Trust Tommy

Firstly, why have a bank holiday tomorrow? No fair! I just got on summer holidays, it’s a waste of a perfect opportunity to just not go into school, and what happens? I’m already on holidays, I need not of your feeble bank holiday! I need to stockpile these things, then some time in September I can use it when I don’t want to get up.

Anyway, onto the weather. We’ve had a few ‘nice’ days over the last while. I put the word nice in inverted commas because they’re days that would, by most people, be considered ‘good’ or ‘fine’ weather.

Nope. I dislike it.

Now, hold the lighting of pitchforks and sharpening of torches.

Wait, that’s confused. Swap the nouns there. Point still stands, don’t kill me just yet.

Ginger hair = sun burn in 5 seconds.

No, really. You step outside to feed the cat and you come inside looking like your face has been tomatofied.

The weather I love is rain. I love the sound it makes against the window.

I also love Austria, because it has snow! I like snow. You can ski in it, or throw it at John! :)

Skiing is also up there among the sports I can actually do. It joins the club that includes swimming and cycling. But yeah, Austria’s awesome because it’s bright, yet freezing cold. Love it.

Mum raises the excellent point about the cheek of the priests of the Catholic Church, sending a letter home to parents of kids making their confirmation asking them not to go OTT on their ’special day’. It’s not the fact that they want a non-flamboyant confirmation, which is something Mum has always advocated, it’s the fact that they’d think of sending the ‘rules and regulations’ this week of all weeks. Impeccable timing….

The front page of today’s Irish Times reveals that two priests in Co. Louth have written to parents with a 10-point list of ‘rules and regulations’ that must be adhered to in a forthcoming Confirmation ceremony. I think they should have left their pens in their pockets this week.

And what rides on its heels? The Vatican saying “What happened in some schools cannot be compared with the millions of lives that have been destroyed by abortion.”When you’re in a hole, shut up and stop digging. Or dig up, if God can help with that.Also, this was said by someone who I won’t name, not to be too name-and-shame:

What’s Atheism? Well, atheism is the belief that there is no god. All scientists are atheists, because they don’t believe in god, they believe in science. Atheists want everyone to worship science and for there to be no religion. 

Doesn’t need commenting on :)

8 tweets I will unfollow you after. Lowercase letters in 1 and 3 indicate variables

1. w many followers until z!
x!
y!

Yes, 7,000 is a very round number, but if you’re one of the types who tweet “6 more!”, “3 more!”, “1 more, c’mon lads!” I’m just going straight into your profile and unfollowing.

2. @whoever is new to Twitter today, please follow her and make her feel welcome

Yes, she’s new, great, but unless you give me a reason to follow her, I won’t. This is why I kind of dislike #followfriday. You give me a list of names. Why should I follow this person, what can she add to my stream? That’s what your number one question should be.

3. w many tweets until z!
x!
y!

This links in with #1, and I swear, if you count down from 10, I will actively block you.

4. Retweeting* things twice in sucession

I saw this especially on the day of the 20th anniversary Hillsborough disaster. Yes, it was awful, not denying it. However, if I have no interest in football, I don’t care for lots of messages clogging my stream. I will remember it, but I don’t need 20 messages. One guy re-tweeted something along the lines of ‘you’ll never walk alone!’ and then the same thing from a different source. Erm, * unfollow *

5. Retweeting* yourself

Example: @whoever (different one from above) sends ‘xyz. Please RT’. @whenever comes along as does so: ‘RT @whoever: xyz. Please RT’. Now, that’s fine. I’m not against RTs. It’s if @whoever goes: RT ‘@whenever @whoever: xyz. Please RT’. It’s the exact same message to the same people!

6. if all your tweets are RTs

I follow you to get your original thought. Nuff said.

7. people who plead for followers

You don’t get followers by asking. Try earning them with clever and witty tweets (I know I mightn’t always manage this..)

8. using text speak, leaving out words or letters

“R u well?”

‘Hope you well”

Both = auto unfollows from me. If you’re not willing to talk proper English, you can forget me following you. Exemption if you’re not fluent.

* Retweeting = when you repost someone’s tweet to get the message further

This is like those pre-2006 Bebo trends, only not stupid. Over the course of my bloggy life, I seem to have aquired some extra members to my family, as well as getting current ones on twitter:

Mom: Lily

Dad: Denis

Othermom: Alexia

Otherdad: Damien

Uncle: Charles

Auntie: Kate

Granny: Grannymar

Grandad: Grandad

….FOR THE SUMMER!

Disclaimer :: Champagne provided is purely for celebratory purposes only

OK, I know I said I wouldn’t post but since when did I ever obey things like Blogging Bank Holidays?

Here’s part of my essay for English, the title was My Favourite Things Place:

So many people would choose some quiet tranquil retreat to be their ‘favorite’ place. It will be some secret haven that they have where they can go and simply be alone. It could have a stream, bubbling merrily, that reminds them of nature, or it could be set deep in a forest, where nothing can disturb them save for the calling of some exotic bird. It may even be quite literally ‘out of this world’, set on another planet.

My favorite place is sadly none of the above. In fact, one could even argue that it is the opposite. I have been told (sometimes through compliment, or other times disparagingly) that I am a very outgoing person, who dislikes silence and thinks human life should always be filled with something, be it music or intelligent conversation. Because of this, my favorite place wouldn’t be some dark ‘Narnia’ where no-one besides myself is able to venture, mine would be a vibrant and energetic city. One that is always switched on.

