A Knock Back
I’ve never really made it public on this blog about my intentions regarding… life I guess.
Often I sit around and wonder what I’m supposed to do with this blog, and the other day Kimberlee my beloved suggested that I blog about what my plans are. My plans are incredibly simple, but incredibly complex at the same time:
Move to America on January 31st.
I went back and forth to how best to start this process and like most processes it starts with cash.
This whole thing won’t be cheap and the primary expense is the plane ticket. It’ll probably cost anywhere between 550 and 650 euros. That’s a wedge of cash in my books and I think a lot of us would have trouble raising that sort of scratch in the current economic climate.
So I decided to start selling things. The first thing I decided to sell was a burberry coat that I own. I picked it up about a year ago, maybe a year and a half. I never wear it, because it’s too nice to wear. I know it’s stupid.
The knock back referenced in the title is my first attempt to sell the coat. It didn’t sell.
This was an immediate shock to me, least of all because it’s a genuine Burberry Coat; I’d assume people would have my arm off for it at that price. It’s missing the belt, but that’s the only problem with it.
It was difficult to understand that it hadn’t sold. I had to consider an unpleasant idea:
What if I can’t sell any of my stuff?
I spent the rest of the day rolling this over in my mind. Yeah, gamestop will take my DVDs, and any clothes and nick-knacks can be given away if I run out of time. It’s likely a lot of stuff will go to charity shops. But if I don’t sell my stuff, then that’s a significant amount of cash I had planned on being in the budget… not being in the budget.
Well you know what – fuck it. If I give up at the first hurdle I’ll sit here in this chair, in this house, in this place and I’ll never get anywhere. Sure, I might get a job, or find a woman, or any of that shit.
But that job won’t be my dream job and that woman won’t be Kimberlee.
No compromise, no surrender.
Go buy the coat. If you don’t have the money to buy the coat, spread this around until we find someone who does have the money for it.
The first ever Mc Girr Family Tartan
So after some false starts, and a little back and forth, the tartan is now in the registry.
The Mc Girr family has an official tartan now.
The next step is to get together enough cash to get the material loomed, and then made into a kilt.
There is a donations page if you wish to toss me a few quid.
By the way, Mc Girr means ‘Son of the short man’ so anybody with the surname Mc/Mac Girr, Mc/Mac Gearr, Mc/Mac Garr or even Short/Shortt can wear this tartan.
Thursday
Was at a Halloween Party today. Went as one of Mussolini’s boys.
The rest of the set are available here.
New Hat, New Hat, New Hat
Damn it I love new hats.
This is actually an old hat. Bought it in a costume shop on The Strand Road in Derry. Derry takes it’s Halloween very seriously. It’s an army surplus hat, it has German information on the inside, and I have no idea when it hails from.
But for a hat in such great condition and for only 12 euros it was impossible to say no. Verdicts?
Crime never sleeps Sunday
The party went on long into the night. Click after the jump for some pictures.
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Mafia Saturday
Oh have I got a treat for you guys. Somewhere around 70 pictures from one of the best parties I’ve been to in years. Senan’s Mafia Birthday Bash. It was fantastic, everyone really went for it, and… I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
Check it out, it’s the whole gang.
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Kilt Tuesday
It arrived! My kilt arrived. It actually arrived yesterday, but I was still at home, so I finally got a chance to put it on. And it is really comfortable.
I love it. Word to the wise though: if you’re getting one, order up one size. I ordered a 40, when I’m about a 38-39, and though it first I would have preferred a 42. It’s easier to adjust down that it is to adjust up.
I got mine from The Scotland Kilt Company, and I couldn’t be happier with it. The delivery was a lot faster than estimated, there were no shipping costs and it’s only 45 euros for the entry level kilts.
For the Americans out there you might want to try Sport Kilt. They have similar prices, similar offers and similar kilts, many of which with newer twists, like pockets.
Get one. Now. Seriously, go, get one.
BP Thursday, it never ends
So this arrived this morning, so I had to track down some big boy cigarettes (Standard production smokes, not roll ups) and it works great. It filters out some of the tar and nicotine, it keeps the stains off your fingers, and it just looks steampunk to boot.
BP Saturday
New summer clothes. Army Olive Drab is really in this season. I got a cadet cap to match and everything.
BP Friday
It is really hot around these parts these days. So I have reverted to the same summer clothes I wear every summer: Cut off denim. Both shirt and pants. It doesn’t exactly keep me cool, but it keeps me less warm than my usual fare.
Sunday
Eh? No chin beard. And some snazzy new pajamas (Pyjamas?) I’d never really considered wearing extra clothes to bed, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t nice and cosy when you wake up. Go buy some, they’re awesome.
Friday 10th
And thus ends hat week children. I do have one more post lined up, but that may take several days to properly complete though. So it’ll be hat week Mtheusday (Meh-thews-day) or something.
But remember loyal fans [and first timers. Hello first timers! Become loyal fans, it's easy] that hat week isn’t just for a week. It’s for life. Well it was actually 16 days, and there’s another one on the way, but I digress….
There doesn’t need to be an occasion to wear a hat, there needn’t be appalling weather (though wear a hat in poor weather) just wear a nice hat for the hell of it. Have a good one, and always tilt to the left.
Oh yeah, go see Monsters vs. Aliens. Watched it in 3D, with 3d glasses that were actually able to fit over my real glasses. And occasionally the 3D is a bit of a gimmick, but it really does help the story along. Enriches the whole experience.
