Do you want to go to the People's with me?

Hi All,

It is in fact summer, although it doesn't always feel like it in these parts, so I decided that I needed to get out a bit more during the week and take advantage of the, "good," weather. Last night, after making Thai Peanut Noodles (which I was finally able to find all the ingredients for), Tom and I walked into town and met Helen and Dominick for a drink at a bar called Pravda. And no it does not bear any resemblance to the scary bar/club of that name which is (or maybe was) on the Boston Common. It actually reminded me of a swankier version of the People's Republic in scenic Central Sq. Cambridge, Mass. Lots of Russian written on the walls (which might say, "Death to all Capitalists for all I know...) and a very Marx friendly red theme going on. I didn't try the cocktails so I can't say whether their drinks, like the drinks at the People's, taste like they've been made with rocket fuel or kentucky moonshine that's been sitting around for 50 years, but here's hoping. There was also no Ben Affleck (who graced us with his presence at the People's a few years back...) but that's probably a good thing.

I fought back against the evil round and managed to get away with only two drinks although I had to say that no, I did not want another drink about 27 times. The Irish are a generous bunch which is very nice but I would like to continue to have a functional liver, at least for a little while longer.

Well, back to the joys of html, which I dreamed about again last night...Help, I think my subconscious is trying to turn me into a geek. Anyone for a game of Dungeons and Dragons?

I Dream of Code

Seriously, I do. Been coding a website all week and I am actually dreaming of html...It's kind of creepy really. For any of you non-geeks out there, html is the programming language that makes websites look and function as you want them to. Lots of open and close brackets and such. Not very exciting unless you happen to be into this stuff... Am literally dreaming of margins and padding and divs and other geeky things wahoooo. Wierd huh? I think I need some more time off. Thankfully this weekend coming is one of these lovely Irish Bank Holdiays which means a three day weekend. Loveliness. It's Tommy-boy's birthday so we're going to head up to Belfast to celebrate with his family and party-animal friends. I'm hoping to get to bed before five am but in Belfast you really never know...

On other fronts, I am faced with an olfactory dilemna. Certain individuals in my life here, (who really will remain nameless, this is a public forum after all and I don't want to make anyone feel bad) seem to have some hygiene issues... I can't really blame it on supposedly European tendencies against wearing deodorant because I know plenty of people here, including the person I'm married to, who smell lovely, like roses. ;) So, my dilemna is this: To say something (tactful) or to let it lie? It is becoming a serious issue as I am getting really skeeved out about it. Ick, just ickiness all around. Any advice on dealing with sensitive matters would be greatly appreciated...

Well, back to work for me. Smell ya later...

Alone or Alonely?

Well, I have officially survived my first Dublin weekend with no Tommy and no imported friends from the states and while it was probably the quietest weekend I've had in a long time, it wasn't bad. Unfortunately, of the short list of people I can claim as friends here, most of them were out of town this weekend so Friday night I just came home and had an evening with me, myself and I. Made myself pasta and redwine and read my novel and talked to Lolo on the phone. Other than the absolutely gigantic spider I found in my livingroom and a young mother and child who rang my doorbell at nine o'clock at night for some strange reason, it was quite the mellow evening. I suppose it's not a bad thing to have some time to oneself (although it's better when it's a conscious choice and not a sad commentary on the state of my social life...haha) Saturday, I just got shit done...got a library card and enough groceries to feed a nation of millions. Eventually human contact was made and I met up with Jane and Johnny for some tasty krishna-vegetarian food and a couple of drinks at the most fabulous dive bar ever. The bar is in a fairly seedy part of town (of which there are many...) and looks like an absolute hole from the outside, but inside it's quite spacious and decorated in that old school Georgian style with low tables and leather stools and one of those ornate dark wood bars. It smelled like your grandma's attic and had the coolest, Georgian silver and burgundy, fuzzy wallpaper on the walls....fabulous. It was just us and the old men and a Neil Young CD so we got into some good conversation about Dublin and Boston and East Coast vs. West Coast ethos, and Online Universitys and The Rat and Local 186 and FSU and other uniquely Boston things that I didn't expect to be chatting about in a Dublin dive on a Saturday night. Good stuff. Late in the eve, I met up with Esther, Leon's girlfriend and some of her friends at a much more boisterous, modern and typically Dublin bar where there was a benefit going on for Dentist's going to Uganda (of all things.) Esther is a doll and was very sweet and friendly and saved me a few times from some less than exciting potential male suitors...

Woke up this morning with a bit of a hangover which seems to be the way Dublin Sundays begin... I blame it on the round ;) (which I'm sure I have pontificated on in prior blog entries.) Anyway, just laying low on this gray Sunday afternoon reading the Sunday Times and eating Wheatie Roll (otherwise known to people who are not Marina as Wheaten Bread.) Read an article about Modern Britain's epidemic of loneliness... supposedly all of this modern technology, email, the internet, television and our ability to function in our day to day tasks without much face-to-face interaction with other humans has some people feeling a bit disconnected and as though their social interactions are superficial. That was the gist of it anyway. They pointed out that some of the most popular tv shows center around close knit communities (like Friends, Sex and The City, Desperate Housewives) which many people seem to both lack and desire. Made me feel lucky in a way because while I may not have a closeknit circle of friends here in Dublin and do sometimes feel lonely, I know that you all are out there and I can call up scenes of family dinners and fakesgiving and summer barbecues and shared history and it's nice to think that you all are truly, intimate friends and that we don't all just live on the surface of eachother's lives (even if that means we see eachother being both our best and worst selves...) It is a great and important thing to have a community of friends. Just wanted to let you all know that I appreciate you and think of you often. Looking forward to the annual fakes...even if it is four months away...haha. Hope you're all well. I have finally found almost all the ingredients for vegetarian Chili so I am off to make a big batch of it. Tommy returns tonight and I plan to woo him with food so that he will give me all the dirt on his stag weekend in Amsterdam (renamed by Lolo:Ramerdam after Christopher and Oliver get their filthy paws on that place...haha.) Love to you all.

Fun with Geeks

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Originally uploaded by di_juice.

Hey all,

Just thought I'd post this pic of Tom and I and the Open Bar... Went to the Irish Internet Association's launch of some sort of web awards series. Good Stuff, especially as it involved free food and drink and took place in a castle...so many castles in these parts. Tom had to pretend to be someone else to get in (the intern who decided not to go at the last minute) but once over that hump, it was all good. Schmoozed with geeks from the other side of the Atlantic which I'm learning, are much the same as geeks at home. It's like they speak a universal language...the language of geek love...or the language of carbon humanoid life forms who wear t-shirts with html code on them and know the names and birthdates of every character from Lord of the Rings... or something. Nanu, Nanu. Too bad about Scottie huh? Beam me up...

