predict this

fun fact... mostly relevant to ang and even then there's a chance she won't care.

ahold on predictive text brings up choke.

hooked up - fo shizzle

today gerry asked me to marry him.

i said yes.

gimme gimme more

today i gave blood. being O- i feel a strong urge to do my part. i'm well enough, i've got blood, i can make more. why not?

there are a few differences between giving blood in canada and ireland.

in canada i'm one of the people who can't give blood because i've spent too much time in the uk/ireland so they don't want any part of me. in ireland, if you've visited canada or the u.s. within the last 8 weeks you can't give blood.

the last time i gave blood in canada, they did an iron test by putting a drop of blood into a solution and judge your iron levels based on it floating or sinking. today they had a HB machine. it's probably moved on to that in canada as well, but it's been ages since i was able to give blood there.

also different, were the snack items offered after making a donation. as the nurse was finishing up and getting ready to take me to the snack room she was like: would you like a tea, coffee, mineral, or beer? i thought i heard her wrong... but she did say beer. aside from the facts that i don't drink beer and i was driving, i was really tempted to go for it, just so to have done it. but i really didn't think that giving blood and then driving after a beer was in my, or anyone else's best interest.

so with my orange soda, i sat down and ate a bag of chips/crisps and then had a mini crunchie bar and took a mini moro bar with me. i wouldn't have minded some veg, but i think offering packaged items are easier for them.

'tis the season

it's almost christmas. i just realised this when i saw a christmas countdown on someone's facebook. i thought that it must be wrong, cause it said 5 days. turns out, i was.

christmas will be spent at gerry's family's house in carrickmacross, and a couple of days in dublin.

i hope this season will provide games and relaxation.

the gum thief, douglas coupland

brilliant. sad, hopeful, and heart breaking and funny. typical coupland.

the results are in

i'm going to miss x factor.

in canada i'd watch a bit of the auditions for american idol sometimes. like if it was on, and i happened to be watching tv, and there wasn't hockey on on the the other channel.

here, it happened by accident, the first time. and then i purposely watched it the second time. cause i love it! but i was sad when niki got the boot last week, and pretty disappointed too.

i hope they show british x factor in canada.

oh, and p.s. did you see whitney's got a new album out? aw yeah!

the golden compass

this one's a winner! saw it on thursday with elaine, and we didn't really have expectations for it. it only had 3/5 stars, but it looked interesting, so we went.

we both very much enjoyed. so much so that i might see it again with gerry tonight.

17 days, time to get ready

a change in plans left gerry and i with a day of rest on friday. we just sat in and watched christmasy movies all day (after a quick stint with some law & orders that were on sky+) had a massive fire, and played some mario party. gerry wanted to watch annie, but somehow i got out of that (thank goodness).

since the wind was blowing as hard then as now, and the rain was coming down, it was a good day to hang out by the fire and get into the christmas spirit.

so today will not be a day of rest. organise! organise! organise!

swim for it!!!

it's no secret, ireland has not exactly lent itself to physical activity for me. it's been less bad since gerry and i got a gym membership; we've been using the gym and pool a decent amount. not an amazing amount (on my part) but decent enough, i'd say.

something that's really suffered since moving from hope years ago, is my swimming. we used to swim for hours a day. seriously. in the summer you would have to do your chores when you got up, and then you got sent to the lake to play. all day. maybe you got to come home for lunch, but that was usually a ruse for me to come home and weed the garden. if we weren't at the lake, we'd be at a friend's house who had a pool. or maybe at the river. but mostly at the lake.

my friend heather and i used to swim across the lake at least twice a day. for adventure we'd go to the public beach and swim 3/4 across to the point where there was this house that had been abandoned and kind of half burned down. and we'd lay on the rocks, chillaxing. we were very tanned.

i'm sure the other side of the lake is at the very least 1km away. it's probably 1.5, but it's been a while. in any case, gerry and i went for a swim a few weeks ago, and yes it *was* after working out on the elliptical machine, but day-amn my arms and shoulders hurt. and i only did like 250m. so i decided that since we're headed back to canada, i'm not going to shame myself by not being able to make it across the lake.

about a week ago i did 625m. saturday i did 1 km. i'm going to get up to 1.5km and then work on my speed. it's not like i couldn't have kept going on saturday, but my form wasn't great by the end. and it's never been a race to get to the other side, but i want to be able to have enough energy to play on the log at lake of the woods, or swim back at kawkawa lake.

the other swimming goal? to get gerry to be able to swim across the lake too. so far he can do two laps without drowning. there's only a month left on our membership here. we might need the time until summer in white rock to practice. soon he'll be ready for that triathalon.

car boot sale - Castletownroche, be there or be square

*finally* it's done. i've found a car boot sale that is happening before christmas, and that the public can go to to sell their stuff.

it's 8E, and i'm conservatively hoping to sell about 150Euros of stuff. possibly more, but i don't know how much stuff goes for around these parts at flea markets. guess we'll see... and anyway, there's always the power of bargaining and the true goal is to not have to ship things.

i honestly don't know how all of our stuff for the sale will fit into my car. but i'm gonna make it happen somehow. okay so... maybe not all but a good part.

i'm gonna set a goal of having almost all the packing/sorting done by the time of the car boot sale. if i allow for the non-sale of some stuff, then it's possible that i won't reach my goal, but i will give some flexibility on that.

***if you're irish and reading this: please send coupons for take-away food / please invite us for dinner ***

look what i made yesterday!

i've had this yarn for over a year now; it was purchased with the idea that i would make gerry a scarf. the original plan involved some immediate crocheting action but it didn't happen.

while packing/sorting tuesday i decided i'd better make that yarn into a scarf so that it's one less thing that i didn't finish or get to do here. so yesterday i whipped up (as per his request) a thin but long scarf for gerry. the timing is perfect, it snowed in white rock earlier this week.

canada, here we come.

party like it's my birthday

a day after returning, the celebrations continue.

london

this was my best trip to london in the past few years. the flights were on time. the hotel was the best i'd stayed in in london: staff were very friendly, food in the restaurant yummy, the breakkie was small but totally delicious and adequate and delivered to our door in cute little bags. the sheets were egyptian cotton, and there was a feather duvet and pillows. and the shower was the dropped from the ceiling in the rainfall fashion of magazines. delightful. did i mention the free internet and how friendly the staff were?

so, the flights worked out grand, the hotel was grand, my earring got fixed quickly and with friendliness.

we met robin at this highly recommended cake place (there's a reason it's highly recommended YUM!). deliciously fresh strawberries on my mouth watering cake. then we walked around a bit, went to covent garden, and then to the restaurant. how fun was this? we had our very own chef (well, we shared him with a couple at the table with us) working away at chopping and cooking and making onion volcanoes.

then we went to see Wicked which is the story about how the wicked witch of the west became that way. super fun, and great story.

the next day we took it easy and after lunch at the hotel we went into the city, shopped a bit and saw the new elizabeth film, then booked it to the airport, where we had a surprisingly yummy dinner before catching our on-time flight back to cork.

we got home at a reasonable time, and were happy as clams.

a brilliant trip, and a great birthday present.

early birthday

being in ireland has some benefits. i'll admit it.

this includes my birthday being 8 hours earlier. how fab is that? as well as all that, i really seem to be getting heaps of presents earlier than the senders have expected. which means before the actual day! whoo hoo.

now, i don't know if i'll be eating my words here, but i have this feeling that gerry has a little something hidden from danielle. it wouldn't be the first time she'd sent something top-secret. so i'm guessing that i have 2 more presents to look forward to around midnight.

but don't tell anyone. :o)

today i got presents from gerry's mom and sister and my host-mam! on top of it, we went for a yummy dinner and i got presents from shaz too!

talk about lucky ducky!

play a game and feed someone?

free rice

it seems legitimate. whoot! the internet isn't just crap.

goodurs gets spoiled

uh oh! i'm totally getting spoiled on my birthday!!

i just got my first present from canada and it's a travel edition of settlers of catan. how fun. gerry's reaction: now you can teach me how to kick your ass.

my next challenge is to find people who will play with us.

any offers?

let's get this party started

friday was my last day at work. so with some peer pressure i ended up having a going away party at the pub beside work on friday. i got shit-faced. and had a hard time getting to the store to get some stuff for dinner on saturday.

there were a few girls invited over for some dinner and games. we ate too much, gossiped too much about work, and i got way too many presents!

it was good, relaxed and fun. exactly what i wanted for this year.

friday we go to london for the evening. we'll be seeing Wicked and having dinner with rob. and there may be a few drinks and some shopping involved as well.

yay birthdays!!!

v is for visitors

it's been a busy couple of weeks since we stole gas.

