February 3rd-6th

Day Eleven-Fourteen: Barbers Trivia/Open Mic Night and Bogmen

I tried to take it easy for a couple of days. This meant my days consisted of school, Netflix (Rick and Morty mostly), Settlers of Catan, card games, coffee runs when I couldn’t talk myself into saving money, and attending much anticipated events at our convenient and carefree Barbers.

Midnight 3o (what we have decided to call our group), unfortunately is not good at trivia. When I carry a team on movie and music knowledge alone, you know we’re in trouble. But we still have time to work our way up from 2nd to last.

I broke up Barber visits with a trip to the Irish National Museum. Lucky for me, I didn’t have to go out of my way because one of my classes (centered around Popular Culture in Ireland) decided to take a field trip there. From what I could tell, they had four different sections strewn about the museum. I focused mainly on the Viking age and Pagan time. It was within one of these areas that I discovered the famous and terribly fascinating Bogmen, individuals who I understood to have fallen into these wetlands, drowned, and mummified (for decades upon decades due to the high nutrients found in the soil).

Their skin resembled brown leather just as their hair did straw coils. It was unreal. 

A professor from my home University made sure to mention the Bogmen in our Irish Literature and Nationalism class, so I was happy to have the chance to see them in person and see for myself their antiquity. I look forward to telling him about the experience upon my return.

On a side note, I have really began to enjoy grilled pb&j’s, as well as, over medium eggs on toast as staples in my day to day life. There has been the occasional splurge of frozen pizza with ranch… but considering a small container of Hidden Valley is nearly eight euro… the sprees are far and few between.

But to draw this post to a conclusion, Barber’s Open Mic Thursday was something to be seen. By the time my group remembered that it was indeed Open Mic Night, we rushed over to see the tail end of the performances. We didn’t, however, miss our go-to bartender bringing everyone to their feel as he shredded on his guitar. He had some killer pipes too. 

Needless to say, I am and will continue to be on the prowl for more fun events to attend in the future. It helps when you talk to native Dubliners. You might need a Guinness or two in you before you work up the courage to approach one, but it can be done.