The honeymoon is over...but the big cahones remain

Well, alas, I am back at work and back to my regular 9-5 type life... The American contingency have returned to their homeland...but I do have a fabulous collection of photos, three bottles of Spanish Sherry, two boxes of sweetmeats, two necklaces, one from Cadiz and one from Ibiza, one belt buckle made out of dichroic glass, and a fine assortment of shells and rocks from the beach. Our last day in Spain was a really nice one. We had our usual tasty breakfast at the B&B before wandering Medina Sidonia in search of Sherry and sweetmeats. Sweetmeats are these lovely cookies. (biscuits for any euro-readers ;)) They're made from Marzipan and nuts and rolled into a longish lengths before being wrapped in colorful paper like those holiday crackers. They're delicious and distinctly remind me of childhood because they taste much like Italian cookies that I used to eat. We went to the local sweets shop and each bought a couple of boxes. The hombre behind the counter was really friendly and gave us each an extra sweetmeat to take with us as we left.

After buying out Medina Sidonia's stocks of booze and candy (what else do ya need?!) we headed off to el palmar to get some last rays of sun on the beach. We decided to have lunch at the same beachside cafe we had eaten at a few times during the week so that we could get our (rare) fix of Spanish vegetables and say hi to the waitress that we befriended. Food was tasty and Kiki (the waitress) brought us out a plate of garlicy carrots that she said would enhance our tans. They were delicious. At the end of the meal, she brought us big glasses of rum miel (rum with honey) and after we drank those, she brought little shots of rum miel and taught us how to drink the shot without using our hands... We chatted with her by using a combination of pantomime and spanglish which was quite fun and quite funny. Marina was attempting to say, @We are big pigs," in Spanish (refering to how much food we can pack in) but accidentally busted out with, "yo soy grande cahones," (sp?) which means something to the effect of I am a big ball of the male variety...haha We laughed our asses off and kiki's charade of what big cahones are was pretty hilarious too. We exchanged email address es with her and headed back to Casa de Medina to pack up our stuff.

When we arrived, Rachel (woman from Manchester, friend of the owners of the B&B who we've been hanging out with in the evenings) was there and gave us all necklaces that she bought in Ibiza during a recent visit. It was an extremely sweet gesture which we all appreciated. Rachel might make it over to Boston for a visit soon so some of you may get to meet her. She is a trip...kind of like the wilder and crazier, UK version of Lorraine...good fun.

Our travels back to Dublin were less fun as they involved two flights and sleeping on the (very cold) floor of the London Stanstead airport. I was extremely dehydrated and overheated and therefore had terrible stomach cramps, a headache and nausea and all other good things that come from a body deprived of water. no bueno. We definitely were not the only ones sleeping at Camp Standstead. Every available bench and bit of floor space was occupied by people in various states of preparedness. Some people had blow-up mattresses and sleeping bags! Amazing. This was my third airport sleepover, you would think that I would have brought my airbed! Ah, well. Next time.

The girls last day in Dublin was a beautiful day weatherwise so we wandered around town and then had a yummy thai meal in Ranelagh (although my stomach was still recovering...) before heading back to hotel fairview to lie on Marina's air mattress, drink champagne and thow chocolates at each other... ;)

Yesterday, woke up and bid the ladies goodbye which was quite sad...sniff. See you all in four months. Spent the rest of the day tidying the house and then met up with Jane for Conveyer belt sushi which cheered me up a bit. After the exciting world of Spanish food consisting of asparagus omelettes, white bread and crackers (pan y picos) and strange, sometimes unidentifiable fish, I was happy to be eating seawead and fresh vegetables...

Hope all is well in warm and sunny Boston. Miss you all.

The Hyundai Getts went to Sevilla and all I got was this lousy Sunburn...

Hola,

Well, any of you who thought that I was being too smug about my lovely Spanish escape will be happy to hear about my day of disasters on Wednesday... Well, we set off for Seville in our little red car, arrived safely and found a most convenient parking spot for only 60 cents por dia. Unfortunately, we all jumped out of the car and Miss Marina accidentally locked the keys in the car...with the car running! The next five hours were a wild goose chase involving the rental company, the guardia de Seville, the Policia, an Ice-cream man and two Russian Universidad Secerity guards...and I must mention that our sunblock was locked in the trunk the whole time. Thankfully, the two Russian security guards (with whom Marina could communicate) used to steal cars in uzbekistan so they were able to pry the rubber out of one of the small windows and take the window out of the car...yahoooo. Unfortunately we proceeded on a futile drive through Seville looking for car glass repair peeps to no avail. Cerado por Siesta. By the time all was said and done, we bid Seville farewell and headed back for Medina Sidonia. The architecture of Seville was gorgeous, beautiful buildings everywhere although that's about all I can say about it other than the fact that it's hot, hot, hot! 44 degrees celsius and my sunburnt shoulders could definitely attest to that fact.

Fortunately, we were able to change the car for a Toyota Yaris with all windows intact and the car rental company is not holding us responsible as they were unable to provide any assitance (after stringing us along for several hours...) When we got back to Medina Sidonia, one of Lolo's suitors had sent us a bottle of Champagne...and how well appreciated it was! We went out for dinner at the very top of the village and watched the sun go down over the village and the mountains and sea. Amazing. We drew a picture for our waiter explaining what our day was like which was pretty hilarious. Who knew we would be able to laugh about such a debacle so soon...

Yesterday, it was back to the beach to recover from Wednesday...haha. Love that beach. Then to Cadiz which is according to the guidebook, the oldest city in Europe. It's amazing-a system of interconnecting narrow alleyways with architecture that reminded me of Italy and France, ornate wrought irons balconys and flowery architectural details. Bought some dichroic glass jewelry from a stand just outside of one the oldest cathedrals in Spain and ate gelato in one of the many plaza's throughout the city. Everywhere we turned, we came upon more and more unbeleivable buildings and parks and fountains and the like. Really very cool.

