Nothing growing yet

It is now over a week since I sowed the flower seeds. Nothing showing yet.

I won the lottery

Yeah! I forgot to do the Irish lotto last night again. In fact I only do the lotto, once in a blue moon. I’m sure I would win some thing if I did it enough. Funny thing is I know at least three people that won the main lotto prize, and fair play to them.  I remember when I worked as a cabinetmaker and one of the apprentice’s won the lotto. This young lad (he was only 4 years younger than me) was a good worker and very popular with everyone. He told me he had won the lotto and I said he should keep that to himself as it was nobody business but his own.  He won the lotto just before Halloween and worked up until Christmas. How descent was that of him, considering he was on an apprentice wage which is way less than minimum wage.  A few months after he had left, the management and staff found out about his good fortune and Oh! MY! GOD!  I never in my life, seen so many be grudgers. Not one person was happy for him. The managers were really hateful about his win and slagged him off really bad. They didn’t even consider that this guy gave up two months to work up to Christmas. He didn’t have to do that and could have left once he collected his million lotto win.  I would always wish the best for people and hope they do well for themselves. I just don’t understand how people can be such be grudgers. Now I’m going to go and buy a lottery ticket, so wish me luck. Please don’t begrudge me if I win.

Fekin Laptop

Yeah!  My laptop is on its last legs. I’m sure I have mentioned it before.  Over the last 6 months or so, I managed to save enough to purchase a new cheap laptop. Well, yesterday I went down to PowerCity (PowerCity is an Irish electrical store) and I was going to purchase either a Toshiba or Samsung.  Because we are in a recession, I asked for a discount, which is something all people should do if they are purchasing an expensive item. The discount they offered wasn’t even 5%. I asked for at least 10%, but they wouldn’t budge an inch. This was unbelievable as they turned down a sale for the sake of a few Euros. Even if they gave me a 20% discount, they would still have made a profit. I know this because, when I was working for one of the Grafton Group companies, I would often have to source and purchase items to be sold to customers. The funny thing is, I could have gone to PC World or Argos and purchased the same or better product cheaper, or even go to laptops.ie (laptops.ie is a UK company) and get it €100 or more less. I was trying to give an Irish retail company my business and they turned me down. When I talk about giving and Irish company my business, it does not mean I would not purchase from a UK company like Argos or Curry’s, it’s just, I think purchasing from Irish company’s and Irish products will help us get out of the hole that Fianna Fail put us in. For anyone who does not know, Fianna Fail was our last government that made a complete mess of this country with there lies and corruption. Anyway, needless to say I will not be buying a new laptop and I have paid a few bills with the money I have saved instead. I have to say though, I feel let down by PowerCity considering I have been such a good customer over the years as 90% of the electrical products in my house, were purchased in PowerCity. Don’t think I will buy from them again and it’s all for the sake of a fekin laptop.

Money and shopping

What a fantastic beautiful morning it is in Dublin. The sun is shinning and there isn’t a cloud in the sky. ALSO, this is the day I collect my dole money. I will be able to buy some fresh food for the week. I normally buy my food in Lidl as they are the cheapest, and also from Dunn’s as they sell Irish produce. I never buy anything from Tesco’s as I feel they have screwed the Irish people with there prices, especially when our economy was going well. Tesco’s were making more profits from the republic of Ireland, than anywhere else in the world. I remember them selling Necafe Gold coffee at nearly €9 for a jar, unbelievable! I also believe Dunn’s Stores screwed us, but not to the same extent.

The only bad thing about Lidl, is they don’t sell very many Irish products. They don’t even sell Irish bread. I think, once they start selling Brennan’s and Pat the Baker bread, Lidl will top the market. It’s a pity really; as I always try to support Irish industry and keep some jobs here.   ANY WAY, back to the dole. I will also be paying some bills. In fact over half my dole money will go towards bills. Not a bit of wonder, I don’t have a social life.

Once I come back, I might start doing more work in the garden, although I should really be working on my portfolio. I have been trying to paint realistic cloudy skies with acrylic, and I am nearly there. The only thing is, there’s no fekin clouds in the sky! OHH! Can’t win.

Accent

Yeah! I did the washing up, cleaned the kitchen and then made a lovely dinner. Now I have to do the washing up and clean the kitchen. Didn’t think that one out very well, did I?

