It's been a week since my last post so this one is going to be huuuuuuuuge. I spent the first three days of last week at the pharmacy in Dundrum again. Tuesday night I finally got all of my ingredients for pumpkin cake and made it (while converting from cups and ounces to grams and mls in my head) and discovered that the oven here wasn't really working, so it ended up getting put in the fridge overnight. Teresa put it in the oven the next morning and then it started to work so I was able to take it to work on Wednesday. Everyone loved it! I think they were all very surprised by the taste since no one really knew what to expect from pumpkin cake. All in all it was a nice way to enjoy a piece of Thanksgiving and share with new Irish friends.
So. Thursday morning I got up at 5 to get ready for my 3 day tour of the "Ring of Kerry". The Ring of Kerry is a tourist trail that follows a circular road in County Kerry and hits a lot of attractions. My tour wasn't officially following the road the whole time but hit all of the highlights as well as a few others nearby. I arrived in the City Centre around 6:30 am and got on the bus at about half seven (7:30 for Americans). The first part of the tour was pretty boring and slow because it was just driving out west, and the bus driver had to go back at one point because he forgot to pick up a few people. Around 10ish we stopped at a gas station to get breakfast and I found out that I was moving to another bus with two other people (James and Alex, who I met later). We got on to the other bus that was pretty full and everyone seemed to know each other, so I wasn't sure if I was the only one traveling alone. I sat next to Ciaran, a nice guy from Australia, and learned that everyone on the bus (except for me, James and Alex, plus a few others doing a 4-day tour) had been doing a 6-day tour of all of Ireland and we just kinda showed up in the middle. The nice thing was that even though everyone else kind of knew each other, there were still about 5-6 of us who were traveling alone and the entire bus was very friendly and welcoming. Our first photo stop was at Corcomroe Abbey and I met Holly, Lana, and Harry there. We went next to the "mini" Cliffs of Moher. Very cool to see but cold, wet, and windy so just a sign of things to come at the real Cliffs.
Lunch was in Doolin, a cute little town, and they were serving a Thanksgiving dinner that was pretty good, plus a free cup of mulled wine that helped me warm up. We piled back into the bus and headed for the Cliffs of Moher (or Cliffs of Insanity, as you might know from the Princess Bride). John, our hilarious and great driver/tour guide, warned us on the way that he heard it was ESPECIALLY windy today at the Cliffs and very rainy. As we pulled up to the visitors center (hidden half underground in the sides of the hills around the Cliffs), we could see a ton of people walking back to buses and cars away from the Cliffs and John told us they had to close them due to the extreme weather conditions. This being my first main experience with John's sense of humor, I turned to Ciaran and said "Well, that sucks" - and then looked like an idiot when John said just kidding and pulled into another parking lot. In a way, I could have totally understood why the Cliffs would have been closed - because the weather was INSANE. The rain felt like hail, I couldn't even move at times because the wind was so strong, and I couldn't see out of my right eye because my contact had blown into the very corner and then the wind dried up all my tears so I couldn't move it back until I got inside and dried off. Yikes. The pictures and view was still pretty spectacular but it would have been amazing on a clear, sunny day. Oh well, I'm in Ireland, not Bermuda.
After the Cliffs we headed to Bunratty Castle - although we didn't go in, we just grabbed some food, did a little touristy shopping, and moved on. I did get to sample the Bunratty Meade though and mmmmmmmmm so delicious. It was like honey turned into alcohol. There is a legend about meade (like everything here) and it basically says that meade was popular at weddings and the bride and groom were often given special goblets to toast each other with as well as enough meade to last a full lunar cycle or about one month- which is where the word "honeymoon" comes from. The Irish also say it has special virility and fertility powers and any baby born 9 months after a wedding was attributed to the meade. Either way, yummy and I'm going to try and bring some home for sure. I've been reading up on it and apparently some mead is directly made from fermented honey ("authentic") and other meade/mead is just wine flavored with honey, so I may have to do some more investigating. We drove past the town of Limerick and John asked everyone on the bus to make up a limerick: there were some pretty clever ones (an Australian themed one about riding on the paddywagon, hearing a Sheila gaggin, saw some people shaggin haha) - mine was:
There once was a good man named Paddy
Drank Guinness since he was a laddy
He puked in a pail
His liver did fail
And that was the end of poor Paddy.
John liked it but the girl who was reading them pronounced "puked" as "pucked" (I dunno what she was thinking) so it didn't come out quite right. Oh well.
Thursday night we got to our hostel, connected to a pub named The Randy Leprechaun, and settled into our rooms. I was lucky to be in a 6 bed room with Holly, Lana, Harry, Sophie, and Jillian. At this point I had met most of them and found out that Holly, Lana, and Jillian are from Australia - Jillian is traveling on her own and has been for about 2 months. Holly and Lana are sisters (I think, they looked so much alike) and Lana is getting married in Canada in December. Harry is from Pakistan and is a doctor in Castle Bar in County Mayo. Sophie is from Melbourne, Australia and is doing her pharmacy degree there! So we were pretty much buddies for most of the next three days since we had a lot to talk about. She is originally from Hong Kong so I had another slightly unusual accent combination of Asian+Australian but we made it work. Sophie and Harry had an odd love-hate relationship the whole trip - both of them have significant others but they kind of bonded and then would fight and argue about dumb things like an old married couple so everyone always referred to them as such. At dinner I talked with Erin and Sue (Sue was Erin's mom), Australian as well but Erin is living in the UK right now. Sophie and I split a three course meal at the pub that was pretty good and I got some Guinness and Bulmer's, a delicious hard cider that most of the girls were drinking.
