May Photos

Oana and the girls enjoying a quick extreme air-guitar driven rock-out at Mario's birthday. 19th May 2007 Click image to view larger version »
A small stack of photos from my late May visit to Timisoara in Romania…

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A small stack of photos from my late May visit to Timisoara in Romania; as you may or may not be aware (But you probably are, since you’re reading this, which implies that you probably know a bit about me) I go there roughly every four to six weeks and stay with my girlfriend, Oana, and work from her apartment. It’s good, because as well as us being able to spend time together, I like being in Timisoara – read and see some more on it here (‘h0t chixx0rs!’) and here (‘I’m back!’).

Incidentally, have all of you managed to get your heads around the ‘click on the image to view the larger, high-quality version of same image’ concept? I don’t actually know, but I’m presuming you have.

A view of Timisoara from Oana's apartment - I think that's looking South, over a residential area. Those somewhat dowdy-looking apartments are actually well-built and very comfortable. 13th May 2007 Click image to view larger version »A view of Timisoara from Oana’s apartment – I think that’s looking South, over a residential area. Those somewhat dowdy-looking apartments are actually well-built and very comfortable. 13th May 2007. Click image to view larger version »
A view of Timisoara from Oana's apartment - I think that's looking North. At the bottom is the tram station and to the left is the local 'Etti' store, the Timisoara equivalent of 'Spar' in Ireland. 13th May 2007 Click image to view larger version »A view of Timisoara from Oana’s apartment – I think that’s looking North. At the bottom is the tram station and to the left is the local ‘Etti’ store, the Timisoara equivalent of ‘Spar’ in Ireland. 13th May 2007. Click image to view larger version »
Near the centre of Timisoara, a view of some of the more fancy-pancy apartments. 14th May 2007 Click image to view larger version »Near the centre of Timisoara, a view of some of the more fancy-pancy apartments. 14th May 2007. Click image to view larger version »

Oana’s apartment has a very fast broadband Intarwebs connection, it’s on the nineth floor with stunning views, bright and sunny, and when she moves out I’m going to miss it almost as much as she will; even the screech of tyres burning rubber somewhere down below every half an hour as some tool tries to demonstrate his lack of ability at driving.

Oana and the girls enjoying a quick glass of drain cleaner at Mario's birthday. 19th May 2007 Click image to view larger version »Oana (in green) and the girls enjoying a quick glass of drain cleaner at Mario’s birthday. 19th May 2007. Click image to view larger version »
Oana and the girls warming up for some fancy-pancy disco at Mario's birthday. 19th May 2007 Click image to view larger version »Oana and the girls warming up for some fancy-pancy disco at Mario’s birthday. 19th May 2007. Click image to view larger version »
Oana and the girls enjoying a quick extreme air-guitar driven rock-out at Mario's birthday. 19th May 2007 Click image to view larger version »Oana and the girls enjoying a quick extreme air-guitar driven rock-out at Mario’s birthday. 19th May 2007. Click image to view larger version »
Oana and the girls enjoying a quick karaoke crooning session at Mario's birthday. 19th May 2007 Click image to view larger version »Oana and the girls enjoying a quick karaoke crooning session at Mario’s birthday. 19th May 2007. Click image to view larger version »
Oana and the girls enjoying a quick... Oh, never mind. They're pretty, and so foarte sexy. At Mario's birthday. 19th May 2007 Click image to view larger version »Oana and the girls enjoying a quick… Oh, never mind. They’re pretty, and so foarte sexy. At Mario’s birthday. 19th May 2007. Click image to view larger version »
That's no girl! Mario tormenting Clea at Mario's birthday. 19th May 2007 Click image to view larger version »That’s no girl! Mario tormenting Clea at Mario’s birthday. 19th May 2007. Click image to view larger version »

Oana’s mates are a great bunch, and I really enjoy hanging out with them. Mad, bad and dangerous to know… And they know how to party!

