Bother

I may have just accidentally joined a gym... And I wasn't even drunk (thanks to this stupid diet), so it could even, possibly, have been accidentally-on-purpose. However, the woman who showed me around wasn't manically enthusiastic, and seemed amused that I had a "real" job now. (She's missing out, not having surreal jobs.) I can feel the muscles in my legs from the machines and swiss ball exercise I did - my wife would be proud of me: I fell neither over nor off the swiss ball while anyone was watching! (Maybe it's because I'm on the opposite side of the world - water goes the wrong way down the plughole, and I get to stay on the swiss ball...)

On Thursday we went up, to the flash university dining room, for lunch. Diet shmiet; I ate grilled goat's cheese on rocket salad with sundried tomatoes and basil pesto, Irish lamb (the flavour was good, but I still think NZ lamb is the best) with champ and cauliflower cheese, and chocolate terrine with fresh berries and red wine sauce. There's nothing like a two hour lunch break with good food. Then on Friday I bought chocolate cake in for morning tea (which may have taken around an hour and a half). I'm so glad I brought it, because the women in the office had got me a spa pack (bath salts, body brush, shower gel, hand lotion) and a really nice looking bottle of Spanish wine! I was touched, because I was only there for about six weeks, and really feel like I didn't do very much work at all.

Before the final panic of I-hope-I-haven't-left-everything-in-a-mess-for-Clare took over I managed to accept my Galway cousin Hannah's wedding invitation, blag my way into a fully booked B&B (first ever instance of this, I was so proud), and buy wedding presents. Now all I need to worry about is what to wear. I spent yesterday after the gym appointment trawling round the shops. Did I mention how much I loathe shopping? The worst thing about the whole affair was Lara was sitting at home waiting for broadband man to turn up, being jealous!

Lara and I went to Hughie on Thursday night; my first experience of Eugene O'Neill. I really enjoyed it (not to mention the fact it introduced me to some new Miles Davis). The language was stunning, huge monologues by Eerie Smith that just gave me goosebumps; and the whole atmosphere was very Raymond Chandler. There was a question and answer session with the director and actors that we went to afterwards which was interesting. I went to one at the film festival last year, and I found that if there's no-one to direct them they kind of fall flat, because the audience are scared of looking stupid, and the directors are usually fairly uncomfortable. There were a couple of students who had read the play at this one though, so that wasn't a problem.

We went to the All-Ireland Poetry Slam on Friday night, where Chloe Poems (who reminds me a little of Gerald Manley Hopkins) was the MC. It was hilarious - like the stand up comedy nights I used to go to in Welly (but with more poetry). The poets got riotously drunk, and I came home not stinking of ashtrays, because the smoking ban is in place - wohoo!

The weather is looking fantastic, so I'm off out there to make the most of it. I finally got hold of Connor at the recruitment agency, who told me that Russell has been off sick all week, and that he (Connor) thought he remembered an e-mail (which he now can't find) saying that I should turn up at 10am on Monday. Ohhhhh-kaaaay. This may encourage me to go to the closing night of the Arts Festival this evening...