Today, sadly is our last day...sniff. We're off to the beach and then to Jerez to drink sherry and tour a bodega. Good stuff. Hope you're all well. I'm off to eat my breakfast. Adios.

el palmar and vejer

Hey all,

Sunning in espana continues. Spent another day at the beach... loveliness. I am never happier than when I'm splashing around in salt water. Went for lunch at a cafe and had tomatoes, goats cheese, olives, sauteed veggies which we somehow managed to order with our combined vocabulary of 20 words... ;) We explored another hill town nearby today called Vejer and Marina somehow navigated the worlds narrowest, windy streets...much like trying to drive through a maze (but scarier...haha.) We came upon a picturesque square with a Moorish water fountain and the coolest old hotel with several levels of gardens and some sort of old dungeons in it as well. The menu looks like North African food which I love so we decided to check it out for dinner. Our host at the B&B luckily told us that it's nearly impossible to get a booking there (before we attempted the mountain maze again) but he called them up and got us the last booking of the night...can't wait for cous cous and baba ghanoush and baklavah. On the whole, Spanish food is a bit disappointing, lots of unidentifiable meats. Last night we ordered mixed tapas and got a mound of tripe....ew. It's still mediterreanean food so I can't really complain but it just ain't Italy. Did have some tasty caramel gelato last night though while meandering through Medina Sedonia. Tomorrow we're off to Seville which should be interesting. Loving it here. My pale Irishified self is actually starting to get a little bit brown. Well, we're off to Vejer in our bright red, euromobile, (hyundai getts, the smallest car with four doors this side of the Atlantic.) Adios (one of my 20 words...haha.)

Belinda Carlisle was right...

Heaven is a place on earth...haha. I'm currently writing from Medina Sedonia in Southern Spain and it is absolute paradise. The B&B that we're staying in is a newly renovated villa with an entirely open courtyard, several terraces with amazing views of the desert and ocean, and really lovely hosts. The B&B is owned by an English couple in their 30s who have definitely poured their heart and soul into making this place stunning. It looks like something out of a fairy tale, an intersection of Roman, Moorish and Spanish architecture. Medina Sedonia is system of narrow winding roads built into a hillside. There's a cave/cellar in our B&B that dates back to the Roman era and several Roman ruins in the area. There are also a couple of original Moorish Arabic arches and an amazing beautiful Moorish church. Spent all day today at the beach swimming in turquoise colored water (and slathering myself with sunblock so as not to get fried by the Spanish sun.) Have been enjoying taking it easy...drinking sherry in the hammock, walking on the beach picking up shells, eating tapas...even though half the time I have no idea what I'm eating ;). This place is absolutely divine. I don't think I'm ever coming home. Might be time to learn to speak Spanish... :) Buenos Noches.

The American Invasion has Begun!

Hey All,

Happy 4th. Hope you all had more eventful holidays than me (since July 4th is clearly of no importance in this country...)Fortunately for me, I have a little bit of America staying in mi casa currently known as Hotel Fairview...haha. Jess, Lolo, Mina and Brian have arrived. So far we have been having a blast although I think they're shocked by the lack of what we would consider to be summery weather. Yesterday was nice, mostly sunny, low 70s but today is cold and rainy and I'm a bit worried about the crew as they are in Galway. Hopefully they've found shelter, most likely in the pub and are not freezing their wet asses off staring into Galway bay or something. The temps here apparently only tend to fluctuate between 40s-70s fahrenheit throughout the entire year. I might be psyched in November when I'm still wearing open toed shoes but right now, I know too well what I'm missing. Please write and tell me how hot and miserable you all are and make me feel better! Thank god for my Spanish vacation next week...love the idea of a week of beachy goodness. My pale Irishified skin is going to be in for a shock.

The first night that the kids were here, we went up to Clontarf (neighborhood on the water near my house) and had a really nice dinner... deep fried brie, delicious salads with chicken, wine, hot fudge cake etc... This was the second time Tom and I have hit up this bistro and it was definitely not a disappointment. It's very colorful with a big chalkboard menu with specials and a tiny bar in the corner. Kind of reminds me of a restaurant that might be found in Brooklyn. A splash of color in an urban environment. We also hit up the Odeon for white wine and jazz in the afternoon...good stuff. I am enjoying having familiar peeps around although in some ways it makes me a little homesick. When I get into my routine here, home seems kind of distant and I'm not so acutely aware of it. I think it's going to be hard when they leave although I'm sure I'll adjust back quickly enough. Unfortunately, Tommy goes to Amsterdam a few days after they leave so it will certainly be a test of my own independence. I suppose it's good for me. It is lovely to have a little dose of beantown in my world here though, nice, to have the people who know me be able to see what my life here is like and interesting to get their impressions. I hope they have a good time.

We're going up to Belfast for 2 days later in the week as everyone wants to see Tommy's homeland and then we're off to Spain. Have been totally appreciating Tommy-boy as of late. He is such a good and willing host and all around helpful and sweet. He has taken to calling me Diana Pirhana though as I was whirling around in a mad cleaning frenzy in between guests and yelling at him every time he didn't put his shoes back on their shelf or left a dish in the sink...haha. He is a good lad.

Hope you're all keepin' well as they say in these parts. love. D.

The personal is political????

Hello, hello my lovies,

Once again, I'm on my break from work so have to be brief... Getting my first paycheck today...yahooooo! Words cannot express my joy...haha. You only get paid once a month here so payday is an extra good day.

Been taking it a little easier this week. Long days and nights were catching up. Last night just stayed in with the girls and watched my two favorite shows here...Wifeswap and Only Human which is a documentary show that explores a different topic every week. Wifeswap is a bit trashy but I still love it...haha. The wives from two families swap houses for two weeks. The first week they live by the new household rules and the second week, they get to introduce their own rules. Anyway, this is where I stand on my soapbox cuz last night's episode was a swap between a scary conservative christian who ran her house like it was boot camp and was obsessed with diamonds and this concept of excellence and a liberal lesbian mom. Anyway, the scary conservative, bigotted biatch hung a giant American flag in the livingroom when it was her week to run the house. I have to say it really pissed me off that she could appropriate the flag so that it essentially stood for closemindedness, bible-thumping, excess and greed. Seeing the way the Irish love their flag and fly it proudly, it bums me out that my flag presently connotes things that I find repulsive. Also heard that George Bush refuses to ammend his position on climate change. What a wanker. Well, enough politics for now. Thank god for the coasts...unless of course that scary redneck, christian conservative version of a god actually exists in which case, thanks but no thanks... :)

U2 from the Outside

Hey all,

Just a quick post as I'm getting ready to leave work. It's been a whirlwind of a week and there are a bunch of things I want to write about but in the interest of time, I'll have to just tell you about the loveliness that was U2 the other night. And no, I didn't suddenly get tickets to the sold out shows. That would have been amazing... but Katie, Abbie and I decided to walk over to Croke Park (which is in my neighborhood) on the night of the show. We managed to get past the guards by pretending to be with another group of ticketholding people and made our way right to the edge of the park where we were able to hear (with pretty, damn good clarity) the whole concert from outside. A ton of other people had the same idea we did so it was almost like being in the stadium...people clapping and lighting lighters and making out...haha...just like the people in Croke were probably doing. A big black sheet had been draped over the entrance to try and block out our view of the screen but it was a windy night and when the sheet would blow up, everyone would start cheering, as we got a glimpse of Bono and The Edge on stage. The Irish love their U2 and it was just a high-energy night. Good fun.

