There and Back Again

Pondering: I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end. (Margaret Thatcher)

My 920 AM flight to San Francisco from Las Vegas has been grounded and won’t fly out until 1130 AM. Fuck, fuck, fuck! I am staying positive despite the delay but my patience is waning. To think I woke up really, really early for this trip. If they delay us any more than three hours, I’m going to hit something… or someone.

Pondering: Time cools, time clarifies; no mood can be maintained quite unaltered through the course of hours. (Mark Twain)

Another trip over. Another set of pictures to print and put together in a scrapbook in an effort to capture every moment and time in this very wonderful trip. I truly had a fantastic time. It was too short a trip, as usual, so that I am left longing for more. It won’t be the same the next time I go. As my sister said to me at the BART train going home, things never are the same the second time you go see a place.

The best part of this trip for me was Killarney and if I ever get a chance to go back to Ireland, I will base myself there next time. Dublin was exciting but it was too rushed, as a city should be. I like that part of Ireland that is lush, green, quiet and laid back. The Cliffs of Moher was another big highlight. I felt a surge of energy flowing over me while I was up there.

Other memorable moments: drinking a pint of ale at dinner and having banoffee pie for desert on our second-to-the-last night in Dublin; searching for unique postcards and magnets at numerous gift shops in our numerous tour stops; shopping at St. Stephen’s Green; and walking through Merrion Square each morning, home to the colorful statue of Oscar Wilde with his impish smile. And I musn’t forget the Guinness Storehouse where I had my first and last pint of stout as a view of the entire Dublin, Ireland surrounded me. Amazing, amazing indeed.

My dear Ireland, thanks for the memory, the views and the inspiration your wonderful cliffs, mountains, beaches, pubs and people have provided me. With fond memories, until the next time I return!

Pondering: It hurts to find out that what you wanted doesn’t match what you dreamed it would be. (Randy K. Milholland)

We said goodbye to Killarney this morning and my heart is sad. It was a magnificent town; very charming and memorable. The Ring of Kerry trip was worth all the cost and the driving around in a bus. Definitely something to do if one is ever in this part of the world.

At 7 a.m., we were picked up at our B&B and driven to Limerick where we joined another tour headed for the Cliffs of Moher. Our guide from day one, Marie was once again our tour guide. The problem with having the same guide is that you hear the same jokes. Oh well, being a tour guide can’t be easy.

Our first stop was Bunratty Castle which was, honestly, forgettable. After yesterday’s breathtaking views of the Dingle Bay and the mountains, peaks and oceans of Co. Kerry, the four towers of the castle just didn’t have half the charm. After Bunratty, we drove around again and stopped at Doolin for lunch where I had a very good Irish Beef Stew with Guinness. Oh yeah, it was hearty!

We left Doolin for our next stop which is truly a magnificent sight to see. The Cliffs of Moher is just simply spectacular! I felt invisible up there, weightless and free. The mighty wind embraced me and the fresh ocean water mist kissed me hello. It was exhilarating to be that high and I almost felt I could fly all the way across the Atlantic Ocean and to the horizon. I have lived a moment that will forever be a memory that will make me smile when I ever feel down and out.

I am now thinking that I when I pass on to the otherworld (Grey Heavens, I think Tolkien called it), I would want my ashes to be thrown from this cliff. That way my soul will always be as happy as I was this day…

Pondering: There is only one admirable form of the imagination: the imagination that is so intense that it creates a new reality, that it makes things happen. (Sean O’Faolain)

This is our last night in Killarney (Cill Airne in Gaelic, meaning Church of the Sloes). The B&B we are staying in is not the most comfortable but it will do. The Town Center is only a few minutes away by foot and it’s just energetic! There are loads of places to eat though none of them looked appealing to us tonight. We ended up at this weird restaurant along main street with a facade of a pub, an interior of a Chinese restauant you would find in Daly City, California and a half type-written and half hand-written menu of Irish hodge-podge and loads of sea food. It seemed like a favorite of locals and tourists alike though I found the food so-so.

It is very nice to just walk around the town center. You can eyeball all the tourists who, like us, tend to study the menus posted outside restaurants a little too long before moving on or deciding. That is the purpose of the menu after all. Anyway, it’s also nice to just walk up and down the main street, enjoy some Irish music playing from every corner and enjoying the last bit of sun that peeks in between dark clouds.

Tomorrow we do one more trip and then it’s back to Dublin for another two days. I dread, dread, dread the thought of this whole trip ending.

