Apparently I like to make this face when I try on sunglasses. Don’t worry, I don’t actually own either of these. The first sunglasses are the Giraffe’s, the second were in a gift shop at a museum. My sunglasses are way cooler. Obviously.

I’m spending my first night in Galway and I can’t sleep. I didn’t have any problems the first night (in Dublin) because I had gotten exactly zero hours of sleep in the last 40+ hours. And last night I had quite a few Bulmers apple ciders so I slept like a dream. But tonight the jet lag is setting in. We decided to take it easy tonight, and I was in bed by 11pm. It’s now 1am and I’m wide awake. What’s nice though is the computers at the hostel are deserted at this time. Free reign of the free internet! I was hoping the Giraffe would be online to chat with, but no such luck.

God, I’m in fucking Ireland and I start out my post with a bunch of complaining. Annoying. So here’s the real story: I’m having an amazing time. I’m only half way through the first of two weeks and it’s been quite an experience. Really good memories from Dublin, and Galway is such a cool city. I could walk these streets for weeks and not get bored.

Last night we hung out with two Dubliners and three people from Switzerland. And we’re sure to meet more interesting people since we’re staying in hostels from now on. I love that part of traveling – meeting people I’d probably never meet at home.

I wish I had more to say, but I don’t feel like I can do it justice right now. Hopefully I’ll write more from Ireland, but definitely more when I get home. Hope you’re all doing well!

Did I ever tell you about how much I love the Kings of Leon concert? I’m so glad my sister Andrea introduced them to me. If you haven’t already, you should check them out. I almost never make music recommendations, but I love KOL’s sound.

This is Abe. He’s a miniature Dachshund that my sister Kelli bought. She quickly decided she couldn’t take care of him properly while she still had Mildred, her other dog. So we all chipped in a little and gave him to mom as a gift. Mom quickly found out she couldn’t take care of him either, so back to Kel he went. Soon though, she had to give him to someone outside the family because as freaking adorable as he is, it was just too much. I only met him once, but he was one of the cutest puppies I have ever seen.

This is him sleeping in my lap.

I graduated today. Want to see?

Unfortunately that’s what most of the pictures from the ceremony look like. The whole morning was pretty chaotic, and crowded, so I didn’t get very many photos of me in my graduation garb. Mostly because we were fighting this crowd:

And that’s just what spilled outside. However, I did force someone to snap these pictures in the parking garage before I shed the getup:

And then it was off to a celebratory lunch. It was amazing – I had all four grandparents, both sets of parents, all three sisters and their significant others, my brother, my half-bro and sis, and the Giraffe celebrating with me. Truly, I am blessed.

I don’t know if I’ll get a chance to post again this weekend before I leave, so I just wanted to say ta-ta to all! I meant to schedule some actual content-filled posts to keep you occupied—I don’t want you all to forget about my blog while I”m gone—but then I didn’t. Instead I selected some random photos, wrote brief descriptions, and scheduled those as Ghost Posts. I hope they’ll suffice until I can share tales and pictures of my trip. Except ya know, trip recaps are kind of boring, so we’ll see what I decide about that.

I have a busy night planned tonight, then tomorrow is graduation and lunch with family, then final packing. Sunday afternoon I hop a plane for Ireland for two weeks! I feel so fortunate for all these things – graduating, family, Ireland. I’m all full of smiles. See? –>

Be back in a couple weeks!

Yesterday I noticed that my watch battery had died, and since I can’t stand to not have a functional watch on my wrist nearly all the time, I knew I had to fix it before my trip. I planned to do this quickly after work yesterday. Here’s what happened instead:

First Attempt
I tried Kohl’s because it’s minutes from where I work. I approached the jewelry counter and luckily someone was there finishing up with another customer. I asked if they sold watch batteries. Yes. I showed him my watch and asked if he had a tool to remove the back so I could change the battery. No.

