Dublin or Bust!

Today was filled with excitement as Dani and I went off to work ready to go to Dublin that afternoon. We had a bit of work to do before we could leave at lunch to make an early enough train. I, for one, had to set up another Pulsed-Field. I have much higher hopes this time, though. Turns out Fiona had written up the wrong conditions when she typed the protocol, using the ones for Salmonella instead of E. coli. Sandra and I are pretty sure that this will make all the difference, but Niall isn't convinced that it'll change anything. Fingers crossed!! I also set up some Integron PCRs to run. Sandra's had worked, so I set up a set with high hopes. We'll see come Monday how it goes.

Dani and I left work at 1:00, and ran home to meet up with Josh. We gathered all our stuff and took the Corrib Village shuttle at 2PM into Eyre Square. From there, we got a sandwich and snacks in town for the three-hour train ride. It sounds painful, but it really wasn't that bad. The three of us got a set of four seats (like a booth) with a table in the middle. The ride was spent eating, listening to music, talking, and sleeping. Lots of fun.

When we got to Dublin, we survived the crowd out and took our bearings. It was an easy enough walk to our hostel, all along the River Liffey, which runs through the city of town. The weather was nice, so we enjoyed it. The town looks nice so far, definitely a huge city. After a bit of a walk, we made it to the Temple Bar area of town. Here, we found the street that our hostel was on and went to check in.

The place was called "Cobblestones", and it looked alright from the outside. We were pleased to discover that they had room in a room for all three of us (originally it was supposed to be Josh and I in one room, Dani in the other), and so we went upstairs to put our stuff down. It was unreal. There were 8 beds, as with usual hostels, but this one had junk EVERYWHERE. Apparently the place houses people who stay for long amounts of time, and ours happened to have five of them. They had their stuff piled under beds and on the window sills - empty bottles, coins, etc.

We got out of there pretty quick and walked down the street to scout out some food. We'd also decided to go on a Musical Pub Crawl for the evening, so we needed to wait for Shelby and Amanda to show up as well (they had come back to Dublin after being in England and before they headed back to the States). It was really fun running into them again. :) Josh and I got kebabs for dinner, and then we all went up to Gogherty's pub next door to start our pub crawl experience.


Two musicians guided us down the road to a pub next to Ha'penny Bridge, where we had time to get drinks and sit down before they started playing and teaching us about the music. It was a really fun time. They were energetic and very talented, and had lots of fun/funny songs and stories to share. The next pub we went to was a bit of a ways away, across the river, so it gave us a nice chance to see part of the city and walk into the main shopping district. At this next pub, we had pretty much the same experience as the last. However, they had a segment they called the "Heraldic Call", where members of the audience went up and performed/sang songs from their country. That was pretty amusing. And we also had a sing-along as well. All in all it was great craic, even though it sounds super cheesy.


After we finished, the five of us walked back across the river and went into Trinity College. There, we hung out at a pub on their campus for a little bit and had a good time. Once it closed, we walked down the street to the Porter House, which is a bar that has its own microbrewery. We had lots of fun there, dancing and enjoying ourselves. A few hours later, we parted ways with Shelby and Amanda (who were staying at Trinity) and went back to the hostel for sleep. Lots to do tomorrow, and so looking forward to it.


So, I've finally got a new Irish saying of the day/week/month (lol): "knackered". This is often used to mean exhausted, wrecked, etc. For instance, after my flight back to the states, I will be knackered. Cheers!

Theater and Bazaar

Once again, entering work, I was met with the frustration of a non-working Pulsed-Field Gel. I'm convinced at this point that it's either the bad machine (since I haven't been able to use the other one) or the conditions are messed up. I've checked and double checked every step...so something else has to be going on. Other than that, I spent the day working on my report, getting advice from Sandra, and starting my powerpoint. Sandra also set up the Integron PCR to see if it would work, so hopefully it does and I can get started!

After work, I went into town with Dani to try and get some stuff for the Races next week. It's Ladies Day on Thursday, so the girls are getting dressed up. I wanted to wear a tie, but also get a little farmer's hat to wear. We found one, despite the rain, and headed back toward Corrib Village. On the way, we decided to stop in at the theater to check availability. This week is the Galway Arts Festival, and neither of us had done anything related to it. Luckily, there were tickets remaining, so we bought them and headed home to change.

We failed to realize that when we bought the tickets we only had about an hour and a half to get back to the theater. So when we got back home and realized it, we were practically running out the door. Luckily, we made it just in time, and sat down to enjoy "Only in the Heartland". It was actually a really good play, strange, but good, set in rural Kansas after a rapture of sorts. The play was quite amusing, with some really good lines, and even had Robert Kennedy back from the dead. He was a sort of zombie, who kept getting shot but couldn't die. It was interesting.


After that, we met up with Josh and together we headed into town to meet the others. First, though, we stopped for dinner at Supermac's, cause we were all starving. We got bagel sandwiches and headed down to the Spanish Arch when we were done. We went to a bar called Bazaar, that was decorated pretty cool, and filled with little sofas and ottomans. It was a nice place, definitely have to go there again. We wandered up Quay Street after that, stopping in at the Quays (which was overcrowded) and hanging out outside. Some of the girls wanted to go to the club next door, but the rest of us just headed home. I ended up sitting at Eddie Rocket's (a diner strangely similar to the Johnny Rocket's in Six Flags) with Marit, Jason, and Amal as they got hamburgers. All of us took a cab back to Corrib Village to avoid the rain.


I packed up my stuff for Dublin and went to bed soon after that. I hope I don't forget anything. We're going to try and catch the 3PM train to Dublin, which will put us there at 6PM. Hope it all works out! Cheers!

Misunderstandings and the Constant PFGE Battle

By now, setting up for a Pulsed-Field gel has become incredibly routine. I've done it so many times, I don't even need to look at the protocol anymore. That's good, though, I suppose. Practice makes perfect. However, I did run into a bit of an argument that I feel I will encounter in the future. The Salmonella Reference Lab people also had to put up a gel, so I figured they were going to use the new machine. A misunderstanding caused one of the ladies to bluntly explain to me that their clinical studies were more important than my research and that they needed to use that machine. One of the girls had thought I was taking the machine, which was not the case and she apologized, but it was still upsetting. I feel like that's something I'm going to encounter for the rest of my life. I'm bound for something in research, that will likely be overshadowed by people with an MD. I just hope we can get along, and I can prove how important and integral research is to health care, etc. Okay...off the soap box.

I spent lunch at the College Bar with Dani and Sarah, then off to the bank to deposit my check and inquire as to why my ATM card didn't work in London. Apparently, it's just a cash-only card that works on Bank of Ireland ATMs, and you can't get the debit function added until you've had it for six months. Drat. Guess I'll just plan ahead to bring cash in the future. The rest of the day I just sat in the office and wrote my paper some more. I need to get Sandra to go over it with me soon so I know that I'm doing it right. Dani and I also had a conversation with Sarah about cafeterias, where we came to realize that they weren't in most of the schools here. That's so odd...maybe it's just a Cork thing? But she was shocked that our schools had them and some kids got free/discounted lunches. Apparently that's not normal...but in America you'd be odd to not have those things.

