Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Completely reasonable expectations

I think I've got pretty much everything I need packed up or otherwise ready to go, and now I just have pre-travel giddiness to deal with. Blogging and some chill music I hadn't listened to in a long time are helping me along quite nicely, and hopefully sleep will follow soon.

In anticipation of this trip, I have been reflecting on the various depictions of Ireland and it's people that I have come across over the years. Leprechauns, specifically Lucky of Lucky Charms fame, may have been the first tainted view of Irish culture I could pinpoint. There could possibly be some old fairy tales (or "faerie", if you prefer) of predominantly Irish origins that came before, but which I certainly became familiar with during my folk tale obsession phase that occurred around the ages of 15-16, overlapping with my survival obsession. Any association? Probably, somewhere in my twisted mind.

According to what Hollywood and ad executives would have me believe, the following is what I can expect:
  • Bountiful quantities of red-headed, green clothes wearing chaps who will desperately protect their colorful marshmallows.
  • Tricksters who will attempt to switch my baby (if I had one) with a centuries old, foul tempered, swearing elf and expect me not to notice.
  • Beautiful singing men with sensitive souls who have sweet spots for quirky American girls.
  • Boisterous singing men who will teach me raunchy pub songs.
  • Potatoes everywhere.
  • Nuns with rulers at the ready to rap the palms of any miscreants.
  • Young boys running wild from the authorities on semi-wild horses.
  • Red headed girls that I really don't want to piss off at the risk of being given a serious beat down.

We will have to see whether my sources are correct.

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