Lost my iPhone. Lost a limb. #PrayForJohn

Well the inevitable has happened. I have lost my iPhone. #PrayForBieberJohn

After 14 months, many, many, MANY drunken nights out, ridiculously low jeans & general carelessness, I have lost it in a stupid fashion; I merely left it on the seat in a taxi. Christ above I am like a junkie going through heroin withdrawals.

After sprinting down my road to try & catch up with the the taxi I failed and was left running in the opposite direction to my humble abode. I grabbed my father's phone and rang the phone twice before it stopped ringing altogether. Now, I'm not sure if the taxi man turned it off OR if the battery died. I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say the latter. I hopped onto Find My iPhone but as the phone is off it can't be located. That is such a flaw with the whole system. Surely Apple are aware most iPhones are turned off when lost/stolen so why can't they send out some signal? HELP US ALL PLZ APPLE!! I tried ringing it again for 30 minutes before calling it a night and going to bed crying tears of sorrow & despair. It really is a tough life when you are most upset about losing your phone rather than the wars in the world but alas, this is it.

Upon waking I was met with great news, MY IPHONE HAD BEEN RETURNED. No it had not, that's how it played out in my dream. I am still mourning my loss. #PrayForMe. I Googled all the nifty things you can do when one has lost their iPhone. So therefore I have enabled 'Lost Mode' & got that really annoying sound to play. When whoever has my phone turns it on they'll be met with a sweet message kindly asking them to return the phone & a contact number for which they can call me. They'll hopefully think I am some 23 year old woman & give the phone back hoping for sexual favours or a date or something. 21 year old gay here so close enough like. I'll also receive an email as soon as the phone is online so I am CREEPING on my mailbox let me tell you.

For now, Papa has lent me his phone which is as basic as having a contacts list and messaging. I suppose that's all you actually need in a phone though right? I will update you on my progress however I'm not holding out hope. If I don't hear anything by tomorrow I'll just erase the iPhone via Find My iPhone and try get another one some way. As my mother said, it takes no time to turn on a phone, see the message & call.

If you are reading this taxi man ( the chances of which being like 1000000/1 seeing as though I have about 5 views on this a day) this is for you:

He's Not A King. He's A Queen.

The dressing room is exactly as I had expected it to be. Wigs, make-up, dresses & glamorous photographs cover every inch of the room. I’m here to talk candidly with Bláthnaid McGee, a staple on the Irish drag scene.

Bláthnaid set off on her path to drag stardom at the age of 17, having set her sights on becoming Panti Bliss’ Performing Assistant. Panti had only opened her bar, aptly named ‘Pantibar’, and was searching for her right hand, emm…woman. After losing out on the top prize, the enigmatic Bláthnaid McGee was asked back to play giant Connect 4 with the audience, as it was hard not to fall in love with her bubbly personality. Ever evolving, she started performing and then DJing, eventually being noticed and being asked to perform in other venues. Now 5 years on, she’s an established performer, still here, “Still being a big, huge, Man-Woman of a Saturday night”.

Coming out can be hard enough, so coming out and then telling your parents you want to be a drag queen I can only imagine is 10 times more difficult. However Bláthnaid’s parents are beyond supportive. She tells me how her mother’s reaction was,” Oh I hope you don’t want to become a woman or anything!” which Bláthnaid immediately shot down saying that it was just a job and purely for money. It’s funny how parents always jump to that conclusion. As for her father, it was the typical fatherly, “Ok whatever you want son”.  It’s great that different generations can appreciate the art also. Bláthnaid’s mother is actually going in to see the show next week with a few of her own friends.

Asking how her day-to-day life differs from her drag life, the most accurate phrase was, “I’m more glamorous”. I’m told when as a man on the train, he looks “BLEH! With hair undone, tracksuit bottoms on and not a care in the world. Then later, “I’m going to be a big huge glamorous woman!”. I’m also told how personality wise, she is more outspoken. “I’m kind of more outspoken in drag. I can just kind of say whatever pops into my head. I suppose it’s just a different version of me. I’m louder & more out there. You can say whatever you want & you can get away with it. You’re dressed up like a woman and nobody cares”.

As I sit chatting away, watching the transformation from Ciaran to Bláthnaid, I can see the amount of time and effort that’s put into this and it’s no surprise to me when I’m told putting on make-up is her favourite part. “I LOVE doing my make-up. It’s so fun. Sometimes you’re not in the mood to come in and go to work but when you’re sitting there, doing your make up for about 2 hours you kind of get in the zone”. Ever the perfectionist, she tells me she wonders if people would notice if something went undone but that she couldn’t do it because she’d know and she’d care. A true sign that her work is important to her. She recounts a funny story to me about a show she did recently, “I was doing a show up in Belfast and I was wearing these peep toe shoes so I only painted the first three toenails and I kicked off my shoes during the song and there was a woman in the front like ‘OH MY GOD LOOK AT THAT!’, I was so annoyed I forgot about that. I was raging. Ooopsie”.

