Good Bye and Good Luck!
0 Comments Published by Oh Wayward One on 22 December 2006 at 12/22/2006 03:37:00 pm.
It's friday, I'm finishing things. It's havoc and chaos and stress.
Yesterday was my last day at work. The speech nearly ended in tears... I just steamrolled through some superfast b.s. because the voice was cracking like god awful terrible AGH!
The card they all signed was moving
The farewell messages & speeches were moving
But tonight we party. Bring on my last ever big office xmas party!
The boys are on their way over to pick me up and it's off to the hotel.
Even though we're technically moving into the hotel for tonight and tomorrow night, we still have to come back here tomorrow to try and squeeze the last crap into the already bursting suitcases, and clean out the house so it's not so dirty for the future tennants who will be living in it.
Then the LAST of my goodbye dinners at 8pm at starVast. sighhhhhhhhh
After 4 days on an air mattress in an echo-y house with nothing else but a broken tv, a laptop, and one spoon, you'd think I'd not be so affected by the emptiness of this place because it'd become "normal" but it's amazing how hard it is for me now, with even the airmattress folded up. Wow.
Well, what can I say, Ireland... it's been nice knowin' ya.
I hope the guys get here soon... this post is getting too weird!
Yesterday was my last day at work. The speech nearly ended in tears... I just steamrolled through some superfast b.s. because the voice was cracking like god awful terrible AGH!
The card they all signed was moving
The farewell messages & speeches were moving
But tonight we party. Bring on my last ever big office xmas party!
The boys are on their way over to pick me up and it's off to the hotel.
Even though we're technically moving into the hotel for tonight and tomorrow night, we still have to come back here tomorrow to try and squeeze the last crap into the already bursting suitcases, and clean out the house so it's not so dirty for the future tennants who will be living in it.
Then the LAST of my goodbye dinners at 8pm at starVast. sighhhhhhhhh
After 4 days on an air mattress in an echo-y house with nothing else but a broken tv, a laptop, and one spoon, you'd think I'd not be so affected by the emptiness of this place because it'd become "normal" but it's amazing how hard it is for me now, with even the airmattress folded up. Wow.
Well, what can I say, Ireland... it's been nice knowin' ya.
I hope the guys get here soon... this post is getting too weird!
Pac-child in da haouse
1 Comments Published by Oh Wayward One on 20 December 2006 at 12/20/2006 08:31:00 am.
No time for writing these days it seems. But I found a nice photo from the past to post.
It's of the wayward child herself when she was but a wee wayward child on halloween. A lovely holiday for wee people. Particularly when they love pac-man. And their daddies are whizzes at fashioning large things out of paper maché and chicken wire.
ah those were the days.
Probably the worst thing about her....
2 Comments Published by Oh Wayward One on 16 December 2006 at 12/16/2006 10:37:00 am.
...HER, of course.
She loves to leave the price tags on "presents". Honestly. Amazingly enough, I remember that for a fact, she only started it once I was old enough to be financially independant. So I guess, it was assumed that i could appreciate what was expensive or not? Or something? I have no clue. Whatever. She is notorious for leaving price tags on whatever she buys me. Obviously so I know how much it costs, duh.
UGH!!
I can absolutely, positively, unequivocally state that at least one gift I get from her every year, will come with a pricetag either
a) on it, plainly in sight, or
b) "half-way" attempted to be torn off. Of course the half that remains always shows at least the dollar-number on it. sometimes she "gets" the cents part torn off ok.
And of course I've mentioned it before. But there it is, every year. It's like "hey! look at how much I love you! this is how much of your SOUL you owe me!!!"
WTF?!?!?!?!?!?
the 2nd-worst thing would be how she demands to be acknowledged IMMEDIATELY for every piece of post that comes through my mail slot from her, regardless of how insignificant it is. But that's a whole other blog.
She loves to leave the price tags on "presents". Honestly. Amazingly enough, I remember that for a fact, she only started it once I was old enough to be financially independant. So I guess, it was assumed that i could appreciate what was expensive or not? Or something? I have no clue. Whatever. She is notorious for leaving price tags on whatever she buys me. Obviously so I know how much it costs, duh.
UGH!!
I can absolutely, positively, unequivocally state that at least one gift I get from her every year, will come with a pricetag either
a) on it, plainly in sight, or
b) "half-way" attempted to be torn off. Of course the half that remains always shows at least the dollar-number on it. sometimes she "gets" the cents part torn off ok.