Sales Associate: We can’t do that because we don’t sell that brand here.
Me: Really? You can’t just take the back off for me?
SA: No, because if we break it, we’re liable for the watch.
Me: Well, I’ve had it for years, I’m not too concerned. Can you try?
SA: I’m sorry, no.
Me: Well can you give me the tool and let me do it?
SA: No, I can’t do that.
Me: Can you sell me the tool then?
SA: No.
Me: Can I sign a contract or something that says I won’t sue you if you break it?
SA: I’m sorry, we can’t do that.
Me: Look, this watch probably cost $20 when it was purchased eight years ago. It’s not worth anything now. We’re not talking about a diamond-encrusted Rolex here. This is ridiculous, can you please just take the back off?
SA: We don’t sell that brand, so no.
Me: I don’t even know where it was purchased. It was a gift. Where am I supposed to take it?
SA: You should go to a jewelry store.
Me: I’m not going to a jewelry store with my cheap old watch. That’s stupid.
SA: I’m sorry, I can’t help you.
Me: Fine.

Second Attempt
Next I drove to Target, half a mile away. Target is cool, they’re not stupid like Kohl’s. They”ll change my battery. And plus, I’ll just lie. Someone saw me approach the jewelry counter and said they’d call for an associate. After ten minutes I got pissed and rang the service bell. Finally a nice young lady showed up.

Me: Hi, I need to change my watch battery.
Nice Young Lady: No problem [grabs the watch]. Oh I’m sorry, we can’t change it here because we don’t sell this brand.
Me: Are you sure? I got it as a gift (true) and they said they got it from Target (possibly true?)
NYL: No, we don’t sell it here.
Me: Is it possible you used to sell it, like eight years ago?
NYL: No. We sell blah and blah and blah and blah and blah and blah…
Me: [Thinking: I really don't care what watches you sell. If you don't sell this brand and you won't change my battery, please stop talking.]
Me: Well do you have any idea who does sell this brand because I was told it was from Target, and if it’s not, I have no idea where it’s from.
NYL: Um, probably Kohl’s.
Me: Yeah. Thanks

Third Attempt
By this time I was so angry I wanted to hurt someone badly. I was yelling at every car on the road and talking to myself about what bull shit this whole thing is. But I decided to try one more place. Meijer. For those who don’t know, Meijer is a regional store that’s similar to Super (with the groceries) Wal-Mart, only 150 times better.

I find the jewelry counter and immediately pick up the service phone to let someone know I need help. Then I wait. Forever. And while I wait, I look at all the watches. Oh look, Relic! They sell my brand. I’m so in. Just then, a slow but helpful woman approaches.

SBHW: Sorry for the wait.
Me: That’s okay. I need to change my watch battery.
SBHW: Ok no problem. [Takes my watch and goes to work.]
Me: [Thinking, FINALLY!]
SBHW: I’m not actually supposed to be doing this since we don’t sell this brand.
Me: Um… yes you do. They’re right there. [Pointing.]
SBHW: Oh. Well, it’s on our list of brands we’re not supposed to work on.
Me: That doesn’t make any sense. The places that don’t sell this brand won’t do it, and now you’re telling me the places that do sell this brand won’t either? Where is one supposed to get their watch battery changed?
SBHW: I don’t know.
Me: Well thanks for doing it I guess.
SBHW: Sure, I was bored anyway.

Basically the only reason I got a new watch battery, despite my attempts, is because this woman was bored at work. What the hell kind of system is that? Also, this whole thing took me almost two hours.

And you may wonder why I’d insist on finding a battery for an eight-year-old cheap Relic watch instead of just buying a new watch altogether, right? Surely the money I spent in gas would have bought me something decent. But I don’t know, I just love this watch. It’s so perfect for me, and nothing else I’ve seen is quite as good. Witness:

It’s not too feminine, not too masculine. Everything I see now is too girly or bulky or jazzy. Even though I wouldn’t have been heartbroken if that Kohl’s guy accidentally broke my watch, I also like this one enough to keep it until I can’t anymore. Or at least until I happen to find something I love even more.

And just to reassure me that it was worth the battle, the universe sent a woman to me this morning to compliment my watch. “That’s a really cool watch,” she said. I showed it off proudly.

