May 27 – Day 46
There are signs of me officially settling into life in Dublin. I joined a library and a gym this weekend. The library is one room probably the size of my parents family room. It is a satellite library and I’m told that the library in Dublin city centre is quite large. However, I was able to find travel books on Turkey and London in the small library down the street from me, so that was exciting! I haven’t done much planning and I leave in 4 days for Istanbul. I just checked the weather and they are forecasting sunshine in Istanbul. YEAH! It has been cool with intermittent rain for the last week in Ireland. I think the high today was only 52. It’s crazy to think when I go home in July that I am planning to bring a fleece back with me. I definitely haven’t worn any shorts around here!
The gym is quite nice. Just like everything else here it is very expensive. You can’t get a gym membership here for less than $150 per month. I checked about 4 gyms around me and gave up trying to find anything cheaper. That makes those $20-30 membership fees at home so much easier to swallow!
I also went to the outdoor market today in Dun Laoghaire with Lauren. We walked around, had falafel for lunch and went grocery shopping. She has a car and she took me to the big grocery store near her. I was like a kid in the candy store! It was the largest grocery store I have seen since I have been in Ireland. She gave me about 45 minutes to shop and I had a blast! I even found some silverware. There is still the lack of peanut butter, ranch dressing, mac and cheese, chocolate chips and other normal foods from home. But I did buy a steak :) and some gouda cheese and good looking fruits and veggies. They even had individually wrapped chicken breasts that were less than $5 a piece. Who knew grocery shopping could be so exciting!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
A road trip!
May 21 & 22 – Day 40-41
I headed out of Dublin early in the morning with a girl from work and a friend of hers that had flown in from Canada. She was really nervous about driving, but she did excellent! We left Dublin and headed to County Kerry. We made a few wrong turns, but recovered quickly. Our first stop was the Gap of Dunlow. It is an amazing scenic area located on the East side of the Ring of Kerry. We went on a 2 ½ hour hike and enjoyed the amazing views along the way. About 3pm we started to drive the Ring of Kerry (word to the wise START EARLIER!). The Ring of Kerry is a 100 kilometer (66 mile) scenic drive in western Ireland. A 66 mile drive sounds like a piece of cake until you factor in very narrow, rough roads. It took us about 5 hours to get around the ring and at the end my friend said that she deserved a shirt that said “I survived driving the Ring of Kerry”. It was a lovely drive, but my favorite parts of the drive were definitely the Gap of Dunlow and Lady’s view (both on the east side of the circle). I was a passenger in the back seat and sometimes the roads were so rough that I felt like I was on an old fashioned wooden roller coaster being jolted around. We drove for 11 hours before we arrived at our B&B in Killarney and parked the car for the night.
Next we headed to a few pubs. The first pub felt like the halls of a highschool...truly the patrons looked 14! The next pub had an average age somewhere around 80. It had live music but they were doing a sing along and it reminded us of a nursing home. We laughed so hard our sides hurt and then headed out in search of pub somewhere in the middle. We found a hopping pub with a good band (not traditional Irish music), but it was nice. I can’t remember going to a bar in the states on a Monday night, but I was surprised to find an absolutely packed pub with an attached dance club on a Monday night! We stayed and enjoyed the atmosphere. It was a bit of a late night, but we walked back to the B&B. On Tuesday we walked and shopped in Killarney and then started our long drive back. We stopped at the Rock of Cashel. The guide book describes it as “a spectacular group of medieval buildings set on an outcrop of limestone in the Golden Vale including the 12th century round tower, High Cross and Romanesque Chapel, 13th century Gothic cathedral, 15th century castle and the restored Hall of the Vicars Choral.” After our tour, we headed back to Dublin. It was a good get-away, but I would not recommend going so far for just a 2 day visit because we spent nearly all of our time in the car.
I headed out of Dublin early in the morning with a girl from work and a friend of hers that had flown in from Canada. She was really nervous about driving, but she did excellent! We left Dublin and headed to County Kerry. We made a few wrong turns, but recovered quickly. Our first stop was the Gap of Dunlow. It is an amazing scenic area located on the East side of the Ring of Kerry. We went on a 2 ½ hour hike and enjoyed the amazing views along the way. About 3pm we started to drive the Ring of Kerry (word to the wise START EARLIER!). The Ring of Kerry is a 100 kilometer (66 mile) scenic drive in western Ireland. A 66 mile drive sounds like a piece of cake until you factor in very narrow, rough roads. It took us about 5 hours to get around the ring and at the end my friend said that she deserved a shirt that said “I survived driving the Ring of Kerry”. It was a lovely drive, but my favorite parts of the drive were definitely the Gap of Dunlow and Lady’s view (both on the east side of the circle). I was a passenger in the back seat and sometimes the roads were so rough that I felt like I was on an old fashioned wooden roller coaster being jolted around. We drove for 11 hours before we arrived at our B&B in Killarney and parked the car for the night.
