Papa visit - Macbeth - Monkstown Beach Clean-Up!

Wednesday morning, I woke up again to walk Levi to school. I got back home around 9 AM, and my dad arrived around 10:30 AM. I was waiting by the door to let him in, and we went up to my room and hung out. It was really fun to see him, he was pretty tired so after a couple hours, he took a nap while I went to get lunch at Chopped.

Around 3:30 PM he went to get Levi from School. They got home and we hung out, we got burritos for dinner from the burrito place close to our house. The next day, my dad walked Levi to school in the morning, and at around 1 PM, my dad and I went to take a bus to the cool graffiti place. I wanted to get some pictures there:



We took the bus back home after about 1 hour there. My dad went to go get Levi again. Over the weekend, we went to see Black Panther at Cineworld, it was very good! Sunday, we walked down to the Stevens Green shopping center just for fun. I got some new notebooks and a hot glue gun at Easons. 

Friday the 23rd, I had a Spanish test, it was not as hard as I thought that it would be. I took the bus home with Dominik, Kim and Carolina. They all went out to eat, but I had a dinner planned with my brother and my Mom. I got home at around 4:30 PM, and we left around 5:15 PM to walk to our restaurant that was called 'Delahunt'. It is described as a contemporary Irish restaurant, it was very cozy. It used to be a shop, but it got turned into a restaurant.

The waiter told us the specials of the night, and I got the starter that he suggested and also the main course. The starter was a sweet potato soup and it had some onions and mushrooms in it also I think. It was very delicious, it tasted like pumpkin soup, which is delicious also. It came with a small sausage roll thing with some weird sauce.

They poured the soup into the bowl separately:

For my main course, I got gnocchi which is a dish of various small and soft dough dumplings, these specific ones were made out of potatoes, they were really delicious with the sauces and mushrooms they had with it. It was really interesting because there were so many different flavors on my plate. 

After I finished eating my main course, I left to walk to the Bord Gais Energy Theater to go see Macbeth. It was about a 30 minute walk from Delahunt but I was able to get there a bit quicker. On the way there, it was pretty cold, and I ran into Chances dad at a bus stop so that was cool. I continued on, and got there about 10 minutes before Boan and Juho got there. Once they got there, we went in together and found our seats. It was a good play, and I followed the story-line and heard lines I remember learning from the book. The fighting scenes were really good. At the intermission, somebody from behind me called "Are you enjoying the play so far Jackson", and it turned out it was Ms. Devane. It was funny that I saw her there, she teaches half of the 5IB for English. After the play was over, Boans mother drove me home, which was really nice of her. 

Saturday morning, I woke up at 9 AM; we had another beach clean-up to go to. We were going to Monkstown to do our clean up this time, it is a little more south than Booterstown. Many people came, and we started to pick-up trash and recycling in the parking lot of the Dart station. Then, we walked over a bridge that brought us to the beach. We walked on a sidewalk picking up trash for a bit, then we went onto the actual beach. We found a lot of trash including old blankets, clothes, and a lot of other things. 

It was a very successful beach clean up, we got a full bag of trash and a full bag of recycling. Saturday night, we had a party at Jennas house to celebrate her fathers 50th birthday. Isabels mom drove us there which was very nice of her. Jenna lives very far away from anywhere, so it took a while to get there. The party was pretty fun we just chilled and listened to music and stuff and had some really delicious burgers.

We stayed until about midnight, then we all started to head home. 

Sunday was a pretty chill day. I spent most of the day doing homework. At 5 PM, I met a lot of people in Dun Laoghaire to get some pictures for a brand that my friend Max started called 2020 Vision. We got some pretty good pictures, there was a lot of cool graffiti that we got pictures by. 

February 15-25, 2018

U-Live, Chopped, Food!

Tuesday after school, there was a dance class in the Junior hall, but the teacher let us use the piano for 5 minutes, so Isabel, Carla, and I just went through our song once. Wednesday, I brought my U-Live clothes to school with me because I would not be going home until after the show. I had my normal classes, but the 2 last classes I had, we practiced our song to start off U-Live. I was playing the drum and singing, and everyone else was singing. 

After school on Wednesday starting at 1:15 PM, they began the sound checks in random order. Who ever was in the senior hall they would sound check. I had a piano lesson at 4 PM, but I asked to reschedule it because we still hadn't done our sound check yet and we wanted to practice a bit after that. Our sound check was around 4:40 PM and it took only about 1 minute. Mr. Hehir let us in the Junior school so that we could practice our piece in one of the practice rooms that they had. 

The performance started at 7:30 PM, and many of my friends were there along with my Mom. We were act 21, out of about 28 acts, so we didn't perform until about 9:30 PM. The first thing that happened was the introduction song which I was in, I was playing the Drum. All the singers walked into the stage while the song was starting, so it had this cool atmospheric effect, we all found our places, and right as we all did, the drum part came in and it was really cool. I watched some of the acts, but mostly I was back in the 6th year center, we also practiced a couple more times before it was our turn.