Walking around as man dressed up as a woman you would think you would get into some bad situations, however Bláthnaid hasn’t which I think is a great sign for the people of Ireland,“ I don’t think I’ve received any stigma, but you get abuse every now and again from straight boys In the street walking around in drag. But you just kind of give it back. Some people are like ‘Oh you’re a drag queen you dress up like a woman do you want to be a woman’ but I couldn’t be bothered with people like that.  Now if somebody says that I’m just like, ‘F off’. When I ask if she herself believes Ireland is accepting of drag culture she agrees. “I think so. Panti had her show in the Abbey there recently & then she went off on tour to Australia. Then the Wright Venue and the Gilbert & Wright bars, well they have Annie Balls. She works in all the different bars doing the bingo Monday to Friday. All the straight bars!  Yeah we’re all over the place these days”.

The difficulty with drag according to Bláthnaid is how small the scene is. “It’s a really small scene and there are only 4 or 5 bars up here so only so many jobs going. Only so many things you can do. So I suppose breaking out in the drag scene weekly would be a bit difficult. Learning words too. I can’t dance or anything so sometimes the spoken word thing is easier but it’s a lot more learning. It’s funny, it’s something different. It’s not just the same ‘oh look at him in a wig and dancing to a song’. You can be so easily replaced. Like because there’s so many of us out here you’ve got to keep it fresh, new and stuff like that.  Unless you buy your own bar, then you can do whatever you want!”.

My last question was where she saw herself in 10 years. “I don’t see myself here. I want to live in Edinburgh and I like the job that I’m doing at the moment so I want to work my way up there and move. I don’t know whether I’m going to do drag over there just kind of see what happens. I never planned on doing it for 5 years so I don’t know in 10 years if I’m still going to be doing it!”.

The last thing Bláthnaid said to me was probably the best way to sum her up, “I don’t really think of myself and Bláthnaid being different people. Just because I’m still the same person I’m just in a wig. I’m slightly more drunk and more glamorous than I would be”.

I think regardless of where she ends up, Bláthnaid will win everyone over with her charm and charismatic demeanour. I wish her all the luck in the world.

Schoolin' Life

As the clock struck 6 a.m on Monday the 19th of August Irish time, I once more waited on bated breath for the results that would determine my future.

This was the second time I had applied for the CAO, the Central Application's Office, which would determine which course I would go onto study in college. The first time I applied was when I sat my Leaving Certificate in 2010. Once the stress & dread of the Leaving Cert results had come & passed, the CAO offers were all that was on your mind. 

I had applied to do the Bachelor of Arts degree in National University of Maynooth (NUIM) that first time around. When I awoke to the offer I was delighted. The course was my first choice & I was delighted with myself. My father was ecstatic as I was the first member of his family to actually get into college.

Orientation week came & passed and I began to get into the swing of things. I loved college. Well, I loved the social aspect of college, the actual academics were the problem. Only one other girl from my secondary school had come into the college with me, so I had to make new friends & that I did. Friends who I call my best friends now 3 years later.

While I was meeting up with these new friends, heading to the Student's Union bar & participating in the typical college activities, I was unaware that, even though I was having fun with them, I wasn't furthering myself academically. I actually hated my course to put it bluntly.

I got through 1st year anyway, how I did is beyond me as I did zero work. Before I knew it, 2nd year was coming around knocking on the door. Straight off the bat I fell back into the swing of drinking with my college friends. I loved the social aspect of it all. I just love making friends and having a good time. Many of my friends lived on campus where as I lived at home, so it was a bit of freedom that I lapped up and also envied.

Needless to say the whole year continued in this routine & before I knew it the school year had finished & I had failed. Horrendously. The worst part of it all was that, being honest, I didn't care. I think that was a sign that I wasn't happy in my course. If I was disappointed with myself for failing, then surely that would have meant more. I wasn't thinking at the time at all and when the time came to re-register for college I decided to repeat 2nd year. I had a long talk with myself & realised that I actually had to start making something of myself, so I thought it was the best thing to do.