Next we headed to a few pubs. The first pub felt like the halls of a highschool...truly the patrons looked 14! The next pub had an average age somewhere around 80. It had live music but they were doing a sing along and it reminded us of a nursing home. We laughed so hard our sides hurt and then headed out in search of pub somewhere in the middle. We found a hopping pub with a good band (not traditional Irish music), but it was nice. I can’t remember going to a bar in the states on a Monday night, but I was surprised to find an absolutely packed pub with an attached dance club on a Monday night! We stayed and enjoyed the atmosphere. It was a bit of a late night, but we walked back to the B&B. On Tuesday we walked and shopped in Killarney and then started our long drive back. We stopped at the Rock of Cashel. The guide book describes it as “a spectacular group of medieval buildings set on an outcrop of limestone in the Golden Vale including the 12th century round tower, High Cross and Romanesque Chapel, 13th century Gothic cathedral, 15th century castle and the restored Hall of the Vicars Choral.” After our tour, we headed back to Dublin. It was a good get-away, but I would not recommend going so far for just a 2 day visit because we spent nearly all of our time in the car.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Dundrum Shopping
May 19 – Day 38
I decided to try to find the big shopping center in Dublin called Dundrum. After a 30 min walk, a tram ride and a stroll through a town (a total of 1hour 20min) later, I arrived at Dundrum. It is quite a large shopping center with a cinema and a performance theater. I looked at a mall map and there were only a couple store names that I recognized. After walking through the shopping center for a while, I realized how much I rely on stores and my existing knowledge. In almost any mall in the US I will find stores that I recognize that I know I like their clothing like Eddie Bauer and Ann Taylor. In the shopping center in Dublin, I had no idea where to start on my mission to find jeans. I wondered aimlessly for awhile. The fashions here are quite different and I also found out that the sizes are different. I was very sad to find out that their sizes are cut 1-2 sizes smaller than the US. If you wear a 10 in the states you will wear a 12-14 here. That is very hard for the ego!!! I did find out that my shoe size is also different. I wear a 10 in the US which translates to either a 42 or an 8 here depending on the manufacturer. I never really thought that the sizes would be different. I eventually found a pair of jeans and decided it was time to retrace my steps back through town, the tram and then my walk to my apartment. I guess it’s a good thing for the wallet that it is such a challenge to get to the mall!
I decided to try to find the big shopping center in Dublin called Dundrum. After a 30 min walk, a tram ride and a stroll through a town (a total of 1hour 20min) later, I arrived at Dundrum. It is quite a large shopping center with a cinema and a performance theater. I looked at a mall map and there were only a couple store names that I recognized. After walking through the shopping center for a while, I realized how much I rely on stores and my existing knowledge. In almost any mall in the US I will find stores that I recognize that I know I like their clothing like Eddie Bauer and Ann Taylor. In the shopping center in Dublin, I had no idea where to start on my mission to find jeans. I wondered aimlessly for awhile. The fashions here are quite different and I also found out that the sizes are different. I was very sad to find out that their sizes are cut 1-2 sizes smaller than the US. If you wear a 10 in the states you will wear a 12-14 here. That is very hard for the ego!!! I did find out that my shoe size is also different. I wear a 10 in the US which translates to either a 42 or an 8 here depending on the manufacturer. I never really thought that the sizes would be different. I eventually found a pair of jeans and decided it was time to retrace my steps back through town, the tram and then my walk to my apartment. I guess it’s a good thing for the wallet that it is such a challenge to get to the mall!
Friday, May 18, 2007
Black Pudding
May 16 – Day 35
I had a work lunch, well kinda lunch. It started at 3pm and we ate until 5:30. Not quite sure what you call a meal in the middle of the afternoon. The most noteworthy item was that I tried traditional Irish black pudding. (here is an online definition - Black pudding or blood pudding is a sausage made by cooking animal blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. ) I had seen it and not been brave enough before to try it. The guy across the table from me ordered it and the Canadian girl and I and I both tried it. She actually liked it and all I could say was that it was not something that I would ever order. Well at least I tried it!
May 17 – Day 36
Lauren, from church, invited me over for dinner. Lauren also invited a friend of a friend, who was born in Iran, lived in Argentina, studied at Cambridge in England and has spent the last 4 years in Israel. She speaks 5 languages and just moved to Dublin for a job. It is amazing to meet so many people from all over the world. I had no idea that I would meet so many international people in Ireland!
I had a work lunch, well kinda lunch. It started at 3pm and we ate until 5:30. Not quite sure what you call a meal in the middle of the afternoon. The most noteworthy item was that I tried traditional Irish black pudding. (here is an online definition - Black pudding or blood pudding is a sausage made by cooking animal blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. ) I had seen it and not been brave enough before to try it. The guy across the table from me ordered it and the Canadian girl and I and I both tried it. She actually liked it and all I could say was that it was not something that I would ever order. Well at least I tried it!
May 17 – Day 36
Lauren, from church, invited me over for dinner. Lauren also invited a friend of a friend, who was born in Iran, lived in Argentina, studied at Cambridge in England and has spent the last 4 years in Israel. She speaks 5 languages and just moved to Dublin for a job. It is amazing to meet so many people from all over the world. I had no idea that I would meet so many international people in Ireland!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Mothers Day
May 13 - Day 32
Happy Mothers Day! I have to admit that I had quite a difficult time finding a card for my mom. I went to several stores looking for mothers day cards and I finally asked in a card shop where I could find the mothers day cards. They looked at me kinda funny and told me that mothers day was in March and since it had passed, they did not stock the cards until next year. Hmmm. I never thought about Mother’s day being celebrated on different days in different countries. So, I found a random funny card and mailed it to my mom.
I went to an outdoor market in Dun Laoghaire and it was really fun. I picked up some local produce and snacked on hummus. There was lots of different food to eat from crepes to falafel and everything in between! I’ll have to go there for lunch some Sunday after church.
May 14- Day 33
My landlord called to say that additional furniture had been delivered to my apartment. I’m not sure exactly what it is or where it will go, but evidently he thought I needed additional furniture. When I arrived home there were 3 big boxes. I think I’ll leave them for a bit. I’m not sure that I am ready to start assembling.