And of course I've mentioned it before. But there it is, every year. It's like "hey! look at how much I love you! this is how much of your SOUL you owe me!!!"
WTF?!?!?!?!?!?
the 2nd-worst thing would be how she demands to be acknowledged IMMEDIATELY for every piece of post that comes through my mail slot from her, regardless of how insignificant it is. But that's a whole other blog.
May your days be merry and bright...
0 Comments Published by Oh Wayward One on at 12/16/2006 10:07:00 am.
Every time I write a post, I don't know if it will be the last one or not, for however long. Each time we seem to hit the packing trail, something else gets thrown into the boxes that won't be making another appearance until the end of the road on the other side. Who knows when my trusty laptop will be one of those things! And time on the 'net just seems to be so precious and few and far between these days.
IT'S JUST TOO DAMN BUSY AROUND HERE DAMMIT
I have a lot of things on my mind these days so chances are, I won't get them all written down. But I wanted to try, this morning, this freaking cold december morning, the beginning of my last week in Ireland.
Where to begin?
How about the part where our house sale contracts fell through less than 10 days before we're scheduled to leave? Typical. It was a developer we were dealing with, and we all know developers are full of shit and not to be trusted. Lying, cheating, F***ing scumbags. I won't even start to describe the 3 months worth of lies this coward spun out of his mouth, because it's not even an issue anymore. But the end result is that we have 10 days left and the house ain't sold. Right, so. The very next day became a very typical "shit or get off the bucket" day. We're very good at these kind of things. Making snap decisions made at the drop of a hat that have the potential to be life-changing, is what I was put on this earth to do. Got the only property manager in town over to the house, walked him through it, got his thoughts, signed contracts to have him look after it and rent it out for us for the next 13 months. Now we aren't able to cut all our ties to this country when we walk out the door, which is what we always wanted to be able to do, but who knows. I think it's fate. At least it'll be an income for us (in euros) over the next year. The property value will only go up. Plus we didn't have an investment strategy for that house sale money anyway. So it's fate. That's the end of that story.
Then I suppose there was dropping the puppies off (see "The BIG MOVE" blog for more). The whole thing worked like a charm. No hiccups, and they're now safe and sound in their temporary digs in Johannesburg. Dropped them in Dublin airport (Lufthansa cargo) on wednesday, said our goodbyes, and went out to dinner at Saba, a new swanky vietnamese restaurant in the city. The city was so charming that night, warm temps and christmas shoppers and atmosphere and lights and. . . ahhhhh. It was good medicine for a stressed out soul who hadn't even realized it was christmas time yet. We had a nice romantic evening wandering the streets and eating dreamy food.
Next up was oh god I dont know, my last physio appointment and massage with Tim? That was divine. The knee is still not sports-worthy yet, but the fact that we'll have a pool when we get to BW means I will be taking up swimming whether I like it or not. Plus there is a gym membership in my future so I'm just going to start doing low-impact stuff regardless. It's just the way it is. Man I cant believe massage was never part of my life til Tim. I really need to make that a change in my future.
Thank god for the mp3 challenge and good friends who deliver your favorite christmas songs straight to your internet door for you, in times of need. Otherwise I honestly wouldn't have known what month it was. honestly. Thanks CSK you are my savior santa for the year and I love the shit out of you.
I guess my christmas lunch with favorite subcontractors yesterday would be next. These guys love me because I was the first person in Cork to give them a chance with the fledgling business they set up 2 years ago. Then with our company on board, they were able to get up and running and they've been flying ever since, since we're in their portfolio. So they took me out to a swanky lunch to say thanks and get me drunk. My favorite pub afterwards for beers and the Mr. joined us later for the end to a perfect afternoon. The fact that they're hilarious, like-minded, cute boys didn't hurt the experience. And the fact I took a half day off work. I'm gonna miss those guys. I'm also gonna try and throw them a bone from the new company in BW. Because they pretty much rock.
House in Gabz-city? Check!! We found it a few weeks ago, kept our fingers crossed, and it looks like it's gonna work out. But why wouldn't it? Everything else has worked out great, with the one exception of the house sale. To which AGAIN I say: Everything happens for a reason. So we don't even think about it anymore.
Today the best husband I ever had (hehhehe) woke me up with what'll probably be my last latte from Costa that he snuck out and got me, turned on the xmas music channel for me to listen to while he went off and got his last haircut from Donna (the best haircutter ever!) and left me here with about 25 minutes to write this blog and check email before the packing fiesta starts again. The fact that we haven't even started the downstairs yet freaks me out, but there's nothing more I can do about it than keep plugging away. It's not so bad, it's just tedious. And takes time away from stuff that I really need to do before we leave. A good start to a day though, so I'm gonna make the most of it. Here goes...
