Sunday Sundries

1. It took four boxes of throat lozenges, 1 bottle of DayQuil, 1 bottle of NyQuil, and a lot of doing nothing for me to be able to say that I'm finally better... almost. There's still the occasionally coughing fit and a semi-persistent sore throat but I feel like doing things. That's a far cry from how I've been feeling these past two and a half weeks.

Due to work commitments, I couldn't miss any days but it meant my evenings were naps, followed by some TV, followed by bed.

I'm happy to have that part of the illness behind me.

2. Dunkirk is fantastic. The movie is less a story and more a moment in time. If you are interested in seeing it, definitely see it in the theatre.

3. Sticking the with movies (because when you want low-energy activities, you go see all the movies), Atomic Blonde is a lot of fun. If you enjoy James Bond films and like strong female protagonists then check out this one. The fight scenes are pretty intense but unlike most action flicks, the characters become tired and affected by their injuries as the scenes go on. Thumbs up on that.

Now, the one thing I didn't like. I'm going to preface this by reminding you that the use of Xhosa in Captain America: Civil War bothered me because NOT THE RIGHT REGION. The movie takes place in the days immediately before the fall of the Berlin Wall and there is a scene set in East Berlin. When the lead character crosses the street, you can clearly see the crossing signs behind her and they are not the correct Ampelmännchen. They should look like this:

The former East Germany is the only place in the world with these symbols. But Andrea, I hear you say, why would they change the crossing sign for a 5 second shot? Because East Germany never got rid of these signs. They started to but after a huge public outcry, the government decided to keep them. They are an endearing symbol of East Germany, one of the few items to survive into the modern era. They might as well have digitally removed the Fernsehturm from the skyline and it wouldn't have been as jarring to my eyes.

Now to tuck that complaint away into the same neglected corner as my Civil War complaint!

4. Monaghan and Armagh both won their GAA Gaelic Football games this past weekend. We now have a pub in Victoria that shows the games live. I'm the only person in there watching them but at least I don't have to watch them on super sketchy Internet sites. YAY! Monaghan faces off against Dublin this coming Saturday. In the meantime, I'll be psyching myself up by watching this classic on repeat.

That ad is a thing of beauty, I tell you. Also, it's nice to know that 31 of the Irish counties will be cheering for Monaghan this weekend because everyone hates Dublin.

5. Updating your CV for a job in the same place you currently work is annoying. I really just want to hand them a paper that says "you know what I'm capable of so do you think I can handle this position or not?" It's that fine line between talking yourself up but not overstating your abilities to the point where they can call  you out on it because they also worked on that same project. Ugh. Just ugh.

Please?

Brexit Won

In case you've been living under a rock - in which case, who is your internet provider because I didn't know "under a rock" could get a signal - Thursday was the UK Referendum on whether to stay or leave the EU.

The Leave vote won.

I'm not happy about this for two reasons:

1. I really hate the word "Brexit".
2. I believe with every fibre of my being that this is the wrong choice.

Ignoring all the economical reasons why I disagree with the vote, the Leave campaign was run on a platform of racism and it won. I'm not naive enough to think that we ever lived in a world without racism, but it is terrifying to see it so openly displayed. And not just in the UK referendum or the US election going on south of the border, but everywhere.

Also, as someone who's family comes from a border county in Ireland, there is the concern about what this could mean for peace on the island. Town and villages on both sides of the border that have flourished since the border crossings have all spoken out about the economical repercussions of monitoring that border again. While both the Remain and Leave campaigns have said that the border would remain open even in the case of a Leave vote, it's an added uncertainty to an already fragile peace.

Add to that, there is a real (and valid) concern that this Leave vote could see a return of sectarian violence. Both in Ireland and Northern Ireland, this has been pointed out. The EU and the removal of borders between EU countries was a big part of what made the Good Friday Agreement work. Where does that leave Northern Ireland, which voted in favour of staying in the EU, when the dust has cleared on this referendum?

Ugh.

I don't want to go to bed feeling this *meh* about everything, so here's a video from SportsJoe.ie of my favourite Gaelic footballer and some other guys driving around singing. (P.S. The Sunday game they talk about was a huge win for Monaghan. Monaghan Abu!)

Yup. Watching this video puts a smile on my face.

No One We Cared About in Game of Thrones Died This Week So That's A Plus

I make a comment that 2016 has been a shitty year for celebrities and 2016 was all like "you know what, I think I can out-do myself."