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Re-active

Right, the site is back again, all is well. I’m going to try this again. Just to deal with the inevitable question(s), someone asked me to take down some photos of them and I since I didn’t have the time, I took down the site instead. I’ve now taken down the photos. If you have a serious problem with a photo of you on the site, send me the exact URL and I will take it down. I won’t like it, it will piss me off, but I will do it. I will obliterate it from my site, and I will replace it and the references to you with whatever I see fit. If it annoys me sufficiently, all this carry-on, I’m going to take down the site entirely and do something else.
My new Opel Astra - it's no racehorse, but a 1.4 litre engine, allow wheels, electrics and extras and great condition make it a joy to drive. It's heavy and reasonably spacious. I'll have to do something about those 'L-plates' though. 7th May 2007 Click image to view larger version »

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Right, the site is back again, all is well. I’m going to try this again. Just to deal with the inevitable question(s), someone asked me to take down some photos of them and I since I didn’t have the time, I took down the site instead. I’ve now taken down the photos. If you have a serious problem with a photo of you on the site, send me the exact URL and I will take it down. I won’t like it, it will piss me off, but I will do it. I will obliterate it from my site, and I will replace it and the references to you with whatever I see fit. If it annoys me sufficiently, all this carry-on, I’m going to take down the site entirely and do something else.

So in the meantime, nothing much happened. The last thing I wrote was about the election in Ireland, here, here and here; well, it happened, I voted the way I said I would, and I very nearly (Nearly loves a drink down in the Could Have bar with Almost) got my preferred government of Fianna Fail and the Green Party. Well, that is, Fianna Fail got the numbers they needed, and got back in with the Green Party and the decimated Progressive Democrats (I was on the money there, and in a twist of fate their leader Michael McDowell was beaten by the Green Party’s John Gormley who is now Minister for the Environment – poetic justice, if you ask me) and a gaggle of ‘Independents’. They’re not so very independent, since most of them used to be in Fianna Fail, and a few are even rejoining them.

A poignant moment as Mags Murray's election poster, much like she and the majority of her fellow Progressive Democrat election candidates did, sinks never to be seen again. We wept. 21st May 2007 Click image to view larger version »A poignant moment as Mags Murray’s election poster, much like she and the majority of her fellow Progressive Democrat election candidates did, sinks never to be seen again. We wept. 21st May 2007. Click image to view larger version »

Fine Gael did rather well, but not well enough to get a majority, and Labour had more or less the same performance as in the previous election. Labour was clearly prepared to do business with Fianna Fail but they promised everyone (and particularly Fine Gael) that they wouldn’t go into a coalition government with Fianna Fail, so… They didn’t. With more than a little bitterness the leader of Fine Gael, Enda Kenny, eventually conceded defeat (that really took some doing, he clearly wanted the the job of Glorious Leader very, very badly. He won’t get a second chance, and he knows it.).

More on the long term consequences of this later on; there has already been a lot going on, and although it’s early days yet I think this is going to shape up to be an exciting five years in Irish politics. I think there’s a chance of real improvement, and so far, everything seems to be off to a flying start…

Some other stuff that’s been holding my attention other than my usual introspective self-obsession has been driving; as you may have gathered, I bought a new car a couple of months ago and I’ve been enjoying driving it. It’s an Opel Astra XE Comfort 1.4 litre 5-door (hatchback), 2001, spotless condition with alloy wheels and lots of electrics, a great car in fantastic condition.

My new Opel Astra - it's no racehorse, but a 1.4 litre engine, allow wheels, electrics and extras and great condition make it a joy to drive. It's heavy and reasonably spacious. I'll have to do something about those 'L-plates' though. 7th May 2007 Click image to view larger version »My new Opel Astra – it’s no racehorse, but a 1.4 litre engine, allow wheels, electrics and extras and great condition make it a joy to drive. It’s heavy and reasonably spacious. I’ll have to do something about those ‘L-plates’ though. 7th May 2007. Click image to view larger version »

Again, more on that later – it’s been a big deal for me, and more than makes up for my general lack of interests, hobbies and social life by giving me something new to do with my spare time.

And the rain. Dear God, the rain. It hasn’t let up in months. I mean, really, there have been a couple of days here and there without rain since the middle of May but by and large every day has seen rain, often in a volume which defies belief. Now, it’s been often said and held to be true that Ireland is a country of rain and generally miserable weather and sometimes this is true but of course, not all of the time. But not this year. This year, the whole summer so far has been wet and it shows no sign of letting up before September, when surely the water must run out? I believe that this for Ireland will be the upshot of Global Warming; the additional heat will mean more humidity and so much more rain during the summer months, with the good sunny weather appearing on either side of it for a couple of months, and a very mild winter. I actually previously believed that Ireland might experience serious droughts for the first time, but I realise now that I was wrong, and not taking into account how the heat might express itself with the amount of water in and around this island.