we had visitors from canada for a week; jen and reid's visit started off a bit dodgy... their flight was cancelled and then the change of flight resulted in them arriving about 12 hours later.

on the sunday that they were here, we were going to go to clonakilty (famous for its pudding/sausage) and then to kinsale. on the road we decided to go to gugan barra to check out the wild sheep. it ended up taking us quite a while to get there, and once at the island, the car looked like it was overheating. turns out we'd some how run out of oil, and the radiator was overheating (oh, did i mention all this was in gerry's car and gerry was at home?). i left them to check out the church and the park, and was going to quickly nip to the next town and get some oil. the nearest town is actually about 15-20 minutes away, and not really desperate to sell oil. i went to the shop, they didn't have any, but were sure that the gas station would. after figuring out the exactly opposite directions, i found the gas station, and decided to fill up just in case, and then i was going to buy lots of oil there... i might have done too, if they sold oil. seriously, the only gas station for miles, and they don't sell oil... and had no idea where i could get any.

finally, it was suggested by some random person i asked on the street that i knock on the door beside the garage that had closed down. i did, and the guy kindly filled up the oil and i was happily on my way. until after i'd picked jen and reid up and we were making our way back home. the heating was going up on the car and we decided to pull over. luckily there was a grotto (a play to pray) on our way. we pulled over and filled up the coolant during a little prayer session that hopefully we didn't disturb too much.

the rest of the trip was probably less exciting for them, but involved lots of mario party and beer.

last weekend provided another full house with sinead, conor and their two kids. there was a spa day worked in there, some mississippi mud pie, and a bit of mario party. another good visit.

there are only 3 weeks left until i'm finished getting paid for work. then i begin my stint as a work-at-home partner. by that i mean, packing, cleaning, cooking and laundry. mostly packing i'd say.

i will also be in charge of preparing things to happen in canada... phone connection, internet, tv, car rental for the first week, etc.. i remember now that it's hard work moving countries.

not so goodurs

gerry and i were driving into town today, since we had to stop for gas, we were discussing the logistics of payment. i said that since i paid for gas going up to carrickmacross on the weekend, we should use the joint account. gerry said since i had paid coming back that the joint account owed me money. that's when i let him know i hadn't. he replied that he hadn't either, and that i must have in the shop. but i hadn't because when i went to the little shop near the gas station they said you had to pay at the gas station, so i assumed gerry had taken care of it at the gas station part.

nope.

we've looked up the phone number for the station that was a victim of our gas and dash. and called them to let them know we'll pay in december. he didn't seem too bothered to be honest. i'm the one who was like, do you want my name? and my phone number?

i'm a criminal baby.

stardust

see this movie. it's fun. it's well done. it's a good time.

the gift of confirmation

today we got gerry's passport with the visa. it's really official now. no more dreams about them sending us a letter to say they've canceled the whole thing because of an issue with his passport. no more driving home, hoping today's the day it comes. no more disappointment that it wasn't.

gerry can now get into and work legally in canada. how exciting? super.

it's done! it's over! it's final!

whoo hoo!

plant a tree

despite being sick, i managed to plant a tree today. :o) i think i should have donated it to the girl at work whose plants i was meant to water, but didn't cause i was home from wednesday to friday. oops. next one's for her.

before and in-between pics

as matilda says: it's long enough



matilda said her hand was shaking so it was hard to cut the first one.

looks like she managed to do it though.

there they are.

you might wonder why we didn't cut the front.

1. there are too many layers.

2. i needed to give the poor haird dresser something to work with.

long story made short

i can't lie... i was really nervous today about the hair thing. and i'm sad now. i shouldn't be, but i am. in fact, i really really shouldn't be. i should be happy and proud and whatever else happens, but i feel a bit anxious.

oh well... i feel better than if i had wuzzed out at the last minute. the before and inbetween pics will be uploaded once matilda sends them to me.

thanks for the donations... almost €300. horray!

not a great pic, but you can see the length - or lack thereof.
now you can see that it's cute.

sick hair

okay, once again, i'm sick. some coughy-chest thing going on. again. boo urns.

but i'm gonna tough it out, and go to work tomorrow for two reasons.

1. i don't get paid if i don't go, and this also affects the number of hours i get towards holidays.

2. tomorrow is the big hair cut. i had a really long shower today, washed my hair with care, and brushed it twice.

i've raised over 250€ now, which is super exciting. and hopefully tomorrow there will be a few more donations from work. whoot.

i'll post some before and after pictures tomorrow evening, after my proper hair cut.

Q3-2007

done! well, for me at least.
but, having been home for an hour, i'm still jittery and unable to sleep. took a magneleuvre, so i'm hoping that'll take the edge off in a few minutes.

i'm so wrecked, but my mind's still working on percentages and crap stuff like that. one more quarter-end until canada! since that one is also year-end, i have a feeling i'll still be jittery days after. oh well. that will really be the last one, then.

tomorrow? sleep. tv. dinner. movie. maybe reading, but i don't want to strain myself.

keep counting

well, only 4 days left for quarter-end. and then it's october.

october's big event is us having a whomping thanksgiving dinner... it will be a bit later than the holiday in canada, but the spirit of the event will still be there.

and then of course, there's november: birthday season!

after that comes christmas and year end.

then it's time to go.

we have so much to do, but gerry and i have both been sick lately. me with my never-ending gift from turkey, the mid-gastrointestinal infection (translated by the girls at work as pregnancy) and a cold. gerry with a cold, and now he appears to have caught my pregnancy and has been nauseous all day.

anyway, we have heaps of packing, and heaps of planning for our trip all the while playing more scrabulous!

sick @ work

went to work today. i probably should have stayed home. i was kind of out of it. hopefully i didn't book anything totally wrong.

with the help of some people at work, we've decided that i will make the hair-cut an event at work. on october 1, i will cut off two pony-tails of love. and i'm going to try to get cash from people at work.

keep you posted. ugh. i'm tired.

give it up

we measured my hair at work on monday, and it looks like it's long enough to donate 10 inches for a wig! how exciting!

the plan is to get a very tiny trim (just to make sure it looks really healthy, but keep it over the 8 inches mark). and then with the rest that's left over get a proper cut.

i was thinking of collecting some cash around work to donate to irish cancer society, and then i'll send my hair to canada. i'm not 100% sure on the collecting at work, but i feel like if i can make some cash to donate, then surely it's worth a try.

if you read this blog and want to give me money to donate, work away! if i go to work tomorrow i think i will send out the email... maybe other people will do it too.

i hope whatever hair dresser does it doesn't feel it's necessary to charge me for two hair cuts... maybe if i explain the situation they would be more lax. will keep you posted.

plan-it australia

plans for our trip back to canada are coming along well. we're fairly certain about certain aspects of the trip, but are booking nothing until we get gerry's passport back. despite being sick, i managed to get my sorry sweating body (why do i react to every thing with sweat? no idea.) to the post office. some things are worth getting more sick for, i guess.

(the part i haven't told gerry) i'm stopping work after the first week in january. i think we'd originally decided around the 10th but i'm going to need some prep time. there are always last minute things to buy, send and wax. oh... told my work i was leaving at the beginning of january. it went well the manager was glad for the amount of notice i gave, and that i was staying through year-end.

*huge relief* if you know me, you know i hate leaving a job. even ones that i hate, i find it really hard to leave.

so, plans are really coming together for our time here and our trip back. i have a feeling it's going to fly, and that there's a lot of hard work ahead and it might sneak up faster than expected. we've checked out some camper-van kind of things to rent while in oz. we're hoping for a bed/fridge/toilet/shower kind of deal. at first, we thought we would just stay along the coast, but plans may now include a road trip out to alice springs, which is pretty much the centre of australia. i guess i'd better get going on the music for Peas and Pip.

sleigh bells ring...

yesterday i had to de-ice my car before work. today i'm home sick with a sore throat and sneezes. we've increased the timer for the heating. i guess it's officially winter now. i'm gonna have to dig out the electric heating pad this weekend.

another member of the hoefer gainford clan

on wednesday we welcomed the latest addition to our iFamily. Pip is a lovely green iPod shuffle that's about as big as a large postage stamp. i used my connection at apple and got it at a discount, which was nice. i still love peas, my old school 15G iPod, but pip is super handy to bring to the gym. he just clips to my shirt and only has rockin' tunes. did i mention he's also a lovely green? nice and sort of metallic looking.

welcome pip! i already heart you... and your much more comfy earbuds.

it's on its way!!!