          I was reading through some of the things I have written over the last two years or so, and realised that I write with a Donegal accent. Well at least when I read everything back, it reads in a Donegal accent. This is strange, because I don’t speak with a Donegal accent. That is of course, unless I am reading what I wrote. Even when I’m writing, I am doing it with a Donegal accent.

          I cant really say what my accent is as it is a mixture of  English, Donegal, Dublin and god only knows what else. When I was wee, I lived in Coventry which is in the west midlands of England. I would have had an accent not unlike Frank Skinner or Neil Morrissey. I remember when I was 9, we first came back to live in Donegal and I really didn’t like the Donegal accent at all. So I held onto my English accent which wouldn’t have been best considering our history. Now I love the Donegal accent. In fact, I love most Ulster accents and when I’m speaking to some one with an Ulster accent I seem to slip back into a Donegal accent. Funny thing is, most people are confused by my accent. On different occasions, I have been asked “what part of America am I from”  “Oh your from the west country” (The West Country is part of England that I have never been to) “How long did you live in the posh end of Liverpool” (never been to Liverpool either) and of course “What part of the world are you from?”  I even did a job interview and the girl that interviewed me (she was from Holland) was amazed that I was from Ireland and said that she thought I may have been European, but was not sure.

 I really should have a Dublin accent as I have lived here most of my life now. I remember when I first came to Dublin as a young lad to start my cabinet making apprenticeship. I found the hardest thing to get used to was the fact that Dublin people don’t or can’t pronounce there TH’s. For example  the word THREE is pronounced TREE and THINK is pronounced TINK. I think this is due the way people used to speak the old Gaelic or Irish language .  I now love the way Dublin people speak and find it really endearing. The only thing I don’t like is when people speak with a lazy accent. This sounds really rough and common. This goes for all accents through out the world I guess. Oh god! I am starting to sound like a real snob. Mind you! I think most people feel the same as one of the first things you are judged on is the way you speak.

Anyways, talking shite again. Think I better go and do them dishes and clean the kitchen.         

Dettol and Savlon

Don’t know if anyone else does this, but I put a wee touch of Dettol or Savlon in my shower gel when I buy it as I tend to be prone to getting cuts and scrapes. I could use TCP, but it has a very strong smell that not everyone likes. I myself love the smell of TCP and also sheep dip for that matter. When I was going to Milford VEC, (back in the last century) it would not be uncommon for students to have sheep dip on there cloths as we were a rural farming community and also we did not have a school uniform. Just to confirm, the Milford VEC is a secondary school in Co. Donegal, for students between 12 and 18 years old. Sheep dip is just one of those things that is hard to get rid of as the cloths could be washed several times, but still hold onto the smell. Pity the washing powder companies couldn’t come up with a formula that would stay on your cloths and smell nice wash after wash. I think they should look into sheep dip. Then again, maybe we are far too used to nice smells and we don’t notice them anymore. Most if not all people use deodorants and fragrant soap and also mouth wash. I remember reading an article about Japan and how the Japanese people could tell someone from the western world as we all had a particular smell. It was to do with the amount of meat and dairy that we eat, were as the Japanese tend to eat fish and rice based dishes. Supposedly, if you eat raw celery and parsley, it improves your natural body odour. But then again, with all the deodorants and scented soaps we use, we may not even notice it. ANYWAYS, back to the Dettol and Savlon. I also put a wee touch in my washing up liquid to kill any germs that are on the cups and plates. I just don’t understand why the washing up liquid manufactures don’t include an antiseptic disinfectant in there products as it has been proven that the average dishcloth has more germs than a toilet seat. Could be onto a new product here. But then again, we all need germs in our life. The other reason for me putting disinfectant in my washing liquid is the fact that I am a procrastinator so typically I put off doing the dishes. Yeah! You guessed it. I’m going off now to do the dishes and clean up a wee bit. I’m also going to make some dinner, although there isn’t very much in the house. I bought a small bacon joint a few weeks ago in Dunn’s and took it out of the freezer last night. The only thing is I don’t have any vegetables. Although, I do have some Aldi powdered potatoes which is really nice if you put some natural yogurt in it. It tastes like mashed potatoes with sour cream. I’m convinced, some restaurants do the same thing as it really is lovely. Anyway, I better go and do my dishes and when I have them done I will try and work on my portfolio.

