I don't wanna lose this feeling
This past weekend was a blast. We went down to Austin for several occasions (a birthday party, a bridal shower, and a marathon). Friday night was Karen and Kurt's birthday party. They have been having joint birthday parties for several years now, and they are always lots of fun. It was good to catch up with everyone.

On Saturday afternoon, I went to Kat's bridal shower. It was fun seeing my rambunctious group of friends trying to balance little plates and eat daintily. We heard some great stories about Mark's youth from his sisters, although Victor has validated that lots of little boys make up football games to play by themselves. I guess not too many break their arms doing so...

Sunday was hella cold, but we all came out to watch Kat, Nevie, and Stacy run their first marathon. They have been training for it for months now, and it was fantastic watching them fulfill their goals. Victor, Ryan, and I camped out at Little City on Congress, which was mile 22 of the marathon. Kurt, Meredith, and Collier met us there (they had previously viewed the runners at mile 18) and we cheered our friends on. Kat finished under 5 hours, which is fantastic! And I was super proud of Nevie, who was in a lot of pain before the marathon, but she soldiered through it to finish. We didn't go down to watch the end of the marathon, because we had an appointment with other friends, but I hear there was much crying and rejoicing as the runners crossed the finish line. There were plenty of friends waiting there to cheer them on.

I've been super busy this week implementing a new client at work. I'll be glad when this week is over. Victor managed to snag tickets to see Sigur Rós at the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth next Monday, so I'm really excited about that.

Everybody else is doing it...
Plenty of people are mentioning the Winter Olympics in their blogs this week, so I figure I should do the same. Victor loves watching the Olympics, so we have been watching a lot. I enjoy the Winter Games more than the Summer Games, I think, because I like figure skating, incredible skiing jumps (and crashes), and luge. Victor is obsessed with curling.

Anyway, one person who doesn't like the Winter Games is Bryant Gumbel. Victor passed along this article from Newsbusters (a website I haven't seen before). It includes a transcript from his HBO show that reads as follows:

"Finally, tonight, the Winter Games. Count me among those who don’t like them and won’t watch them ... Because they’re so trying, maybe over the next three weeks we should all try too. Like, try not to be incredulous when someone attempts to link these games to those of the ancient Greeks who never heard of skating or skiing. So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world’s greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention. Try not to point out that something’s not really a sport if a pseudo-athlete waits in what’s called a kiss-and-cry area, while some panel of subjective judges decides who won ... So if only to hasten the arrival of the day they’re done, when we can move on to March Madness — for God’s sake, let the games begin."

Now, I didn't see the show, and I don't know if maybe Gumbel was trying to be funny, but since when did members of only one race have the right to be superior athletes? It's not OK for a white person to be a good athlete anymore? What about Asians? Don't they count?

I'm sorry that Gumbel doens't think that figure skaters, ski jumpers, freestyle skiers, snowboarders, and the like aren't athletes, but I bet they're in much better shape than pudgy football players and baseball players. They could probably kick Gumbel's ass too (even the figure skaters, who I am sure that Gumbel alluded to in his little speech).

I'm also sorry that the sports offered at the Winter Games don't attract as many black people as some of the sports at the Summer Games (although there are some. Certainly many African countries don't send teams or individuals to compete, which is only natural I suppose. I found a good but short article from My Brotha magazine that talks about how unfortunate it is that the Winter Games aren't associated with black athletes, and how as a result the few athletes there don't get much recognition from the black community.

Anyway, I thought that his comments were, well, a little racist.

Yes, it's me again.
OK, I'm the worst person ever. Sorry it's been a bazillion years since my last update. Is that enough hyperbole for everyone? I noticed that Kris and Jeremy weren't blogging much either, but it turns out they had a good reason: our friend Julie was in Chicago for the week. Makes sense!

My excuse? Freaking sinus infection and ear infection! By the time we left our Dublin hotel last Monday until the time we returned to our apartment that evening, I had experienced two pretty bad nosebleeds, horrible snottiness and phlegm, and excruciating ear/sinus pressure. I feel sorry for the guy sitting next to us on the plane back from Chicago. The ear pressure was so bad that my ears still haven't fully popped... a week later! Anyway, I went to the doctor on Tuesday and she diagnosed me with my various infections, gave me some antibiotics and hydrocodone-laced cough syrup, and sent me on my not-so-merry way. I managed to stumble through work all week, and this past weekend I just chilled out on the couch. I'm still snotty and coughy, but the ear pain is mostly gone. I keep getting headaches from time to time, but I'm hoping they go away.

So anyway, the Dublin trip was great other than the illness. I would like to go back again when I'm healthy and can show Victor more of the city and the pubs. I'd also like for us to get out into the rest of the country, because it is worlds apart from Dublin.

I guess today is Valentine's Day. Happy VD to you all! Victor and I are eating at Jeroboam tonight, which is one of our favorite restaurants. And he sent me flowers at work (yay!).

One more thing... I know I'm sworn to love KEXP forever, but I'm discovering a little love for BBC 6 Music too. Their album of the day is Euros Childs's solo album.

Sorry, John in the Morning!

Hello from Dublin!
Just a quickie here... we're in an internet cafe and time's a-wastin'. I still have the nasty cold, and I think I am slowly running through Dublin's entire stock of tissues and tissue-like substances (toilet paper, napkins, etc.) in my quest to keep my nose blown. On the bright side, Dublin is still charming despite all of the recent changes, upgrades, and construction. We have done plenty of sightseeing, shopping, eating, and drinking. And watching rugby and football. And trashy TV. Ah, other cultures. How I love you so.

Biting the bullet
I'm still full of snot, but we have decided not to postpone our trip. So we're going to hop on a plane to Chicago, and then jump on one going to Dublin. I'm so excited - I haven't been to Dublin since 2000, so I know things have changed a lot. I did my third year of college in Dublin at Trinity College, and then spent the summer of 1999 working there. My friends from those days are scattered to the wind, but by some chance my friend Andrew will be there the same time as me. He's been globetrotting in Italy and India the past couple of years, and he's only home for a couple of weeks before heading out again. So it seems as if the fates are smiling, and I'd be silly not to go. I'm feeling better, but I still have the stupid cold, so hopefully I won't infect everyone on the plane.

We are staying at the new Quality Hotel Leisure Centre in the docklands, so I'm expecting a decent trudge into the city centre every day. With us booking a hotel at the last minute, we didn't have many options for cheap(ish) hotels. I've heard some pretty good reviews of this hotel, and it is #19 out of 163 hotels in Dublin on Tripadvisor. Better yet, it has a pool, sauna, and whirlpool. I'm thinking that those amenities might help clear up my snot situation, as well as give me a little relaxation.

I think we're mostly going to kick around Dublin, but we might make our way out to Howth or Malahide for a little sea air. I don't know if Dublin is still as full of bus fumes as it was when I lived there, but if it is, we may need a break from that.

Anyway, I'm really excited, so here's hoping it's a good trip!

yuck!!!
Sorry for not posting, but I'm trying to recover from mounds of snot. We visited my family this past weekend, and my sister and her baby passed on The Cold to End All Colds to me. Sunday night, I felt a little tickle in my throat, and within 15 minutes, I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. We're trying to go out of the country this weekend, so I hope I feel good enough to do so. YUCK!!!