We promise to write more soon (when we have broadband that isn't pirated from our neighbors) but for now we wanted to wish you all a very happy Christmas!
Lots of love, Jenny and Glenn
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
First day at the office
So today was my first day at the new office. I arrived bright and early at 11 and met with my new boss and a few others. Spent the morning getting all the HR stuff in order, much different than the US. After a couple hours dealing with that I went to the PocketKings cafeteria with my boss, Graham. What a treat...I had a fresh grilled tuna steak with grilled root vegetables and a few chicken wings to top it off. It is going to keep my figure with that place right down the hall.
After lunch my new computer showed up, a Dell desktop with dual 24 inch monitors, pretty sweet. I spent the rest of the day installing software and reading our wiki for information on the system, boring afternoon. Until I went to find the bathroom, which is right down the hall from my desk. Outside the bathroom is a huge rack of every type of candy bar you could imagine, Snickers, flake, honeycomb, m&m's and so many others. It is going to be very difficult to keep in shape, might have to take Scott's advice and start running to work.
I will be posting more in the coming weeks as I figure this whole thing out.
Good night. Miss you all!
Home Alone
Today, Glenn went to work for the first time. I'll try to get him to post the rundown this evening. I am home alone today scouring the rental sights for apartment leads. I am going to look at a few tomorrow and Friday. I'm also looking at a space for the wine bar on Friday at lunch time. I've had my eye on this one from cyberspace for a while and peeped the actual location yesterday. Very promising. It is currently an empty shell, but has an alcohol license. Best of all, it's in a basement! Not sure why this is appealing to me, but it has been part of my vision from the beginning. Fingers crossed!
For lunch today, I went to a lunchtime theatrical performance of the Santaland Diaries. For only 15 Euros, I had a huge bowl of vegetable soup, two hunks of delicious brown bread and was treated to a hilarous rendition of David Sidaris' chronicles of elf-dom at Macy's during the holidays. Alicia, Mom - you both know about my David Sedaris obsession. I wish you were both there with me. So funny! The actor was Irish but forcing an American accent. I was almost fooled until he started talking about the urine test he had to submit to before being the offered the elf job and pronounced it with a hard 'i' - like in rhinestone. It was fun.
Speaking of rhinestones, did I mention that we are surrounded by Bvlgari, Gucci, Channel, Louis Vitton, and every other high end store you've ever heard of? I'm having a tough time walking to and from our apartment without wandering into these glittering, glamorous, bedecked stores. I want one of everything I see and am a bit embarassed by my usual jeans/sneakers get-up. As Hastings would say, it's time for Snoop Doggy Dog to get a jobby job. Once I have the apartment thing settled, I'm planning to apply for some part time work in a wine shop in town. I need to learn more about the buying and selling of wine and it would be nice if I could pay for those gorgeous boots I've got my eye on at Marks & Spencer.
An intersting story to be filed under "No on in Ireland Knows the Immigration Rules": Glenn and I dutifully went to the Guarda National Immigration Bureau to get Glenn registered as a foreign national and get his GNIB card. We looked into this situation quite a bit by researching online, calling the Irish cunsulate in Boston, and directly asking the HR person at Glenn's new office. Most of the answers we got were confusing, but both the Consualte and the HR person told us that the process when like this: Glenn gets a job offer, Glenn accepts said job offer, Glenn 's new company files for his work permit (costing them about 1,000 Euro), Glenn waits, and waits some more until the permit is issued, Glenn receives permit in the mail, Glenn goes to Ireland with permit in hand and registers at the GNIB office. When we arrived at the GNIB office we were told that if Glenn registered with his work permit he would only be legal for a period of one year. If he registered as the spouse of an Irish national (moi), he would be legal for 5 years and wouldn't have to pay the 150 Euro registration fee. If he chose the latter, he could work for whomever he chose and would never need a work permit. Mind you, we informed folks all along the way that I was an Irish citizen. Wouldn't you think that one of them might have told us this tidbit? Too bad his new company blew all that coin on a pointless permit. Jeesh! Moral of the story kids, Glenn is now legal in Ireland for 5 years and we won't have to worry about changing his status if/when he changes his job. I know this won't be our last tangle with the dreaded beast that is the Irish bureaucracy.
A few observations:
Apparently we need to get used to mince pies - they are everywhere!
Having boutique chocolate shops on either corner of our street is going to lead to badness, I can tell.
On the topic of chocolate, consuming 3/4 of a Cadbury Dairy Milk just before bed is a terrible idea in any country for a person who gets all jazzed up just by smelling someone elses' caffinated coffee. Oops!
Paper Euros don't fit in the average American made wallet.