More later. Gotta go catch the train.

D.

Three cheers (or more) for Cleavage

Hey all,

I've just finished my day of training at the Digital Hub. I thought the topic was Project Management today but it was actually Presentation Skills and I had to come up with a 10 minute presentation on a topic of my choosing. Most people did presentations relating to their jobs but seeing as I am only in my fourth week of Spoiltchild Design-dom, I decided to pitch, "Why you should visit Boston." Cuz it's wicked pissa of course. When you really start writing down all the Boston-ness that it Boston, it's quite the list...entertainment, history, nature (or should I say natuh.) Must say, am very proud of my hometown...Go sox...or something.

Katie and Abby have been shopaholics...good thing they came ecquipped with the cash cuz this place is not cheap (as I have, of course, mentioned a million times.) I'm actually getting used to the expense and have found good bargain stores and other ways around getting absolutely stroked living here. It probably helps that I've stopped converting everything into dollars in my head. It's too disturbing. Best not to think about it.

On Katie and Abby's first day, actually first hours in Dublin, they were thrown into the melee that is my neighborhood when a GAA game is on at Croke Park. It was a semi-final game (Dublin vs. Wexford) so of course the Dubs where out in force...and they were certainly appreciating Katie and Abby or at least, Abby's "rack," as someone so eloquently put it. I was slightly disturbed to be honest, especially as we were walking up the main road by this questionable bar and got some sort of a communal howl from literally 50-100 guys. It was deafening. The lads like the ladies in these parts and are apparently not afraid to show it. Katie and Abby loved it, I think. Thankfully. I would have felt bad if they were freaked by all the attention. They pointed out that Ireland has more hottie guys per square inch than anywhere else they've ever been. Well-dressed hottie guys at that...Drunk, well-dressed hottie guys when the GAA is on...who like to howl.

Abby has discovered Bulmers Cider and hasn't stopped discovering it since she got here...haha. (Averi - She would make you proud. Her love affair with the "apple juice," might rival yours...) Took them to a couple of pubs in our 'hood over the past few nights and introduced them to the beautiful thing that is the late night, greasy paper bag of chips with salt and vinegar....mmmmmm.

Have had a pretty interesting week workwise between the training today and the opening of our clients new office building on Monday. Hopefully will not have to go visit this client often though as the nearest train station looks like it's been abandonned for 100 years. No station or station keeper to speak of which is always a bad sign. Everything portable including the benches had been ripped out and carted off. Plenty of steel fencing and a giant padlock to lock the place up (at night I presume...) I felt like I was getting off into south central. There was absolutely no one around except for a few grubby looking little boys watching some dude try to get his pick up truck up an embankment of some sort. So me and my business casual linen skirted self figured out that I had to cross over a garbage filled foot bridge and walk down a weed and garbage choked path to get to the office park. On said path, I found that I had the company of a very large and very alive rat...nice. Strangely, once you get off that path, you're in a giant poshish office park. Lots of modern glass office buildings of all varieties and sizes although for such a large office park, it was surprisingly empty. There was one glass building that was entirely empty of any furniture or people and you could see the sky on the other side right through the building. It was an odd place. Flat expanses of concrete and giant abstract sculptures and empty but attractive office space. I guess given my rat companion at the (practically) burnt out train station, it's not such a surprise that people aren't lining up to move in.

Tomorrow am off to Belfast where Tommy is having a little party at his parents house. I wish you could all beam yourselves there! Not sure what I'll do on Sat. for my birthday yet...I'm sure it will involve eating and drinking but other than that who knows? Tommy gave me an early birthday present of the first season of Six Feet Under (which as you all know is my favorite show ever) so tonight I'm gonna take it easy and maybe watch a few. The crew (being Tom, Katie and Abby) have jetted off to Belfast. He's going to show them the northern coast (which is gorgeous) tomorrow so it should be a good time for them.

I'm off. Hope you're all well.

Just a Quickie

Hey All,

Just wanted to write a quick update since Katie and Abby are here! They arrived this morning and seem to be dealing with the jetlag in the way only people under twenty can. A shower and a sandwich and they were ready to shop....wahooo. Am looking forward to having company.

On other fronts, had a pretty mellow weekend, Walked up to Clontarf last night (which is about 20 minutes from my house and right on the Dublin Bay) and had dinner in a cute bistro with Tom. Shared a bottle of wine and pizza (which was actually good) and just relaxed. I really like that neighborhood as it's got a great promenade where the Tolka river meets the bay. And it always has that salty ocean smell which I love and reminds me of home. It's kind of got an industrial edge to it, lots of fishing boats and commercial barges and cranes in view but I can get into that. Anything ocean and I'm all for it. I love that I can walk there.

Have been commuting my ass off except for Thurs. when I had an Adobe training in the morning in Dublin at a posh hotel, then had lunch (with a book) in a really fabulous and on the cheap vegetarian restaurant and then went to Meath to do a photoshoot for a blues singer's website. The shoot was at her house which is a 200 year old farmhouse on the water. Very pretty and it was actually a warm and sunny day. Listened to her play a few songs and shot some film and then had tea in the garden. This tea idea rocks. Have been drinking mad amounts of it. I will probably have yellow teeth and a heart attack by the end of the year, but I'm into it nonetheless.

Have been wandering around my neighborhood just kind of seeing what's there. The strangest thing of note so far is the video store/tanning salon. Talk about an odd combination. The tanning is charged by the minute too so you could conceivably get 4 minutes of tanning and Lord of the Rings III in no time at all... Talk about one-stop shopping. There are plenty of orange tinted people walking around too so tanning of some sort must be pretty popular. The tan in a can seems very big...lots of people with positively tangerine elbows and knees in the house. Looks even better when paired with peroxide hair and pearlescent lipstick. Overall the Dubs are super fashion conscious but not always in a good way. Plenty of 'Kylie Minogues gone wrong,' walking the streets.

Have decided that I should start taking pictures of all the defaced signs around Dublin. Hopefully will have some pics to post soon (If Smart Telecom ever comes through with my internet connection.) My favorite sign so far is on a fence outside of some ominous looking factory. Someone messed with the letters so that it says: No Smoking Naked...haha. Just in case you were having a jones for a naked smoke or as they say here, a fag in yer birt'day suit.

Well am off to take Katie and Abbie to their first legal pint in Baile Atha Cliath. (that's Dublin FYI.) Dublin just won a big GAA game against Wexford so I'm sure there will be liveliness in our local.

Hope you're all well.

