Amy’s Gripping Commentary

World’s End is the name of the location or neighborhood or whatever this place is. I’m staying in the Trident Hotel, and that’s their address. A lot of the homes and businesses here don’t seem to have (or at least use) numerical addresses, just names like Old Head and Seaward and Highlanes Gallery. I’m glad I’m not delivering pizza here. Also most streets don’t have signs with the street name, just arrows pointing to various named shops and points of interest. My GPS SatNav goes by street names, and they’re on maps, but not actually posted in public. Very confusing.

I’m moving into my house tomorrow, but the phone and internet connections could take a few to several days, so I may not be around much on here or on the phone. Meanwhile I’m fighting the early parts of a sinus infection, but my insurance is suddenly bizarre and the pharmacies don’t stay open past six, so I’m doing my best with Aleve and Sudafed–glad I brought at least a couple things with me. Apparently rather than having a selection of OTC meds on the shelves at any grocery or drugstore, you have to talk to the pharmacist and explain your symptoms and they might sell you something.

Also: Arliss has a Twitter account now too! She’s advanced past my own level of connectivity. I expect I’ll see her cell phone bill on my credit card next. She has a couple new posts at her blog, too.

Pics I took right before I left.

Went to Bandon, a bigger town, to do some immigration paperwork and lighten my wallet of €150 so they can process my GNIB card, which is basically the official permission to be here for a certain length of time. I now have a bank account, too, with €0 in it. I looked at cell phones and then bought tissues at Lidl, basically a German Aldi (though apparently there is regular Aldi here too). Then my relocation agent drove me to Cork, a big city (but not really more populous than South Bend/Fort Wayne type cities) about thirty minutes north. I had flown into Cork last weekend but never saw the city since the airport is south of it. Anyway, I finally saw a McDonald’s and a Burger King in the shopping districts but no other fast food places and none that were standalone/drive-thrus at all. We stopped at a Bed Bath & Beyond type place and then Argos, which is like Service Merchandise but without the examples of all the stuff you can buy–it’s all catalog based and then it shows up from a conveyor a few minutes after you pay. I picked up bedding so I can sleep in my new house on Friday night. I’ll have to go back out shopping for dishes and such but at least I have the basics and my shipping container should be delivered on Friday too.

Bandon had crocuses! I miss watching for things budding in my yard at home.

I kept hearing how green everything would be here. IT’S NOT. But apparently that’s because they had their driest winter in 40 years or something like that. Right now it’s very brown in most places and I’m looking for spring.

Tonight I stopped at a little grocery in town to grab some food to supplement my hotel stay. Matt: they have Orange Juice with Bits! Get the strainer. There are lots of biscuits but not many that look like cookies to me. The eggs are kept on the shelf and you have to pay €0.22 for a plastic shopping bag (finally, I’m not the only freak with my own bag).

I am amused by some of the commercials, including kitten-branded TP that a guy wears to the tune of Kung Fu Fighting.

I’ve been surprised by the number of TV shows in Gaelic Irish. Right now I’m watching an Irish language talent show where viewers call in to vote: stoopid. It’s much like English language talent shows, but the judges are sickeningly nicer even when performers stink, and every other act is Irish dancing. One of those was 40-something moms who all needed sport bras. The judges tell everyone they are brilliant.

I’ve been to work two days so far and only hit a couple curbs (I consider this success). Everyone takes a tea break in the morning (which also includes a lot of breakfast foods) and then a couple hours later everyone eats a big lunch together. The cafeteria has been quite good so far and recycling is the norm. I have to say my coworkers are extremely friendly. I’m having issues getting my computer set up so I’m even less useful than I would otherwise be, but it looks to be an interesting job once I get done reading a LOT of training.

Tonight I wasn’t very hungry after all the food from work, so I decided to get some fries chips to go for takeaway. I stopped in my first real pub, where the locals were watching soccer football. The bartender left right after I placed my order and the cook had to get a beer for an old guy who just arrived. The bartender came back after a couple of minutes with a roll of foil he’d just bought down the street to wrap my fries! Then he repoured the Carling in the right glass (the old guy wouldn’t drink it in the wrong glass though he didn’t say anything to the cook when he poured it) and I chatted a bit with another old guy who was friendlier. Back to the hotel for an unhealthy dinner!