We had karaoke that night and it was pretty awesome. I found out that Thin Lizzy (aka "Tin" Lizzy in Irish) did the first rock version of the old Irish ballad Whiskey in the Jar before Metallica did. Two Americans from Minnesota (Dani and Missy I think) sang Sweet Caroline so naturally I screamed LET'S GO PITT at the appropriate spots. Sweet Child o' Mine, Say My Name, Ring of Fire, Timewarp, 500 Miles, and New York, New York were some of the best songs of the evening. Oh and Galway Girl, another Irish song that everyone on the bus learned thanks to John. I sang Dancing Queen with Sophie, Erin and Harry and then got up by myself to sing Don't Stop Me Now by Queen because no one else wanted to sing it. Sophie and Erin came up to join me after I said that and I think we did a decent job. Everyone went to sleep pretty early that night, around midnight, and geared up for a busy Friday.
We left the hostel at 9am and headed out for the edge of the Dingle Peninsula and the little town of Dingle. We drove out on the Slea Head road - a small road that winds around the edges of the mountains/cliffs so the bus barely made it through a few of the turns but the weather was FANTASTIC and made the whole area just absolutely beautiful. After the Cliffs the day before and the crappy weather, it was really stunning. The peninsula is the most western part of Europe so I felt a little closer to home for sure. On the way back to Dingle after seeing the beach I saw my first Irish rainbow but it was on the other side of the bus so I didn't get a picture - I have a feeling there might be another one I'll catch before I leave. We ate lunch in Dingle and then stopped at an ancient oratory on the way to Killarney for the evening. John got all excited because he saw a place called "Kate's Cross" and announced over the speakers in the bus that we would stop just so I could take a photo, which was odd since I had no idea it even existed, but there was a line of traffic when we got there so we couldn't stop and John kept apologizing. Some of the people went horseback riding once we got to Killarney but most of us opted to take the horse and cart ride instead through Killarney National Park. It was pretty cold but we got to see Ross Castle and that was awesome. Also, the driver told us that girls often get Guinness with a splash of blackcurrant syrup (they freaking love that flavor!) and it takes away the bitterness so I tried it at dinner and it was delicious! It doesn't make it taste sweet but honestly just gets rid of the hoppy aftertaste so even though I like Guinness I got it with blackcurrant for a few drinks that night.
We had a huge dinner in Killarney (very cute town) and John announced that since Lana was getting married soon, we would be having her hen party tonight (bachelorette party). Her friends had bought her a veil and sash plus a skirt and knee high socks to wear and she got to serve us some drinks from behind the bar when we got to the pub/night club we went to that evening. There was traditional Irish music for the first hour or so in the main pub area (night club was in the back and a few of us decided it was lame and stayed in the pub). Live music by a cover band called The Seducers was great for the next 2 hours or so. They took requests and did a really good job and even got Lana up on stage to sing as well. The weird part was that their lead guitarist looked a lot like a Beatle....I noticed it and then a few minutes later Eileen (American from Syracuse/Baltimore) leaned over to me and said "Is it just me or does he look like a Beatle?" so I said "Paul McCartney for sure" -- then about twenty minutes later we found out his name was actually Paul, which was really odd and we didn't quite believe it. They replayed Don't Stop Me Now so naturally I got very excited but even after the band was done the DJ did a decent job. Most of us didn't leave the pub until 3am when it closed - had to be back at the hostel by 4am - and then got up at about 8:30 the next morning. I fell asleep around 5am so was a little tired for Saturday.
Okay so Saturday, last day! Thanks to anyone still reading this crap. A few of the travellers were very hungover and/or still drunk for breakfast but thankfully I only had 2-3 beers and my only problem was lack of sleep. We drove through a very cute town called Macroom and I grabbed food at Lynch's Bakery! Yum. Then onward to Blarney Castle - very cool to see and obviously loved kissing the Blarney Stone. Only the Irish would come up with a way to literally get tourists to bend over backwards for some dumb rock, but naturally I had to do it and thoroughly enjoyed it. The old man who held you as you leaned over the open space was pretty cool too. We didn't have a whole lot of time for sightseeing because the drive back to Dublin was about 3 hours long and we had to push it to make it in time before the Guinness Storehouse closed. It was definitely a cool place to see and the design of the whole thing to be enclosed in glass in the middle in the shape of a giant pint glass was awesome, but I stuck with Eileen and Sarah and we basically booked it to the top level, the Gravity Bar, to enjoy our free pint without being rushed. Plus I think I might go again when Carolyn visits so I might take my time then. The Gravity Bar area is really cool because it's all glass windows and gives you a 360 degree view of the city (made easier by the fact that buildings have height restrictions in Dublin). It will probably be better to see in the daylight but the lights everywhere were very cool.
