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.

still year end

ohmygosh.

it's hard to believe that it's still year end at work. i'm not even able to think about new year's, let alone our trip to the continent. except that it will be exciting.

christmas was basically a whirl wind. it was pre-year end and i felt really under prepared because we went to celbridge, right after work on friday and then on saturday made it to carrickmacross. on christmas evening gerry and i got back here and we opened each others' presents. (we're still in separate rooms at his parents' place, so we decided to open a few in carrick, and the rest here.)

now i'm trying to not have to work on saturday, so i can pack and get ready for our trip with ian. so far the plans for that include: meeting ian in frankfurt, going to heidelberg for a couple nights, and then hitting some other countries. will keep you post posted!

the christmas party

i've uploaded some pics of my christmas party. you know, the one where i ordered the full-irish breakfast, and the one that i bought a new dress and some jewelry for.

here's ricardo & gerry looking suave


karen and me in the same festive colour, but very different dresses


matilda and her very own special 'love balloon'

it's done!

the blanket made for danielle's baby is done! whoo hoo! after three false starts, large and small, on christmas eve, i made the last stitch. and can now give my old arthritic hands a rest. here's how it looks:



and a close up

giving

i can't believe christmas is less than a week to go.

i've been so busy with work (year-end is even worse than month-end) i can't believe i've managed to get my christmas shopping done!

thanks everyone for the cards, and thanks for the eczema cream, ang and lief! i tried it right away, and will let you know how it goes. smells good. :o)

all i have to do to finish up, is give away the gifts, and finish up the blanket i'm crocheting for danielle's baby. it'd be a sweatshop over here except that we've run out of oil and since thursday have been freezing. once it's done i'll take a pic and post it.

we're heading up to gerry's parents' place this weekend, and will hopefully get some shopping done in dublin before new year's. after new year's we'll be traveling europe, so we've got lots of planning for that too.

the full irish

funny thing happened last friday...

after a good night of dress-up and drink-up for our work christmas party, and going to bed for the second time, we decided to fill out the form for breakfast in bed.

i was so drunk and tired that i ordered two full irish breakfasts. a full irish has black pudding (blood pudding), white pudding, bacon, sausages and eggs. the one i meant to order was the vegetarian version (beans and toast). i woke up at my regular time (6.30) in a panic. i decided to wait until 7 to call to say what i really wanted. here's a sample of my conversation/explanation:

umm, i ordered two irish breakfasts last night, but was too drunk to remember that i'm a vegetarian. the response i got: ah right! i'll get that sorted for you, miss.

the irish, they understand drunk.

checking his list update

while at the mall today (well, not a real real mall) carol and i went to eason's (a bookstore) to have a look for presents. while at eason's we found a munster book (see below) and i pointed out the two guys we saw on monday. they look just like they do in person.

checking his list

today we sent out some christmas cards and a present or too. sorry if you don't get a card, we kinda ran out.

i also sent away some presents and we got almost everything we need for our christmas dinner on saturday. it looks like things might work out alright. whoot.

OHOHOHOHOH
in other exciting news, last night, at dinner, guess who sat next to us? springer and hmmm... can't remember the other guy's name from the munster and ireland rugby team. i was like: gosh, that guy looks familiar. and gerry was like, oh yeah, he plays for munster, and then i was like, i think the other guy does too. and sure enough, it was true. also, we eat similar food to them. gerry and yer man had the same main and springer and i both like edamame. YUMMY indeed!

it's new!

i got a new mobile today. it's pretty. it also costs less than the amount you get in free phone credit. i never had a pay-as-you-go phone before ireland. it works out fine here, cause i don't really use it too much.



it's coffee brown and cyan. and it's beautiful.

another one down

so, last week marked another month-end. more surprisingly, it also marked another month-end that i was sick. i feel like i get sick every month at month-end. it sucks extra because it feeds itself. you work longer hours in recycled air, so you get sick. you have to work a bit longer, cause you're run down from being sick.

i've started feeling better though... took it fairly easy this weekend. mostly i've been watching law & order, tending the fire, and cleaning house. today i made things a bit more exciting by starting on christmas cards. all of the addresses are filled in on the charity cards (still can't find unicef cards here, but i did get some oxfam ones, and gerry got bernardos cards the other day). we also went to a dinner party last night. it was really nice. it was actually kinda cool because she's french, so most of the food was french. and she made lots of veg stuff for yours truly.

it was nice to be invited to someone's event at work. we were having a discussion at work the other day about how it's hard to meet people here (i said that people are a bit more open in north america). of course regina said people in ireland aren't friendly. i said they're more friendly than in germany. matilda said that people here are much more open than in sweden... it kind of proves my theory on in warmer countries, people spend more time out of their houses, socialising and have less layers on so they're more open. all this to say that i got invited to a work person's house for dinner! yahoo.

this will be a week of christmas preparation. we both have tuesday off, so we're going to get a tree, buy stuff for the dinner party on saturday, and hopefully set up whatever room we're going to use to host 16 people for dinner.

i'd say we won't even need a fire, there'll be so much body heat in this place.

on the note of dinner, i should probably check on my marinating chicken and get some taters boiling. (i lost a bet, and am making a meat, potatoes and veg style dinner.

the birthday weekend

the weekend was busy, but not too busy. we got in lots of relaxing, but still managed to shop and see some sights.

we saw Bunratty castle and grounds on the way from Limerick to Galway, and in Galway we went for a walk on Salt Hill, and looked over the bay to Claddagh. you know, all things to help me work on gerry's list of must-do's in ireland. Oh, we also got a pint of Guinness, which neither of us fully drank.

just like paradise

last night, after opening my prezzies from danielle (a foxy necklace from the breast cancer fundraising at CIBC) and a shirt from the gap (the gap?! you say) that is from the 'red' line where profits go to support education and medicine for AIDS in africa.

