Bean's Babbletorium: Cab Drivers

The cab drivers here have been great. Friendly and chatty, we have always learned something from them. The first one, who picked us up from the airport told us all about the budget issues the country is dealing with and how the day we showed up was their deadline date to deal with the budget. I learned from her about the Taoiseach, who is head of government but really only like a king. He doesn't do much, he's more of a symbol.

Tonight, we hopped into Brian McCormick's cab and I'm grateful we did cause the guy was hysterical. I'm trying to remember all the funny things but I'm sure they won't really be told right.
He mentioned how people come over here and say they had a Guinness and it was beautiful. He said, "Guinness is an acquired taste. You can't have one and say it's beautiful because it's not. You have to try some over a couple months before you really grow to like it. I know. I've been studying it for 27 years." He went on to tell us that he's travelled all over looking for the perfect Guinness. That this perfection comes form many factors, the pouring, etc. He said it wasn't uncommon for him to drink 30 pints in a sitting, but that now he's trying to change his life and be better about it. "I've only gone out about 7 times in the past year," he explained, "I have friends who can drink 40"

"How can they do that?" I asked, "I mean, don't they get really full?"

"Awe you just get used to it," he told me, adding "That and you're an alcoholic!" then we all burst out laughing. I was int he middle of my laughter when I stopped and said straight-faced, "I'm sorry. That's not funny". But it was and he knew it.

We passed the "stiletto in the ghetto", which it the spire near Henry street which no one seems to know what it's all about and what it's for or what it means. "here's what happened" Brian told us, "They commissioned this artist $250 million to design this thing, and one night, the artist went into a pub, had a few drinks, and said Fuck It! Then pulled out a pen and paper and a ruler, drew two lines, and walked off with his $250M.

As we approached Trinity College, he pointed out a rounded building with no windows, or rather, there was concrete where there should have been windows. He explained that "100 years ago or something" the British were taxing for windows, so the Irish filled those spaces meant for windows with cinder block.

He told us that as it it our last night in Dublin, we should really go out and get to a pub for our last night. As he dropped us off, I asked for a receipt (very easy to get here!). He handed me a strip of receipt paper as long as my arm. It was the receipts from the last day and a half. He knew we were here on work's tab, "Here, hand this whole thing in for a laugh!"

they give me happy hot cocoa from the bar int he hotel at night.

art for sale along the College Green

I loved this orange one

About Last Night. Apparenlty, Saturday night was "The Twelve Pubs of Christmas" pub crawl night in Dublin. That explains the crowd of people dressed as Santa packing into the pubs and wobbling their way down the streets.