Then, back to Suffolk St to the Tourist Office by Trinity College, to Grafton Street by the shops, to St. Stephen's Green and the Luas, to Dundrum and then 15 minute walk home to Churchtown. An amazing, exhausting, unbelievable 3 days and I can't wait to do another Paddy Wagon tour.
Monday, 28 November 2011
Monday, 21 November 2011
Day tour to Wicklow
Saturday was a chilly, gray, misty day for most of the morning. I took the Luas into town to get on my tour bus and had my first experience with someone checking that I had a ticket. It's still so odd to me that you don't have to scan your ticket or anything to get on, it's just the honor system until someone shows up to check. I think the fine is about 40 euros if you don't have a valid ticket. The "ticket checkers" showed up and were speaking into little voice recorders - softly enough I didn't quite make out what they were saying but I think they were recording the ticket and the answers we gave - they asked where you got on and where you were getting off and looked at your ticket to verify that the zones you bought to travel in were correct. Odd.
The tour bus was very nice - a Mercedes coach - and the tour guide, Martin, was fun and gave us enough information without talking our ears off. It took about 45 minutes before getting to Guinness Lake, the first photo stop, and then it took some time to drive through the Wicklow Mountains - small roads on the sides of the hills but beautiful to see. One road we traveled on was called Military Road - it was built by the English after an Irish rebellion when many rebels escaped into the Wicklow mountains because there were no other ways to track them down without a road. The ground in that area is black because most of it is a peat bog - hundreds of years of decaying plant life but when dried out makes a great fuel source for fires. Some of the movie Braveheart was filmed in this area so naturally I had to download it and watch it the next day.
The monastery in Glendalough was next - Glendalough means Glen (or valley) of the Two Lakes. I only walked to the lower lake because it was closer but the area was so pretty. The monastery was founded by St. Kevin around the 6th century but most of the buildings that have survived only date back to the 10th century. The dates for St. Kevin's birth and death are a little unknown because if the two numbers are to be believed, he would have lived about 120 years so no one really thinks both dates are correct. I looked all over for a tombstone that said "Lynch" but no luck. In the afternoon we went to Avoca, a teeny little village that is known for its handweaving and little cafe. We ate lunch there (yum) and had a self-guided tour through the weaving shed. There are numerous Avoca stores throughout Ireland (one is in the City Centre on Suffolk St) and the foodstuffs and scarves, blankets, etc are so pretty (but a little pricey). When I got back to the city that night I went to Fallon and Byrne, an upscale grocers, to find pumpkin pie filling - it was the only place I could find the stuff! I also stopped at Butler's Chocolate Cafe (my new Doughnut Plant for those of you who heard about NYC) to buy some hot chocolate cups to make at home. Taste just as good but a lot cheaper.
Yesterday was very relaxing - went to see Breaking Dawn at 11 am but I'm glad I went then because I didn't spend as much money on that crappy movie. It's funny how the blood and gross-ness freaked me out but I can watch Braveheart no problem. Teresa said it was the worst movie she's ever seen haha so I told her definitely don't bother with the other ones! I was telling her about my blog and she mentioned wanting to start one so I set her up with that too....and then forgot to write in my own blog. Oh well. Just two more days at Farmers (in Dundrum again) this week when 3 day tour of Kerry!!!!! So so so excited and getting my camera charged with blank SD cards ready to go. I think this will make up for missing Thanksgiving.
The tour bus was very nice - a Mercedes coach - and the tour guide, Martin, was fun and gave us enough information without talking our ears off. It took about 45 minutes before getting to Guinness Lake, the first photo stop, and then it took some time to drive through the Wicklow Mountains - small roads on the sides of the hills but beautiful to see. One road we traveled on was called Military Road - it was built by the English after an Irish rebellion when many rebels escaped into the Wicklow mountains because there were no other ways to track them down without a road. The ground in that area is black because most of it is a peat bog - hundreds of years of decaying plant life but when dried out makes a great fuel source for fires. Some of the movie Braveheart was filmed in this area so naturally I had to download it and watch it the next day.
The monastery in Glendalough was next - Glendalough means Glen (or valley) of the Two Lakes. I only walked to the lower lake because it was closer but the area was so pretty. The monastery was founded by St. Kevin around the 6th century but most of the buildings that have survived only date back to the 10th century. The dates for St. Kevin's birth and death are a little unknown because if the two numbers are to be believed, he would have lived about 120 years so no one really thinks both dates are correct. I looked all over for a tombstone that said "Lynch" but no luck. In the afternoon we went to Avoca, a teeny little village that is known for its handweaving and little cafe. We ate lunch there (yum) and had a self-guided tour through the weaving shed. There are numerous Avoca stores throughout Ireland (one is in the City Centre on Suffolk St) and the foodstuffs and scarves, blankets, etc are so pretty (but a little pricey). When I got back to the city that night I went to Fallon and Byrne, an upscale grocers, to find pumpkin pie filling - it was the only place I could find the stuff! I also stopped at Butler's Chocolate Cafe (my new Doughnut Plant for those of you who heard about NYC) to buy some hot chocolate cups to make at home. Taste just as good but a lot cheaper.