anyway, yeah, after opening my presents, we went to cafe paradiso. YUMMMMMMMMMMY!!!!

everything was delicious. gerry started with the caramelised onion tart with goat's cheese (just the right amount of goat's cheese) and i had the veg sushi plate with tempura.

for my main i had a 'gratin of leeks, roast pumpkin & hazelnuts with Gabriel cheese & tarragon cream,braised fennel and cannellini beans' and gerry had 'risotto of watercress & roast shallots with Oisin cheese, black kale, and braised sweet cayenne peppers & sweet dumpling squash'.

for dessert? awwww yeah.... dark chocolate silk cake with praline ice cream and hazelnut wafer.

we're going to look for the cookbooks at a secondhand store here. they might not work out as well, but it'd be nice to take the recipes with us wherever we go.

mysteries solved

in order:

1. isabel's extra present was a silver engraved pic of the birthday celebrations.

2. bruises on shoulders are from yoga. but it was worth it!!! i did a shoulder stand today! i wasn't really looking forward to yoga at all this evening because last week i really didn't think i'd catch up and be able to do the pose. tonight, with some encouragement from isabel, and some help from the wall, i did a full shoulder stand and the instructor even commented on how straight my back was. i'm so proud on this eve of my 30th year!

also, as inspiration, we get an angel card at the end of class. tonight's for me: beauty.

3. my birthday present from gerry really is the greatest present! when i got home from yoga, i was digging through the freezer to give isabel these freezies for her son, isabel had gone in and was talking to gerry. as i walked into the house, they were standing there with balloons and these popper things! gerry had flowers, champagne, and decorated the sitting room for me. and then i got to find out my prezzies from him! (as if this wasn't enough!) he made a photo book of all of the pics we've taken (see the one below of us in front of the eiffel tower). and then told me about the trip around western ireland he's booked for the weekend. we're going to see traditional irish music in limerick, then go to bunratty castle, and then to galway for two nights! (finishing off with a massage on monday morning, which is already booked!)

am i over using !!!!! well, maybe but who cares? i'm so excited and happy to be 30 in 4 minutes.

whoo hoo!

now it's try-to-go-to-sleep time.

:o)

paris & birthday

gifting giving

today i gave and received!

we bought christmas presents for a couple of people... you know, we had the time, it wasn't too busy (a miracle on St.Patrick's St.) so we took advantage of our opportunity. we even bought ourselves a wine rack. obviously i can't go into too much detail regarding christmas gifting, so i don't spoil the surprises.

we met with sharon for a yummy dinner at amicus. and i was gifted with a spinning uno game and yummy bath bombs from lush. whoot.

i also got chocolates from lynda at work. things are gift-fantastic around here.

secrets

gerry still won't tell me what my birthday present is. i'll try to wake him up and catch him off guard in a minute.

if you check out the easting out ireland link, you'll see pics of the food in paris. i promise to post pics of paris and birthday festivities tomorrow.

suggestions needed

here's the hypothetical* problem:

say one's sister got married without a pre-nup (because it was going to be forever). say that same sister's husband is actually a complete asshole (surprise, surprise - i'd like to point out that someone might have been suggesting that all along) and now they're getting divorced, and he wants stuff that's not his. because he's an asshole, and probably for a whole list of other reasons, but since this is hypothetical, i'll just let you imagine.

now in this scenerio, what the (asshole) husband is trying to get from the divorce is the shared house that the sister put down a heap of money for, and is therefore causing other problems that the (probably) younger sister is trying to take of.

this example leads to the suggestion part. and because this is hypothetical, one can dream. what would someone be able to do to get the (asshole) husband to get lost? clearly within a realm of legality. or not, and she can just have no knowledge of any events that may have taken place from a simple hypothetical.

if you are feeling vindictive, or know someone who just likes to punish assholes, i can provide an address. hypothetically speaking, of course.

if not, i am willing to take suggestions.

*it's hypothetical because *i* would never do something that might harm someone or cause any kind of jeopardy to any type of legal going-ons. but your suggestions might help me sleep better.

birthday bliss

IT'S ALMOST MY BIRTHDAY!!!

YAY!!!

on saturday evening i celebrated my birthday with the girls.

we went for dinner and had drinks, and then went to suas for more drinks. the second part of the drink fest wasn't that successful because we were so full from the first part it was hard to fit it all in. good times, food and drinks were had.

i got a present from isabel and elaine which included a cute green wallet (perfect since my other one had been wrecked from the thievery). and, among other things, there were a pair of fuzzy pink slippers to match the robe isabel had given me earlier in the month. oh, and from tara and jim a purse lamp, which sounds weird, but is actually quite lovely and sexy.

sunday i spent the day in those slippers, the robe and my jammers.

gerry made me pancakes with butter and maple syrup. and he spoiled us when isabel and elaine came over, and of course, made me dinner! i got to pick the movies/tv all day. being spoiled was great! (especially because it was pouring rain outside and really, not weather to go out in.)

after a rough start, the weekend turned out well. i'll post a couple pics when i get home.

firsts

yesterday i got my first birthday card of the year. thanks for the dirty thirty wishes anghold.

in other birthday news i still don't know what gerry got me.

and in other other birthday news, i made reservations the other day to SoHo, a restaurant/bar in cork that serves food and cocktails... what more could a girl want? how about the actual reservation? i called today to confirm it, because i hadn't heard from anyone. this evening i was told that i didn't have a reservation and that they just hadn't gotten around to calling people back yet.

madly, gerry and i scrounged to find a place that would take 8 people on a saturday night. cafe bar deli said that we could call saturday morning and let them know when to expect us. we'll head around the corner for cocktails afterwards.