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Needs a title

So, I’m writing again.

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So, I’m writing again. I’ve spent a surprising amount of time thinking about how I’d open my next post, what I would write, would I just dive straight in as if it was routine, yet another post (perhaps even with some outrageous or provocative opening gambit) or would I labour the point (a little sheepishly maybe, a hint of shame at the many long weeks since I last wrote something here). Or something else. And instead here I am, meta-blogging or meta-writing, whatever they call this curiously introspective form of reflection on the act of writing whatever it is that I’m writing, and thinking about how to go about explaining what finally spurred me back into action. Maybe there is only one way.

I was shamed into it. Pure and simple. Now, you might, if you knew something about the nature of this site and it’s recent history, think that it might be the continued chiding of Tony and his enthusiasm for my posts. Or the mockery of Garret. Or my girlfriend, or one of various women that haunt and taunt me. Or by the blogging efforts of any one of my peers, and how they continually manage to post under adverse conditions, while I do not.

You’d be wrong. I was shamed into it, because I really do want to write, and exercise my ability for the written word, and if Michael McDowellMichael McDowell! That’s right! Him!- can write a blog, then I damn well better be writing! He is the leader of one of the smaller (well, after the upcoming election, probably non-existent) political parties here in Ireland, the Progressive Democrats, and my feelings on the whole subject of the aforementioned Progressive Democrats, Irish politics, all the related issues that go with it… It’s a whole can of worms. I’ll admit that the post was probably written by one of his runners or aides, but the point is that there is a blog out there where he is in some form or fashion publishing material under his name.

The site (www.rockthevote.ie) claims to have a blog for the leader of each major political party; they all have one entry and of course those entries are setting out their stalls. The idea is to motivate young people to vote so I guess it’s a good thing. The Irish in recent years have been less than good about partaking in elections; I don’t know if it’s cynicism, apathy or distractions cause by money, but hopefully they’ll take an interest this year because it could turn out to be one of the more important elections in the last few decades. Or rather, the eventual outcome (Ireland has a very convoluted election process, which is intended to be democratic but is complex and has occasionally unintentionally undemocratic results) of the election will be very important.

Yes, the upcoming election has been an obsession of mine recently because I think it’s going to be a big deal, and because the processes, the manoeuvres, the strategies, these all interest me. I’ll be back with my views on where I think this will all end up.

Other stuff that happened recently was as you saw in the previous post from about seven years ago that I turned thirty-four or so (I can’t remember any more, it’s a big number at any rate), my back got hurt, I’ve been trying to buy a new car (that is truly a recent and huge obsession), I’ve been coping with work and apathy in my life, and Oana came over to visit, which was truly a very big deal for me, and for anyone who had to listen to me go on about it.

Annette Bourke and Oana Bizian at the 12th Lock Bar Restaurant Hotel and whatever else have you. It does a lot. Are they just ever so slightly like sisters? Which is for me slightly disturbing? But they got on great. 9th April 2007. Click image to view larger version »Annette and Oana at the 12th Lock Bar Restaurant Hotel and whatever else have you. It does a lot. Are they just ever so slightly like sisters? Which is for me slightly disturbing? But they got on great. 9th April 2007.. Click image to view larger version »
Oana Bizian checks out the beach! She sure does. 13th April 2007. Click image to view larger version »Oana checks out the beach! She sure does. 13th April 2007. Click image to view larger version »
Oana Bizian contemplates how the beach economy might be based on shells, and ponders the effects of inflation... Actually, maybe she just thought they were pretty. Maybe. 13th April 2007 Click image to view larger version »Oana contemplates how the beach economy might be based on shells, and ponders the effects of inflation… Actually, maybe she just thought they were pretty. Maybe. 13th April 2007. Click image to view larger version »
When worlds in my head collide spectacularly, albeit unknown to anyone else; Oana Bizian and a suburban commuter train. She really is a good Bizian, you know. 17th April 2007. Click image to view larger version »When worlds in my head collide spectacularly, albeit unknown to anyone else; Oana and a suburban commuter train. She really is a good Bizian, you know. 17th April 2007. Click image to view larger version »
Damn, those Eastern Europeans always have the best fun, don't they? Foarte krezi! Oana Bizian, Pavel Horacek and Petr Soudek go wild after a Baby Guinness too many in Doheny and Nesbitts... Ciaran Lyne hides, meanwhile. 17th April 2007 Click image to view larger version »Damn, those Eastern Europeans always have the best fun, don’t they? Foarte krezi! Oana, Pavel and Poudek go wild after a Baby Guinness too many in Doheny and Nesbitts… Clyner hides, meanwhile. 17th April 2007. Click image to view larger version »