I re-registered, back into 2nd year I went, my college friends all now in final year. Was I jealous? Sure a little bit but I saw it as an opportunity to put my head in the books. That lasted for about two months max. I began to miss college completely. I would rarely go in & I handed up little to no course work. I had to get two buses to the campus and I just wasn't bothered anymore. I was a complete slacker, lying to my parents that college wasn't on these days or saying I was heading in when I would go to town with friends. To say my parents were less than impressed with me when they eventually found out is an understatement.

I don't know what happened but one day I just reassessed my life. Other events had recently happened so I was in a new, yet promising place. I woke up and copped on that what I was doing wasn't entertaining me and I had to sort myself out. I began thinking about what appeals to me. The BA course was one which my teachers & family members had recommended to me. I was 17 years old, an age which I still think is so young too decide what you want to do with the rest of your life, so I took on their advice. I agreed with them, it wasn't all their fault.

So, at 20 years old, when I began to reassess myself, I was thinking of what I wanted to do. I'm interested in; Entertainment, Writing, Celebs, World Affairs, General Knowledge & Babble. I just enjoy learning things about anything & everything & writing my opinions on them. I enjoy making people laugh & also educating others as well as being educated. Therefore I decided to pursue a course in Journalism and yesterday, I was offered a place in that exact course.

When I clicked onto my CAO account to view my offer I was beyond nervous, especially since I had wasted the past 10 months by completely dropping out of college, I was worried I had made the wrong decision. Not only had I wasted the past 10 months, I had also wasted the past 3 years. Seeing that offer for Journalism thrilled me so much. I can't wait to start in 3 weeks time. Sure, I'll be three years older than some of my fellow undergrads but I'm in a much better place in my life in every sense & now doing something I actually want to do, it can only go up from here.

For anyone out there who is unhappy in their current situation, whatever it may be, stop, think about it & do what YOU want to do, not what others want you to do.

T.G.GOODBYE. Friday's.

As my J1 adventure dwindles down into the final weeks, I have said "GOODBYE", to employment at T.G.I Friday's and it is one bout of employment I won't ever forget. The establishment, the employees & the downright peculiar customers have left a lasting impression in my brain for life.

Before I started working, when I was being interviewed for the job, I lied saying I had had previous serving experience. That is one thing that was obviously lacking on my first day of work. I didn't know how to hold a plate, hold multiple drinks at once or even understand the difference between a Caesar Salad & a House Salad. Being honest, if it wasn't for my friend previously working there during her J1 last year, I don't think I would have been kept on. One thing I can say now, however, is that I am a whiz at the 'ol serving. I only dropped glasses twice during my 3 month stint. The first time was fine as it was a plastic cup of water. Take 2 was a bit more dangerous as I dropped 3 glasses on an OAP. In my defence though, he DID take the glasses off my tray which unbalanced it, so I'm going to blame him. Luckily, there was no harm done and not a smashed glass was to be seen anywhere.

The employees, well, I don't even know where to begin. From 20 year olds acting as though they're going through menopause & routinely crying to drug users being suspended for stinking of BO, they are an eclectic (I use that word loosely) bunch of people. There were a lot of people of Spanish origin working there who spoke the language constantly. I was talking to one of them and happened to mention we don't have much Spanish speakers back home in Ireland and their reply was, "Yeah, but isn't that because you are all racist in Ireland?". I just laughed awkwardly at the response as I was dumbfounded that that was something people over in the States must think about us. I wouldn't call it ignorance, I'd put it down to being uneducated about us. I mean after all, another co-worker of mine thought the Irish language was a made up language used purely in tales & fables.
As odd and unconventional as the employees were, they are also some of the nicest people I have met. They appreciated us Irish who were working there so much as we always said "Please" and "Thanks". Words & manners which seem to have been lost somewhere in America over the years. In a country with such a large population & a country with such a large influence on the rest of the world, you would think they would be more courteous. Walking on the sidewalk is one of the most rude experiences you will encounter but that's a conversation for a different day.

Ferris Bueller & Disney Kid are among some of the names I was given by customers over the summer. I'm not going to lie, I took them both as a compliment. FB was a cool guy and I WISH I had been a Disney kid, hanging out with the likes of Selena & Miley and currently twerking away these days in my mansion in LA but ALAS I am on the other end of the spectrum. Patrons trying to guess where my accent was from was always a fun part of the day. Most of the time people would guess European alright but rarely they'd say Irish. I got German, Danish & English a good bit. Even Canadian once or twice. Really, Canadian?! One guy was dumbfounded I was Irish because I didn't speak with a, "Higgledy, Piggledy" accent. I got a laugh out of that to be honest. Americans just say what's on their mind. That's something which was entertaining but was also bad when it came to complaints.
For some reason, complaining about food here in the States & getting free/discounted food is totally the norm. I don't understand it. I mean, if your food is under-cooked, alright that's fine but some people take advantage of it. I had one woman who ordered a spinach flat bread, which is topped with cheese. The woman ate 3/4 of her flat bread, then informed me it was "Too cheesy", and it was then taken off her bill. I mean what?! YOU ATE NEARLY ALL OF IT AND NOW YOU GET IT FOR FREE?! My mind is baffled. I think restaurant owners need to put their foot down in those sort of circumstances but that's their problem.

