Everything But the Kitchen Sink

I have so many things to talk about and catch you up on. Random nonsensical post?

On my Endgame in Ireland post, Carolyn pointed out there was another Irish documentary on Netflix called “The Irish Pub” which is a look at the (mostly) rural pubs in Ireland. Carolyn will be happy to know that I watched the documentary and I’ve been in two of the pubs they featured. It does suffer a wee bit from rose-coloured glasses, but it was still enjoyable. Sadly, pub culture is dying out in rural Ireland thanks in part to a zero-tolerance drinking and driving policy. Still, if you find yourself in Ireland, make sure you plan a night in a smaller community (preferably off the tourist trail) and park yourself in the local pub. You will not regret it.

Nine-year-old me in front of a pub in Kilkenny.
I've blanked it out but that's our family name above the door!

Learning that the Star Trek cast love Dubsmash was one of the highlights of my past week.

Star Trek was my gateway nerd so this brings me so much joy on multiple levels.


Any weight-loss progress I was making has well and truly stalled. You could even say it’s backed up a bit, although, thankfully, not all the way back to the starting line. There are no excuses to give and now claims of “I don’t know why.” I know exactly why and it’s my fault. I haven’t been paying attention when it comes to what I’ve been eating since about mid-June. Funny how two months of eat-all-the-things can muck up weight loss. Shocking!

My gym attendance has been consistent and I have noticed that my cardio endurance has continued to increase so that’s a tick in the win column. As for the eating, I’ve been paying closer attention the past week and plan to continue with it until I leave, but it’s a low priority at the moment so if I find myself getting home at 7:30 pm with no leftovers or food prepared in the fridge, I’m not going to beat myself up about ordering takeout.


The Independent has somehow able to cobble together “Top Great Reasons to Visit Monaghan”. I was surprised there were 10 reasons to visit Monaghan!

Nine-year-old me took this picture! Just kidding. Monaghan Town in 2011.
My uncle was all proud that they finally had a stop light. A STOP LIGHT! Just one.
I love you, Monaghan. Never change. Well, maybe one more stop light.

The Royal Family is coming to BC and the Yukon for the last week of September which has a lot of people excited. I’m best described as apathetic about the monarchy. If I was to wake up tomorrow to the news that they had been removed from Canada’s Head of State status, I wouldn’t shed a tear. On the other hand, getting rid of them doesn’t save us money as we’d then have to invest in the creation of a political entity to replace our current system of Governor General and Lieutenant Governors.

A lot of their time will be spent in Victoria because we have Government House. Government House is more commonly known as the home of BC’s Lieutenant Governor, but it is also the residence of the Royal Family when they’re in BC.

To help Cely you imagine their visit, they will sit at this table to eat their meals.
To be honest, I love visiting Government House... I'm just indifferent to the Royals.
Hopefully, that won't hurt my chances to land the Lieutenant Governor gig. ;)

It’s also 5 blocks from my house.

Not going to lie, I’m happy I won’t be here for all the added people milling about when I try to go for an evening walk.

Friday night, I am going to a Rodriguez concert. If you haven't seen "Searching for Sugar Man" then that name probably means nothing to you, but if you have seen "Searching for Sugar Man"... I'M GOING TO A RODRIGUEZ CONCERT!!

Finally, the one month countdown to Tanzania has begun! To celebrate, my two favourite Tanzanian musicians. The first video is X Plastaz, a hip-hop group from Arusha. The second is Z.Anto, who was big in the BongaFlava scene when I was there.

Tusker beer, here I come!