T. Bell

This post will be about Taco Bell.

And there may be some of you out there that think this post will be about how disgusting it is, how their meat isn't even graded, etc. And if you are one of those people then you are seriously mistaken.

There is that old adage "To know me is to love me." In my own personal case, I believe it is:

"To know me is to know I love Taco Bell."

I am writing this post at this particular time because:

a) my cravings have gotten so bad that last night I looked up international locations of T.Bells. There are none. 

b) I would kill a small child for a Crunchwrap Supreme

c) I had an enlightening (and disturbing) conversation with my BFF Apple last night. Here is an excerpt, prepare to be appalled (also, sorry for the large amount of profanity): 

 

3:06 AM me: we'll all figure it out. i really need to get some sleep though. all i want is sweaty betty's right now and it's not helping me.

  haha

3:07 AM Ashley: ahahahaha

  oh bettys.

  or buccis.

 me: seriously. don't even say taco bell to me

 Ashley: coffeeee connection

  wahaha

 me: i'll kill a small child

 Ashley: i'd throw up a small child if i had taco bell

 me: i said taco bell to mark on the way home and he said "CRUNCHWRAP SUPREME!!!" and i said "SHUT THE FUCK UP BEFORE I THROW YOU INTO TRAFFIC"

3:08 AM Ashley: that's forever love.

 me: i was serious. that's how serious the cravings are getting

  i will kill someone

3:09 AM Ashley: hhahah

 me: i am making mark's parents drive us to the nearest taco bell come may 18

 Ashley: you're going to start seeing taco bells in the distance when you're walking in spain.

  like they do in the desert.

 me: start?! shit girl, i see a bell and i think of that safe haven of deliciousness

3:10 AM churches are fucking mirages. mirages of taco bell

  if the hunchback of notre dame were the hunchback of galway, he'd be in big fucking trouble

 Ashley: wahahahahahaha

 me: "ring that bell that aint my taco bell one more time mother fucker..."

3:11 AM that's for real.

 Ashley: ooc

  wahahaha

3:12 AM i think you're channeling charmin right now. and i love it.

3:13 AM me: i know. i'm dying.

  dying for TBell.

  i need to go to bed before i kill someone.

  love you apple.

 Ashley: oh babe.

3:14 AM love you lemon.

  have a good sleep.

 me: i shall try. dreaming of bean burriots

  *burritos

 Ashley: ps: my charger won't get here UNTIL wed.

  :(

 me: BLASPHEME! SPELLING BURRITO WRONG  

There is more, but I will spare you. Just know that my love for Taco Bell is forever. It is endless. It is as true as it comes. One day we will meet again my dear friend and, until that day, I shall think of you and your bean burritos fondly.

Accomplishments

So as our time in Galway comes to an abrupt close (sure, we've been here 3 months, but it seems like we arrived yesterday!), I have been trying to fit in as much as possible. Thankfully, the weather here has been gorgeous so I've been spending a lot of time outside, soaking up the Galway sights. When I'm not doing that, I am rushing to finish all the library books I checked out, watch all that I need to by way of online television/movies, and savor my last bits of Irish culture.

Told you I've been spending time outside! Look how happy I look! WARM WEATHER YOU ARE MY HEAVEN.

Here is what I've accomplished:

1. Last night I finished The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.

I hope Mark wasn't too disturbed by the cover. If you know him, you know why.

Suggestion #1: Read this book.  

Suggestion #2: Do NOT read this book right after reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close because you will wonder if Jonny Boy and Nicki (that's what they're called IRL, I swear) are co-conspirators of one of the greatest literary schemes ever successfully pulled off. What masterful scheme do I speak of? Well, it's the one where they write the same book, changed the titles and the characters' names and then convince two different publishers that they have a truly unique and groundbreaking work on their hands. Well done Jonny Boy and Nicki K. I'm impressed and simultaneously disappointed. I'm not the only one that noticed either (although this article's author says Krauss' work is better, whereas I believe they are equally as good for varying reasons). Whatever the case, let it be known: The wool is not over my eyes!

Google Image Search: Wool Over Eyes. This is what comes up. I guess Jonny and Nicki get the last laugh.

You should read them and see for yourself. But beware...the ending of Krauss' is shockingly devastating. (Don't say I didn't warn you.)

2.  I would consider myself pretty knowledgeable when it comes to all things pop culture. I can name all the Spice Girls (REAL names, too--none of that Baby Spice business). I can sing pretty much every lyric to any song playing on the radio, whether I like it or not. I have seen quite a few movies, cult and otherwise (what up Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo).