mood: annoyed at SoHo. grateful to cafe bar deli. still excited to turn 30.

voulez vous?

one more sleep and we're off to paris. whoot. it's just a quicky. we get in late-ish on friday and then we'll spend saturday wearing out our shoes (i'm bring comfortable runners this time... none of this high-fashion cuteness, it's gonna be high-function all the way) and then saturday evening we have the show at the moulin rouge! sunday will be spent hitting the cobblestone again, and then we fly back.

it's one of the things i'll miss the most about living here. it's really quite convenient to get to paris for the weekend, or to catch a show in london midweek. the problem of not liking to fly is somewhat less major, as long as it's not on ryanair. i lose my head with that airline because you don't get assigned seating. it's like getting on a bus, and i'm always really not keen to sit next to strangers when i'm about to have a panic attack while flying. i feel it's more fair to subject people i know to that kind of excitement.

in other news:

we had a team night out last night. good fun there. dinner was nice and the company was great. we made some confessions to each other. one of mine and carol's was that when ricardo first started here, i couldn't remember his name so we gave him a new name ending with 'o' everyday. fernando, eduardo, federico, carlo... you get the idea. he confessed he thought i was american. boo-urns.

oh, i also found out that someone in finance overheard me say that i was gonna break a sweat one day and they think that i really keep my island (the group of desks where we sit) really entertained. i've tried to tone it down a bit today, but we laughing at ourselves because last week, in excitement of borat, we were going on with 'i liiiike' 'high-five' 'it's niiiice' 'we make sexy time?' for ages, and laughing our asses off at it the entire time. at least we're having fun. :o)

it's almost my birthday. i'm pretty excited about 30. as i've said before, 'it's the new 20'. but better, i hope. :o) i still haven't nailed down any presents, but i love surprises so that's cool. i liiiike guessing too... so it's a really tricky in-between.

hmmm... maybe i need to buy myself a present in paris. like these cute chanel earrings... i will have to see how much they are.

uh yessss... i liiiiike

saw borat on thursday.

high-five.

we pretty much laughed our asses off.

head games

last night i had some people and their partners over from work to play a few games of cranium. it was good fun. last week had been a bit crazy, cause of month-end. so it was nice to socialise in a more relaxed way. the rest of the weekend is all about chillaxing and getting ready for paris next weekend.

i can't believe it's already november! soon i will be 30! whoo hoo!

gerry's been bugging me like crazy about my birthday present the last week. hints include: we might need a tent, him slipping about buying a holiday during interrogation, telling me to absolutely NOT book anything else between the 24 and the 27th. at first i thought it was a holiday to spain for the weekend, but now i'm leaning more towards going to the czech republic or something for a christmas market. then again, i'm kinda all over the place with guesses. and i wouldn't be sad at all to just stay in ireland and do something nice... but i just don't think that's what's happening.

in other news, this is meant to be a weekend of chillaxing and some tidying up.

we've already watched heaps of law & order and the daily show. whoot!

wanna make some money?

last thursday i got a call from the garda. someone called to say they found my ursula bag. i got the number for her, she said it looked most things were in there, and that the money was just gone. that was cool with me.

we picked up the bag last saturday, and YAHOO!!! everything except the money was in it... just like she'd said. that's the great news. less great is that the bag was hanging in a tree on the side of the road during some pretty wet days. i'm going to clean it out and try to get it dry-cleaned.

oh, and extra good news? gerry's wallet was in the bag. weird hey? we were going to have a look around where the woman found the bag, but when i went through it in the car, his wallet with license and cards (again, no money, which still makes me feel bad) was there.

we are an idiot

yesterday gerry and i both had the day off. we had a lovely day. went to cafe paradiso, the gourmet veg restaurant for lunch. did some shopping. got my sisters' birthday presents, and did some stuff we needed to get done.

then gerry went for a night dive with a guy from work.

everything was going well...i was left alone on the dark beach so i decided to lock all of the doors except for the driver's side. you know, just in case there were some weirdos down at the beach, and i had to run for the car.

after a while of sitting by the beach, and just walking up a bit, i saw flashing lights from the water. i decided to walk up a bit and check it, in case they were signalling to me that needed help.

anyway, the evening went on without incident until after the dive when we were getting to go for tea at the pub. gerry couldn't find his wallet, but we figured it was mixed in the pile of dive gear and such somewhere in the car. obviously i was going to pay because i had my bag there, and it was easier than trying to find gerry's wallet in the dark. oh, except that maybe i left it at home. i though i had it with me, but i guess not.

with this, a bit of panic, a bit of doubt, a lot of guilt.

we got home, and i knew for sure it was stolen, along with gerry's wallet. insert more guilt, and feeling really really dumb. the ursula bag in chocolate brown was gone, my credit/bank cards, passport, money, favourite lipstick, etc.. could it get worse? gerry had just sold his computer to his friends and had 350€ in his wallet. his driver's license, his credit/bank cards. so i guess it did.

burn on me. we are an idiot indeed.

just so you know

(this didn't post last night, 1 am. i do know it's morning now)

i can't sleep, but have taken some magneleuvers mix, so i should be sleepy by the time i finish updating you on the most inane of things in my life right now.

ah, it's that time of year again. when i wake up it's dark. when i get home, it's thinking darker thoughts.

but it also means that it's okay to have a fire every day... unlike when i was lighting fires in august and getting mean comments about it still being summer. i do enjoy a good fire.

we have a 'coal guy'. i'm not sure if i mentioned it before but when the flower lady was talking about the 'coal man' she sort of made him out to be this younger guy, driving his jeep, tossing coal out like it was nothing. when he first came to collect his money, i was kinda like: who is this guy? turns out he's a old guy, i did notice he had some pipes... you'd want to if you were carrying 20KG bags of coal around all day.