Back at home, I took a nap for a few hours. I think the exhaustion from my trip to England was finally kicking in. I made some whole wheat mac & cheese (thanks Mom!) and thought of home as I ate it. Then I just relaxed with the roommates until it was time for bed. The usual TV shows were on - Friends, Simpsons, etc. - and we had a good time remembering old episodes and having a good laugh. Night!

Back to the Swing of Things

Our day began with a talk on paper writing and presentation in the Microbiology building. I thought it was a decent talk, but way too long-winded: he took 2 1/2 hours. I guess it was good to hear, but I feel like I knew most of it ahead of time. Oh well. After that was done, Sarah, Dani, and I headed back to work. I had almost nothing to do today, except prepare my plugs for Pulsed-Field again. I cut them up and started their digestion, which will go overnight, and I'll run them out tomorrow. Should be grand. Fingers crossed!

After that was done, I spent the remainder of the day researching Integrons, since I'm starting that segment of the PCR soon. I also wrote a little bit on my paper. It's coming along nicely...I just have to actually sit down and do it. Lunch came and went, and eventually all three of us were finished for the day. We headed home, where I spent the afternoon laying in bed and updating my blog.

Soon enough, Dani and I got together and began planning out weekend trips. This weekend, we're going with Josh to Dublin. Next weekend is the big trip to Brussels. After that, we have a week off to write our paper, so Dani, Josh, Marit and I are going to go to Killarney, in Kerry, for two nights and just finish our papers early. That weekend, we're also going to go to Belfast. Planning all my trips out made me realize how little time I truly have here. It's quite strange. It'll be August next week, and that'll make it two months since I've been in Ireland. Time flies so fast! The night ended with an appearance at our neighbors's "Ghost Party 2". Basically, they'd acquired some sheets from Corrib Village and dressed up as ghosts to throw a party. It was quite amusing. I went to bed soon enough, after giving up on getting my internet to function properly. I can't wait to get back to a steady connection!

Alright, so on to the Galway water situation. Since probably around February, Galway's water supply has been contaminated with a type of fungus called Cryptosporidium. When the outbreak first occurred, lots of students and townsfolk got sick and were hospitalized. Since then, everyone's been warned not to drink/consume the water and nobody's gotten sick. However, we have to either drink bottled water or boil the water before we can use it. It's kinda irritating to brush your teeth with a water bottle, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Hopefully they can sort this out soon - I feel bad for the citizens - but the only thing that can effectively kill the Cryptosporidium is UV light...and installing one of those in their water treatment plant is far too costly. Instead, they're looking for an alternative source for water. I'm sure they'll think of something. Well, gotta go to bed, cheers!

On a Quest for Cash and Pictures

Today we all got up early with lots of things to do. We started by taking the metro down to Herrod's, which is a famous department store (owned by the family of Princess Diana's boyfriend/fiancee Dodi Al-Fayed). Before we went in, though, I wandered around searching for a Bank of Ireland that didn't exist. It was a sad moment, but I'll look again. Once the store opened, we headed inside. The place is huge! There were probably six floors, all massive, containing designer clothing, accessories, etc. The best part, though, was the food hall on the ground floor. They had EVERYTHING - Indian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, vegetables, pastries, exotic fruits, meats, sandwiches, chocolate...the list was endless! It's definitely something everyone should experience. Just...wow. Shelby, Amanda, and I all got lunch there - I grabbed a sandwich, a rice cake, and a pretty dessert cake - and took it to go.


We ended up in the park at Westminster, and sat underneath some trees that looked out on Big Ben. It was lovely weather this morning, too. After we were all stuffed (and very happy), I sent the girls off to see Westminster Abbey, and I ventured forth on a quest for a bank. I remembered there was one just off Oxford Circus, on the other side of town, so I took the metro there and walked. It was pretty busy today - people running everywhere (it is a Monday, so that should be expected). I got really happy when I saw a Bank of Ireland, and went inside hoping to find an ATM or a desk for withdrawal. Instead, they told me where I could find an ATM up the road a ways (they didn't have those services at their branch). Apparently, Bank of Ireland sponsors ATMs in Post Offices around London. After lots more walking, I found the place they told me and sure enough, it was an ATM I could use!!

Cash-in-hand, I took the metro back to Oxford Circus to look for a place to buy a camera battery. I knew it would be pricey, but I would be pretty upset if I'd gone to London and could only come back with maybe 20 pictures. I found one in the first or second shop I'd looked in and purchased it. Thank God it worked. I just wish I'd done it sooner. Shelby texted me to say she was nearby, so we made plans to meet up for shopping. Instead, due to lack of communication and running out of credit on my phone, we kept missing each other. When we finally did meet up, I said I'd go to an internet cafe while she went down to find a Next, and then we could meet back up when she was done.


She did finish, but had to go meet Amanda to pay for their hotel and arrange travel for their next few days in England. I said that was fine, since I wanted to photograph things I'd missed yesterday. I took the subway back to Westminster and walked along the river for quite a ways, capturing the same things I would have had I had my camera with Lori yesterday. Unfortunately, I couldn't get into the Star Wars exhibit again, but I was satiated with some Storm Trooper pics outside. Once I'd finished, I met up with the girls at the Travel Agency, where I got my stuff, and then set out to find a bus to the airport while they bought tickets for Wicked. I ended up having to rush off and say goodbye after I couldn't find the bus, and I wandered about for a good while before luckily finding a shuttle by asking a random guy. It wasn't the one I planned on (nor the price) but I was just happy to make it to the airport.


I caught my flight just fine, and read Harry Potter the whole while. The flight was fine, just a little bit of turbulence, and I was back in Galway. Another 20 Euro later, I made it to Corrib Village, where I collapsed in my bed. Since I only had about three chapters of the book left, I went ahead and finished it. Most excellent, if I do say so myself, and quite appropriate (have you finished it yet, Allie?). I went to bed soon after that. Lots of work to do this week!

The rest of my pictures from London can be seen here.

Storm Troopers Attack Parliament!

Waking up this morning was kinda rough. Lack of sleep hurts. After Shelby, Amanda, and I got up and out of bed, we headed off toward Tower Bridge, where Thomas is staying with his aunt and uncle, so they could do laundry. We got off the Underground at London Bridge and walked along the River Thames to their apartment. It was a really nice day - I wish I had my camera. We passed city hall and this sidewalk art exhibit that had lots of differently designed guitars. It had a nice effect. When we met up with Thomas, we headed up to his relatives palatial apartment. It's on the river, right next to Tower Bridge, and occupies the top floor of the apartment complex. Pretty cool. After they started their laundry, we all headed downstairs to get some lunch at one of the nearby cafes. We just got some sandwiches and sat outside enjoying the weather.

After a bit we went back up to the apartment where everyone sat around waiting for the laundry. I was getting impatient, and had gotten texts from my friend Lori who was nearby, so I headed off to meet her near the London Eye. After a bit of wandering, we finally found each other, and it was excellent. We decided to check out the Star Wars exhibit at the County Hall (nerdy, yes, but super cool). Again, I was really sad I didn't have a camera. Hers had died as well, so it was overall bad luck for us and pictures. The exhibit was really nifty. They had outfits from all the movies, a life-size podracer and Naboo fighter, and C-3PO, R2D2, and Yoda. Very cool. We were both really excited. After we'd seen the whole exhibit, we went to this "Jedi School", where some Jedi trained some young Padawans in the arts of the Force. It was super cheesy, complete with appearances from both Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, and even a "everyone use the force together to defeat the Dark Side together" moment. Awesome.