(so i'm cheating; i'm posting an email that anyone who reads this will already have. meh, get over it.)

guess what?

within 30 days, we will have the permanent residence visa for gerry! we just have to send his passport with some pictures and they put the visa in there, and send it back! whoot! they've even threatened us that we have to enter the country by march 13th, or we'll have to start all over.

what does all this exciting news mean?

on monday, i will tell my work that i will be leaving in january. it seems like far away, but this way gerry gets to spend christmas with his family, and i get to make enough money to pay for the traveling back to canada. so the plan is that i'll work a few days in january and then we'll take a few days to finish stuff up here, and pack and all that jazz. after that, it's off to carrickmacross and some time with gerry's family. we'll then head to thailand for a week, australia for 3 weeks (1 week at gerry's sister's place, and 2 weeks roadtrippin' up the coast to do some diving at the great barrier reef) and then we'll head to vancouver. after things are sorted there and we do stuff like do the interview, get a car, and get gerry a bank account, we're hoping to go to california for a quick trip, stock up on some wine and do some visiting.

any ideas on what to tell my work? :o) i'll be giving plenty of notice, at least.

so, for the next 4 months in cork, i am going to do the absolute most to enjoy the wicked friends that i've made here, (excited though i am to go back, i have met some super cool people i'm going to miss like crazy) really focus on the new yoga class i've signed up for, read lots, work hard, and try to make lots of money, all the while seeing the bits of ireland that i've marked in the lonely planet guide but not seen yet. oh and the packing up and sorting and selling and the rest of the fun stuff that comes with a move this big (mostly for gerry).

the time will fly, guaranteed. in a week it will be 2 years since i left - so much has changed, and i'm sure i'm included in that. i know our relationship has changed gerry... he doesn't pick his nose nearly as much now. well, he's cut down on the public picking.

that's us sorted, i guess.

YAY! i'm already teaching gerry canadian. he says: yay! maple syrup, pancakes, hockey, wayne gretzky, trevor linden, please and thank you. i'm working on the national anthem, as well as trying to get him to stop saying a-boot.

i can't believe this moment has come. ohmygosh. if anyone wants to visit ireland while i'm here, you'd better book your tickets!

i said, 'hey! what's going on?'

i've been working like crazy. working and playing scrabulous, that is! sometimes i win, sometimes i lose. but i'm diggin' it.

things are moving along in these parts. i've taken over the canadian market at my work. so now i get to say things like: happy labour day! but, it means that with the time zone difference, i'm busy like crazy. oh, and they get extra special treatment... which is fun for me to be honest, because i like to give special treatment! but it does take extra time and patience.

i guess i'm busy trying to travel too. gerry and i went to prague last weekend. it was great. we met up with sarah, louis, and katie. louis had some more gems of wisdom to be added to his previous classic, and my personal favourite of: god'll get him. and if god doesn't, i will. i'm going to dedicate a post to these. cause i love them.

anyway, back to prague. we did lots there, and even had a fancy dinner and saw a classical concert. what fun! on the saturday gerry and i were left to our own devices so we went to the castle, and found a great pub there. gerry was pretty much disappointed that he was stuck with me there, because he would have gladly stayed there all day and drank beer. i liked it a lot, he loved it a lot. the concept is great, they donate their profits to a local music school for the blind. i thought the atmosphere was great... communal benches and tables. very european.

good times in prague.

two steps forward and two steps back

yesterday a letter came from the canadian high commission in london. sure, it was addressed to gerry, but how could i resist? this was obviously the letter saying we need to come in for an interview!

*but* i didn't want to get too excited, because carol has taught me that that only leads to disappointment. well, clearly i haven't completely learned that lesson, but i'm working on it.

the letter was another request for money. in fact, money we'd paid almost 2 months ago. so i emailed the high commission in london, again. but i don't expect them to get back to me because i'm still waiting for their reply to my question from march.

so, we'll fax the receipt and all of the information again and wait. frustrated? yes. does this set back the date? maybe.

my advice? do not get involved with someone from another country. it's too much effort if you really like them and want to move back to canada.

sarah's visit

things have been jam-packed for entertainment value while sarah's been here.

thursday was the most relaxing. we had some dinner, played some wii, and then hit the hay.
friday was a bit of shopping, a bigger amount of hair cutting for sarah, and later on dinner at wagamama, drinks and bowling at the mardyke, drinks at the franciscan well, and then falafels that came with free comedy.
saturday was drinks at the thirsty scholar, dinner at cafe paradiso and then more drinks at the wine bar on the other side of cafe paradiso.
sunday was shopping and then lunch at lennox. naps. dinner in kinsale. and pavlova at home.
monday will be town, possibly lunch at the quay co-op, shopping, dinner at home and then a table quiz, which will involve more drinks, most likely.

this weekend was not one of rest, but it's been really great to hang out and show sarah around. and of course make fun of ireland and its third-worldness. but also to appreciate some of the really cool things about cork. mostly food and drink, but whatever. :o)

i heart scrabbulous

so, anghold invited me to take part in some scrabbulous action a while ago. i kinda wish she hadn't now. i think i'm addicted. it's on facebook, and a really good time. i haven't won a game yet, but i don't mind.

what i do mind is the shit dictionary that gerry and i agreed to in today's real play. i honestly think i could have taken the game if 'yeses' had been in his shit dictionary. who knew one could be so different than the other. it's not sour grapes about losing, it's just that i *know* it's a word. so that's upsetting. it's probably just my OCD coming out on that one, but whatev.

in other news, my arms are still *killing* me from the gym yesterday. i'm gonna go for a swim tomorrow so that hopefully it's just my eyes killing me from the chlorine, instead of my upper arms and sholders from too much weight action, cobra, and downward dog.

maybe if i pretend to be nice i'll get a massage tonight. hmm... i'd say as long as g doesn't read this blog first. heh heh heh.

jet set

i wish i was doing some more exciting things to report on. this week has really been about work. going in early/staying late. i've even offered to be one of the few who come in on monday (bank holiday here too). instead of taking 2x$ i've bargained for regular pay and a day off in lieu.

it's what you'd get if you were permanent, but i'm not.

no news on the visa front.

this week will be a lot like last week, but not exactly. we have visitors on tuesday (gerry's friends from mike got spiked are playing in cork, so they'll stay here). on thursday, sarah will be here! yay! so that means there will some gourmet vegetarian eating at cafe paradiso, and of course, a trip to the english market... and probably some shopping and continental playing.

as well, our trip to prague has been pretty much finalised with booking the tickets to mozart's vivaldi. and now we're looking to book scotland for a long weekend in october. i think i'm going to check flights to spain in september as well. just to finish things off.

big turk

turkey was hot. and sunny. and friendly. we had a great time. gerry read 5 books in the week, and i read 4, and O magazine. :o) we both got tanned, but mine's definitely the better of the two. gerry is a shade or so darker, but he spent most of his time under umbrellas while i was basking in the much missed golden rays of that thing called the sun.

we went to the greek island of Kos/Cos one day and had great greek food, and a very very shelly beach which hurt my feet. there were so many dutch people there, it was crazy. and day-amn, it was hawt.

we did a bunch of excursions while we were in turkey. one day we were out on a dive boat which was great... probably our favourite day of the vacation. everything was taken care of, equipment and lunch. we went for two dives. one was to bubble cave which was so cool-first we went in the cave to see what it's like inside, and then we went above it and saw all of these bubbles coming out. and then we went for a dive around a cove, and there were heaps of fish, a few of which can be seen in our pic below.

we went to a covered market one day and sweat like f'ing crazy and had a little tour of the city. monday night we did a moonlit cruise that i hated. it was supposed to be romantic and nice, and it sort of was, except for the blasting of music. it was cool to be on the boat and watch shooting stars, and it would have been way better, without the music.

there was lots of shopping going on. it's really geared to tourists, but we didn't really want a challenging holiday. i think i was so desperate for sun, i would have gone anywhere. it was nice that turkey was somewhere i had interest in going, and it was a direct flight from cork.

on saturday i was feeling sick. when we were waiting for the plane on sunday i was feeling hellish and dry heaving in the toilet. finally i barfed a bit, but since it was so early, i only had some M&Ms to barf. the rice cakes didn't come up. i was feeling sick until thursday, but now i feel 100% better. and am really happy about our trip.

at the end of august we're going to be meeting louis, katie and sarah in prague (in less than two weeks, sarah will be here for a visit). and we're looking for weekends to scotland and spain and a christmas market in winter. i don't have many days off left, so we'll see how that goes but that will bring us to the end of the year, i'd say. and then, hopefully, we'll be off to thailand and australia and then home. but those details haven't been worked out yet... it sure helps time go by when you're looking forward to something!

going down in turkey

okay, not a great pic of us, but one of the better ones.

