Post

You know, I seriously thought the postal service would be fecked because of the snow... but no. I posted something yesterday and received confirmation of its arrival earlier today. I didn't really that the Irish post was that good even with good weather! Next day delivery, like? Ha!

I received a German mail order catalogue, too... I don't know how to un-subscribe. All the instructions on how to do that are in German. (Note: I receive this because I bought a birthday present from them for my friend...) Thankfully it doesn't cost me anything to be subscribed. It's just a little annoying.

And why am I mentioning this?

Because my Robert Frost poetry book still hasn't arrived! Something came from GERMANY, and something was delivered in Ireland IN ONE DAY, but the book can't get here.

Efficient or what?

To make things more fun, the ironic weather is getting worse. God College was closed early today (I think people are forgetting to pray for the snow to go away). Among the shenanigans of the day are a giant snowball fight, a lecturer getting hit in the back of the head with snow and an hour and a half walk home in the snow. The buses were cancelled and it's a long enough journey as it is. To make things a little longer, one of the girls who shall remain nameless (for the benefit of people in college... she does music, she's short and she's always really cheery!) stopped to talk to a couple of friends of hers. It was all grand, though. We only got pelted with hail for a little while, and the snow had stopped long before we got home, so it's not like we were exposed to more than we ought to have been.

I think I actually became immune to the cold at some point. Curious...

Still... I want my Robert Frost poetry book!

Irony, Poetry Books and the Weather

Forgive me if I'm wrong about irony, but when I get snow instead of the Robert Frost poetry book I ordered, I wondered what was going on. I'm still waiting. I received half my order of books yesterday - half, being one book. It was an edition of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, using the original text. What I'm still waiting on is Poems by Robert Frost.

It's not that I have a need for these books of poetry, since they were on my course last semester; I just really liked them. I also have an Elizabeth Bishop poetry book, and when I can afford it from my online survey PayPal vouchers, I'll be getting a book of Tennyson poems. I kind of fell in love with the works of these poets last semester, and I could never find affordable editions of their works in book shops in Dublin (and I have yet to be anywhere with a decent bookshop otherwise... more on that at a later date). So, when I found them online, I jumped at the chance to buy them.

Buy Poetry Against Cancer here

I just wish the Frost book would arrive! I have a feeling the snow and ice here in Dublin is affecting the post... but that doesn't explain why the two halves of my order were sent separately! It doesn't make any sense, dammit!

Also, while I'm here, I'll give Poetry Against Cancer another mention; it's still on sale, and I really, really hope you'll support it. All the money, as I've said several times before, goes to St John's Ward at Our Lady's Children's Hospital here in Dublin. The book is affordable and makes a great present for poetry fans!

Until next time, take care with this adverse weather! I hope it doesn't affect you too badly.

What's Going On?!

I don't know if you've been watching the news lately, or the Twitter feeds, but the world is slightly falling apart. Let's review, shall we?

Britain and Ireland, and I think a lot of Europe too, went through The Cold Snap. It was, as you can guess, very cold. If I'm not mistaken, it's still cold in England. Lots of snow, lots of ice, lots of sleet. In Ireland, that was followed up with lots of rain and lots of wind. And there were shortages of water as a result of increased consumption for heating.

Zoom over to the other side of the world, and what do you get? A massive earthquake. A few days later, a smaller, but still frightening earthquake. And three more in one US state.

Haiti. Venezuela. Oklahoma.

The world, it seems, is slightly falling apart. Relief organisations are up to their necks in work, people are donating what they can, the news is filled with all the latest info on nature (which, subsequently, destroyed my umbrella - it was a kite with a spider-work frame by the time I reached my destination).

And what do the people do?

The collective "we" of the developed world take the homeless in off the streets to keep them as warm as possible. We donate food and clothing to the poor people of Haiti. And we talk about it. We talk about it a lot.

And all the while, life for us has to go on. People still get sick over here. Terrible illnesses still cripple our nations.

I don't know everyone's situation in life, but if you have a little extra you can give, please think of those in need right now. All the world relief organisations are on this case, doing what they can to help out. Pick one and go with it, no regrets, no pain. It may be a recession, but it's also a matter of life or death.

Respectfully yours,
Paul Carroll.