It's all happening....
0 Comments Published by Oh Wayward One on 11 December 2006 at 12/11/2006 06:52:00 pm.
...I just feel like I'm at the top of Victoria Falls, getting swept along by the fastest river current in the world, with no turning back and with no way of stopping. It keeps getting faster and faster and I know that within about 60 metres, it's going to spill over into the highest waterfall in Africa, sending me tumbling over into a giant pool of white water, frothing and tumbling and churning into the lot of it. There at the bottom I'm to be swallowed up by the wash, briefly, and spit head-first into the more comfortable flow of the river, flowing rapidly but at a stable pace, with the steady current letting me bob along more peacefully, whisking me past everything and leaving no time to really take in everything that is whizzing by.
I don't know how else to explain it other than that.
In lighter news, Friday was a fun party at Podgey's house. There was lots of beer (or gin in my case), other stuff, some chips, some rough-housing and friendly banter, indoor rugby training, South Park in the background, a few 3 a.m.-and-onwards games of Catch Phrase, and a headstand competition between me and Alan M.:
(photo to come tomorrow maybe?)
Me + the Mr., Alan M. + Auds, and Pádraig & Tadhg were the last ones standing at 4:45am. Mainly due to the addictive nature of the Catch Phrase competition. (read: Catch Phrase cum drinking game) It was fun.
Saturday = sleep til 1pm, then packing, romantic dinner with the Mr. to calm the nerves, at Ristorante Casanova.
Sunday = Shopping; attempted last-hang-out-with-S&L which ended in failure and us walking into WWIII, listening to yelling and screaming and crying and corporal punishment and general all-round terror, resulting in not even SEEING L. because she was in the middle of a mental breakdown, witnessing a 5-year old violently beat up an 8-year old, and having a big fat pink elephant hanging around in the room with us for the duration of our 1-hour visit. Will have to reschedule that one.
I believe we have found the house we want to rent in BW. I'm happy with it. The house ain't glamorous, but it's got 4 bedrooms 3 bathrooms and the most incredible garden with pool area in the whole country. I think. It's also right next to the Lion Park and at the foot of the hills, near a really large nature reserve. It's what I would call the perfect happy medium between bush & city. Only a 15 minute drive to the city centre. We'll see what happens.
The sea container is booked. They come on Tuesday (8 days from now). Everything has to be packed up and ready by then. We're lucky enough to be getting our own container, we found out today. This means it will get to us faster, because we don't have to wait for anyone else to share the space with us from Dublin to Durban. It also means we can take whatever the hell we want. Old wheelbarrow? sure! Plant pots? Why not! Broken pieces of crap that have absolutely no function but retain some sort of pathetic emotional attachment? Hell yeah! There's no limits to the amount of crap we can bring now. Well outside of 15 cubic metres of space, that is.
I did something stupid and embarrassing tonight, but what else are blogs for if you can't write about things like this: My little VW Golf, my pride and joy, leaves me tonight. ~sigh~ His new owners come to fetch him in about a half hour. As I parked him for one last time on the street by our house, I said (out loud) "good bye little car. I hope you have a nice life with your new owner. Be good." Then I got out, flopped the mirrors in one last time, walked around to the back, where I retired the KC Chiefs sticker that has served me so well for over 2 years now. I had to gulp a little bit, but then proceeded to finish the lap around the car, and at that point in time which I had to walk away, I literally *patted* it on the front-left headlight, and sighed. Then I walked away without looking back. Mostly because I realized the person sitting in the car parked in front of me, was watching. But also because it was just sad.
Like I said before, it's just all happening, and happening fast.
I don't know how else to explain it other than that.
In lighter news, Friday was a fun party at Podgey's house. There was lots of beer (or gin in my case), other stuff, some chips, some rough-housing and friendly banter, indoor rugby training, South Park in the background, a few 3 a.m.-and-onwards games of Catch Phrase, and a headstand competition between me and Alan M.:
(photo to come tomorrow maybe?)
Me + the Mr., Alan M. + Auds, and Pádraig & Tadhg were the last ones standing at 4:45am. Mainly due to the addictive nature of the Catch Phrase competition. (read: Catch Phrase cum drinking game) It was fun.