The only CD in our apartment, accidentally left by the last occupants, is the soundtrack from Mama Mia. It is a Christmas miracle!
This country is batty over Mama Mia! the movie. I'm serious, it is all Mama Mia! all the time. A sign from God that I have landed in just the right spot.
More later....Hugs!
Jenny
For lunch today, I went to a lunchtime theatrical performance of the Santaland Diaries. For only 15 Euros, I had a huge bowl of vegetable soup, two hunks of delicious brown bread and was treated to a hilarous rendition of David Sidaris' chronicles of elf-dom at Macy's during the holidays. Alicia, Mom - you both know about my David Sedaris obsession. I wish you were both there with me. So funny! The actor was Irish but forcing an American accent. I was almost fooled until he started talking about the urine test he had to submit to before being the offered the elf job and pronounced it with a hard 'i' - like in rhinestone. It was fun.
Speaking of rhinestones, did I mention that we are surrounded by Bvlgari, Gucci, Channel, Louis Vitton, and every other high end store you've ever heard of? I'm having a tough time walking to and from our apartment without wandering into these glittering, glamorous, bedecked stores. I want one of everything I see and am a bit embarassed by my usual jeans/sneakers get-up. As Hastings would say, it's time for Snoop Doggy Dog to get a jobby job. Once I have the apartment thing settled, I'm planning to apply for some part time work in a wine shop in town. I need to learn more about the buying and selling of wine and it would be nice if I could pay for those gorgeous boots I've got my eye on at Marks & Spencer.
An intersting story to be filed under "No on in Ireland Knows the Immigration Rules": Glenn and I dutifully went to the Guarda National Immigration Bureau to get Glenn registered as a foreign national and get his GNIB card. We looked into this situation quite a bit by researching online, calling the Irish cunsulate in Boston, and directly asking the HR person at Glenn's new office. Most of the answers we got were confusing, but both the Consualte and the HR person told us that the process when like this: Glenn gets a job offer, Glenn accepts said job offer, Glenn 's new company files for his work permit (costing them about 1,000 Euro), Glenn waits, and waits some more until the permit is issued, Glenn receives permit in the mail, Glenn goes to Ireland with permit in hand and registers at the GNIB office. When we arrived at the GNIB office we were told that if Glenn registered with his work permit he would only be legal for a period of one year. If he registered as the spouse of an Irish national (moi), he would be legal for 5 years and wouldn't have to pay the 150 Euro registration fee. If he chose the latter, he could work for whomever he chose and would never need a work permit. Mind you, we informed folks all along the way that I was an Irish citizen. Wouldn't you think that one of them might have told us this tidbit? Too bad his new company blew all that coin on a pointless permit. Jeesh! Moral of the story kids, Glenn is now legal in Ireland for 5 years and we won't have to worry about changing his status if/when he changes his job. I know this won't be our last tangle with the dreaded beast that is the Irish bureaucracy.
A few observations:
Apparently we need to get used to mince pies - they are everywhere!
Having boutique chocolate shops on either corner of our street is going to lead to badness, I can tell.
On the topic of chocolate, consuming 3/4 of a Cadbury Dairy Milk just before bed is a terrible idea in any country for a person who gets all jazzed up just by smelling someone elses' caffinated coffee. Oops!
Paper Euros don't fit in the average American made wallet.
The only CD in our apartment, accidentally left by the last occupants, is the soundtrack from Mama Mia. It is a Christmas miracle!
This country is batty over Mama Mia! the movie. I'm serious, it is all Mama Mia! all the time. A sign from God that I have landed in just the right spot.
More later....Hugs!
Jenny
Sunday, December 7, 2008
The First Days
Jenny's Notes:
Welcome to our blog! Glenn and I promise not to let this blog suffice for actually communicating with our family and friends, but thought it might be a good way to journal our move to Ireland and keep anyone interested posted on our journey.
After months of planning, packing, and goodbye-ing, we are finally here in Dublin. I don't think the reality of our situation will set in for quite some time now. We are both still reeling from the last weeks of activity and some jet lag. I can't get enough of this city. Our temporary apartment is really in the heart of the City Centre. We step out our front door and can be on Grafton St. in 60 seconds, in St. Stephen's Green in 2 minutes and just about anywhere else with just a short walk. I am getting spoiled. Glenn, on the other hand, is thinking he might enjoy a place with fewer people. My guess is that our budget will work in Glenn's favor when it comes time to pick our permanent place.