My Life of Walking

Hey All,

So I still don't have internet access at home but found this little hole in the wall internet place 'round the corner from my abode so for 2 euros an hour, I get to surf away. Tom is home (hopefully) painting some shelves that a previous occupant painted a hideous shade of bright blue.

Finished my second week of commuting to Drogheda and it is definitely improving. Still not a long term solution but I am not hating it as much. Got to work on some cool projects this week and am getting to know my boss and his wife a bit better. Have a couple of events/trainings in the next few weeks that are in Dublin and will mean that I don't have to trek to Drogheda on those days...wahooo. I've decided to do this little Business Management for Design Cert. which consists of 8 one-day workshops focusing on various aspects of running a design company. My boss told me about them and offered me the time off to do it so why not? The courses are heavily funded by the Irish government so they're cheap and as an added bonus, they're in Dublin so it will mean two more days a month in the city instead of the 'burbs. Should be interesting and I'm always up for learning new things. It's in this building called the Digital Hub which sounds like it should look like a spacestation (but is in reality, probably an old warehouse.) The first one is in a few weeks so we'll see how it goes.

Went to see Sin City on Thurs. night with Tommy-boy. We decided to go to this cineplex thing away from the city and in our new carless life decided to walk there and Damn, we underestimated the distance big-time. Barely made it to the movie in time. Decided that it's a bad idea to walk multiple miles in Old Navy 3-dollar flip-flops. As for Sin City, visually beautiful but seriously disturbing on the gratuitous violence front. You get to see someone get all of their limbs amputated and then be eaten by a cannibalistic dog, as well as a person literally getting their head beaten to pulp and their male parts ripped off and thrown on the ground and that's just scratching the surface. No Joke. Not sure I would reccommend it unless you happen to be a cannibal or budding serial killer although I can't say it didn't hold my attention.

Had a pretty productive weekend. Went to a pretty, old downtown bar with some of Tom's co-workers on Friday night but managed to be up early the next day which was a surprisingly sunny and warm (ish) day. It's funny, the minute the temperature goes up above the mid-sixties here, people act like they're in the tropics. Lots of half-naked, pale Irish girls walking around getting absolutely fried and loving it. Went to the Temple Bar Farmer's market which was bunged with people as was Grafton Street and the entire downtown. Guess you've got to take advantage of the warm, sunny weather while it lasts...if the low to mid seventies can really be considered warm...haha. As usual, we went crazy buying stuff at the Farmer's market cuz it all looks so good. Got a ton of veggies and beautiful leafy greens, some fresh salmon, farm-raised meat, cheese, olives, pesto, brown bread, strawberries and a crepe with nutella and bananas...yum. Asked Bryce and Michelle over for dinner and I made broiled salmon with pepper and lemon, pesto, and a big salad with arrugula and really nice tomatoes along with some white wine. Good stuff. I love food. They brought chocolate fudge cake from Marks and Spencers (who make amazing desserts) and whipped cream. Nice.

We also managed to hit up the Irish version of home depot yesterday and bought paint and a bunch of herbs and plants although we didn't consider how we would get it all home untill after we left the store. There's that carless thing again. We managed to hail a taxi driver down who was on his way home from grocery shopping at the fortress that is the giant Tesco in that area. He was an interesting character telling us about the unreasonable price of orange juice, the golf balls he got on sale and picking up big-time Dublin gangsters in his taxi all in the same breath. Craziness. He also told us about the nephew of one of the big gangsters doing a, "runner," and stiffing him on a fare and how this guy ended up dead from a forced heroin overdose....hhhhmmmm...needless to say, we tipped him well...haha.

This morning, I woke up early, found the classical music radio station and planted all of the herbs that I bought yesterday in pots I found in the back garden. Felt like a cross between Lorraine and my mom. Maybe this means, I'll inherit their green thumbs and not actually kill these little plants which would certainly be a first. :) Went to the local Spar and bought milk and cereal and a the Sunday Times. It was the first truly, leisurely Sunday morning that I've had since I left Cambridge. Feels good to finally have a settled place to call my own. On that note, I'm antsy for visitors. Cannot wait. Tom is planning a "Stag Do," in July with his boys and one of Tom's female co-workers was saying we should plan a, "Hen Party." I thought it was really sweet that she offered to do that but thought to myself that anything wedding related without my peeps in Boston would just not do. Who would come to a party here...my imaginary friends?! Will have to have a bachellorette (sp?) party sometime in the future in Beantown or surrounds. Tommy can rock out all he likes in Amsterdam this July...My day will come as well, I'm sure ;) Do want to start planning some weekends away though regardless. Apparently, you can fly from Belfast to Prague for 21 pounds sterling. Not bad at all.

Well, alas, my hour is almost up. I'm off to supervise Tom's labor...haha. Make sure he's not lying down on the job. :) Hope you're all well and enjoying your hot weather. ( am comfortably wearing jeans right now which is awfully strange for mid June!)

Dubs from the Planet Meaghers

Hi all,

Well, it is a well appreciated "bank holiday," Monday here which means no work for me and for now, it is sunny out there (although I've learned that that can change at the drop of a hat). Tom unfortunately is working for the slave-driving corporate whores who employ him, so I have hit the streets of Dublin with a to-do list the size of Montana and am trying to appreciate my free time on my own and the sun while it lasts.

Overall, it was not a bad weekend. Have to say, I was more than overjoyed to have three days which did not involve a commute to Drogheda to sit in front of a computer for 8 hours in someone's living room...that in and of itself was enough to make me a very happy girl. Friday night, we had our first guests to our new abode. Tom's friend Leon and his girlfriend Esther came over and we just kicked it in our living and had a few drinks and, "a bit of a chat," as they say in these parts. Ended up going out for one to one of our locals called, Meaghers. Before I saw the sign, I thought we were going to a pub called, Mars, as that is pretty close to the way it's actually pronounced. On our way home, we hit up the chippie next door which Leon claims has the best smoked cod and chips in the city...the place looks like nothing but a hole in the wall, but I have to say, it was pretty good. Whenever I pass by, the same Chinese man and woman are in there working away, no matter the time of day, which is just another example to fly in the face of some of these xenophobic Dubs that the foreigners are not all here to suck off the social welfare system. I definitely had that on my mind when we hit up the chippie as Leon went on a little tangent in the bar about just that. I think many of the Dubs are having a really hard time adjusting to the influx of foreigners who have arrived en masse in the past 5 years or so and I can understand that it must be a bit of a shock for them but nonetheless it's hard to listen to people say the most assinine (sp?) things about the lazy foreigners taking all the benefits from the hard working people of Ireland. Another favorite is that all the foreigners are taking the jobs at Spar and Abrakebabra... (convenient store and crappy fast food joint.) Much like the states, alot of the foreign laborers seem to take the jobs that the Irish don't really want anyway and sometimes get exploited doing it... so all I can say is...cry me a river. Also notable is that whenever I witness someone going on an anti-foreigner rant, they are always like, Oh, but you know I don't mean you, it's those Nigerians or Asians or insert some such other non-white population... I'm sure Ireland and it's infrastructure will adjust and public policy will be created so that the locals don't feel as if the asylum seekers are taking all their money, but it may be a bit of a rocky road for now. From my point of view, all the diversity makes Dublin a more interesting place with much better food...haha.

