Been a worker in the construction industry has afforded me many things but the one thing I enjoyed most was that it allowed me to travel the lenght and breadth of the country but what I am going to write about today is what I see in Dublin city, you see in Dublin there is the river liffey this runs from the wicklow mountains and dissects the city rite in two. On one side you have people who would kill you for money,scumbags and petty crimanals on the otherside you have people who live in council houses and go to public schools.
One morning I was sent to work for a week in Ballsbridge (no joke actual name) on Dublins leafy southside supposedly one of the better address's to live in the county.I was excited to go work here as been a crane driver one of the perks of the job is you get to look out the window and watch the world work.
So monday morning rolls round and I arrive out to this manicured part of town and try to park my car (the eternal struggle) when I finally find a street I am greeted by sly looks and twitching curtains, on into work I go and since I start work at six i usually mis the morning chaos. Up in the crane its a slow day so I put the feet on the window and pour a cup of tea and watch the ensuing madness. People in suits power walking down the street on phones no one looking like there really enjoying what there talking about one man in particular trying to answer his phone with left hand and trying to drink his coffee while hollding his briefcase in his right hand,immaculatly turned out mums driving jeeps so big that they cant seem to tell the difference between a pedestrian crossing the road and a packet of crisps, constant grid lock and honking,racing each other tryin to climb that extra rung on the ladder....then as sudenly as all this madness happens it stops the mums retire to what ever bagel shop or cafe is quite to compare,brag and throw snide comments at anythin who's husband doesnt earn a hundred grand.
I was stuck in that place watching that routine for just a week and it was starting even to drive me mad people where not meant to work like that. When I left that place I felt deflated and worn out with the constant lynching feeling of 'we dont like your kind around here' following me everywhere I went thinking to myself it couldn't get any worse my phone rang with my boss on the other end telling me that on monday I was been sent to a block of flat in Dublins north inner city and I'm ashamed to say it know but my first thought wasn't "where will I park the car" but "will I even have a car at the end of it".
So another monday a new job in a different place I began by arriving early to find a place to park and got greeted not by a twitching curtain but a chronologically gifted man standing at his door and I prepared myself because you haven't been scolded until you have been scolded by a seasoned north sider but all I got was a warm "mornin yunfella" taken aback as I was of to work I went.
Waiting on the usual madness to happen as does happen in Dublins finely cured southside every morning I was greeted with a hive of life that had a different kind of energy,young children running up and down the street mothers who cant afford creches sitting on garden walls cup of tea in hand weighing up the finer things in life like "the state of yar one down the road" pensioners begining there daily steady quest to the shops not for anything in particular other than the social aspect of it all " I ran into toms lad down the shop". Needless to say I had a great time working there. Towards the end of my stint there I was having one of those 'everyone is against me' days when walking back to my car through the flats I could hear the laughter of veterans...legs that have walked too far and eyes that have seen to much and there aint no better sound. I couldnt help but smile myself beacause as I walked into the middle of the flats the place was alive people shouting from one side of the flats to the other kids milling about the place giddy on lemonade and sunshine and traversing this court yard was washing lines going from one block to the other like an operators switchboard and in the middle of all this lightly blowing washing was the source of the infectious laughter.
Sitting there on chairs of all sizes was characters large and small and as vaired as the furniture they where sitting on and as I ambled on I remeber when I was out in the preened suburds of ballsbridge and thought to myself " which people really have it better the people with the cars and the money and the jobs that will inevitably kill them or the people who granted have had a rough time of it but they know there neighbours names, have the neighbours kids running in and out of there home, people who can just pick up there favourite armchair and can sit out in the sun with there friends not competing with each other for anything knowing that they all have nothing quite content with there lot and to sit and laugh"
I always wondered how people managed to live in places like this and where happy to do soand the answer is simple they haven't just learned to weather the storm but too dance in the rain........
Monday, March 9, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
A trip out to sit in..
I aint going to start my blog with an introduction as this is just a chance for me to get my grievances out of my head and leave it up for public dissection. My first grievance to start this long descent in rambling is with the cinema. The cinema is a fantastic place like a church of the modern age. I have been going to the cinema since my legs could reach the seat the tradition of paying and the smell of popcorn and sticky carpets always got the adrenaline flowing. Seeing the couples all out on a sunday going to see whatever horror film was on cause it was all they could agree on. Bar all that what i personally enjoyed most was in this manic world of long que's and endless form completion it was a place where you could go and just sit and be for a couple of hours. When the usher closes those doors and the dolby sound kicks in its like your brain automatically just turns off and your world became about whatever was rolling on the screen
Buuuttt all that has come to an abrupt and hormonal end. I had all but gave up on the cinema when my last experience was destroyed by a bunch of people arriving late and proceeding to moan and complain about how there was no seats and get into a commotion with the poor usher who just wanted to be home.
So imagine my excitement the next time my fiancee wanted to venture to the cinema and been the eternal optimist as I am I decided to give the cinema one last chance but me and the cinema had to meet on my terms. So i chose to go in the middle of the week usually a quite time and late at night as people would be in work and away we went. We got dolled up as we are old fashioned like that and made our way to the cinema.