Reseed

Here is what I did so far  I put this membrain down so the starlings wont eet my grass seed and also to try and keep rocky 2 off. Some how I dont think it is rocky proof

Finished Aerator

You hold the rope with your two hands and stand on the board so the nails make holls in the soil.

Lawn

So much for me being a procrastinator (can’t even get that right) I reseeded part of my back garden lawn and I am at this moment wishing for rain. Bit mad really for an Irish man, wishing for rain as we get more than enough in this country.  I made up an aerator (peace of wood with nails) so I could help the lawn along. Since Rocky 2 came along, grass doesn’t get a chance to grow as he wears it out. Have to be honest though, as I tend to play football with him a lot. Funny thing is, I can now flick the ball up on my foot and do at least 3 keepy upees. I was never able to do keepy upees before and as for getting the ball up on my foot, forget it. My ball skills are getting really good (really bad for normal people) Strange thing is that my co ordination and ball skills were so bad; I wasn’t allowed to play football in national school. I used to feel really hurt about that and have never been back to Ramelton since leaving home. Ahh! I still go home to my parents, but never socialise in Ramelton. It was never a conscious decision and when I go home I recognise people but feel abit embarrassed as I hadn’t known then since national school. I think that’s a common story for people who leave a country areas. Still happy to call myself a Ramelton man though. Anyway, back to my lawn. I’m going to do another patch in a weeks time because I know if I do the whole lot, the grass will not grow as there will be no place for Rocky 2 to run around.

Planting flowers

Planting flowers

Do you know what I did on Friday?   I went to the 2€ shop and bought flower seed kits. Yeah! For the first time ever I planted flowers. The kits were 2 for €3 and they came with 3 pots, compost and a wee pack of seeds. Really good value I thought. The recommended UK price was £2.99 each and I think it would be good value at that. I know it is a wee bit late to be planting flowers, but then again I remember us planting spuds in late April early May back home in Donegal. The flowers I planted were Sweet Pea, Digitalis, Pansy and Echinacea Purpurea. Know lets see if they grow! I also made and put up a shelf on the back garden wall, so I could put the pots in the sun and also to keep Rocky 2 away from them as he tends to destroy everything. Yeah, with Rocky 2, there is hardly a blade of grass on the lawn which is amazing considering Ireland is supposed to be the greenest country in the world (green as in grass). By the way, Rocky 2 is my boxer dog and as you can see from the name; my first boxer dog was Rocky 1. Rocky 1 died a few years ago, but I still miss the big lump.

I was really happy with the shelf as I used some old warped skirting board and archatrive. I didn’t use measurements at all and just threw it up by eye. I’m a trained and fully qualified cabinetmaker (although I haven’t done cabinet making for years) and I got more pleasure from making a really rough shelf that making a perfect peace of furniture.

A sur I will post a few photos so you can see.

finaly started my blog

Well folks , this is my first posting. I have been thinking of writing a blog for such a long time but kept putting it off. You see I am a sufferer of one of the worst inflictions man can have, Procrastination. To anyone that may read this, you will be thinking I am just a lazy bastard. Well that’s true to a point, but I am just really stuck in a rut and find it almost impossible to escape from this life of unemployment. (There just aren’t any jobs out there for a single guy in his forties)  However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. On the 5^th of May I am going to an assessment for a web design course and if I get through I should be starting on the 9^th, also I have an interview (also on the 9^th of May) for college were I hope to do illustration or graphic design. At the moment I am supposed to be working on my portfolio, but to tell you the truth I am finding it hard going. Its not that the artwork I am trying to do is complicated, it’s just, well, to tell you the truth, I’m finding it hard to get motivated. I know I can do the work, but I’m never happy with my own art. It’s strange really, because I went back to college 2 years ago and did an art course in BCFE http://www.bcfe.ie (fantastic college and also were the animation school is. Last year there were four Oscar nominations for past students of this college.) and loved everyone’s art but my own. Although I know my work was up to scartch. I think with me and art, its knowing how to finish a peace. I cant post anything at the moment as my scanner is not working. I reinstalled widows and lost my scanner driver. Oh! I see this is getting far too long for a blogg. I do go on a bit. I will post more tomorrow.