My new bag came on Friday. I think I really like it. It’s a little bulkier than I wanted – it sticks out from my hip a little too far – but I think once I use it a little, it’ll soften up and relax down a bit. I packed it full of stuff and walked around with it for awhile to see how comfortable it is, and I love the shoulder strap so far. I think it’ll be just fine to hold my water bottle, notebook, wallet and (maybe) my coat. Okay ready? This is what I got:

Cute right? Like I said, it’s comfortable and very functional. It has lots of compartments, which I like, but they’re all kind of disguised, not sticking out making the bag seem bulky. It’s very sleek no? Can you picture me walking around Ireland like this:

I like it. I think it meets my needs. And even if all the other girls are carrying around cute hobo purses, I think I’ll be happy with my choice. What do you think?

(You’re allowed to dislike it. I’m going to keep it anyway, but don’t be afraid of making me lose my mind like I threatened before. That’s called overreacting.)

I clicked on “Add New Post” about 30 minutes ago, and then a billion things came up. Just now I was like, oh what’s this tab here? Oh yeah, I was going to blog. What about again? I can’t remember.

That’s pretty much how things go lately. About 18 different things all happening at once, and I’m just trying to stay on top of everything. Work is busy, school is busy, life is busy. I’m trying to wrap up the semester while also preparing for Ireland and planning for my graduation ceremony/lunch. At work I’m doing all my stuff for the next four weeks so that I can be gone for two weeks and come back to a manageable amount of work. Plus the first and last weeks of the month are always the busiest for me, and that’s exactly when I’ll be gone.

On a happy note, the weather is amazing today. It’s the quintessential spring day – blue skies, lots of sun, seventy degrees and no cold wind. Oh, and chirping birds of course. It’s about damn time! I hope tomorrow is the same, when I might actually get to enjoy it.

Alright fine, you guys win. You all hated my bag options so vehemently that I gave in and kept looking. I didn’t want to. At all. Because I had already looked at ~25 stores and ~73 websites in search of the perfect bag. Yes I looked at Target, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Kohls and everywhere else you suggested, though I do appreciate the ideas.

And ideas you had! I love that about blogging – it’s like the best advice column ever. But unfortunately a lot of your ideas just wouldn’t work for me.

1. I don’t want to use a backpack because our professor specifically suggested we don’t. Even though we’ll be a small group of American students in Ireland, she wants us to submerge in the culture as much as possible. And nothing screams tourist quite like a backpack. Or so I’m told. (Sneakers are a give-away too but I already have alternative walking shoes.) So no backpack.

2. Although a messenger bag is a great idea, I have this weird thing about flaps. As is customary on a messenger bag, the ones I found all came with flap openings instead top openings. I can’t stand the flap action, so no messenger bag.

3. I also don’t want to wait until I get there to find a bag. I love how adventurous that is, but the moment we arrive we’re hitting the streets, and I need to be prepared. The planner in me says get a bag now!

Even after all the suggestions that I keep looking, I was stubbornly insistent on choosing between the two options I already owned. But since the vote was split on those two anyway (because some of you did vote even though you clearly HATED them both!), I sucked it up and did one more online search. Yesterday the Giraffe was sent a 20% off coupon code for ebags.com, and I thought that must be fate. I ended up finding a cool bag in the closeout clearance section, and after much deliberation (thank you Robin for g-chatting me through that decision), I ordered the bag.

It should be here early next week, and dear god, please let this bag be a winner! I’ll wait until it arrives to show you what I ordered, but you have to promise you’ll love it. Because by next week I’ll be completely exasperated and want to punch walls if you hate it. So tell me you love it. Unless you truly hate it of course.

As I’ve already mentioned, I’m busy and overwhelmed lately, and I’ve hardly had a second to think about or prepare for my Ireland trip. But this weekend I squeezed a little bit of shopping in between homework marathons and other obligations because there are several things I need for this trip that I didn’t or don’t have.

And I bought a bag. Two bags actually. Because I can’t decide. And I need your help.

Here’s the situation: I need a bag that I can carry around Ireland with me. It needs to fit a jacket (when I’m not wearing it), a water bottle, notebooks, wallet, sunglasses and my camera. This is for daytime when we’re moving around from place to place. We’ll be doing some sightseeing and some agency visits. We’ll be riding buses and trains, as well as doing a lot of walking.

This bag needs to be comfortable to carry, easy to get into and easy to transport. It needs to be somewhat professional, but also kind of casual. If that makes sense.