Oh Ozone. How I love thee. And I pretty much wanted to be Kelly growing up.

But I will even admit that there has been a major gaping hole in my pop culture knowledge, and that hole was Star Wars.

 
Yes, Star Wars (which I shall now embolden for no particular reason other than it's Star Wars). I had not, until recently, seen Episodes IV, V, or VI. I have always known that this was a MAJOR faux pas on my part, but I just thought I'd missed the boat and that was that.

Enter Mark. He loves Star Wars. He read the novels, still to this day watches his DVD of Ewok adventures more than once a week, and knows the difference between each edition of the films. To be his mate, I had to swim to that long gone boat, hop on (whether the rebel alliance liked it or not) and finally watch these films.

As I'm sure you can expect, I loved them. I don't know why I didn't watch them sooner. They have everything you need. Great character development, exciting action scenes, a plot that gives the audience just the right amount of information, etc.

If for no other reason, you should watch Star Wars so that this commercial, while already brilliant and wonderful, can be that much more amazing.




By the way, the following commercial is equally important, but didn't get shown at the Superbowl, so you may not have seen it.



FYI, posting these videos is Accomplishment #3.

Just because this post is getting extremely long, I won't go on with Accomplishments 4-100, but suffice it to say, they're quite accomplished. (And no, I'm not using my post's length as a way to get out of addressing the fact that #1-3 is all I've accomplished since the last post. God, blog reader, you are so cynical!)

And with that, I'm off to accomplish more.

Where in the World Is...

...Jess Hotness and Mark Jay?!

If only we had red trench coats with matching wide-brimmed hats.

Well, in a week, Mark and I will be embarking on a 48 day journey from Ireland to Spain. Whilst in Spain, Mark and I will be visiting Barcelona (a city I have been dying to go to for a long while now) before embarking on the Camino de Santiago.

Some of my you may have heard of this familiar pilgrimage route before, but most of you probably have not. Mark has been wanting to do this "walk" (I put walk in "" because walk seems too leisurely a term) since before I knew him and since we met he has been talking about wanting to do this. I am no equally as excited and we cannot wait to take on this journey.

For the benefit of our family and friends, I figured it would be wise to provide a map of all our upcoming travels. At first, I thought about getting a map of Spain and--using some Paint-like program--drawing a line across the North end of it. Mark and I will be walking 701.6 km or 435. 95 miles, so that's a lot of mapping. BUT, since I'm anal-retentive, I powered through and created a detailed Google Map.

For those of you not interested in checking out my sweet Google map, I will inundate you with computer screenshots that Map our our journey. I am so technologically savvy. (Sorry for the blurriness though--my savvy-ness is apparently not savvy enough.) NOTE: You can click on all these images to get a much clearer and detailed representation of what we're up to.

Full Journey--From Galway to Dublin to Barcelona to Pamplona and on to the Camino.

First Leg of Camino de Santiago

Second Leg of Camino

Third Leg of Camino

Last Leg of the Camino.

The Whole of the Pilgrimage, as spread out as I could get it on the screen. This is was 436 miles looks like on Google Maps, in case you were ever wondering.

Although we may seem crazy, Mark and I are truly excited about this once-in-a-lifetime experience. We will obviously miss Galway and Ireland when we bid her adieu in a week, but Spain offers an opportunity like none other.

Love, Jimmy Fallon Love

For those of you that haven't noticed, this blog's URL is "lovejellyfishlove". I feel like I need to reconsider the name of this blog given how much I talk about Jimmy Fallon. Potential future blog URL: "lovejimmyfallonlove". I wish I was kidding.

To emphasize my point, here are two videos of the one, the only, Jimmy Fallon, doing what he does best: making me laugh.

 

Interview with Tiger Woods. The first minute is the best part, so don't waste your time on the rest.

Gotta love his impressions. So spot on.

Now that I've inundated with Fallon goodness, let me talk about something else. Like...MYSELF! That's right folks: "lovemelove" time. So a while back I did a teaser blog post.  I showed pictures of my stencils, I said I was going to talk about a book I've read and even discuss upcoming plans. I said I was going to do that "tomorrow", which should have been a week ago. So now, I shall at least talk about the stencils.

After doing my first-ever stencil--that was pretty successful (pat on the back to me)--I decided to keep on going. Since my first stencil was for Mark, to help him publicize his work and his blog, I figured the next one should do the same for me. 

