Post-Finals, Christmas Time

Well, I survived another season of finals. This one actually wasn't too bad. My assignments and exams were spaced out well; so, I didn't really need to stress too much. Still, it is great to have another semester behind me. Only one more to go and then I graduate. How exciting!

Now I am onto winter break, which, of course, means that I will have plenty of time to relax, read, strengthen my ankle, and, hopefully, to write my senior thesis. I have been working on gathering data for my thesis all last semester, and I think that I am finally ready to begin writing. The thesis itself is the capstone to my Religious Studies program, but it also deals quite a bit with Celtic Studies. I am arguing that, while many scholars render the Irish literary figure of Danu as an aquatic figure/goddess, in early Irish literature, Danu actually has more terrestrial than aquatic associations. 

I am actually really looking forward to writing this thesis. I get to interact with a variety of sources, such as writings of modern Celticists, Irish mythological texts, and even Sanskrit writings. I already know that it will be a lot of work to write and to put together most coherently, but I am excited to work on it.

In other news, my wonderful boyfriend got me an Amazon gift card for Christmas, which I used to buy myself the Teach Yourself Complete Gaelic as well as a nice vest for my Highland dance outfit. I am super excited about this.

I also finally found and bought a sporran.

My new sporran

It was a cheap buy, but it looks really nice. I am hoping that it can stand up to being slung about as I pas-de-basque to and fro.

Now all I need is a bowtie to complete my temporary dance outfit. Then I’ll be set for the show at the end of January!

Also, I have been on a Gaelg kick lately. For some reason, the Isle of Man excites me an unreasonable amount. I think it’s because the Isle of Man is so often forgotten or overlooked amongst the Gaelic nations that I feel a peculiar draw to it.

To help pacify my Gaelg kick, I bought Barrule Trio’s CD.

They are a Manx group, and a couple of their recordings are in Gaelg. The rest of the album consists of renditions of traditional Manx tunes, including Mylecharane’s March, which is has an amazing dance that goes along with it.

The CD is awesome. I really need to find more groups that do modern renditions of traditional Manx Gaelic songs. Perhaps that will be my New Year's resolution this year...

Blien vie noa dyt!

Bliain mhaith úr dhuit!

Bliadhna mhath ùr dhut!

Happy New Year!

Irish Paper

As part of my final assignments for the semester, I had to write a short term paper for my Irish language class. I decided to writing about the naming of the characters of the beithe-luis-nin alphabet, more commonly known as the ogham. It was a quick and easy paper, as it was designed to be. Still, I find this topic incredible interesting and wish that I had the time to do more research on it. Oh well, maybe someday in the future I will find a moment for this musing.

For now, I have finished my term paper, and have posted it here. Like I said, it's a short treatment of the topic but still an interesting introduction.

Enjoy!

Ah, Tuesday.

Ah, Tuesday. How I love Tuesdays. My classes don’t begin until 2:30, and so I have plenty of time in the morning to work on various projects, including my blog.

I decided to mess around with the appearance of the blog. I’m really liking the different fonts and the new background—dress green Drummond of Perth, of course. It just all feels more ‘me’.

So I finally have my kilt—pictures of which I posted in my last entry. It fits perfectly and looks great on me, if I do say so myself. I have realized that I have a perfect kilt body-type: My natural waist is quite a bit smaller than my hip width, meaning that, once I put a kilt on, that sucker isn’t going anywhere. My busty hips keep it perfectly in place. For once, I do not envy those stick-straight bodied boys.

Getting my kilt delivered was a bit of a fiasco. The kilt came from MacIsaac Kiltmakers in Nova Scotia. Canada Post, being awesome, delivered it to the US within two days, after which time it was released to USPS. Now, being an international express package, I should have been able to track my kilt all throughout its voyage. However, probably somewhere around Customs, the package was not scanned and thus vanished from the tracking radar…for nine days.

When I called USPS to ask what had happened to my kilt, they assured me that it had not yet been released to the United States and that it was still in the possession of Canada Post. So, naturally, I called Canada Post, who, not surprisingly, told me that the package had been delivered to the US. In other words, the US told me the kilt was in Canada, and Canada told me the kilt was in the US. I really had no idea what to think about this. I mean, really, who was I supposed to call? It was a very frustrating few days.

Nevertheless, the kilt finally did arrive in all its glory. MacIsaac Kiltmakers did a wonderful job, and I would highly recommend them for any Scottish/Highland attire needs. They confidently walk you through each step of the ordering process and they are very prompt in producing their high quality work.

Kilt, kilt, kilt-y, kilt, kilt

Before I quit swooning over my kilt, I want to note that it is a highly symbolic garment for me. It truly suggests a fulfilling of dreams, of deep-seeded desires. It represents all of the work I put into becoming a dancer these last four years, as well as all of the work I still need to put into my art. For me, my kilt is as psychologically beautiful and profound as it is physically.

Alright, enough about the kilt…well, for now anyway.

I have also been giving some further thought to my tattoo idea. I still want my dance tartan pictured, but I have been contemplating the text. Though, I think that I may have finally found what I want the tattoo to say: Dhachaigh Gu Bràth. It is Gàidhlig for “Forever homeward.” The phrase in and of itself doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but it is symbolic of my (and everyone’s) journey ever towards creating a home, an identity, a haven. I really like this imagery, and I am thinking that if I am to ever have a dance school, this would be the motto. We are forever reaching for home, creating, defining, and redefining our place in this life. And, in the context of a school of Highland dance and culture, this idea of dhachaigh gu bràth would also entail the continual intercourse with traditional Highland culture.

To go off on a tangent: When I mentioned this phrase to my Irish teacher—to double-check that it was grammatically correct—it reminded him of a Gàidhlig song that uses similar language.

The song is Latha Math (that is, ‘A Good Day’) by the band Mànran. I am now quickly becoming obsessed with this band; their music is so catchy and awesome and Gàidhlig and, and…*swoon*. I would someday love to choreography a few pieces set to their music, especially their rendition of Òran na Cloiche.

Well, this has been fun, but I do suppose that I should be off to class. No matter, in a few hours it will be time for dance!

Kilt!

My kilt finally came! It is beautiful and fits perfectly! I am so happy with the quality and the great customer service of MacIsaac Kiltmakers.

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of time to write at the moment--I have to start and finish a paper sometime this weekend. So, I'll forego detailing my experiences waiting for, receiving, and prancing around in the kilt. However, I will gladly provide some pictures for the time being.

The pictures aren't the best quality--I took them with my phone and the mirror I used is old and infused with dust and warped spots. Also, please ignore the random white streaks in the kilt--these are from the flash-mirror combinations, not the actual kilt itself. Better pictures will come later, to be sure.