goodbye toni & guy

i've decided i'm no longer going to get my hair done at Toni & Guy. i will also no longer be recommending it to others.

i do still think that ruth is great. and then the girl who coloured my hair, kelly was brilliant. kudos to them.

here's the thing. other than ruth and kelly the service has been shit. the manager there, whatever her name is, is so rude and full of herself that i can't convince myself to patron there.

when elaine went in to complain that jessica, the girl who cut her hair went mad for thinning it out, despite elaine saying she liked her hair thick, and didn't want it thinned much, she was basically like: shut up and let me talk. fair enough, elaine got 50E off a hair colour, but for now, she doesn't have the cut she wanted, and she went in with two pictures of herself with the hair cut she wanted.

anyway, yeah. toni & guy: not in my good books.

and you are?

yesterday, after it rained, the sun finally came out. how exciting. it's been the crappest weather here; you can't tell the difference between now and winter. i'm not kidding.

but today it's sunny. i'm gonna skip the gym and try to find a pair of light-weight short pants for turkey, and a pair of comfortable shoes that i can wear with my inserts, while being cool enough to wear in turkey. i'd say i've got about a 30% chance of doing these things today.

gerry's parents and his sister, corona, came down last night. i skipped the work barbeque, which actually sounded like it'd be a good one. we had our own little barbeque here, and managed to celebrate having glimpsed the almost unrecognisable sun.

today is carol's birthday barbeque. how frustrasting is this? i bought and ordered a present for her over a month ago. they said it would take up to two weeks. i said no problem. in case it was a bit longer, i had some time. i was worried when i hadn't received a call saying it had arrived. well, i didn't get called because it's not in yet! grr. that is annoying. when you plan something really well, and then it just doesn't happen. they're trying to get it for me, and it looks like maybe at the end of this week coming up.

at least it's sunny right now.

chicken? no, turkey!

yay!

it is official. the holidays are approved, the package is booked. gerry and i are off to turkey in 10 sleeps. it was pretty much a last-minute kind of thing and initially we were looking at morocco. turkey is a bit of a longer flight, but we can get there direct from cork.

whatever will we do there? well, hopefully my PADI card will get here in time so that we can go for a dive or two. and otherwise, i plan to check out the markets, the knock-off bags, the beach and a turkish bath.

what could be better? doing in in 35 degree weather, all the while it's pissing rain here.

whoot indeed.

how canadian

the potluck was spanish omelettes, veg sushi, tortilla chips and salsa, hummous and veg, veg burgers, german potato salad, swedish sticky chocolate cake, and strawberry pavlova. oh-some peanut butter cups to finish it all off. very multi-cultural, to celebrate the country that first coined the term.

it was a nice way to celebrate a birthday (which i love) for a place that i miss. to top things off we played trivial pursuit.

happy birthday indeed.

happy birthday canada!

hey, guess what? it's july. eek! where did that one sneak up from?

well, today is a potluck. it's going to be small, as we are still recovering from quarter-end. and potluck style means it's not all up to me. how exciting! aldi's special items on thursday included reese's peanut butter cups, maple syrup and some jelly-belly style jelly beans, which i stocked up on. sure they're meant for americans celebrating july 4th, but as the maple syrup and the peanut butter cups were made in canada, i had no shame in buying these symbols of 'americana'.

new and exciting things include that my new job is going well, but i'm totally going to post a 'characters at work' blog. hopefully later this evening. because there really are some characters. so , while i may not being doing the job i love right now, i am doing a job that will hold me through until the end of the year (this means two more quarter ends... i think i must be crazy) and i'm doing a job that's paying me decently enough that my economy isn't too bad.

i also got my orthotics on thursday. i don't mind wearing them at all. they make me feel like i'm standing properly. it's true, after a while my feet get a bit sore, but since i've been at work most of my days, and then on saturday i only got up once my stomach was growling like mad and then to go to matilda's going away party, it's not like i've been doing much standing since i got them.

i'm hoping that now things will slow down a bit at work, i should be able to go to the gym as much as i had initially planned. i can enjoy 2.5 months of normal-ish work hours! the gym we joined is grand, there aren't any kids running around, except in the pool area. and it's so close to my work. so i really hope i'll be able to fit into the pants i bought last year soon. maybe buying the peanut butter cups wasn't a great idea.

...still haven't found, what i'm looking for

so it's been a bit of a weird week for me. work is going along well. it's long hours, but this is the last week for that, i hope. it might be a six day week though. i expect to work around 55 hours in the coming week. gerry will be gone for the last few days of the week, so i'm going to have to do the usual shopping expedition to prepare for this. i need easy to prepare food sources that do not require thought to choose. when i get home from work, i am so brain-dead and tired, i just want to turn on the oven and have a meal magically appear. i'm gonna be in charge of lunches too, so i may just make a lasagna or something today and freeze them for lunches.

the word on the street was that we'd probably have to work yesterday too. luckily we got enough work done that that didn't happen. sadly, because my back was in bits, the date day gerry had planned for us had to be modified. we went to my favourite restaurant, cafe paradiso (veg gourmet) and had brilliant food and service. then we saw shrek the 3rd. and later we went out to the franciscan well, and met up with people for juan's going away party. on the way home, we stopped at the best chipper, lennox's, for chips and a veggie burger. YUM!

it was a lovely day. and in a couple of weeks, hopefully the ergonomics person will have visited, and i'll have my insoles for my shoes, and my back won't hurt anymore, so we can go do the original date plan: a petting farm!!! this means there will be baby sheep! yahooo!!! i can't wait to squish them!

in other news, i haven't seen the dude that i want to give the shoes to yet. i've been carrying around those shoes every time i go to town.

burn on me

today, while in town, i saw a guy begging who didn't have any shoes on. since i was on my way into a store i decided to pick him up some. when i came out he was gone. i've seen him around before, so i guess i'll just have to try to make sure i always have the shoes with me when i go to town.

today today today

because i was sick, gerry banned me from doing the 5 hour drive to carrickmacross after a full day of work to go to the wedding. i stayed home this weekend, and despite wanting to go to a birthday party on friday as well as a going away party the same night, i couldn't. booo urns.

i was feeling heaps better by friday evening, but decided to hang out with sky+ and harry potter. i've now finished re-reading all the books and when the new one comes out next month, i'll be ready. i also got to talk to danielle and beg her to send more nyquil and deodorant.

yesterday sharon came over with some movies and dinner. *the ill appreciate these genstures* so we washed crash, and i enjoyed it. a lot. not the canadian one (well, i give that one two thumbs up too, but that's not the one she brought). anyway. it was a relaxing, quiet evening in. so today i feel about 85-90%. still snotty. still a bit of a cough, but generally not bad!

so i'm thinking of heading into town, enjoying some lunch items and maybe a bit of shopping. after working on the laundry situation here, and trying to fix my ursula bag. whoot.

nutter butter

last week was a bit of a nutter. we had gerry's friends from the band 'mike got spiked' staying here for a couple nights, had a barbeque monday, i started my new job, and i got sick. yeah, a nutter!

the barbeque went well, and the guests were nice. we had lots of food, lots of conversation, and since shant and elaine came over to entertain me and enjoy the food, i got to chat with my ladies too!

the band played in cork on tuesday night, but it was too late for gerry and me 1. i was sick at this point and 2. gerry has to get up at 6am for work, and i have to get up shortly after that. heard it was a good show, and they might head down again at the end of the month.

my new job is going well. it's moving a bit slower than my abilities, but everyone is so busy, and there isn't really enough of a focus on training because the big picture isn't being looked at. i've started working on my own, but the guy who's the sort of team lead for northern europe is soooo passive aggressive, that i think it's become an issue (in only one week). so i think if i need to talk to him. i will give some examples:

i wrote an email to a distributor and instead of the not-really-supervisor-but-sort-of-taking-a-lead-position-dude just saying: oh, you should change this, this and this to something else, he chose to say: oh. ehm. okay. no. that's...fine. so i was like, listen, you just have to tell me what you want changed, and i'll do it. more back and forth of this and eventually he said, oh, well, it's just i would have done it differently. so i'm like: just tell me. every one has a different method, and i won't know how you want me to do something unless you tell me. so he finally said: well, i would have not put 'Thanks!' i would have put 'Thanks,' so (this continues the not focusing on the big picture) i changed it and asked what else i should change. repeat the whole process again, add in: well, you've worked in the nordics before, you would probably know better than me, but i wouldn't put my name down again, because you already have it in your signature.

i couldn't resist, partially because i was so sick, and i couldn't believe he was picking at this, like, no wonder there is such a backlog! and i said, well, this is the email, that's the signature file. but he was having none of it.