May 15 - Day 34
I’m booking travel arrangements to go to the Ring of Kerry next week with a girl from work. She is planning to drive and we’ll be spending one night in Killarney. I’ve been in Dublin for just over a month and I am looking forward to getting out into the country to see a different side of Ireland!
Happy Mothers Day! I have to admit that I had quite a difficult time finding a card for my mom. I went to several stores looking for mothers day cards and I finally asked in a card shop where I could find the mothers day cards. They looked at me kinda funny and told me that mothers day was in March and since it had passed, they did not stock the cards until next year. Hmmm. I never thought about Mother’s day being celebrated on different days in different countries. So, I found a random funny card and mailed it to my mom.
I went to an outdoor market in Dun Laoghaire and it was really fun. I picked up some local produce and snacked on hummus. There was lots of different food to eat from crepes to falafel and everything in between! I’ll have to go there for lunch some Sunday after church.
May 14- Day 33
My landlord called to say that additional furniture had been delivered to my apartment. I’m not sure exactly what it is or where it will go, but evidently he thought I needed additional furniture. When I arrived home there were 3 big boxes. I think I’ll leave them for a bit. I’m not sure that I am ready to start assembling.
May 15 - Day 34
I’m booking travel arrangements to go to the Ring of Kerry next week with a girl from work. She is planning to drive and we’ll be spending one night in Killarney. I’ve been in Dublin for just over a month and I am looking forward to getting out into the country to see a different side of Ireland!
Saturday, May 12, 2007
1 month in Ireland
May 10 – Day 29
Boxes arrived from home!!! Yeah! It’s crazy, but it is so nice to have familiar items. I was trying to figure out how I would get 2 boxes weighing a total of 33 pounds home. They only deliver boxes if you are home, so I had them delivered to my office. I had something delivered to my apartment and I had to take a train during business hours to get to the post office and it was quite crazy. Much easier to have stuff come to the office. But then comes the dilemma of getting the stuff ½ mile to the train station, on the train and then from the train to my apartment. I was very fortunate that a guy I work with offered to drive me home. He lives north of the city and has to drive fairly close to my place on his way home. He had to leave early on Thur. so, I left work a bit early and got the boxes home. I am very thankful! He helped bring one of the boxes to door and then I literally kicked them on the carpet through the entry and into an elevator. It had to be quite a funny site. I was home so early that I decided to go for a walk and try to find a grocery store. I walked for about 40 min and found a grocery store and decided to buy ranch dressing for a salad, only to learn that they do not have ranch dressing here. :( I walked a bit more a bought a couple things for the apartment and then decided to have dinner before I hiked back. I found a TGI Fridays and had an appetizer. My bill came and it was converted to dollars and it was $23 for an appetizer! It’s hard to explain how expensive it is here. I was talking to my mom and explained that a pint of ice cream at the grocery store is equivalent to $7.50…she was surprised. It took another 45 min to hike home. I was wiped out by the time I got back to my apartment.
May 11 – Day 30
I went out after work for drinks with a couple girls from work. One girl is from Canada and the other from Malaysia. It was very interesting to talk with people from different countries about their cultures, family relationships, jobs, etc. The girl from Malaysia is Muslim and has lived in London for a few years. All three of us are single girls between the ages of 28 and 31. It was an interesting evening.
May 12 – Day 31
I can’t believe I have been here for a month! I arrived on April 12 so, it’s been a whole month. I am finally getting settled into an apartment and I’m working on getting pictures uploaded to yahoo for my first month in Ireland and including pictures of my apartment. Please send me an email if you would like for me to send the link to my pictures. I don’t want to put my email address here and I think anyone reading this will know it. If not, post a comment on the blog and I’ll get you my address. I want to warn whoever looks at my pictures, that the apartment is fairly standard compared to American apartments, but it is quite a luxury in Dublin to live in a 2 bedroom apartment by myself. It is also quite rare to have a building that is only a couple years old very close to the city center. I even took pictures of the 2nd bedroom and bathroom to hopefully entice visitors!
Boxes arrived from home!!! Yeah! It’s crazy, but it is so nice to have familiar items. I was trying to figure out how I would get 2 boxes weighing a total of 33 pounds home. They only deliver boxes if you are home, so I had them delivered to my office. I had something delivered to my apartment and I had to take a train during business hours to get to the post office and it was quite crazy. Much easier to have stuff come to the office. But then comes the dilemma of getting the stuff ½ mile to the train station, on the train and then from the train to my apartment. I was very fortunate that a guy I work with offered to drive me home. He lives north of the city and has to drive fairly close to my place on his way home. He had to leave early on Thur. so, I left work a bit early and got the boxes home. I am very thankful! He helped bring one of the boxes to door and then I literally kicked them on the carpet through the entry and into an elevator. It had to be quite a funny site. I was home so early that I decided to go for a walk and try to find a grocery store. I walked for about 40 min and found a grocery store and decided to buy ranch dressing for a salad, only to learn that they do not have ranch dressing here. :( I walked a bit more a bought a couple things for the apartment and then decided to have dinner before I hiked back. I found a TGI Fridays and had an appetizer. My bill came and it was converted to dollars and it was $23 for an appetizer! It’s hard to explain how expensive it is here. I was talking to my mom and explained that a pint of ice cream at the grocery store is equivalent to $7.50…she was surprised. It took another 45 min to hike home. I was wiped out by the time I got back to my apartment.
