Bonding with Europe

On Saturday night, B and I settled in to watch the Eurovision Song Contest.  For those readers unfamiliar with the spectacle that is Eurovision:

"...the Eurovision Song Contest is Europe's favourite TV show. After more than five decades featuring some 1,100 songs, the contest has become a modern classic, strongly embedded into Europe's collective mind." (via http://www.eurovision.tv/)

Those of you who ARE familar with Eurovision might define it a little differently...

"'Eurovision' is like a kitschy 'European Idol' sung mostly, but not entirely, in English, and is one of those weird cultural happenings that is followed almost everywhere in the world except the USA...  You need a high irony threshold to enjoy it. The cheese-factor is what makes it fun, from terrible takes on American musical forms like rap and swing, to the inevitable national costumes and dancing accordion players." (via Ben Widdicombe @ PopEater)

That's about the gist of it.

Having watched international events like the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremonies with the help of Twitter audiences, I thought it would be fun to watch the Eurovision with the rest of Europe as well!

I wasn't disappointed.  Between RTE commentator Marty Whelan's sarcastic take on the proceedings (notable quote:  "Stay tuned - the vikings are going to do something crazy!"), as well as comments from all over Europe, I don't think I ever stopped laughing the for the whole two and a half hours. 

Some highlights?

• After a particularly tone deaf performance from Harel Skaat of Israel:  "When's Palestine on, then?"  (@crouchingbadger)
• After Denmark's performance, notable for its backing track, "borrowed" from The Police:  "Every breath you take, every move you make, I'll be copying your song and style. Denmark."  (@jaggeree)
• After Armenia's frankly inexplicable ode to the centre of an apricot:  "Undoubtedly the best song I have ever heard dedicated to an apricot stone. No question."  (@johnccmay)

The voting was predictable as ever, with neighbouring countries voting for each other, and both Ireland and the UK left in the bottom (the UK came last though, so we managed a small moral victory!)  It also prompted a few classic comments:

"As a bit of light relief, I like to think back to a happier time when Europe was at war, and these people were our enemies."  (@mrjonmacqueen)

"Clearly some of this European voting is “sorry for the genocide, here’s 12 points” " (B, in our living room)

My personal favourites were Greece and France - such earworm songs!  And great for summer!  (edit - I totally just bought the French song off iTunes... hah!)  I also liked Germany, and of course they ended up winning - and rightly so.  I was singing that song for the rest of the weekend.  Still can't quite get it out of my head.

But the highlight of the night had to be the Europe-wide flashmob.  To the best of my knowledge, Norway is the first Eurovision host country to use the power of flashmobs as their entertainment, and it was fantastic.  Call me cheesy and sentimental, but there's something really cool about the thought of people from Iceland to Russia doing the same dance at the same time.

Or maybe @jeffjarvis put it best, when he said "Europe: You can't afford all this dancing. You're in debt! Get back to work!"

Say hello to my little friends

Ever since last Wednesday and the Very Bad Thing that has happened, I've been a bit down in the dumps.  Life, it would seem, is frequently unfair.  Life likes to torment and mock me at every available opportunity.  Life... is not a very nice person sometimes.

But I digress.

So there I am, wallowing in my own self-pity on Wednesday night, when B comes into the bedroom with a look on his face that can best be described as a combination of "I'm about to spring MORE bad news on you and I'm SO sorry" and "I am both horrified and disgusted at the same time".

He then proceeds to explain that for the past two nights and early mornings (we're night owls!) our kitchen has been taken over by slugs.

SLUGS!!!

I'm in ur kitchen, sliming up ur everything...

The most slimy, unhygienic, creepy crawlie little pests known to mankind!!  Have you ever seen the movie Slither?  THAT'S WHAT OUR FREAKIN' KITCHEN LOOKED LIKE!!

Shudder.  I'd love to be able to share a photo of the 10-15ish slugs that were scaling our back door that night, but I was too busy trying to stifle my gag reflex to think of fetching my camera.

Needless to say we both sprang into action, becoming a two-man Slug Extermination Squad.  I am a whizz with salt... I really am.  And the next day, after some extensive research involving typing the phrase "Get these slugs out of my house NOW" into Google, B came up with a defense plan so complex that he should immediately be headhunted by homeland security departments worldwide.

And since then?  Not a sign of a slug... probably because they can't get within 50 feet of the house, due to a complex array of slug pellets, salt and duct tape.

Apparently having a slug infestation is a pretty common occurrence at this time of year, in houses of a certain age, according to some websites B found.  As if that makes it okay.  I'd only JUST made my peace with having spiders in the house.

Shudder.

Things already done!

That was quick!  Okay, a bit of clarification - I started making my 101 Things list AGES ago, but it took me so long to think of 101 things that some of them got done in the process.  For example:

#67 - Make a concerted effort to recycle
Thankfully when B and I moved out of our apartment, The New House comes complete with neighbourhood recycling.  All we have to do is throw anything recyclable (pretty much anything apart from glass!) into a clear plastic bag provided by the council, stick it on the curb every other Thursday, and the lovely recycling people take it away for us!  We don't even have to sort paper from plastics!  Score one for the environment.

#87 - Cash in all our copper coins stashed around the house - add to savings account
Before we moved we had two decent sized jars FULL of copper coins.  For those readers not in Ireland, we have 3 (count 'em, 3) types of copper coins - 1c, 2c and 5c.  So prior to The Big Move, B and I sorted them all, counted them, and then I took them to the bank and put them all into our shiny new joint account.  Turns out we had nearly €30 worth of useless copper coins!  Score!

And finally...