In a nutshell, after a week chocked with job applications, interviews & Craigslist searching ( The Job Listings not Men Seeking Men section obviously) back when I first arrived here in June, I am delighted I got the opportunity to work at T.G.I's over the summer. Memories, Friends & little money were made and I enjoyed (almost) every second of it.

Life Loving in NYC

Oh haiii y'all!
As one can see I haven't blogged in an absolute AGE. This is down to the pure lack of time I have had, since June anyway. Let's just forget about the two months in between since my last post.

Since June 2nd I have been living the high life in The Big Apple. Working in TGI Friday's and constant drinking has left me with zero time & zero money but that's all part of the fun. The summer is going by much quicker than I was expecting it to. I currently have just over 4 weeks left before I head home. I can't begin to describe this experience so far & I can only imagine what the final month has in store, especially as we (myself & those I live with) will be finished work and have all the free time we want to drink, sight-see, drink, sleep, drink & shop. And drink some more.

I am merely posting this so I get myself back into the habit of blogging and get back into the swing things.

Hope everyone is enjoying their respective summers!

Blood Donation: A White Lie To Save A Life.

It's something that's only come to my attention recently, but would you hide your sexuality to donate blood?

I've always known that gay people or 'men who have sex with men' as it's called, were unable to donate blood, here in Ireland anyway, so I never thought much more about it. I always thought that was it, end of. That is until however, my friend told me that he hides his sexuality in order to donate blood and it got me thinking. Is this a good idea? Is what he's doing wrong? In my opinion, no, I don't think what he's doing is wrong. Perhaps I'm just biased I don't know. He goes for regular blood & STI testing therefore he knows he's in the clear, so why shouldn't he donate his clean, healthy blood? I mean after all, he could be part of a rare blood group, such as AB- , and his blood may be the much needed type to save a person's life. So how can anyone tell him to stop? Would you tell someone about what he's doing?

I do see the argument. There is a higher risk of HIV & AIDS in homosexual men, however recent statistics show that both the diseases are highly increasing in heterosexuals alike. See the article by Irish Health. What I don't get is, if you're a heterosexual and you go in to donate blood, your blood is tested for these diseases and many other diseases anyway. It's protocol. So why can't gay people donate blood and their blood be tested too? Is it really that much more of a nuisance?

As I said, it's just something that has come to my attention lately and has piqued my own interest in giving blood, especially knowing I don't carry any life-threatening illnesses. What if my white lie about my own sexuality could save someone's mother, father or child? Would you take the risk? Would you decline someone's blood just because they were gay?

Please comment below as I'm interested to hear other people's opinions on the matter.

Cloud Atlas Review

Intense, Emotional & Thought - Provoking. Those are the words that spring to mind after watching Cloud Atlas. Based on the book by David Mitchell, the film tells the story of the lives of 6 main characters played by an all-star cast including Academy Award Winners Tom Hanks & Halle Berry.

The movie shows how these people, even though alive in different countries, centuries and even worlds, how their stories are all intertwined and have a butterfly affect on one another. Without giving too much away, they all possess a certain trait in common which links them and unites them. Each character has a struggle. Something they must must overcome and from their struggle spawns another's. It shows how one person's kindness can save someone and that justice, no matter how long it takes, will always prevail.

An exciting technique used by directors Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski & Tom Tykwer, is to have the cast play multiple parts through out the spectacle. So when you see Halle Berry as a normal woman but later on you think you see her as an aged Chinese man, this is because you do. Through the amazing work of prosthesis, the cast are almost unrecognisable. A unique piece of art.

With an estimated budget of $100,000,000, there was no expense spared and this is clear from the pure visuals of the film itself. What surprises me, is that it didn't receive an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography, Best Hair & Make-Up or Best Costume Design, all of which I was very impressed with in the film.

If you are one to fall asleep easily during your trip to the cinema, I would say wait for it to come out on DVD as with a run-time of almost 3 hours long, this movie is no mean feat. However, if you allow your self to be submerged into the stories and each character's world, you are in for one hell of a ride. If you walk away without questioning your existence and your story, you weren't paying close enough attention.

Cloud Atlas is now showing in screens nationwide.