Olympics, Olympics, Olympics!

Olympics and dissertation.

That’s all I’ve really got to say about the past two weeks.

Now, for the first time I have no pictures. Everyday has literally been me getting up at eight working on dissertation, Olympics, and then going to bed. I haven’t even really been into city centre lately. I’ve some photos of food that I’ve cooked over the past two weeks and you can check that out over on my Instagram, otherwise things have been pretty mundane.

Can't forget about the Olympics though!

I was always an athletic child, and for being a bit chubby, boy did I love all sports. I was always on a sports team through my childhood and even now I love watching so many different sports. One of my favourite weeks in gym during primary school was when I opened the doors to see the gymnastic equipment. Every since then artistic gymnastics have always been a passion of mine to watch- unfortunately I grew a little too tall to compete when I was younger.

I absolutely LOVE watching the Olympics, you can ask any of my housemates and they’ll back me up. Not only does it bring nations together but also all the sports that normally go unrecognized finally get a chance to be in the spotlight. It’s been an incredible past two weeks and I’m so sad that it’s over now…. however I’m betting I’ll be able to do a lot more dissertation work now that it is over.

Japan 2020 can’t come soon enough!

Short and sweet, I guess that’s all I really have to say about the past two weeks. Come September 1^st I’ll be able to have a normal life again and now be one big ball of stress.

Pray for me!

xxkim

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Hamilton.

I finally got  a chance to listen through the soundtrack and now

I sooooo want to see the play. Absolutely astounding, Lin-Manuel is a beast.

 

Food, Films and Festivals

As with every new house, there are bound to be problems.

Although Rob, Lisa and I have encountered more than our fair share of little ‘bumps,’ I can safely say our house is slowly turning into a home.

On the weekend we did throw a housewarming party to celebrate all of us finally moving in, and it went off without a hitch…. For the most part. Monday was mostly dissertation work and it’s finally hitting me how close I am to having to submit my thesis. I have no idea where this summer has gone and I’m scared how quick August is going to move along.

On Tuesday I went to see Finding Dory and it didn’t disappoint! Pixar delivered another winner, and the sequal lived up to all the hype around it. Plus the short shown in front of the film was cute and entertaining as always, it may even move into my top five Pixar shorts. I may have even enjoyed Finding Dory more than Finding Nemo… but you can’t have Dory without Nemo.

Wednesday jump-started my want to cook and bake more so I made shepherd’s pie for Rob, Cormac and Joey- Lisa is back in Germany for the week. It wasn’t my best but the boys were happy and had no complaints. It was a simple, no-fuss recipe: the base was made of vegetarian mince, onions, carrot, spinach, peppers, peas, mushrooms, and then topped with homemade gravy, potatoes and a little bit of cheese.

Thursday was another movie night and then Friday was pizza night! We went and bought ingredients and even made our own crust. Deliciousness all around.

Saturday my friend Leo and I went into city centre for the Dublin Rock n’ Roll festival. We saw a fashion show and then stayed for some live music by the Louisiana Six- there was such a sexy red double bass, I think I drooled a little. It's been a while since I listened to live music and the rock band was solid. 

Good weather, good company, and just an all around fantastic day.

A few friends stayed round Saturday night and then we made a feast of pancakes the next morning. I mean we all had seven or eight each, I was more than a little comatose for the next couple hours.

And here we are now. So much research and writing over the next three weeks and more than a few breakdowns.

xxkim

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Lots of Koala Kontrol this week.

My favourite has been Wander | A Chill Mix

Frisbee, Friends, and Fantastic Weather

Custom magnum ice-cream from the pop-up shop
in Arnotts

This has been one hectic week.

It started out on Saturday morning, early morning that is. I dragged some of my friends out for a walk to see the sunrise along the Clontarf seafront. There was just the right amount of clouds to make it an incredible, and worth the five-month wait.

On Tuesday I signed a lease. That’s right, I’m moving once again.