May 11 – Day 30
I went out after work for drinks with a couple girls from work. One girl is from Canada and the other from Malaysia. It was very interesting to talk with people from different countries about their cultures, family relationships, jobs, etc. The girl from Malaysia is Muslim and has lived in London for a few years. All three of us are single girls between the ages of 28 and 31. It was an interesting evening.
May 12 – Day 31
I can’t believe I have been here for a month! I arrived on April 12 so, it’s been a whole month. I am finally getting settled into an apartment and I’m working on getting pictures uploaded to yahoo for my first month in Ireland and including pictures of my apartment. Please send me an email if you would like for me to send the link to my pictures. I don’t want to put my email address here and I think anyone reading this will know it. If not, post a comment on the blog and I’ll get you my address. I want to warn whoever looks at my pictures, that the apartment is fairly standard compared to American apartments, but it is quite a luxury in Dublin to live in a 2 bedroom apartment by myself. It is also quite rare to have a building that is only a couple years old very close to the city center. I even took pictures of the 2nd bedroom and bathroom to hopefully entice visitors!
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Project Team & PPS
May 8 - Day 27
Our project team of 4 is now fully staffed. We are very excited to welcome our newest person, a girl from Malaysia. She is a "part-qualified" accountant. I'm not quite sure how to translate this into US terms. I know that the accounting exams over here are 3 years long and a part-qualified means that they have passed some but not all exams, or that they have passed all of the exams and have not fulfilled the experience requirements to get qualified accountant status. We are excited to have one more person to share the workload!
May 9 - Day 28
I set out to find the PPS office first thing in the morning. The PPS is the equivalent of a social security number in the states. It is used to track your taxes and such. And you have to have a utility bill to prove your address. However, my landlord has been requesting my PPS number so that he can "register my tenancy". It's like the chicken and egg thing. You can't register where you live without a PPS number and you can't get a PPS number until you have a place to live and a valid utility bill. My understanding is that when he registers me, I will have to pay a tax on my rent. Kinda crazy to me, but according to the people at work the landlord can be held liable for the tax on my rent if he does not appropriately register me. Once I am registered, then I have to pay the tax. I successfully applied for a PPS number based on an opening statement from the electric company. Now, I just have to wait approximately 2 weeks for them to mail me a PPS number. That was the last of the 3 major items to get in Ireland. YEAH! I'm still working on the Irish bank account to get the ATM and online functions to work, but I am making progress. A girl that I work closely with, is an Irish native, but she spent time working in the states. She says that some of the same challenges that I face here, non-US natives face in the US. She talked about spending 4 hours in a social security office in San Jose, CA trying to get a SSN. I guess my 1 1/2 hours in Ireland sure beats that!
Our project team of 4 is now fully staffed. We are very excited to welcome our newest person, a girl from Malaysia. She is a "part-qualified" accountant. I'm not quite sure how to translate this into US terms. I know that the accounting exams over here are 3 years long and a part-qualified means that they have passed some but not all exams, or that they have passed all of the exams and have not fulfilled the experience requirements to get qualified accountant status. We are excited to have one more person to share the workload!
May 9 - Day 28
I set out to find the PPS office first thing in the morning. The PPS is the equivalent of a social security number in the states. It is used to track your taxes and such. And you have to have a utility bill to prove your address. However, my landlord has been requesting my PPS number so that he can "register my tenancy". It's like the chicken and egg thing. You can't register where you live without a PPS number and you can't get a PPS number until you have a place to live and a valid utility bill. My understanding is that when he registers me, I will have to pay a tax on my rent. Kinda crazy to me, but according to the people at work the landlord can be held liable for the tax on my rent if he does not appropriately register me. Once I am registered, then I have to pay the tax. I successfully applied for a PPS number based on an opening statement from the electric company. Now, I just have to wait approximately 2 weeks for them to mail me a PPS number. That was the last of the 3 major items to get in Ireland. YEAH! I'm still working on the Irish bank account to get the ATM and online functions to work, but I am making progress. A girl that I work closely with, is an Irish native, but she spent time working in the states. She says that some of the same challenges that I face here, non-US natives face in the US. She talked about spending 4 hours in a social security office in San Jose, CA trying to get a SSN. I guess my 1 1/2 hours in Ireland sure beats that!
Monday, May 7, 2007
Trains
May 7 – Day 26
You know when your car breaks down and you have a realization of how dependent you are on it to get around. Well, I had one of those realizations today with the train system. Today is a holiday here in Ireland. I haven’t quite figured out if there is a significance to the holiday. I know that the German operations took a holiday on May 1 for “May day”. I’m not sure why my office in Ireland took off May 7. Anyway, back to the train story. I decided to work on the holiday and trade it for a US holiday when I will have friends in town. I got up this morning and about 7:45 am I noticed that I hadn’t heard any trains. My apartment is very very close to the train line and I hear them going by. So, I got online and looked up the schedule only to discover the train operates on an extremely limited schedule on holidays. There was a train at 7:30am which I had just missed and the next one was not until 9:30. There went my plan to get into the office at a good time. Instead, I took my time getting ready, cooked breakfast, packed my lunch and still had time, so I was going to stop to get coffee only to realize that absolutely nothing was open. On the plus side, there are only 3 of us in the entire office where there are normally 500-600 people and I am getting lots done! And when I take the holiday on Memorial day everyone in Ireland will be working and the trains will be running and I can enjoy everything when it is less crowded!
