Christmas eve will find me…

Where the love light gleams

Fairytale of Brooklyn

It’s hard to believe that I moved to Ireland from New York just over five years ago. The time has just slipped away! Obviously I absolutely love Ireland – but from time to time I definitely miss New York; afterall it was my home for ten years!

I find it very hard to get into the Christmas spirit these days and it’s not for the want of trying, let me tell you. Ive been listening to Christmas FM, Ive been to see Four Christmases (very cute by the way..) and I’ve just arrived home at a magically decorated house in Wexford – so what gives, eh?!

My theory is threefold:

1. I’m older now, and we all know that Christmas gets a teensy bit less magical once Santa stops visiting

2. My sister is still in NY – and when I don’t get to see her around this time of year, it’s really crap

3. I completely miss how Christmasy New York is this time of year!

Its freezing, there’s snow, Salvation Army Santas are on each corner, all you can smell for miles around is roasted nuts being cooked on the sidewalks and lets not forget the amazing shopping!

Another thing I miss is Dyker Heights, Brooklyn. Every year people come from miles around to see the houses in this neighbourhood because they go ALL OUT. Now, you may think its tacky – but we Brooklynites love to go and look at the amazing decorations and donate some money to charity along the way. Observe:

I think even the Grinch would have trouble resisting the magic of Christmas in this part of the world! I know it’ll probably be a while before I make Christmas in New York again – but until then, I can dream, can’t I?

Photos from here.

All things Karen Millen

Christmas in Dublin is never a very peaceful affair – especially if you work in a shop on Grafton Street. This Christmas has taken things to the extreme. With the economy in a downturn, the sales have started early this year! Great news for the shoppers, not so great news for us “style advisors” (thats my actual job title in Karen Millen!). There are some amazing bargains in the shop at the moment – gorgeous dresses and shoes at 50% off! Hopefully I’m still alive by the end of the madness…

In other Karen Millen news – the brand seems to have acquired a new celeb fan: Eva Longoria!

Both these dresses are currently on sale – but good luck finding them in the shop, they’re selling super fast!

Photos from here!

There’s no such thing as a grown-up

Love this.

I fell in love with the sound, oh I love to sing along with you.

The above photo is of one of my absolute favourite artists: Josh Ritter. For anyone who hasn’t heard of him, here‘s his website!

I first came across the song stylings of Josh when an ex boyfriend of mine gave me a mix CD with one of his songs on it. I fell completely in love with his soft vocals, enchanting guitar and magical lyrics. I had never been a fan of the “folk sound” – but with Josh it was different; I was hooked.

In fact, his album “Hello Starling” was played on repeat for the duration of my Leaving Cert.

I’ve seen Josh in concert four times now. He never fails to impress me onstage – not just musically – but as a person. He’s always so happy to be onstage and reacts so modestly to the excited crowd and how they sing all the words along with him. I’ve also met Josh a couple of times. He’s just one of those artists who takes the time to speak to every fan he can.

Once, I was in work and he was signing copies of his latest album in HMV. My boss told me I could take a quick break to run up to get my copy signed. Soon enough, a little break turned into an hour and a half and I knew I was in complete doody! I told Josh all about this and he took down a poster off the wall of the shop and signed it “To the lovely and patient staff of Karen Millen, I love you and Susan loves you too. Please be good to her. Love, Josh Ritter and Susan.” It didn’t get me out of trouble, but it didnt hurt either!

Last Friday night I saw Josh play a monumental, career making, sold out gig in Dublin’s Vicar Street. He was joined onstage by a full 24 piece orchestra and conductor – in addition to his band. The music sounded the way it was supposed to sound – and was given completely fresh life. Each song was better than the next – but my favourites were “The Temptaion of Adam” and “Rumours” where Josh crooned, “my orchestra is gigantic, this thing could sink the Titanic” – very true, Mr. Ritter.

I sang, I danced and I felt every note and lyric along the way. He just has that effect.

Here are some of my favourite lyrics:

We walked up in the fields alone
And the silence fell just like a stone
That got lost in the wild blue and the gravel grey

- Come and Find Me

And at last we saw some people huddled up against
The rain that was descending like railroad spikes and hammers
They were headed for the border—walking and then running
Then they were gone into the fog but Anne said underneath their jackets she saw wings

- Wings

Then one night you found me in my army issue cot
And you told me of your flash of inspiration
You said fusion was the broken heart that’s lonely’s only thought
And all night long you drove me wild with your equations

- The Temptation of Adam

You put a finger to my lips and then you kissed me once and once again
The crickets all leapt up and met the moon with a standing ovation

- Right Moves

The title quote is from a song entitled, “Good Man”.

Josh Ritter plays the Marquee in Cork – again with a full orchestra on July 4th, 2008. His most recent album “The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter” is absolutely gorgeous – but for a real introduction to Josh’s music, I’d reccommend “Hello Starling”. It had me at “hello”.

Wanna feel Christmasy?