*so annoying* anyway, if it happens again, i'm going to be even more direct and say that the best way to approach me is directly, and to simply tell me what should be different, and to not beat around the bush. and that, all of that being said, we should probably either have one standard created by him that we all use, or we should not focus on insignificants.

the good news?

•i think that once i don't need my work checked, so in another day or so, i won't even have to deal with these kind of things from him. i will be able to work more independantly. and if it's not working out, i will move to renewals, because they need people there too.
•everyone's really nice there, and i now sit across from sylvia. so, overall, things are good.

application update

so, i've checked online, and our application has been received in london and is being processed.

yay!

they keep pulling me in!

dear facebook,

well, it's official. i caved. i'm in, like sin.

here's my soul, please be gentle.

xo
ursula

make you sweat

gerry and i joined the gym at the oriel hotel in ballinhassig.

i'd been talking about it, because this working out at home business isn't really inspiring enough to get me to do it. the hotel is very near my new work, and not far from gerry's, so we took a look around yesterday and agreed to join.

there's a pool, hot tub, sauna and steam room, so we'll be able to visit those once in a while after sweating our butts off at the gym.

we're hoping to combine the gym stuff with going to kick-boxing once a week. and i'm hoping to get my butt back into my jeans.

ah the beach!

it was supposed to be two days of rest, relaxation, and reconnecting. and it was. it was kind of busy relaxation, trying to get to chocolate body wraps between the gym and the beach. so here's a bit of a run-down.

day 1
we got there early and had a drink in reception, where i promptly cut and bruised my leg on the table.

our bags were brought up, and we relaxed for a minute and then hit the gym. then it was time to chillax in the pool and the relaxation room before our chocolate body wraps. then we went for a snack in the pub, and a walk on the beach. *relax relax relax* and had a devine dinner at the http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifgulfstream restaurant. followed by bed.

the next day was kinda the same. breakkie and relaxation, then a massage and tanning at the beach. followed by lunch and a workout then sitting on the patio enjoying the sun and a book. we found dinner in the town, which was much less of a success than the night before.

the last day we packed our bags and checked out after another breakfast with a view. we went to the local market in clonakilty and picked up bread, cookies, broccoli, potatoes, and strawberries.

and then continued the relaxation trend at home.

it was nice. very nice. when i suggested we make this kind of thing a tradition and do it every year, gerry suggested that we do it twice a year. how can a girl say no to that?

stick it to me

it's been a week since my last visit to the chiropractor. let me say, i was desperate for it today. apparently things will get better once my inserts arrive and i start wearing them.

i got some acupuncture today and some adjustments. now i feel completely knackered. i think healing takes a lot out of me.

i'll blog soon about our fabulous time at the beach. cause, really it was.

party like it's 1999

and by that i mean: like i'm the same age as i was in 1999.

saturday's going away party was great! a good time was had by all, and despite having my first hangover since before 1999, i was happy it went so well.

there was good turnout, and i even managed to get home okay. (gerry was in listowel, so i didn't have a designated driver.)

we went to tom barry's (our landlord). there's a nice outside garden but we managed to get a big table inside and held it for the evening.

so saturday was pretty much a write-off, luckily i still have some advil stash that ian brought over cause my headache was severe. after gerry brought elaine and me to lennox's for a veggie burger and chips, i think we felt better.

the hangover part i wouldn't mind skipping, and since there won't be another reason for people to buy me crazy amounts of drinks, i think i'll be able to. back to my 2 drink max.

it's here! it's here!

whoot! today was my last day at work. i have all next week off and we're going to the beach for a couple of days mid-week.

it was sad to leave today. i held it together fairly well, but at the end kinda cried. i've been hanging out with these people for the last 11 months and 5 days! actually i think that leaving kind of brought up some feelings of homesick and friends and moving on and all that stuff. it got me all verklempt. and i got a lovely present and card.

in other, and possibly more exciting news (HUGE SMILE!) we got our receipt today! YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

this means, as the letter explains, i have qualified to sponsor gerry to go to canada and our application (which has been considered complete) will go on to london where we may or may not be called in for an interview. how excite!!! we can now track the application online and should have results in about 3 months depending on all kinds of things like getting there for an interview and so on.

so the first part is done. now we just have to be able to prove our relationship is genuine in front of an audience. i'll suggest they bring up some quality argument starters such as: pretend you're having a party at your house, who last cleaned the toilet, who gets grumpy when they try to stop eating chocolate, what quality programming on television do you share as a couple, who would come to bed with cold feet, hands and nose, and my personal favourite, have you ever tried to do a cleanse together. bring up any/all of those things, and we'll be able to prove we're a couple without a doubt. they probably wouldn't even bother to ask for emails or pictures!

my work going away party is tomorrow night, so i hope i didn't waste a staying up late tonight! i want to be able to stay up until at least 12 tomorrow!!! wish me luck!

escape to canada

this sounds awesome!!!

escape to canada

timmy ho's

the other day at tesco, in the bakery section, we saw a tim horton's donuts sign! all of the donuts were gone...and why wouldn't they be?

today, at tesco there were a few left. here's what i have to say about the plain donut i purchased for about $1.70 CDN. not that great. it tasted different and i didn't love it. whatever tim horton's does in canada works better than whatever they're doing here. different flour? oil? i don't know. just not what i wanted. and they didn't have any honey cruellers.

the only one

more than likely i'm the only one of my friends that watches american idol. i don't mind... it's what's on, and easy to get addicted to. and at least it's not ally mcbeal.

i've blogged before about how trendy the show is becoming with people like jon bon jovi, gwen stefani etc. showing up. and it's cool to hear them perform, cause they sound good. bette midler showed up during the finale. and let me say thins about her: wow. i can't believe how much she sucked. she was off-key and i was stunned that someone with such a reputation could be so weak vocally. brutal.

mix it up

it's been a mix of massive rain and snippets of nice sun lately. when it's raining, i like to close the curtains and light a fire so i can ignore outside. you know, turtle syndrome.

as it's sunny right now, i'm going to soon take advantage of it and grab some supplies for this evening. we're having cecile and her partner over for quiche and wii. *ehm* when i found out they were coming over, i was like: what's easy and tasty that will go over well? we'd had quiche at their house so i thought it might be nice. anyway cecile also offered to bring a quiche, so it's going to be a cook-off fightclub of french vs. canadian quiche! who will win?! i've also made chocolate dipped strawberries, because when i went to dunnes yesterday the strawberries looked delicious and fresh and they were on sale. and we're going to have some grilled asparagas with pinenuts and shaved cheese. i didn't get a parmasan at the market yesterday, cause i had no idea i was going to buy asparagas, so we'll have to make do with the gouda... which was lovely and a bit sharp on last night's tester.

it's nice to have a bit of a small dinner party. you know, some effort, but not so much that you're stressing about having enough food for 16 people. 4 is much more workable.

new job

it's official. the day after my last interview, i was called and offered a job at VMware. so i will work four more days where i am now, and then i have a week off where gerry and i are going to the beach for lovely spa treatments. and then i start working again.

it's exciting. and my average of interviews to finding a job is quite good. :o)

there's no longer any worry about being unemployed. whoot!

aw, yeah!

so, i'm pretty sure i've got the job. soon we will be an emc family. the people who interviewed me seemed pretty cool, and the coolest part? matilda will be moving there too! although it's not confirmed that i will be working there, i have been told i should get the confirmation phone call by friday, which is when i will be able to address the salary. i will know a couple of people working there already, and it will be so much fun to have matilda there too!!!

i so excite.

in other news, gerry's birthday was a success. good times were had. i tried a drink called snakebite. it's some combination of beer, cider and juice. it was delicious!! and didn't taste of beer at all. and got me shitfaced so fast. i had only had a cosmo and then the snakebite, and i could barely walk after it. probably because i don't drink beer... and i remember why. it really does make you feel bloated and burpy.

interview2

guess what? interview part 2 is tomorrow. send me good vibes around 3.30pm my time!

interview with an ursula

i had another interview today. this time it went well and the manager seems like a nice guy. i feel like the interview itself was really positive and i got a good feel for the place.

i hope to have a second interview early next week, and then hopefully i'll be able to start fairly quickly after i leave my current job.

it was cool, there's a pingpong table, a hockey table, and lots of cool things. i think it might be a bit difficult, cause the company is really new...and sort of start-upish. but it will be really interesting to be a part of a new company.

i hope i get it!

holiday!

the netherlands was great.

the first day was beautiful. nice and sunny. gerry dropped me off at my host-family's house and i spent the next few days there, while gerry went to utrecht.

we went shopping and biking. played games, read a lot. slept even more.

on wednesday i met up with gerry and we had a lovely dinner by the canal. thursday i did a boat tour of utrecht, and got blisters from all the walking around. then we met up with joyce and ingrid for dinner and gelato.

friday i got to go to ikea with mijke, and we enjoyed a €1 breakfast and some shopping. i got lots of slippers and stuff for the house.

then we spent a bit of time in amsterdam and somehow resisted patat met (french fries and mayo).

updating

1. back

okay, so good news on the back issue.

yesterday i felt pretty good. there was some discomfort higher up on my back, but basically, not bad. i said i'd noticed an improvement and he pressed around and was like: wow! finally! so, soon i will be down to 1/wk and then even less eventually.

the mysterious monica suggested a physiotherapist, but i as much as i complain about this guy, i like what he's doing. he combines a number of therapies, and has done acupuncture, makes me do some specific stretches and exercises, recommended some homeopathic stuff, and then does the adjustments. i like the combination... and to be honest, he's from new zealand so the accent's cute. ha! just kidding... he is from new zealand, but it makes me feel better because i hate irish doctors (perhaps a harsh generalisation, but true).

