The Cure

I don't know how I have been blogging for this long and not discussed the time I encountered supernatural powers! Like, no joke. It is a story of a little bit of indulging, and I must say that this one story is not common ... so please, do not judge. Also, I was 21.

With all that in mind, I shall start where all amazing tales begin... a nightclub! I was in my adopted hometown of Ennis, Ireland. The club in question ranks well beyond any club in my actual hometown in New Jersey, since we don't have any. But anyway, it is called Queens and it is where I left a little bit of my heart back in 2010... and some bits of my stomach...

Anyway, it was our host brother's birthday. He needed a proper American style celebration so we baked him cookies, bought some small treats and wrapped them in ripped out pages from a girly magazine, and made him a foil crown. I believe this was his 21st, so we pulled out all the stops even though 21 isn't too big of a deal over there since they've been legally drinking since 18... but whatever.

It had been a long day. Before all the gifts and cookies, 3 of the 4 exchange students (or whatever we were) had gone on a Cliffs of Moher tour, which is still one of the best days of my life - definitely top 50. My good friend from Penn State (Jessica* if you remember from a while back) had met up with her sister and her sister's soon-to-be husband to spend the day tracing back family heritage in Kilkee. I was sad she wouldn't be there, but was promised that we'd all meet up for our host brother's birthday that night.

A picture I snapped that day - lovely

When we got back, we all got ready and I was excited for a GREAT night. We would be having his party at a bar and then going to Queens, and I, my friend, was all about it. I had even purchased a new fun shirt for the occasion, so you know I meant business.

So we got to the bar and as promised, Jessica and her family were there. I decided a round of beverages would be a great idea, because why not?! So the main liquid in a margarita is obviously what one gets in Ireland, so that's what I did. And I got some more. And more. And you know.... continued because it's Ireland! It's a birthday party! It's the best day ever!

____ rounds in... I was having a blast and it was finally time to go to the "after party" at Queens. So we all gathered our things and walked over on the cobble stoned streets, less gracefully than when we had arrived earlier. Good thing I asked someone to snap a photo of the gal pals before things took a turn, because now I have this photo to forever remember the evening. I do look back on it fondly from time to time...

I didn't even have to do any of the photoshop to hide faces and it nicely sums up the evening

At Queens, all of our host brother's friends were super nice and we were definitely taken care of. I reallllly liked this blue drink called, Wicked (maybe without a letter in there) because it was blue, duh. So I continued to have some of that.

Fast forward a few hours to the morning when we were all scheduled to take a day trip on a small tour bus to County Cork to see the Blarney Castle (a must-visit when in Ireland). I had momentarily forgotten about this tour, I suppose, the previous evening, so waking up was really hard. And rallying was even harder.

When I managed to get on the bus, I went to the way back and sprawled out on the cushioned seats. Then quickly went into a fetal position.

Were there other people on the bus that I did not know? Yes. Did I care at the time? No.

Somewhere smack dab between Ennis and Co. Cork, I told my friends that they needed to leave me on the bus so I could go back. I wasn't meant to make it to the Blarney Castle that day.

They all refused because: 1. that was not a feasible plan and 2. I had paid good money to go on this tour and I was going to do it, dammit. (they were great friends)

When we pulled up to the castle...

I got out slowly, protecting my eyes from the blazing light that was coming from above ... aka the sun. Why couldn't it have been an overcast day like 85 percent of the days in Ireland?! We walked into the castle and learned about its history... I forget if we were on a guided tour at this point or not. Either way, I didn't hear much of it, as I was concentrating on something else. My friend happened to snap the picture below, which truly shows the agony I was in.

We got to the top where you are supposed to lean backwards to kiss the famous Blarney Stone, which supposedly gives you the gift of gab, which clearly, dear reader, I already had.

I didn't think leaning backwards over the edge of a building 7 stories high was a good idea in my state, but after watching everyone else go and thinking about how far I'd come to get to this very spot, I sucked it up and did it.

As you can see, I was still wearing my jewels from the night before

Well, I kid you not ... I got up, dusted myself off and went to climb back down the castle stairs. With each and every step, I felt the strain on my head and stomach diminish. Bible. Swear it.

By the time we got to the bottom, I was ready to do cartwheels over how amazing I felt. I looked good. I felt refreshed. I was cured. Maybe if you already have the gift of gab, the stone looks into your soul and sees what it is you really need...

For me, that day, it was to recover like a rockstar, which is exactly what transpired.

It had to be the stone that made it happen. It is the only thing that I can correlate to my sudden and immediate recovery.

Gift of gab? Nah, son. The gift of curing hangovers. Now put that on your UNESCO World Heritage list.

The Cure (also by Lady Gaga)

Credit: Youtube

skål xx