I'm so sick!
Mood:  on fire
A lot has been happening recently. I am on my third week of working with Peter Harkin. We get on really well and I'm going to love working there. When I went to work really sick yesterday he barred me from the office for today and said I could only come in today if I was feeling a lot better. He gave me the day off with pay and the name of a doctor to see. I really love that he pays so much attention to his staff and clients. He's always willing to spend extra time and have a one on one meeting with people, even if it means coming into the office early, or staying late. At the same time, he has that eccentric artistic personality that always keeps you on your toes. He can't stay on track when I'm trying to discuss his next days appointments with him, but it's interesting to try at the very least.
I think Saturday night got me sick. I went out with Ide and four of her friends from Cork. They were hilarious. We had a very random night where we tried to get the birthday girl (Maeve) 23 kisses but she ended up getting too wasted and not being allowed into the night club (something that happens here more often than it probably should). We ended up going anyway and one of the girls brought her home. Afterwords we went to McDonald's where Ide decided to yell 'there's a party in my pants and you're all invited' at the top of her lungs to anyone and everyone walking by. She even sang it and made up a little dance that looked like something a flapper would do with a feather boa when a guy said she had to make the offer more appealing. We ended up back at her apartment to play the brush game. A note: a brush in Ireland is our broom... So basically we ended up playing dizzy bat, where you take the brush (broom) and put your forehead on it then spin around as fast as you can. Who thought this would be a good idea in a living room full of people, furniture, and glass bottles, I don't know? Anyway, we managed to escape without concussions, but there were a few times when we thought someone might not get up after banging into walls. Yet, everyone of us stood there laughing and not helping. When it was my turn to go they decided I didn't do a good enough job since I didn't hit anything and Patrick (a friend of Ide's) pinned me down and wrote all over me in permanent marker. I spent the rest of the night with ass on my forehead (even though he was trying to write USA), a mustache, polka dots, surprised eyebrows, and USA on my neck and arms... Good stuff. Ah the ways we find to entertain ourselves. Every time someone refused to do the brush we would all yell 'Come on, you used to be great craic,' in order to guilt them into it. Not sure why we thought that was so funny but it was all the same. I've never laughed so hard in my life.
Great news! Josh is coming in to visit Friday morning. I have no idea how long he's staying and I'm not sure he does at the moment either. My friend Brian is moving into the apartment the same day. I'm going to have an Irish housemate from now on. I think it'll be great craic. Erin's going back to the states that day as well, which is why Brian is moving in and curly haired people are uniting to take over the world... We're going to have a party on Saturday to welcome my boys and teach the Irish an American drinking game or two. Can't wait! Well, I'd better get going and find that doctor! Hopefully I'm not dying, someone decided it would be funny to tell me about the incurable bird flu that is coming this way...

Kiss me I'm Irish
Over the weekend I married an Irish lad and am now an Irish national....
Ok, not really. But I have found a sponsor. Basically, I will be working as the personal assistant to Peter Harkin. He's a well-known wedding photographer here in Galway. I will be learning about photography first-hand from him, but mostly I'll be the secretary for his photography studio. This will be a great opportunity for me, especially since it will allow me to stay until this time next year. I am not official yet, but by this time next month I should have my work permit which will allow me to work and live here in Galway. I am so excited, except for the fact that I won't be going home to see my family and friends. I miss you all so much. On the other hand, this gives all of you a year to save up and come visit me. My door is always open, so you won't have to pay for lodging...