Saturday, Tom and I hit the town to buy a bunch of exciting things including a toaster, a phone and sheets...wahooo. Am trying to make our house really feel like ours, progress is slow as I don't have time to do much during the week but we're definitely getting there. Saturday night, Tom and I walked through the Docklands to a neighborhood called Ringsend which is a very old skool kind of place with a real neighborhoody feel. Jane lives there and was having a dinner party. Her cottage looks out on the river which is full of giant barges and cranes. Cool view. The dinner party was very good fun. Delicious food and drink and good company. Met a couple who I really like. The woman kind of reminded me of the singer from the band, The Gossip if she was Irish and not from the South...haha. Very spunky and fun. The crowd was extremely fan-boy so at times the indie music conversation was way beyond me but they were very down to earth about it and not wanky pretentious as some indie types can be. And politically progressive so I didn't have to listen to any bullshit about the lazy Nigerians...haha. We had black bean (yes black bean!) nachos and grilled trout with these lovely side salads and Marks and Spencer's desserts which are amazingly good. Got a taxi home around 3am...one of those nights that just gets away from you. Good times.

Sunday, I went to my first G.A.A game at Croke Park (known as Croker to the locals.) G.A.A also known as Gailic Football or "Gaa," is kind of a mix of soccer, American Football and Rugby all played with no pads of any kind. It's super fast paced and actually pretty fun to watch as the players use both hands and feet to get either soccer type goals or football type kicks through those high-up poles that they have in American football. (No clue what those are actually called.) The game was Co. Dublin vs. Co. Meath which is just to the north-west of Dublin which is a a very Redsox/Yankees type rivalry and there were 65,000 people there to watch it. The Dubs all sit in this one section and look like a sea of blue with Dub shirts and flags and the like. The game was super close but the Dubs prevailed and you would have thought they just won the World Cup for all the celebrations. Super dramatic music was played at the end-something like the Irish version of, "We are the Champions," or something. It is a seriously rough game. 4 or 5 times, they had to stop play because someone was on the ground and not getting up. They just jump and grab and tackle...gives a whole new meaning to that football fouling term, "unnecessary roughness." Absolutely no such thing in G.A.A...haha. Afterwards, every pub in my neighborhood was packed with revelers (including Meaghers) as the park is close to our neighborhood but we ended up going into Town with Tom's coworkers Bryce and Michelle for some Asian-Fusion type dinner at this place called Mao (which is good but not as good as Brown Sugar...sniff) and had an early night of it.

So, alas, tomorrow starts another work week. Seems somewhat sad that I already dread working...Was I that person who said I could never not have a job?! Would absolutely love to just freelance and make my own hours...who knows, it could happen at some point, but for now I am Drogheda bound tomorrow. Going to make the most of today.

Hope you are all enjoying your extremely warm temperatures while I am comfortably wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt today. I'm jealous!

Be well.

My life on the Train

Hi all,

Well, it's been a busy week, good, bad and all the rest as things usually are around here. Am settling into my new place...it's amazingly spacious compared to my two room apartment in Central Sq. Someone went a little crazy with the paintbrush (yellow kitchen, blue bathroom, something approaching what Tom calls, "terracotta" walls in the bedroom...) but the living room is huge and has a beautiful victorian era fireplace and there's a sliding door out to a pretty little patio/yard type thing and there are nice wood floors upstairs and a skylight so I can't really complain. The strange thing about apartments coming furnished here in Dublin is the problem of where to put things that you don't want...I was able to find a hiding place for the ceramic ducks (in the closet under the stairs) but am going to have to tie up a couple of big, flowery rugs and hoist them into the attic space to get rid of them...haha. I found a good discount store and am starting to make the place my own...with some accessories in nice, neutral colors to offset whatever lunatic with a paintbrush lived here before...haha.

Have been attempting to become a real, legit, resident of this country. Got my green card last week after several hours in the National Immigration Bureau which was very exciting and surprisingly easy. Have not had such an easy time getting the Irish equivalent of a SSN (a PPS number). First off, the offices are only open during shortened business hours (10-4 with an hour break at lunch!) and you can only get the number in the neighborhood where you live or where you work. Anyway, made it down to the Drogheda Social Welfare Office this morning and showed them ID and a job offer letter only to find out that I need to present them with a utility bill in my name to prove my address. The chicken and egginess of this requirement is that I don't have any utility bills in my name because I don't have an Irish Bank account and the utilities here require either direct debiting or huge deposits...and I don't have an Irish bank account because I can't get a bank account without a PPS number...Oh the joy of ass-backward beaurocracy. At least in the states, I know exactly what type of assbackwardness to expect. Anyway, managed to find a work around if I get a letter from my landlord and present a utility bill in someone else's name at my address but this will push things back yet again and meanwhile, I can't get paid...Thank god for my Tommy, aka, sugar-daddy or I would be on the streets.

Also working on getting broadband and a land line in the house so I can stay in better contact with all y'all but this is also proving convoluded and time-consuming. Called up Eircom (the big-daddy telecommunications co.) to inquire about broadband and was told that I needed to have a phone number/landline to get broadband as the cust. service rep. told me that broadband goes through the phoneline...hello?! Not DSL mind you, but broadband...since when? Anyway, to get a phone-line one has to "rent," a line from who else but, Eircom for 27 euros a month. This is not phone service per se, just a charge for having a line and does not include any calls...Both local and international calls are charged per minute and at rates that would make any spoiled American cry. Anyway, to get broadband and or phone service, one needs to get this line rental from Eircom and until they mail us an account number, we can't sign up with any of the phone/cable companies...Ah, the strange, strange, world of telecommunications where you need a phone number so that they can tell you if you can get broadband which apparently goes through the phone line is an endless mystery to me...How would they explain my broadband connection and NO phoneline that was the setup in Cambridge?!!!

Alas, I don't mean to be a complainer but this stuff is all kind of funny (as is my ineptitude at navigating all of this infrastructure.) Everything I attempt to do really does take twice as long as I expect it will. I just have to laugh about so as not to rip my hair out.

