Friday, August 17, 2012

25 Things To Do Before You Turn 25

I stumbled a while back on that list from : http://misseducation.tumblr.com/ ; and at 36 I still thinks that's a good list and advice, though I may not agree with all, they certainly make you thinking.


25 Things To Do Before You Turn 25


1. Make peace with your parents. Whether you finally recognize that they actually have your best interests in mind or you forgive them for being flawed human beings, you can’t happily enter adulthood with that familial brand of resentment. ✅💗
2. Kiss someone you think is out of your league; kiss models and med students and entrepreneurs with part-time lives in Dubai and don’t worry about if they’re going to call you afterward.
✅💗
3. Minimize your passivity. ❓
4. Work a service job to gain some understanding of how tipping works, how to keep your cool around assholes, how a few kind words can change someone’s day.
5. Recognize freedom as a 5:30 a.m. trip to the diner with a bunch of strangers you’ve just met.
✅💗
6. Try not to beat yourself up over having obtained a ‘useless’ Bachelor’s Degree. Debt is hell, and things didn’t pan out quite like you expected, but you did get to go to college, and having a degree isn’t the worst thing in the world to have. We will figure this mess out, I think, probably; the point is you’re not worth less just because there hasn’t been an immediate pay off for going to school. Be patient, work with what you have, and remember that a lot of us are in this together.
7. If you’re employed in any capacity, open a savings account. You never know when you might be unemployed or in desperate need of getting away for a few days. Even $10 a week is $520 more a year than you would’ve had otherwise.
8. Make a habit of going outside, enjoying the light, relearning your friends, forgetting the internet.
9. Go on a 4-day, brunch-fueled bender.
10. Start a relationship with your crush by telling them that you want them. Directly. Like, look them in the face and say it to them. Say, I want you. I want to be with you.
✅💗
11. Learn to say ‘no’ — to yourself. Don’t keep wearing high heels if you hate them; don’t keep smoking if you’re disgusted by the way you smell the morning after; stop wasting entire days on your couch if you’re going to complain about missing the sun.
12. Take time to revisit the places that made you who you are: the apartment you grew up in, your middle school, your hometown. These places may or may not be here forever; you definitely won’t be.
13. Find a hobby that makes being alone feel lovely and empowering and like something to look forward to.
14. Think you know yourself until you meet someone better than you.
15. Forget who you are, what your priorities are, and how a person should be.
16. Identify your fears and instead of letting them dictate your every move, find and talk to people who have overcome them. Don’t settle for experiencing .000002% of what the world has to offer because you’re afraid of getting on a plane.
17. Make a habit of cleaning up and letting go. Just because it fit at one point doesn’t mean you need to keep it forever — whether ‘it’ is your favorite pair of pants or your ex.
18. Stop hating yourself.
19. Go out and watch that movie, read that book, listen to that band you already lied about watching, reading, listening to.
20. Take advantage of health insurance while you have it.
21. Make a habit of telling people how you feel, whether it means writing a gushing fan-girl email to someone whose work you love or telling your boss why you deserve a raise.
22. Date someone who says, “I love you” first.
23. Leave the country under the premise of “finding yourself.” This will be unsuccessful. Places do not change people. Instead, do a lot of solo drinking, read a lot of books, have sex in dirty hostels, and come home when you start to miss it.💗
24. Suck it up and buy a Macbook Pro.
25. Quit that job that’s making you miserable, end the relationship that makes you act like a lunatic, lose the friend whose sole purpose in life is making you feel like you’re perpetually on the verge of vomiting. You’re young, you’re resilient, there are other jobs and relationships and friends if you’re patient and open.


I was also thinking how I have been doing on this list, so here it is :


1. Done, not before I was 25 though.
2. Done, and I see no reason not to continue.
3. Still work in progress, but improving.
4. Done that, as a teenager, working in a supermarket.
5. Done, a couple of times when I was in Grenoble, a bit less in Ireland. Again I should not stop doing it.
6. Did not apply to me, as I got a job just off my degree, even before I graduated.
7. Done, still doing it.
8. Yes doing it every-time I can, but still thinking I could go more outside, surf tonight anyone ?
9. Nope, had few heavy drinking sessions and realize binge is not for me, there's much more interesting things to do.
10. Done once, She did not reciprocate... that happens. But yeah that's a good thing, never regret, I definitely do it again, should the opportunity arise.
11. Done, but still some progress at times. But definitely improving every day on that one.
12. Done, and doing it every-time the opportunity arise.
13. Yes, have a couple from the Lego building - no kidding, to photography... thinking of taking up knitting too.
14. I am meeting a lot of people a lot better than me, every day. Actually it encourages me to improve myself.
15. That's a good one, i probably never done it completely, never completely forgot who i was. I did and still do redefines my priorities at times. And I certainly have no strong opinion how somebody should be, but I do know how I'd want to act.
16. Still working on some of my fears, but definitely did loads o progress on that.
17. Done.
18. Done, long time ago.
19. Need to do more of that, but yes.
20. Done.
21. Still have work to do on that one.
22. Oups
23. Done.
24. Done.
25. Done.

Not bad I think, don't think i had all that by 25 ... but it's a long road.

Bodyboarding under the rain

Last night we headed up to Spanish Point ( Co Clare )  for a surf session, well for me it was body-boarding, as i think I have given up any up of standing up on a surfboard ...  maybe I should try the long board...