We hung around the Storm Troopers outside for a little while and were thoroughly amused that from a certain angle it looked like they were firing at Big Ben. (The picture I took above - along with all the others in this post - was from Monday when I ran around the city trying to re-take pictures. It was a sad day without a camera). From there, we walked around by the river and looked at some of the "statue" performers. Lori decided she wanted to stop by the National Gallery, so we walked down to Trafalgar Square to see what was up. We made it just in time to use the restroom and look at the gift shop for five minutes before closing. After that we made a sad attempt to find a camera battery for me, but everything was closed.


I got a text from Shelby soon after, and Lori and I parted ways on the Underground. It was excellent seeing her, though. I met up with Shelby, Amanda, and Thomas at the London Bridge station, where we walked down to Nando's for dinner. It's this Portuguese chicken place that lets you select how spicy your food was. We all got the mild, and that was hot enough. It was really yummy though. From there, we rushed off to catch our "flight" on the London Eye. It's this huge ferris wheel type thing that was built for the Millennium celebrations that has fantastic views of the city. We timed it just right to make it up in time for sunset. I cried (almost) because I didn't have my camera. But Shelby promises she'll give me her pictures, so that should be okay.


After that, we decided to look around at some of London's pubs, since it was my last night there. We went to two on the River and sat outside enjoying the nice weather and looking at the stars. At the last one, nearest to Thomas's apartment, we played Scrabble, which was a whole lot of fun. We laughed so hard, but probably just because of lack of sleep. It was fun trying to navigate back to Victoria, since the Underground was closed, but we finally made it and went to bed with plans to wake up early in the morning. Exciting!

(Note that the weather was much nicer the day before I got to take all these pictures. You know. The one when my camera battery was dead. Sigh.)

London: Spamalot, Sterling, and Starry Nights

I think I got maybe three hours of sleep last night. Which made me really, really tired today. But it was okay...the important thing was that I actually got up in time to catch my cab to the Galway Airport. It was quite a distance away: the cab ride cost me nearly 20 Euro! I made it there pretty early, got checked in, bought a bagel, and read Harry Potter for an hour and a half before boarding the flight. The weather was kinda stormy, but what else is new in this city?

The flight wasn't all that bad - all I did was read the whole time. Loving the book so far. Once I landed in London, I got my baggage and went to get money out of the ATM. My Bank of Ireland card didn't work, so I just used my American debit card and figured I'd sort it out later. The important thing was catching a bus to the train station to get a train into the city. Luton Airport is a bit away. I suppose the train was about an hour, during which I read some more. When I got off at King's Cross, I wandered around until I saw Shelby and Amanda. It was great seeing them again! They took me via the Underground (Subway) to Victoria Station, and their nearby hotel.


I put down my stuff and all of us went out to Oxford Circus to do a little shopping and get some lunch. We ended up at this place that had an Italian Buffet (unheard of in Ireland) that was pretty darn good. Yay for pasta and lasagne! We also got tap water to drink. It's so odd not being able to drink the water in Galway (Have I mentioned that yet? I can't remember. If not, let me know and I'll fill you in). After that, we wandered about in a few shops before meeting up with Thomas at Debenham's.


From there, we took the Underground and walked to the West End, where Shelby and I bought tickets for Spamalot - the Monty Python musical! Thomas and Amanda had already seen it, so they went to see Mary Poppins. Shelby and I got excellent seats in the third row, and sat down to enjoy the show. It was so hilarious! We were practically falling out of our seats from laughter. They took most of the stuff out of "the Holy Grail", but added in some bits and pieces from their other works, like "Life of Brian" (Always look on the bright side of life, do do, do do do do do do). Definitely worth going to see, even again! After some pictures and meeting up with the others, we headed back to the hotel to relax.


I ended up falling asleep on the floor (guess I was quite a bit more tired than I thought) for an hour or so, before we all got up to go out. We stopped at a pub nearby for dinner, which was good, but it took FOREVER to get the order placed, and then even longer to get the bill. Ah well. I've also realized at this point that my Bank of Ireland card simply does not work on these ATMs. I've heard that there are Bank of Ireland ATMs out there...I just have to find one. Until then, my American bank account is hating me for this 2.02 conversion rate. *sigh* Why does the dollar suck so much compared to the pound?


We relaxed for a half an our or so at an internet cafe after that, and caught up with the world. Soon enough, though, we headed out to catch a bus for a night tour of the city. We sat on top of a double decker, which was roofless, and enjoyed the night air. Except for a ten minute rain where we went downstairs, the weather was lovely. We got some excellent views of the city, and I enjoyed trying to take pictures of things as we moved by. Unfortunately, my camera battery died towards the end. I didn't bring my charger...so hopefully I can either find another battery or something tomorrow.


When we got back to Victoria Station, we caught a bus downtown to see if we could go to the oldest pub in London. When we got there, however, we discovered it was closed. So we caught the bus back to Victoria and walked to the hotel. After we all got ready for bed, we read a little bit and then fell fast asleep. Man, I did a lot today! Cheers!

Harry Potter Chaos

Today I had to make new plugs for Pulsed-Field at work, since the old ones did not work. It wasn't too bad (I think I'm getting the procedure down...), but I just hope it works this time. Although, this is quite typical for research. Guess I still have to master this whole patience thing Ah, and here's a pic of our lab, with Dani and Sarah:


For lunch, we went over to the University for one of the other UREKA program's barbeque. It was really excellent. They had kebabs, lots of salads, chicken wings, and burgers. Also, we got two free drinks instead of one like we had at ours. It was really nice. The weather could have been better, but we had a lot of fun relaxing and hanging out with everyone. Dani and I went back to work for a little while after that, but it wasn't too bad. I had to finish up washing my plugs. I double-checked all my steps, so I'm pretty sure it'll work out.

After work, I went home and relaxed for a little bit before packing for my weekend trip. I leave tomorrow morning bright and early for London, where I'll meet up with Shelby and Amanda, and have a blast. It should be a lot of fun. I just hope the conversion into pounds won't hurt me that much. Maybe I'll just try not to think about how expensive everything will be.

Everyone came over soon after, and we all got ready to go out before the Harry Potter book comes out at midnight. We first went to Bierhaus, and had a good laugh. After a while, Marit, Ala, and I left to go meet up with Oein and other people at a bar across town. From there, we left to go to Eason (the book store) for the opening. Everyone said they'd meet Marit and I (Ala had gone home at this point) there if we saved a spot in line. So we got into this humongous queue (have I mentioned that's what they call lines here yet?) that circled one of the churches after going down a side street. I wish I had my camera to take pictures!

After a while, we started to realize that nobody had shown up. I was texting and calling people, but there were either delayed responses or none at all. Finally, I got word that Ruth and Dani were just going to stop by, and then they'd meet up with us later after we got our books. Oein ended up going out without letting us know, which was upsetting, since he'd promised to stand in line with us. So it was just Marit and I, waiting for two hours for the Deathly Hallows. Granted, I did have a good time, but it was just frustrating to have everyone bail on us.