Started my new job in Drogheda and so far the work has been fairly interesting. Went to a Dublin Institute of Technology Design Degree show tonight with my new boss which was pretty cool. The guy I'm working with seems fairly decent although working in someone's house with one other person who owns the company is definitely giving me bad Katie flashbacks....(shudder). The commute (while a scenically beautiful, coastal train ride) is extremely long and includes a 20 minute walk through the ghettos of north Dublin to the train station, nearly an hour on the train and then a 15 minute walk through a housing development in Drogheda. Work is definitely better than no work though so I will suck it up for now and either find another job or get a car and attempt to drive on the lefthand side of the road, the 28 miles to Drogheda. I really have a hard time thinking about shifting with my left hand but it will probably be better than walking through junkieville in the winter when it gets dark out early.

On a more positive note, It stays light here until almost 11pm every night which rocks and we've had some amount of bright sunshine everyday for the past week. Gotta love those long days...Have also found a most lovely restaurant on the north side which Tom and I and his parents went to last week and was absolute deliciousness. Got an invite to a dinner party this Saturday night which should be good fun and had a good night out last weekend with Tom and his coworkers which ended in 2am pizza in Dublin city centre. (Just like hifi...sigh...gotta love late night greasy eats mixed with copious amounts of scotch and soda...haha.) Figured out the hot water system in our new house - you have to flip a switch and heat the water before you shower - which ended my three day stretch of cold showers and did much for my overall mood.

So that's all the biz for now...Hope all is well out there with all of you. Am happily anticipating the American invasion in July...gotta use that spanky, new, spare room.

Back in Black

Hi All,

I apologize for my long silence but things have been incredibly crazy this month. To summarize, that job that I was offered at the Architecture firm fell through when they realized that they wouldn't be able to get me a visa. Serious let down...and Tom and I started discussing other options. I had another interview the day after I got the bad news about the architecture firm. This job was a small design studio out in the 'burbs (Drogheda). Bad commute but I really liked the studio's work so I decided to apply. Two days after the interview, I was back in Drogheda and was offered the job...yahooo. I looked into the visa situation and found out that for a company here to get me a work permit, they would have to prove that there was no one else in the EU that could do my job as well as I could...a pretty impossible task for a graphic designer when we are a dime a dozen...and So...I made the leap that I have been too scared to make for the last 5 years...and decided to get hitched. Changed my flight, finished up my freelance work at Snap Printing, took on another freelance job that I completed from Boston, went to a couple of networking meetings, packed, drank some scotch at the Barge and jumped on a plane for home...lovely, lovely, home.

When I arrived at Logan, Lolo, Marina and Brian were waiting to pick me up. Went home and saw my parents and ate yummy mom-food (manicotti and salad from the garden and other tasty Perry Street type foods.) It was so good to be home. Really, so good. Spent two weeks simultaneously catching up with all my peeps and trying to plan a barbecue wedding in my backyard. Needless to say, my feet hardly hit the ground. Tom flew in the following week and the craziness of planning this thing continued.

I have to say, the "wedding," went so much better than I could have even imagined. It didn't rain, the justice of the peace turned out to be amazing, found a hot but not too weddingy dress, Tom's parents were able to come and Tom's mom made me an incredible bouquet at the very last minute, the wine flowed freely and best of all, you all came, my lovelies. Who knew that such a flawless event could be planned in two weeks? Fabulous. Of course, everything couldn't be done in such a short time and we ended up using cheapy rings that we bought at the last minute. (Tom bought his about two hours before the ceremony...haha.)

Anyway, that's the last three weeks in a nutshell. For all of you who weren't at said backyard wedding, I'm going to be planning a bigger, more formal event for next year...but I can't even think about that just yet. Am back in Dublin now in my new place, starting my new job tomorrow with my newly acquired green card, navigating the strange and exhorbitant world of telecommunications and hot water (of which there is not much at the moment.) I have to say that it was hard to leave Boston after two weeks of such a lovefest, much harder than I expected it would be to come back. At least, it's sunny and warm today and I'm beginning to recover from my jetlag. I think it will take a while to adjust to all of these changes in my life...but here goes.

Vegan Anarchist Feminists and the World According to Women with Pointy Shoes

Hi All,
Well it's been a crazy eventful couple of days. First things first, insert clouds lifting and well placed sunbeams illuminating the sky and a little choral Aaaaaaahhhhhh in the background. Yes, it's true. I have a job offer. Just as I was starting to lose faith. Anyway, will start at the beginning. A friend of Tom's cousin's husband has been helping me to meet people and network and all that fun stuff so he invited me to this Chamber of Commerce business schmoozing event which of course, I was absolutely dreading. It was much as expected, lots of peeps in suits and woman in clip-clop pointy shoes (which are an epidemic in these parts) and lots of free wine which I attempted not to drink so as not to stumble around in front of potential employers. Luckily, Gerard (Tom's cousin's husband's friend) didn't abandon me and I wasn't that American girl without a suit on eating bruschetta by the bucketful. Met a couple of "useful" people and breathed a huge sigh of relief when I escaped out onto the Dublin streets and back towards my apartment. So I went from being a corporate whore (good god girl, Where are your pointy shoes?!) to a world where they eat pointy-shoe girls for breakfast a few hours later. Tom and I went up to North Dublin to this bar down an alleyway (called a laneway here) where Jane's friends were having a party celebrating Ladyfest, this big cultural event that they recently put on. It was like walking into Mod 100 at Ye Olde Hampshire college circa 1995. It's amazing how crusties look absolutely the same no matter what continent they live on...dyed hair, raggedy band t-shirts, jeans that could walk by themselves, and patches, patches and more patches. The bars are the same too: cheap beers in slightly dirty glasses and a pool table that's seen better days...haha There's something comforting about that. Just like home if everyone still looked like Megh in college. Anyway, plunked myself in front of the vegan friendly spread....mmmmm guacomole and chatted with a few cute girls who were actually, fairly friendly. (That's the thing about hipsters...they don't always tend to be the most friendly, inclusive bunch.)

Earlier on Thurs. got an email from the guy I thought was messing me about asking me if I could come in for a trial day the next day, on Friday. By the time I made it home from the crustie convention, it was past midnight so I just crashed out and got up at the crack of dawn to go make my trial run. They certainly just tossed me into the fray...I got there at 9am and was working on a project by 9:05am. In fact, they had me running jobs, talking to clients, emailing out jobs and the whole lot pretty much as soon as I walked in. Some client called me and asked me if I had received the email she sent....I was thinking "Uhhhhh, do I have email?!!!" Luckily, they use the same email system as Chedd so I was able to rise to the occasion and play like I was competent and knew all about their protocol...when in fact, no one even told me where the bathroom was...The design work itself was actually quite easy if a little bit depressing. It reminded me of the design I used to do for Katie - fairly low-end and with the added fun of making things purposefully ugly as hell to account for people's bad taste...(yes, I'm a design snob...haha) Anyway, after a day of being the new girl and trying to figure out how everything works and smile at the people around me and not want to slit my wrists after making the world's most hideous stationery, I was exhausted and a little bit bummed thinking that I would have to take this job that seemed a little like torture.