i'm bringing this up because the other day, not on a tuesday (his regular delivery day) we came home and there was a bag of sticks (kindling) and some logs and some other burning product. because it was up against the wall, we didn't know if he meant it for the flower lady next door, or for us. but really, the flower lady's not that close, and why would he put it on our side of the wall, and so far from her...it'd be heavy (he'd know) to carry over to her. anyway, we got all this stuff that we didn't order and a note saying the flower lady paid for us.

now, a couple of weeks ago, i did ask for some sticks, but he didn't think he'd be able to get them. i said it wasn't a problem. but he kinda got carried away, translating sticks in logs and 3€ into 22€ (sticks vs. logs and whatever else he left). to be honest, i don't mind. he could have done it to make some extra money but i'm understanding it as concern. :o) he probably had a good chat with the flower lady and they decided that despite us not calling, we could use some more fuel for the fires. and good on him, what with winter coming, i'll be burning whatever i can get!

in other news, i'm still trying to get my money back from kitsilano workout. i joined the gym before i moved to white rock. if you move, they're supposed to give your remaining money back. needless to say, it's been 1.5 years, and i'm still chasing it. but! i have a phone number for the accounts person, who won't be answering their phone today because of the sabbath. however, they will take calls after sunrise tomorrow... works for me. i'll keep you updated. obviously i'm not giving up. now it's the priciple... i won't be able to use a gym membership there, cause i live in ireland, so i don't know what i could negotiate for. this could be the one time that all i want, and get (because i won't quit) is my money back. it's almost boring...which could be why there's such a challenge. you know, to remind me what it's like being normal, getting screwed by some company, and not getting anything to help with the pain. ugh. i don't like it. maybe they can give me an elliptical machine for when i move back. hmm...

i think with winter coming, gerry and i may be able to maintain our movie-going madness of late. we're both keen to see the new Scorsese flick. AND! we both have tuesday off, so maybe we can get a cheap-o price for a matinee. i'm still heady from little miss sunshine, so Scorsese better be up for the challenge.

which leads me to: i made microwave popcorn tonight. the other bags from the box have been decent salt-wise. this one, way too salty. but i did figure out the trick to not burning it here... put it on medium high. less popcorn will pop, but gerry only picks at it anyway. at least it's not stinky burning! when we're back in canada, i'm going to have popcorn at the theatre in white rock, or in hope... as long as i can sneak in without anyone seeing me, cause YUM! the popcorn's so good, and it's cheaper at those places than the huge 5 million-plexes.

oh, i'm getting tired! i should have just enough energy to make a shopping list for tomorrow.

the 2nd gross-est thing of my life

okay, you know how when you see something unfamiliar you have a million thoughts about what it is going through your mind? that happened to me today.

they've been doing construction at the bishopstown/dunnes roundabouts for quite some time. they started the lights sunday night i think, the cones are picked up, the grass looks nice, blah blah blah. when i saw two big trucks stopped at the dunnes roundabout, with two guys using shovels to scoop up stuff, i was like: oh! i wonder what they're doing now. huh, it looks like pebbles, maybe they're making a path, or using them to put around flowers/bushes. nicely coloured rocks... pinks and greys, and oh... they're in bags. oh no, it actually looks like they're cleaning them up, and they fell off one of the trucks. uh. they're not making rock scraping sounds, and in fact... nope. not lovely rocks in lovely colours. intestines and i don't know what else, but probably sausage-type things. driving past, oh god. the smell. yuk.

that was my drive home today.

film fest

there was a film fest in cork last week. working doesn't really help going to see it. also not great? you have to be a member to see them.

instead, gerry and i have been having our own little film fest. we've been seeing at least one movie a week lately. yahoo to that bizness.

tonight we saw little miss sunshine. this movie was brilliant. i highly recommend it. i thought it was a feel good family movie when i first heard about it. whatever it is, it's not that. but this was me during the movie: laugh laugh laugh. whaa haa haa. laugh laugh laugh.

we saw the devil wears prada. it was okay. entertaining enough. see it on video.

clerks. so f'ing hilarious. but, as gerry says: stoner humour. i loved the first one, and laughed my ass off hard at this more modern version. very very funny.

day off

yay. it's saturday!

today i did some shopping. and i'm currently working on dinner. roasted veg and stuffed peppers. yummy!

i didn't do the dishes before gerry got home... too busy playing carca and chatting, oh and watching jon. i kinda felt guilty about it... you know, i didn't work today, the least i could have done is have the dishes done. then i was like: i wonder if gerry will be annoyed? i probably would be. no. i would be. but of course gerry and i have very different ideas on the subject. and of course he wasn't mad; he just helped me do them. :o) i know there are weird guilt issues that get mixed up with cleanliness and me. the good news? at least the toilet's clean if you come over. and i did have a strong fire going when he got home.

we saw clerks 2 on thursday night. after a dinner at yummy wagamama, for which, my love clearly has no bounds or guilt. clerks 2 is f'ing hilarious. seriously. i thought my super ex-girlfriend was funny (the funniest movie i'd seen lately) but clerks 2 is on a totally different level. basically, it was a great date.

we saw an inconvenient truth on sunday. not funny. but good.

oh, and on tuesday, to celebrate our niagara meeting, gerry took me to dinner and the ballet. dinner was great, and made me decide to give luigi mallone's more thought in the future... day-amn that cosmo rocked. yummy. maybe i need a drink now.

welcome winter

winter is here. again.

good news? we got oil delivered today so we have hot water and heating. again.

i think i have fleas

because last friday was quarter-end, and i was at work until 11pm (still started at 8am) i get to come in at 10 today! yay! i'm trying to scarf down a smoothie before i jet to the chemist's (hopefully for an antihistamine or whatever it is that people take in these circumstances).