So, I’m going to work hard at this, because there’s no way Michael McDowell or Pat Rabbitte are going to play me off my game. Even if they looked this good. There’ll be more.

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Man aged immeasurably, activists claim

That’s me. I have aged. I’m old. Older. No-one claimed it, there were no activists, it was just a sensational headline; it’s my birthday today and I’m thirty four as of 3pm this afternoon. It’s interesting, in the sense that I can remember when the idea of me being this old was a very abstract thought, it was just too far away. But here it is. I don’t know what to make of it other than I’m not married, I don’t have children, I don’t own property, I do have a car but it’s a little one, and I still don’t have an great deal of responsibilities to worry about.
Me, Kevin Teljeur, standing on the beach in Wexford county, in February. Photo taken by my mother, Gerda. Taken 11th February 2007. Click image to view larger version »

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That’s me. I have aged. I’m old. Older. No-one claimed it, there were no activists, it was just a sensational headline; it’s my birthday today and I’m thirty four as of 3pm this afternoon. It’s interesting, in the sense that I can remember when the idea of me being this old was a very abstract thought, it was just too far away. But here it is. I don’t know what to make of it other than I’m not married, I don’t have children, I don’t own property, I do have a car but it’s a little one, and I still don’t have an great deal of responsibilities to worry about. In other words, I don’t have very much more complication in my life than when I was twenty four apart from a relationship (So, I could be married and have children by the time I write my next post, although that could be any time within the next ten years. Don’t hold your breath.) and so, if age is affecting me then it must be a certain world weariness or physical degradation. I do feel the years pulling at me, I’m balding, slightly overweight, I don’t recover from physical activity or injuries as fast as I used to…

I’m not complaining, mind you. Just stating the facts.

Me, Kevin Teljeur, standing on the beach in Wexford county, in February. Photo taken by my mother, Gerda. Taken 11th February 2007. Click image to view larger version »Me standing on the beach in Wexford county, in February. Photo taken by my mother, Gerda. Taken 11th February 2007.. Click image to view larger version »

I went to the doctor on Friday, in fact, with a series of ailments collected over the months (Because of the spiralling cost of healthcare in Ireland, I’ve taken to doing what many Irish people do now which is waiting until various ailments reach either high levels of inconvenience/danger, or the required level of cost effectiveness per individual ailment is reached.) and I notice that more and more, these things are down to wear and tear.

In the meantime, if tonight, Tuesday 13th of March 2007, you find yourself in Dublin city centre somewhere, call into the Market Bar or call me on +353 86 856 2978 to see where we’re at. Next Saturday (the 17th) I’ll be on the town too, so catch me then instead if you want for a slightly rowdier time. It’s all good.

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Valentine’s Day, come and gone

Yeah, a Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you. Hope you were well treated by your loved ones, or well treated by yourself if not. I’ve always found it better not to place too much in these days, where you are supposed to do more of this or less of that, and all so someone […]

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Yeah, a Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you. Hope you were well treated by your loved ones, or well treated by yourself if not. I’ve always found it better not to place too much in these days, where you are supposed to do more of this or less of that, and all so someone can sell more cards or fish or firelighters or what have you.

I’ll have to get around to writing an in-depth answer to David’s last comment (an interesting subject indeed), and a long-winded description of my back trouble which I’ve been enjoying telling everyone about; I spent all of yesterday lying flat in more than a little pain after my back suddenly… stopped working. Very painful, and somewhat inexplicable.

And before anyone asks, Norton Disk Doctor didn’t fix it. I did try.

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