After we got the book (the cover is so pretty!), Marit was tired and went home, and I went to Club Babylon to go meet up with Ruth and Dani. When I got there, I was surprised to see Oein sitting with them. They all apologized for ditching us, and I eventually forgave them after I saw they were truly sorry and we had fun all the while. We got Supermac's afterwards and then took a cab back home, where I crashed. Not getting much sleep tonight, that's for sure. And I'm definitely not able to start this new book!

The Test...

Excitement was in the air as Sandra and I took out our gels and stained them for viewing. Would they work? Would our test show whether there was a difference in the chambers? Was it the heat or were the chambers just not working? When we hit the UV switch to see it, though, there was nothing but disappointment. None of my isolates ran, which sucked, but all the positive controls worked. We could only deduce from that that the plugs I had made must have gone wrong somewhere. I'm not too sure what I messed up on...but I'll have to be extra careful when I make the new ones.

I spent the rest of the time at work streaking plates from which to make new plugs, as well as doing some sensitivity testing on some new isolates Sandra had obtained. I enjoy doing that sort of thing, because it keeps me busy, but also because I feel like it's a sort of fun game - figure out what this organism is, or see what antibiotics it's resistant too. Maybe that's a good sign? Perhaps I really am in the right field. (I hope so...it's a little to late to change!)

The weather was pretty miserable today, so when I got home I changed out of my wet clothes and lounged around reading Harry Potter. I'd finished the 5th book the night before, and managed to start a little of this one at work today (shh). After a while, I had not choice but to run do my laundry before the weekend. I wouldn't have time otherwise. So I walked to the laundromat with my book and sat there for about two hours reading and doing clothes. It wasn't too bad, though, cause I got most of it finished. I'd say I'm more than halfway. Which is good...because I have to finish by tomorrow night!

After I got done with that, I headed back to the apartment and relaxed with the roommates. We just sat around watching TV and chatting. I also spent some time packing for my trip to London - just to make sure I didn't forget anything. I'm really excited about the trip. It'll be nice to see Shelby and Amanda again...and hopefully I'll finally get to run into Lori! Well, better go to bed. I have to be rested up for plug-making tomorrow. Cheers!

Third Time's the Charm? Or Not...

After yesterday's disappointment at the failed Pulsed-Field, I prepared for the chamber test today slightly more hopeful. At least, I thought, we could determine what was actually causing the problems instead of just being in the dark on the matter. I set up one large and one small gel, one for each chamber. It was quite a busy work day, actually, with all that I had to do. In addition to the Pulsed-Field, I ran gels to check the PCR I had done the previous day that would finish off the tetA part of my experiment. It turns out that all our weak positives were negative, so that was fine. Glad to have a bit of it done already. Regardless, I didn't end up leaving until 5:15, and that was only because Sandra offered to put the second gel on the machine for me.


I was glad that she did, because it allowed me to go into town to meet up with Oein for a snack. We ran into a few other friends as well, so that was fun. After that, I went back home and relaxed for a little bit before getting word that everyone was going out for the evening.

We started at our usual spot, Bierhaus, where everyone had a grand ole time. The girls especially, since they managed to procure some pretty cool glasses. From there, we broke off into groups and headed up to Eyre Square, deciding to go to Bar 903. They had a cover band playing, so that made the night a bit more fun. We got to hear some excellent old songs (like "Summer of '69" and "Hotel California") as well as some newer ones (The Killers - "All These Things That I've Done"). Fun stuff!


Overall we just had a good time, goofing off and singing our heads off. There was a bit of dancing mixed in there as well. We stayed there for a long time, until they pretty much kicked us out (nicely, of course). The rest of the group went ahead to Corrib Village, while Ruth, Richard, and I ventured down by the river to grab some things that they'd left there earlier. It was an amusing walk, but we had fun. We took a cab home after that, and hung around the apartments waiting for everyone else to get back since they walked.


After about 15 or 20 minutes, people started streaming back in to the complex, and we had a good time hanging out and joking around. Some of the guys decided it would be fun to "box", or something like that, but we stopped it before they crossed any lines. It was amusing to begin with. As the others put in a movie to watch, I left and came back to my apartment to crash, since I was exhausted. I really hope my gel works tomorrow...and that I don't have nightmares about it tonight! (because that would be sad)

Care Packages Make the World Go 'Round

Today I went into the lab with hopes that my Pulsed-Field gel would come out alright. After staining and viewing, however, it was obvious that something was wrong. Whereas the last gel showed messed up bands, this showed none at all. Sandra was pretty baffled by it. We decided to run two gels tomorrow, one for each chamber, and leave the door open to test and see what was really going on. We also decided to use control plugs we had seen work before. Hopefully that will provide us an answer to our problems...as well as relief from the disappointment of two failed runs.

Despite the frustration, I managed to outline the rest of my research paper and start collecting journal articles that I can use for background information. I also went into town after work again, and walked around a bit enjoying the decent weather. I'm really going to miss this little town when I'm gone. It's really easy to get around in, and I'm so used to it by now!

When I got back from town, I went by the office at Corrib Village to pick up a letter I'd received. To my surprise, there was also a very large package waiting for me! And it was decorated with lots of colorful and fun pictures! I hurried home and opened it, with all my roommates watching to see what I'd gotten. The box was filled with little things, like dove chocolates, Take 5 candy bars (my favorite), and sandwich crackers - which I had been craving! They don't sell them here ANYWHERE. Odd how that is. Anyways, also in the package were lots of great pictures of the family and everyone, and one of Sara decorating my box. It was really sweet to get, and made me feel loads better. I did feel a little homesick, though, but I go home in exactly a month. So that's a nice feeling, even though I know I'll miss it here.

After eating some candy bars, I cooked up some whole wheat macaroni and cheese that Mom sent me as well. It was so yummy! I'd really missed that. Sarah's friend Jennifer came up from Cork to visit her, and arrived shortly after I ate dinner. Since she'd never been to Galway before, we all went out to the Front Door for a few hours to hang out and chat. It was a lot of fun, but I'm already tired - and it's only Tuesday! I'm sure the weekend will rush up on me, anyways. I'm going to London to see Shelby and it's so exciting! Also, Harry Potter comes out on Friday at midnight! I'm just about done with the 5th book...hopefully I can get through the 6th one fast enough. :)

Reaching the End

Well, things are certainly winding down in the lab this week. All I have left to do with my tetA PCRs are to run one last set of weak positives to see whether or not they are really positive or negative. By the looks of it I'd say they're negatives, but time will tell. I also set up another Pulsed-Field Gel, since the last one didn't work. Hopefully it was just the heat; we're trying this one with the door open to the room.

I spoke to Dearbhaile today about the next step in the research. She said they were happy to let me move onto anything, really, and that they didn't want me to feel bored or anything. I told her that with Pulsed-Field, I was keeping pretty busy, but would like to move onto something after I've finished the PCRs. The next PCR I can start on is for Integrons, which I explained earlier. We have the primers and the protocol already, so all I have to do is get started with those. Dearbhaile also mentioned phages, saying I could look at some of the stuff the Salmonella Reference Lab is doing. I don't know that I have time for it, but it sounds interesting enough!