Yesterday was very relaxing - went to see Breaking Dawn at 11 am but I'm glad I went then because I didn't spend as much money on that crappy movie. It's funny how the blood and gross-ness freaked me out but I can watch Braveheart no problem. Teresa said it was the worst movie she's ever seen haha so I told her definitely don't bother with the other ones! I was telling her about my blog and she mentioned wanting to start one so I set her up with that too....and then forgot to write in my own blog. Oh well. Just two more days at Farmers (in Dundrum again) this week when 3 day tour of Kerry!!!!! So so so excited and getting my camera charged with blank SD cards ready to go. I think this will make up for missing Thanksgiving.
Thursday, 17 November 2011
UPMC Beacon Hospital
I was surprised to show up at Beacon Pharmacy today and find out I was heading to Beacon Hospital instead. For the first 2 hours I shadowed Rosie, a really sweet pharmacy technician, to help stock the Pyxis machines on each floor. These machines have medications locked into drawers that open automatically and sometimes only open one little cubby to help ensure that the right patient is getting the right medication - as well as prevent diversions. We found a few discrepancies today - one pocket had a regular release tablet instead of an extended release capsule in it but it hadn't reached any patients. We also had to put in some medications that the nurses left on the machine for some reason.
For about an hour I walked around with Asier, one of the clinical pharmacists, who goes to his floors and checks the Kardex (paper medication record - no EMR yet at Beacon!) for each patient to ensure that there are no interactions, spot check the dosages (sometimes not provided by the physician - they often write "2.5ml" or something but don't give a strength). I was surprised how much of the information was familiar to me even though I haven't done this sort of thing yet on rotation. After lunch for the rest of the day I was with Yee (Asian+Irish accent = confusing). She is an oncology pharmacist and does a lot of work getting orders ready for patients to receive chemotherapy. She also does work like Asier and we looked at patient charts/Kardex's on the oncology floor. Many of the patients are just receiving palliative care (to make them comfortable rather than treat the disease) and Yee said that makes her job pretty hard because you get attached to patients and many of them do not survive long.
I met a professor from Pitt/the Hillman Cancer Center who was visiting because this week marks 5 years for the hospital being open (about 2 of which it has been part of UPMC). He invited me to a meeting about a melanoma case being treated with a new monoclonal antibody but Yee needed some help with paperwork for patient orders so we didn't have time to make it. It took awhile to get home so I was glad I didn't stay extra for the meeting.
I forgot to mention that last week Ireland had an inauguration for their new president! His name is Michael Higgins and he's 70 something and apparently has no real power so it wasn't a big deal for most people. The election was just a few weeks ago so it happened rather fast and Higgins is the first new president Ireland has had in 14 years! Presidents can serve up to 2 terms (7 years each) and the last president, Mary McAleese, was unopposed after her first term so was able to serve for 2. It was all rather strange to me that it wasn't a bigger deal but Emma explained it me like this: the prime minister here is like our president (more power, etc.) and the president here is like the Queen (less power, more of a figurehead). The inauguration was on a very rainy day so I'm glad I was working at the time.
For about an hour I walked around with Asier, one of the clinical pharmacists, who goes to his floors and checks the Kardex (paper medication record - no EMR yet at Beacon!) for each patient to ensure that there are no interactions, spot check the dosages (sometimes not provided by the physician - they often write "2.5ml" or something but don't give a strength). I was surprised how much of the information was familiar to me even though I haven't done this sort of thing yet on rotation. After lunch for the rest of the day I was with Yee (Asian+Irish accent = confusing). She is an oncology pharmacist and does a lot of work getting orders ready for patients to receive chemotherapy. She also does work like Asier and we looked at patient charts/Kardex's on the oncology floor. Many of the patients are just receiving palliative care (to make them comfortable rather than treat the disease) and Yee said that makes her job pretty hard because you get attached to patients and many of them do not survive long.
I met a professor from Pitt/the Hillman Cancer Center who was visiting because this week marks 5 years for the hospital being open (about 2 of which it has been part of UPMC). He invited me to a meeting about a melanoma case being treated with a new monoclonal antibody but Yee needed some help with paperwork for patient orders so we didn't have time to make it. It took awhile to get home so I was glad I didn't stay extra for the meeting.
I forgot to mention that last week Ireland had an inauguration for their new president! His name is Michael Higgins and he's 70 something and apparently has no real power so it wasn't a big deal for most people. The election was just a few weeks ago so it happened rather fast and Higgins is the first new president Ireland has had in 14 years! Presidents can serve up to 2 terms (7 years each) and the last president, Mary McAleese, was unopposed after her first term so was able to serve for 2. It was all rather strange to me that it wasn't a bigger deal but Emma explained it me like this: the prime minister here is like our president (more power, etc.) and the president here is like the Queen (less power, more of a figurehead). The inauguration was on a very rainy day so I'm glad I was working at the time.