You know when your car breaks down and you have a realization of how dependent you are on it to get around. Well, I had one of those realizations today with the train system. Today is a holiday here in Ireland. I haven’t quite figured out if there is a significance to the holiday. I know that the German operations took a holiday on May 1 for “May day”. I’m not sure why my office in Ireland took off May 7. Anyway, back to the train story. I decided to work on the holiday and trade it for a US holiday when I will have friends in town. I got up this morning and about 7:45 am I noticed that I hadn’t heard any trains. My apartment is very very close to the train line and I hear them going by. So, I got online and looked up the schedule only to discover the train operates on an extremely limited schedule on holidays. There was a train at 7:30am which I had just missed and the next one was not until 9:30. There went my plan to get into the office at a good time. Instead, I took my time getting ready, cooked breakfast, packed my lunch and still had time, so I was going to stop to get coffee only to realize that absolutely nothing was open. On the plus side, there are only 3 of us in the entire office where there are normally 500-600 people and I am getting lots done! And when I take the holiday on Memorial day everyone in Ireland will be working and the trains will be running and I can enjoy everything when it is less crowded!
Sunday, May 6, 2007
BBQ and Shopping
May 4 Continued
After work, I walked with the girl that invited me to a BBQ and we picked up some food for the BBQ on our way to the house. The owner of the house is an Irish guy who works at the same Company as me and he often rents out the extra 2 bedrooms in his house to employees on assignment to our Company. They say the house is a 30 min walk. I’m not sure how fast they walk, but it took us about 45 min minus the grocery stops. When we arrived, there already a few people there. We sat out in the back patio and had snacks and finally they started the grill around 8:30pm. I was starving! Eating times and work times tend to be shifted later here. One of the Canadians made these hamburgers that were phenomenal! He said the secret ingredients included oats, brown sugar and egg….I would have never thought to put any of those in hamburgers. It was a multi cultural picnic. There were 2 Irish, 4 Germans, 3 Canadians and me the lone American! It was a lot of fun and I stayed out way too late. I missed the last train around midnight, so one of the people who had a car drove me home. I am so thankful! I called Ami at about 1:30 am Dublin time because it was 6:30pm and I never get to call in the evening. She was really surprised to get a call from me!
May 5 – Day 24
I slept in a little bit after my late night out and then went to the store to get some necessities. I got an alarm clock, some dishes, a baking sheet, a spatula, a couple bath towels, and water and wine glasses, etc. Needless to say I had 4 big bags when I was done and I could barely carry them. I had to walk through the entire shopping center to get to the taxi line. I took a taxi home and arrived just in time for my landlord and the carpet cleaning guy. We had to move all of the furniture out the bedrooms into the hallway and my front door wouldn’t even close. My landlord started working on my list of apartment problems…the list had like 12 items. Needless to say he was here for about 8 hours. I helped move the fridge about a dozen times while he tried to get the door to line up. The refrigerators here are hidden in cabinets, but the doors have to be parallel, because they hook together and when you close the cabinet the fridge door closes and mine was out of alignment and I couldn’t get the fridge door to close to keep the food cold. While the landlord was working on his list, I scrubbed every surface I could find. I started in the kitchen emptied all the cabinets and washed absolutely everything. I scrubbed all the floors and man am I sore! I started washing my sheets at about 4pm. I didn’t think it would be any problem to have them ready to sleep on in the evening. WRONG!! Only one sheet at a time would fit in the washer and the cycle time is around 3 hours for the wash itself and then you have to hang them to dry. I finally had clean dry sheets at 2am. I was exhausted after all that cleaning. I will have to remember to start my sheets early in the morning to get them washed and dried by night time. I also had the NTL guy come and I now have cable tv and broadband internet! Yeah! A very productive and exhausting day.
May 6 – Day 25
I finally got all my clothes hung. 25 days of living out a suitcase has come to a close. With just 2 suitcases of clothes I have a very full wardrobe. I don’t know how they fit all their clothes in these little cabinets without a real closet! I went to church and headed to the grocery store. I was on a mission to find ingredients that I recognize to cook with. Grocery shopping is a big challenge. I started to realize how much I rely on packaging to find the products that I use. There are several items that I couldn’t find and had to ask for assistance. A few of them they had, but there were several that they just don’t have over here. They don’t have jello, anytype of frozen bread( no rolls, dough, pie crust etc.), no frozen chicken breasts, no chex or crispix cereal. It took a long time for me to find stuff that I could cook with. I actually found taco shells and seasoning...I was kinda surprised. Grocery shopping was probably my biggest challenge so far. I again had too many bags and not enough hands. I was able to find a bath mat and some Tupperware in another store near the grocery store, so I took a cab home again. Shopping is hard work here!
After work, I walked with the girl that invited me to a BBQ and we picked up some food for the BBQ on our way to the house. The owner of the house is an Irish guy who works at the same Company as me and he often rents out the extra 2 bedrooms in his house to employees on assignment to our Company. They say the house is a 30 min walk. I’m not sure how fast they walk, but it took us about 45 min minus the grocery stops. When we arrived, there already a few people there. We sat out in the back patio and had snacks and finally they started the grill around 8:30pm. I was starving! Eating times and work times tend to be shifted later here. One of the Canadians made these hamburgers that were phenomenal! He said the secret ingredients included oats, brown sugar and egg….I would have never thought to put any of those in hamburgers. It was a multi cultural picnic. There were 2 Irish, 4 Germans, 3 Canadians and me the lone American! It was a lot of fun and I stayed out way too late. I missed the last train around midnight, so one of the people who had a car drove me home. I am so thankful! I called Ami at about 1:30 am Dublin time because it was 6:30pm and I never get to call in the evening. She was really surprised to get a call from me!