We don’t deal in solitude or quietness in my secret place. The chatter of friends or the live music playing from some modern restaurant is forever banishing silence. Everyone knows everybody, so conversation runs as freely as the hot drinks served by the cosmopolitan café by the corner. A cheery and pleasantly plump waitress would wave merrily as you entered, and ask you if you’d like the house special. The aroma of freshly cooked bread and scones delight your nostrils as you squeeze between two gentlemen who are debating physics together, over drinks of which you are unfamiliar. They’re green, however, and simmering of their own accord. You spot one of your many friends in the corner, who calls you over. You squeeze between another table and sit down beside her. The waitress brings you your food, and you spend the afternoon in that bustling café, in that city that never sleeps.

I’m told by John it’s very ‘yuppie’, which apparantly a young urban professional. Cool!

UPDATE: Thursday, 16:29: I got my result back, it’s 92%!

Seeing as it’s coming up to the beginning of my summer holidays (free on Thursday!), my summer exams start this week. 8 exams (not counting my options, Music and Business) over Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Now, I wanted to do well, so some serious study is in order.

Having said that, I didn’t want Trust Tommy to suffer, so I took a leaf out of Mum’s book and wrote 4 posts on Sunday morning (now) to keep it afloat!

Anyway, Tuesday-Thursday is exam time, so wish me luck!

Yeah, it’s House, get over it!

Dear God,
Hope you got the letter and
I pray you can make it better down here.
I don’t mean a big reduction in the price of beer
But all the people that you made in your image,
See them starving on their feet
‘Cause they don’t get enough to eat
From God
I can’t believe in you.

It’s you…..

Dear God – Sarah McLachlan

This song is on the House M.D soundtrack that I got, and I think it’s my favourite song. It’s a woman who is angry at God, and frustrated at people’s undying love for him.

The lyrics are clever.

I think I’ve mentioned it once or twice on here that I’m atheist. That doesn’t mean I go around burning crosses as some people I think I do when I tell them I don’t believe in their God, it simply means I prefer not thinking of a higher being known as ‘God’ or ‘The Almighty’. I came into this life, I intend spending it doing what makes me happy, not worrying about whether or not I’m ‘doing the right thing’. Obviously I don’t mean this in the way that I’ll go around killing people. I’m sure you could argue that it makes people happy, but that’s illegal, so we’ll steer clear of it. You know what I mean

Maybe it’s just me.

I need to be in control. I need to know when I’m doing stuff, and where. There needs to be an order my day, my everything. If someone says we’ll meet ‘around 2′ I have to press them for a time. It’s OCD (I know someone who is, and this is different) but I just don’t like wandering through my days because then before you know it you’re 62 and you’ve accomplished none of what you wanted to. I just don’t like the idea of someone not on Earth controlling me and what happens. Maybe I just don’t like the idea of some supposedly benevolent ‘god’ limiting what people can do. This isn’t even a religious rant. If X loved Y but neither X nor Y’s parents approved (think Romeo and Juliet), I’d dislike the parents too.

I want ‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra played at my funeral (which won’t be in a church) because I did it all my way, I lived a life that’s full, travelled each and every highway and all that. :)

I would think that the recent (…tries to find the right word…) revelations will have a huge effect on the catholic church in Ireland. I’d dearly love to see mass attendance numbers for yesterday against those from the previous Sunday. Hopefully, this will spell the end of the church in Ireland. From talking to older people, I get the feeling that the church really ruled Ireland in the 50s. No religion should be allowed to do that.

See, now is totally the time for a new political party to surface.

Yesterday, I got a DM from my favourite oldest brother, saying that he’d forgotten his PIN for his phone, and asking me to ring up Meteor (our network provider) to get it back. Now, usually I would have told him to get his other Jeeves to do it, because I was busy trying to get myself together to be down to Klara in UL in time. However, I’d recently found my old iPhone headphones, the ones with the mike on them, so I was aching to try a hands free call.

That’s how you get me to do stuff for ya, give me a cool gadget to test out while I’m at it. I enjoy the gadget so much that I forget I’m indulging your laziness.

Anyway, I plug the headphones in and dial 1905. After getting through the labyrinth that is their automated answering machine, I got through to a real person.

Hi, you’ve reached Meteor, my name is Caroline, can I have your number please?

Sure, it’s 085, xxxyyyy I say, going into the bathroom and reaching for the gel

And your name? comes the bored voice.

Collison, I say confidently, putting some hair gel on my hands and rubbing it around. Patrick Collison

OK Patrick, finally can I have your PIN number? she says, unknowing that I’m currently going through part of my daily hygiene routine.

Ah I say, smiling, even if she can’t see it, as I begin to spike up my hair That’s the problem, I’ve forgotten it. (I almost said ‘well, that’s the problem, my eejit of a brother has gone and forgotten it’ but that would have let on the fact I’m not actually Patrick, wouldn’t it?)

OK that’s fine. What’s your address? she says. Either I make a very good 20 year old entrepreneur, programmer & consumer of waffles, or she just doesn’t care.

I confidently rattle off the address in Tipperary where we lived up until 2005. Lazy P hasn’t bothered to change the address. Then again, he was barely unpacked in Limerick when he buggered off to MIT. Maybe we can forgive him. Maybe.

That all checks out Patrick, finally can I have the address of where you bought your SIM card?

Aha, see, this was my smallest lie, kinda. See, I was there when he bought that SIM sometime back in December. I was actually there, and if I remember right, I even paid for some of it because it was more expensive than he expected. That’d be Limerick I say, content with my hair, washing my hands.

That’s correct Patrick, your PIN is 6112 

You’re great Caroline, I smile, drying my hands. Thanks for that.

I click the mike (it’s also a button) and that kills the call.

In fact, screw media as a career. Screw blogging too. I’m going to be a Patrick impersonator! * switches effortlessly into West Coast accent * I’ve got, like, the accent totally down! Totally!