Since I had a bit of downtime for the day, I spent it starting my project report and presentation. I pretty much have the "Materials and Methods" section done, but the rest will have to come bit by bit as I finish the research. I did learn some more about the differences in the Irish and American education systems while doing my report. I was talking to Sarah, and she was saying how she hadn't written a paper for class since probably our equivalent of middle school. That's insane! I've even written research papers in college - and in science classes too. Dani and I found it hard to believe that something as essential as writing wasn't pressed into the curriculum. Just...odd. That, coupled with the fact that she's never used PowerPoint or Excel before makes me wonder how the Irish Education System expects its students to survive in modern times.

After work, I went grocery shopping in town to pick up some food. I was running low, and definitely needed bananas for breakfast. :) Once I got back, Sarah and Josh had decided to go out on the town for the night and try out a few pubs. We met up with Bryan and the four of us took a cab to Eyre Square and spotted a little pub by the green that looked cozy enough. After a round in there, we ran into Dani - who was just saying goodbye to her parents - and went with her to Monroe's. The girls got drinks there while the boys got pizza (yum!), and then we all went out to a club called Cuba in Eyre Square. It was a lively joint, but was rather croweded and had the most odd music selection I've seen. Dunno how I felt about it, but ah well. 'Twas a good day!

Random Trips Aren't Always a Bad Thing

I woke up this morning frustrated. I had not received a call from my friends going to Crough Patrick, and could not get in touch with them. Naturally, I assumed they went without me, so I went back to bed for a few hours. I then got up with the intention of going to Clifden for the day. A bus left at noon near the Tourist Information office, so I headed into town to catch it. I got to where I thought the bus would be, waited, and waited some more. Finally, I called the coach company, who said that I was in the right spot. Seconds later, I watched as the bus drove past me.

I was so upset, I was almost on the verge of tears. I'd gotten it in my head that I was going to travel that weekend, see something new. And when that didn't work out, it really upset me. I immediately went into the Tourist office, and asked one of the girls there where I could go for a day trip. She suggested two places - Spiddal, on the coast, and Athenry, a small village with an in-tact city wall and a castle. She then changed her mind and said it'd be better to go to Athenry, since it was directly on the train line to Dublin, and ran so frequently.

Since the train didn't leave for another three hours or so, I got a bagel at a shop and sat down in Eyre Square to read Harry Potter. Dorky, I know, but I didn't want to go all the way back to Corrib Village and the weather was nice. Well, up until it was time for me to leave. I got on the train just fine, and road the 15 minutes to Athenry Station.


When I got off the train, I wandered around in a sort of daze. I had no clue about anything that was in this city, or even where anything was. So I just walked around the station until I saw a sign, pointing South, that read "An Lar" (which means City Centre). Deciding that was the best course of action, I walked down a narrow road toward the city, and was greeted by a little old lady who smiled and said "nice weather today". I knew from then on that this was going to be a nice town.


After a little ways, I spotted the town's castle and church, as well as the North Gate, an archway that used to be part of the original city walls. I decided to head to the castle first, and was greeted by its friendly employees, who offered to turn on the informational video for me. They also gave me suggestions and a map of things to see in town, as well as stuff to see in other parts of Ireland. It felt really home-y. The video was decently interesting, but enjoyable nonetheless. When I got back outside, it had started to sprinkle. It would continue to do the off-and-on rain all day long.


One of the ladies that worked at the castle suggested I go see the ruins of the old Dominican Priory in town. To get there, I had to pay 10 Euro as a deposit for the key. It was pretty neat, actually. I trekked across a small park to the Priory, unlocked the gate with the key, and walked around inside. There was no roof, yet it still felt like a church. You could just imagine the gorgeous stained glass windows that used to stand there, and the marble floors. It was definitely worth the trip, even if it was raining while I was there.


After returning the key, I walked around through town, and headed to St. Mary's Church. It actually no longer functions as a church, but instead the "Athenry Arts and Heritage Activity Centre". It sounds really cheesy...and that's what it was. I walked in and was almost knocked back by the grotesquely cheery colors and costumed mannequins. Lucky for me, they were just closing, so I saved myself from getting a bad experience in the city. Instead, I just walked around the church, snapping photos.


By this time, I had gotten rather hungry and slightly cold and wet. So I found a cozy little pub and ordered some soup and a Smithwicks. I sat down at a table and watched Irish Football (a strange combo between Rugby, Soccer, and Football) while I ate the soup. It was fantastic! After I was done, I meandered back to the train station, while talking and catching up with Mom on the phone. It was good. Oh, and you can see the rest of the day's photos here.

When I made it back to Galway, I met up with Ruth, Dani, Josh, and Bryan. The five of us walked to a Tex-Mex restaurant called Cactus Jack's, where we ate dinner with Dani's parents, who were visiting. It was as close to Mexican food as I'll get over here, I think. Which means it was quite delicious. From there, we took her parents to Bierhaus, and just sat around drinking and having a good chat. It was a lot of fun. We were exhausted after a while, though, and ended up just going home and going to bed. I'm really glad I got to take a random trip today...else I think I would've gone mad!

Another Unplanned Lazy Day...

So last night ended up being a lot of fun. Had a blast hanging out with people, talking, and all that jazz. Got to experience the late-night madness of Supermac's - with tons of drunk rowdy people pushing and shoving. We decided to get kebab's instead, then took a cab back to our apartment and fell asleep.

We slept in late Saturday and then spent a few hours searching for somewhere to go. No luck, really, so I was pretty frustrated when we decided to just go shopping in town. Marit, Oein, and I went and we walked around shopping. I got a book, but that was about it. Trying my hardest to finish the 5th and 6th Harry Potter books before Friday. Hopefully I can do it.

Oein ended up having some family stuff to deal with back home, so Marit and I saw him off at the bus stop and then headed to Monroe's for more pizza. It was really good, yet again. We made plans to try to get people out to see the live music one night this coming week.

After getting back to the apartment and hanging out for a while, Ruth and Bryan came over and invited us to go watch movies at their place. Dani, Josh, and I joined them, and we watched Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill: Vol. 1, both by Tarantino. I love Kill Bill...but was not a fan of the other movie. Couldn't determine a point. Ah well. It was quick to sleep after that, with hopes of going up to Crough Patrick (St. Patrick's Mountain) and climbing it in the morning. Should be great!

Changing Plans

Today was filled with excitement for my upcoming trip. I was supposed to go to Dublin and then Belfast with my friend Oein. We were going to stay with his friends on Friday and then have a hostel on Saturday. So all through work, I was ready for it, excited about it, making plans.

We started off by checking our Pulsed-Field Gels. We stained it for half an hour, then de-stained for an hour, and put it into the camera to look. It looked really, really weird. We really don't know what happened...but we think it might have been the heat in the room (since there's no AC...and it was really hot this morning). It was really sad, actually. But Sandra was really encouraging, and said we'd try it again next week. Hopefully it works.

Over the course of the day, our plans for the weekend shifted and changed probably once every half hour. It was unbelievably frustrating. By the end of the day, we'd elected to stay in Galway and try for a day trip on Saturday. I had a promise of going out tonight as well, so I guess that was okay.

If something good did come out of it, though, it was going to the BBQ that the UREKA program was putting on. There was tons of food and we had a lot of fun, despite changes in plans. I hung out with everyone in the program, even the professors, chatting and having a good time. After that, we headed back to our apartments and relaxed/got ready for the evening's festivities.

