Me and the Fam

Science Project

My mom and I saw some videos on You Tube of people popping corn with cell phones. They had four phones positioned around some popcorn kernels, and when all of the phones rang, the kernels popped!

We decided to try it for ourselves to see if it really worked. The bad news is, it didn't work. The good news is, our brains are not soon to be fried by cell phone radiation.

Sadie the Great

The Sunshine State

Home Again

These days, I'm not sure where home is! I visited Jacksonville and got to see loved ones and had a great time. I ate at my favorite restaurants and got my food fix of things I can't get here in Dublin. I got to see my dog, although she made it clear she'd adjusted to life in her new house with her grandparents. I saw family and a few friends, bought some new clothes and A LOT of new shoes.

Here's a shout-out to my buddies who ate lunch with me at Crazy Sushi, who made a special request to get in the blog - HOLLA! This is a photo of a photo, so forgive the quality.

Today I arrived after a bumpy flight with little sleep to the rainy summer in Dublin, which is not much different from what I experienced in Jacksonville!

Back from Florida

Aaahhh... back to the Dublin rain! Got back this morning from my visit home. I'll be catching the blog up a little later. Need sleep. Sooooo tired...

Bats in the cave?

If you don't have a tissue, here's how you check:



Works every time.

In my neighborhood...

Retail, restaurant or strip club on the way?

Chilling

Wow - the weekend has been a wild one. I'm resting up today and, of course, doing laundry. Friday night I saw Ministry in concert. It was a great show and the finale was 'What a Wonderful World' if you can imagine that. I met up with friends again last night at a place called the Foggy Dew. Nice pub, good music, great times. I hope the next couple of days passes quickly. I'm ready for my trip to Jax! A break from the wild world of work is quite welcome.

Weekend in the Country

This weekend was dog-sitting in the country. It was a very relaxing weekend, and still fun. I rode the bus and the train to meet my Australian friend in Dun Laoghaire (pronounced LEERY) to see Mamma Mia and do a little shopping. We rode back down to the house and watched Crocodile Dundee. It was fun watching one of the only 'pieces' of Australia I've ever seen with an Australian! This morning we got up and had some breakfast and did some baking - banana bread, which was delicious, took the dog for a walk, then sat outside with our books listening to music for a couple of hours.
I also booked my trip to Vienna, which won the vote for September's trip. Vienna - 5, Stockholm - 4 and Prague - 3. Thanks to all of you who helped me decide. If I have a bad time there, I'll know who to blame!

You Get to Choose!

I have two days left for holidays, and I am having trouble picking a destination for a mid-September trip. Please help me choose between the following:

Prague, Czech Republic
Oslo, Norway
Stockholm, Sweden
Munich, Germany
Vienna, Austria

The city with the most votes on Thursday this week will be my choice. I look forward to your vote!

An American Holiday in Ireland

I arrived to work on Friday, July 4th and proceeded to the cafeteria as usual to get my porridge and coffee. When I walked in, I was shocked to see the walls covered with red, white and blue paper decorations. After I paid for my porridge, I got in the line for coffee behind a woman who works on my floor. I don’t really know her, but the cafeteria manager approached her and asked if she thought the decorations were too much. She said no. The manager said at least she hadn’t put eagles up. And this woman from my floor says ‘It should be vultures, anyway.’ Nice, lady. REAL nice. I guess not all of them hate American things, as many in the building enjoyed hot dogs for lunch that day, offered as part of an American menu special.

After work, a few of us went to Sinnott’s, a pub near St. Stephen’s Green for a couple of beers. The new technologist from Jacksonville who has joined the Dublin team and his wife joined us at the bar, then we decided to make our way toward something for dinner. We stumbled upon an area I’ve never seen before, and found a pub called the Hairy Lemon. We ordered dinner and said our fairly early goodbyes. As SOON as I walked into my door, the rain started. This, after a long sunny day for a change.

I woke up Saturday to rain pounding on my skylight. About mid-morning, I got on the LUAS, for the first time catching it just in time to get my ticket and get on, and rode down to the end to meet a friend who took me to Northern Ireland for lunch and shopping. The groceries up there probably cost a good 40-50% less than they do in Dublin. I bought lots of stuff, several pounds of chicken and pork chops and prawns (shrimp) and it was all very cheap. I also found a really nice basket to replace the cardboard dinner set box I’ve been using to hold computer accessories on a shelf since I moved in here. It was a productive trip and a nice drive in the sunshine.

I got back just in time to get ready for a birthday outing. Luckily, my friends called to offer to pick me up in a taxi on the way to the bar, because the rain had started up again and I was dreading walking in it. We rode together, and had the chattiest taxi driver in all of Dublin, who turned out to be one of the free bus drivers from the Merrill Lynch buses. The place we went, called the Village, was very cool – great atmosphere and we got a perfect spot to sit before the place got too busy. Soon enough, it was packed with people, and the DJ was playing really great music and we were all singing along to songs like Roxanne, Sweet Child o’ Mine, and Whole Lotta Love. It was a great time.

Today I’ve been relaxing at home trying to catch up on laundry, which continues to be the first item on my to-do lists!

Rainy Days

So it's rained every day for maybe over a week. Everyone around me is complaining about it non-stop. They talk about depression due to a lack of sunshine. Well, I'm over here laughing it up folks - laughing it up! I am just so thankful it's not hot! I'm happy to live with the rain as opposed to the sweltering heat around the rest of the world right now. The daily commute is a little bit of a pain, but I'm dealing with it. Loving Ireland, still, during what everyone here says is the worst part of the year! It rains in Florida, too, right?