When I first started shopping, I had sort of an idea in my head, but I couldn’t find anything that matched my vision. Everything I found was either modern-day briefcase-like (leather and buckles and such) or too beach baggy (bright patterns and no structure). I wanted something with structure, compartments and some kind of closure (zipper was my first choice). So here’s what I found:

BAG 1

Pretend like this is me walking around Ireland:

Pros:
- Compartments! I won’t have to dig to the bottom to find my sunglasses.
- Seconds as a great carry-on.
- Sturdy; good structure (as in it stands up on its own).
- More professional.
- Zip closure.
- Extendable strap for when I want to carry it across my shoulder and be totally hands-free.

Cons:
- Too utilitarian?
- Too bulky?
- Too I’m-obviously-an-American?

BAG 2

Pretend like this is me walking around Ireland:

Pros:
- Cute.
- More casual without being too beachy.
- Pretty good structure.
- Some compartments.
- Comfortable to carry.

Cons:
- Not the best carry-on so I’d have to pack it separately.
- No long shoulder strap.
- One-snap closure.
- Too I’m-obviously-an-American?

Remember, I’m going as a student but also as a tourist. I need a bag that works for both. And the cost difference is only about six bucks, so that isn’t a factor. I’m tempted to take both and see which works better once I get there, but that’s just silly and a waste of money since I won’t be able to return either when I return (30 day limits and all).

So which is the better bag for my Ireland trip?

My niece stayed with me and the g-rents all week while she was on spring break. I love being an aunt, and even though I’m not generally a big kid person, I love every minute I get with my niece and nephew (and half-bro and half-sis).

This week my niece and I were roommates, and even though I was busy and gone a lot, I loved having her around.

Last night the g-rents went to church, so she and I spent an evening together. We went for a walk (during which she chattered away and asked me lots of questions about love and babies and life), we colored and read books and snuggled on the couch and wrote a thank-you note to grandpa and grandma.

Every night we would get into our PJs together and crawl into bed, and we’d read. I read my grown-up book and she read her Disney Princess book. Sometimes she’d choose to write in her Junie B. Jones journal, and sometimes she’d just play (complete with fun voices and imaginary friends). Eventually we’d turn out the lights and she’d say “Good night Shannon. I love you.” And it killed me every time with the sweetness.

Listening to her read this week has been like music to my ears. She struggled with reading for awhile, but she’s quickly becoming a pro. She has the sweetest voice, and hearing her read the words on the pages out loud is such a magical sound. I love listening to her sound out words, and I even love hearing her ask “what does s-q-u-i-r-r-e-l spell?” Because yeah, that’s a hard one sweetie.

My favorite nickname for her is Giggle Goof. When she laughs, you can’t help but laugh with her, even if you’re not sure what you’re laughing at. She’s so giggly all the time, and I’m so glad she finds so much to laugh about.

Even when she got mad at me that time I made her take care of her dishes when she didn’t want to, and she hid in the pantry until she decided she loved me again. And even after she kept slamming doors when I asked her not to. Even then, I was crazy about her.

I love you little Giggle Goof. Thanks for being my roommate!

Remember when I described that picture of me a couple weeks ago after I went miniature golfing? I asked you to use your imaginations and said I’d eventually post the picture to see how good you are? I finally remembered to do that. (I’m sure you’ve been waiting eagerly right? You can thank me with cupcakes.)

I described it this way: See, there’s me sitting on a fake rock surrounded by fake green turf, holding a small putter and a bright green golf ball.

Is this what you were imagining:

My hair!

I need your help. I’m at my wits end with my hair. Lately I’ve been seriously considering two options: shave it off or grow it out so I wear a ponytail thing every day. But before I do either of those, I thought I’d solicit your advice.

My hair used to have more volume. Actually, in high school I would wear a tight winter hat while it dried to help flatten it out. And even when I first cut my hair a year a half ago, it was more voluminous. Part of the problem is that I’m getting old and my hair is thinning – I can’t believe that I now buy shampoo that’s supposed to create volume when I used to do everything I could to reduce it.

Anyway look at what’s happening:

That BEFORE picture is horrible of me (I’m squinting against the sun), but you can see the difference right? See how in the AFTER (which is actually not flattering either! What was I thinking?) picture my hair is just flat and limp and ugly? How do I fix that?