May 5 – Day 24
I slept in a little bit after my late night out and then went to the store to get some necessities. I got an alarm clock, some dishes, a baking sheet, a spatula, a couple bath towels, and water and wine glasses, etc. Needless to say I had 4 big bags when I was done and I could barely carry them. I had to walk through the entire shopping center to get to the taxi line. I took a taxi home and arrived just in time for my landlord and the carpet cleaning guy. We had to move all of the furniture out the bedrooms into the hallway and my front door wouldn’t even close. My landlord started working on my list of apartment problems…the list had like 12 items. Needless to say he was here for about 8 hours. I helped move the fridge about a dozen times while he tried to get the door to line up. The refrigerators here are hidden in cabinets, but the doors have to be parallel, because they hook together and when you close the cabinet the fridge door closes and mine was out of alignment and I couldn’t get the fridge door to close to keep the food cold. While the landlord was working on his list, I scrubbed every surface I could find. I started in the kitchen emptied all the cabinets and washed absolutely everything. I scrubbed all the floors and man am I sore! I started washing my sheets at about 4pm. I didn’t think it would be any problem to have them ready to sleep on in the evening. WRONG!! Only one sheet at a time would fit in the washer and the cycle time is around 3 hours for the wash itself and then you have to hang them to dry. I finally had clean dry sheets at 2am. I was exhausted after all that cleaning. I will have to remember to start my sheets early in the morning to get them washed and dried by night time. I also had the NTL guy come and I now have cable tv and broadband internet! Yeah! A very productive and exhausting day.
May 6 – Day 25
I finally got all my clothes hung. 25 days of living out a suitcase has come to a close. With just 2 suitcases of clothes I have a very full wardrobe. I don’t know how they fit all their clothes in these little cabinets without a real closet! I went to church and headed to the grocery store. I was on a mission to find ingredients that I recognize to cook with. Grocery shopping is a big challenge. I started to realize how much I rely on packaging to find the products that I use. There are several items that I couldn’t find and had to ask for assistance. A few of them they had, but there were several that they just don’t have over here. They don’t have jello, anytype of frozen bread( no rolls, dough, pie crust etc.), no frozen chicken breasts, no chex or crispix cereal. It took a long time for me to find stuff that I could cook with. I actually found taco shells and seasoning...I was kinda surprised. Grocery shopping was probably my biggest challenge so far. I again had too many bags and not enough hands. I was able to find a bath mat and some Tupperware in another store near the grocery store, so I took a cab home again. Shopping is hard work here!
Friday, May 4, 2007
Social Life & Istanbul
May 3 – Day 22
I had my first dinner guest in my new apartment. Lauren, who I met at church over the weekend, came over for dinner. We talked about the transition into life in Ireland as she came over 1 week before I did. She has a job offer with a financial company in Ireland, but she is waiting for Irish work authorization paperwork and she just found out it could be a total of 10-12 weeks and I think she is only 2 weeks into the waiting period. That’s a long time to wait to start a job! She brought me hangers and a couple hand towels. Much needed items! My clothes are stacked in piles on my empty bed and I only have one bath towel, so no hand towels in the kitchen or bathroom. I am so thankful! It was a wonderful evening.
May 4 – Day 23
I booked my first European flight today. Three of the people on assignment from Canada had planned to go to Istanbul for a 3 day weekend the end of May and they invited me to go along. I am very excited to go! They have already booked our lodging and we have a crazy red-eye flight from Dublin to Istanbul on May 31.
I also got invited to a BBQ tonight with the Canadian crew. It’s about a 2 mile hike from the office out to the house. I’m going to walk out there with a girl from work and then I’ll have to find a way back to the train or just get a taxi later this evening. This is 2 nights in a row with social engagements…My social life in Ireland is improving dramatically!
I had my first dinner guest in my new apartment. Lauren, who I met at church over the weekend, came over for dinner. We talked about the transition into life in Ireland as she came over 1 week before I did. She has a job offer with a financial company in Ireland, but she is waiting for Irish work authorization paperwork and she just found out it could be a total of 10-12 weeks and I think she is only 2 weeks into the waiting period. That’s a long time to wait to start a job! She brought me hangers and a couple hand towels. Much needed items! My clothes are stacked in piles on my empty bed and I only have one bath towel, so no hand towels in the kitchen or bathroom. I am so thankful! It was a wonderful evening.
May 4 – Day 23
I booked my first European flight today. Three of the people on assignment from Canada had planned to go to Istanbul for a 3 day weekend the end of May and they invited me to go along. I am very excited to go! They have already booked our lodging and we have a crazy red-eye flight from Dublin to Istanbul on May 31.
I also got invited to a BBQ tonight with the Canadian crew. It’s about a 2 mile hike from the office out to the house. I’m going to walk out there with a girl from work and then I’ll have to find a way back to the train or just get a taxi later this evening. This is 2 nights in a row with social engagements…My social life in Ireland is improving dramatically!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
My first care package :)
May 2 - Day 21
Thank you Mom and Ami for my first care package! I was so excited to get the peanut butter, room scenting oil and the sudoku book was a great addition! I have worked very diligently to clean up the apartment and unpack and organize as much as possible. It is getting better, but I need some hangers and curtains and someplace to store laundry items before I can truly organize and be able to find things! Part of the reason that I was working so hard on cleaning is because I invited the girl that I met at church on Sunday over for dinner Thur. evening. Yes, that is only my 3rd night in the apartment. But I really want to hang out with her and I think I have a bit of my Mom's hospitality in my blood. Home isn't really a home until you entertain and share your space with others. I even picked up a potted hyacinth at the grocery store tonight. I may have trouble finding lots of items here, but they do love their fresh flowers.
