Intro to Ireland

Okay - so I finally started a blog from Ireland. I figure it's the best way to keep in touch with all of those people I absolutely PROMISE to keep in touch with, yet never quite seem to have enough time to write to individually. Kind of like killing 60 birds with 1 stone. I figure it will start a chain reaction of sorts: I let people know what life over here is like, they decide they MUST come visit, I get everybody over here all at once, I throw a big party, we hit the town, and then we all show the Irish how to REALLY drink!

I've been here since May 2nd and it's been an adventure so far. I've met a lot of cool people, found a home, found a job, found a new sport to play, found some people to come visit me.... Still haven't found Kraft Mac and Cheese, Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum, Crystal Light, reasonably priced clothing, or a company that provides broadband service as far out as I am in the country.

It's a beautiful place to live. The kind of place where you're driving along and you want to stop to take a picture because the view is breathtaking and you're certain you won't see anything like it again for a very long time and then you get around the next bend and realize it's an even better view. The photo above was taken about 3 miles from where I work - about 35 minutes from my house.

If you look on the map to the right, you'll see a little town called 'Gorey' about halfway down the east coast of Ireland, below Dublin. It's about an hour from Dublin and 15 minutes from Arklow. Although I live in Gorey, I spend a lot of time up in Arklow - I've got a lot of friends there, my company's main office is there, and I play Gaelic Football with their women's team. Both are great Irish towns with loads of shops, pubs, and people. It doesn't look very big, but the roads are windy and narrow so it takes a while to get from place to place. They're working on the road system, but there's still a lot to be done. All in all, it takes about 3 hours to get from Gorey to Shannon (cross the country east to west) and it probably (I haven't done it yet) takes about 6 hours from Cork to Lifford. If you had something like I-95 you could cut those in half.

Anyhow - that's a quick introduction to Ireland to give you something to do besides work on a Friday afternoon. I'm 5 hours ahead of most of you, so it's about time for me to wrap up and head home. I've got to get ready for a Hag Party. More on what that is on Monday. Have a good weekend!! ;-)