The other problem is static. My hair is so staticky! I’m sure it’s partially because of the dry winter weather that won’t cease, but it’s bad. Really bad. When I comb my hair, it sounds like firecrackers. It’s not uncommon to see me licking my hand and smoothing my hair down. This is not okay with me. Help!

I know nothing about hair products, so I’m clueless here. Someone recently told me I should switch shampoos, and yes that helped, but not as much as I’d like. What should I do? What does one do for flat, staticky hair?

Is there a shampoo or conditioner that would help? Maybe a styling product? Some ancient remedy you know of?

For a little context, here’s what I do right now:
- wash and condition every other day with Garnier Fructis something-or-other (I just switched to this from giant economy size bottles of Dove)
- towel dry for a few seconds
- air dry for about 15 minutes
- use a clip to create a sort of half-up-do to encourage my hair to not dry flat
- let air dry that way for about 15-20 minutes
- apply small portion of gloss drops shine serum
- blow dry into as much of a poof ball as possible
- sleep on it
- apply a little more shine serum (in the morning)
- use flat iron to tame the waves (mostly the top layers, leaving the under layers as poofy as possible)
- fuss with it all day because it makes me crazy
- occasionally comb it upward to encourage lift
- often spit on fingers and smooth down static

It’s really just a pain in the ass and I need help. Or I’m gonna shave it off. Please help!

I had a dream the other night that I was being attacked by a giant panda. Seriously, that sucker was huge. And animated. Like Manga style. But don’t worry, this isn’t a story about my dreams. This is the story of real life animal encounters.

First let me start by telling you about how I was sitting on the floor in my bedroom last night, and suddenly a disgustingly disgusting centipede crawled out from underneath me. A CENTIPEDE! The thing with a billion legs. It crawled out from underneath my legs! I screamed and then ran for my grandpa to kill it.

But that doesn’t really count because insects aren’t animals. My real stories both took place when I was traveling and living out west, and both involved getting much too close to large dangerous animals on accident.

The Buffalo
I had been living and working at Yellowstone National Park for several months, so I knew all about animal safety. I saw buffalo on a daily basis – they were practically pets – but I always kept a safe distance. And I already had a million pictures of buffalo to take home with me, so I don’t know why I thought it was so important to get a shot of the stray one that was loitering just outside our dorm one day. I guess because it was literally hanging out in the courtyard about two feet from the building when I walked home from lunch. And I had my camera with me. So obviously I’m getting a picture right?

Well, even though I had been a YNP resident for months, I still did that stupid tourist thing where you look through the viewfinder (this was before digital became ubiquitous) and don’t realize how close you actually are to something. I was framing the shot in the camera and stepping ever-closer to the buffalo. I finally took the picture and pulled the camera from my face, and hello! Buffalo standing about four feet away from me. Giant, hairy, dangerous animal within kill-me-with-practically-no-effort distance.

After I peed my pants a little, I darted back to the building’s entrance and let that beast mind it’s own business. Sadly, I have no idea where that picture is anymore.

The Moose
Before moving to Yellowstone, my sister and I and two friends putzed around the Rockies for about a month. One day we set up camp near a stream, and one of the friends went upstream to fish. I joined him for awhile, but quickly got bored and headed back toward camp. I was walking along, watching my feet as I navigated the rock-filled terrain, when suddenly I looked up and found myself face-to-ass with the backside of a moose. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared. With no exaggeration, that moose was just beyond my arm’s reach before I noticed it.

I completely blanked. What are you supposed to do again? Run? Not run? Play dead? Make moose noises to fool them? I’m in the middle of the wilderness with a giant fucking bull moose, and I couldn’t remember anything I had learned. Have you ever seen a moose? They’re huge. Especially the males. Luckily it wasn’t a mama protecting her babies because then I’m pretty sure I’d be dead instead of blogging right now. But still, my heart is racing  just remembering this. I mean the males have those giant menacing antlers that could rip you in half and break all your bones!

Eventually I slowly backed away as quietly as possible, and when it was out of my sight, I ran as fast as I could over the rocks back to my fishing friend. I think moose are fascinating animals and actually quite beautiful, but I never need to see a live one that close again.

(Photos are not mine.)