Good Wood Revival

Sticker in a car window in Ranelagh

Time Change!

Just a reminder, there is now a five hour difference between Jax and Dublin. We did the whole 'spring ahead' thing last night. To put it in perspective, your 5 PM is my 10 PM now.

The New Place

I took a walk down to where my apartment is and checked out the area. My actual complex (Northbrook Walk) is fully gated, so I wasn't able to get right up to it, but I got a photo of the building and some other photos of the area. In the picture of the building, that's my front door you see. And I have a parking space, so when you come to visit, you'll have a place to park the rental car!

I was at a party last night and some local girls said that Ranelagh was a really good area and confirmed that there were lots of restaurants and plenty of things to do there. I will post pictures of the inside next week.

The Search is Over!

I have an agreement for a lease on a 2 BR townhome in Ranelagh, which is a little town just south - 15 minute walk - from the City Centre. The neighborhood is very convenient to the LUAS (tram line between the City Centre and work) and the FREE shuttle bus route to work. The shuttle will save me €75 per month.

Ranelagh, in itself, is a very popular area. There are restaurants and pubs and even a Superquinn, which is an Irish grocery store. I will be exploring more tomorrow and will post some photos of the area. I am scheduled to move in next Saturday, and then I'll have some pictures of the place to post as well.

Wish me luck with setting up my utilities, cable and internet!

Apartment Hunting, etc.

Today I was shown about 10 apartments. It was so much fun to see what's out there. I could literally do this every day. I am very interested in some of them, so follow-up will be done this week. Very exciting to have the prospect of a permanent place in the near future. Keep your fingers crossed I get a good one!

In other exciting news, my shipment arrived today! I now have all the stuff I'm going to have here! The weight was marked on the boxes... ready for the total? Just under 300 pounds. I should have brought the sofa. Just kidding!

Afraid I have a little sad news (more sad for me than anyone) - my little canine baby Sadie will not be joining me in Dublin. There were many reasons for this decision, most beyond my control. While I will miss her more than I can describe, I know she is happy and well-cared for with her grandparents. I'm already wishing I could go home for a visit though. Gotta be strong.

That's it for now. I am off to bed!

My Mortal Enemy

This, by popular demand, is the washer/dryer, AKA my nemesis.
WHO CAN FIGURE OUT THESE SETTINGS?!

March 24 - Snooze fest

The last couple of days have been boring (or relaxing, depending on how you look at it).

Yesterday I walked up to Christ Church and took some pictures. I had a moment of awe - in my head it went like this: "I actually live in Europe. I am living in Europe! Oh my God that's so cool!"

I went to Marks and Spencer today and couldn't find these delicious black currant scones I found last week, and it made me feel sad. They were delicious!! I bought this stuff called Benalyn Chesty Cough for my lingering cough. I hope it works or I might have to figure out the health care thing.

On a more pleasant note, it seemed a little warmer today. I am hearing more and more jokes about summer in Ireland lately. I will have to see for myself, but these folks say it doesn't get warm here. Just warmER.

More later...

My Temporary Apartment

St. Stephen's Green

Gypsies Near Work

Dundrum Town Centre

Royale with Cheese (Burger King)

March 23

...a nice week in Dublin...

I am really getting the swing of things here. Thanks for your prayers - they worked for two sunny days. Blue sky could be seen several times during both Sunday and Monday! Here is this week's update:

Sunday: Took it easy, a relaxing *beautiful* day. Walked up to St. Stephen's Green and saw some street performers. One comedian and one guy jumping through hoops. Since it was so pretty, we walked through St. Stephen's Green. As many times as we have been near it, it was about time! It's like a little Central Park. After a little grocery shopping at a proper grocery store, we ate at Friday's because we wanted burgers. All hamburgers are cooked well-done here. I'll have to adjust since my favorite is medium rare!! Having had our fix of American food, we returned to our abodes for a quiet, early night.

Monday: The St. Patrick's Day Parade came right down my street! We found a wall to sit / stand on to watch and photograph the parade. It was another sunny day, but we were on the shady side of the street freezing to death. We managed to enjoy it anyway. After the parade, we walked to a pub called Forum Bar, where we ate pub food and watched REAL Irish people singing REAL Irish songs. It was such a moving experience to finally see it in real life! I have watched so many shows on the Travel Channel and now I actually believe it. We went to a couple other pubs for a couple more beers - the Bank and the Stag's Head - and then went home. Don't worry - no excess. Just enough to celebrate the holiday. I struggled to stay up for Lost, which came on at 10. I was so excited to see real TV - it was awesome!

Tuesday: Spent literally the entire day at government offices to apply for PPS numbers (Irish SSNs) and to register with Immigration. We went to the social services office for the PPS application at 8 AM and finally left Immigration at 3:30 PM. It was a long day. I ate dinner (first real home-cooked meal) and went to bed early.

Wednesday: Normal work day. It was actually nice to make it into the office! I actually rode the free bus (my buddies are making fun of me for talking about the free bus all the time) by myself and asked the bus driver to show me the pick-up spot for the mornings. Then I stopped at the Stephen's Green Mall to look for a rain-proof big black purse. Couldn't find one, so I walked on home and did laundry. It takes forever!!

Thursday: Free bus TO work - first time. Next Thursday and Friday, the 27th and 28th, we Americans will be presenting overviews of various areas of the Jacksonville business to our teams. We have been busy preparing for the sessions, and may have to schedule training rooms at the Treasury Building. This is in the City Centre, which is way closer to my apartment. I am all for two days at the Treasury Building!! At the end of the day, we met Tom Dugan, who is from New York and is a managing director in Dublin. He's been here about a year. The senior managers in Jax suggested we introduce ourselves. He was really nice and down-to-earth, and said a few times that if we need anything to just ask him. I stopped by the grocery store on the way home, ate a light dinner and watched Big Brother USA. It's one of the few American shows we get here.

Friday: Made it to the Dundrum Town Centre. It's between my apartment and work on the LUAS train route. This is a HUGE mall - probably twice the size of the Avenues in Jax. There's a Penney's there! I'm not sure it's the same as JC Penney's, but they had some really good deals. I bought some desperately needed black socks - 6 pairs for €3! I also found a good black purse. It is big but light-weight and holds all of my stuff, including my camera in its bag. Love it! After a long day of shopping, I came home and cooked dinner again - salmon, rice and veggies. It was my first time using the oven and it was a little scary. But alas, I was successful. My dinner was tasty.

Saturday: Headed out early to meet up with the hop-on hop-off city tour bus. Rode it all the way around the city, then got off at the O'Connell Street stop and walked around a little. There was a market in a side street just like what I've seen on TV. They had fruits and veggies for pretty cheap. I hope I find one around me. Found a really big book store - downstairs were new books and upstairs were second-hand books. Had lunch and got back on the bus to see more sights. Got off at Kilmainhaim Gaol (the famous old jail) but the tours for the rest of the day were booked. Across the street was the Ireland Museum of Modern Art. Got lost and never really saw anything great, went back to the bus stop and on to Guinness. The line for the storehouse was around the block, so it will be another day. Same thing happened at Jameson Whiskey Distillery. Headed for home, a nap and a sandwich for dinner. Mini-pub crawl and back home to bed.

Today I am taking it easy. I may walk around a little later, but for now I'm staying put and giving my hard-working feet a rest.