I have a guy in my class named Rhys, who has made it his
personal mission to jack with the computer of everyone who leaves it unlocked
when they leave the room. Usually, this
just consists of him flipping their screen over, so they are viewing it upside
down. Once he sent an email to everyone
from the computer “confessing” that the computer had been left unlocked.
As he was leaving for the day today, he forgot his phone on
the table. A couple of his victims
seized the opportunity to jack with his unlocked phone before he came back to
get it. They decided to change the
language on the phone to Danish. When he
had come back, he saw that the language had changed and said, “You are all
bastards…the whole lot of you…bastards.
But that was really good craic.
Cheers.” I’m really going to miss
this bunch of guys when I have to go back.
I have grown quite fond of their personalities and the witty way they
feed off each other.
CD and I went over to the Exchange for lunch
today. Randy had been raving about it
several times before I left, so I wanted to try it out. I tried a ham and bacon Panini with
potatoes. It was actually very
good. CD said I should come back
for dinner some time and try the Spanish potatoes…maybe next week. CD offered to take me on a driving tour
around Derry city proper after lunch.
So, we headed north up the river around to the Monastery of the
Carmelite Fathers and back through Creggan.
Tonight, Santa Claus showed up at the Guild Hall to turn on
the Christmas lights. I got there half
an hour early after a less than satisfying dinner at Subway, and there were already
hundreds of people standing in the plaza.
By the time Santa showed up, hundreds of more people showed up and
hemmed me in. I couldn’t actually see
Santa flip the switch on the Christmas tree, but the best part was watching how
excited the children were about the whole experience. To see their little faces lit up in worly
light-up toys. To hear their excited
squeals of joy at getting candy treats from Santa. To witness their happiness as they sat atop
their parents shoulders, high above the world with the best view in the house. To use a local expression, it was good craic
(pronounced crack).
I let the crowds die down a bit, and then I walked around
town looking at the lights and taking pictures.
Every street is lit up. Bell,
Christmas tree, snowflake lights strewn up everywhere. After that, I went over to the Free Derry
wall and walked around the neighborhood to view the murals painted on the
buildings. This was the sight of Bloody
Sunday, where British troops killed thirteen people; pretty sobering.
I realized that I didn’t really describe the hotel I’m
staying in. The Maldron Hotel apparently
has been owned by several hotel chains over the years. Everyone around here knows it as The
Tower. I’m on the fourth floor, which is
the top, and I have a room on the back of the hotel. My view looks out a narrow gap between two
arms of the hotel down toward the Guild Hall and the river. There is a heater in the room, but no A/C as
far as I can tell. I have one small
window that opens, but it only opens about three inches, so it doesn’t let in
much cool, just enough to get some fresh air into the room. The bathroom is pretty small, but
serviceable.
My only real issue is the stupid toilet lid. It is constructed in such a way that the lid
hits the flushing handle of the toilet, so it won’t stay open. I found this out the first time I was trying
to pee and it started to come back down again.
Panic ensued as I tried to prop it up with my knee while maintaining my
aim. Now, I have to pee from the side of
the toilet, so I can prop up the lid while I’m using it. It’s really annoying.
