FA Cup Final

Today is the FA Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea.  I don't really care who wins since its not United playing.  But Chelsea does have Frank Lampard playing for their side and he likes to take clothes off when he wins, so I guess I'll root for them. lol

The Irish Have A Derby Contender

How many times have you heard someone utter the movie line "I could have been a contender"?  Well, today the Irish have a contender in the Kentucky Derby.  Irish raider Daddy Long Legs, is the lone international entrant in Saturday's 138th running of the Kentucky Derby.  After clearing quarantine on Friday, he was able to get a run in at Churchill Downs.  


The Aidan O'Brien-trained colt qualified for the $2.2 million (1.4 million pounds) Run for the Roses by winning the United Arab Emirates Derby in Dubai.  


"You couldn't be happier with him at the moment," said Comerford." "He traveled over, he's had two days off and he's well rested. He went out there and he was very professional."


Daddy Long Legs is O'Brien's fourth runner in the Derby. O'Brien has finished no better than fifth in his three previous attempts at the race but faces a tough task this year after Daddy Long Legs drew the number one post position in the 20-horse field.  The last horse to win from the number one post was Ferdinand in 1986 and bookmakers responded by listing Daddy Long Legs at the generous odds of 30-1.

"You don't need to be Einstein to know that it's not a good draw but good horses can win if they're good enough," said Comerford. "You can't really make a plan. You just ride the horse as he is and hopefully it will work out."


The 4-1 pre-race favorite is Bodemeister, who won the Arkansas Derby by nearly 10 lengths, also had a light workout on Friday morning, galloping one a half miles (2400 meters) on the tight oval shaped circuit.

There is also an American Irish horse in the race, Dullahan.  So of course that will be the horse I root for.  

Union Rags, the second favorite at 9-2, completed 1-1/4 miles (2000m), the same distance as the Derby, as did the undefeated Gemologist, who won the Wood Memorial at his last start.


Gemologist's trainer Todd Pletcher, who won the Derby two years ago with Super Saver, also has long shot El Padrino entered in what is looming as one of the most open derbies in decades.
"History tells us that you can't throw anybody out," said Pletcher. "There have been some winners the past few years that have been way down everybody's depth charts."

Morning Movie Marathon

We want to go see the new Avengers movie, but we still haven't watched all the superhero's individual movies.  So we moved all of them to the top of our movie queue and have been watching them this morning.  Still have Thor and Captain America to watch.  We just finished watching Green Hornet and Green Lantern.  The Green Hornet was good, but I didn't like the Green Lantern.  I knew the story behind the Green Hornet because of Bruce Lee, but I never read the comic books or saw any shows on the Green Lantern and didn't know anything about that superhero.  After watching the movie I thought OK, I guess that explains why I never got into that superhero growing up.  


But I'm excited about seeing Captain America.  I read that comic book growing up and loved it.  Not sure about Thor, I loved the comic books for Thor, but not sure how the movie is going to be.  Several people have told us it sucked.  So we'll see how it goes.  


My favorites are still the original Iron Man movie and the Spider Man movies with Tobey.  Everyone is telling me they loved the Avengers, so I can't wait to go see that movie.  Plus, that movie has Jeremy Renner who I like and Chris Evans who Gareth likes.  

Boxer Brief Weekend

I spent the last few weeks at sea being cold and wet most of the time.  After awhile all I wanted to do was get home.  But home is currently is rainy Dublin.  Still, I am inside, Gareth is home, we both had a nice warm bath and the cat is resting on the couch.  Gareth is sitting on the floor with his back against the couch and I'm sitting in front of him between his legs typing.  We're watching a bunch of shows we taped to watch together.  


We both have a rare weekend off (until Gareth gets the emergency page that I know will come at some point in time).  We decided to take this weekend to devote to each other and reconnect.  

We're both only wearing boxer briefs, nothing else and when I lean back on his chest, the hairs that are growing back are like beard stubble and making my back itch.  So I am having him scratch my back and I can tell you its almost better than sex.  I know why cats and dogs love it so much.  I could almost fall asleep from the back scratch, except I am very ticklish and he keeps tickling my sides and making me jump. 

