A break for the border

Pah!
Hey all. So the inevitable slide into hedonism has begun in earnest. I've started smoking again, yes yes, boo hiss, I know, but living in a house with four other smokers meant I had two choices: continue bumming smokes off them when my pallid will broke, or take up the habit again. Since I'm already bumming room and board, I felt that smokes would be a(nother) liberty. Anyways, the theory went that I would smoke like a fucker for a weekend, remind myself why I quit in the first place and quit on monday. There was an obvious flaw in this plan, I'll let you guys figure it for yourselves.
Next on my list was gambling, although this is dangerous too. See, we have a good laff here at mo towers round the poker table, and in theory it only costs 5euro to get a chair. Playing against (comparatively) rich boys though, means that they can keep buying back when they get knocked out until eventually they hit some cards and clean me out. This, I need hardly tell you, has nothing at all to do with the fact that I am a crummy gambler who couldn't calculate a single odd, never mind hundreds simultaneously (I'm looking at you, Biggar). Still, several years of watching late night poker has at least acquainted me with the lingo and it's nice to get to use it from time to time. (o my god! he's sitting on a pair of cowboys!)
Drugs, I've thankfully bypassed, though I had an amusing brush with vice when Sunny (housemate#2) discovered to his horror that the flat his parents rent out in temple bar (which he is supposed to be 'looking after') was, in fact, being used as a brothel. (Gary: A brothel?! And you had a key all along?!)

Heh.

It's poker night on location in an ex-brothel tomorrow. It's pretty wild in old Dublin town, I tell ya.
We actually were in temple bar the other night, as it happens, more by accident than design, and after a hilariously bad night in the hub, we spilled out onto the streets to the sound of hippies playing drums. Then the guards showed up and spoiled everyone's fun, but the hippies, ingeniously, lost those suckers by going around the corner, and carried on playing. Half an hour of drunken jumping and clapping strangers on the shoulder later, those crafty guards picked up the trail once more and put paid to the party with two van loads of their mates. I would say 'bastards' here, but as ronan rightly pointed out, it was 5 in the morning and not everyone loves pissed crusties. Strange but true.

Work in UCD is insanely demanding, a fact exacerbated by me being 'new guy' which I hate. Still, there is something nice about being back on a college campus, surrounded by loud, self absorbed tossers and tossettes. Takes me right back. I wish they'd stop coming to me with their problems, though. As if I give two jerks of a dead dog’s dick whether they need evidence that they've passed their silly-assed Hdip.

Better go now, there's a really good ad for 'Stealth' on.

Aido 'Big Slick' Potato.

*********EXTRA***********
Aido potato's potato of the month: The wexford pink.

THE WEEK I LEARNED OF RONAN’S PAIN.

Hi folks. Well, I’ve a week of data entry, and that, I’m pleased to say, is enough. I’m getting out and taking the tattered remains of my soul with me.
One week.
Ronan’s been here A YEAR AND A HALF. RONAN. WHO AS ANYONE WILL TELL YOU HAS THE MAKINGS OF A CRIMINAL MASTERMIND. So, I’m taking him with me. He’s handing his notice in on Monday.
Nice enough folks, though. Or at least the seem nice when I say hi to them in the morning and bye in the evening, and maybe one or two ‘you wanna brew?’s in between. It’s in a posh end of D4 called Donnybrook, which is nice, and supposedly half an hour’s walk from Rathmines, where I’m stopping. I say supposedly because I can find my way pretty easy in the morning, but each evening I end up getting lost somewhere between two well defined points and walk around narrowing concentric circles for an extra hour or so. I haven’t decided if this is because in the evenings it’s dark, or because I’m still recovering from the all the soul destroying.

I start a new job at UCD, furnishing freshers with their new cards, on Tuesday. Temporary again, of course, I’m king of the road these days…

Aside from all that shit, I’ve done a few reviews; I’ve got to the stage where I can post them to folks I know, but haven’t brought myself to send them to anyone who might give me a job. The pub jobs CV distribution has been disappointing though. After some early interest, not one of the bastards have gotten back to me yet.
Went to warm Paddy’s new house there last night, which is a kickass condo thingy on the northside. He shares it with a dead nice lass called Nicky from Tipp. She shares his love of 24, George RR Martin and all things cool. I’m sure they’ll make a charming (plationic housematey) couple. The party itself was I proper good laff- it’s nice to put faces to all these names I’ve heard. They is good people. Mo, who had been drinking before he got there- got on a bus, then lost, then picked up randomly by paddy who was coming from collecting ronan, arrived, chuckled a bit, then about 2 or so said ‘I want to go home’. ‘Okay', I said, 'let me finish me wine’ and I’d scarcely got my glass to my lips before he’d curled up in a little ball like a drool-encrusted hedgehog and went to sleep, prompting Nicky to go ‘Awwww…. Do you want a bed Mo?’ to which he nodded and went off to bed downstairs. He had the right idea. I sat around till 7am when the only place I could find that wasn’t made of cement was sitting upright next to Biggar where I bedded down for the night.
Despite this I didn’t feel as shit as I should’ve today. Thank Christ either I’ve found a level of debauchery I feel I can manage, or my body chemistry has finally readjusted.

Fucking missed the last Lost.
Fucking saw ‘My Name is Earl’. Kick fucking A. How long before a certain Mr. Smith jumps in there for a guest writer/director, eh?

Before I go I'm gonna give a quick shout out to Paula '2 times' Stewart. Buh!

Aido ‘To Donnybrook… And Beyond’ Potato.

New year greetings to all you little greasegullets.
So I'm in dublin's fair city now, and have been since Tuesday. After a really epically bad christmas and NY, I came down to seek fame and fortune. From Mo's couch. Mo's place is amazing; huge, wood-y, with an a-mazing kitchen, lovely big rooms and lovely personable housmates. I'm constantly fighting the urge to tidy it up, but that aside, it's cool. And they play poker here, so I may discover an exciting new addiction. Brenda's been looking after me too, she's got a backlog of meat dad has sent down to her that she needs my help getting through. Job-wise, I've been handing CVs out to pubs, and I'm getting round to writing some articles for local mags, rags and newspapers. In the meantime, I'm going to do 3 weeks data entry at ronan's place which, he assures me, will sap my soul, but probably not as quickly as the bitter tang of poverty in dublin.
Anyways, thats the state of play at the moment. I'd love to thank everyone individually here who helped me remain sane during the last few months, but time doesn't permit, so I'll make do with saying a big, general thank you and recounting a few choice quotes from the last month:
"Ah, Aidan, I hear you've abandoned your life" -Ronan
"That's shit. Get your chin up, chest out- think of Jordan" -Edel
"Think of the kids!" -Shirley
"I don't know if it's true, but it's the kind of advice I'd like someone to give me" -Mo
"You go and dance the arse of yourself- but you'll undoubtedly end up dead" -Podge

Saw 'Brokeback Mountain' last night. Which was, it has to be said, marvellous. Both lead roles were perhaps just a shade 'off' in different ways, but still great, emotionally resonant performances in a gorgeous gorgeous film. Two dicks up.
Speaking of films and review, congrats to Jonno, who, through the sheer force of perseverance, has secured work for none other than Total Film. Bastard.

Been playing 'Resident Evil 4' which as anyone ITK knows, is-or at least is very close to- the shit. Not scary, but jumpy as hell, and really fun. As a precautionary measure to ensure I don't make a total fuck-up here in dub, I've left the PS2 up north, though I am looking forward to getting it back and putting that bitch to sleep.

Aido 'Fortune favours the fuckers' Potato