Gone to America

Where was I? Oh, yes. The In The Dark Party was quite a success. Leaving James to do all the organising really freed me up to enjoy it – normally I’m fretting about whether anybody will turn up. It’s been running for four years now, and neither James nor myself are particularly keen on going through it all again, so we’ve blagged Dermot Diskin and Declan McGrath into doing it next year. They may have been drunk when they agreed, but it still counts! If you’re not sure whether you were there or not, you can check the pictures. I notice that the pictures concentrate heavily on the people that I know. Perhaps Dermot and Declan could try and get the same sponsorship money next year, spend less on food, and hire an impartial (and sober) photographer for the evening. Of course, it’s theirs to run as they see fit. My only concern is that it’ll be held out in Smithfield somewhere.

People have been extraordinarily generous to me. Everybody knows that I’m broke, and I’ve hardly had to put my hand in my pocket. I think that even if I do manage to get a job in New York, I won’t mention it in the blog – it would be hard to get back into paying for drinks. Of course, that attitude isn’t reflected in the poll results. I asked if people minded that I was too broke to have bought decent Christmas presents.
88.8%
Yes. 11.1%
What-ever. 0%
No.

So nobody didn’t mind. Great. And only nine people voted. What happened to the other four? I think I did pretty well with limited funds – a couple of copies of The Onion, the Subway Map (makes a good poster, no?), a promotional CD I picked up in a record shop, and some designer watches I picked up on Broadway. I’m sure they’re indistinguishable from the real thing (although I think my Dad is suspicious. Not all the dials on his watch work. He wants me to take it back to the shop, but I think the guy was moved on. What should I do?) I received mostly money and books, which is great, because I’d probably spend the money on books anyway. Or rent. Yeah, more likely rent. I also received a scarf from Eleanor and Jim, which is good, because New York is cold.

I’m sorry for leaving it so long between posts (this has been the longest gap since August, I think). But it was Christmas. I had a lot of TV to watch, and my parent’s internet connection to fix (successfully – here’s to reinstalling drivers!) In terms of TV: watched the end of It’s A Wonderful Life a couple of times (”...the richest man in town!” >sob< ), was impressed be Belleville Rendez-Vous, underwhelmed by Amelie, laughed at Creature Comforts, cringed at The Office (part two tonight) and successfully avoided Gladiator. I also went to see the Lord of the Rings. Review imminent.

What do I think of Dublin? I’ve been away longer than this, it’s true – I spent three months in LA in 1997 – but there’s something fundamentally different between staying somewhere for a while and moving there. Either in LA or Brisbane, although I was there for fairly long periods, I always knew I’d be coming back on a certain date, to stay. Anything I did, any people I met, I was essentially killing time. It wasn’t that important. Living in New York is different, because I’m not killing time, I’m trying to build a life. The people I meet are important, because I’m not necessarily heading back to all my old friends any time soon – these people have to be my life now.
So coming home has been very strange. Within a couple of hours it was as if I’d never left. My time in New York seemed like a dream, fading fast, which was a shame, because I didn’t want it to fade. It’s only starting to seem real again now, now that it’s nearly time to go back. I’m starting to worry about February’s rent, and moving in January, and doing the short, and if the NYFA will give me enough hours to keep body and soul together. But I’m looking forward to it. I’ve enjoyed being back, but I’ve also remembered why I wanted to leave. The same patterns are there, the same restrictions and disappointments. New York is an opportunity for me to forge new patterns, and to experience a whole new set of restrictions and disappointments.
And Dublin. Man, you really need to get some public transport working up in here. And one thing that’s really struck me is the Irish obsession with the past. It’s really offputting. What’s the problem with knocking down a few old buildings? So what if James Joyce mentioned them in Ulysses? My mother in her capacity as secretary of the Eglinton Residents’ Association has fired off a stiff letter of objection to the Planning Department of the Dublin City Council reagrding a proposal to build a twenty-five storey building in Donnybrook, on the grounds that it’s out of keeping with the surrounding architecture. So what! Knock it all down! We need buildings like that! It’d be great! You could argue that Americans let go of their history too fast, but there’s something nice about living in a city that rates the needs of its living citizens higher than those of its dead. Why must we live amongst other people’s ruins? And the roads are in an awful state.

On a more website related note, I met David Stewart at my parents’ neighbour’s Christmas Party. He’s their son, a columnist and fellow blogger. He’s linked to my website, and so I reciprocate. He updates frequently, mainly focusing on technology and Science Fiction related stories. I’ve also started getting Comment Spam, and so I’ve taken action. I’ve also upgraded my Movable Type installation from 2.64 to 2.65. Version 3.0 coming soon, apparently. Hold on to your hats! I may juggle with fonts and stuff on the site over the next day or two, so let me know if anything gets too small or fiddly. I’m leaving on the 31st, early morning, so if you want to meet me or talk to me before I go, the clock is ticking…