On Wednesday, I am going to the police station Garda to complete some immigration paperwork, getting a bank account, seeing my house (but not moving in yet), and getting up to Cork for the first time to see where to shop and figure out if this country has any fast food places.

Post Office in Kinsale

Harbor shots; all but the first one are right outside my hotel window

That big ship was full of some kind of sand. It woke me up two days in a row when they took the lid on and off. It took them a whole day to unload it into trucks.

This mast has been turned into a tourist lookout point

They disturbed me despite the sign on the door, but I still slept a lot.

Driving from the airport yesterday, we had to stop for some hounds in the road. Shortly after was a guy with a walking stick, and around the bend a couple of riders in dressage with their horses. I can safely say I haven’t run across a hunting party while driving before.

My relocation agent showed me the house briefly, but I can’t move in for a week. Then she led me to the hotel, where we dropped off my car (that was enough left-hand driving for me!) and she took me to work so I could find my way later. The “downtown” of Kinsale has narrow streets and little in the way of traffic signs; it’s a good thing she was driving, because it was terrible to figure out who had the right of way and two cars couldn’t fit past each other in several places. But we made it, and today (Sunday) I made the trip myself, which went fine since I had to focus on driving and not on how close we were to the walls out the window.

On Saturday, I had dinner at an Italian place in town, about a ten minute walk from the hotel after I got lost for another ten (I wasn’t about to drive or figure out how to pay for parking yet).

I stayed up to a “normal” bedtime but still slept too much today, and now I’m up at night again. I made it downstairs for a little breakfast Sunday and was able to find fuel for the car (1.269 Euro per liter, which I think is over $7 a gallon? can’t believe they rented me a car almost out of fuel) and get a few snacks. Sunday’s dinner was at the Blue Haven, a yummy mushroom risotto.

And I bought wine on a Sunday, a brand that is corked at home for $9 but was €12.49 here with a screw top.

The view from my hotel room

Mom: a pay toilet!

I am not a frequent flier, but I’ve been on enough flights to dread long ones in coach. Get this: Business Class actually has enough room! Not to mention free booze and a comforter and a real pillow and THEY GAVE ME SOCKS in my little baggie of personal items (toothbrush and lotion and sleep mask and the like). I think the socks must be so everyone’s stinky feet didn’t bother each other while sleeping. And the food was really good! Noise canceling headphones made the movie and sleeping much more pleasant. The seat turned into a bed, which really only got me three hours of sleep, but they were comfy.

I watched Up in the Air, and I wondered if they played it on purpose to encourage us to fly ten million miles. My airline was the same as the one in the movie. I guess they might get more travelers if we thought we might be sitting next to George Clooney. I think the Oscars are going on Sunday, but I didn’t really find this film to be fabulous enough for best picture. Maybe the first ten minutes I missed were the awesome part.

All three of my flights were pleasant enough since I never had anyone sitting next to me. Heathrow was pretty sucky, and I’m glad two people warned me before I left. The maze of corrugated metal halls was like hiking Battlestar Galactica. It’s like no one planned the space or travel from one terminal to another: it took me a good 40 minutes to get from my long flight to the short one to Ireland, with heavy bags, and all the turns and halls made no sense. Perhaps they hoped to weed out undesirable immigrants by wearing out the weak ones before they stepped on British soil. The flight screens were all down so it was pretty confusing to figure out where to go anyway. At least all the customs, security, and immigration stops were quick and easy.

My first thoughts on stepping foot in Cork: Stairs? Down from the plane and then back up into the terminal, and by then I was really tired and the bags seemed heavier. But soon enough I was speaking with the immigration guy, who was expecting me (now that’s a good relocation agent! this guy recognized that I was on a company transfer when he saw my name on my passport), and after a few stamps and holding up everyone in line behind me, I met my agent and got some cash and was driving on the wrong side of the road! Have you heard of a Nissan Note?

I’ll pick up again later since it’s five in the morning and I’m tired again. I can only sleep in two hour stints but at least I don’t have to be anywhere for another day.

I’ve had a really trying day attempting to book flights and receive documents and fill out even more forms, but this makes up for it:

Arliss has her own blog! Yes, that’s right, I kicked her to the curb while I went on a European adventure for a year and she has already taken over her foster home’s computer to complain about it. I guess she got an even bigger head when she became a famous Disapproving Rabbit.