Enter Jellyfish.

The stencil

The product.

The proof that one begets the other.

I also happened to be talking to one of my BFFs, Miz Apple, at the same time I was working on my jellyfish stencil. She suggested I create a stencil representative of our friendship that we could use to tag places we visit together. A sort of "been there, done that" marking. Since my nickname is Lemon, the objects that best personified "us" was obvious.

Enter Apple & Lemon.

The stencil.

The product.

Again, proof that one begets the other.

All and all, I think a very promising foray into a new art form. I really need to keep it up in this little amount of time we have left in Ireland, and once I get back to the States. Hold me accountable blogosphere. HOLD ME ACCOUNTABLE.

Tomorrow I will write about the books I've read recently (I swear, I promise) and also about my highlights of Ireland (since our time here is coming to a close in 12 days). And, as usual, I can't promise I won't find another Jimmy Fallon video that makes me swoon, so always be prepared for that.

Mumford and Sons

One of my main goals while being out here in Ireland was to see Mumford and Sons. I managed to miss them when they were in the States and I figured I had a much better chance of seeing these dudes on their side of the pond. I was right!

Thankfully, I subscribe to their newsletters (I also get newsletters from my favorite pubs and other favorite bands--I'm one step away from collecting coupons)  which informed me two weeks ago that pre-sale tickets would be going on sale the next morning at 9am. The concert sold out by 12pm of the general sale (which was the following day of the pre-sale) so I am glad I had this prior knowledge.

If you haven't seen Mumford and Sons video from the Grammys, I say DO IT! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?! I WROTE A BLOG ABOUT IT!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU READ THAT POST?! WHY DON'T YOU LOVE ME!?

Mark, his friend Rick (who I affectionately call Big Papi Peaches), and I knew that we were in for a great show, but what was really great is that we heard A LOT of material not on their one album, Sigh No More. For those that weren't privy to this early listen, let me tell you that their second album will not disappoint.

A list of Pros and Cons for this concert:

Cons:
            --  Mark and I didn't hear our favorite songs since so much new material was played
            --  We waited a long time in between the opening act (who was actually one of the roadies) and Mumford...like 45 minutes. TOO LONG
            --  They only played for an hour! NOT LONG ENOUGH

Pros: 
            --  The Venue: great size, great sight of the stage from wherever you were, and decent bar prices
            --  Their Energy: DUH!
            --  Hearing new material that sounds just as good as the songs on the first album
            --  "Little Lion Man": need I say more?
            --  Looking at these mostly attractive men for an hour. Sorry banjo player, I ain't into rat tails.
            --  Having their final song be an unplugged song of theirs called "Sister", which I had never heard of, but immediately loved. And because I love all you loyal readers out there (all 2 of you), I recorded the whole thing for your listening and viewing pleasure.

All in all, a fantastic evening. Thanks Galway. Thanks Mumford and Sons.

For Apple

A quick post just to give my friend Ashley (AKA--Apple) a good morning.

More of this to come...

Never Know

I have realized that it is impossible to think about anything but one's self, one's immediate surroundings, those one cares about, and one's current concerns. I'm not trying to say that every person, everywhere, is selfish or self-obsessed. I simply mean that no matter how hard anyone tries, there are some things that one cannot fathom unless it is experienced firsthand.

I think this condition can be summarized in the phrase "out of sight, out of mind." It is very, very easy to forget or ignore those things which are not directly in front of you or directly relating to your own life's course. A general example of this is war. I have never been in a war. There has never been a war that threatened my own life and my own country in my lifetime. No one I have personally known has ever died in a war. Both my grandfathers were in wars, as well as my grandfather-in-law, but I can't possibly know what war was like from hearing their stories. It is impossible.

I felt, when I was younger, that when I learned about the Holocaust that I had wrapped my mind around it fully. I understood the suffering and the persecution and the evil. It wasn't until I was reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close that I realized I have no clue whatsoever. Foer writes about a character that lives through the Dresden bombings. His description of that event, actually living in it, gave me a whole new perspective. Also, Foer's writing about the effect of 9/11 on a little boy was equally as devastating--not only because of how terribly sad it was, but because of how incredibly eye-opening it was. I knew nothing. I could never know anything unless I lived it.

