Some Decent Tunes

As it is music week in my school, I thought it was only fitting to share some of my favourite music quotes and songs.
There is simply no describing how important music is to me. Music is the magical way of escaping reality, losing your thoughts and allowing yourself to sink into the sweet melody. Music always seems to perfectly describe the way I'm feeling and never fails to put me in a happy mood.

'One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain,' - Bob Marley

'I like beautiful melodies telling me terrible things.' - Tom Waits

'Pop music often tells you everything is OK, while rock music tells you that it's not OK, but you can change it.' - Bono

Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
Beautiful lyrics accompany the melody of this song. Each time I hear it, I have to stop what I'm doing and sing along.

I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles
This live version of The Beatles song reminds me of their sheer power to captivate crowds of people. Their music continues to inspire musicians today.

Good Old Days - The Script
I have always enjoyed Irish bands, and recently realised that I have never been to a non-Irish gig in the O2. The Script share stories within the lyrics of their songs, and many of these are relevant to ordinary lives.

Man on the Moon - R.E.M
I've always had a love for this song, the lyrics are mesmerising. From a young age my parents and older cousins showed me the beauty of this era of music, and I haven't been able to escape it ever since.

On Top of the World - Imagine Dragons
From the very moment I heard this song, I developed an obsession for Imagine Dragons. Nothing beats dancing along to the rhythm of this song. I highly recommend it!

Fix You - Coldplay
A true Coldplay classic. I found it very difficult to pick one of their songs to share, but this one I believe has such deep emotion that I love.

The Best Day - Taylor Swift
I could never truly understand what drew me towards Taylor Swifts music. I know many people believe her songs are frivolous and all about boys, but they're not. Her songs are often relevant to life problems and the lyrics are wondrous. This song reminds me how important family is and how we must remember every single day spent together.

Leinster vs. Castres Olympique

Silence rolls through the stadium as Gopperth looms over the ball. The odd roar rings out over the stands, followed by an angry 'shush'. It's over. Cheers explode from the crowd as Leinster secure a home victory against Castres Olympique, 19 - 7.

Although Leinster won, they just don't have the same strength that they used to. Captained by Jamie Heaslip, the squad lacked the ability to break through the solid defence line built by Castres, a tactic perfected by Leinster in the past. Also, a huge amount of ball was played in the air, much to the frustration of the crowd.

In saying this, the individual players themselves performed with brilliant skill, but there was an obvious absence of unity among them. Sean O'Brian managed to turn over a considerable amount of ball, Jimmy Gopperth kicked 14 points, Cian Healy dominated the scrum along with the forwards, they won penalties on numerous occasions. The main feat of the day was when Jack McGrath scored his first Heineken Cup try.

There was a huge focus on Leinsters lengthly injury list, with the likes of O'Driscoll, Cullen, Jennings, Strauss, Tuqiri and Mike Ross dominating the concerns.  Leinster have also lost a number of vital players in the past few months, figures such as Jonny Sexton and Isa Nacewa.

Although I understand there is no 'I' in team, those legendary players definitely unite the pack and give them that drive for winning. On 26th October, the squad face Connacht. Leinster have the ability to win, their sheer skill and bullish ability create a squad with a force to be reckoned with. 

Boredom Inspiration

Sometimes boredom can result in something amazing... But most of the time one has so much time on their hands that they must do anything to release themselves from the  claustrophobic box they're in. In doing so they just might accidentally stumble across inspiration! 

Camino Days

It's safe to say that I will never look at a yellow arrow as a simple sign ever again. Spotting one in town the other day, I can't deny that I felt a serious urge to follow it! Then again, I was lacking the heavy rucksack and pilgrim shell.
Those Camino days were wondrously enjoyed.  Nothing compares to the breathtaking experience of trekking across that lustrous crispy sun kissed land. Loosing yourself in absent thoughts, falling into the soothing rhythm of your own footsteps. Many in pursuit, others that lead, every worldly nation surrounds us as we walk. A united front adventuring towards that cloudy city.
Walking with the rising sun, early morning leg cramps pulled you back beneath the sheets. The first few kilometers strapped into a two-tonne  load, lead feet destroyed by sheer agony. Gradually you sink, into the rough soles, leaving only footprints behind.
Never will I forget those we met along the Way. Many names were never discovered, but their faces won't be lost. Each individual with their own motives for walking, but all with the same destination in mind. We met people who had found each other in St. Jean pied de port and had been walking together ever since. Stories of unrequited love and the mystery woman dressed in ghostly white. The Irish Heinz Beanz cycling team, and the lone ranger who introduced us to the wonders of the Way.
I was never so relieved to see a church in my entire life when we reached Santiago de Compostela. As my Dad joked, "I've never seen so many people rushing to mass before!" Jammed into a pilgrim packed church, we were astonished to see people who had journeyed along with us, some of whom we hadn't seen in a day or two. Saying our final goodbyes, we planned to reunite in the future.
Now I'm truly determined to adventure from the very beginning. Through the snowy Pyrenees, across the desert of the Meseta and along the Way to Santiago de Compostella. Nothing beats the thrill of a Camino odyssey.