i'm not allergic to anything. well, mushrooms are debateable, and i do have a gazillion 'food sensitivities'; to name a few: soy, cranberries, dairy, wheat, gluten, mangos, tomatoes, garlic, rice, and well, the list goes on. at some point on friday and saturday, i got some bug bites. gerry and i were in the exact same areas of the house, the room even. he doesn't have a scratch, or feel the need to scratch, at all.

i have at least eight bites on me, and a couple of which have gotten huge. bigger than the size of quarters. sure i get weird skin reactions to stuff some times, but this is FREAKISH.

maybe they're infected from the scratching.

anyway. gross. i don't know if they're fleas, but because we live in the country, and have to have a window open a bit so we don't die from carbon monoxide poisoning from the fires, they could totally come in. we're going to be vacuuming like crazy this week, and i'm going to try to get an answer for the gross-ness on my body.

now that it's getting late, i might have to wait until lunch time, but that's only 2 hours away.

you're a star!

so, as will happen when you're missing someone, i was driving home from work wishing gerry was here. it wasn't just cause he'd have dinner ready for me (as i've mentioned, it's quarter end) and probably a fire lit. but because i'd come home and have a nice hug and kiss.

then i was thinking about the great speach he did at jim's wedding (there was only one "bridesmaid...lovely" comment) he was really funny. like really funny. and despite leaving his suit on the roof of the car overnight (it rained) and a couple of other hiccups, he was a great bestman... and certainly, he raised the bar.

(it's a long drive home at that time, there's a lot of time for thinking) turns out, it's not just because gerry does nice things for me; it's also the emotional side that he pulls through on.

now, don't get me wrong, i'm not saying we never push each others' buttons. and lately i've been kinda on edge with work, family and all the fun things that go with it. so it was nice to reflect on the good things i do have, a great fellah, friends and adoptive family.

i guess i just had a moment of thankfullness for all the good things i have, despite struggling with some of the other ones. it was nice. and since i feel free to whinge and moan on here, it seemed appropriate to praise as well.

thanks friends. thanks fellah.

lonely girl 15

when gerry said everyone was watching to utv (or whatever it's called) i had no idea that everyone (except for me) was.

on jon stewart last night there was a reference to it.

i still don't like lonely girl.

my clock's got wings

as of last saturday, it's been a year since i left home. a whole year. one whole one. yup.

i'd say i've learned a lot in this year, especially about ireland. knowing a place is like knowing a person, you've got to live with them to really get it.

typing this now, i'm recalling my most recent learning event here: really really really don't get door handles with knobbley bits. they equal danger.

having been away a year means a few things too, for example, despite celebrating our 'one year' anniversary in april, coming up in less than a week, will be a year after meeting gerry in person. crazy to think that a year ago i was freaking out about meeting him... and look where i am now... okay, well, i'm alone in bed, and gerry's in boston, but i'm alone in *our* bed, at *our* house.

it also means that in less than two months (it was exactly 2 months last saturday) i will be turning thirty. so far i feel like i've been embracing this event. thirty is meant to be the new twenty, you know. :o) i do have a bit of a 'i want to have experienced that, i don't want to be experiencing it now' attitude, and i don't want to think that i'm wishing my life away. but i really do expect 30 to hold a few surprises and some really cool adventures. i'm looking forward to the adventures, and can only hope that the surprises are good ones.

it's hard to imagine where i'll be a year from now. i expect i'd either be working on my masters or at job here, if i can somehow psych myself up for another year and a half here, or we'll be on the road somewhere.

maybe i'll set myself some short-term goals here in the meantime. i'm working on friends at work... went for dinner with a girl today, unfortunately she's leaving at the end of the week. also, i want to do more organising around the house, i made a start on sunday. when we first moved into the house we bought this suction cup thingy for the shower. the directions do say to clean and put it back up once a month. it was so hard to put up in the first place, we never deliberately took it down. but it would fall on occasion.i tried putting it back up last week, but no luck. finally, on sunday, while thinking i was buying fax paper, but really was buying the wrong fax paper, i also picked up a spring loaded, pole with little triangle shaped shelves on it, so it will fit in the corner. i've fixed it into the shower, and so far so good. the top shelf is ridiculously high and i would never use/reach it, but there's still heaps of storage space, so it's great.

anyway, i've got a couple of other projects that i want to take care of this coming month. gerry's working all the weekends in october, except for this one, so i'll have lots of time. then again, time has been flying.

did i do that?

i fully admit to being tired. because it's month and quarter end, there's been a lot of overtime. because gerry's in boston all week i'm responsible for lighting the fire and cooking my dinner by myself. it's certainly cut back on my pavlova consumption.

having anticipated this, on sunday i picked up some irish specialties: food that fits into my routine of: get home, turn on stove, go pee, light fire, put in food, have shower, sit on my ass researching travel plans and watch an episode of america's/britain's NTM, jon stewart and law & order while chatting to friends online.

yesterday, after finishing the dinner part of that and bringing my dishes into the kitchen, i was running back to the living room cause i'd just got a gust of smoke. i was closing the door between the hall and the kitchen when my claddagh ring caught on the door handle. it felt like my finger had been torn off. luckily it was just cut, the ring is completely warped (if it had been a thicker style, i'd probably be fingerless now) and my finger is killing me.

my diagnoses is that i've sprained my finger. (some of you may know me from such hits as 'kindgirl needs your help' which does clarify that i *am* in fact a doctor.) i have taken some aspirin and will bandage up my hand when i get home. i don't think it helps that my arthritis is especially bad in that hand.

at least i didn't lose my finger. i'm pretty happy about that.