When it was our turn to perform, I went down to the grand piano, and Carla and Isabel were standing on stage. I started to play the piano and when Isabel started to sing, the audience seemed to get pretty excited, she has a really good singing voice, as well as Carla. Our song was like 3 and a half minutes long, and I think it went pretty well. We got a lot of clapping at the end and I was glad Ms. Sawyer and my Mom recorded it so I could re-watch it later. 

After U-Live, I took the bus home with Dominik, Kim and Carolina. Friday was the last day of school before our break, and it was a half day also. It was also a no uniform day so we could wear whatever we wanted. After school, Yonghwa, Dominik and I went to Gleesons. We then walked down to the Dart to go back to my house. Dom was spending the night that night. We watched a movie called Django Unchained, it was very good. We played zombies on the xbox 360 also. 

The next morning at around 10 AM, Dominik and I went with my Oma and Levi to go get breakfast at a place called Cafe Boulevard. It is right next to the Tesco that we always go to and is about a 2 minute walk from our house. Levi and I both got the same thing, pancakes, and Dominik got a breakfast with eggs, toast, bacon and sausage. We all got hot chocolate. After we got back, Dominik went home because he had to pack for Belgium. He was leaving the next day and would be returning on Wednesday. 

Sunday, I met up with Stephen and Alec at Eatokyo. Stephen went to St. Andrews last year, and it was nice to hang out with him again. I got cranberry juice and a chicken dish at Eatokyo. 

After we ate dinner, we walked back to my house and hung out there for a while. We watched the latest episode of Riverdale, then Alec showed us some of a movie called, 13 Hours: The secret soldiers of benghazi. Then, both of them went home, and I talked to Stephen later that night on Discord. 

Monday, I packed up my laptop, and microphone to take everything to Alecs house. I walked to the Dart station then took it to Blackrock. I walked to Alecs house. Once I got there, I dropped of my bag, and the two of us walked into the town and got some food to eat. We went to this place where they take things like meats, lettuce, cheese, all the things you would put in a wrap or a salad, and they put them in a bowl and chop them all up with this thing that looks like 2 pizza cutters together, like this:

They use this and run it along the bottom and sides of the bowl to cut up everything inside of it, then after that they put it all in a wrap, and it is so delicious tasting. It was very cheap also, only 6 Euro for that, and a drink and some chips. We brought them home to Alecs house to eat. After that I set up my laptop on Alecs dining room table, and I played with Alec, along with Stephen and Dominik, who is in Belgium at the moment.

At around 5 PM, I started to head home since I had to be home by 6 PM to have dinner. Once I got to the Dart station, I climbed over a bridge to check out some cool stuff by the beach:



Then, I took the next dart to pierce street dart station, and walked home. Also, that night my Oma was leaving to go to Michigan, so I was watching Levi for a couple days by ourselves. Monday and Tuesday night, we would be alone. 

Oma along with her friend Noelle knit some sweaters for premature babies in Rotunda Hospital. It is a hospital located in Dublin, and is the most active maternity hospital in Europe. It also is the oldest continuously operating maternity hospital in the world, as it was founded in 1745. Here are pictures of Oma and Noelle with the sweaters:

Tuesday morning, I got up at 7:30 AM and walked Levi to school. On the way to his school we stopped at a little shop to buy some smoothies and some water, then we continued on to his school. There was this cool painting that I saw on the way to his school, and I got a picture of Levi next to it:



 Once we got to his school, I dropped him off, then I walked back home. I was still tired, so I went back to bed around 9 AM and then woke up around 11 AM. The whole day I spent doing SAT prep, making some music on FL Studio, and playing on my laptop.

For lunch, I went to Chopped, which is really close to my house. They take lettuce, some meat and toppings and put it on a cutting board, and take out a mezzaluna knife and chop up the contents, then put it in a wrap. (Below is a picture of a mezzaluna knife, it means half-moon in Italian)



The wrap was very good, I ate it in my room. At 4:10 PM, I started to walk over to the mespil pool to pick up Levi from swimming after school. There was construction that I had to walk around but it wasn't that hard to find the pool. I found Levi, then we walked back home. Around 5 PM, we walked down to the burrito place on the corner next to Tesco, and we each got a burrito. We took them home and ate them upstairs. 



***February 5 - 13, 2018***

Wow Burger, Eatokyo, Spamalot, Taste at Rustic: FOOD! ! ! !

Friday night, January 26th, Alec, Dominik and I all went out to eat at Wow Burger. It was the 3rd time I had been there in that week. I went the Friday before with Dominik, and then Wednesday again with Levi and Oma. The burgers are really cheap there, about 6 Euro per, and they are the best ones Ive had in Dublin. The first floor is a bar, and when you walk down the stairs, that is where the restaurant is. I had a milkshake also and almost bought another. 