Monday, 14 November 2011
City Centre Weekend
The weather this weekend couldn't have been better for trekking around downtown Dublin. I rode the Luas light rail train (like a slower, above-ground subway) to get to St. Stephen's Green. It took about 20 minutes and traveled on the roads in the city a few places, like a trolley, which was a little unexpected and made it much slower than NYC trains. It cost 3.50 euros for a round trip ticket which is about comparable to riding a bus or subway in the U.S. You have to press a button on the doors to get them to open though so I stood there like an idiot for a few seconds waiting for the door to open for me.
I did a hop-on hop-off tour (ticket was good for Saturday and Sunday) that takes you around the city to 23 different stops and you can get off wherever you like and just get back on the next bus that arrives every 10-15 minutes. It was a great way to do some sightseeing and get a feel for the city before venturing out on my own. Some of the stops, like the Guinness Storehouse, I skipped because I am going back to that on a tour over Thanksgiving. There were a few other places I wanted to see but I kept missing them Sunday because the hours were shorter. Places to return to - Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, St. Patrick's Cathedral (to go inside), Kilmainhaim Gaol (line was super long), and other branches of the National Museum and Gallery. I have a few Sundays free coming up so hopefully I can use them wisely, but I have a much better idea for when/where to go now and I learned some fun facts from the drivers.
Saturday I spent time shopping and scouting out the bar I would go to for the Steelers game on Sunday. Grafton St is a big shopping area and it was pretty packed when I was there so I didn't stay too long. Walking around the city is really easy and the Liffey is so much smaller than Pittsburgh rivers so you can easily get to the north or south side. The Temple Bar area is really cool as well - I'm going to have to go back there but I think I'd rather not be alone. Sunday I went to part of the National Museum (apparently it has 3 buildings) and did my version of a museum tour - in and out in half an hour, read a few plaques, saw a few exhibits, good to go. Free admission so I'll hopefully get to check out the other branches. I got to Woolshed Baa and Grill in time to get a great seat and a few pints of Guinness (delicious over here!) as well as make some Steeler fan friends. Definitely going back there for the next few games I can see.
Tomorrow I start at Beacon Pharmacy - it's going to take an extra 20 minutes or so to get there and I have to take the Luas, which kind of stinks, but I was actually supposed to be there all week and I forgot today so at least it's only 4 days! I might go to Beacon Hospital (part of UPMC) this week as well while I'm in the area. Beacon Pharmacy does a lot of prescriptions for IVF from what I understand. This Saturday I'm doing a one day tour through Wicklow and Glendalough, then next week is a 3 day work week followed by a 3 day tour of the Ring of Kerry! So excited for those - also, tonight I just bought a ticket to fly to London for the first weekend in December! I won't be able to be there very long but a friend, Elaine, who I graduated from high school with, has graciously given me a free place to stay and a whirlwind one day tour. The flight round trip was about $125 so hard to turn down!
I did a hop-on hop-off tour (ticket was good for Saturday and Sunday) that takes you around the city to 23 different stops and you can get off wherever you like and just get back on the next bus that arrives every 10-15 minutes. It was a great way to do some sightseeing and get a feel for the city before venturing out on my own. Some of the stops, like the Guinness Storehouse, I skipped because I am going back to that on a tour over Thanksgiving. There were a few other places I wanted to see but I kept missing them Sunday because the hours were shorter. Places to return to - Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, St. Patrick's Cathedral (to go inside), Kilmainhaim Gaol (line was super long), and other branches of the National Museum and Gallery. I have a few Sundays free coming up so hopefully I can use them wisely, but I have a much better idea for when/where to go now and I learned some fun facts from the drivers.
Saturday I spent time shopping and scouting out the bar I would go to for the Steelers game on Sunday. Grafton St is a big shopping area and it was pretty packed when I was there so I didn't stay too long. Walking around the city is really easy and the Liffey is so much smaller than Pittsburgh rivers so you can easily get to the north or south side. The Temple Bar area is really cool as well - I'm going to have to go back there but I think I'd rather not be alone. Sunday I went to part of the National Museum (apparently it has 3 buildings) and did my version of a museum tour - in and out in half an hour, read a few plaques, saw a few exhibits, good to go. Free admission so I'll hopefully get to check out the other branches. I got to Woolshed Baa and Grill in time to get a great seat and a few pints of Guinness (delicious over here!) as well as make some Steeler fan friends. Definitely going back there for the next few games I can see.
Tomorrow I start at Beacon Pharmacy - it's going to take an extra 20 minutes or so to get there and I have to take the Luas, which kind of stinks, but I was actually supposed to be there all week and I forgot today so at least it's only 4 days! I might go to Beacon Hospital (part of UPMC) this week as well while I'm in the area. Beacon Pharmacy does a lot of prescriptions for IVF from what I understand. This Saturday I'm doing a one day tour through Wicklow and Glendalough, then next week is a 3 day work week followed by a 3 day tour of the Ring of Kerry! So excited for those - also, tonight I just bought a ticket to fly to London for the first weekend in December! I won't be able to be there very long but a friend, Elaine, who I graduated from high school with, has graciously given me a free place to stay and a whirlwind one day tour. The flight round trip was about $125 so hard to turn down!