another weekend, another wedding

wow. i almost can't believe it. normally, i'm not a huge fan of weddings. i'd say gerry's brother's wedding was no exception. but! i've just discovered the absolute saving grace.

the siege of ennis

how much fun is this?

so MUCH FUN!

it's an irish set dance that is traditionally done at weddings. this last wedding was my first time doing, other than a very fumbly attempt in our living room.

i will try to explain it, mostly because if i ever get married, i'm sooooo having this happen!!! there are multiple lines of four people holding hands. it usually goes boy-girl-boy-girl. each line faces the other and dances back and forth three times. then each row splits into two couples and basically makes a circle. but with one couple dancing in front and going left, and the other couple going around the back and to the right. both still facing forward. then you go back to the line formation and each person goes forward separately to meet the person across from them. and they swing each other around a bunch of times. then it's back to the line formation and both lines go forward, with one line going under the arms of the other. each line will then be facing another line to which the whole thing repeats.

the whole thing was great. i did request it... who knows when i'll be at the next irish wedding (we're rsvping as "no" for the october wedding we've been invited to). but it was great that there were a whole bunch of people doing it. if anyone is looking for a good dance as part of a workout plan, i'd like to suggest irish set dancing. geesh!

the jumping church is still my favourite irish thing, but between the siege of ennis and the giant's causeway, it's pretty tight.

congrat's to jim and tara. good luck and best wishes!!!

syl

dear syl,

you were a good woman.

great humour, and an endearing quirkiness that was so cute!

funny and smart too.

you did a great job 'bringing sarah up'... well, you know what we mean. thanks for taking me in all those times that family should be together, and making me a part of yours. easter, thanksgiving, a warm welcome always met me... a warm welcome and a good laugh.

you are dearly loved and missed.

xo
ursula

a weekend in london

thursday after work gerry and i caught a plane to london.

we met sean at the airport and had a drink with him... it was great to see him, since it'd been almost exactly a year since the last time. he happened to be in london and so did we, so last minute-ish we set it up. there's was some remembering of the good old days... like the time wade died at the casino in reno. and some general catching up too.

gerry and i basically got to the hotel and crashed that night. the next day we had some breakkie, went shopping and saw phantom that evening. saturday we say a matinee of the cantebury tales and checked out the market at covent garden. come to think of it, i should really rate that f'ing restaurant that had crap service and didn't bring me my salad but tried to charge me for it. hmmm... guess i just did.

anyway, the shows were great and it was a nice, but busy weekend away. what did i learn on this trip? what restaurant to *not* eat at in london, and that my hands are too old and arthritic to carry a handbag (no matter how new and cute) around all day. also, it makes sense to go to marks and sparks before a show because you can eat in the theatres, and the prices at M&S are waaaay more resonable.

good trip.

canadian killers

maybe it's just because it's not as usual as in the states, or maybe it's just because i'm canadian. in any case, i'm concerned canada's getting a bit messed up.

this is the second serious shooting that's happened in montreal in the last 15 years. it's been a bit hard to get information other than a guy in a trench coat shot a bunch of people at a school. (that's what happens when you don't get your news on the cbc, so i had to check out the website just this evening.)

i still can't find information on *why* this happened. i doubt it will make it easier for the parents of the girl who has died, but i can't help but wonder. will it be more of an "un-canadian" problem if we know the guy had a mental illness? will this make canadians realise that gun-control and acts of violence aren't just american issues?

the terms of this cannot be held down to a man who blamed women for his misfortune... gill attacked men and women and he didn't even apply to the school according to one of the administrators. can we find someone/thing else to blame or are we going to have to look at ourselves?

weirdly, in the marie claire that i bought this month, there was an article about karla and how she got the sweetest deal for murdering and raping girls by blaming her husband for controlling her.

is canada becoming the new america? what can we do to stop it?

wedding bliss

friday, gerry and i made our way to celbridge for his friend's engagement party. we were on our way to his brother's wedding, so it seemed appropriate. we got there late, but not too late to have a few drinks and chat to the soon-to-be bride and groom.

we stayed in celbridge and went for breakkie the next morning, on our way to 'dumdum' where i bought not one, but two furlas. one named ursula and one not. :o) both uber-adorable.

also this past weekend was gerry's brother's wedding. i'm guessing it was the bride's dream wedding.

it was at a big catholic church and the ladies were wearing hats. the reception was at cabra castle–– a castle that works as a hotel and reception-type place.

it was a big wedding with a multi-course meal, lots of wine and eventually dancing and fireworks. all the while full of questions similar to, "should we keep our hats for your wedding?".

i still think vegas is a better idea.

there's just one more thing

ah, columbo... how i love you.

the smell at work has been solved. when i found out what it was, it grossed me out so much i dry-heaved. no kidding.

it was coming from the tray in the water cooler near the printers (the ones whose paper we had smelled to see if it was coming from there).

someone put some coffee or some juice or, maybe it was just water that didn't evaporate into the tray and it went, um... bad.

in a lucky coincidence, the water guy came that day and i asked him to change the tray. he said he'd never seen anything that bad before. i wasn't as concerned with how it looked, but more so with the smell. i was happy i'd never taken a glass of water from that cooler and had been drinking the bottled water which is also provided for free from the canteen.

gosh, the idea is making me sick. yucky.

more on my weekend (4 days of wedding fullness) on my lunch break tomorrow; or else when i get home.

csi cork

today at work near the printers that my side of the department use, there was a weird pukey smell.

matilda first told me about it, and i warned her that it could be this guy's feet (i'd smelled them before at this terribly long meeting we had last week... well, before that too, but never for such an extended amount of time). anyway, we decided that could be it. then i went over to get some stuff from the printers, and i almost dry heaved from the grossness. it wasn't that guy's feet. it smelled like vomit.

