The hills are alive with the sound of...my screams...

I went on my first ever hike with a group of friends and colleagues last weekend, in the beautiful scenery of Glendalough. 2 hours 30 minutes to climb up and own a rocky - then grassy mountain / big hill. Pretty impressive view, scary as hell when you're on th verge of a cliff that falls down 200 meters and you're standing on a board walk (there is no path up the mountain so you walk on rail road beams for most of the climb).

The compulsory group photo

 Still very enthusiastic at the beginning of the hike

Arrived at the top, standing in front of this amazing view, I launched a group scream and we all let go, holding hands, screaming our lungs out and looking like perfect lunatics.

Ze view that inspired Ze Screaming

Very cathartic and relaxing, until we saw people's face full of fright and misunderstanding. As my friend Meriem said: "Poor people, they come in this remote area to get away from the noise and chaos of the city, and they hear us howl at the sun!" :)

9km climb, pretty cool for my fitness quota, my legs have felt like Jello since, but I don't regret seeing all these amazing views, and the nature changing as you climb higher.

Funny anecdote: as we were climbing up a rocky path, overlooking a beautiful lake that could have been seen in The Lord of the Rings, a friend I hadn't spoke to in ages called (there's great phone network in the mountains!). he was a bit surprised when I told him it wasn't the greatest moment to talk since I was out of breath , climbing rocks in the mountains. Haha, you don't expect to hear that when you call to give news.

I wore a red jacket in case I got lost or fell and people could spot me

Dramatic much? :)

Get ready for your close up

I was asked by my manager if I wanted to be an extra for a promotional movie for the Alliance Française in Dublin. The scene we shot was in a café, where we were just background customers. So far so good, pretending to have a conversation with the other extras, not look at the camera, and pretend to drink tea or coffee out of empty cups. And waiting between scenes... not the most fun, but tha whole lights, camera, monitors, director's assistant etc... is fun to watch.

At some point the main character walks in the café and everyone is supposed to stop doing what they were doing and stare at him...We shot close ups, once, twice, all wrapped phew, we're almost done...until the director decides that I'm gonna be in just in front of the camera... i'm supposed to chit-chat until the hero arrives, drink a sip of tea and drop the cup as I stare at him in surprise.....I got so focused on not forgetting the order of things( which sound simple like that), that I forgot to take a sip, or drop the cup during the 5 or 6 takes we did.....Argh, acting (even silently) isn't easy, especially when you have a huge camera lens 3 centimeters from your face...

Another fun and out of the ordinary experience but that I don't wish to reiterate soon.

Next time: Gaelic Football and Afternoon Tea on the Big Wheel, wuhoo!!!

Whizzzzzzzzzzz - Roller Derby rocks!

So I went to train during a Freshmeat (very evocative name!) Sunday, an open door / recruitment day for the Dublin Roller Girls.

We were welcomed, Lydia and I, by the organisational committee and the head of the group, lovely Christine O'Connor, aka Kitty Cadaver. After signing a paper confirming that we won't sue the girls if we bust our heads or break an arm/tooth/nail, we were separated in two groups , one being briefed and one starting the training.

The girls were very helpful and professional, explaining what Roller Derby is all about and answering our questions. In a nutshell Roller Derby is a contact sport for girls invented in the 1970s in the US. Your team against another team must gain points as they skate around an oval inclined track, and you can hit (within rules) the opposite team to make them fall and slow them down. A lot of fun to watch but scary to train for.

Derby girls choose a "warrior" name, always kind of sexy/ scary such as Kitty Cadaver, Peppy Nephrin, Whippy Longstockings or Dirty Knees Lou-eez. It is always a lot of fun to discover new names but be careful choosing your name as the International Roller Derby federation keeps a record of all the name to avoid doubles!

After the talk, the action: we got geared and started learning how to position ourselves, skate well and turn (The Dublin Roller Girls skate on a flat track), I was whizzing around but got almost cold feet when we had to learn how to fall. one or two shy tries later I was throwing myself at the ground, still being careful not to hit anyone or get my fingers rolled over.

I stopped to watch everyone finish training, stretch and grin from ear to ear, saying how much they had enjoyed this experience. Lydia was delighted with the experience; a beginner skater she was nonetheless a warrior (same as when we ice skated) and kept going and going around the track on wobbly legs, with an admirable determination.

Lydia and I, in all our derby glory!

A good thing done, several great pics taken and a laugh shared, I will only go on seeing the DRG as a PR consultant for their communication plan and leave the *whizz-bam-crash* to the real players!

Thanks again Girls for the warm welcome, you are a great team!

More information about the Dublin Roller Girls on :

- http://www.facebook.com/dublinrollergirls
- Check them live at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um7mj_Yrc7U

Dancing on ice and wrestling on wheels

The first chapter of a  - hopefully - long and exciting experience, opened with my friend Selene asking me if I wanted to join her at a silent disco on ice, on the rooftop of a big department store in Dublin. I found the combination of silent disco + dancing on ice + rooftop so crazy and fun that I said yes instantly. My friend Lydia came along and we decided that we could do something fun and out of the ordinary every month.

The next thing we decided to do was to go test our "toughness" and balance skills with the Dublin Roller Girls, the official Dublin Roller Derby team....this will be the subject of a post very very soon :)

Freshmeat Sunday: Where vocations and fright are born :)