Quantum of Solace!

Good Movie!

Kev and I didn't have much to do on Halloween (or anything we really felt like doing that evening) and in order to avoid the trick-or-treat clans (we didn't have any candy either) we decided to go see the new James Bond movie.

The only theater with seating available was at the Odyssey and it was a VIP theater... oh la la!  No idea what this meant other than it cost a bit more and we got free popcorn and drink refills.  But when we walked in and sat down, we were sold.  The chairs were Lazy-boy-esque with (faux) leather, leg rests and a back that reclined.  The few extra quid really paid off! Oh yah, and the movie was pretty good too.

After that we went to the Joymount Arms in Carrickfergus.  It was a very good meal, for a very good price.  Not a bad Halloween.

Pumpkin Pie and the Apartment

Our apartment is lovely.  Below are some views from our living room.

Its about a 10 min walk from the train station and the train has me into the city within 20 min.  Its actually an easier commute than I had in DC.  The layout is different than any other apartment that I have ever lived in.  I think this may have been a house that was gutted and set up as 4 apartments.  When you come into the apartment, you walk up the stairs and on the right is a door leading to the main hallway.  Off of this hallway there are 2 bedrooms, one bath (the other is an ensuite) and at the end of the hall is the living room kitchen.  Everything is great.  My only complaint is that I believe I have now encountered the worlds smallest washer/dryer.  It is one machine, a washer/dryer combo, and it can only was about 4 kg of clothes at a time.  4 kg= 3 –5 shirts, some socks, underwear,  maybe a pair of pants.  So, it’s a slow process, but it’s a step up from having to put quarters in the machine.

I made Pumpkin Pie not too long ago for Kev and friends to try.  Everyone's first reaction is something along the lines of "Pumpkin Pie? Why would you eat that?! Thats disgusting!" but none of them have tried it.  So far, Sarah and Shay liked it, their kids didn't and Kev doesn't.  But my thanks to mom for sending the pie stuff over!

Comedian Ed Byrne

During the Queens Film Festival comedian Ed Byrne came to Elmwood Hall on campus to do 2 performances.  I got tickets so Kev and I could go for a night out and see him.  He's actually a really funny comedian, I encourage you to look him up on youtube! And if he's ever in your area, go see him.

School

I’ve had quite a few questions about school.  Here’s how it works, the university provides me a desk, chair and a computer in a communal office if I want to use it. I meet with my primary advisor every few weeks and am not required to be anywhere at any specific time.  There is a secondary advisor, but apparently he’s even harder to track down than my primary and I shouldn’t expect too much from him.  The loads of free time I have should be spent working on reading relevant literature, creating timelines, outlining research projects and attending sporadic training classes provided by the school that help me with presentation skill, time management and even MS Word.  So, they’ve given me enough rope to hang myself with, but there is also a tremendous amount of freedom to spend just following whatever you want.

Downpatrick

Kev and I went for a drive today, he took me to Downpatrick, a place where he spent a lot of time as a boy.  Its also the place the burial place for St. Patrick  at Down Cathedral. Down Cathedral existed when St. Patrick was a place of worship when Patrick was around, but little is know about what that building would have looked like.  In 1188 John De Courcy installed a community of monks and dedicated the Benedictine Abbey of Down to St. Patrick.  That building was destroyed by the invastion of Edward Bruce from Scotland, rebuilt in 1512 and destroyed yet again during the Tudor conquest but the ruins remained.  In 1787 they set about restoring and rebuilding the Cathedral to its former glory.  In 1826 the structure was completed and in 1987 the restoration was completed.

While in Down, we stopped at the County Museum, where I preceded to beat Kev at a life size game of chess.  The Museum is located within the County Goal and you can see old jail cells, dress from the time period, and the history of the county. From there we drove further into the Mourne Mountains, through Newcastle by the seashore where we stopped and had dinner at the Burrendale Country Club, and back into Belfast.