Flat calm at the moment .....




Good waves, not big and quite regular, through very steep at times. The water was warm enough, but we had to support drizzles of rain...


On the water during sunset




That was also a good opportunity to test out my new toy, a Gopro camera.



Spanish Point view from the water





Post surf, pre dinner.....



After that it was time for Dinner, and a delicious pan fried monk-fish in Milton Malbay, before going back to Limerick.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Tieranniesaur Tier-repetita and Dolans Summer Party

For the third time this year, I had the pleasure to see Tieranniesaur live, this time in Dolans for the Summer Party. A great event with a gret line up from the Windings, to Girl Band .. basically a 5 euro well spent.

The sun and an almost clear blue sky even invited himslef for the party before the darkness.


There was also a presentation of an interesting compilation:
Strange Passion - Explorations in Irish Post Punk, DIY and Electronic music 1980-83:
 http://www.nialler9.com/album-week-strange-passion-explorations-irish-post-punk-diy-electronic-music-198083/


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Tieranniesaur ready to take the main stage in the warehouse
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Tieranniesaur

Another band I've seen recently in Bourkes was Girl Band (Update now renames Gilla Band):

Upstairs: Girl Band



Upstairs I also discovered Melodica Deathship, you can listen there here: http://mdsdub13.bandcamp.com/

The night line up, feel free to check them out:


  • Warehouse Stage (Curated by Out On A Limb Records):
    Crayonsmith // Dead Red Light // Elk // The Jimmy Cake // Jogging // So Cow // Ten Past Seven // Tieranniesaur//
  • Upstairs Stage (Curated by windings)
    Dott // Girl Band // The Great Balloon Race // Land Lovers // Magic Pockets // Melodica Deathship // MynameisjOhn // Percolator // windings
  • Bar (Curated by A Love Supreme): DJs, Acoustic Sets, Collaborations.



Monday, July 23, 2012

Sunday Walk : Clare Glens

Last sunday I went for a short stroll in Tipperary in the lovely river walk: Clare Glens.
It's only 30 minutes drive outside Limerick city, and perfect for family with a short and longer loop.

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The bridge

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Walking along the flowing river

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Clare Glens
Map



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Bridge...




There is many walks around Limerick, have a look at this leaflet :
http://www.southerntrail.net/maps/Limerick%20Maps%20Leaflet7.pdf.

And Bock covered some of those place some time ago. http://bocktherobber.com/2012/06/out-and-about-county-limerick/

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Nouvelle Vague in Dolans

Last saturday I had the extreme pleasure to be in Dolans, for another great gig. This time it was "Nouvelle Vague" a french concept band, the coolest to the extreme....
I am still subdued on this sunday morning...

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Nouvelle Vague on Stage - Instagram



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Airy ... and dancing... with themsleves

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Singing

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French Woman ... lethal and dangerous ;)

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French woman ... quirky and talented




Bemused audience and Fascinated crowd

Songs played ( from what i remember , sure  I am forgetting some ):

  • Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division) 
  • Ophelie est zoophile ( Jad Wio cover )
  • Putain Putain (Arno)
  • Mala Vida ( Mano Negra cover )
  • Too Drunk to Fuck (Dead Kennedys) 
  • Making Plans for Nigel (XTC) 
  • Teenage Kicks (The Undertones)
  • Ever Fallen in Love (Buzzcocks)
  • Dancing with Myself (Billy Idol)
  • Master and Servant - (Depeche Mode)
  • Blister in the Sun - (Violent Femmes)
  • God save The Queen - (The Sex Pistols)



A taste of their music :




Sunday, July 15, 2012

Scubathon 2012

Nevermind Bastille Day, this weekend my diving club ( Aughinish ) along with the local diving club in Kilkee were organizing a scubathon:

Poster Scubathon
By Scubathon this meant 24 hours diving, with diving in the water all the time, rotating by one hour slots.
The event coincided with the maritime festival in Kilkee, so the town was busy.

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Maritime festival in Kilkee


I started off by trying to help setup the camp early in the morning, then I was off to do the first 2 hours of cox duty over Newfie, bringing divers to the site, watching over them and recovering them at the end.

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The last boat to get in the water

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Covering diver over newfie

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Covering boat in newfie, george's head in the back

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Flags

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Sunset in kilkee ... :D

Later during the day, it was my turn to dive, 62 minutes of easy diving in 10 meters of water, with a nice blonde mermaid. We saw a couple of flat fishes, some pollock, and tiny fish hiding in the sand.
I was actually quite annoyed by my main regulator which was leaking, and i was not sure i could make the full hour, by loosing air permanently... but it ended up ok, finishing with 50bar  on the dot.

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my mermaid ... buddy

After a night sleep, in kilkee under the tent, I went back to Limerick, leaving the others close the event.
And it was time to close the weekend with a nice chowder, some tunes and some stout in the Curragower:

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The End ...




Monday, July 09, 2012

Finishing with a Bang

The weekend finished with a bang, first with my smashed phone - but incredibly still working :
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HTC after 3 storey high fall....

Then after some park wandering, art considerations, dog watching, tea drinking - with chocolate pastries :) , and a vibrant american  Choke Comedy improv in Dolans , the final bang was the fireworks by the river: