The other thing I miss from home, apart from my friends and cats, is Italian TV. My bro managed to get hold of this streaming server that streams one of the best channels in Italy.

To use paste this address mmst://194.105.47.16/Streaming3 in the Open Url dialog box of Media Player and enjoy.

When you land in Ireland for the first time might think that people are speaking Gaelic when in fact they're speaking normal English. Ok, maybe it's not so normal when you factor in the accent and the slang words, but it's English. If you're going to be around any Irish people during your stay in Ireland then rest assured that you're going to hear some of these expressions.

Craic – First of all this is pronounced like crack. When somebody asks you "what’s the craic" don’t run away thinking they’re drug dealers, they just mean "what’s the fun". Craic means good fun (or maybe Irish fun).

Hi-how-are-you (pronounced as a single word) - This is usually an alternative for hi.

Your man – This is a very confusing term. The first time I heard it from my boss he was referring to someone I didn’t particularly like (and he knew that) and I was like "why is he associating me with him". Your man John as if John was my best buddy. "Your man" is just a way of pointing to or referring to somebody, anybody. It can be your best mate, the president or a stranger in the pub. "Look at your man, he's a eejit"

Eejit – Idiot.

Gas – The person who came up with this is a moron. Gas hasn't got anything to do with flatulence or the fuel for your heater, it means it's great. For example, "Seamus is a gas man" means Seamus is fun to be with, good company.

What’s the story? – Common expression to mean how are you, or how are things going?

Deadly – Means great. Counterintuitive I know.

Jacks – I'm sorry if Jack's your name but Jacks means toilet.

Went to the pictures – Nothing to do with photography or taking pictures. Means went to watch a movie.

This has been one of the best weekends in the last year. One of the klikka tal-marmalja (which sounds better than klikka tal-garaxx) pals came over to visit from the dot and we spent a long weekend together. I’m still wrecked after a weekend of drinking, laughing and laughing and laughing and sleeping on the floor.

On Friday we went to a Venezuelan house party with a crowd of about 50 people squeezed in a tiny room reduced further by a bulky sound system pumping reggae tone. It was way too hot and crowded and my mate was claustrophobic so we drowned our beers quickly and headed out to enjoy the cold Dublin weather. It was a new experience for him though as we're not used to these wild house parties back in the dot. The night overall wasn’t that special but I enjoyed it a lot, as they say it’s not where you are but with who you are.

On Saturday morning we went to visit the Guinness storehouse the only tourist attraction we went to in the whole weekend. You must pay the adequate devotion to Guinness by a pilgrimage to St. James's Gate when you're in Dublin don't you? In my year here (yesterday I celebrated my anniversary) this was the first time I went up the 7 story building to enjoy the "perfect pint" as they call it. The exhibition was better than I expected after hearing several disappointed comments. Have you ever been there? If you plan to visit just keep in mind that you're not actually visiting the Guinness brewery it's just a sort of museum that you're going to. From the top of the storehouse you can get a 360' view of Dublin with all the tower cranes and hazy air included.

On Saturday night we planned to meet the same bunch of friends who came to Donegal. We really had a cracking time, laughed out loud and made a lot of noise. At a certain point we were almost yelling at the top of our voices to talk, but that’s the way we tend to communicate together even when we’re being friendly and happy. At the end of the day I ended up with a sore throat and stitches from laughter.

On Sunday we woke up late and lazily made it to Howth. Went for a walk there then had a late lunch in the Summit Inn. I really like the food in this pub. The potato wedges are divine. Then in the evening we went back to the centre but it was very quiet. Tried Pravda (way too quite), Eamonn Dorans (very quiet too), Porter House, Temple Bar then we finished with a late dinner in Zaytoon.

This year my friends decided to go up to Donegal for St. Paddy's long weekend. We rented a cottage in Ballyliffin, a place in the middle of nowhere in the Innishowen Peninsula located in the very north part of Ireland. The cottage was amazing, well kept, comfortable and cozy. On Friday we drove up there and arrived at about 10pm which was the prefect time to drown a bottle of rum that came all the way with me from Venezuela. That kicked off the weekend break on a good start and helped me to sleep on the couch cause all the beds were occupied.

The following morning I was in a slow and mellow mood so I allowed myself to be dragged to Derry in Northern Ireland which was about an hour and a half drive from the cottage. My stomach was protesting a bit about my lack of consideration on the previous night so I volunteered not to drink till the evening and drive back from Derry. In Derry we went to the Derry museum which had a free entrance since it was St. Patrick’s day. The mad lady at the reception asked us to sing an Irish song but we didn’t know the lyrics of any song so then she made us sing a song from the dot. I wasn’t in the mood for the museum so I idled about and feigned interest until the time for the rugby match came.

We went to watch the match at a crowed pub in Derry and there was a good vibe between the festive celebrations and the enthusiasm for the rugby. It's a pity that Ireland didn't win the six nations even though they thrashed Italy. The French managed to steal the shield by scoring an extra time try overcoming the Irish with points difference. I regretted volunteering to drive back home cause I had to drink Fanta for the whole afternoon. After the matches we went for an early Chinese dinner with some locals we met at pub but then returned back to the cottage. At night we played some improvised pictionary and spent the night chatting again.

On Sunday we went to Glenveagh national park near Letterkenny but it was too windy and cold for any outdoor activity. We went up to visit the castle in the middle of the national park and after a quick tour headed off to an Italian restaurant. As soon as we came out of the restaurant all the streets were covered in snow and we couldn’t drive up the road back home because the cars kept skidding downwards. At last we managed to find a different way back home and made it safely inside. In the evening back at the cottage we did the same stuff as the previous nights. Before returning back home on Monday we went up to Marlin Head for a scenic visit.

It was a good weekend and I enjoyed it. This is the second year I missed St. Paddy's in Dublin but apparently I didn't miss much since the weather was horrible and the fireworks display was cancelled because of the strong winds.

Watching the burrowing owl was the highlight of the holiday in Venezuela. This was my target bird and not only did I manage to see it with the help of Tony the guide, but I even managed to get within 2 meters away from the owl's burrow. There was a whole family with 2 parents and 2 youngs living here. I spent more than 30 minutes approaching the birds and shooting various photos and this is the best shot of the lot. It's also my favourite photo of the holiday. Click on the photo to expand.

Read previous post (On Eating) to put this post in context

Lidl Powered Shopping
Fresh Pasta Sauce (Pesto) - 1.19
Fresh Tortellini - 0.99
cooked Ham - 1.69
Frankfurters x10 - 1.45
Rich Tea Biscuits - 0.31
2kg Oranges - 1.69
Large Carrier Bag + Levy - 0.27
6 White Rolls - 0.99
Ex. Virgin Olive Oil 500g - 3.99
Organic Potatoes - 2.49
Organic Vine tomatoes - 2.29
German Pils x6 0,5l - 6.99

Dinner: Stir fried spinach with bacon, garlic, egg and frankfurter
Part 2 of yesterday's tortellini
Preparation Time: 10 minutes spinach, 10 minutes tortellini
Cleaning Time:15 minutes

This is the first human portrait I've shot that I really like. The shot is of an indegenous girl who had just finished eating a some berries that grow high up in the trees. The photo isn't technically perfect but I think the expression and smile on her face make it worth showing.Click on the photo to expand.

Read previous post (On Eating) to put this post in context

Monday
Omelette x2 portions (4 eggs, bacon, mushrooms, parsley, salt)
Dessert: Birthday cake gently donated by the neighbour (see below)
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Eating and cleaning: 40 minutes

Tuesday
Breakfast: Muesli (at work 0 time cost)
Lunch: Hunky Dory's packet of crisps (70c)
Dinner: Fresh tortellini with 'instance' sauce (preparation: 10minutes, eating and cleaning: 5 minutes)
Dessert: Same birthday cake as yesterday

The birthday cake story
Yesterday something very curious happened and since it's related to food it deserves an honourable mention. I returned home after a crappy day at work and was listening to some music in my room when I heard the doorbell ring. I can count the number the doorbell rings on one palm of my hand cause nobody every uses it and whenever somebody rings it's either Jehovah witnesses or politicians. As I opened the door there was this 20something year old girl holding a thick creamy cake on a plate.

I thinking "ok so can you tell me what's happening here?." Then she said "hi, it's my sister's 21 birthday and we were having a party but all of us are on a diet and we cannot eat the cake. Will you eat it so at least it's not wasted?". I was so amused at what was happening that I started laughing out at her. I didn't mean to be insulting at all I was just very surprised and amused. As soon as she saw me laughing she told me "why are you laughing at me?", and having no plausible reason I continued laughing as an idiot would obviously do. After I regained some composure I accepted the cake and explained that I wasn't laughing at her and she shouldn't take offence. It was a very nice gesture on her part. That's the best thing that happened all day.

Read previous post (On Eating) to put this post in context

Saturday
Dinner at my pal to reciprocate the chilli con carne. Cod and Veg on the menu.
Preparation Time: 0 minutes (playing the fool)
Eating / Cleaning: 1hr

Sunday
Mc Donalds sandwich meal after the Milan - Inter (1-2) match.
Time: 0 minutes (not counted was out anyways)
Cost: 6.70€

Snacks
Lettuce, Tomato, Cheese and Salami Sandwiches

Read previous post (On Eating) to put this post in context

Lunch Break shopping at Lidl
Swiss Muesli - €1.79
Cheese slices - €0.69
Fig Rolls - €0.85
Clementines - €2.49
Toretllini - €0.99
6 White rolls - €0.99

Lunch Break: SuperQuinn Chicken, Cheese & Coleslaw Roll: €4.49

Meal shopping at SQ
300g minced meat - €2.27
Bag of onions - €1.35
250g basmati rice - €1.47
Total - €5.09

Dinner: Chili con carne for 3. Bastard version of this recipe

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Eating (and chatting): 30 minutes
Cleaning: 15 minutes

The second photo is a portrait of a blue crowned parrot that was living with us on the camp in the Orinoco. Click on the photo to expand, learn what the photo is about and critique the photo.

Read previous post (On Eating) to put this post in context

Every Thursday is Eddie Rockets day so the balance is completely towards high cost in favour of efficiency.

Buffalo Wings + Chips + Regular Fanta = €15
Snack: Left over sandwiches from presentation at work

Preparation Time: 0 minutes
Cleaning Time: 0 minutes

Read previous post (On Eating) to put this post in context

Shopping from SQ
Vienna Roll - €1.50
Lettuce - €0.69
6x Eggs (1/2 price) - €1.07
Vine Tomatoes (x6) - €2.15
Sliced Salami - €1.79
Total - €7.20

Snack – Bread roll with Sardines (Hobz biz-zejt)
½ sardines can
1 Tomato
1/5 Lettuce
1/3 Bread roll
Olive oil

Preparation Time: 3 minutes
Cleaning Time: 3 minutes

Method: Put everything on a plate and eat

Tarja
150g pasta
grated parmesan
butter

Preperation Time: 5 minutes (not relevant cause prepared during Milan-Celtic (1-0) half time)
Cleaning Time: 3 minutes

Method: Boil pasta for about 3 minutes, serve with butter and grated parmesan

Eating is expensive and time consuming

Expensive – Have you ever thought how much money you spend on food? I want the IPAQ 6915 PDA, all money spent on food could be spent on the PDA/phone fund.

Time consuming – I'd rather be editing photos, playing world of Warcraft, watching the office or hanging out rather than cooking and eating. The cleaning afterwards is the worst part of the deal.

The ideal solution to this problem would be getting free food without wasting time. Let's look at potential ways of achieving this, taking the ideal scenario in each case:-

Expensive
Get somebody else to pay for the food. This used to be the default back home when my parents used to pay for the food but now alternative approaches need to be investigated.

1. Be a guest – valid option except that you've got to get yourself invited which probably involves some different kind of investment on the other side. Probably works better if you're a good looking female.
2. Get the boss to pay for lunch – Best possible option (also solves the time problem since lunch would be on company time) however it's rare.
3. Gather the food yourself – not really a practical option considering there are no farms around from where to "borrow" the raw ingredients.