Some of the kids in our complex threw a toga party that night, so we helped the girls put on togas and watched the fun for a while. Now, though, we're about to head to town and go clubbing. It should be a lot of fun, hopefully. Cheers!

Random Irish Info: They're not called "paper towels", but kitchen towels here!

Pizza and Potter

I'm getting used to everything at work, and it all fits into my usual rotation. PCR, run a gel, repeat. Today, though, was the big preparation of Pulsed-Field. I got to try out my plugs (cut them up and ran them with enzymes to digest the DNA) and make the gels. Sandra and I placed the gel in the containers and set up the 20 hour run. Hopefully it works!

I'm pretty sure the next thing on my list of things to do will be integrons. Integrons are basically carriers for genes that can move from one organism to another, inserting themselves into the new organism's DNA. It is thought that they are a major cause of multiple antibiotic resistance in bacteria. So that should be interesting, for sure.

After work, we were invited to go get pizza with the girls from the lab at Monroe's. I believe you suggested it to me a while ago, Aunt Laura. It's a really large pub, that has live music at nights, and then has a little pizza shop. The food was fantastic! We had an excellent time laughing and enjoying our pizza!


At around 6:30, Marit and I walked to the Galway Shopping Centre to the Omniplex to catch Harry Potter at 8PM. We met up with the others (Ruth, Bryan, Niamh, Dave, and Josh) at the theater and got decently good seats. The movie was fantastic! I was really impressed, and enjoyed it a whole lot. Bryan, Marit, and I walked home afterwards, discussing the books and all that jazz. It was good fun.

Once we got back, we just hung around for a bit and then I went to bed. Yay for good days!

Another, long overdue Irish saying: "go away" is used like "you're kidding". It took me a long while to get used to...cause it sounds like someone is just telling you to get lost. lol. But it's kinda fun and growing on me now!

Hump Day! Halfway to Friday!

With our Journal Club done, there's really not much left for the summer except writing up our reports. I think we're supposed to get details on that sometime this week. Today in the lab, though, I worked with Sandra again on setting up our Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis experiment. We did some more Pulsed-Field work, and should set it all up to run tomorrow night. Exciting!

We walked into town for lunch today, since it was nice out, and took our food and sat by the river. I wish it would be sunny every day! But it loves to rain here in Galway. And, of course, once I finished with work it was pouring outside. I biked part of the way into town and ran into my friend Oein. We decided to walk and find a place to get tea, since we were cold and wet. He made me put milk into my tea...and sadly enough, now I'm addicted! I didn't think I'd ever do it, but I did. So I apologize, Allie, for picking on you before! I'll drink tea with milk with you anytime!

After that, I headed home in the semi-dry weather and stopped at a tacqueria called "La Salsa" because I was craving some Mexican food. I got a really good quesadilla, but I still miss Acapulco and all the other great places in Baton Rouge!! Can't wait to get back to cheese dip! YUM! My roommates and I just spent the rest of the rainy afternoon/evening lounging around and watching Brothers and Sisters. Man, I love that show. My favorite episode even came on tonight! The one with the charity ball - I just love all the great lines in that show. Once that was over, we all just drifted back to our rooms and off to sleep. Work every day just wears on you. Ah well. Goodnight!

Journal Club

This morning, we got up and headed in to work early to set up for our Journal Club. Unfortunately, I awoke to the sounds of an irritated roommate, after Dani and I made changes to the power point. It was quite frustrating...since we know how to make a power point presentation, and that you don't put full sentences on the slides. But alas, Sarah was quite upset. I think I might have succeeded in convincing her that we didn't really change anything - she could still stay all her stuff.

Anyways, so we got to the Bacteriology Building, set up the presentation, and began once everyone had arrived. It was quite nerve-wracking, especially since I didn't feel as prepared as I would have liked to be, and I didn't like the article at all. I found it rather boring, actually. But it turned out really well. We didn't stumble too much, and even started a long discussion on antibiotic resistance in animals that lead to Martin having an idea to start a new branch of research. Haha. Ironic, but definitely comforting. At least it's over.

Since I had streaked out isolates yesterday, Sandra and I got to making plugs for Pulsed-Field today. It wasn't too hard - I'd seen it before - but definitely interesting. The gross part was suspending the bacteria. There was sooo much in the tube!! We took that and added it to agarose, which made solid, bacterial plugs (I called them bacterial jell-o; ew). After they had solidified, I set them to lyse and wash, then stored them overnight to be loaded onto a gel tomorrow. Not too bad...but it took quite a while.

When I got home, I took a nap, because I was so exhausted. I feel like that every day, really, but I guess I usually avoid taking naps at LSU. Mostly because I won't want to get up afterwards. I made dinner after that, and we all just hung around watching TV again. It was the usual Simpsons and Friends, so that was fun. Woo hoo!

Now it's time for me to deal with crappy internet and get to bed. Cheers!

Just an aside from a previous Irish term - "your man" is used when you talk about men, of course, but when you refer to a female, you use "your one". It makes sense, really, but interesting nonetheless!

Procrastination...Even Abroad

Work is still routine, but fun. I feel like I'm learning a lot. I'm also feeling a sense of accomplishment, since I'll probably finish my PCRs this week. YAY! I'm sure they'll find something else for me to do, even with Pulsed-Field this week. I streaked out isolates to start with that tomorrow, since Sandra was out today. Should be grand.

Also happening tomorrow is our Journal Club, before which Sarah, Dani, and I have to summarize and present an article. The bad thing was, we didn't start until tonight, really. Sarah worked on a bit of hers in the lab today, so Dani and I finished it tonight. We finally just had to sit down and do it before we got sick of it. It was rough, but we got it done.

It was also an interesting learning experience, seeing the difference between Irish and American education. They don't take a computer class past like the age of 12. Most of the kids have never been educated on how to use Power Point or Excel...and that's really odd for me. We're so bent on computer education in the States that I cannot fathom not knowing how to do it. They even think we type fast! Most of the kids here just peck. It's really odd, I tell you.

Dave and Niamh randomly stopped by shortly afterwards to invite us all out to the College Bar, since one of Dave's friends was in town. We all decided to go in for a drink, since it wasn't that far off. To our dismay, though, we found it to be closed. So we just kept walking, all the way to town, and chose the Front Door as our spot. It was a quiet night, so most of the bar wasn't opened, but we found a booth and sat around having a good laugh. It was great craic. I really do like that bar.

After that, a few of us walked back while the rest went to get food. We ended up missing the turn and came upon the locked gates of Corrib Village. We spent a good while trying to break in before giving up and climbing over a wall to get around. It was highly amusing, but it was also slightly annoying. I wish they didn't lock ALL the gates (except the front one...which is WAY out of the way) at 11PM. Sigh. Just another reason to appreciate ECA, I suppose. Well, now I'm exhausted, so time for sleep. Adios!

Connemara Via Bus!

Today was a bit of an earlier morning, but not so bad waking up. Marit, luckily, didn't have to work in her lab very long, so the four of us (Josh, Dani, Marit, and myself) biked down to Eyre Square to catch a bus to tour Connemara. After a quick stop at the Spar for snacks, we boarded and started our journey.