“By Hawking’s chair!”
Hat Week Day 14: The Snood
Soooo we’re really down into the dregs now, because this is the last hat that I own. Well there’s a St. Patrick’s day novelty hat behind the couch and I haven’t addressed the issue of bandannas yet, but if I start that this fortnight long week will never end.
The snood is a strange garment; I own several of them, all of them which I won in my university Pub Quiz. They can be worn in several configurations, two of which I have pictured. It’s actually quite warm when worn face-mask style in the winter, even if you do look a little criminal. It’s cold damn it, and I pull it down when I’m indoors so stop following me security guard. Criminals wear hoodies these days.
Look after the jump for just one of the several hat configurations of the snood.
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Hat Week Day 13: I can’t stop
This is my black beanie hat. It’s the simplest hat I own, and it’s alright in a pinch. The only reason I’m still doing hat week is because I can’t bear to let it go. I wear a hat every day, the only reason I didn’t usually wear them in the daily picture is because I was trying to track me, not me wearing hats. Which is why I decided to do a hat week: me in hats, for the fans you see.
Another hat post tomorrow. And maybe another one the next day. Possibly.
….more than likely.
Edit: I freaked myself out today, I forgot to sign on. The money arriving on Tuesday threw me and signing on completely slipped my mind. Not to worry, I signed on the next day and all was well. It’s a bit fantastic when a rigid system occasionally flexes a little to help you.
Hat Week Hiatus – 2
This post doesn’t relate directly to hats, but if you look back at Hiatus day 1, then you’ll realise something similar is going on in this post.
Taken this morning. For a more recent picture from today look below the jump.
Hat Week Day 12: Special Guest
Hello there Mad Carpenter fans; you’re in for a treat today because you’re meeting my younger sister Stephanie (again) but since this is hat week she’s here to show off her hats.
Clockwise from top left:
1. Black instripe trilby: a fairly recent purchase – Pennys of Letterkenny
2. Black and White Dogtooth trilby: worn in perfectly – Pennys of Letterkenny
3. Blue Engineer’s cap: One of the earliest hats – Can’t remember
4. Black and Red trilby: Found a matching shirt – Pennys of Letterkenny
She’s becoming quite the hat enthusiast. Pennys isn’t a hat shop or anything, it’s just a chain clothing store in Ireland and the UK. So it just goes to show what a little determination and a small budget can get you these days. Just keep your eyes open and you can find some real treasures.
Edit: Stephanie found a nice grey trilby in a charity shop on the morning of the 7th, I’ll get her to email me a picture as soon as possible for inclusion in this article.
My picture after the jump because sadly I’m not wearing a hat today. I’ve run out of hats to take pictures of. Sure I have a beanie or two, but those are necessary hats, not fashion hats. I do have one or two more hat related articles though, then it’s back to regular service.
Hat Week Day 11: Flat Cap
One of the three hats I got for Christmas, courtesy of my brother Eamon. I introduced him in an earlier post in case you want to go back and see me beside him. As a sort of proof… that we’re related.
I prefer to wear it with the top flipped up as it’s slightly tight on my head when the top is clipped down. It’s one of those “One size fits most” sort of things. And if you’ve been reading hat week then you’ll know how I feel about that.
Tune in tomorrow for a special guest and her hats.
Hat Week Day 10: Straw Hat
We’re chugging into April now, meaning that the spring/summer hat season is upon us, and I’ll have to stop wearing my heavy felt, fur and wool hats and start wearing straw. Check out your local Dunnes, Wal-Mart, Marks and Spencer, whatever you’ve got and you’ll notice that they’re selling less beanies and warm hats, and more straw sun hat things. Go on, check. I’ll wait…
Did you check? Welcome to straw hat season. This is my straw hat, it’s a fine wee piece and it’s gotten a fair share of compliments.
Really and truly I fancy a straw gambler hat. But they’re a tad hard to come by over here.
Which reminds me! Some table polishing children:
http://www.themadcarpenter.com/donations/
It is now possible to donate to The Mad Carpenter via paypal, and if you do donate, you can put a link to your website underneath the paypal button. Cash would be very much appreciated to fund my various endeavors, such as Project S, which I’ll let you know about in the coming days.
Hat Week Day 9: Helmet
A minor back story with this one, I got my bike repaired so that I could do more cycling and less relying on people with cars. Got it all done up for 140 euros, then realised I had no bike helmet. After looking around at the selection I found it to be pretty poor, so I took a scobe on eBay and found the following
Snazzy isn’t it? It’s made of durable ABS plastic, it can take a knock or two and it’s much more interesting that the usual fare. I wouldn’t suggest it for motorbike riding, but it does me on my bike.
My White Bicycle
That song is about cocaine. Or some other white powder. Great song.
Edit: Just realised I’m listening to songs from the Vietnam war era, and wearing an American Military Helmet. Nice one Dave
Hat Week Day 8: Top Hat
Today I show you the proverbial crown in my hat collection. The most epic of my hats. The Top Hat.
Isn’t it a bit awesome? A bit really awesome?
So I was in Derry one day, with about 30 minutes to kill between the bus that left me in Derry and the bus that was going to take me the rest of the way home. Made a wander over in the direction of a local fast food joint when I happened upon The Walled City Market, a local market that operates in Derry every couple of months. So I wandered around to see such delights as hand woven baskets, jewelery, fortune telling, and an entire pig on a spit.
See the end of this compelling story after the jump.
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