It's normal for me to lounge around in my boxer briefs, but for Gareth he is mister t-shirt and pajama bottoms.  But I told him I wanted him near naked all weekend so I could do unspeakable things to him.  But he won't do that, so getting him to only wear his boxer briefs is the closest I'll come to corrupting him this weekend.  He is too afraid of someone looking in the window.  



Still, its nice to be this close to him after being away.  Even though we've been together for 5 years now, you sometimes take things for granted.  So its still a real turn on when you stop to think that when the door is locked and we're all alone, with all the places and people in the world he could choose to be, he chooses to be here with me. 


With that note, I think he is bored of me typing and the show we're watching so I'm going to say goodnight to all of you and hello to my man.  Time for me to do some of those unspeakable things I kept warning him about.   

Second Place For My Boys

While I was at sea, my two favorite football (that's soccer for my American friends) players had big matches going for the championship.  When I arrived home tonight I was able to finally watch the matches. 

In England....

Manchester United, my favorite team in the English Premiere League and my co-favorite player Wayne Rooney lost to Manchester City last Monday.  The two teams are now tied for first in the standings, but City has the tie break edge over United on goals scored on the season by eight.  So unless City stumbles in its last two games, they will edge out my boy Rooney and United as champions.  

Meanwhile in Australia....
 

Everyone knows I love Wayne Rooney in the English Premiere League, but my co-favorite footballer/soccer player is Shane Smeltz.  He plays for the Perth Glory in Australia's A-League and about two weeks ago he played in his first league grand final match. He is the A-Leagues all-time leading goal scorer, but has yet to win a championship.  

I was hoping he could win his first championship and maybe score the game winner in dramatic fashion.  But in the 15th minute he took a accidental elbow to his face from Matt Smith which split his skin from nose to lip and inside his mouth.  Blood just flowed out of him as he collapsed straight to the ground.  Play was stopped for four minutes as the medics attempted to stop the bleeding. 

He continued to play until late in the match with a bandage over his face, but he was obviously not able to play at his full strength and his team lost to the Brisbane Roar 2-1. He recently had plastic surgery to repair the damage.  I wish him well and hopefully next year he finally get the championship to add to his great career.

Championship Chase

Manchester United tied Everton today 4-4, while Manchester City defeated the Wolves 2-0 to tighten the race for the English Premiere League title race to 3 points.  Last summer, United's Wayne Rooney enjoyed some friendly fun with City's Joe Hart.  But next Monday, they'll be facing each other for a shot at the championship. 

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Dublin Cat Show

Celebrities at the Dublin cat show.

Got Killed Last Night

Back home in the states where I come from, the murder rate has increased this year.One of my friends is involved in this video and I decided to post it here because it has a powerful message.

Midnight Snack

Wanna Race?

That's a Dolphin in case you're wondering. 

St. Patricks Day In Dublin, Ireland

Arrived back to Dublin this afternoon and the city is abuzz with St. Patrick's Day parades and parties.  I met some really fun people and was having a good time as I made my way home.  When I got home Gareth was at work, but I was happily greeted at the door by our cat who didn't even wait for me to sit my bag down before jumping up into my arms and nuzzling my neck.  

I'm fighting off a bit of a sore throat and felt a bit sweaty, so I decided to head straight to the bathroom.  I stripped off my clothes, gargled with some mouthwash, popped a couple cold pills and took a long hot shower.  After brushing my teeth and putting on a pair of black shorts and my lucky green Ireland rugby shirt I'm now plopped on the couch eating a snack and watching the Ireland-England rugby game. 


Gareth will be getting home in another hour and we'll be going out tonight to meet some friends for dinner and a few drinks before heading off to a few of our friends parties.  Wishing everyone a Happy St. Patrick's day.  It's the one day of the year when everyone is a little bit Irish.

My Irish Evening

It's early morning now, most of Ireland is fast asleep.  I would be too if I didn't have to get to the ship this morning.  Our first voyage of the season is upon us.  Lots of hard work went into getting the ship ready and now the real hard work begins.  I was ready to do this for weeks, but now that I sit here in this quiet dark house with Gareth and our cat sleeping it's hard to leave. 