Tonight on the train ride home, I was quite a sight. I had a backpack overloaded with groceries, I was carrying a big bag that has 2 pillows in it (yeah I have pillows for my bed!!!) that I bought over lunch, then I had a bag that I was trying to keep upright with the potted flower and round that off with a purse and a tote filled with cleaning supplies. I had a bit of trouble going through the train turnstile with my wide load! I need to buy quite a few items including towels, water and wine glasses and something to hold laundry, an alarm clock etc. Basically I will need to buy one or two items each day for transportation purposes. It is very strange to shop in terms of what I can carry! Today was definitely the maximum carrying amount.
May 1 - Day 20
Heavy duty cleaning night. I learned how to run an Irish vacuum...it just kept turning on and off at first and I couldn't figure out how to keep a steady air flow. Finally got it figured out. I suctioned every particle of dust and yucky stuff I could find. Watch out for me and the Irish vacuum :) I don't know if they have swiffers over here, but I'm going to search. That would be really helpful in keeping the hardwood floors clean! Oh, the landlord showed me how to add a bag of salt to my dishwasher. I'm glad he showed me because I would have no idea why he left me a bag of specialty salt under the kitchen sink! Apparently they don't have garbage disposals at all over here, not in the sinks and not in the dishwashers like mine at home. So, instead they have dishwashers that take salt and it helps to break up food particles during the wash cycle so that it can go down the water drain. It even has it's own little funnel and slot in the dishwasher. I've never heard of salt in the dishwasher before!
Thank you Mom and Ami for my first care package! I was so excited to get the peanut butter, room scenting oil and the sudoku book was a great addition! I have worked very diligently to clean up the apartment and unpack and organize as much as possible. It is getting better, but I need some hangers and curtains and someplace to store laundry items before I can truly organize and be able to find things! Part of the reason that I was working so hard on cleaning is because I invited the girl that I met at church on Sunday over for dinner Thur. evening. Yes, that is only my 3rd night in the apartment. But I really want to hang out with her and I think I have a bit of my Mom's hospitality in my blood. Home isn't really a home until you entertain and share your space with others. I even picked up a potted hyacinth at the grocery store tonight. I may have trouble finding lots of items here, but they do love their fresh flowers.
Tonight on the train ride home, I was quite a sight. I had a backpack overloaded with groceries, I was carrying a big bag that has 2 pillows in it (yeah I have pillows for my bed!!!) that I bought over lunch, then I had a bag that I was trying to keep upright with the potted flower and round that off with a purse and a tote filled with cleaning supplies. I had a bit of trouble going through the train turnstile with my wide load! I need to buy quite a few items including towels, water and wine glasses and something to hold laundry, an alarm clock etc. Basically I will need to buy one or two items each day for transportation purposes. It is very strange to shop in terms of what I can carry! Today was definitely the maximum carrying amount.
May 1 - Day 20
Heavy duty cleaning night. I learned how to run an Irish vacuum...it just kept turning on and off at first and I couldn't figure out how to keep a steady air flow. Finally got it figured out. I suctioned every particle of dust and yucky stuff I could find. Watch out for me and the Irish vacuum :) I don't know if they have swiffers over here, but I'm going to search. That would be really helpful in keeping the hardwood floors clean! Oh, the landlord showed me how to add a bag of salt to my dishwasher. I'm glad he showed me because I would have no idea why he left me a bag of specialty salt under the kitchen sink! Apparently they don't have garbage disposals at all over here, not in the sinks and not in the dishwashers like mine at home. So, instead they have dishwashers that take salt and it helps to break up food particles during the wash cycle so that it can go down the water drain. It even has it's own little funnel and slot in the dishwasher. I've never heard of salt in the dishwasher before!
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
I hate moving!
Day 19 – April 30
After work I rushed to my temporary apartment and retrieved my carry on size rolling suitcase and a backpack and headed to my new apartment on the train. I arrived a bit early, so I checked for a wireless connection in the lobby of my building and did not find any wireless networks that I could connect to. :(
I met with my apartment locator agent and my landlord and got into the apartment. We went thru the paperwork and he gave me some instructions. When I arrived I have to tell you the apartment was a mess. He had been painting, there were tools all over the place and it was not clean. Very disappointing! He said that a cleaning crew had come through the kitchen and the bathrooms, but I think there was enough use after they went through that it didn’t look anywhere near clean. The carpets look like they haven’t been vacuumed in quite some time and the worst part was that it smelled really bad of stale smoke. Everyone that I talked to at work said that their apartment included sheets, towels, pillows and blankets in their “furnished” apartments. Mine does not have any of the above. I had packed one pillow, one blanket and purchased the set of sheets. However, the sheets I bought fit in the larger bedroom and there are no curtains in that room because they are at the cleaners and it will be nearly a week before I actually get curtains in my bedroom. I should note that one entire wall is windows, so it’s not exactly a liveable bedroom until I get curtains. So, my first night was spent in the smaller bedroom using the sheets that didn’t fit the bed properly and I had no blanket, so I used my one towel for warmth. I ended up with a migraine and did not sleep much in the end. I really hope to get some cleaning products and start scouring the place! I was so hopeful to have hangers once I got into the apartment and there are none, so I’ll have to go find some after I clean out the drawers and wardrobe. In all fairness to the landlord, the previous tenants were bad. They left a bunch of stuff and he had to clear out the apartment. They said they didn’t smoke and that there were 2 of them signing the lease. There were actually 3 of them living in the apartment and they all smoked and it was not a positive situation. I think he essentially evicted them. I did find out that there were over 40 people interested in this apartment and the primary reason that I got it was because I had a company backing me and that I used a relocation agent. I guess it makes me more credible than just someone off the street. Hopefully I’ll work on getting settled over the next few days.
