So I collected the rolls of developed film yesterday!!  How exciting!!  Haven’t had that experience in years!  Digital takes that excitement away with its instant nature!  I was happy enough with some of what I got and not so with others.  I even managed to scan a few.  I got one shot of Matt the 365 guy so was able to get him a shot of himself with the red balloon for his site!  Short blog today as it is late.  Here is a taster of the film shots!

Hi there!  Happy Valentines Day!!

So I set out on Saturday morning to meet Matt Loughrey the guy I mentioned that is climbing Croagh Patrick every day for a year  www.croaghpatrick365.com

Matt had decided that Saturday’s climb (his 253rd) would be a Valentines special so he put a call out on Facebook for any women out there that wanted to join him to come along and have their photo taken on top of the mountain.  So there was I with all the girls following Matt up the mountain!!  The group began to string out as always happens when climbing and fair play to Matt he waited back with the slower climbers so no one was left behind.  When Matt finally appeared on the summit he was carrying a couple of red balloons.  His Idea was to take a shot of each climber with a red balloon to mark the occasion!  I was roped into the photo shoot too!!  Sad faced (by request) as the bloke without the Valentine!!

For more of Matts Valentine climb see here

I got rather cold waiting at the top for the rest of the group to arrive but it was worth the wait as the craic was good and the view is ever changing!  The light was changing every few minutes and the views never get old!

I brought my new old camera along for the climb and shot a rool of film.  Very exciting!  I dropped it and another roll in to be developed on Saturday evening so I am dying to see the results!!  I am not expecting much from the first roll as My 5 year old is responsible for most of that one.  I’m not saying she is a bad photographer its just she has never shot film before!!!!!

 

Got to go but i will blog soon to let you know how the film turned out!

Hey!  What do ya know!!  Two days in a row!!  Its a record!

Well bloggers I am disappointed.  I did not go for my run tonight.  I am going to see the silver lining in this disappointment however.  So I arrived home from work this evening and my wife asked would I cook dinner as she wasn’t feeling too good.  I am fond of cooking and can hold my own in the kitchen but always plan ahead!  I was not expecting this as I was told the a stir fry was on the menu so plan was to arrive home, go for run, eat, put daughter to bed and chill!  Plan changed to not getting to run tonight!!!  So the silver lining?  I cooked stir fry for the first time and it turned out pretty good!!  Stir fry is easy I hear you say.  I agree now but as I say I like to plan before I cook and not learn as you go.  My girls dined and seemed happy.

In other news, I had a team meeting yesterday (I am the manager) and I decided to try something a little different.   I ditched the traditional round table dictatorial style of meeting and walked into the room with a flip chart and marker and asked each member to tell me one thing they did particularly well at work in the last year, one thing the think they could have done better and their hope for 2011.  Their faces were priceless!  I think they thought I had lost the plot!  I had a couple of lovely emails from some of the team today and one phone call from one saying she hates that format of meeting but got a lot from it all the same! Stepping out of ones comfort zone once in a while can be very productive!!

I am climbing Croagh Patrick on Saturday morning with a guy who is 251 days into his attempt to climb the mountain 365 days in a row.  Just a regular guy who wanted to set himself a challenge and to raise funds for a very needy charity St Vincent de Paul.  You can follow Matt’s progress and see his remarkable photographic account of his challenge here www.croaghpatrick365.com

My own 7 day challenge pales in comparison!!  Ha ha!  Mind you I have managed to raise €700 so far for Autism so that’s good!!

http://www.mycharity.ie/event/greg_barrys_event/

I think that will do you for today!!

Later dud

Well its only been 6 days so I am getting better!!!  I don’t know why I seem to be unable to take 15 minutes out of my day to blog!  Its not as if I don’t spend enough time on the computer all day!  On my Guidance Counseling course if I made that statement I would be asked in a soft voice, “tell me more about why you think you think you can’t find the time to blog?” or “what do you think that says about you?”  Ha ha!!  That’s what I’m turning into!!!!  This time next year I will be able to “fix” you all!!!