Thursday, 10 November 2011
Oops forgot about this whole blog thing...
So a few days have passed but nothing too dramatic going on here. It rained/misted some yesterday but not for long and today was great and pretty warm - which made today's Christmas parade extra out of place. I keep forgetting that there is no Thanksgiving here and I'm constantly thinking "too soon! You have to wait until the day after Thanksgiving!". I didn't see Santa but the Christmas lights they turned on are AMAZING so I will have to try and take some pictures to post. I can't imagine Monroeville Mall looking this nice....ever.
I saw a movie tonight at the cinema - you have assigned seats! And they are really nice and comfortable but a little pricey - E 7.70 or about $11. The ticket guy asked me where I wanted to sit and I just said "uhhh in a good seat" and I think he did a pretty good job. I might try to convince my land lady to go see the next Twilight movie with me, because I think it would be hilarious on many levels. Probably not a midnight showing although it would be fun to see it before anyone in the U.S.!
A little more on pharmacy stuff - first of all the max out of pocket you would pay for prescriptions is 120 euros a month and then the government picks up the rest - and that's with private insurance (from what I understand) - the general medical scheme has a 50 cent tax levy per rx so it's wayyyy cheaper but sucks in the long run for getting healthcare. Long-term illness is another scheme that includes diabetes (!) so those patients don't pay anything for their rx's. If you have Celiac's disease, you can even get gluten-free bread, pasta, and cereal covered by your medical benefits. No wonder the country is bankrupt! Some of the stuff that goes on here is so different from what we do in the U.S. that I can barely wrap my brain around it. There are a lot of things paid for by the gov't that insurance would reject at home - like brand name drugs (whereas we have to switch to generic if it's available). Patients also get the hardcopy prescription back if they have refills and they can just take it to wherever they want it to be filled. I'm much improved on using the computer system and a little better with the register, although it's hard to make change since I don't remember all of the denominations available - 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, 1E, 2E coins and then 5, 10, 20, 50+ for bills I think.
I might be addicted to tea now and need to invest in an electric tea kettle when I come home. Butler's, an Irish chocolatier, makes delicious hot chocolate by heating milk and melting a giant glob of chocolate in it -yum. I had that tonight for dinner along with a pear cinnamon muffin that was as good as it sounds. Thankfully, Hugh (landlord) gave me a tip to buy microwaveable meals at Marks and Spencers and they were only 3 for 8.50 so cheaper than eating out all the time.
Dublin is my focus this weekend and I think I'm going to check out an Aussie bar - The Woolshed Baa - to watch the Steelers game Sunday night! I made sure to bring my jersey just in case. Next weekend I booked a one-day tour to Wicklow county that shows a lot of where Braveheart and P.S. I Love You were filmed and Thanksgiving weekend is my big 3-day Ring of Kerry tour. I'm a little ridiculous and made a chart that had my list of sights I wanted to see on the y-axis and different tour names on the x-axis so I could decide which tours would hit everything I wanted. It actually worked out pretty well because I didn't want to overlap sights if possible. Waiting to see how the first tour goes before I book more with the same company, Paddy Wagon, just in case.
In other big news, Carolyn is OFFICIALLY visiting before I leave and that is AWESOME.
I saw a movie tonight at the cinema - you have assigned seats! And they are really nice and comfortable but a little pricey - E 7.70 or about $11. The ticket guy asked me where I wanted to sit and I just said "uhhh in a good seat" and I think he did a pretty good job. I might try to convince my land lady to go see the next Twilight movie with me, because I think it would be hilarious on many levels. Probably not a midnight showing although it would be fun to see it before anyone in the U.S.!
A little more on pharmacy stuff - first of all the max out of pocket you would pay for prescriptions is 120 euros a month and then the government picks up the rest - and that's with private insurance (from what I understand) - the general medical scheme has a 50 cent tax levy per rx so it's wayyyy cheaper but sucks in the long run for getting healthcare. Long-term illness is another scheme that includes diabetes (!) so those patients don't pay anything for their rx's. If you have Celiac's disease, you can even get gluten-free bread, pasta, and cereal covered by your medical benefits. No wonder the country is bankrupt! Some of the stuff that goes on here is so different from what we do in the U.S. that I can barely wrap my brain around it. There are a lot of things paid for by the gov't that insurance would reject at home - like brand name drugs (whereas we have to switch to generic if it's available). Patients also get the hardcopy prescription back if they have refills and they can just take it to wherever they want it to be filled. I'm much improved on using the computer system and a little better with the register, although it's hard to make change since I don't remember all of the denominations available - 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, 1E, 2E coins and then 5, 10, 20, 50+ for bills I think.
I might be addicted to tea now and need to invest in an electric tea kettle when I come home. Butler's, an Irish chocolatier, makes delicious hot chocolate by heating milk and melting a giant glob of chocolate in it -yum. I had that tonight for dinner along with a pear cinnamon muffin that was as good as it sounds. Thankfully, Hugh (landlord) gave me a tip to buy microwaveable meals at Marks and Spencers and they were only 3 for 8.50 so cheaper than eating out all the time.