periodically throughout the day, we'd get whiffs of it, even as far over as our desks. some theories as to what the mysterious smell was (since we made almost everyone in our department go over to see if they could figure out where/why/how it smelled) included:

a dead body dragged taken apart by rats and dragged over the ceiling
just a dead and rotting corpse
hidden vomit in the corner
a dead mouse
feet

it really smelled bad and grossed me out. i don't like to smell vomit. it makes me want to vomit.

funny, that

i finished the hitch hiker's guide to the galaxy on friday. it was good. really funny.

funny thing? people were talking about it at work on friday. funnier? the mini-series was on this evening. i'd never even seen it 'til today. it didn't look as good as the movie.

weird when things like that happen.

ahhh sweet relief

today is the day after month end. this makes me happy. a nice easy-ish day with only filing and some small accounting things to do.

roll-on weekend!

this weekend gerry is going to do a motorcycle driving course on saturday and then head to carrickmacross on saturday evening. i can't remember the last weekend we had to ourselves to just relax and cuddle up. well, it will still be a few before that happens again.

my weekend will involve housework, chatting to danielle on saturday evening, going to the market and tv watching. it will also involve the final details of our paris trip (this week has not been conducive to getting personal things done). i will also be trying to plan some stuff for ian's visit here... i'm going to look into cities that would be good for him to fly into (we'll meet up with him and spend a couple of days there) and then places that are warm for a week's visit. he will also get the (now) traditional list of things to start getting together for me. mwah hah hah!

ian's trip here means a nice vacation for me so i think i'm putting the excitingness of both things together. i'm way too out of it today to fully wrap my head around it, but for now, i will leave it at being excited.

oh shoot... i should make a list, i also need to get jewelry for the weddings this weekend and possibly some kind of hair thing like feathers or a hat.

help me jeebus.

month end = my end

as danielle mentioned in a recent email: it's month end, i've fallen off the face of the earth... or at least the social continent on said planet.

i've been busy with overtime, talking to birthday folks, and trying to plan our trips to london and paris. to top it off, i'm working on getting rid of this cold.

my success hasn't been great, but yesterday i made progress. after work i ate, talked to srs (mostly at the same time), had a shower, grabbed hitcherhiker's guide and went to bed. it's been a few nights recently that i've been exhausted but unable to sleep. there's just too much going on. finally, last night, i went to sleep early, and started to sort of lose it. i think i was so exhausted, mentally and physically that my body and mind stopped working properly! i woke up kinda stressed and out of it, and couldn't even answer gerry when he asked what was wrong. went pee, and then came back and realised i'd been dreaming about orders. i woke up randomly through the night, but basically had a good sleep, relatively speaking.

why the physical exhaustion? well, it's not that easy to be sitting at a desk all day, while not having slept well the night before, also i really need to be working out more... i've kinda fallen off the train since coming here. to top it off? ah! indeed... a story:

last week i asked some ladies to meet up for dinner on monday. elaine's going to college in dublin soon, isabel's going on a vacation for two weeks, trish is also off to college, but on friday next week, and beverley came too, but she's not going anywhere, yet... so it seemed like a good time.

we met up at cafe bar deli and everyone was close enough to on time. gerry was dropped off on the way, because he was meeting damien (beverley's boyfriend) for a pint as i had planned to drive.

everything was grand. good time, good food, great company. because i figured i'd be picking up gerry from somewhere on the road to beverley and damien's, i offered her a lift home. poor her. we went to the garage, and my car wouldn't start. so i decided to give it a push to see if it would start. well, the little push ended up being a bigger push (we were sure it would start going down the hill through the gate–the garage attendant held it open for us) and it did! but then beverley had to stop for the red light. gerry and damien were called and they came over. we pushed it the wrong way down a one way street, and YAY! it started again! and then it died. again. did we block traffic? of course! so we were pushing it down st.patrick's street (the busiest street in cork, especially at that time of night) and miracle of miracles, it started again. and i kept it revved the entire way home so it wouldn't die again. soooo crazy. i was stopping with the handbreak so i could keep it revved up, please keep in mind, this is in a 95 ford fiesta (a real party in a car). we were at stop lights and roundabouts, and i'm revving the engine... ah! the looks.

somehow we got home.

the next day i was in for work at 6.40 because gerry had to drop me off, and he works at 7. good news? got lots of work done.

gerry got a new battery for me, but the light still comes on... at least it starts now. the security guard at work told me to unplug the back window defroster. apparently with too much moisture they short out and cause battery drainage. i did it. anything to help, really.

at least now i know my my arms were killing me last night, too much pushin'... and definitely not the good kind.

huckleberry pie

was it last year that we had the strawberry social?

i miss that.

on that note... there was eton mess served at harvey's bistro, different than the one at the strawberry social. lovely. but not as lovely.

say what you mean

it's a bit weird. i've caught up on my regular blog readings but i didn't make one comment.

i like to comment on my friends' blogs because i feel like then they know i'm reading... and possibly more important, that i'm paying attention.

i always wonder how people will perceive my comments...or other people's comments even. especially if you don't know someone, how will they know that it's supposed to be funny? does it matter?

as an aside: i've been sick twice now since i started my new job 2 months ago. well, two months ago on saturday. the first time was when i first started there, and the second has been since coming back from vacation. i'm just sayin' is all.

You've got a boat-load o'nerve

all i talk about lately is moving. i'm sure it's kind of bugging g, but so far he's not telling.

it's true that we're making big effort to do more of europe (i think we're both enjoying the efforts, but are also wanting this to placate me) while we're still here; we've got tickets for london in september, paris in november, and possibly a quick flight to germany after my birthday and then a drive from there back to ireland. my sister, as per the norm, still has not followed through on getting fixing the storage to liberate the '71 bug that i wish to take here. maybe i should articulate to her that my desire to leave here gets stronger every day, and that my motions to make this happen are becoming more desperate.

we've started to play the lottery... then who cares how much g likes his job... he wouldn't have to work. we could just travel around until we find some place that we both like. or more than one place.

i've been searching for "around the world" tickets and trying to figure out which would be most suitable and economic for us.

i've considered the option of moving to the states.

at worst, we'll probably be here until march-ish 2008. then g is pretty sure he could get a transfer for a year or so to australia. maybe i will like there.