Earlier tonight we made a nice steak dinner together and shared lots of laughs and joyful playing around with each other.  We especially laughed when we went to bring the food to the table and found our cat already sitting in one of the chairs patiently waiting for his piece of steak.  When Gareth questioned what are you doing at the table, he boldly let out a loud meow of defiance and stiffened his feet in his chair while licking his lips.  Since we were shown who was the actual master of the house, we quickly cut him some steak and the three of us had a nice dinner together.  We joked that we were a happy little family and that the cat, our son, got my looks and attitude, but has Gareth's hairiness and appetite.     

After eating the cat took to his chair to clean himself before settling in for a nap as Gareth and I washed and dried the dishes together.  The thought of my leaving was not far from our thoughts and our conversation turned from laughter and fun to confirming if I had this or that packed.  I told him I had everything I needed.  I reminded him to pay this bill or do this errand and he replied he had it all taken care of. 


After the dishes we tried to watch a few programs, but neither of us were really focusing on what was happening.  So we turned it off and put some music on and just sat on the couch as I leaned back onto his chest and across his lap.  We sat silent except for the noise of the music, letting our fingers intertwine.  Our wedding rings, symbols of our commitment to each other, glistened in the light of the candles. 


I laid my head on his chest and could feel the warmth of his body as I listened to the sound of his heartbeat and each breath he took.  At that moment I would have given up everything if he had asked me to stay and never leave his embrace.  But that's not how life is and eventually the night ticked away until I am where I am now, sitting here in the quiet darkness of the living room already missing my family.  

When daylight comes and the ship is out at sea, I'll be doing better.  But for now I need to go wake up Gareth to drive me to the pier.  I'll sit on the edge of the bed and watch him sleepily get dressed.  His hair will be tosseled and out of place, which it usually is even five minutes after he combs it.  He'll pull on his pants and a sweater and then sit on the edge of the bed and fumble with getting his socks and shoes on.  He always does when he leaves in the middle of the night when called for work or to take me off on a journey. 


All my stuff is already on board, so I'll just grab my cat and wrap him in a blanket as Gareth puts his coat on.  We'll drive to the pier listening to the early morning talk radio programs, avoiding any music where a sad song could make things harder to say goodbye.  We'll sit in the car at the dock for a few minutes kissing and leaning into each other.  The cat will want to snuggle in with us and we'll do a group kiss.  After a moment he'll hold the cat as I get out of the car and I tell the two men in my life how much I love them one last time before I shut the door.


The cold of the morning will start to chill my body as I walk to the ship and Gareth turns the car around and they head back to the quiet darkness of our home.  Knowing Gareth, he'll give the cat his breakfast and then come and sit in this same chair I'm sitting in now.  He'll find the card I left him and he'll read it and smile.  He'll pull a blanket over himself as the cat comes to curl up on his lap.   Before long the darkness of the night will give way to the dawn.  Ireland will start to stir and awake to a new day.  I'll be miles away by the time Gareth sees his first patient and the cat curls up for his afternoon nap and we'll begin to count the days until we're back together again. 

Irish and French Draw 17-17

Dublin At Night

Almost Time To Say Goodbye

Another season at sea is about to begin.  It's going to be a busy time, but I'm ready to get back out to the open waters.  I'm thinking about stopping the blog or maybe changing the blog.  I'd like to do one that shows the side of my life from being out on the ship and the projects we do and the the things I experience but I'm afraid that would get really boring.  I'm not sure what I will do yet with the blog.  My personal life has become pretty routine and its hard to write about it right now so I give you some eye candy to look at as a thank you for stopping by. 

Ireland is close to obtaining a new immigration visa for work with the USA and Gareth has talked of us moving to the states and probably Maryland since I could easily get work on a ship and he can find work at a hospital.  But then he also still talks about going someplace he feels he can make a difference before he gets old.  I'm happy right here where we are, but I know he has the need to wonder off and do things so who knows what he has going on in his mind right now. 


Well, it's another night shift on the ship tonight getting things prepared.  I'm going to go eat some spaghetti and meatballs in the mess hall before I start my work. Go ahead, be thrilled.