Our first day is a distant memory. Once we landed, we checked into a hotel and slept for hours. In the afternoon we went to the realty office managing our apartment and picked up our keys. Once we checked out our new pad and walked around the city (yes, we were lost) for a bit, we went back to the hotel, changed and went to dinner at a great little restaurant that Glenn remembered from one of his interview trips. Still on EST, we weren't the least bit tired after dinner so we went to some bars to do some more exploring. Somehow, I managed to drag us into the oldest gay nightclub in Dublin. It was actually a fun people watching spot. I'm sure you'll be surprised to hear that Glenn did not want to dance.
The next day we spent moving into our new place and unpacking. We did a bit more exploring (read: 'getting lost') and got new cell phones. If you want the numbers, just send us an email. These phones have free skype, so send us your username if you skype.
We started today with a nice long (chilly) walk around and throughout St. Stephen's green. It was so beautiful and the city was very quiet on a Sunday morning. We just returned from an afternoon adventure to Dun Laoghaire (a coastal town just south of Dublin). We successfully navigated the train system and enjoyed a lovely afternoon of walking, eating, card playing, and exploring. We decided to make this kind of trip a Sunday tradition. Or maybe to start a Sunday afternoon card playing club....we'll see what shakes out.
We have two more days before Glenn starts work. That will be one step closer to settling in and getting out of vacation mode. I'll start to seriously look for a place for us to live permanently and a spot for the wine bar.
Some observations so far:
The Irish really are as friendly as they seem. Everyone we've met has wished us well on our moved and offered some sort of assistance.
Clothes dryers in this country really don't work. I'm not sure how people get their clothes dry in Dublin as there is no space for drying lines. I'll have to ask someone when I get a bit more confident.
The web cam is a brilliant invention!
It's fairly easy to live with only a very small number of possessions (I have no idea what we are going to do with our 14 boxes of stuff when it arrives next month).
The Europeans got it right with energy efficiency, plumbing, and transportation.
That's it for now. I'm sure these blogs will become less detailed as we get used to life on this side of the pond. Feel free to comment and we'll get back to you. Thanks for reading!
Welcome to our blog! Glenn and I promise not to let this blog suffice for actually communicating with our family and friends, but thought it might be a good way to journal our move to Ireland and keep anyone interested posted on our journey.
After months of planning, packing, and goodbye-ing, we are finally here in Dublin. I don't think the reality of our situation will set in for quite some time now. We are both still reeling from the last weeks of activity and some jet lag. I can't get enough of this city. Our temporary apartment is really in the heart of the City Centre. We step out our front door and can be on Grafton St. in 60 seconds, in St. Stephen's Green in 2 minutes and just about anywhere else with just a short walk. I am getting spoiled. Glenn, on the other hand, is thinking he might enjoy a place with fewer people. My guess is that our budget will work in Glenn's favor when it comes time to pick our permanent place.
Our first day is a distant memory. Once we landed, we checked into a hotel and slept for hours. In the afternoon we went to the realty office managing our apartment and picked up our keys. Once we checked out our new pad and walked around the city (yes, we were lost) for a bit, we went back to the hotel, changed and went to dinner at a great little restaurant that Glenn remembered from one of his interview trips. Still on EST, we weren't the least bit tired after dinner so we went to some bars to do some more exploring. Somehow, I managed to drag us into the oldest gay nightclub in Dublin. It was actually a fun people watching spot. I'm sure you'll be surprised to hear that Glenn did not want to dance.
The next day we spent moving into our new place and unpacking. We did a bit more exploring (read: 'getting lost') and got new cell phones. If you want the numbers, just send us an email. These phones have free skype, so send us your username if you skype.
We started today with a nice long (chilly) walk around and throughout St. Stephen's green. It was so beautiful and the city was very quiet on a Sunday morning. We just returned from an afternoon adventure to Dun Laoghaire (a coastal town just south of Dublin). We successfully navigated the train system and enjoyed a lovely afternoon of walking, eating, card playing, and exploring. We decided to make this kind of trip a Sunday tradition. Or maybe to start a Sunday afternoon card playing club....we'll see what shakes out.
We have two more days before Glenn starts work. That will be one step closer to settling in and getting out of vacation mode. I'll start to seriously look for a place for us to live permanently and a spot for the wine bar.
Some observations so far:
The Irish really are as friendly as they seem. Everyone we've met has wished us well on our moved and offered some sort of assistance.
Clothes dryers in this country really don't work. I'm not sure how people get their clothes dry in Dublin as there is no space for drying lines. I'll have to ask someone when I get a bit more confident.
The web cam is a brilliant invention!
It's fairly easy to live with only a very small number of possessions (I have no idea what we are going to do with our 14 boxes of stuff when it arrives next month).
The Europeans got it right with energy efficiency, plumbing, and transportation.
That's it for now. I'm sure these blogs will become less detailed as we get used to life on this side of the pond. Feel free to comment and we'll get back to you. Thanks for reading!
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