Does your mother tell you things?

this weekend i got to chat to srs. she's in ottawa until thursday. then she's off back to san fran.

she sent the phone number for the hospice that her mom's at so i could give a call, so i did. i'd say she's in a pretty similar position that my mom was in two years ago.

i cried when i talked to her mom. which is pretty much exactly the opposite of what i wanted to do. when srs and i talked, we talked normal. maybe we sort of both wanted it to be a bit normal... or maybe we were just trying to ignore how we feel. or something. maybe we just don't need to say it... that's what i like to think. that we both know, and we don't need to say it outloud.

like everything, it's hard to know the truth.

weatherman wet-fingers the sky

okay, so after danielle and her mom left i went right back to work that day. sometimes i enjoy wallowing in my misery, but other times, with some foresight, i will prevent this by making plans.

it was craziness at work because i'd been gone for a week. my department was basically a mess, excepting that orders had been done, everything needed some tlc.

also, in that time, a girl who has been quite negative about all things irish and all things her boyfriend, decided to go on a vacation, and a guy there quit. it was weird. i suspect they are related, but maybe shouldn't go into detail.

yesterday i left work early because i was sick. today, on dr.gerry's orders, i've taken the day off. i'm not fully recovered, but am certain it will come (from watching tv and surfing the web for holidays, and soup). tomorrow i will go back to work.

almost the whole time danielle and her mom were here the weather was pretty frickin' nice. the day before the left it started raining. since then it's mostly been raining. lots of thunderstorms, lots and lots of rain. everything's back to normal now.

we don't go anywhere, just on trips

it's been quite some time since i last blogged. now it's going to be one of those massive blogging sessions.

so much has happened. let's start where we left off... danielle was visiting. now, if you'll allow me, i will sum up.

we went to blarney: it was a gorgeous day. i didn't realise that i already blogged about this. *blush*

we went to dublin it was a long day, and a short visit. my first time in dublin was a success. we went to a cathedral and a museum after a yummy lunch at cafe gertrude. we were guided there by conor and it was yummy.

sadly we didn't make it to dumdum centre to buy the "ursula bag" by furla. would it be weird to take the bus to dublin this weekend while gerry's doing over time? wait a second, if he's doing over time doesn't what me that *he* should get the bag for me?

we shopped in cork

we went to west cork: stopped at inchydonny (however it's spelled) stopped at what we thought was a craft fair at a church. ended up being mass, but it got me directions to the "other church" that apparently had events like craft fairs. the stuff was less crafty and more arty than expected... but all very nice. it was cool to see local stuff, and to find out about classes. i'd love to take the chair making class, but i don't think my hands are up for it right now...maybe once i don't have arthritis. that would be fun.

we had a lovely meal at annie's: extra yummy.

we played loads of games: this includes cribbage, and the couple times people came over and we played cranium.

overall, i'd say a good visit. it was nice to be able to see stuff i'd been holding off on, because i didn't want to do it twice.

kissing lips

so far danielle and her mom's trip to cork has been a mix of hanging out and playing cards and doing the tourist thing.

friday evening we went into town for wagamama. it was an all-around, 'YUM!'. we met up with elaine and shantella and funnily i even saw matilda from work there.

saturday we went to the coal quay market to drop off the basket to the german baker, picked up pretzels and a croissant and went to the english market to get a picnic for fitzgerald's park.

sunday we had a barbeque and finished an evening of too much food with a solid game of canadians vs. irish. the irish won, but we're looking for a rematch on saturday.

monday we went to blarney, where i was the only one brave (stupid) enough to kiss the stone. i don't think my gift of gab has increased, but i guess it's hard to get chattier when you're already the chattiest.

the weather's been great since danielle and her mom arrived. i encourage canadians to visit more regularly. please. we got some rain on sunday and thought we might get rained out, but it cleared up nicely for the barbeque and we even ate outside.

that's hoff-tastic

just saw an add for an internet service provider. the hoff is their spokesmodel. it's funny, self-mocking, and disturbing.

has anyone else noticed that when he walks it's really stiff? like "old man, i'm having trouble moving" kind of stiff walk. it's almost like he has wooden legs.

going places

gerry and i don't have much free time between now and christmas. as mentioned, danielle and her mom are coming for just over two weeks, and i've taken some time off for that. we have two weddings to go to (gerry's in the wedding party for both) but we've now managed to plan a trip for london (ehm, england) in september, between weddings, and a weekend in paris (still not the one in ontario) in november. in london, we're going to see a couple shows, gerry (he's gay below the knees) would like to see phantom, and i would like to see something shakespeare. in paris, we're going to do touristy things because gerry's never been, and really, we couldn't get cheaper flights to anywhere else.

this leaves me with 2 days of vacation time left between now and december 26 which is when my contract runs out. i might have to just randomly take those days off, cause every weekend that gerry has off, we have plans, and here, if you don't take your vacation time, you don't get to bank them or anything.

v is for visitors

YAY! one more sleep until danielle and her mom arrive!

i get to leave work early for the second day in a row. gerry will pick them up from the airport, and i will meet them at the house, unless by some miracle work decides that i am not needed and that it would be wonderfully kind to let me leave extra early. for some reason, i don't think this is going to happen.

i'm ready for some time off, some cribbage and some more canadiana!