Leo's Unite

Yes, I spend my days at home yet have had no time to blog, very sad. So the month of Leo's is over, but I will catch you up on our August:

I have been working is part of the reason for my deliquency. I took a full time job that I quit after two weeks - that was in July actually! It was a very small, family run place, and turns out that that is just not where I thrive. When I first showed up, I had no desk, no computer, no phone and no pens. For many professions those things are frivolous, but when you first priority is increasing internet bookings, a computer with internet access is crucial. I was told to fix the no computer issue, but that was not as simple as it sounds.

Life is not what happens, it is what you do with what happens. For me, learning from what happens is most important. So, things I learned from that two-week job: ask to see the work space. I never would have thought to ask if this person had a desk, computer, pens, but now I would! Also, I'm not the type of person who enjoys an "open" role with lots of different types of duties (including computer installation) - I like to know exactly what I'm supposed to be doing.

Luckily, as I was deciding to quit, I ended up in another part-time job. When I first moved here, I joined the Irish marketing association and got involved with the area chapter. I started talking with the area president, who has his own web building business. He needed some help, so I've been building websites and learning about online advertising. It was supposed to be around three hours per week, but he has a big project that needs to be finished this Friday, so I've put in 20+ hours in the past couple weeks. I've been helping build a website about commercial and industrial walls, pallet racks and other stuff that I've never given a second thought to in my life! But the other night, we went to dinner with a group of Slim's work mates at a restaurant that had a mezzanine area, and I immediately started wondering if the mezzanine was put in after the room existed and how it was constructed! Not something I thought I'd learn in Ireland, but you never know where life will take you sometimes.

And then it happened - a full time job at a BIG company! It is a three-month contract position (September 17 - December 21), but it will be great to have it on my resume. There are pretty much two companies based in southeast Ireland that are big enough to put significant money to resources, one (that you may have heard of) makes crystal. The other is my new employer, who make alcholic apple cider.

What am I doing working for an alcohol producer, some of you will wonder. I wonder myself. I decided that the difference that this would make in getting future jobs in Ireland was just too much to pass up. And the fact that it is temporary, so if my morals get to me, I won't have to be conflicted for too long.

The other downside is the commute - little over an hour each way. I know, many of you do more than that, but I've always thought that you were crazy! In the last ten years, my longest commute was 25 minutes.

I'm commuting to Clonmel, Tipperary. Which is funny to me because the reason we live here in Ireland at all is a woman from Tipperary. Slim's grandmother (who passed away many years ago sadly) was from Kingswell, a settlement of sorts, just outside of Tipperary town. Tipperary town is still another 20 minutes from my work, but I will be spending my days in her home county - I'll refrain from breaking into "The Circle of Life." (But I got it in your head, didn't I!)

Side note, distinctions such as town, city, village don't always work here. For instance Kingswell. I don't know if there was ever an actual town, but I think it was just an area, like a neighborhood in a big city, except it is basically the middle of nowhere. Not really on any maps, but people that have lived there forever just know that that is Kingswell, or whatever it is called. Cities have those areas too - we are between Ballinakill and Ardkeen. Those ares have now been swallowed up by Waterford city, but talking to a local, they would know exactly where I was talking about.

Also in August, we attended our first Spraoi (warning: website has music; pronounced "spree," Irish for fun) festival. Waterford is well known for this music/arts/performance weekend where bands and acts from all over the world perform on various stages or pedestrian streets around the city centre. We saw street performers from California, a Cuban band (members from Cuba, Australia and Ireland), and many others. But the best performance was the Ukele Orchestra of Great Britain. Now having ukelele playing mom, I was particularly interested in seeing this group. And they were amazing! Festival finale was a very non-PC parade and great fireworks show. Clicke here for photos.

We spent a day in Wexford county, visiting an Irish heritage park where they have re-created Irish dwellings from various historical periods. Very interesting to actually walk into the little thatch huts. Also interesting how little the dwellings changed over thousands of years. We had a terrific pub lunch and did some birding in the afternoon.

And last weekend (now into September!), we enjoyed kayaking in Tramore bay and observing some bird banding. Kayaking was gorgeous - we were out about 3 hours (yes, very soar the next couple days!). Tramore is famous as a beach resort (name comes from "tra" meaning beach and "mor" meaning big), but we went along the rocky coast east of town exploring several caves (the claustrophobic in me skipped the third cave - two was quite enough with a group of very inexperienced kayakers - flash backs of bumber cars at carnivals were frequent). Afterwards, we enjoyed a lovely lunch with Engaged Lad and his brother, Musician Lad.

Next day we arose somewhat early to join a local birder that we've met who does bird banding close by. He puts up large, very hard to see, fine netting, catches birds, mostly warblers and then puts those teeny-tiny bands on their legs for studying migration. He also weighs them, detirmines sex and age - so amazing on birds who are on average around 5 inches from head to tail tip! We got extreme close-ups of:

Blue Tit (not a warbler)

Sedge Warbler

Willow Warbler (and #2)

Also enjoyed a (much farther away) view of a Little Gull - life bird!

Thanks for visiting - comments encouraged!