DarrenByrne.com

My working morning begins as I give the dodgy radio on the mantelpiece in my office a good bash to turn it on. Unless my co-worker has been trying to annoy me by tuning in 98FM, it will be pre-tuned and I will be greeted by the sound of Ray D’Arcy saying something awkward and sounding embarrassed about it. Ray D’Arcy: Ireland’s answer to Hugh Grant in Four Weddings (and pretty much anything else he’s in).

Together with Will ‘There’s a Way‘ Hanafin, Mairead ‘I’ve Got a Fancy TV Career Now‘ Farrell and Jenny ‘Ray, Stop That‘ Kelly, the show’s often inciteful, often ludicrous chatter and interviews provide invariably riveting radio. I’d be lost without this show to start my day.

At midday, I switch off the professional, responsible and respectable TodayFM and turn on something that resembles a hospital radio station in an asylum where the inmates have taken over the airwaves. Ray Foley’s, ‘just a bit of fun for your lunchtime’, is fantastic. When heard Foley was moving from his late night show, the Blast, to an afternoon show, I was both thrilled and nervous. There was no way he could take his zany, risque and altogether collegic radio show and transfer it to a mainstream slot, without losing his edge. Happily, I was wrong.

Foley, JP and Adelle (and Ann) are all about the fun. I laugh my way through the afternoon listening to the show. And Foley’s blog is one of my favourite subscriptions (of course it doesn’t compare with Mr. Rick’s).

The only real kink in todayFM’s armour comes in the afternoon with Tony Fenton. He’s a real old fashioned DJ and sounds awkward and out of place. Trying desperately to pick up the pace of Foley’s show, he succeeds at being a mere stopgap between Ray’s show and The Last Word at 4.30. And while he does at least play some good music, the only real reason I listen is that I’m too lazy to switch over to Rick O’Shea on 2FM.

Matt Cooper’s Last Word is a definite change of pace. It’s a talk show that doesn’t sound like they gave Dr Phil a Irish radio slot, nor does it sound like some stuffy ‘we only want to talk about classical music and theatre‘ arts show. They discuss relevant events from the day’s news and have significant guests with a presenter who can play devil’s advocate on any topic, without sounding like an argumentative fool. More than once I have stayed in work late just to hear the conclusion to some heated debate.

There was a time I would attempt to listen to the radio on the DART in the morning and evening, but the reception was erratic and intermittent, so I settled on iPoddery and reading the newspaper. So, sadly, I miss out on the brilliant Ian Dempsey in the mornings, but his podcasts are available for free via iTunes, which is a bonus.

In the car, Lottie (with her radio remote on the steering wheel) tends to channel surf, looking for Beyonce and Britney tracks, but we generally revert to TodayFM before long. The Tom Dunne Show is music radio at its best. He plays great classic tracks, interspersed with brilliant commentary and also introduces the listener to a variety of new music without alienating the masses.

TodayFM is a brilliant station and I am an avid fan. That said, I don’t have all the Bertie Gift Grub album, I never got a Bobble Head Ray, I don’t have a ‘Just a Big of Fun for Your Lunchtime’ T-Shirt, and I don’t have a Something Happens album. Can I still call myself a fan? I think so!

I have reached an impasse with regards my studies, as you may have read. My bothered brain isn’t sure what it wants to do or where it wants to go right now, so I have spoken with my course head and I have secured a six month deferral.

From my point of view, there are many advantages to this. I can use the time to grow personally, blah blah blah. No seriously, I think I need to take a fresh look at my life goals and priorities. There are things I’ve been wanting to do for years that I continuously put off.

I can also use this opportunity to work on my project for college. It is a 300,000,000,000 word piece which aims to show that you can make practical use of all that you have thus far learned. This will help me ensure I don’t lose sight of my course completely.

I have sought advice on this from a number of sources and thank you to everyone who helped me.

Well, my morning of behaving like a loon has been captured wonderfully on film.

[youtube:http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=T0-Q9BKRXkA]

I’m not entirely sure how these ads are going to work. I guess it’s a viral marketing campaign of sorts. The idea being that people will talk about it and spread the links, etc. But, apart from the few of us involved, who will be talking about this. I dunno. I don’t get it.

But, it was a lot of fun and a great day out.

So, eh, HEAR MY ROAR, I guess.

[youtube:http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgj9JunGEfM]

Oh, and see if you can spot me!

It’ll all be worth it in the end. It’s a phrase that I’ve been hearing on an ever increasing basis over the past two years and it’s a phrase that is really beginning to grate on my already frayed nerves.

Why are my nerves already frayed? Well, I’m studying accountancy and I’m not entirely sure why. And why have I been hearing the above phrase on an ever increasing basis over the past two years? It’s two years since I began my number crunching studies, and whenever I tell anyone what I’m studying, I get strange looks and THAT phrase.

It’s as if people just aren’t sure what to say. I’ve never heard “Oh, excellent, what a great career choice” or ” Cool, that’s an interesting course“. I’ve yet to hear “You’ll make a wonderful accountant” or ” Oh my God, I’d love to study that“. Instead I get, “oh, ok, well, I guess it’ll all be worth it in the end“. Hence: frayed nerves.

Which brings me back to the question: why the hell am doing it? I don’t really have a firm answer. I guess, after years working in a hotel and feeling like I was digging a deep depressing hole for myself and my future, I thought a bit of paperwork, in the form of a diploma, degree, first-aid certificate, whatever, might give me the helping lift I needed. And I AM good at this stuff! I take to it quite naturally and find much of it interesting, but……argh!

A friend of mine, she poised a question last week (while I was in a pub rather than college). She knew me back in school and is a good friend even now; she pointed out my creativity, my love of drama and the arts, etc. and asked if I saw myself as an accountant when done with my studies. It was the first time I had thought about it. Truthfully, I can’t! I can’t see it at all. I know the course will stand to me, regardless what career path I head down. It’s good to be able to keep a firm eye on the monies. So, I don’t think I’ll be abandoning it. I just wish it was a little more fulfilling.

So, if we meet (EllyBabes this includes you), and should the topic of my studies come up, please for the love of Bono, DO NOT say “it’ll all be worth it in the end“. Lie to me! Openly patronise me! Tell me what a great course choice it is. Tell me that all the most wonderful people study accountancy. Tell me it’s a sexy subject. Tell me anything that sounds half way positive. Just don’t say…THAT!!!

Thus endeth the ramble!

I first joined MovieExtras.ie last summer and was surprised to be immediately plying my ‘extra’ trade down in Powerscourt in Wicklow, on the set of The Old Curiosity Shop. Though the day was long, it was a lot of fun and I met some great people (and, of course, I was paid for my time).

Today, I find myself in an advert (confidentiality forbids me from saying what for just yet, but I’ll update it soon). Slightly different from the Dickensian period costume drama, I was running around Tower Records and Pearse Street DART Station making as much noise as possible.