Saturday = sleep til 1pm, then packing, romantic dinner with the Mr. to calm the nerves, at Ristorante Casanova.
Sunday = Shopping; attempted last-hang-out-with-S&L which ended in failure and us walking into WWIII, listening to yelling and screaming and crying and corporal punishment and general all-round terror, resulting in not even SEEING L. because she was in the middle of a mental breakdown, witnessing a 5-year old violently beat up an 8-year old, and having a big fat pink elephant hanging around in the room with us for the duration of our 1-hour visit. Will have to reschedule that one.
I believe we have found the house we want to rent in BW. I'm happy with it. The house ain't glamorous, but it's got 4 bedrooms 3 bathrooms and the most incredible garden with pool area in the whole country. I think. It's also right next to the Lion Park and at the foot of the hills, near a really large nature reserve. It's what I would call the perfect happy medium between bush & city. Only a 15 minute drive to the city centre. We'll see what happens.
The sea container is booked. They come on Tuesday (8 days from now). Everything has to be packed up and ready by then. We're lucky enough to be getting our own container, we found out today. This means it will get to us faster, because we don't have to wait for anyone else to share the space with us from Dublin to Durban. It also means we can take whatever the hell we want. Old wheelbarrow? sure! Plant pots? Why not! Broken pieces of crap that have absolutely no function but retain some sort of pathetic emotional attachment? Hell yeah! There's no limits to the amount of crap we can bring now. Well outside of 15 cubic metres of space, that is.
I did something stupid and embarrassing tonight, but what else are blogs for if you can't write about things like this: My little VW Golf, my pride and joy, leaves me tonight. ~sigh~ His new owners come to fetch him in about a half hour. As I parked him for one last time on the street by our house, I said (out loud) "good bye little car. I hope you have a nice life with your new owner. Be good." Then I got out, flopped the mirrors in one last time, walked around to the back, where I retired the KC Chiefs sticker that has served me so well for over 2 years now. I had to gulp a little bit, but then proceeded to finish the lap around the car, and at that point in time which I had to walk away, I literally *patted* it on the front-left headlight, and sighed. Then I walked away without looking back. Mostly because I realized the person sitting in the car parked in front of me, was watching. But also because it was just sad.
Like I said before, it's just all happening, and happening fast.
The night we went to Wagamama to say goodbye to Vincey: There was Sake, there was noodles, there was lots of laughing and fun for our last outing together in Cork.
I just found out it was fun enough to even make the my-lifetake-two blog!!
I just found out it was fun enough to even make the my-lifetake-two blog!!The goodbyes start coming.
Friday was Kal, and then tonight I dropped Vincey off at his place for the last time. :(
It was so sad. But on the other hand, not really. I know we'll see each other on instant messenger... I know we'll email forEVER.... and I *know* he'll come visit us in Africa. But I worry about him here in Ireland where he's just not all that happy, and a bit of a square peg in a round hole. Damn, I almost wrote "he belongs more in my hole than here" but that sounds pornographic and profane. whoops. Translated more appropriately: But he's much more of a guy who should be running around with us in our life, rather than stuck here in this hole.
Holes for everybody!
Friday was Kal, and then tonight I dropped Vincey off at his place for the last time. :(
It was so sad. But on the other hand, not really. I know we'll see each other on instant messenger... I know we'll email forEVER.... and I *know* he'll come visit us in Africa. But I worry about him here in Ireland where he's just not all that happy, and a bit of a square peg in a round hole. Damn, I almost wrote "he belongs more in my hole than here" but that sounds pornographic and profane. whoops. Translated more appropriately: But he's much more of a guy who should be running around with us in our life, rather than stuck here in this hole.
Holes for everybody!
Friday I went over to Pádraig's after work and waited for the Mr. to come fetch me on his way home-- now being a 1-car family we have to be flexible. The 3 of us ended up eating kebabs and watching "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart (I'm trying to convert P. before I leave). Then it was home early and an early night all around due to general exhaustion and preparation for Saturday: the Big Track Meet in Nenagh! Alan was running the 60 and 200, and we promised (threatened) him that we'd come watch. He really didn't believe us, likely because he'd have never had ANY fans at all. Even his parents don't come to his meets. Not to mention the fact that it was being held 2 hours away from Cork, in the "Olympic Stadium of Nenagh"... which is a large converted hay barn. 
