Catching Up

When I started up my computer when I got home on a recent afternoon, Peter came into the room and collapsed onto the bed. He started to pretend to gasp, saying “Can't breathe. Blogosphere too thin. Not...enough...content.”

Which was his polite way of telling me that I've been a negligent blogger. I didn't need the reminder. I know I've been negligent. Lately I feel like my life has been racing downhill while I run along next to it, struggling to catch up and jump inside. Sort of like the family in Little Miss Sunshine, only my life is nowhere near as well-scripted or acted.

A short summary to put us all on the same page:

• 30 November, 2006: Found out that there was a good chance I would be made redundant. My bad November luck continues.



• Early-December, 2006: Updated CV and hit job boards hard. Had a few phone interviews, including a place in the Middle of Nowhere, West Cork. Job sounded good, but am a bit skeptical of picking up and moving entire life. Again.



• The First 23 Days in December, 2006: Assisted Peter with photography exhibitions on 17 of these 23 days. Lesson learned: Do not work at Christmas markets unless you love Christmas carols.



• Mid-December, 2006: Volunteered for the redundancy and learned that my offer was accepted and would come into effect in the New Year.



• Mid-December, 2006: Had lovely visit with Peter's extended family, including his super-charming 7-year old nephew.



• Late-December, 2006: Had wonderful visit with my family, including my parents, my boisterous and hilarious brothers, my inquisitive 4-year old nephew, and the Best Dog in the Whole Wide World (BDitWWW), Joyous reunion with BDitWWW involved lots of tears, tail-wagging, and ear-scratching. Yes, I did hug and greet my parents first, but then BDitWWW muscled in.



• New Year's Eve, 2006: Arrived back in Dublin after 10-hour layover in Chicago. Felt weird to see old house as it felt simultaneously like it was still mine but also like I'd never lived there at all. Think Tobias Wolf might be right.



• 2 January, 2007: Happy Fourth Redundancy to me.



• First weekend in January, 2007: Traveled down with Peter to Middle of Nowhere, West Cork for job interview. Loved the company, the people, and the area. Made the decision to take job. Visited every damp-infested, 1950s-decorated farmhouse in West Cork looking for house to rent. Found a wonderful, newly constructed house very close to new workplace whose rent is about the same as a bedsit (i.e. studio apartment) in Dublin. (Seriously, I am not exaggerating.)

I wasn't kidding when I said my life was racing along as I struggle to keep up. When I relayed all of these goings-on to a friend, she said "Basically, you decided to change your entire life and then got it sorted out over the course of a long weekend." That's a pretty good summary. I have the job, the place to live, and am working on getting the second car that I'll need since Peter will be spending a good bit of time bouncing back between Dublin and Cork.

The hardest amenities to find in our little corner of the Middle of Nowhere seem to be broadband and a camogie team. I know, the broadband thing isn't that surprising but the camogie team is. I guess the camogie is more popular in the North and East of Cork, as well as Cork City, than it is in the West. The closer you get to Kerry, the more popular the football becomes. I don't mind watching the football, but, as a participant, if I can't run around and hit things with sticks, it's just not worth it. I might end up having to drive up to an hour to find a camogie team, which is less than ideal but certainly doable. Besides the pain of trying to find a new team, I am also gutted to leave my old team. I was really looking forward to this season.

It's all very exciting and a shade anxiety inducing. I am very appreciative to The Swearing Lady, who quite graciously provided all of the advice I need to live in the Middle of Nowhere. After next weekend, this blog might be a bit quiet until we get our paws on the broadband. But once we're sorted, I am sure you can look forward to hearing about more adventures in our new life. Only these will involve more cows and sheep than Dublin buses and skangers.