Dublin is my focus this weekend and I think I'm going to check out an Aussie bar - The Woolshed Baa - to watch the Steelers game Sunday night! I made sure to bring my jersey just in case. Next weekend I booked a one-day tour to Wicklow county that shows a lot of where Braveheart and P.S. I Love You were filmed and Thanksgiving weekend is my big 3-day Ring of Kerry tour. I'm a little ridiculous and made a chart that had my list of sights I wanted to see on the y-axis and different tour names on the x-axis so I could decide which tours would hit everything I wanted. It actually worked out pretty well because I didn't want to overlap sights if possible. Waiting to see how the first tour goes before I book more with the same company, Paddy Wagon, just in case.
In other big news, Carolyn is OFFICIALLY visiting before I leave and that is AWESOME.
Monday, 7 November 2011
Dundrum and Farmer's
Yesterday I decided to walk to both of my local shopping centres - Dundrum and Nutgrove - so I could get my bearings a little plus buy a few toiletries and groceries. Let's just say it was a little surreal - first of all, looking both ways before you cross the street is REALLY important when cars are coming from the opposite directions that you'd expect. Second, the speed bumps here are bricked and have a wide and gentle slope to them, not those heinous yellow ones that look like they belong in the front of a parking space. Third, I walked past old stone walls that have clearly been around forever in front of row houses that all look alike but somehow look cuter than most houses in the U.S.
It only took about 15 minutes to get to Dundrum Shopping Centre, which is basically a big mall, with a surprising amount of stores that I recognized. Hamley's was the first place I stopped and it is a two-story toy store (tongue twister) that reminded me a little of Big because there were multiple areas for kids to play and try out sweet toys. I looked around a few clothing stores too and found a Tesco (grocery store) where I got some Irish bread and cheddar for lunch...and some generic string cheese because it's delicious. After about 2 hours I headed back to the cottage and dropped off my stuff then headed to the other shopping centre that was much smaller but had an Aldi's! In case anyone was wondering about how expensive things are here, the carts at this Aldi's needed a 2 euro coin instead of a quarter! The food inside was still relatively cheap but more expensive than the Aldi's at home. Also, Dad, gas is 1.48 euros per liter or about $7-8/gallon if I do my math correctly (no wonder I don't see any SUVs around).
Today was my first day at Farmer's Pharmacy, just a block or so past Dundrum Shopping Centre so an easy morning walk, or at least it was today since the sun was out and no rain! I somehow have missed rain since I've been here so my thoughts may change later on this week. The pharmacy is only open 9-7 and is one of 4 that Liam Farmer (my preceptor) owns - they were started by his dad I believe but he was only in the pharmacy for about an hour before heading to another branch. I worked with Tony (pharmacist), Nicola and Lorna (techs/cashiers) and Katherine (intern-last year of pharmacy school). They were all so nice and made me tea twice! Speaking of tea, the blister packs that the pharmacy can fill for patients have 4 times for taking pills and one is "tea time" which I find to be confusing since I was offered tea 3 different times today. I ate lunch at Fleming's butcher and deli - delicious panini that was pretty reasonable but there's a fish and chips place, Leo Burdock's, across the street that I will definitely have to try. Almost every prescription comes in a little unit-dose box (28 or 30 count) so a label just goes on the outside and that's it. Patients often ask for a refill and wait about a minute or two and get it right away, but it is a lot slower than my Rite Aid at home (which is even slow compared to other Rite Aid's).
This weekend I booked a hop-on, hop-off tour of Dublin since I haven't really done anything in the city yet. The ticket is good for both days and I can get on or off anywhere I want, plus it hits most of the major sights in the City Centre. It might rain on Saturday but Sunday is supposed to be really nice and Teresa said she has had other guests go on Saturday, stop at places they might want to check out further, but then go back on Sunday and pick a few places where they really want to spend their time (like Temple Bar or Guinness Storehouse). I'm also looking at a few other tours (2 or 3 days) that hit some places like Galway, Connemara, Blarney, Belfast, etc. so I can have easy access to everything in a weekend. I basically want to do everything so I'm being a dork and might work on a spreadsheet so I can see what combinations of tours to do so I don't overlap any areas if possible.
Plans for tomorrow: fish and chips, buy postage and postcards, maybe see a movie. If you would like a postcard, email or Facebook message me your address!
It only took about 15 minutes to get to Dundrum Shopping Centre, which is basically a big mall, with a surprising amount of stores that I recognized. Hamley's was the first place I stopped and it is a two-story toy store (tongue twister) that reminded me a little of Big because there were multiple areas for kids to play and try out sweet toys. I looked around a few clothing stores too and found a Tesco (grocery store) where I got some Irish bread and cheddar for lunch...and some generic string cheese because it's delicious. After about 2 hours I headed back to the cottage and dropped off my stuff then headed to the other shopping centre that was much smaller but had an Aldi's! In case anyone was wondering about how expensive things are here, the carts at this Aldi's needed a 2 euro coin instead of a quarter! The food inside was still relatively cheap but more expensive than the Aldi's at home. Also, Dad, gas is 1.48 euros per liter or about $7-8/gallon if I do my math correctly (no wonder I don't see any SUVs around).
