St. Paddy's Day 2009

It was a funny one this year. Paddy's Day fell on a Tuesday meaning that we were all off work Saturday and Sunday, back into work on the Monday and then off again on the Tuesday. I opted to go in on the Monday despite the entire rest of my team taking it off. As I sat down at my desk I had to re-assure myself that I hadn't accidentally come in on a Sunday because the office was so quiet. When my alarm went off that morning I wondered why the hell I hadn't just taken the day off however I'm glad now that I worked it and saved a day's annual leave for another time.

Anyway, as we're not students anymore and all have jobs and a new found sense of responsibility we all vowed we'd never have, we decided it would be more prudent to celebrate Paddy's Day the day before giving people all of Paddy's Day to recover. All day drinking on Paddy's Day can only really be undertaken while at college. And so it was that I left work slightly early with the taste of booze already in my mouth. I wanted to head straight to the pub but I don't think others were willing to start that early. So I decided to call in on Clare at her place first and once Joanne and Richie arrived, we were on our way down to the Eagle House in Sandycove.

We were excited at the prospect of being served by our favourite member of staff down there who we've dubbed Pleasing Peter due to his thankful nature. Peter went above and beyond in his serving duties in 2008 and we haven't seen him so far in 2009. We were therefore seriously dismayed when we arrived to find he wasn't working that night.

It was a huge blow to the night's plans but we vowed to work through it and enjoy ourselves all the same. One by one people started to arrive until we eventually had quite a good crew consisting of myself, Clare, Joanne, Richie, Jessica, Goong, Zoe, Aily, Wig, Ali, Damo, Stef, Emsy and Karen. Even Rog and Lynn turned up for a little while. The night wore on with various people buying food at different stages. At one point I noticed an old man's cap hanging on a coat stand. Never one to pass up an opportunity for a bit of craic, I ordered Emsy to swipe the hat and Ali took photos of each of us wearing it one by one.

After last orders had been called, almost everyone headed back to our place. Once there we cranked on the Bob Marley tunes, ordered a couple of ridiculously large pizzas from Mizzonis and played a very rowdy game of Guesstures. Myself and Goong even whipped up a drunken batch of guacamole! I don't know where the time went but all of a sudden it was approaching 4am. Conscious of the neighbours and the fact that Ali had to "work" the next day, we wrapped things up and sent people on their way.

Of course my head didn't initially feel amazing the next morning. However at this stage I am well used to the sensation and have developed a sure fire way of beating the morning after hangover. I hit the kitchen and whipped up a couple of slices of white pudding accompanied by a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. As soon as Wig was up and about we headed to Tesco to buy ingredients for a super large spaghetti bolegnase. While it was simmering nicely on the hob, myself, Wig, Aily and Stef headed for a stroll up Killiney Hill where we met up with Paddy and Damo. The weather was beautiful - sunny and warm - and the walk was just what we all needed.

After the walk, we all headed back to ours to enjoy the scrumptious spaghetti bolegnase with delicious salad and freshly grated parmesan cheese. By the time this was finished, we all felt a little lethargic and headed to the sitting room for the evening. My eyes quickly became heavy and after the latest installment of Jack Bauer and an episode of Australian Immigration I was ready for bed. Wig and Aily were quick to point out that it was only 9.30 but I didn't care. And I certainly appreciated the decision of an early night when I woke up at 6.45 this morning after a whopping 9 hours sleep. Another Paddy's Day gone!

Now away with ye...