Day 17

 I was thinking today about how much a positive attitude changes things. The sky is grey today, will be grey tomorrow probably. Surely, it's not the most uplifting weather I've seen. And I was listening to S&G, feeling kind of angsty and depressed. Then I realized, WHY am I wasting any time being sad! I am in Dublin! I am having the time of my life! And then I quietly rocked out to some Jason Derulo and felt better.

That being said, work is fantastic. Food is good. I'm going for a run.. update more later :)

Day 16

I hate to say it, but yes, another day at work. Today was very good though! Sarah is working on the website from home, so I worked at my desk without major interruption almost the entire day. Right now I'm starting on the Facebook plan, which includes writing contact templates to begin conversations with different members of our Facebook groups thanking them and encouraging them to get involved. With over 60,000 fans, I have my work cut out for me.

I also began branding and formating Tumblr and Twitter for visual continuity with the rest of the CMRF look. I really love web design and the work I was doing with Shadow Rock's website and newsletter has really come in handy as I have a basis for knowledge. Tomorrow should be more of the same, just getting stuff set for the integration and education portion coming in a few weeks.

So the girls at work are great. Hannah, Pam, Michelle and Rachel really go out of their way to include me the best that they can. The Irish slagging can be hard for me to pick up on, it's kind of dark and harsh, but these girls are sensitive to my confusion and keep things simple and nice. Sadly, Pam just found out about a family tragedy and the whole bunch of girls is pretty upset. Her mother has surgery tomorrow and their family will be in everyones thoughts as the day progresses. I'm so very sorry for her and her family.

So I think I decided not to go on my 5 mile Dublin run and go to Oxegen instead! It's a huge and I mean MASSIVE international music festival going on the same weekend. I can't afford to go for more than one day, but I think it's going to be amazing! Lots of music, lots of people, lots of FUN! Now, I just need to save a bit this weekend so I can go.

I want a foot amputation please. No more of these pesky toes. It's making enjoying Dublin kind of difficult cause I limp around the city. Thankfully Compeeds are the best blister plasters (bandaids) of all time, so my blisters are finally healing and becoming callouses so I can wear shoes again soon!

Not a whole lot else going on. I'm really enjoying the time I've spent getting to know some of the Americans here, and I wasn't expecting that. Sometimes I feel really fed up with the US, the politics, the attitudes, the bad health, the disregard for the environment, the food.. but because we're all experiencing something so new and scary, our little group has gotten pretty close. I've had the chance to get to know each one on a different level and see how individual we all are yet so the same. Running with Carolyn, talking about music with Mckenna, talking with Kelsey, Helene and Kate, late night chats with Kaytlyn, laughing with Andrea.. I'm really fortunate to be surrounded with a great support group here. They're incredible.

I think yesterday was a big sad day, but I'm feeling good again. Going to bed early after I do some sleepy girl yoga. Good night!

Day 15

Another day at work!

I got on the wrong bus (note to self: learn numbers) so I was a bit late. Still doing the same stuff; tracking, analysing and practicing setting up sites. I even did a little bit of coding today. That computer science class totally came in handy.

On the way home I was feeling a little sad, just kind of alone in this big world and that feeling has stuck with me until now. I just ate some pizza and watched some Wedding Crashers, so I should get back to normal soon. I think I get a little addicted to the feeling of comfort and control, always being certain that things will work the way I'm used to. Washing machines that properly clean your clothes, shoes that fit right, beds that don't give you allergies. Most of the world doesn't have it as good as we do, as I do. Some level of discomfort is fine and normal.

Tomorrow I'm starting to train for a run in Dublin so I should be spent by the time I write.

I need to remember to write more about the people at work and the people I'm hanging out with here too. They're all really excellent and I want to remember them.

Day 14

First, thanks for all the nice comments :) It's nice to read your reactions to my adventures!

There's some stuff about yesterday that I didn't get a chance to write about, mostly because it hadn't happened yet! 

After I wrote, some of these lovely ladies to your left (the picture is, left to right: Kate, Kelsey and Helen) and yours truly headed to get some food at Gourmet Burger Kitchen down near Grafton. I went there a few days ago and loved it, so I shared my happy discovery. I think the place is aussie and their menu is very fresh. I got another super good veggie burger.. happiness was found. We met up with some other girls who had gone on a little tour of the Guinness factory earlier in the day at the restaurant, then we split again, Kate, Kelsey, Helen and I heading to go check out some pretty parks we see on the buses. 

We walked down Dame Street and along the way were confronted with the end of the Pride Parade. One person was even dressed like my favorite Lady, Miss Gaga. It was a total riot to see such a vivacious population of people enjoying themselves! 