Please visit Arliss and I’ll try to let y’all know when she posts a new rant. Those are the only kinds of posts she will be publishing, I’m sure.

I STILL don’t have a work permit or plane ticket or firm start date, but I do have a tax number and a verbal agreement on a house to rent. Next week I’ll probably work two days locally but I think my IT changes take effect Monday, rendering me useless on any company computer, which might be a blessing in disguise. Therefore, this weekend I’m transferring and backing up files and emails so I can actually get to the information in the next couple of weeks of transition. Meanwhile, there’s some kind of mini-strike among Irish govt workers and I think my agent had to call in some secret favors to get the permit moved closer to the top of the pile. I expect to leave next Friday! That’s only two delays (one week total) from the more recent plans and only three delays (five weeks) from the January plans. My stuff shipped out on a big pallet this week so I’m living on leftover clothing and computer equipment, but I barely miss any of it. My very helpful agent made a hushed request the other day for Jack Daniels BBQ sauce so I packed it!

We had a big housecooling party last weekend which was a lot of fun and was also good for forcing a clean house! Meanwhile I hit a HUUUUGE pothole, got a flat a mile later, walked home, and had to get roadside out twice for help. The rim is bent and I have to go deal with getting the repaired wheel put back on soon.

Arliss leaves for her Cincy-area home tomorrow. This week’s last vet check shows her in great health and I expect to see her back, still stomping at me, in a year! The pigs went to my parents’ home a couple weeks ago, the frog went to David’s brother, and Vegas fuzzbun leaves in a few days. The zoo is shrinking. Soon the humans will equal the nonhumans, but I still think the dogs have the best deal in getting to sleep all day and have all their meals prepared for them.

A big country house and a castle house have now fallen through with various drama (sorry guys, but at least the pictures were neat), but our agent has found a great place for us a thousand feet from the sea! The fenced yard and minimal furniture will meet our needs well and it’s only ten minutes from work (and a mile from a 17th century fort with star shaped fortification).

view from a bedroom

It was supposed to be unfurnished but the agent talked the owner into at least some beds and chairs, so now I have to come up with lamps and pots and TV and spoons and everything else. I’ll probably be in a hotel for several days to start, anyway, so I’m just letting it all slide. It will be fun to explore and find my new belongings. Flexibility is the central part of this adventure, and that’s a huge step for this overplanner.

The hardest part has been not knowing the date I’m leaving. Without a work permit I can’t purchase a flight, and planning for HR and IT items that take several weeks of notice is difficult as a result. Meanwhile HR and IT and seven vendors need various approvals and forms and knowing the date I’m arriving to set up anything for me, and none of that is established. My pallet of stuff arrives on the island before I leave and even before I have an address for delivery!

Work computing, form filling, inventorying, and banking adjustments remain. And moving all my stuff from the desktop to the new laptop! I like the idea of a simpler system but I did send a real monitor and wireless input devices and my actual office chair. Maybe I can entertain myself in my empty house by rolling around in it.

The other quote I considered was: “She has huge… tracts of land”

One of the properties on our short list of where to live in Ireland is what I’m calling the Mother-In-Law Castle!

The Dower House, Kilbrittain, Co. Cork

It was built in the 17th century for the MIL of the lord of the ridiculous c. 1035 castle across the street!

I keep thinking we need boiling oil or maybe Nancy Drew will stop by and find something under the staircase. I’m already afraid of the wine cellar and the “sub-lower level.”

pics from kilbrittain.net

Some random thoughts to prove I’m still alive.

I did indeed have cadaver bone put in during my osteomyelitis treatment! It was irradiated, powdered, and mixed with what is basically plaster of Paris, but it still sounds exotic. Unfortunately I’ve had some additional dental pain recently. You’d think I traumatized my teeth or something.

Arliss had her fourth surgery a week ago (vet and I agreed she didn’t need a CT scan after all) and she’s doing great! She even gained weight in the last two weeks.

Loving the Indy Winter Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. The place is PACKED and I love seeing cyclists with panniers riding in the snow! Note: the local chickens went on strike when it got super cold the last couple of weeks, so eggs were harder to come by. I like being able to get a half dozen a month since we don’t use more than that, and then I can take the carton back to the farmer to use again.

