...I listened to live (but not really good) music.

I went into work today and it was empty, which is pretty atypical for a Saturday brunch/lunch. So, I left work after 3 hours of prep and decided to spend some time updating my blog, before I return to work for the dinner shift.

***

You never know who you are going to meet when you walk into a pub by yourself. Last night, I went to see "the band" play a gig at Eamon Doran's in Temple Bar. It was a fairly small gathering, much smaller than "the band" had hoped, but it is only their first time touring through Ireland and the UK. I sat down with my Bulmer's Light (the low-cal alternative to the Bulmer's Original cider...you can make fun of me later), eager and a bit nervous to hear the band play live.

I struck up a conversation (and by conversation I mean screaming over the blaring music) with the 40-something-year-old gentleman next to me.

"What's up with the milk?" as I gestured toward the lone and unopened 500 mL Avalon Full Milk canister sitting amidst discarded beer bottles and pint glasses.

"It probably goes along with the honey," as he gestures toward the recently purchased jar of Pure Irish honey standing but a foot away from the milk. "It is the land of milk and honey."

So it is.

"Hi, my name is Martin. That was a pretty good half-scream half-sign language conversation we just had. So, do you know these guys?" Points to the four dudes on stage.

"I just met them a week ago when they came into the restaurant where I work."

"What do you think of them?"

"Ehh, I think they have potential but it seems like they are still searching for the sound. What about you?"

"Well, I write a column covering indie rock and their manager approached me about writing a review. Where are you from anyway?"

"Portland, OR."

"OHHHHH! THE SHINS! DANDY WARHOLS! THE DECEMBERISTS! I love them!" Martin then began the do-you-know-[insert good yet unknown band name here]-routine, to which I had to regretfully shake my head.

"So, I have to ask...how did you get to write about indie rock bands? That sounds like a prime job."

"Well, I made it for myself. As a journalist, I used to cover politics for The Times (London-based, not NYT), but after so many years one gets bored. So I joined a smaller label and told them that they need a music section and that I'd write it for them. I said I'd do it for free at first and if he liked it, then they could pay me later. It gave me the freedom to do what I want and I didn't have much to lose. The editor said yes and that was that."

"That's wonderful. I was interested in writing about recent discoveries in science, with the aim of making science more accessible to the general public, but it's a cut-throat world out there for science writers and I wasn't sure how to get started."

"Wellllll, I know this guy who writes for the science section in London...why don't you write up a story, send it to me, I'll send it to him, and if he accepts it, you'll get 250 quid. Fair enough?"

Emphatic yes.

You just never know who you are going to meet in the land of milk and honey.