2. interview

had my interview. think it went well. might get called for a second interview. am still hoping that VM Ware will call me for an interview as well.

3. the day

gerry and i had breakkie at puccini's. will have to blog that on eating out ireland.

got my hair done with my coupon for a wash and blow dry at Toni & Guy. it looks fantastic, and i really do love ruth. i also like (whether or not it's an act, i don't care) that when she was straightening my hair, she kept saying how soft and silky it is, and how you can really see the colour, and how surprisingly long it is. it's either time to shave my head again, so i can get over myself, or just enjoy the vanity of it all.

reserved copies for the next harry potter at waterstone's. gerry got the adult cover, i got the kid one.

tidied up a bit at home, got jim and tara's present ready, got isabel's present ready, got arran's present ready.

went outside with a book each and got some sunny. as much as i complain about irish weather, i will fully admit that lately, it has been fantastic. seriously. yay. great. i have a bit of the johnson's fake tan/moisturiser on my legs, cause i have a wedding to go to tomorrow, but i'm actually getting a bit tanned here!

oh, and yesterday i went to monsoon and bought 2 dresses. i wanted gerry to help me pick one to keep. but it turns out, i'm going to keep them both. note to self, do not think: buy two, return one. it doesn't work well for you. but it does bring my total of nice dresses up to 4. i may even have a dress for most occasions now. whoot.

over over

canucks are out. it was good while it lasted. i feel like i can expect really good things from them next year...when i'll be able to watch all of the games in b.c..

i still love you canucks!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

happy birthday sweetie!

xoxo
u

where it's at

our package was sent... now you too can track it.

click here

and enter this:

RL065457877IE

it's not been delivered yet, so you can join in on the party.

the sidewinder sleeps

2 more sleeps until gerry's 30th birthday! whoot!

today he got cards, lotto tickets and a package. i hid the package, cause he always teases me about presents around the seasons of gift-giving. but eventually let him open it. i guessed what his sister had sent him, and was right, because of my mad guessing skills.

we both have friday off, and will celebrate by spending the day together at such events as: ursula goes to the chiropractor, ursula gets her hair done, and ursula takes gerry to lunch. we then have plans for dinner with jim and tara. good times.

WHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! only two more sleeps... i might be too excited for sleeping!

caution, curves ahead

the following contains graphic details about my body that you may or may not want to read. it's your choice. i would like to remind you all of the last time i said this. same location, different situation.

so, i've been going to the chiropractor for a good few weeks now... probably 6 or so. let me tell you, it's totally dipping into my savings... but that's a whole other story. anyway, turns out there's a problem with this muscle that joins my abs to my hips not being strong enough...which is a bit weird, cause i'm pretty killer at crunches. anyway, sometimes he cracks my bum. well...we can call it the tailbone, or whatever, but he totally prods around there like nobody's business.

he has explained that because of this weakness, my back has made up for it, and curved the wrong way, putting pressure on the joints of the lower back, blah blah blah. i *do* feel like it's getting corrected, and i *do* feel like yesterday was a very intense session... so it makes sense that there would be a noticable difference today.

this is where the weird/graphic part comes in. (she pauses to think that it might be weird for gerry to read these things in public). i have my period. i use tampons. i think the changes in back/pelvis positioning has caused a bit of an issue. i got to work and after a while of sitting down i was like: huh, the situation down there is a bit uncomfortable. i'll go do a switcheroo, cause maybe it's just lost it's position. not following my own rule of travel with at least 2 tampons, i had no back up when i had trouble with positioning of the replacement. but it was fine enough. but after an hour or so, it was unbearable so i switched again. at first everything was fine, but once i sat down, it was horrible! and by afternoon, no matter what i did, i was in some serious discomfort... no actually, it was pain.

so, i've gone home and switched to my least favourite form of period protection... but until i figure this out, this is what it is. is this even possible?

long time reader, first time caller

i have an interview tomorrow! i will let you all know how it goes.

hurry up!

today it was announced at work that i'll be leaving at the end of the month. *eek* now i am feeling the pressure to find a new job.

i also realised that it's now may. this means gerry's birthday is on friday, ricardo's wedding's on saturday, and we go to the netherlands on sunday! i think i need to do some laundry. :o)

i got a lot of stuff done at work today. i don't want to leave the next person any confusion/mess. so i finished the archiving project that had been started ages ago... and i think i did it correctly, so matilda's not going to have to fix it. :o) and i got all of the paper archiving finished. i really felt like i did a lot...but i guess it doesn't sound like it.

i'm really tired.

whoot

i think i may have got it. then again, i had it fixed this morning, and by this afternoon, all the changes were gone.

hmm... wish me luck?

:o)

*anger*

getting my haloscan comments onto blogspot should be easy, right? well it's not. my anger is strong.

figure it out

here's the scoop in the world of immigration and emmigration.*

giving credit where it's due, danielle thought it'd be worth trying to do a three-way call between me and the immigration office in Mississauga.

well, it worked. i got answers. our application has once again been sent away, this time to canada, and i've faxed the receipt from the medical gerry had to do, so that it can be included in our application.

what kind of time are we talking about here? well, not to get my or anyone else's hopes up, but it looks like 37 days for the canada bit, and then everything gets sent to london (isn't that where it just was?) where gerry's medical will be waiting for us, and probably an interview of some sort. the london leg will probably take 3 months.

so, my job search will still happen. my last day is june 1st at my current job, and i have to say that my manager has been super wicked about the whole thing. i probably shouldn't go into detail, so yeah: really great.

that's the news.

* special thanks to kenji for giving the 888 number a call for me... and then trying again because it was busy. again.

confirmation

•garlic officially makes me farty. just in case there was any question regarding that.

•i should never be left alone in a house, especially one in the country. it's messing with my nerves. big time.

•table quizzes rock. we were ahead for a good part of the game, but the nerd team beat us on the cartoon round, and took the final by 1/2 point. i had a great time, and i think we're going to make a habit of it. besides since we were winning at 1/2 time, we got a free round of drinks. whoot to dat bizness.

up up

sometimes i think life is like a pro-con list. it can be a really hard choice in deciding if things are going well, badly, or if's just kind of even. you know, sometimes i feel like i truly am a lucky person, but on the other hand, there are these huge periods of pure pain and suffering.

yesterday the application for gerry to become a permanent resident was sent back. there was no real information with it, just one number that only works from canada, and three others that are no longer in service. not that helpful when trying to call from any where not within canada... i mean, like what did they think, only people living in canada want to be there? the london office was closed, so i had to wait to get even less information from the automated answering service. then i called the embassy in dublin...they don't do visas, etc. there, but the woman (who i *finally got after playing the 'guess what button to press to actually speak to a person' game) told me that despite everything online saying to send everything to london, that somewhere there is one comment that says except if you're applying for common-law sponsorship; then you have to send it to mississauga. and no, she can't give me a number to call, but she can give me an email address, and someone will probably get back to me within 48 hours.

let me tell you this. if i hear another person in canada talk about immigrants, and blah blah blah i will freak out at them worse than ever before. if you can manage to get into canada... work away.

so, as it takes at least 1 month to get your application even looked at, our return home has become very much delayed.

after some (lots) of discussion, gerry and i have decided that if we can't be in canada by october, we will be waiting until after christmas (*breathe*) to go. am i upset? very. in fact, very very very. i'm heartbroken. is it the best decision for me? who knows. but as a unit, this is the decision. mind you, if all this gets sorted in two months, you'd better believe i will be booking flights to catch the last of the summer rays.