I discovered recently-reopened El Sol de Tala. This town has more Mexican (I use that as a geographic/ethnic term loosely) restaurants than you can imagine, but this one place stands out. They even have a veggie menu. It’s not the same old enchiladas anymore, people!

Following a craving, I had French toast at Denny’s, and even if they hadn’t ruined it with cinnamon and powdered sugar, it still was nowhere as good as Dad’s. He also blows away every pancake on earth.

I’ve finally heard from some of the relocation folks and the target start date in Ireland is March 1. There’s so much to do that it’s hard not just to plop on the couch with 81 SVU reruns on Tivo and ignore the obvious (that’s how many were scheduled in this two week period). One of my current focuses (okay, foci) is pantry raid: use up all the groceries that line our cupboards and freezer. In the past week we had breakfasty stuff to use up biscuits and fake sausages and last night I made chik’n and rice casserole. My freezer has several fake meat products that I’ve always kept as backup, but usually have been creative enough not to need for most cooking. I see a lot of chili in our future for the ground ‘beef’ crumbles…

“What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience?”
-Adam Smith

The quote doesn’t have direct relation to this post but I really liked it the other day, and identified with it. It does set the stage for how I feel about preparing myself to be more flexible for opportunities that come my way by being “stable” in life, which I guess is a comment at least on financial and professional well-being, or just being in a good place. Allow me to share the big news, the decision that has given me nightmares, the huge change on the horizon:

We are moving to Ireland. Holy shit.

A couple of months of are you mobile? will you? maybe? for two years. is there a budget? wait for the meeting. what do you think? here are the benefits. dog quarantine. abandon pets. no, wait, only for a year and lesser benefits. hand wringing. never mind, good benefits are back. paperwork issues to cover domestic partner. how about insurance? most questions answered. And the answer is…yes?

Now, nothing is official until all the paperwork is done and visas are granted, but after all this time of not knowing and feeling like life has been on hold while figuring out how to handle an international move without really telling anyone has been pretty challenging. I feel like I will regret it if I don’t take this opportunity and I’ll never be offered another chance if I turn it down now. My employer is cutting jobs and yet asking if I would like to spend a year abroad at their expense. I’ve always wanted to do something like that. In fact, it’s just ‘life’ getting in the way that makes it hard: David’s business and our pets, and the general hassle of figuring out what to do with your stuff. But I have been saving money, simplifying my possessions and expenses and life, all to be able to take an opportunity just like this! It seems almost perfect: I’ll have the same job but in a new place and my employer pays all the expenses to get me there and back, and pays for my housing and car too. There will never be a better offer, I will never be less entrenched in life, I have enough funds to make it fun and I’m still young enough to call it an adventure but old enough that I don’t want to always sleep in hostels when I go on vacation. Add to that a partner who seems willing to try the adventure and we’re in business.

David and the dogs get to come. It’s hard to figure out how he will maintain a business back home (let alone an income in Ireland without a work permit), but we think he’ll stay behind the first couple of months while the dogs finish their at-home quarantine. Now I have to work to find guardians for my rabbits, an agonizing part of the decision to go. I have bunny friends I trust and I will set up a stipend plus cover vet fees, but a lot of my nightmares have been about doing wrong by my pets. Was it not contacts in rabbit rescue that got me this job in the first place? How can I send Arliss and Vegas to live with someone else? They’re OLD! Plus the pigs, who at least seem to have a place with my parents. And there’s even a frog becoming homeless.

There are so many things to plan I don’t quite know where to start, but at least I seem to be past the nightmare/decision stage and now we’re getting into the practical planning stuff. Departure for me won’t be for a couple of months. Just how much prep will I get done? Can I purge some of my belongings? I love the idea of living simply (a furnished place where I can’t haul most of my stuff anyway is a great starting point), but wow. Just figuring out what to do for a cell phone (this would be why I still haven’t gotten that iPhone) and banking and OH GEEZ I HAVE TO DRIVE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET… it can be overwhelming. Exciting, yes, but I’m a planner and this is stressful.

Short term: line up pet care (and get the buns healthy) and figure out what’s going to happen to the house while we’re gone. Mid-term: buy raingear? Couple months: move by myself and entertain myself for a couple of months. After that: stress about dogs in cargo hold.

But I bet County Cork will be fun!

Any advice is appreciated.