We went by way of the sea at first, passing through Salthill and Spiddal, another seaside town. The road then went off north, and we passed through the hilly countryside that is Connemara. This bus tour made lots of photo stops, likely because there were only six of us on the bus. It was nice, though. We got to see Ireland's "Niagra Falls" (haha) as well.


We stopped for a break at Maam Cross, and saw a replica of the "Quiet Man" Cottage, near where a John Wayne film was shot. It looked neat, but the figures inside were really creepy. We also climbed to the top of a lookout tower in the hotel there, where we got a nice view of the landscape. It would have been better if someone had taken the time to actually wash the windows at some point in the past year. Oh well.


From there we drove through the mountains, passing the Maamturks and the Twelve Bens mountains. The Inagh Valley lies between them, as does the road, so it made for some lovely scenery. After a bit longer we got to our lunch stop - Kylemore Abbey. We spent two hours exploring the abbey, which is now a school. It was built by a wealthy man for his wife (lucky girl, eh?) back in the day, but sold to Benedictine nuns after World War II. It's beautiful, though.


The weather was really nice, so we took a walk around the lake, taking in some nice scenery and fresh air. We saw the Gothic church near the lake and also a mausoleum for the man and woman who lived here originally. After our walk, we had lunch in the cafeteria. I had a sort of roast and potatoes, which was in a Guinness/gravy sauce. Sounds interesting, but it wasn't bad at all. We got ice cream after that and headed back to the bus for the rest of our trip.

We made another photo stop right near Killary Fjord - Ireland's only fjord - outside of the town of Leenane. It was gorgeous! Completely unexpected, too. I've actually made one of the pictures I took into my computer's desktop background it was so good!


On the way back to Galway, we all fell asleep! Guess it was more exhausting than you'd expect riding around all day in the bus. We made it back into Galway around 4PM, so Marit and I ran to Dunnes to stock up on groceries before cycling back to Corrib Village. For the rest of the night, we lounged around, relaxing and watching TV. Ruth, Bryan, Marit, and a few others went to see Die Hard 4, and while there pre-ordered Harry Potter tickets for us for Thursday! I can't wait!

You can find the rest of the pictures from this adventure here. Well, back to work tomorrow. Cheers!

Sweet, Relaxing Saturday

I slept in sooo late today. But it was just fine, since we got in last night around 4AM. We had so much fun, though. The club opening was a success, and it was packed! Lots of people dancing and having a great time. I went with Ruth, Dani, Marit, Bryan, and Josh, and all of us had a fantastic time. :)

After I got up and showered, the rommates decided to head into town and shop. I elected to stay behind, and ended up watching bits of the Live Earth concert on television. Then, I did laundry (and spent a bunch of money...again), which I needed desperately to do. I then proceeded to read Harry Potter and wait around for a friend to call me (which didn't happen).

It was really a nice day, though. The weather was gorgeous, so I read outside for a few hours. When the roommates got back, we just sat around talking and watching TV. It was great fun. I did make it out for a little bit that evening on the town, but nothing too major after last night. Tomorrow we plan to make a bus tour of Connemara...so that should be really nice. It's supposed to be beautiful!

Friday Adventures

Today was easy enough. Funny how Fridays always turn out that way. :)

We went to Ward's again for lunch. It was still just as good as before. It's a pity we'd forgotten that Fridays are barbeque days at the College Bar...so next Friday we'll go and get hamburgers and stuff. Yum! I spent my work hours just finishing things up before the weekend, and looking over the protocol for Pulsed-Field for next week. It sounds exciting, but really scary at the same time. I hope I can do it alright.

Also at work, I finally got around to planning out some of my adventures for the next few weeks. I'm definitely going to Scotland for the last few days after this program ends, and thankfully God Daddy Larry got me in touch with his sister-in-law, who lives in St. Andrews. I think I'll be able to get some good info from here, and maybe even a couch to crash on! Other than that, I'm going to go to Northern Ireland next weekend to see Belfast and the Giant's Causeway (as per Fred's suggestions), and then the next weekend I'm going to London to meet back up with Shelby, Staci, Lori, and Amanda from LSU! And hopefully I'll get to see Monty Python's Spamalot (the musical!). The only thing left to book is a random trip for the Bank Holiday weekend. Belgium is looking nice...mainly because the flights are so cheap. We'll see.

After work we hung out for a bit at home before getting ready to go out for a night on the town! One of the guys I'd met around at a pub is opening a new club tonight, so I think we'll check it out. Should be a lot of fun, and hey, maybe we'll get a discount or something! Yay for the weekend!

After the Party

Man...waking up today was rough. Had a lot of fun last night, but it was well worth it. Work was fine, everyone was excited to hear about our celebrations. We decided to walk to Ward's Corner Store, which is right across from NUIG and has excellent sandwiches. Definitely will make a trip there again. Oh, and I finally got some pictures of the Quad on campus! It looks like a castle - so very cool. :)



At work, I watched Jean finish Pulsed-Field, which was nifty. Sandra said we're definitely going to do it next week, so that's exciting. I ran some more gels, set up more PCRs - the usual. It was a pretty easy-going day overall. After work, we headed back to our apartment and lounged around (as usual). I know it sounds really plain and boring...but it's actually a lot of fun. I really like my roommates.

We decided today to just stay in this weekend...go out on the town tomorrow night and do a Connemara bus tour at some point. I think it'll be better than traveling, actually. It'll be nice to just relax for a while. Especially since I think I'll be traveling most of the weekends after this. Exciting!!

Independence Day in Ireland

Today didn't really feel like the 4th of July...mainly because it was pouring outside. It seems like somehow, some way, it's always 90+ degrees and sunny on the 4th back home. But we made it into work alright in the rain and got to work. Before I'd even loaded my gel, Dearbhaile found us and told us to go home. We got the day off because we were Americans! Haha. It was really unexpected and really awesome. :)

Dani and I went to town for a little bit to pick up some last-minute party supplies. Then we came back (got soaked in the process) and changed clothes. Somehow, we got into a cleaning mode, and mopped all our floors and removed the furniture - to rearrange later! I also started re-reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in preparation for the movie (which comes out next week!). I went into town around one o'clock to get lunch with my Irish friend Oein. He showed me around a bit, and we had a good time chatting and avoiding the rain.


I headed back home after that and spent a little while napping, then started preparing for our party. Dani, the roommates, and I set out the food, drinks, and tables outside for ping pong. The neighbors quickly showed up and we started celebrating America's Independence. We'd declared that the Irish could only use our words for things today (for example, "jello" instead of "jelly"), which was a lot of fun. Chris and I were in charge of the burgers, so I seasoned them and he grilled them on a disposable grill. They're really interesting...I don't think we have them in the states. They're basically a tin tray filled with charcoal that you light and cook - supposed to last an hour. Ours lasted much longer, but it worked great, since there's no grill here.


We really had a blast enjoying the good food and good company. The only thing missing was fireworks! They're illegal in Ireland, so that was a sad discovery. The party lasted for quite a while, though. We started getting everything together around 6PM, and we didn't finish cleaning until after midnight! I think it was a great success - everyone had loads of fun. I pretty much crashed after that. But it was a great day! Yay America!

