My Year of Meaningful (2011)

...to Alan L's last day at work. D-day = this friday.


The lovely Alan L (seen here at far right in both, next to the Kevvy) is our "summer student", meaning he was around the office doing shit work for the last 4 months or so, for peanuts & a scholarship for his last year of Civil Engineering studies at Cork University.

Weighing in at a whopping 22 years of age, he is officially my youngest friend. This is a bit intimidating, as it makes me feel like an old f*** but it hasn't hampered our relationship. He's just so dern cool. He's astoundingly good looking (these crap photos from last week do him no justice) as well as the star of our tag rugby team, and being a semi-professional sprinter, he has the body of a gladiator. Yet no girlfriend. I feel extremely sorry for him because I reckon he'd be one fabulous beau to some lucky girl.
1) He's about the only Irishman who doesn't drink that I know of, and at age 22, that means he has a real backbone & no time for silly peer-conformity issues
2) He's from Waterford (i.e. not Cork)
3) He's a sweet farm boy (OK I'll admit my proven historical weakness for)
4) Did I mention the body of Sparticus?
5) Sensitive & extremely generous (type that remembers everyone's birthday)
6) He obviously looks for something other than T&A in a girl
7) I actually think he would really, really, really like to have a girlfriend.
8) Funny, really dry sense of humour
9) Quiet and soft-spoken
10) Interest in blowing this joint and seeing something of the world
11) Did I mention he doesn't drink? This is unbelievable. Although I think it DOES make the fact that he doesnt have a gf in Ireland, believable. It's really sad.

I can fall down and worship at his feet as much as I want and not feel guilty because even the Mr. is a big fan of the A.L. (who is technically friends of us both, actually) It boggles the hubster's mind as much as mine how this guy could have the rottenest luck to have been born in this country whereby he's destined to meet nothing but drunk, uninteresting, high-maintenence floozies for the rest of his elgible bachelordom.

I'll really miss him. And the fact that he's not afraid to [in front of THE GUYS] pick up his banana at lunch time (no really, I mean the fruit) and hold it up to his ear to say "hello", when I'm doing likewise whilst repeatedly screaming "RING RING! RING RING!" into my own... [banana phone] ...well that's just billions of points in my book.

Ah even though he's no longer at the office I assume we'll still see him, but he does have a tendency to go home to Waterford on the weekends a lot. But oh well... we'll keep in touch. He's really curious about Africa and I've nearly got him convinced that he should try getting a job there somewhere after he graduates, rather than boring old Australia (like every other Irish 20-something).

Speaking of banana phone.... This is in my head right now.