Anyhow, more of that later!  Last Thursday I arranged to meet a guy I met on the internet………………………….to buy a camera!!!  What were you thinking? Ha ha!  Well I came across this camera on a site called adverts.ie and spotted a canon 500N with a 100-300 zoom lens and an 35-80mm plus a flash gun and a load of film and all for €80!  I met the guy that was selling it as I had judged from a couple of phone calls that he was genuine.  Friends from the world of Flickr and college were great for hints and tips of what to look out for (thanks Eva and David) and David who studied photography came along to the meet with me so I was well happy to part with the cash for the camera and in fact felt a bit bad that I was handing over so little for so much gear!!  Anyway it is great to be back in the world of photography all be it non digital!  I have not had the opportunity to use it much but my five year old has taken a lot of snaps of teddy and dolly so I am intrigued as to how they turn out!!  She was so funny trying to see the picture at the back of the camera!!  “Dad, where are you hiding it?”  Its on the film inside the camera.  “Dad, are you telling me the truth?”  She is a gas ticket!  So I need to figure out a few things and then I will share early results with you all even if they are crap and you can track my progress!!

Not the most productive training 6 days.  I did a bit in the Gym at the Hotel I stayed in on Thursday.  15 km on the bike and 4km on the treadmill.  Nothing since.  Played golf on Sunday but I no longer see that as exercise!!  I plan to climb Croagh Patrick on Saturday morning if I can get up early enough!  I also hope to get out for a short run tomorrow evening.  I have been so tired this week that I haven’t even tried to go out for a run.  I think I am being genuine cos I often push past tiredness and head out but this week I have been weak with tiredness so I think a little rest was needed.  Slap me if I don’t get out tomorrow!!!

I was in Maynooth for my monthly workshops for the Post Grad Dip in Guidance Counseling.  It is mad to think that I have only three more visits of a two year course left to do!  I remember when I started I thought it seemed like a long stretch but in the blink of an eye the finish line is in sight!!  Scary thought as I have an incredible amount of work to do!!  I am supposed to be studying as I type this but I am not the best at hitting the books!  I have always learned best by watching, learning and doing than studying!  I have to knuckle down.  More slaps needed!

And finally!  This made me smile today so I hope it makes you smile too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well hello again Bloggers!!  Its been a while!  Seems to be a trend with me, starting stopping starting again with great intentions of being a better blogger!!  Well here I am again with another attempt!  Lets just see how it goes this time.  No promises I can’t keep this time.

So what’s been happening?  Well quite a lot really.  I just read back over my last post and it is a bit of a downer!!!  I am glad to say I am in a better frame of mind at the moment.  I can’t believe I haven’t blogged since November!!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Well I missed telling you all about the snow that hit Ireland in December!  I love snow and was so disappointed when the first falls came and we got very little here in the West of Ireland!!  We had a white blanket for a day or so and heavy ice after that so the whiteness stayed but nothing like the beautiful falls of snow that in other parts of Ireland, England and Scotland.

I was to get my wish though as later in December we had a full on snow fall and it lasted right up to Christmas Day!  Christmas morning travelling from house to house was magical.  We had a friends birthday party in the wonderful Mount Falcon, www.mountfalcon.com the week before Christmas and treated ourselves to an overnight at the hotel (well the roads were treacherous after all!!)  To say the hotel was luxurious would be an understatement and they served breakfast till mid day and no need to check out before 2pm so a lovely lazy morning and leisurely breakfast was the perfect end to the party!  Before we left we took a stroll around the grounds in the powder perfect snow (with camera of course!!)

Closer to Christmas and talk of a thaw on the way I snuck off from work for an hour and went out to the grounds of The Museum of Country Life, www.museum.ie/en/intro/country-life.aspx in Turlough with the camera.  Beautiful grounds for photography any time of the year but so special in the snow.  Some pictures of the day for you.

Christmas itself was great.  Back to what Christmas was before the boom of the last 10 years.  No mad spending on ridicules gifts.  Spending time with family and friends in our houses and having a good old time.  Santa granted all of Aimee’s wishes and she even heard his sleigh bells ringing when she was going to bed!!!  Even coming down with Chicken Pox on Christmas eve didn’t slow her down.  She is a great kid!  I am glad to say that we did get a few nights out on the town too and thanks to my fantastic parents for taking Aimee anytime we did go out!