…then switch that dial over to 89.9 Christmas FM! Alternatively, if you’re not in Dublin then you can listen live online here!

I was having trouble getting into the holiday spirit – what with projects, assignments, work and being completely broke. I heard about this in college the other day and decided to check it out! Not only is it full of cheesy Christmas classics, but it’s for a great cause too. All proceeds from the broadcasts will go to the ISPCC!

The Christmasy radio-fest will go on 24 hours a day until the 26th of December at midnight – and sees radio vets from various Irish stations come together to produce magical, festive programmes. And guess what? These people are giving their time and energy for free!

Plus, people seem to be listening online from all over the world – and the presenters keep reading out international texts – how cool!

It’s great to see people doing something so positive . So, Wha bam to the recession blues!

mmm mmm….Christmas

 

Does age = wisdom?

Lately I’ve been plagued with the topic of ageism. Its being bandied about in the news lately (with the over 70′s (almost!) losing their medical cards, the age action Ireland campaigns, and the Elder Abuse campaign) so I decided to look up its meaning.

Here’s what I found:

Age-ism n. Discrimination based on age, especially prejudice towards the elderly.

That makes sense. I have to say though, that prejudice against young people has definitely become an issue as well – and gets far less coverage. Is that because we young people are not as vulnerable? That we’re not as respected because we’re not as serious? Or is it just because as a generation – we’re lazy?

I don’t know about other cultures – but here in Ireland, the elderly in society command a certain amount of respect. They’ve lived through a lot (lets not forget, Ireland has had a rough century!) and they know a great deal about the world – so of course we should take care of them and treat them as they should be treated!

My issue is when giving respect doesn’t command it back. It’s all too easy for older people to say “young people have no respect!” – whereas if I said that about an older member of society, I’d be completely shot down.

Ok, so where is all this coming from? Well, other than it being prevalent in the news at the moment – I have had the opportunity to work with senior citizens in the states and have had a blast doing so. These are not your stereotypical “old dears” – these are high flying, partying and sharp people. I took them out on day tours of NYC over the summer and for the most part we had a brilliant time together. However, the minute something went wrong on a trip (and thankfully this wasn’t an everyday occurrence) the first thing someone would say to me, despite me trying my very hardest to resolve the issue, was: “You have no respect, young lady.” It was like a “go-to” phrase when things went wrong. And never once did I raise my voice, use bad language or behave impolitely during these situations.

Lately, I had another incident where I feel someone was ageist towards me. I can’t give specifics, but the person in question felt that he could be rude, interrupt me and use foul language towards me in a class room situation – and the lecturer (of a similar age) not only repeated his sentiments, but did so with a laugh and a wink. It caught me so off guard and got me so upset I didn’t know how to respond.

When you’re put in a situation where your elder is disrespectful to you, how can you respond without looking like a rude little brat?

I chose not to respond. But if I could go back and do it again, I’d stand up for myself and point out that ageism works in both directions.

The Unstoppable Chick Flick

“OK, life’s a fact. People do fall in love, people do belong to each other – because that’s the only chance anybody’s got for real happiness.”

-Breakfast at Tiffany’s

I’d consider myself a pretty well read girl. I like reading books that make me think, solve mysteries, and that make me stop right on the last page and say “oh my god, thats dark”.

I have no special affinity for the colour pink. Sure its a nice hue, but I don’t need my entire wardrobe, room and dog to be covered in it! 

I’m not afraid of getting dirty. If there’s a tree people are a-climbing, you can bet I’ll be a-climbing it too.

I resent any sort of sexist remarks or behaviour. Support women’s charities and happily call myself a feminist.

I hate Chick Lit.

Then why am I so in love with chick flicks?!

Sure they have predictable plots, a very similar cast of characters and those ushy gushy moments that should make you say “gick!”. But there’s something about a romantic film that makes me swoon and instead of “gick!”, I utter “awww” instead. I even cry at the occasional movie! The first time I watched “The Notebook”, I was in bits. You know the part I’m talking about: It wasn’t over! IT STILL ISNT OVER! The “Notebook effect” has worn off – but if you put on “A Walk to Remember”, I guarantee I will ball every single time.

So here we have it: My favourites, in no particular order! I could watch these films over and over and they still make me swoon just a little bit!

When Harry Met Sally, Bridget Jones’ Diary, A Walk to Remember, You’ve Got Mail, The Notebook, Notting Hill, Serendipity, Pride and Prejudice (either version), Sleepless in Seattle, While You Were Sleeping, Dirty Dancing, Love Actually, Kate and Leopold, She’s All That, Pretty Woman, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Four Weddings and a Funeral, A League of Their Own, Now and Then, Never Been Kissed, Grease, Stepmom, Legally Blonde, Clueless, Mean Girls, Save the Last Dance

I’m on a constant quest for new ones – so if you have any suggestions – please comment! I’ll leave you with one of the most memorable lines in chick-flick history:

“…And it’s not because I’m lonely, and it’s not because it’s New Year’s Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

- When Harry Met Sally