Time consuming
Eat when it's better to be eating rather then doing something else.

1. Eat at work – Eating the main meal during the lunch break will free time in the evening. Breakfast is also ideal for work. Not only you're given those glorious extra 10 minutes of sleep but you're effectively not losing productive time from work since you can have breakfast while you're still settling in for the day.
2. Eat while you're doing something else – Watch TV, read the paper, browse the web. These are not always practical options depending on the food in question.
3. Eat for pleasure – Going out for dinner.

In absence of the optimal solution you have to strike a balance between the two variables in question. You could save most of the time if you're willing to eat out (or get take away) everyday but then the bank account is taking the bigger hit.

This week I'm going to journal all my cooking and eating aiming to economise on cost and time. At the end of the week I'll calculate the cost of each dish (timewise and moneywise) and determine the most effective eating method. This will also serve as a reference list to answer the famous "what am I going to cook today?" question.

P.S. Mind you I enjoy good food and even enjoy cooking proper multi course meals BUT not I enjoy it only in company. When it comes to eating alone then the process must be fast and efficient without necessarily being nice.

P.P.S. There might be exceptions to the "I enjoy it only in company rule". For instance two weekends ago I went out for a solo dinner on Saturday night in a Japanese restaurant and it was great.

For the Venezuela trip I've decided that I'm going to concentrate mainly on the photography rather than writing of the blog. I'll add text to the pictures rather than add pictures to the text. The text in the New Zealand travelogue was too long and probably nobody read a word of what I wrote.

Until the photo editing is done, I'm going to post a selected photo on PhotoSig for the whole week. PhotoSig is a fantastic photo site where you can view photos, critique them and add your own photos. Anybody with even the mildest interest in photography should take a look.

The first photo is this. Click on the photo to expand, learn what the photo is about and critique the photo.

There's this crowd in the UK who are trying to build a web wall of 50,000 bricks. All you have to do is to ad your favourite word to the wall and when the 50,000 mark is reached openreach will donate £50,000 for children charity.

Check out the site: Wall of Words

The word I added was "dejected" cause nobody else had added it before (you can add a word that was already added). The other contender was flabbergasted.

Post the word you added as a comment to this post.

The main event of the weekend wasn't the most pleasant one but it was dumb and funny.

Last Saturday night my exotic-haired friend and I were running, really running I mean, to catch the bus to go to the centre, and for some unknown reason I tripped on something on the ground and fell face first on the floor. I basically hugged the ground and bashed my face on the pavement. Of course I was running in front of the biggest pub in the village so all the people outside of the pub saw the action and started laughing. Not much of a big deal, I'm getting immune to public humiliation. The only thing that crossed my mind at the time was "damn the glasses broke this time", but fortunately they flew off my face and didn’t break. I then went to the pub toilet to wash my face and sort myself out a bit and everything was back to normal. I only had a bright red abrasion on my face gleaming with pus like the forbidden red emergency button on a plane. 5 minutes after all this happened I was laughing my head off and my friend was like, "what the f*@!k have you got to laugh about", and I was like ... yeah whatever at least the night couldn’t get any worse than this. Then we started joking about it. We still went out and it was ok, nothing special but not bad either.

Now I’ve got a patch of dry blood the size of a Lidl Rich Tea biscuit on the right side of my face and a broken Treo mobile phone. Yes, the poor 'fancy thing' as some people affectionately call it, saw a bitter end. I'm now relegated to use a prehistoric Nokia 3310 until I manage to hunt another phone from ebay or somewhere cheap. Toping the most wanted list are: HP IPAQ's, Treo 680-750 or any of the Nokia N Series.

I'm going to the dot in May for a friend's wedding. Paid 99c (euro cent) for a one way ticket and 70Euros ($92, 4,481 Philippine peso for international readers) in TAXES! This is ridiculous and totally absurd. Vomit inducing. Repelling. 98.6% of the fare is tax. The dot must have the highest taxes in the world.