Blue Moon....in more ways than one...

First: what is it with Irish men and mooning?

Saturday evening just past, I'm lounging on the couch, watching telly and possibly doing some form of needlework, when the doorbell rings. Hmmm, I think to myself, I'm not expecting anyone, so who could this be? Probably someone wanting to sell me poxy pictures or something. Anyway, I trundle upstairs to get my keys. When I open the door, this is what I see: a 10-12 year old boy standing on the footpath outside our wee front garden, with his back to me. Dotted along the street are other members of his posse, happily displaying their backsides to me (ie. mooning). When they see me, they start screeching and running off. I shake my head (or maybe I just do that internally, not being as exhibitionist as my gentleman callers), and close the door.

To be perfectly honest, I found the whole incident slightly creepy. I have absolutely no idea why they picked our house, or why they even came up with this idea, although truth be told, this is not the first instance on record (either personal or public).

A few years ago, we were walking down Grafton Street around midnight on a Friday, when 3 guys decide to moon us, completely without provocation. These guys may have had the excuse of drink to resort to, but I sure hope the same does not apply to the kids in my estate! Anyway, I sincerely hope that's the last I see that much of them......

Second: I finally got a guitar!

This has been on the list since April, when I got 'guitar funds' for my birthday. It's an Essex SX handmade acoustic, for those of you in the know (doesn't include me yet), and I think it looks pretty darn good. I got a book on how to learn the guitar so I'll get started on that the first chance I get. Yay!

Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street

This is the musical/play we went to see on Monday - birthday pressie from BethAnne (thank you! :) ) I had no clue about it whatsoever, I only knew it was a musical, but it was very very very good! The story itself was an oft-told tale of love and betrayal, but the way they told it was poignant and riveting, and I loved the choreography and the way they used the stage.

Most of the first row seats were all but obliterated by the stage itself - we were in third row, outside of spitting distance - but it gave an immediacy to the performances and it drew you in, when people were basically hanging over the edge of the stage, nearly falling into the audience.

I've only been to the theater once in the last 5 years or so, but it was really nice to be able to break the mold for once, and do Something Else.

It is currently playing at the Gate Theater in Dublin - don't know how long the run is, but if you can, go see it!

Update on the hockey match

So, it ended 11 - 0 to Ireland - not surprising!

Looking at the penalty stats, it is also not surprising to see the top scorers are all from either Ireland or Mongolia..... Tsk tsk tsk.. :)

Ireland v. Mongolia - Ice Hockey World Championships, Division III

This was the opening match of the championships, and took place in the fairly new Ice Dome in Dundalk, 1 1/2 hours bus drive from Dublin. First impression of the place: impressive. Then we went inside. The ice itself is an okay size, for for some unfathomable reason they only put in tiered seats on one side of the rink. The other side only has a wee tower for the press, and two rows of benches on either side. I have no idea whether there are plans to put in more seats, but at this stage the Ice Dome holds a lot less people than the smallest ice rink in Denmark (which happens to be the one in my hometown. And they really want to build a new bigger one there).

Also, I'm not exactly sure why they chose to put it in Dundalk.... I would really loooove to start playing again, but it ain't gonna happen if I have to spend 1 1/2 hour on a bus to get there, and then go home again with a bag full of damp smelly equipement! That's not to mention the fact that setting up a girl's team in this country would probably be a bit of a stretch. Oh well!

Anyway, the match was fun. There was a lot of stupid penalties, with players hooking each other right in front of the ref, instead of actually trying to get the puck, so the penalty boxes were rarely empty. That led to confusion on both sides some times about how many players they were allowed on the ice. The refs frequently had to signal for one more player to come out. Also, when they changed players, everyone sorta strolled leisurely towards their box, which would not have been tolerated in higher divisions I think. They simply took too long getting in and out of the box. In fact, they reminded me of my own team :) In the game itself, there was a lot of falling over (mostly the Mongolians), a lot of really bad passes, but a few really good and fast Irish players. One of the Irish defense players really annoyed me - he was standing stock still inside the blue line when Ireland was attacking, and just NOT move, and he did get caught out by Mongolian wings a couple of times, when they passed him by.

I left after the 2nd period, when Ireland was leading 9-0, because I didn't really need to see any more, plus I was hungry. I can't find anything about the results online today, so I don't know how it ended, but I figure there was probably a fight, because people were squaring off all through the match, and there were a couple of Game Misconduct and 10 minute penalties given. Very silly altogether I think. Hockey is NOT about who can shove who the hardest, because let's face it - at this level you're as likely to fall as the guy you're shoving. (Okay that's not really true, and it's a bit mean too, but I don't really mean it like that). I think it's great that there are so many different divisions in hockey, giving everyone a chance to join in. Oh how I miss it!!!