#92 - New mobile phone
Last Saturday I joined the ranks of People With iPhones.  I still have mostly no idea how to use it, or which apps are handy to have, or anything like that.  Although I do have a handy-dandy step counter!  It is a pretty nifty phone though... but I have a feeling it could be more useful.  Any and all app suggestions are welcomed!

So all in all I'd say that's a pretty decent start to my 101 Things list.  I've got a few more projects in the works, and I'll continue to write about them as and when they happen.  As an added incentive, I've decided that for each task I don't manage to finish by February 2013, I will donate €10 to charity.

101 Things In 1001 Days

With all the changes in my life this past year (new job, new house, engagement, impending marriage!) I figured it was time to take stock of where I'm at, and where I'd like to be.  With that in mind, I discovered the 101 Things In 1001 Days challenge.

Basically I am setting myself 101 challenges - things that I've always wanted to do, been meaning to do, or wanted to try... and I'm going to do them.  I refuse to live my life thinking "Oh, I wish I'd done XYZ".  So, no more excuses.

The list starts as of today (May 11, 2010) and I need to have them all finished by February 5, 2013.  Watch This Space.

K's 101 Things In 1001 Days:

Physical
1. Find a Dublin-based dentist and go once a year (at least)
2. Quit biting my nails
3. Lose those last 10lbs
4. Do a 3-week detox
5. Finish Bootcamp book (self directed Bootcamp)
6. Finally figure out my blood type
7. (personal)
8. Visit a Naturopath and/or Ayurvedic consultant
9. Try the Couch to 5K programme
10. Wake up at 6am every morning for a month
11. Join the Dublin City Roller Girls

Psychological
12. Leave work AT work from 6pm onwards
13. Have one dedicated “no TV night” per week
14. Have one “disconnected” weekend – no computers, TV or phones for a weekend (except for emergencies) per month
15. Read 30 “classic” books I’ve never read before
16. Watch 30 “classic” films I’ve never seen before
17. Meditate for at least 10 minutes every day
18. Write a letter to my future self
19. Find a “spiritual recharge” site in Dublin and visit regularly
20. Answer the 50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind
21. Make a playlist of all my favourite songs
22. Have a “me” day

Relationships
23. Get married!
24. Start a family
25. Write pen and paper letters to at least one friend every month
26. Send Christmas cards with a newsletter to friends and family
27. Host an actual Canadian Thanksgiving
28. Adopt a rescue cat from the Dublin SPCA
29. Participate in Postcrossing
30. Send a postcard to Postsecret
31. Create a family tree from our two families
32. Stay up all night with B and watch the sun rise
33. Have a fancy date night at least once a month
34. Write down / record some of my grandmother’s stories
35. Have a picnic in the Phoenix Park

Creativity
36. Learn to cook a proper roast dinner
37. Cook something with an ingredient I’ve never used before
38. Bake bread from scratch
39. Make a gingerbread house
40. Make a cookbook of our favourite family recipes
41. Make a scrapbook of our travels to date
42. Make a scrapbook from the weddings
43. Learn to knit
44. Learn to make jam
45. Complete NaBloPoMo
46. Take a dance class
47. Take singing lessons
48. Re-learn how to play chess
49. Complete a 365 day photo challenge
50. Make a playlist of my favourite songs
51. Edit, print and frame photos from our travels
52. Frame and hang the art / prints we have in the apartment
53. Try a new recipe at least once a month

Career
54. Get trained as an official medical (or e-med) records volunteer
55. Go on at least one mission a year
56. Progress from part-time to full-time employment
57. Attend the ISLC as a student sponsor
58. Attend one networking event per month
59. Get (re)trained in First Aid / CPR
60. Keep my inbox at zero for a month

Giving Back
61. Donate blood at least once a year
62. Participate in the Flora Women’s Mini Marathon
63. Donate old clothes and books to a local charity shop
64. Find a local food bank and donate food regularly
65. Make a renewable loan to a Kiva project
66. Donate money to 5 friends who are doing something for charity
67. Make a concerted effort to recycle (difficult in Dublin!)

Adventure & New Experiences
68. Attend the Taste of Dublin festival
69. Go to one free event or festival every month
70. Visit 5 places in Ireland I’ve never been before
71. Learn a new language
72. Learn sign language
73. Visit 3 countries I’ve never been to before
74. Learn to ride a motorcycle
75. Take driving lessons to learn how to drive (manually) on the wrong side of the car!
76. Visit random museums in Dublin (Georgian House museum, etc)
77. Discover 10 new bands / singers on the Dublin music scene
78. Go camping for a weekend in Wicklow
79. Rent a car and go on a road trip for a weekend
80. Go to a German Christmas market
81. Spend New Year’s Eve somewhere exotic
82. Discover 26 bands I’ve never heard of, each starting with a different letter of the alphabet

Financial
83. Create an annual budget and stick to it
84. Establish a PRSA and continue to contribute to my RRSPs
85. Save at least 10% of my income
86. Make a will
87. Cash in all our copper coins stashed around the house – add to savings account
88. Cash in Dublin Bus refund tickets and add to savings account
89. Research and avail of all tax credit entitlements
90. Get engagement ring appraised and insured
91. Figure out when Buy Nothing Day is and do it

Purchases
92. New mobile phone (trade in old one)
93. Sewing machine
94. A house
95. A car

Miscellaneous
96. Get all my broken shoes fixed
97. Mend clothes that need mending
98. For every new item of clothing purchased, throw out or donate one item to charity
99. Grow (and keep alive) a herb garden
100. Get a real Christmas tree
101. Send a message in a bottle