Pondering: On Pembroke road look out for my ghost, dishevelled with shoes untied, playing through the railings with little children whose children have long since died. (Patrick Kavanagh)

We sure did a lot today - stopped at a lot of picturesque places as our bus drove around the Ring of Kerry. The Ring of Kerry is a tourist trail in County Kerry, south-western Ireland. This is the Ireland I have had in my mind! The Ireland that everyone should see before they die because it is just beautiful and breathtaking!

The tour started in Killarney, where we stayed the previous night. From there we passed through Kenmare, Sneem, and Waterville and then the Killarney National Park. I took tons of pictures but none of which, I think can describe the beauty of the place. No words can ever describe it as well. I just know that the whole circle made me so very happy and appreciative of my surroundings.

Pondering: Everybody likes to go their own way–to choose their own time and manner of devotion. (Jane Austen)

One of our many stops today was St. Colman’s Cathedral in Cobh, Co. Cork, Ireland. My sister and I went inside the cathedral to have a look at the altar, the windows and the overall architecture. I stayed behind for a bit while Myra braved the rain outside to take pictures of the village. Once alone, I got so overwhelmed by the solemnity and calmness of the church. I shed a tear and I don’t know why. I think I was just thankful for the blessings, the chance to enjoy such a wonderful country, such a wonderful place. I think I cried because I was just happy to be living in that very moment.

When I got outside the heavens opened up and it poured buckets. After a few minutes, the sun shone and if not for the wet grounds, it was as if it never rained.

Pondering: Think you’re escaping and run into yourself. Longest way round is the shortest way home. (James Joyce)

I’m on board a train to County Cork, Ireland. This is hour one of a 3-hour train ride. Once there, my sister Myra and I are joining a tour to visit the Blarney Castle and kiss the Blarney Stone, circle the Ring of Kerry in Killarney and much, much more. I am excited but I am also very tired. I haven’t been sleeping very well. We’ve been in Ireland three days now, and each day we have had an early morning call. Today was particulary early as we had to be at the Heuston Train Station in Dublin by 6:20 a.m., which meant getting up at 5:00 a.m. and leaving the hotel at 6:00 a.m. I wish to sleep in a bit more one of these days.

Dublin, Ireland has been great although I can’t understand the map to the city. Myra and I got lost twice in two days and she’s fairly good at reading maps. It is very much a bustling city and reminds me of San Francisco. I am looking forward to this trip to the southern part of Ireland so I can see the Ireland that it is featured in calendars and travel magazines - very green, very country.

Yesterday, we played tourist all day. We did the Hop-On-Hop-Off tour in the morning, hopping off at the Guiness Storehouse where we had a pint of stout for lunch. We also hopped off Christ Church Cathedral where a nice lady took a picture of my sister and I in the rain, with the cathedral looming behind us. We also visited the Dublin Writer’s Museum. Dublin boasts of some really good writers and poets including William Butler Yeats who wrote:

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly, because you tread on my dreams.

Other notable writers are James Joyce, Jonathan Swift, Samuel Beckett, and of course Oscar Wilde among many others. It was very interesting reading their history and viewing their letters and first editions of their great works. Made me wish I too could be as great as them with my words.

In the afternoon, we shopped for a raincoat because it looked like it will be raining the rest of our days in Ireland. Alas, we couldn’t find anything we liked and so we headed home (after getting lost) bummed and tired but excited still.

Best end this entry here, the food trolley is here! Maybe a bit of food will wake me up…

Spanish captain Iker Casillas and teammates celebrate after winning the UEFA EURO 2008 final between Germany and Spain at the Ernst Happel stadium in Vienna, Austria. (Image: © Daniel Dal Zennaro/epa/Corbis)

Pondering: Facing a mirror you see merely your own countenance; facing your child you finally understand how everyone else has seen you. (Daniel Raeburn)

One of the greatest songs ever written IMHO, and a great cover by one of my favorite bands of all time - Keane. (Sing it, Richard Hughes!)

Pondering: Aging is not ‘lost youth’ but a new stage of opportunity and strength. (Betty Friedan)

I am trying to get into the new Coldplay CD which I have been so excitied about for the past few weeks and it’s taking awhile. There are definitely songs that I instantly fell in love with - Lost and 42 - but the other songs aren’t registering that well especially Cemeteries of London. I doubt I’ll ever like that one.

On a different note but somewhat related to being lost, I am so lost at work. There is so much to do and learn, so much to stay on top off, so many new players I’ve never had to play with before, and so many things I would like to change but can’t. I’ve always enjoyed my work, always looked forward to going to work and getting things done albeit once in awhile, I wish I weren’t working and can sleep in some more.

Lately, I’ve been swimming with my head barely above water but I know it will get better soon. I will get better at this work, will know the ins and outs like the back of my hand. This stress I am feeling will soon be an easy stress to manage because I won’t be so new and lost.