Imagine how happy I was getting to walk through the little maze of rope even though there was no one in the line (even the strictest most non conformist always obeys the mighty rope line) arriving at the window and shouting through the glass at the person behind it "two seats at the back" he hands us the tickets *middle isle*......fantastic.
We dont bother with the cinema food because as every hardcore cinema goer knows the sly happy meal in the girlfriends handbag is the best way of sticking it to the man buuuut i digress.
We take our seats and turn off our moblie phones settle in which involves my fiancee throwing her leg over mine and taking up most of the arm rest. The doors close the lights get low and the music starts but almost instantly BEEPEDY BEEPEDY my fiancee instinctly can feel me bunch up but I calm I think "sure its the start of the film people can forget". Then the doors open we are twenty minutes in and the sterotypical late arrivers show up cant find there seats and start arguing amongst themselves "sure how am I supposed to bleeding see...well you fucking find them". Eventually they sit randomly anywhere in the cinema and my heart rate returns to normal.
Silence envelopes the cinema and like a man who has finished cutting his toe nails I felt great relief and satisfaction. All of a sudden and I aint joking here the two people in front of me phones go off the man sitting next to me been the hopless romantic decides to start exploring his girlfriend rite when the creature on the screen starts eating a helpless teenager then suddenly in the front row a girl stands up and runs out of the cinema shouting " I CANT TALK NOW IM IN THE JAYSUS CINEMA".
Now can anyone out there tell me why people these days cant just sit and be for just two hours and dont give me "what if i get an important call" well let me tell you that if the call your waiting on is so important dont go the cinema. The cinema is not a place to talk the library is a place to talk people out there dont pay good cash to listen to your opinions of the movie the whole way through you aint a critic even the critics aren't critics.
There is very few places that a person can go and jus relax these days junkies in the parks drunk people on the buses. I mean i got on the bus the other day not a dribble of conversation just beep fucking beep and the constants 'ish ish ish ish ish' of head phones and emo lads checking there hair out in the reflection of the bus window.
So I think no no not think I plead with people out there to let the cinema return to the place of refuge,silence and sticky floors that it used to be even if you have to call up everyone in your phone tell them your going to the cinema and all your major appointments like meeting sharon outside the shops to ask strangers to get you drink will jus have to wait as you are going out to sit in......
Buuuttt all that has come to an abrupt and hormonal end. I had all but gave up on the cinema when my last experience was destroyed by a bunch of people arriving late and proceeding to moan and complain about how there was no seats and get into a commotion with the poor usher who just wanted to be home.
So imagine my excitement the next time my fiancee wanted to venture to the cinema and been the eternal optimist as I am I decided to give the cinema one last chance but me and the cinema had to meet on my terms. So i chose to go in the middle of the week usually a quite time and late at night as people would be in work and away we went. We got dolled up as we are old fashioned like that and made our way to the cinema.
Imagine how happy I was getting to walk through the little maze of rope even though there was no one in the line (even the strictest most non conformist always obeys the mighty rope line) arriving at the window and shouting through the glass at the person behind it "two seats at the back" he hands us the tickets *middle isle*......fantastic.
We dont bother with the cinema food because as every hardcore cinema goer knows the sly happy meal in the girlfriends handbag is the best way of sticking it to the man buuuut i digress.
We take our seats and turn off our moblie phones settle in which involves my fiancee throwing her leg over mine and taking up most of the arm rest. The doors close the lights get low and the music starts but almost instantly BEEPEDY BEEPEDY my fiancee instinctly can feel me bunch up but I calm I think "sure its the start of the film people can forget". Then the doors open we are twenty minutes in and the sterotypical late arrivers show up cant find there seats and start arguing amongst themselves "sure how am I supposed to bleeding see...well you fucking find them". Eventually they sit randomly anywhere in the cinema and my heart rate returns to normal.
Silence envelopes the cinema and like a man who has finished cutting his toe nails I felt great relief and satisfaction. All of a sudden and I aint joking here the two people in front of me phones go off the man sitting next to me been the hopless romantic decides to start exploring his girlfriend rite when the creature on the screen starts eating a helpless teenager then suddenly in the front row a girl stands up and runs out of the cinema shouting " I CANT TALK NOW IM IN THE JAYSUS CINEMA".
Now can anyone out there tell me why people these days cant just sit and be for just two hours and dont give me "what if i get an important call" well let me tell you that if the call your waiting on is so important dont go the cinema. The cinema is not a place to talk the library is a place to talk people out there dont pay good cash to listen to your opinions of the movie the whole way through you aint a critic even the critics aren't critics.
There is very few places that a person can go and jus relax these days junkies in the parks drunk people on the buses. I mean i got on the bus the other day not a dribble of conversation just beep fucking beep and the constants 'ish ish ish ish ish' of head phones and emo lads checking there hair out in the reflection of the bus window.
So I think no no not think I plead with people out there to let the cinema return to the place of refuge,silence and sticky floors that it used to be even if you have to call up everyone in your phone tell them your going to the cinema and all your major appointments like meeting sharon outside the shops to ask strangers to get you drink will jus have to wait as you are going out to sit in......
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