*sigh*

Fuck you, 2016. Keep your hands off Barry McGuigan. I just wouldn't be able to handle that this year. 

While I'm talking about Irish Monaghan sports heroes, I came across an article today on Conor McManus and how he's the best Gaelic Footballer currently playing. I am not the least bit biased (hells yeah, I am) and have no vested interest in seeing a Monaghan player singled out (totally do), but this article is easily the best piece of sports writing ever written. (That may be a slight exaggeration.)

The man himself! (Picture from article linked above.)

Also, Monaghan's new jersey has finally been released and it has a nice big FKM on the back. ;;checks credit card balance;;

My sessions with my trainer have been fantastic. Being a large girl, there are moves that I have to do to the best of my ability and just accept that that's the best I can do. These past two weeks? I have nailed squats. They have been perfect textbook squats. It wasn't just as-low-as-I-can-go-with-good-form, it was as-low-as-you're-supposed-to-go-with-good-form. I was pretty damn proud of myself the first time I did it (and so sore for two days afterwards), but then I did it the next three sessions...

I'm actually - dare I say it?! - looking forward to the gym these days. I think I might be coming down with something.

I haven't stepped on the scale since the last time I mentioned it on here. I'll try to remember to do it some time this week. I feel like it's still moving in the right direction, but there's always that nervous hesitation that maybe my mind's just playing tricks on me.

In reference to the subject of this post, can you believe he's still alive?!? The best part? So many people die in Game of Thrones that I can write that and it's not a spoiler because which 'he' am I talking about?!? You don't know unless you watch!! So happy he's back, but I will say no more or else I will get spoiler-y about it.

Also, these two were back and that makes me happy.

This picture is from Arrested Westeros which blends GoT screen shots with Arrested Development captions.
If you're a fan of both shows, you really should be following this blog. Go. Follow!

Oh, what the heck. One more from Arrested Westeros just because I love it. From a few weeks ago:

Excuse me while I go snort-laugh in the corner. Good night!

Training for the Hoodie

When I wrote about my reasons for wanting to lose weight, I mentioned that I needed to sit down and set out a few short term goals. I failed to do that.

Instead, I signed up with a personal trainer at my gym. I instantly regretted this decision. But, like, in the best way possible?

One week into my two week trial, I had already committed to a year of thrice weekly asskicking. And to make it even better? Our sessions are at 6:30am because I’m an idiot. When asked what time I’d like my sessions to be, it may have been implied that I hate dealing with the crowds after work. From that it was inferred that I wanted a morning session and I agreed. I’m still not sure why.

Other than getting up at ass o’clock in the morning three times a week, I’ve been enjoying my sessions. I was a little reluctant when I was first matched up with my trainer because she seemed like she was going to be a cheerful, upbeat bundle of energy and I didn’t think I could handle that at 6:30 am. While she is cheerful and upbeat, she is also sarcastic and geeky. More importantly, she laughs at my jokes but doesn’t put up with my shit. I think I’m in love.

As part of the training package, we sat down to talk about my long-term goals, review where I was physically and then set a few shorter goals. My first indication that I was going to like my trainer was when we discussed what is feasible in the 15 months before I leave for Tanzania. "Our guarantee is that you will lose 50lbs in a year, but I know we can beat that. It's even possible that you could meet your final goal, I've seen people who've done it. But you know what? Those people have a single focus, and their entire lives are 100% about that goal and they don't enjoy the occasional beer on a sunny patio. Ugh. Who wants to be one of those people?"


Like I said, I think I'm in love.

One of the short-term goals that we set was to fit comfortably into a Monaghan hoodie I bought.

I had been toying with the idea of getting a Monaghan jersey for a while but made a game time decision to go with a hoodie instead for the simple reason that I have more options to wear it. It’s all about sharing the Monaghan pride as often as possible! I purposely got a few sizes smaller than I currently wear (a.k.a it was the largest size available for order) and then patiently waited for my package to arrive.

Okay, not so patiently.

When it arrived I was a little disappointed it wasn't smaller. I know. Tough life that I was actually sad about that. I can zip it up but it’s not comfortable. It’s tight and constantly rides up around the waist. So while it’s not as ‘too small’ as I had hoped, it is still too small and that’s what I wanted.

The full-body before pictures of the jacket are currently with my trainer but I’ll be sure to share the before and “hey, I can wear it fit” current pictures when the time comes. (I refuse to call them afters because they won’t be an after at that point. They’ll be durings.) In the meantime, here's a quick pictures I took myself.

Here's to it being a little less snug in three months!