taking all this into account and because my work screwed me on my vacation, i've given my notice and will now be looking for work somewhere else. i have no idea what i will do next, but as of june 1, i will not be working where i do now. i have given a letter to my supervisor, who i can pretty much guarantee will be shocked. once she reads it, probably tomorrow morning, things might change; i may leave sooner, but as far as i know, they like me there so i might not be pushed out the door.

so, a lot of changes, plans and life stuff.

but on the pro side of all this is that this morning, when i came into work and checked www.canucks.com i covered my eyes with my hands, and said: please please please. it worked! canucks are in round 2! whoot! maybe i can try that move on other things!

i miss canada more than hockey

bad news with the moving to canada plan. i came home and saw a big envelope with a canadian high commision stamp on it and despite the risk of peeing my pants, thought: huh! that's a really big receipt...maybe they sent us a copy of our application too! well, instead they sent back our whole application and a cover letter with a bunch of numbers to call that aren't in service.

needless to say, i'm gutted and am not enjoying this at all. my eczema on my eyelids is also upset.

i miss hockey

the canucks are doing so well. i really really really wish we got the cbc here. last year's withdrawals weren't too bad, cause the pain was over quickly. this year? totally sad to have missed trev's game winning goal. boo urns to me.

we could get hockey if we subscribed to senatanta sports, but we'd have to sign up for a year, and as you all know, ideally i will be watching hockey at home next year.

i'll have to make do with my canucks emails and listening to the games after i already know the scores.

until next time.

the irish elk

it is neither irish, nor an elk.

how's that for confusing?

trouble in paradise

small issue. i can't seem to get haloscan to work on my website anymore. if you have any tips, let me know. until then... no comments from the peanut gallery. boo urns.

300

we just saw 300. i liked it. i enjoyed the comicbookness of it; i wasn't sure that i would, but whoot. i did. the fighting was cool.

ta da!!

canada day

today gerry called and wished me a happy canada day. needless to say, i was confused and a little disappointed that the man couldn't remember that Canada Day is july 1. *gosh*

two big canada-related things happened today.

1. gerry's computer finally got here. ian broke it in january and had to bring it back to canada so it could get fixed under the warranty. it's taken this long to get here...mostly because it was sent by boat.

2. (this is the big one for me) we *finally* sent off our application for gerry to become a permanent resident. all of the forms are filled. the boxes are checked. the pictures of me looking extra anemic have been paper clipped. the special cheque, for a very special amount of money was sent (think multiple furlas...dear lord, did i just say that?!). we are hoping that in 3 months the results of our hard efforts will be paid off. well, to be honest, i'm hoping that we hear from them and (if we need one) get an interview even sooner, and have the results of all that bizness in three months.

oh! in other exciting news, i worked out here for the first time in AGES. i decided enough was enough when a pair of jeans were scandalously tight, and when a pair of pants that were falling off me when i moved here fit just right... okay, a bit tight pulling them up over my bum, but once on, the perfect fit. so, despite desperate to quit after 5 mins. on the elliptical machine, i stuck it out for 30 (breaking the gym rule of only 20 mins on machines during peak periods).

i was rewarded with a crazy gym story right away!!! here goes:

i was on the elliptical machine for 10-15 mins, and there was one open machine to my right, and then 5 to my left. a girl decided that there were no obvious space issues and hopped on the one to my right. and then she started doing a weird-o work-out! she was kind of tipping over to each side of the machine. well, she was on level 1 and straight line. and then she was kind of dancing/tipping over to the sides. in fact she hit me a couple of times. not like on the head or anything, but as she was dipping to the side (matilda suggests if you know you need extra space, perhaps you should choose a machine with more space-i hear ya, sistah!) she would kind of brush up against me. in any case: WEIRD-O!!!

zut alors!

for some reason i can't post my pics. i will try to figure it out tomorrow.

picture perfect

so, i entered the queen's photo contest. you know, the one where you can win return flights from toronto and a cruise around ireland and scotland. i'm hoping they wouldn't mind doing just a one-way flight, if i were to win. if not, and we can't just do the cruise... well, maybe i can give it away! i don't want to count my chickens before they hatch... i'm just sayin' is all.

i had to make do with the photos i have here... so not that many. i have some great photos at home that i would have rather used, but what's a girl to do?

i entered 3 of the 4 categories. people, places/buildings, flora/fauna. i'll post the pics now. *please* don't think that i think these are the greatest photos ever. let me just say that sometimes the greatest photos ever don't win, and i'm interested in the prizes. :o)

my idol

as many of you may know, i've taken to watching crap television during my time in ireland. this includes american idol.

i actually think that with some recent celebrity 'coaching' (this includes a performance and some guidance as well as lots of advertising for their new tours/albums/shows) this show is becoming more ... hmmm ... like a singing show, and less of a competition. what i mean is that it appears to be starting to appeal to different people on a different level. not just old people who wish they had been singers or 12 year olds. in any case, it's started to have some younger stars on the show. this week was gwen stefani, which was way more fun than rod stewart. and i think it's opening the show up to people who wouldn't watch it normally. a good marketing move, and thankfully it also lets me have more fun in my indulgence.

whoot.

it's all upside down

thanks to ang and her hawt pineapple upside down cake recipe, today i am enjoying a nice warm piece of heaven.

no kidding, it took days to make the thing. why? well, first of all, i didn't realise i needed cake flour. so friday morning when i went to make it, before work, i didn't get very far. i'd looked up replacement options online, so when i went to tesco, i had two options (i've learned this is important). who knew that cake flour wouldn't exist here? i was sure it was probably just known as something else, and that i could somehow figure it out. when i asked women who i thought would be cooking types, they were like: oh, that's plain flour. and one said: that's self-raising flour (which i didn't believe, but bought anyway). i couldn't find any cornstarch, which is needed in making regular flour into cake flour, so i thought i'd check out dunnes.

cornstarch is called corn flour here, and dunnes had some.

the cake is made, and despite being crooked (i think our oven cooks stuff at an angle) it tastes delicious. yahoo!

along the same note

during some kind of presentation at work, i won an iTunes gift card. burn on me, it was in pounds, and you can only use it in the UK store. when i got it, i was stoked, cause it worked out to over 60 CDN... but i quickly figured out that there is no conversion necessary, it's in pounds, and will only buy as such. i was still super-stoked that i got such a sweet prize, so i got over my greediness quickly. (shopping of any kind will help do that.)

so far i've bought the new gewn stefani album and the new nelly furtado as well... and i've still got some credit, which is wicked awesome.

both albums are good. the nelly one is better, so if you have to choose... go canadian.

it was fun to buy stuff on iTunes... cause i normally just 'purchase' the free songs...now i have to set up some solid playlists.

music hut

tuesday, gerry and i went to pizza hut in mallow. we were picking up papers from jim and dropping off a card for arran. the original place for dinner fell through when the eating options there totally sucked.

while there, we indulged in the gloriousness of the pan pizza. a sweet sweet (if greasy) delight in a land where good delivery is hard to get...and in fact, impossible where we live. i also thoroughly enjoyed the pleasure of their soundtrack. hits like betty davis eyes and michael jackson's, 'man in the mirror' played while we were tucking in to our 2 person pizza hut style meal deal. leaving the restaurant, i had the brilliant idea that they should expand into a radio station. those were some fine tunes they had going, and everything else that came on was a total 'oh my gosh! i totally remember this!!! as *if* this is playing!'. good times.

in other exciting hut news, i tried to show off my mad-ice cream serving skills, but i couldn't cause there wasn't enough room for the dish to be turned...if that makes sense, and if you've ever worked at DQ or somewhere else that serves soft-serve, i'm sure it does.

i miss dairy queen.

sent home

today i got sent home from work. had i known it was high-comms (however it's spelled) i wouldn't have bothered coming in. yesterday, after a good rest, and chillin' on the couch, i felt a *lot* better. that was short-lived. i was feeling pretty good when i went to bed, but sleep was not coming. so i had some cough syrup, to compliment the magnelevures from earlier and lay back in bed, wishing for some sleep.

this morning i felt like shit, but decided to go to work. i shouldn't have bothered. ria, one of the managers was like: you look like shit. go home. since i had a pounding headache, my body had decided aching would be a good idea, and i was getting hotter by the second, i did.

i've lit a fire. and there's nothing on tv.

to entertain myself, i called toni & guy, to raise issue about my recent experiences there. they're sending out a coupon for a free blow dry. to be honest, i don't really know what that means... except that maybe i can go in with wet hair and they'll blow dry it for me–usually it's a wash and blow-dry. in any case... even the manager doesn't really care, i feel like i've done something about it.

and now it's time to snuggle under the blanket and try to get the fire really going.

i want more

i am sick. again.

