Somehow I've managed to avoid updating for 3 months (how lazy! how embarrassing!). I'll divide this entry into smaller, more reader-friendly sections, so that you, my dear reader, aren't overwhelmed by all this information.
Work
I'm starting at the Irish Forum for Global Health. I finished full-time childminding in mid-November. Luckily the separation wasn't too traumatic for any parties involved - I still see the kids a lot. By a lot I mean I saw them today by the library, babysat for them last Sunday, I'm babysitting again for them this Saturday, and oh yeah...I went to London with them for 4 days in early December. And yes, Lochlann is still the coolest baby on the planet/my favorite Irish man.
London
Oh the insanity. It was the worst plane ride of my life. The turbulence was unbelievable (seriously, people were screaming), but I'm just happy I didn't die. My time in London was a lot of work. The kids are very high-energy. I was really hoping to see my friend Caitlin, but logistically it just didn't happen. What did I do there? I was with the kids 24/7, which meant a trip to Trafalgar Square, Harrods to look at toys, the Natural History Museum to see dinosaurs, and the cinema to see Puss in Boots. And you know what? Not gonna lie, Puss in Boots wasn't so bad. I did let Calder have a bit too much candy and he got sick. Bad childminder. But YOU try taking away candy from a kid who is on his holidays!
The best part was the Leonardo DaVinci exhibit. I was pushing Lochlann around in a pram, and he gets a bit crazy in art galleries (he is only 1 1/2 after all), but at least I still got to see The Last Supper and some other amazing works of art! That was definitely the highlight of the trip for me. And I ate very well.
Writer's Centre Class
I took a novel-writing course at the Irish Writer's Centre for a couple of weeks on Thursday evenings. Definitely enjoyed it, and I'll probably start attending the Saturday writing hour again. Now if only I could manage to finish something I start when it comes to creative writing...
Surfing
I was feeling extra-brave one weekend and decided to randomly go to Bundoran up in Donegal by myself and get some surfing in before the weather turned completely hellish. I improved a lot on day 1, but day 2 was very difficult in the rain and wind. The swell there lasts all year, and I can't wait to get out again...but I might be a wimp and wait until it's a little warmer. During this adventure I also made a new group of friends; they're med students at Trinity, and we've since had dinner together and need to plan more adventures soon.
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| Bundoran |
Home for the Holidays
The lead-up to the holidays in Dublin was fun. Had a Christmas party at the Centre for Global Health where I did a quick presentation on my thesis, and then had a "nanny party" - which pretty much meant that Karolina, Nichola, and I went dancing.
Since I last blogged I've been back in the states twice (once for a week around Thanksgiving, and then a week around Christmas). The first trip back was definitely a bit strange at first - mind you, this was the first time I'd been back in the U.S. in 11 months! I went from Logan airport to CT for the night, and then went the next morning to NYC to see some of my BU friends. It was Maya's birthday, so a group of us got together and had a great night out. Some of these people I hadn't seen in a year and a half, and quite frankly that breaks my heart!
I was so tired after all this that I'm pretty sure I slept with my mouth open the entire 3-hour bus ride back to Hartford. Sexy. It's a good thing I managed to wake up when the bus stopped.
I had the most amazing time, but was feeling strangely out-of-place at the beginning of this trip. My voice has changed a little, and I was told it was very noticeable the first few days I was back on U.S. soil. I have what I would term "Irish moments," where I do things like, I don't know... talk about tea, get embarrassed or feel out-of-place and awkward easily, or my inflection of my words sounds more Irish than American. That's what happens when you live and work with Irish people all the time. It's definitely not intentional, but it's not necessarily a bad thing - I suppose it'd be even more strange if I wasn't changing at all.
The rest of my Thanksgiving trip was spent with friends and family in CT. For Christmas, I again flew into Logan, went home for a few days, took a great quick-trip up to Boston for a night, spent more time in CT, and then flew out of Boston again. Crazy much? Yes, but totally worth it. I got to see Jenna, Christine, Dan, and Zoe in Boston, and spend tons of time with my Ellington loves.
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| Merry Christmas! Dad, Mom, Lexi, Brooke, and Me! |
2012
Not much left to say. I'm still in Dublin, still loving life. My friends here are great, but they are in the U.S. and other countries too (why can't you all move to the same place?). My apartment is very cold, but other than that it's great. My holidays were wonderful, and I hope yours were too! I hope you're all having a good start to 2012!
P.S. Sorry I didn't take pictures of the Brown and Thomas Christmas displays this year - my camera is giving me some trouble.
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