Party Preparation

Today was full of excitement. With a bit of our shopping done already, we were itching to finish it all and party! Work went pretty well, just the typical PCRs and gels. Jean also continued to show me bits of the Pulsed-Field procedure. I think I'm supposed to start it next week sometime, so that should be exciting. I almost forgot! I took some pictures of our lab the other
day, so I'll include some of them in the next couple posts.

This is the Molecular Biology Room - PCR and Pulsed-Field

And this is the Dark Room - where we run gels!

Lunch went well enough with Dani and Sarah - we walked to the Subway near the hospital. Dani and I each got footlong subs, and then saved half for dinner. Definitely have to do that again. Mine was chicken tikka - which is a type of Indian chicken. They're really big on Indian food here; curry's everywhere, and they even eat it on chips (fries)! I have a feeling it stems from the time that Britain controlled India, having all the spices shipped back that were readily available to the Irish. I'm not complaining, though. :)

Once we got off work, Dani and I gathered a group of people together to head to the Galway Shopping Centre for groceries for the party. Bryan, Chris, Josh, and Ruth joined us for our walk across the bridge. During our few hour shopping adventure, we made it to Dunnes, Aldi, a toy shop, and Tesco, and happened to get everything on our list. It was a fun time, really. We had to get a cab back home, since we had so many groceries. You should've seen the pile of food in our living room! But then again, we're planning on having a huge get-together for the Fourth, so we'll probably eat it all. Should be a great time.

Speaking of grocery stores, I don't think I've mentioned that bags cost money here. It's an effort to cut down on litter - they charge 15c each! (Actually, I think it's gone up to 22c by now). It seems like a good idea...but it'd never fly in the States! Another interesting thing is that it's a 1 Euro deposit to get a shopping cart; like, you put the coin in and it releases the cart, then when you return it the coin comes out. I don't think that would go over well back home, but I think both would be good ideas.

The rest of the evening I just spent hanging around the house being lazy. It's nice, though. I'm really enjoying my vacation. Fred, my boss from back home, invited me to Portugal with him the other day for the weekend, so I've been frantically searching for flights. I don't think it'll work out, though - too pricey for one weekend. We'll see.

Cheers!

Goodbye, LSU!

It's always an odd thing to get up on a Monday morning...just because it means my weekend travels are over and I have to get back into the swing of lab work. It's not all that bad, in reality, it's just work. Sarah, Dani, and I biked to work in the rain (again) and dried off with paper towels (again). Then we got to work. This week, Jean offered to show me a preview to Pulse-Field Gel Electrophoresis - a technique used to compare bacterial DNA to see if two isolates are the same or similar species. It seems sorta complicated, but I think I can handle it when I need to do it.

For lunch, I met Shelby at the library and then we walked together to the College Bar. We both got curry, and sat down with Richard and Chris - my neighbors from the states who are doing the biomedical engineering UREKA. We had a good time talking and visiting. I'm sure going to miss Shelby when she leaves tomorrow morning!!

After that, I went back to work and finished out the day's activities. I ended up taking longer than the others to run my gel, so Sarah and Dani headed home to catch the shuttle into town. We needed to do some preliminary shopping for Wednesday, when we're going to throw a Fourth of July party for everyone! It should be grand. After I finished my duties, I biked back to the apartments and caught the shuttle into town.

Turns out Dani and Sarah were already done by the time I got there, so I stayed in Eyre Square and went off to the Quays pub to find Shelby and the other LSU kids. All of them were there (just like the first day they were here) having a loud, fun time. It was really amusing. I finally ran into Staci, who was on election board with me this entire year, and Mark, who I've known since freshman year in the Lavilles. It was cool seeing both of them and visiting with them. After a bit, Staci, Shelby, and I went to McDonough's for fish and chips - supposedly the best in town. They were pretty darn good. The only bad thing, was that it was 20c for ketchup! Imagine that!


We went back to the Quays for a while, before a group of us decided to go to Finnegan's for dessert. I had some Bailey's Irish Cheesecake, which was fantastic. I'll have to stop by again for more! Then it was back to the Quays to see if we could rouse some people to migrate to another pub. It was pretty unsuccessful, but a band came in and started to play Irish music. That was fun, but the bar got packed pretty fast. Staci and I quickly decided that it was time to go, and we said our goodbyes and headed back home.

I went to bed soon enough after that. It'll be odd waking up and realizing that my friends are on their way to Cork. At least I'll see a few of them when I make my weekend trip to London! I'm sure that'll be lots of fun. Ta ta!


Oh! And I almost forgot to mention - I found my car's twin!!! It's the exact same car, except that it doesn't have the little spoiler on the back that mine does. It's really odd...but very cool. I've never seen one like it before. :)

Into the Past in Cobh

Last night was a lot of fun. We went to three different pubs, and also to a dance club in downtown Cork. All of us laughed, danced, and had an excellent time! After we were exhausted, we made a stop at Hillbilly's (a fast food chipper that serves chicken - much like Cane's, but peppery - which was excellent) before hailing cabs to take us back to the house. Once there, I watched some of the guys play poker for a bit before, exhausted, heading upstairs to go to bed on the comfy couch. Dani and I stayed up for a while talking before falling asleep.

The next morning, I figured out times for trains out to Cobh (pronounced 'Cove'). It's a little historic harbor town suggested by my guide where half of the Irish immigrants to America left during the potato famine. It's also the last place the Titanic stopped before it hit the iceberg, as well as a spot where many survivors of the torpedoing of the Lusitania were brought for treatment. Everyone decided to come along on our trip, so we caught the first bus into town and walked to the train station. From there, we got our tickets and boarded for a short ride into Cobh.



The whole trip we wound along the coastline, which was pretty nice. Finally, we stopped at Cobh and looked out onto the harbor and land across it. It's a gorgeous place, and peaceful too! Sarah came with me to the museum in the city, which houses the Heritage Center as well as exhibits on all the things that have happened to Cobh over the years. This is where I thought I'd be able to check out my family's histories and find ancestors and such, but it seems to be just a place to pick up the forms to order them. Oh well. The exhibit was interesting, but lacking in information and photos and not worth the entrance fee.

The town itself, though, was lovely. We all walked around it for the next hour or so before we had to get the train back. It's right on the sea, built on a hill, so the town's all stretched about it leading down to the water. There was a huge church we saw at the top of the hill - the town's cathedral - that we decided to walk up to. It was gorgeous inside! And massive! And in this tiny little seaside town in Ireland! I was really impressed with it. Sarah, Dani, Josh, and I walked back to the train station together, making a stop at a convenience store for ice cream, then a candy store to stock up on snacks for the bus trip back to Galway.


The rest of the day's pictures can be seen here.

When we arrived back in town with the others, we picked up the luggage we'd left at the bus station and then left the rest of our group so we could catch our 6:00 bus back (their bus, with a different company, wasn't until 6:30). First, though, we stopped in the shopping center for food. We made the mistake of going to Quizno's, which was out of nearly everything - including lettuce - and had pretty bad service. Oh well...it was food.

The bus trip home was quiet enough. I just slept and listened to my iPod. When we made it
back to town, we took a cab back to Corrib Village and relaxed. Always nice after a busy weekend. Tomorrow I've got to hang out with Shelby and the other LSU kids, since they leave for Cork (the irony, eh?) on Tuesday.

And it does not feel like July already!