Me enjoying my Milkshake at Wow Burger

Alec spent the night, and Dominik went home around 10 PM. We played some Xbox then Alec and I went to sleep. The next morning Alec left, and later that day we would all meet back up to get dinner again and go to a Musical. I had some sausages for breakfast, which I ate around 1:30 PM. I took sausages, and once they were cooked I cut them in half and put them in-between a bagel with cream cheese, its probably the best thing Ive ever created.

Around 4:40 PM, Dom met me at my house and we walked from there down to a restaurant called Eatokyo. It was right on the Liffey, and Alec met us at the restaurant soon after we got there. It is quite small, but there's sufficient seating inside.

 

Dominik and I ordered the same dish, which was a rice dish that had chicken and shrimp in it, it was delicious. It is the same dish I got the last time I came to Eatokyo with Juho and Yonghwa. We also each ordered a side of white rice, even though our whole meal was rice. I also got cranberry juice. Once we were finished eating, we walked around Temple Bar for a while since the musical started at 7:30 PM. Here is Dom in front of a cool painting on a wall:

 we proceeded to walk toward the Bord Gáis theater to see the Musical. On the way we saw a Starbucks so ofcourse we had to stop there. I got a Mango Black Iced Tea which was delicious!

We were going to see Spamalot. It is a Musical comedy that is based on the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It also included some ideas from Life of Brian. I have never seen either of these two movies, and I loved the Musical. It was very funny, and I would definitely go to see it again. After the Musical, Dominik took a bus home, and I went with Alec on the Dart, and I got off at Pierce street station and walked home. 

Sunday, I stayed home all day. I woke up around 12:30 PM, and did my piano, cleaned the bathrooms and did the homework that I needed to get done for Monday. Monday I had no Piano lesson, I am going to have my next 2 lessons on Wednesday at 4 PM, which means I have to wait after school for about 3 hours until 4 PM, since Wednesdays are half days. Tuesday, Oma got me a specific piano book that I needed for Wednesday, so I was thankful for that. We had tacos that night for dinner. 

Wednesday was a half day, and right after school, my Mom and I had a meeting with Ms. Gavin talking about colleges and SAT and stuff like that. Thursday at lunch time, we practiced for the U-Live concert that is Wednesday. Every U-Live, there is a cool song to start it off, and I am playing a drum for it. 

Saturday night, my Mom and I went to a new restaurant called 'Taste at Rustic'. It was up a few flights of stairs in a restaurant called 'Rustic Stone'. We entered Rustic Stone, then went up some stairs, it was kind of a maze, and we finally found the restaurant high up in the building. The food there is based off of food from South America, Japan, and Spain.

 

For my starter, I got Miso Broth which was interesting.



 For my main dish I got beef sukiyaki. I got a bowl full of vegetables and broth, and I cooked my beef in the cooking broth and then ate it with some of the broth. It was very sweet, and very delicious.

This is the Beef I cooked in the broth.

My Mom got something similar, but for hers, you cooked the meat over a mini grill thing that she got with her meat.

 

These are fried rice apetizers my mom got, they were so delicious!

The inside of the restaurant was very comfortable and warm, there were some fireplaces in the room, and the seats were very comfortable. Also, there were mirrors on the ceiling. 

 

We had dessert at the end. We got chocolate and Japanese pepper mousse. It was very good:

Sunday at 2 PM, I went to the RDS Arena to see Levi along with 2500 other children perform at Peace Proms. It was basically a huge concert where the kids would sing songs from Musicals or just popular songs, and there was a huge orchestra and some soloist singers / violin players / Irish dancers. I only stayed for the first half, at 3 PM I went to Tesco to get some food, then I went to Dominik's house. 



It was his birthday Sunday, and I bought him some potatoes, portobello mushrooms, grapes, and pop-tarts. I took the bus from that Tesco to his house, it took about 25 minutes. I walked to his house, and I was the first one there other than Pierce. During the party, (it was more of a small get together because it was only like 7 people), I cooked some potatoes and ate them. 



The party lasted until about 9:30 PM because it was a school night. We had a chance to bounce on Doms trampoline though. We all walked to the bus stop and took the bus home. I got home and went to sleep. 

Monday I went back to school. The U-Live concert is on Wednesday, so after school Carla, Isabel and I practiced the song we would be performing on Wednesday. It went really well, we pretty much are perfect and it sounds really nice, I just hope I can use the piano that I practiced on during the actual concert because it is a really good piano. It is in the Junior hall, which is right next to the senior hall so if they let me use it, we will have to move it to the stage of the senior hall for Wednesday. 

January 26 - February 5, 2018