Awesome Quotes!

Nothing cheers me up like a few funny movie and TV quotes, especially when I'm suffering 'Maths Depression!' With the help of a few friends I've gathered together a list of quotes I believe will put a smile on your face.

‘Fine! Judge all you want but Ross married a lesbian, left a man at the altar, fell in love with a gay ice dancer, threw a girl’s wooden leg in a fire, LIVE IN A BOX!’-Monica, Friends

‘It's all any of us wants, to find a nice person to hang out with 'til we drop dead. Not a lot to ask!’ 
-Loreli, Gilmore Girls

‘We're women. We don't say what we want, but we reserve the right to be pissed off if we don't get it.’  
- Lydia, Sliding Doors

"I shall call him squishy and he shall be mine. He shall be my squishy. Come here squishy!"   
- Dory, Finding Nemo

‘You have a ridiculously high regard for fate, mate!’ 
- Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean

‘Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don't’

- Elle, Legally Blonde

‘You’re tacky and I hate you!’-School of Rock

‘Nobody puts Baby in the corner’-Johnny, Dirty Dancing

‘I mean, sure, I have my bad days, but then I remember what a cute smile I have.’-Chandler, Friends

A Vintage Bookshop

Nothing compares to the vintage aroma of an ancient bookshop. Endless years of captured memories in a single claustrophobic room. Rich vibrant voices explode from the shelves, engulfing the room with their sharp witty humour and somber moods. It never ceases to astonish me, the epic journeys traveled by those trapped within the pages.
I'm suddenly reminded of one such particular shop and the challenges associated with finding the books. Ducking under a low shelf, shimmying through a narrow gap, dodging various escaping authors, I successfully reach the back of the shop. Accompanied by a close friend we joyfully delve into the rare pages. Haunted by raging storms of emotion and the inner turmoil of the character's mind. My friend looks up at me her eyes alive in the dimly lit cave. I know that expression all to well. Some might say that we're insane, others may agree, but we'll carry on loosing ourselves in the extraordinary odyssey of story.
Each day we managed to disappear among the layers upon layers of books. Crammed peacefully in a corner time slipped slowly by. Soon realising the drastic effects of these little gems on our pockets, we had no choice but to bar ourselves from this paradise. Not to mention that our regular unexplained vanishing act failed to enthrall the audience.

Captured Paradise

Slipping ever silent through thorns

Attack, scrape the memories

Easily basked beneath the blue flames.

A loss of control mind body and soul,

Unbearable shock of realisation,

Trapped amid the musty warmth.

Should it be degraded, shunned

For its frustrating lack of clarity,

Mocked as the unbearable urge layers you.

For I've fallen. And it's too late.

Absent arms guide the shaken

Path of the destruction that awaits.

Thunder cracks a tear stained sky,

Exhaustion drips, from a protective embrace.

A whisper reaches a far horizon.

I'm forced to observe surroundings,

Oblivious to to the disappearance 

Of those around me.

Wake. Reality is the dream worth surviving.

Brownie Recipe

These brownies are definitely worth baking, they're really easy to bake and don't take too much time to prepare. I encourage you to try out this recipe!

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound butter
• 3/4 cup of cocoa
• 2 cups caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 cup plain flour
• Pinch of salt

Method

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and gradually add in the cocoa.
Mix in the eggs, caster sugar and vanilla.
Add the flour and pinch of salt.
Grease and line a flat tin 9 x 13 and pour the mixture into it.
Cook until it is slightly burnt at the edges.
Once cooled dust with a light layer of icing sugar.
Cut up into slices and serve.

Avoidance.

Avoidance

An option not worth offering,

Yet knowing life would resume 

It's passive mind and free thoughts.

Pain strikes a sharp chord deep within,

Your words breathe deathly blows

I never knew existed before. 

Time seems to cherry blossom your lips,
Captivating a senseless dreamer
Trapped by a misguided hope. 

Scrambled belief blocks that little vision,
Ignored by the majority
Past experience leads me to clarity

Treasured by those remaining words
Escape seems imminent,
Though bounded I shall remain
However I try to convince myself otherwise

Those Summer Days....

Thrown back into the turmoil of a hectic routine; glued to the desk the majority of the day with eyes drooping from exhaustion. Rain thunders down on us and reports of hurricanes and tropical cyclones wash in from Galway Bay. Our Christmas exams have been set and we haven't quite reached Halloween yet. Welcome back to reality I hear you say.Nostalgia drags me back to those summer days. Wandering aimlessly amid the sunny rays of a July day. The warmth of a musty evening on an endless beach. Plunging into a surprisingly warm ocean, creating a ripple of escaping jellyfish. The shocking realisation hits and I'm plummeted back to the present. Carefree times have long past. Now I'm simply living for summer and trying to survive the harsh depths of winter.