Today was my first day at Farmer's Pharmacy, just a block or so past Dundrum Shopping Centre so an easy morning walk, or at least it was today since the sun was out and no rain! I somehow have missed rain since I've been here so my thoughts may change later on this week. The pharmacy is only open 9-7 and is one of 4 that Liam Farmer (my preceptor) owns - they were started by his dad I believe but he was only in the pharmacy for about an hour before heading to another branch. I worked with Tony (pharmacist), Nicola and Lorna (techs/cashiers) and Katherine (intern-last year of pharmacy school). They were all so nice and made me tea twice! Speaking of tea, the blister packs that the pharmacy can fill for patients have 4 times for taking pills and one is "tea time" which I find to be confusing since I was offered tea 3 different times today. I ate lunch at Fleming's butcher and deli - delicious panini that was pretty reasonable but there's a fish and chips place, Leo Burdock's, across the street that I will definitely have to try. Almost every prescription comes in a little unit-dose box (28 or 30 count) so a label just goes on the outside and that's it. Patients often ask for a refill and wait about a minute or two and get it right away, but it is a lot slower than my Rite Aid at home (which is even slow compared to other Rite Aid's).
This weekend I booked a hop-on, hop-off tour of Dublin since I haven't really done anything in the city yet. The ticket is good for both days and I can get on or off anywhere I want, plus it hits most of the major sights in the City Centre. It might rain on Saturday but Sunday is supposed to be really nice and Teresa said she has had other guests go on Saturday, stop at places they might want to check out further, but then go back on Sunday and pick a few places where they really want to spend their time (like Temple Bar or Guinness Storehouse). I'm also looking at a few other tours (2 or 3 days) that hit some places like Galway, Connemara, Blarney, Belfast, etc. so I can have easy access to everything in a weekend. I basically want to do everything so I'm being a dork and might work on a spreadsheet so I can see what combinations of tours to do so I don't overlap any areas if possible.
Plans for tomorrow: fish and chips, buy postage and postcards, maybe see a movie. If you would like a postcard, email or Facebook message me your address!
Saturday, 5 November 2011
Departures and Arrivals
I finally made it to Dublin! The flight from Pittsburgh to JFK was fairly short and easy but trying to find where to make my connection was a nightmare. I think I was supposed to check in again with Aer Lingus when I got to NYC but the line was really long and I already had a boarding pass printed from Pittsburgh so I skipped it. When I got to security, TSA asked me why it said American Airlines on my boarding pass instead of Aer Lingus and then at the gate the flight attendants paged me to print me a new one. I picked up on a few things to do while waiting to board the flight from an Irish woman sitting next to me who referred to Ireland as "the Rip Off Republic" - which basically means I will be completely broke when I get home.
I usually have no trouble sleeping anywhere but the plane was so uncomfortable I slept maybe an hour or two. We had a tail wind that got us into Dublin about an hour ahead of schedule and customs was very easy to get through - well, after getting in the EU line instead of non-EU. I asked if I was in the right line and (obviously being American with my accent) Mr. Security Guy laughed at me and said no but luck would have it that the US/UK line was much shorter. Thankfully I got my bags and everything with no problem! (It helps when they're a bright purple and barely made it on the plane in time so they came to baggage claim first). The Aircoach only cost 9 euros - much better than a $30+ cab ride into Manhattan - to get me to about a block away from Holly Cottage. Teresa and Hughie (the couple who are renting out a room to me) picked me up - they are awesome and very friendly! They have a daughter Emma who is my age so that should be helpful for getting around and finding things to do.
I was planning to stay awake all day and get adjusted to the time difference but that clearly failed when I took a 5 hour nap. Oh well. Tomorrow I'm planning to walk around Dundrum a little and get a few toiletries and groceries, then Monday starts rotation!
I usually have no trouble sleeping anywhere but the plane was so uncomfortable I slept maybe an hour or two. We had a tail wind that got us into Dublin about an hour ahead of schedule and customs was very easy to get through - well, after getting in the EU line instead of non-EU. I asked if I was in the right line and (obviously being American with my accent) Mr. Security Guy laughed at me and said no but luck would have it that the US/UK line was much shorter. Thankfully I got my bags and everything with no problem! (It helps when they're a bright purple and barely made it on the plane in time so they came to baggage claim first). The Aircoach only cost 9 euros - much better than a $30+ cab ride into Manhattan - to get me to about a block away from Holly Cottage. Teresa and Hughie (the couple who are renting out a room to me) picked me up - they are awesome and very friendly! They have a daughter Emma who is my age so that should be helpful for getting around and finding things to do.
I was planning to stay awake all day and get adjusted to the time difference but that clearly failed when I took a 5 hour nap. Oh well. Tomorrow I'm planning to walk around Dundrum a little and get a few toiletries and groceries, then Monday starts rotation!
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