to non-googlers, prompting much confusion.
Thems the happs! Thank you for reading, if you made it to the end consider yourself a BBBBBFFFFFF, the highest honour i award to readers.
Firstly, Paris. It was great - we did all the touristy stuff minus that cliche hop on/hop off montrosity on wheels that carts the tourists aroound. Sure enough, we still looked like tourists as we clutched our 3 day metro pass on the way to the Effiel Tower or somesuch, but boy it was fun. Joey was in his element and immediately took charge of the metro map...tracing his finger along the various coloured lines that eluded me, and stood upright declaring "Right, perfect!" and pulled me in whatever direction we needed to go. This was fine with me, I was not required to do any thinking whatsoever. Another thing about the metro, its full of interesting people! Theres the dude who sings John Lennon in each carriage, theres the girl with questionable (bt admittedly awesome) fashion sense, theres the friendly old lady who loves deafies, theres the fighting couple and theres the people who give us much amusement with the jerking of the head thing they do as they fall asleep and their head lolls about looking for a pillow (bless!)
The Parisians love their deafies they do - we got free fastrack passes to Disneyland (nothing like looking smug as you bypass the 100 minute queue on the other side!), free drinks (befriending barmen with deaf relatives = win) and generally being really helpful and unpatrionising when we needed something but the thick french accent was getting in the way. J'adore Parisians!
Amsterdam was lovely too - the sun was always shining, the food was good and the wine even better, and i even tried space cake! Alas, it had no effect on me. for those who aren't in the know, its cake (brownie, muffin, anything with a 'cakey' consistency really) with a healthy dose of marijuana. Of course, the damn thing had no effect on me (much like the smoke i tried in Feb this year) whilst the other two were positively hopping from the effects. FFS.
Aside from marijuana fails, i held a chav party at the start of October which saw all my party people grab their trackie bottoms, fake tan, hoop earrings and helmets (FYI, the latter mention was for my baby bump effect). The craic was mighty and i met a few new faces - bonding in the name of chav innit.
The last two weeks have seen a new arrival in the form of Stef, a Romanian Googler who has moved in. She's like a Romanian version of me - has her finger in a lot of pies, loves charity work (she practically swooned at my 'toilet twinning' certificate, bless!) and is into keeping shipshape. Result! Will be interesting to see how it all turns out over the next few weeks, but so far so good!
Last week saw the arrival of the second sales conference for Google. The whole thing was quite tame compared to last year's jaunt in Kilarney but it was good all the same, for two reasons. One: i could finally follow what was going on "we have lots of money! money money money!!" thanks to the interpretor i'd booked for the the conference (hurrah to Lisa!) and secondly, i won the 'Big G' all Star Award! Its basically for being Googley and making google a fun place to work (their words not mine!). I'm pretty chuffed, who wouldn't want a big shiny star for being fun?! Although i have to say, when my Moma pic (googley speak for your 'employee' pic or ID) flashed up, a lil part of me died inside. Y'see my moma pic is of that dark preiod when i walked the corridors looking much like a mushroom as I didnt pay attention to edwoard scissorhands in Peter Marks, choosing to concentrate on the latest goings on in Cheryle Cole's lovelife as depicted by OK! magazine. Added to that, the angle makes me look like overdid the crunchies. Ah well, i won an award, no time for vanity! Oh and Bob Geldof turned up at one point, told his life story and gave a rousing speech of sorts about greed and doing your bit for the world. This would be cool except i kept confusing him with Bob Dylan in my texts to non-googlers, prompting much confusion.
Thems the happs! Thank you for reading, if you made it to the end consider yourself a BBBBBFFFFFF, the highest honour i award to readers.
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