Like any good movie that starts with joy and happiness something always happens to turn the story line a bit darker!!!  In this blog entry here comes the bit that darkens this post……my camera and all my lens were stolen from the car from outside the house on the night of 1/1/11.   Major bummer!  There was a spate of break ins over the Christmas.  I am still trying to sort out with the insurance company if I am going to be covered for any of the loss.  I have adequate cover but there is an issue over the fact that the camera bag was not in the boot (trunk if you are stateside!!) but behind the drivers seat.  I am more than likely going to have to suffer the loss of the camera and have no compensation!  This is a major pain in the ass and I am not in a situation financially to start replacing any of the equipment.  All I am left with to take photos is my iPhone and that’s crap as a camera!!

I have decided not to let this get me down and have seen a silver lining in this tale.  I can afford to buy a second 35mm SLR.  I am picking it up this week and I am going to go right back to basics.  I learned my photography in digital and I feel I am one of those “throw enough muck at a wall and some is bound to stick” photographers as in take enough shots of something and you will get lucky with one of them!  I hope that shooting film will force me to pay more attention to lighting camera settings etc.  I am quite excited about it all really.  It will be at least 12 months from now before I can realistically consider starting to save to replace my Canon.  I am looking forward to letting you all know how life with film is working out!

The other angle of this blog was about fitness and challenges I was undertaking.  After a long lay off with the knee injury I finally got back into some level of training in the past two weeks.  I have been out for three 4.5 mile runs so far and have made it with pain in the knee.  I am struggling with fitness though and can really fell the extra weight gained from eating and drinking like a king and no exercise to balance that lifestyle!!!!  I also climbed Croagh Patrick in the past fortnight and was very pleased with my time to the top and how well the body felt after the climb.  Last Sunday I did a smaller mountain which is an easier climb terrain wise but very steep from start to finish.  Blisters after that one from the decent.  Ouch.  So the planned challenges for early 2011 are this www.croaghpatrickchallenge.com which I hope to raise a minimum of €1000 for Autism and you are all welcome to donate!!!   www.mycharity.ie/event/greg_barrys_event  And if I survive the seven climbs I will go on to do this www.harlequinhotelcastlebar.ie/event-information

Well I think that is about all for today!  I will be back soon and try to keep entries shorter!!

Well!  Its been a while!  Whats been going on?  Quite a lot but not a lot at the same time!!

I mentioned on the last entry that I was due to go to Maynooth as part of a Post Grad I am studying.  Well I have been and back and so much more!  The course is in Guidance Counseling and is very interesting and practical from a work point of view.  It makes one look at ones self a little closer than one is used too and often you will not like what you see.  One of the students refers to it as the crying course!  I was late arriving on the first morning which maddened me as I hate to be late particularly for a course such as this that is all about group participation.  Even thought I was only half an hour or so late it is enough to feel behind the rest of the group.  It also means you don’t get the chance to tell the group what has been going on for you in the past month.  That is something I hated at the start of this course but now need to do in order to free my head to take in course material over the two days.  I really saw the difference this time not having the opportunity to offload on the  first morning.  I was drifting through lectures not taking much in battling with thoughts that should have been dealt with early on the first day and not at checkout at the end of day two.  Sorry if this is a bit heave but i have decided that the blog will be used to offload from time to time!!  Although I am fine fit and healthy with a lot going for me I can see I have been somewhat depressed lately.  Not just down in the dumps, fed up with the weather and the news but properly depressed!   You know that feeling of not being able to motivate yourself to do the things you love most and when you are doing what you love you are absent while doing them?  No? Well lucky you!!  I’ll give you an example.  I love music and in particular live music.  In the past month I have been to Jools Holland and The Waterboys.  Two fantastic shows and great nights out but I felt I was there but not present on both occasions and have sketchy memories of both shows!  As I say I am well and thankfully I can recognise the period of depression and can take steps to over come it.  What is the cause?  Who knows!  Things mentioned in earlier posts such as the car trouble and costs related to that, getting injured and not being able to compete in an event I had put 6 months training into, lack of regular exercise (due to injury) and the pressure of assignments.  Sometimes it all builds up!  The other barometer for me is photography.  If I am not taking pictures I am not happy!!  This time last year when in Maynooth I was out enjoying the Autumn colour.  The photos here might just reflect a better mind set and a hint of creativity!