My residence in Whitehall really started to feel like home, and my roommates have become like my little family but an absolutely amazing opportunity popped up that I couldn’t resist. I’m moving into a newly renovated house with Lisa, my old roommate and best friend here in Ireland, and Rob, a new friend that I met on the zoo visit. The house is a dream and the five hours in Ikea and 4 hours building the furniture are definitely worth it.

football and frisbee

One of my favourite spots at DCU

The weather has also been pretty incredible this past week as well and my friends and I have tried to take advantage of it as 

much as possible. It's strange thinking that 20˙C here feels hot, when back home 33˙would be hot. The sun here is just sooooo much stronger!

We’ve been to a couple parks and have been throwing the football and frisbee around- usually ending with a few summer drinks.

I’ll officially move in to the new house tomorrow and start my next chapter of living in Ireland. Here’s to the new house and new experiences.  

xx kim

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I've listened to this so many times this past week. Please watch the visual album if you have a chance! I've followed him for years no and it's amazing to see how far he has come.

Straight Outta Oz

Favourite Song: Water Guns ft. Jordan Sparks

Top Ten Experiences in Ireland So Far

As it’s summer now, I took an unexpected break. To be fair it was refreshing not having to worry about a post a week, but I did miss the schedule of it all.

I’ve officially been here ten months, wohoo!

That means I have lived in Dublin longer than anywhere else in the past five years.

Here are my top 10 photos that I’ve taken in the past 10 months. I’ve selected a mixture of travel destinations and just pictures of great memories.

The Beginning

After nearly 8 years I finally returned to this gem of an Isle. This was the first picture I took of Ireland from the plane heading down to Dublin airport.

A Halloween Like No Other

Did you know that Halloween actually originated in Ireland? Neither did I until this past year.

Howth

This side of Dublin Bay has become one of my most frequented travel spots and I plan to go back to this place right outside of city centre. It's a quaint town that's right on the water, and, on the weekends, there is a great market there filled with delicious treats.

The Cliffs of Moher

This is seriously one of the most breath taking scenes I have ever visited. I'd love to go back out west and complete the entire cliff walk someday.

The Festive Season

With all of its small alleyways and narrow streets, Dublin was ripe with opportunities to decorate for the holidays. I loved just going out at night and walking aimlessly around.

Paddy's Day

No it's not St. Paddy's, or is it ever really called St. Patrick's Day. I spent my time watching the parade with my friend Steph from Australia- I hadn't seen her in nearly two years. A lovely member of the garda- policemen- took this photo of us and everyone around was buzzed with happiness.... and maybe a bit too much of alcohol, but who am I to talk.

The Giant's Causeway

I loved learning about the formation myth of this landmark, and I highly recommend going there and taking a tour of it. 

Pentatonix

After years of watching them come together as a group on The Sing Off and then all their youtube videos, I finally was able to see them live in Dublin. If you ever get a chance to see PTX live I would recommend going. They sounded amazing, if not better, live than on their records.

Dublin Zoo

Even though it's summertime and many of my friends have gone home, we were still able to plan a day trip to the zoo. Although I can't say it compared to the zoo in Dubbo, Australia or the Tarangire in Tanzania, I thoroughly enjoyed my day. I especially loved that the peacocks were allowed to roam freely all over the zoo grounds, plus good company always makes for an amazing day no matter what.

Home

After living here for 10 months I can confidently say that I am feeling Ireland is home. I really can;t describe what drew me here, but now that I am, I really do not want to leave. I've made some incredible friends here and I can only hope to make more and gain more fond memories.

xxKim

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Normally I would put a music recommendation here but I've been listening to such a variety that I can't choose.

-Olly Murs: just feel good music, especially his earlier material

-Fleetwood Mac: I was never a huge fan, but they have some great summer tunes

-DNCE: I can't stop listening to Cake by the Ocean

-The Beatles: summer becomes my time where I put on the White Album or 1 over and over again.