Day 20 – May 1
This morning started out with complete craziness. On my train ride to work this morning, I got a call from the landlord of my temporary apartment telling me that I was essentially getting kicked out and someone else was moving in immediately. I had the temporary apartment reserved through May 2 and I told her that I wanted to check out on the evening of May 1 and that I had arranged for transportation for my move at 6pm and I would give her the keys then. Not quite sure how she missed the boat so bad on that one, but she said it was an emergency and that they had someone else moving in and she offered to drive me and my luggage to my new apartment. I had a meeting at work this morning so, I left at lunch and someone else had already moved into my temporary apartment on top of my stuff. AAGGGHH. Not cool. Then, the landlady drives a small BMW. Her truck was full of junk, so we had to unload it and to make matters worse, my big suitcase had to be squashed to even get just one suitcase into the trunk. A girl from work went with me because I said there was no way I could lift my massive suitcase on my own. We tag teamed it and got both suitcases in the car (one in the backseat). Then the landlady said oh, we have to take the cleaning girl back downtown too. HMMM. With the suitcase in the back there was barely room for one and now we had to squeeze 2 people in there!!!! The girl from work is tiny, so she and the cleaning girl mashed themselves in there. I felt sooo bad! Then we drove 30 min in lunchtime traffic to get to the new place and unloaded. I must say that I am really helpful that the girl from work came with me because the landlady didn’t even lift a finger. She just watched. This is definitely not the way that I planned this move! We caught the train and headed back to work. I still have to move the boxes from my office to my apartment after work tonight. My stuff is scattered, I can’t find any thing. Please friends and family remind me if I ever say that I want to move that I really really shouldn’t move!!!
After work I rushed to my temporary apartment and retrieved my carry on size rolling suitcase and a backpack and headed to my new apartment on the train. I arrived a bit early, so I checked for a wireless connection in the lobby of my building and did not find any wireless networks that I could connect to. :(
I met with my apartment locator agent and my landlord and got into the apartment. We went thru the paperwork and he gave me some instructions. When I arrived I have to tell you the apartment was a mess. He had been painting, there were tools all over the place and it was not clean. Very disappointing! He said that a cleaning crew had come through the kitchen and the bathrooms, but I think there was enough use after they went through that it didn’t look anywhere near clean. The carpets look like they haven’t been vacuumed in quite some time and the worst part was that it smelled really bad of stale smoke. Everyone that I talked to at work said that their apartment included sheets, towels, pillows and blankets in their “furnished” apartments. Mine does not have any of the above. I had packed one pillow, one blanket and purchased the set of sheets. However, the sheets I bought fit in the larger bedroom and there are no curtains in that room because they are at the cleaners and it will be nearly a week before I actually get curtains in my bedroom. I should note that one entire wall is windows, so it’s not exactly a liveable bedroom until I get curtains. So, my first night was spent in the smaller bedroom using the sheets that didn’t fit the bed properly and I had no blanket, so I used my one towel for warmth. I ended up with a migraine and did not sleep much in the end. I really hope to get some cleaning products and start scouring the place! I was so hopeful to have hangers once I got into the apartment and there are none, so I’ll have to go find some after I clean out the drawers and wardrobe. In all fairness to the landlord, the previous tenants were bad. They left a bunch of stuff and he had to clear out the apartment. They said they didn’t smoke and that there were 2 of them signing the lease. There were actually 3 of them living in the apartment and they all smoked and it was not a positive situation. I think he essentially evicted them. I did find out that there were over 40 people interested in this apartment and the primary reason that I got it was because I had a company backing me and that I used a relocation agent. I guess it makes me more credible than just someone off the street. Hopefully I’ll work on getting settled over the next few days.
Day 20 – May 1
This morning started out with complete craziness. On my train ride to work this morning, I got a call from the landlord of my temporary apartment telling me that I was essentially getting kicked out and someone else was moving in immediately. I had the temporary apartment reserved through May 2 and I told her that I wanted to check out on the evening of May 1 and that I had arranged for transportation for my move at 6pm and I would give her the keys then. Not quite sure how she missed the boat so bad on that one, but she said it was an emergency and that they had someone else moving in and she offered to drive me and my luggage to my new apartment. I had a meeting at work this morning so, I left at lunch and someone else had already moved into my temporary apartment on top of my stuff. AAGGGHH. Not cool. Then, the landlady drives a small BMW. Her truck was full of junk, so we had to unload it and to make matters worse, my big suitcase had to be squashed to even get just one suitcase into the trunk. A girl from work went with me because I said there was no way I could lift my massive suitcase on my own. We tag teamed it and got both suitcases in the car (one in the backseat). Then the landlady said oh, we have to take the cleaning girl back downtown too. HMMM. With the suitcase in the back there was barely room for one and now we had to squeeze 2 people in there!!!! The girl from work is tiny, so she and the cleaning girl mashed themselves in there. I felt sooo bad! Then we drove 30 min in lunchtime traffic to get to the new place and unloaded. I must say that I am really helpful that the girl from work came with me because the landlady didn’t even lift a finger. She just watched. This is definitely not the way that I planned this move! We caught the train and headed back to work. I still have to move the boxes from my office to my apartment after work tonight. My stuff is scattered, I can’t find any thing. Please friends and family remind me if I ever say that I want to move that I really really shouldn’t move!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