I started treatment on the knee injury on the 8th of this month.  I had rested it for a couple of weeks and no improvement or reduction in swelling so I booked and appointment with a sports injury specialist.  Had my second session today and he seems to think one more session should do the trick.  Swimming and cycling are allowed but I am not a swimmer and its not a great time of year to be out on the bike!!!  Pitch dark at 5pm!  Anyway I hope to be running short distances again in a week to ten days.  It has been tough meeting people that did the Sea2Summit at the weekend and seeing the photos of the event!  I had felt so much part of the build up and then such an outsider when I had to pull out!  I know there is always next year but there was something special about being part of the first ever event!!!  I played golf instead on Saturday morning and there is an amazing view of Croagh Patrick from the first green.  That was a weird feeling!  I would have been half way up my accent around the time I was standing on the green looking at the mountain!  People say “aren’t you lucky” but when you know the feeling you get at the finish line you don’t see it as being lucky NOT doing the event!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So what else?  Well we had storms here last week and I was working in out Belmullet office on the day the storm hit hardest.  So what does one do when they are on the coast and the man comes on the radio with a sever weather warning and telling of 120kmh gusts?  Why grab your camera and head to the beach of course!!!!  It was fantastic!!!  So invigorating!  Tide was out so didn’t get the big seas crashing over the sea wall or anything but I got some shots that make me want to do more with the camera.  A good sign that black clouds are lifting!

Just a funny photo I took before I sign off!  I was on the way home from ballina the other day and I spotted this van that had been cut off by the tide………except there is no tide on a lake!!!!!  I wonder how long you would have to leave a van on a lake shore before the water would rise to ha height to cut you off?  I’m sure he was one pis*ed off fisherman!!!

Be back soon!!!

So almost a week on and no improvement in my knee   It is looking very unlikely I am going to able to compete in the Sea2Summit on Saturday week.  I am gutted.  I have been putting in a lot of effort and training for this and was really looking forward to it.  I am seeing a sports injury guy on Monday (earliest app I could get!) who is highly recommended so that will be my last chance of getting a green light to take part.  If I do it still won’t be the best lead in preparation for an event like this one!

I am going to keep blogging regardless!!!  I think I will make it a more general blog as I think the running might be on hold for a few weeks!  So on that note I am going to pour out all the crappy luck I have had of late and some of the more fun things that have been going on!

Let me take you back to the 16th of Sept this year.  I came out of a meeting in Belmullet, Co Mayo sat into my car, turned the key and filled the carpark with a plume of bluey white smoke!!  Engine off rapidly and give the AA a call.  I  bought this car, a second hand SAAB 93, two years ago through a online car buyers guide against everyone’s advice.  I have always loved SAAB‘s and the opportunity arose to buy so I went for it.  The car has been fantastic up until the 16th Sept!  First Diagnosis at the garage was that the turbo had packed it in so I located a good quality second hand one.  Delivered and fitted the garage called to say that further damage had been done as the turbo problem resulted in the car been driven for God knows how long with no oil.  No warning lights on the dash.  Options now 1 Get the engine reconditioned 2 Get a replacement engine.  Heart sinking moment to say the least!  To cut a long story short I got my car back last Friday complete with the replacement engine and a more than fair repair bill from the garage (amazing what a mans tears will do!!!!)  Mixed emotions, so happy to have the car back (it is such a joy to drive) but 2 grand out of pocket at a time when the coffers are at an all time low.  Car seems to be running better now than ever before!  Garage guys said the engine I got was immaculate and its not often they see second hand engines come in in that good a condition.

Work is particularily challenging at the moment!  You know what, no!  This is a work free zone!

Going to a gig or should I say concert?  I think gig!  The Waterboys are on touring their WB Yeats show at the moment.  Mike Scott a long time fan of the poetry of Yeats has put a collection of poems to music.  The first taste of this came years ago on the Fishermans Blues album when they along with Tomás Mc Eoin produced a fantastic rendition of Stolen Child

Really looking forward to it!  Full review and photos on Thursday I hope.

I am back in Maynooth for two days this week as part of my post grag in Guidance Counseling.  I love the time I get to myself when away on these course days.  Might sound selfish but its great to be finished at 5 pm and have to 9 am the following day to relax, get out with the camera, go to the gym or sleep and not have any of the normal family week day stuff to deal with!  Plus it is two days out of work and the phone has to be off as we are in class!!  Love it!!  Maynooth has loads of photo opps so there may be a few snaps from there coming up in future blogs too!

