My Year of Meaningful (2011)

When I got back from hols (holidays), everything seemed different.

First of all we left in September, and now it's October. HAHAHAAHAAAAAAAAAA

No really. Let's try this again.

Seriously, it was so nice and autumn-ey when we left, and then we rocked up at the Cork Airport monday night at 9pm. It was lashing rain, and gale-force winds were, like the man, trying to beat me down . ---H.& I let out a big fat "oh BALLS!" as we were physically hurled across the tarmac, by the wind, from our nasty-ass ghetto-EasyJet plane. Not even a landing bridge. That's how shitty Cork airport is... you have to, like, hike over Mt. Stupid to get from your plane to the "in" doors.

Then at work the next day: Tall Paul R. and John M. are gone! OK I totally knew they were going to be gone when I got back (they're travelling around India, China, Mongolia and back through Siberia for 6 months) I think that silly freakshow john has a blog for their travels. BTW... Tall Paul R. is the one dressed up like an indian on that photo.

I hate work without those guys. PLUS there's a bunch of new girls in the office. Anyone who knows me knows I really don't like girls all that much. Except my friends of course. And I come back and find them sitting at OUR tea-time table. Dutch Paul W. is gone for a week likewise, on holidays, so my desk area is soooooooooo friggin empty. Caitriona is gone too. For a year. Travelling of course. Bernard is gone for 3 months, building houses for a charity in Hondouras. Are there any nice people left atRPS? Sure there are. Not to worry. But my old posse has disintegrated. The tea-time brigade has been dismantled. No Tall Paul to hang with and act like utter eejots with late at night whilst doing overtime. No more emails with detailed information, specially reserched for me, on the origin of a certain television show that I *once* mentioned I liked. No more "useless infomation of the day" moments in the canteen. My dear friend Tall Paul, who actually KNOWS that my favourite band is The Band, and practicies a damn good "illusion of going down a staircase/escalator that isn't really there" with me, when no one is watching. -sigh-

There's something very unsettling about coming back and finding things a bit off-line.
When I left, I was so swamped I could hardly hold my head up, work-wise. Now I come back and... there's like... crickets.

It's a good feeling though, people are telling me "welcome back" in the halls. I'm utterly shocked at the amount of people in my building who actually realized I was gone?!!? Robert K the waste water engineer? I didnt even think he knew who I was? That's a nice thing.

Those girls at my table really freak me out though. Seriously. Are they nice? I'm left with no other choice but to be social and find out, I guess.