Got out of work and had three messages from Lafferty Design, the Architecture Firm where I interviewed on Wednesday (http://www.laffertydesign.com). Called them back and (will miracles never cease...) they offered me a job! Yessssssss. Talk about getting thrown a life preserver after a day of designing citicorp invitations to an Elton John concert. Was quite relieved - but seriously jittery after 2 days of schmoozing with strangers of all kinds for business and pleasure and all the rest of it. I kept just wanting to pace around the room while obsessively tapping my feet and chewing on my fingernails...and Tom was working until almost 11pm so I had no one to go out with for a few hours. Let me tell you how I missed you all at that moment. I just wanted to be able to go to the B-side and drink Mojitos and party like it was 1999 and celebrate...

Well, after trying to watch Sense and Sensibility unsuccessfully, I finally met Tom at work and ate cold pizza from his office and jetted off to a local with some of Tom's coworkers. Tom's friend Helen came out which was nice and we ended up out in this old-skool Irish pub till after 3am. I am just not built for these late nights but it was a good time nonetheless. This whole round buying thing is like alcoholism waiting to happen as everyone feels obliged to buy everyone else a drink and will absolutely not take no for an answer. I left 2 untouched whiskey and sodas on the table when we left as people just kept buying them...and this was after drinking 5 of them... Had a fairly relaxing rest of the weekend. Went to a lovely farmers market in Temple Bar and bought lots of nice veggies and cheese and bread and the like. Went shopping for work-type clothes in the big shopping center. Went to Tom's friend Steven's party and sat around with a bunch of stoned dudes watching snooker and playing this game where everyone holds onto a metal handle and the last person to hit their button gets an electrick shock...don't ask. Went out with Bryce and Michelle (Tom's coworkers from Boston) on Sunday afternoon for a few glasses of wine in this gigantic french aristocracy themed bar and then tried too late to find a place to eat dinner. Ended up eating friench fries and onion rings in TGIFridays which, as you can imagine, was not exactly my first choice for grub (not even my last choice especially when a narsty TGIFridays burger rings in at a hefty 15 euros...) but I learned not to try to go out to eat at 10pm on the Sunday night before a bank holiday....

Well, that's all the news for now. Am meeting with the head of the architecture firm tomorrow and doing another half (trial) day at Snap Printing tomorrow afternoon. Wednesday have a 7-8:30am (yes, am) business networking thing that Gerard invited me too out in the 'burbs and then a job interview in the afternoon in Drogheda, a city north of Dublin. (Figured I would still go on the interview in Drogheda just in case anything falls through with the architecture firm or visa or anything like that.) Going to be a strangely busy week. Talk about contrast, Last week, I was ready to start counting the hairs on my own head for lack of anything more pressing to do.

Hope you're all well. See you in less than two weeks. Save the date: Sat. May 21 am going to have a graduation/early birthday BBQ...Cannot wait to see you all. Take Care.

Lies and the Lying Liars who tell them in Dublin...

I never thought I would be nostalgic for the curmudgeonly, reserved, so-called unfriendly Boston ethos...and I'm not...haha, jus' kidding...I really, really, am. I have to say that for all the shit-talking that goes on about our stand-offish ways, with a Bostonian, you always know where you stand. I'm finding that Irish culture, at least in the world of Business is more akin to California than Massachusetts. People are just far too nice, in a sometimes duplicitous sort of way.

I've had a bunch of interviews now and they have all gone well and people have been all smiles and promises but I have yet to see any job offers. This one woman interviewed me and at the end of the interview said, "Great, so we need to have you in for a second interview to meet the big boss, I'll call you on Mon. or Tues. to arrange it...blah-de-blah," and then I never heard from her again. A few weeks later, I got a pdf attachment from her which was a form letter with all the usual, "we didn't pick you, we'll keep your CV on file..." Another guy, I interviewed with last week told me he wanted me to come in and do a trial day someday this week, that they just had to fix some problems they were having with their spare workstation...and again, it's now Wednesday and nothing. This time I decided to email him and see what the deal was and he said that they were still having problems with the workstation but that he would get in touch when they sorted it and get me in there....hhhhmmmm, maybe, just, maybe, he wasn't completely bullshitting me but I'm not convinced that I would have heard from him if I didn't make the extra effort. A family friend of Tom's who is a native Dub told me that many Americans are frustrated by the way that business is done here...People are all sweetness and light but where's the beef?

I really, really, really, don't need people to blow sunshine up my ass. I really, really, really, would rather have it straight. I know that's probably a bit rich coming from me who leans in the direction of telling people what they want to hear but good god, a whole country of me's is not a good thing. I'm finding that being away from home in some way, makes me more aware of who I am and all the external things, work, city, culture, friends, family etc... that have in some part defined me. It's kind of interesting really...that is when it's not really annoying. Well, I guess this is what I signed up for when I decided to move country. Everyday is a rollercoaster ride of all kinds of emotions...I love discovering new things and finding my way through all the things that are just a little bit (or a lot) different but I have my moments where I really am a stranger in a strange land and I just don't get it.

Christopher (one of Tom's good friends from Belfast) said something to me a few weeks ago that I've been carrying with me since. He just moved to London and rides the tube to work, and for those of you who don't know him, he is Mr. Casanova with the ladies. I seriously can't keep up. Anyway, he's got this thing where he sits next to a cute girl on the tube and starts chatting her up and if she's receptive, he asks her where she's getting off and if she'd like to have a drink. I am amazed by his ability to just put himself out there and said so and he responded that, "You have to be willing to take rejection to get what you want." Now, knowing Christopher, he was in no way trying to be deep...he was just thinking with...well, you get it...but it is a good point. One that I have been trying to keep in mind while being strung along by various potential employers.

So now I've written a novel of complaints and haven't told you all about the lovely grocery I found, spiceworld, with all sorts of gorgeous middle-eastern and medditerreanean foods and I haven't told you about my relaxing weekend in Belfast and my day trip to Killough and Ardglass, two fishing villages in Northern Ireland that are lovely...Oh well. Sometimes you just have to bitch a little. I hope you all don't mind. Well, I'll see you all soon and be sure to tell you exactly what I think of you...haha. I hope you're all not smiling and being aloof and reserved like good Bostonians should...Miss it madly.

Be well. See you all soon.

Fishing Boats in Howth

fishingboats3
Originally uploaded by di_juice.