The recent events in Japan have only reaffirmed my belief that unless you're there, you can never know what it was like, how horrible it was to live through, and how sad it is to be a part of. I have read the news, I have watched video footage, looked at pictures and tried to empathize..tried to understand what all of it must be like and I just can't. Nothing I imagine will ever come close because I have been lucky enough to not be involved in such an event.

What's even more depressing is that while all of this is happening in Japan, I can't help but still be concerned with my own life, its own mini-dramas and its own shortcomings. How can I be so upset about being defriended on Facebook or whine about missing my favorite foods from the States when there are people dying and suffering? How can I just not take that into account and get over my life's small inconveniences?

The only answer I can come up with is that it's just not possible. We are shackled to our subjectivity. We are limited by our own perceptions and happenings and nothing except firsthand experience with tragedy can change that. While I wish that I could understand more greatly the suffering of others, and feel a little more aware about what they are going through, I still hope that I never have to face anything like it. And perhaps the knowledge that what they are going through is so unbelievably tragic and heartbreaking that I would never want to live through it is the only true amount of understanding and compassion I can offer.

Teaser

There is something to be said for not giving it all away right away.

And for that reason, TEASER POST!

Look at what's to come tomorrow...

And also...

A review of On Beauty by Zadie Smith, discussion of upcoming projects, and plans for the weekend!

I Does Stuff

Many of you are probably wondering what I do to pass my time in Ireland. More realistically, the five of you that read this blog already know how I spend my time here in Galway so you are wonder-less (Yet, still wonderFUL).

BUT, on the off-chance that there is a new reader out there, I shall tell you anyway!

1. I sleep...a lot...too much.
2. I watch movies online. Illegally. Television shows too. Although, less illegally.
3. I cook! (Something I rarely do in the States)
4. I read books and write in my scrapbook and do things that involve reading and/or writing. (Like this blog, for instance!)
5. I help my loving, darling man with his work--as he is swamped and nearing the end of his MFA degree. I think I deserve "best woman evah" award for this, but I settle for him buying me cider.

So, #5 leads me to how I spent the day today! Mark is currently exploring new ways to dispense his poetry to the masses. He currently has two blogs on which he posts his poetry and also some fun videos (like the one in my last post). He also is exploring ways non-interweb to get his work out there. This is where I come in. I am assisting in creating tools for mass communication!!! (Going on my resume? Probably.)

Today I made posters for Mark's upcoming busking adventures. Here they are:

AND

And yes, I'm aware I'm killer at block-lettering.

I also created stencils so that when Mark and I graffiti (if anyone asks, you know nothing) in bathroom stalls and elsewhere, he can have a logo of sorts. I feel pretty awesome about how this turned out, considering it's the first stencil I've ever made.

Stencil:

Product:

Proof:

I started making more stencils but quickly realized I need a better Exact-O knife (or, more accurately, AN Exact-O knife since Mark's Swiss Army knife isn't the best tool for the job).

I'm happy that I've started doing something creative and productive and I hope that this stenciling business will lead to more intricate designs, and perhaps a more serious career in "public" art. 

Again, your lips better be sealed.

Don't Worry, Be Happy

When I'm exhausted/sad/frustrated/angry/depressed/lethargic/lonely/etc., I find that there are certain things that instantly cheer me up. Here is a sampling of a few of those things...

Jimmy Fallon

(I know for a fact I've mentioned my obsession with this man and his sense of humor before, so I won't bore you again with the details.)

Avett Brothers
(Also pretty sure I've mentioned these studly men and their musical stylings before.)

This is a non-album version of my FAVORITE Avett Brothers song "Weight of Lies". The video is great and their voices are wonderful.

Hugh Laurie (as Gregory House, and not)
(Turns out I talk about the things/people I love quite a bit. Whatever. It makes me happy and I deserve to be happy.)



I also Craig Ferguson too. It's what the kids would call a "double whammy."

 
In my quest to find the proper Hugh Laurie video to show, I came across these gems. You should watch them. In this video, he says the word "Ba-Donka-Donk" is fantastic. And the promo for this week's episode. (No joke, a Mia Michaels-choreographed musical number in House. I may just die.) 


And last, but not least, Mark Jay Brewin Jr!

This a video Mark made for his new media course. In it, he speaks one of his poems over video and sound footage that he captured at the specific site of which he speaks. Pretty great stuff if you ask me. In this video, in particular, he also showcase my favorite stray dog of all time (who also happens to make me happy when skies are gray).

And to end on the highest note I can think of...Take a look at this face:

I don't know about you, but I feel like a million bucks!