Anyway, thanks for stopping by (if indeed anyone has!!) and talk soon!

Well just to update since the last post!

I started out well on my plans.  I went for my usual run and was more than happy with my efforts.  I followed that with another jaunt up the mountain.  Slower time as I was with a first time climber but I did a few runs on steep sections and then rested while waiting for my companion.  Felt good.

So that was then this is now!!  Since the climb (last wednesday) I took Thursday as a rest day.   Friday I was all set to go for a bike ride.  I cycled to work so I could head straight from there to save time and to remove excuses!!  I started to get pain in my knee shortly after arriving to work and by evening it was swollen quite a bit.   I have had forced rest since then.  I went for a gentle run tonight with the knee strapped and although no great pain the swelling is still there!

Rest for a few more days I think which is a pain as I have only 18 or so to go before the Sea 2 Summit!! If I can’t get to do this after all the training I will be so disappointed!!  Anyway, hope to be able to get out on the bike again on Thursday!

So things improved on the training front slightly at the weekend!! On Saturday I headed out on a hilly 3.5 miler I do on a regular basis. Although I didn’t feel great (still getting stitch like pains in my mid to upper back) I finished the run 2 min quicker than my usual time!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the upcoming Sea 2 Summit (www.sea2summit.com) in mind I canceled golf on Sunday morning and instead headed over to Croagh Patrick which is the little mountain in the middle of the race that needs to be contended with! I have not climbed the mountain since March 16th so I reckoned I should put in some mountain time! It was a nice fresh morning and not too cold which was a bonus as it meant not too many layers of clothes needed. There were a good few people out and about the mountain so off I headed. Started with a jog with the intention of jogging as far as I could up the early part of the mountain before it got too steep. That didn’t take too long!!! Although jogging stopped early I kept up a good steady pace. Weather and visibility remained clear but low cloud meant that I was heading into cloud. The view on this mountain make the torture easier and on days like this it can be hard to keep a focus!! When u get into the cloud the mountain looks cold and bleak!!

Despite poor visability onwards I go! I passed quite a few people on the way up which always feels good as u know your pace is good. Apart from one or two stops on the way up (I actually met my brother in law on his way down!!!) it was continious Jog, stride, walk, jog and climb to the top. Quick time check brought a huge smile to my face!!! I had made it up in 53 mins!!! This is 9 minutes quicker than any previous climb!! A quick drink at the top, an energy bar and a photo of proof and I started my decent. No point hanging around as you could see nothing up there!
I slid/ran back down the mountain. Bit scary at the top to run down but after the steepest part it is not so bad but hard on the feet. I made it back down in 30 minutes! Felt tired but great when I got back down. Very happy with my time and how well the body felt. I would love to have had more time to try part of the cycle stage but alas I had to hop in the car and hit for home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unable to do anything on Monday due to the stiffness in my legs!!!! Was due a rest day anyway. Light jog this evening to loosen out the quads! I am going back up the mountain tomorrow with a fellow Sea 2 Summiter. I have some free time next week so I hope to try some of the cycle then. So the plan for the rest of this week is Mountain tomorrow, hilly cycle on Friday and a run on Sunday. I’ll update blog then to let you know what I managed!!

It seems that like in many facets of my life I make plans and have great intentions to do so much and then it all gets left on the long finger!!  My current studies, photography projects, training, DIY, work and the blogging!  All find me playing catch up!

Only a month to go till the Sea 2 Summit challenge and I have nowhere near enough training done!  Having a bit of a rough time at work this week coupled with a double drowning tragedy in the town this week has defalted me somewhat and motivation has taken a hit.  Attitude has gone from “can do” to “am I able for” this week.  I did manage to get out for a run once this evening but Struggled every stride of the 4.3 flat miles in a very poor time.  Need to push myself over the next few days to get out and get some miles under my belt and not to mention some bike time!!

I took a spin out to have a look at the longest cycle section of the S2S on Wednesday and f**k me it was frightening!!!  See footage here of a small section!!

Towards the end of the cycle there is a great view of the last part of the mountain run stage.  To think how much has been achieved by the time we see this view on race day!!

Something that has to be factored in in this race is that there is often snow on this mountain in November!!!

Until next time!!!