today was spent in bed, except for the few hours i was on the couch while gerry made me pancakes and then lunch as i caught up on american idol. *blush*

i have no energy right now, it's actually hard to type. so i think tomorrow might be a day off work.

i must be sick, cause i feel like i could go for a lucozade, and i think those things are disgusting. maybe some juice would do just as well.

big hairy deal

i had a favourite hair stylist here in cork. it's really hard to get an appointment with her, at Toni & Guy, because of the hours i work. so, a couple of weeks ago, i made an appointment for today (saturdays are very hard to book, but i don't have much choice). i started to get sick on thursday evening, and when i woke up this morning, i really didn't want to leave the house. but the call of a good, and much needed hair cut got me up.

i got into the salon and said i have an appointment, with ruth and the woman was like, what's your name? so i repeated it, and she looked on the computer and then said: i've been trying to call you for two days, ruth is sick! and i said that i have had no missed calls, and no messages, so she was like: is it turned off? since i never turn my phone off, except for flying, i said no. and i looked at it again, and there were no missed calls. she then called out a number that was close to, but not my phone number. so, she's like, i can give you an appointment with someone else at 2.30. since i'm sick, and it was a huge effort just to get there the first time, i said no. and she said she'd rebook me with ruth, and i said that's fine, but i can only come in after 5 because i work until 4.30 monday to friday. she offered me 4.20 on wednesday. (do you ever get the feeling people aren't listening?) so i repeated myself and she offered me an appointment 2 weeks from now, because they're closed next saturday. i think i can find someone sooner than that... especially since i've already been waiting ages.

here's the issue. the receptionists there are stupid. the last time i went to toni & guy, i ended up getting a different stylist (who i didn't like at all) because on the phone they couldn't understand me saying ruth, not jess. and when i called for this appointment i asked for an appointment for the next saturday, which she said wasn't available, so said i work mon-fri until 4.30, so it has to be outside of that. she said they don't have anything. i then suggested the saturday after that, which was available.

i think i'll try to call the manager on monday.

tearing down the L

okay. not my first time, but i think my most tense time. today i got my full irish driving license. i was nervous about it... cause it's been a LOOOOOONG time since my last test, and let's face it, i didn't learn to drive here so lots of stuff is different. in fact, lots of stuff doesn't make sense to me. and i don't actually understand why they would be part of the test. like, who cares if you put on the e-brake (handbrake here) when you're at a stop? and why do you need to know how to reverse around a corner? that doesn't seem very safe to me... i really don't think you should be doing that, but today, i got tested on it. and when doing a 3 point turn (which no longer needs to be 3, it can now be 7 or 12, whatever) do i really need to use the handbrake every time i stop?

anyway, now that i have my full license, i can drive how i like! :o)

and superjob me!

at work, it's tradition to bring a cake for your birthday. i went to marks and sparks and got some cake to celebrate my test! (and the fact that i managed to save over 500 euro on my insurance by getting my license, and a further 50 by calling around to different companies!)

when in rome, don't think you're caesar

the dave matthews concert last night was great. it was acoustic and with only dave and tim reynolds. it was such a small venue (max capacity is 2000, and i don't think the set-up allowed for the max) that the whole feeling was really personal.

dave was quite chatty, and well on the way to drink-ville. he was really funny and told some great stories.

he said he didn't care if people shouted out requests, but in the end, he'd play what he wanted. when someone shouted out 'sunday bloody sunday' (after he'd been chatting about ireland kicking england's ass in the 6 nations rugby match on saturday) he replied: when in rome, don't think you're caesar. fair enough.

there was an annoying american guy who was yelling for '#41' to be played. finally someone yelled at him to shut the fuck up, and amazingly it wasn't me, but i was close. i'm surprised the dude didn't get beat up... maybe he did.

there wasn't an opening act, so i was really happy we were in our seats before 8, cause the show started at 8.15. it didn't end until after 10.30, so lots and lots of songs were played.

it was kind of like going to see a session of MTV unplugged. 2 thumbs up to dave and tim. whoot.

hot fuzz

if you are thinking of seeing this film, and are waiting for a recommendation, then here it is.

after some overtime at work, again, gerry and i had a bit of a date. movie and take away thai. the movie did start off a bit slowish but you could see it was building towards something. a full-on farce of point break and bad boys, which it totally refers to, and has no shame about throughout the movie.

so funny.

also, the thai was good (and i have leftovers for work tomorrow-yum!) so the date was a success enough that there might be another...if he's lucky. ;o)

'liquor in the front, poker in the rear'

today, before starting another day with our new system at work, i got to chat to anghold (hence the title). good times. there was talk of indian food, poker playing and some fun puns...like there are any other kind worth mentioning. i was happy to be reminded of things that i have to look forward to when i get back to canada... cause sometimes i wonder if it's the right choice. let's face it, there are no guarantees, and the grass always looks greener. well, maybe in this case it just looks like a different shade of green.

i feel like i'm always trying to catch up on my blog lately. for a change, i'm not going to apologise for not being a good blogger. instead i will talk about things that are fun and coming up.

for example:

*next week is the dave mathews concert in dublin

*we are going to conor and sinead's in celbridge on friday. saturday we will watch the rugby game between ireland and england (from what i hear, it's an historical match, because they have never played against each other at Croke Park. and in the 20's a big English tank came in and shot some Irish people in the middle of an all ireland game there so there's a lot of tension there).

*it's almost paddy's day, so we're going to have a bit of a fête here, and go into town and watch the parade, drink green beer, etc.

*it's also almost, but not as almost, gerry's birthday. so as well as the party action for that event, i've got to start thinking presents!!

*oh! and i've started driving lessons. it can take months to get an appointment for your driving test here, but because i got a letter from work, i may be able to get one sooner. this means i need some lessons and practice... there are some crazy things on the test here, like reversing around a corner (which i don't think is safe, and probably shouldn't be encouraged).

pics

paris


my host-family



amsterdam's canals and rowhouses

sum it up

it's been a busy month. allow me to sum up.

new year's was spent in celbridge with conor, sinead, DP, and the new baby: diarmuid. there was some experimentation with conor's Wii and gerry and i basically fell in love with it.

the next day gerry and i left for germany, where we were meeting ian the next day.

we went to heidelberg for a couple days, then to the netherlands, belgium, france, and back to germany. then we left for ireland.

ian and i spent the day in dublin with elaine, and gerry went to carrick, then we left for cork. sunday was a day of rest. monday gerry went to work, and ian and i walked around cork, and had lunch at wild ways.

tuesday i was sick... repeat for the next week. we still managed to go to blarney, my favourite restaurant: cafe paradiso and to the fransiscan well. i ended up sending ian back to dublin on the bus so that elaine could entertain him, and i'd arranged for him to hang out with isabel in my moment of illness.

then, on wednesday, ian and i left for london. we saw spamalot on wednesday, and on thursday the royal shakespeare company's antony and cleopatra.

spamalot was fun. really great. we were in nosebleeds, but it was fine.

antony and cleopatra starred patrick stewart. and despite not being my fav of the shakespeareans, it was really good. i really love shakespeare, and seeing the RSC hasn't let me down in the past, so i was super-keen to try to see this (we hadn't pre-booked tickets, so we didn't know if we'd get in).

we also went to my favourite museum while in london. the tate modern now has an entire room designed and designated to rothko. he made a series of paintings that were originally intended for the four seasons in LA, but said that they were too dark and pensive for the location, and gave them to the tate. they've designed a room with darker lighting as per his requests, so it's really enclosed and linear. the concept works really well.

friday ian went back to vancouver, and i came back to ireland.

saturday was gerry's work 'winter dinner and dance'. another opportunity to wear the red dress and prada shoes! whoo hoo.

now it's back to work (right into month-end craziness). i'll try to put together some pics of the trip and post them.

wii - indeed!

i got a text from gerry when i was in london: found a wii, 3 games, 2 controllers, should i buy it? texted back: yahoo. (although that text didn't go through).

anyway, the point is that i came home today to find the wii set up and ready for love (and by love, i mean caressing, whispering sweet nothings, and lots and lots of praise).

i will be blogging heaps of pics and stories about our trips... probably on sunday, in between wii-ing, and recovering from gerry's work party tomorrow night, but for now it's off to bed to nurse my first wiinjury (gerry and i were playing tennis and he backhanded into my arm). i also found out that i can get game cube games and a controller for it, and because we're online, and gerry's already set that up, play with others who have game cube... i'm just sayin' is all. *must find super mario games asap*

so far, so fun!!!

european road trip

more pics to come.

this is us at the Heineken Museum...now known as the Heineken Experience. Gerry and Ian got shit faced. I don't like beer, so it was a sober Urs that almost knocked over the bar and a million drinks with it.