Ireland's only indoor track. It's so small that the track is only 200m around. (A normal track is 400). It's so small that there are embankments on either side of the long-ends, which slope to approximately 45 degree angles. Unreal!! It's more like a kiddie car racetrack. the "bleachers" were effectively scaffolding planks set atop concrete blocks in 2 parallel rows. Amazing it was.
Alan did great. He got his 2 personal best times in both events, made it into the finals of both, which turned into a right kerfuffle:
- the 200m final was on sunday.
- he wanted to go back to Cork with us instead of staying b/c "he had college work to do" What a little academic trooper! So he skipped the finals on sunday to stay home and study. WTF!? He insisted that this meet was totally unimportant and was more of a winter training session rather than a real "competition". Whatever.
-the 60m final began at 7pm. The starting "beep" sounded, 8 guys sprinted their buns off, and Alan got 3rd. Wahoo! Then we realized it was null and void, because one or another equipment thingy had failed. Again I say WTF!?!
-60m final: Redeux. After draining themselves dry, 8 guys sprint their buns off again, this time Alan taking 4th. Poo! No medal for our hero.
We proceed to drive back to Cork in the biggest monsoon conditions I've ever experienced in Ireland. We're talking 60km/hr all the way home. wooooooooow. It was nuts. My poor little volkswagen shuddered in the gale force winds and the darkness didn't help much, nor did the standing lakes of water that couldn't drain from the highway. I think everyone in my car was nervous, but I got us all home safely. Exhausted, but safe.
Sunday we packed MORE. The guestroom is now the "finished & ready for the truck" room, while the computer room is the explosion/disaster area room. Nearly everything breakable is off the walls (photos, etc) and safely packed in wooden crates. everything in the guestroom is dismantled.
Puppy crates arrived, we made nice cozy beds out of them so pups can get used to being in them and not be freaked out in less than 10 days when they have to jump inside them and settle in for the next 48 hours.... satisfactory level: low (pups') my own satisfactory level: high (nice crates!)
Friday I had to say good bye to Kalvy, and then yesterday the Mr. had to say goodbye to Vincey. I'll still see V. at work, but he won't. In honor of the day the 3 of us went to Wagamama one last time and ate a delicious dinner and had some saki and said our goodbyes. :(
But it was ok.
for some reason I can't post photos.
Ireland's only indoor track. It's so small that the track is only 200m around. (A normal track is 400). It's so small that there are embankments on either side of the long-ends, which slope to approximately 45 degree angles. Unreal!! It's more like a kiddie car racetrack. the "bleachers" were effectively scaffolding planks set atop concrete blocks in 2 parallel rows. Amazing it was.Alan did great. He got his 2 personal best times in both events, made it into the finals of both, which turned into a right kerfuffle:
- the 200m final was on sunday.
- he wanted to go back to Cork with us instead of staying b/c "he had college work to do" What a little academic trooper! So he skipped the finals on sunday to stay home and study. WTF!? He insisted that this meet was totally unimportant and was more of a winter training session rather than a real "competition". Whatever.
-the 60m final began at 7pm. The starting "beep" sounded, 8 guys sprinted their buns off, and Alan got 3rd. Wahoo! Then we realized it was null and void, because one or another equipment thingy had failed. Again I say WTF!?!
-60m final: Redeux. After draining themselves dry, 8 guys sprint their buns off again, this time Alan taking 4th. Poo! No medal for our hero.
We proceed to drive back to Cork in the biggest monsoon conditions I've ever experienced in Ireland. We're talking 60km/hr all the way home. wooooooooow. It was nuts. My poor little volkswagen shuddered in the gale force winds and the darkness didn't help much, nor did the standing lakes of water that couldn't drain from the highway. I think everyone in my car was nervous, but I got us all home safely. Exhausted, but safe.
Sunday we packed MORE. The guestroom is now the "finished & ready for the truck" room, while the computer room is the explosion/disaster area room. Nearly everything breakable is off the walls (photos, etc) and safely packed in wooden crates. everything in the guestroom is dismantled.
Puppy crates arrived, we made nice cozy beds out of them so pups can get used to being in them and not be freaked out in less than 10 days when they have to jump inside them and settle in for the next 48 hours.... satisfactory level: low (pups') my own satisfactory level: high (nice crates!)
Friday I had to say good bye to Kalvy, and then yesterday the Mr. had to say goodbye to Vincey. I'll still see V. at work, but he won't. In honor of the day the 3 of us went to Wagamama one last time and ate a delicious dinner and had some saki and said our goodbyes. :(
But it was ok.
for some reason I can't post photos.