We took a bunch of pictures of each other standing next to the colorful doors of Dublin on our way to Christchurch Cathedral. 

Once there, we headed to another church, St. Patricks. We decided we didn't really need to go inside because the weather was so incredibly beautiful. After lounging on the greens for a bit, we headed to some different pubs (yes, Mother, they are called pubs, not bars) to watch the most heart breaking game ever! I'm still pretty upset about the way that one turned out. Poor United States. Poor us. 

Slagging is what the Irish call being teased and sure did we get slagged for losing. I was still really bitter so we went out and had a good time in the Temple Bar and Graton area of town. There are some super fun places over there and Kelsey and I really do well at having a great time down town.

It seems that from any point in Dublin you are either in the sight of a church or a pub, so I guess my day was spent in a very Dublin way, spending time at both. 

Today I just got my life back in order while the other girls went on a bus tour of Wicklow. I did laundry and cleaned and will go to bed early here in a bit. I don't sleep very well here because it never gets very dark and there's lots of noise. Hopefully I can catch up before work tomorrow!

Well love you all!

Day 11-13

Yeah I've been missing postings. Too much is going on.

I don't have a lot of time to write right now because, of course, I'm tired and there's more fun stuff to do!

I have been working furiously at my job to finish an assessment of their online communications, then to make a plan and work on implementing it. I've looked the Facebook, Twitter and blogging habits of people who care about Crumlin and I wrote a single spaced, 7 page memo about what I found. Since then, it's been read and edited by Sarah, who then called me brilliant. :) She was so pleased that she gave it to the CFO, Adele, who said it was excellent and food for thought. I'm really proud of what I did and the initiative that I took. Next week I'll begin my plan and track my results. I'm so happy!

Thursday I went out for some after work drinks with the girls, then met up with Patrick for a mini-downtown pub crawl that only lasted one pub because Bulmers is too big for me to drink! Then we went to dinner at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen. I know what you're thinking and NO, I didn't eat a burger. I ate a mushroom burger and it was fantastic!

Work on Friday was a little different than usual because they are transitioning a new CEO in and the old one out. There was a little party at lunch time and then the "girls" and I went to a local pub for lunch. Hannah, Pamela, Michelle and (I'm blanking her name.. dangit) all are around my age and work in accounts. It's nice to be included in their breaks and working habits. We talk a lot about differences between our cultures and we ask each other a lot of questions. On Friday Nathaniel went to lunch with us. He works in a different part of our large office and is from Hungary. He's very nice too and lunch went well.

After work I went down to Grafton, my favorite part of the city to walk in, for some quiet time. I just put on some Ryan Adams and walked around for a bit, then came back and got ready to celebrate Kayt's birthday! We all hung out here for a while, listening to music and talking, then we went out to Copper Jacks!

It was a fun night, took some pictures and such. Right now I'm just sitting around. I'm probably going to work on stuff for school and do some emailing and picture stuff.

Love you all. GO UNITED STATES!

Day 10

Meh I may be a day off. I don't much care. I can barely keep my eyes open.

Full day at work. Analyzed our Facebook pages against the pages of others. Full memo due tomorrow.

AND HECK YESSSS the US moved on!! I was at my desk and pretty much had a hissy fit.

Just got back from Green Day at Marlay Park. Pretty much the best day of my life. It was gorgeous.

And I officially miss the United States today. I wanted to tell someone so badly about our win, but everyone was Irish and didn't care. Then, as I sprinted down St. Dame to meet Kayt at the bus for Green Day, I got heckled by some guys wearing an American flag. I stopped, turned back and said "Are you really Americans?" they replied "yeah..." and I said "f*** yes!" high fived and took off again. They understood and cheered me on.

We're loud, blunt, annoying, and obsessed with ourselves. And I love us. I love the United States. I love Landon Donovan, Green Day and America. I love high fives and real Mexican food. I love diversity and having a tan. I just really love my country and it took being lonely on a bus in Ireland to realize it.

America, you are my love.

Day 9

This will have to be a quick one because I'm exhausted!

Today at work Sarah gave me the assignment to assess social networking sites for their possible impact and effect on their organization then to make a plan and implement it. It's super cool because I have a lot of freedom to make this as epic or as low key as I want. So yeah, I tweeted, tweet decked, facebooked, tumblred and youtubed all day, setting up new sites and trying to see what would work for them. I have a report due to her on Thursday, and if it works, it's going to the CEO! Shoot!

After work I went to dinner with the girls for Kayt's bday! So fun!

That's pretty much it for today. My feet are in agony and my legs are tired. It's bed time for sure.