Other news-- I saw my first hurling match this weekend. It's officially the fastest field game in the world and somewhat a cross between field hockey and lacrosse. As my friend Kelly puts it, "it's happy gilmore's true calling." I think you'd have to see it to understand. It was one of the most fascinating sports I've ever seen. Galway was playing Cork in the All-Ireland Finals on Sunday, so it was a huge event where all the pubs were packed with people watching the match. My friends Tracey (Irish), Olivia (Kiwi), and I went and watched the second half of the match at Taafes after I finished work at 4. We managed to get there right at half time when people were leaving to do various other things and squeezed up to the front. It was nice watching the match on the big screen. Tracey was also nice enough to explain the rules and calls to me, although it wasn't really that complicated other than a goal being worth 3 while a point is 1. Goals are scored by hitting the ball with this cross between a hockey and lacrosse stick or your hand into a soccer style net. Points are scored by hitting the ball in between the poles that protrude from either side of the net. Unfortunately Galway lost to Cork in the end and did not put up much of a fight at that. Cork was the favored team and it was pretty obvious. The loss was soon forgotten thanks to pints of Guinness and such... The girls and I ended up staying and drinking at Taafes from 4-9 with our new friends from sligo (a group of 15 lads watching the match next to us) then proceeded to the pub around the corner from my apartment (hole in the wall) and the vic (a club) for more merriment.
PS a big congrats to Amy and her newborn baby!

FLOOD!!!
So, just adding to my adventures with water in our apartment, we recently had a huge problem with the washing machine. It seems as though I forgot to put the cap back on the lint trap or put it on incorrectly and unfortunately when you run a load of laundry water will gush out of this hole. Basically when Erin ran a load of wash in the morning she didn't know that it wasn't attached and left. I was still sleeping so I didn't notice the water gushing throughout our apartment. Basically we ended up with about two inches of water throughout our apartment except in the bedrooms. Even more, the snooker (pool for those of us not from this crazy country) hall below us was graced with a beautiful flow of water from above... Which managed to ruin 3 tables, the carpet and cave in parts of the ceiling. Lucky for us our landlady is uber responsible and got back to us right away with what we should do. Wait she didn't. Erin and I spent 2.5 hours or so soaking up water with towels and ringing them out in the bathtub, sink , or rubbish bin. Now, in the wake of our flood our floorboards are curling (yes, a newly placed hardwood floor was all throughout the apartment) which will have to be replaced. Total cost of the damage? TBD... Who's gonna pay for it??? Hopefully not me cause I'm pretty broke as it is. Luckily there were no casualties and our disaster is not nearly as bad as the one being faced back home...
Now for what I've been up to the past few weeks...
Basically I spent two and a half weeks or so partying all night till early in the morning, sleeping till mid-afternoon when restaurants slowed a little then pounding the pavement in search of a job. Basically I found a job at a womens trendy retail shop because no one else was getting back to me and then the second I accepted 2 restaurants and a employment agency rang me with work. I hate retail so I was going to take a job waitressing at slightly lower pay, but when I went to tell my boss she offered me 40 hours a week with time and a half pay on Sundays and late nights (on Thursdays and Fridays shops are open until 9 rather than 6pm every other night of the week for late night shopping). Basically I'm greeting customers and putting clothing on hangers all day long and feel like a zombie, but I only have a month to go and really need the money.
Going out-- I've been meeting more and more people. Mostly guys though, I don't know where all the women are in this city but I tend not to have a ton of girls to go out with. Basically I go out with Deborah, Grainne, and Ide or one of the lads. A bunch of Debs friends from Sligo, a city north of here came down for a night and we went out with them. It was great craic. I even salsa danced with her friend Paul in the middle of the street where some street performers were playing for a crowd of 100 people or so. They even cheered for us at the end. It was really funny. They all slagged Paul later saying he was outdone by 'that American girl.' I usually get some version of this from people, that 'yank' or the American. It's just easier for people to figure out since there are a few other Stephanie's here. Later that night Debs and I danced with her friend Darren the hairstylist/barman, and made a complete spectacle of ourselves.
Last weekend Deborah, Grainne, Ide and myself had a girls night out. We went to Lemongrass, this wonderful Thai restaurant (YUM!!!!) and then to a few pubs and a club to dance all night. One guy decided to hop into the middle of us girls and we all took turns slaggin (making fun of him) by battle dancing. Poor lad thought we were into him and everyone backed up to watch us and the bouncers told us it wasn't very nice to be treating him that way... But hey, girls will be girls, we were just having some fun. My 17 year old ex coworker was out that night with us as well and attempted to slide down the railing in the club only to fall off the side and roll down the steps... Oops! Really not too funny, but Kelly and I couldn't stop laughing. She nearly got us kicked out for weaving and running into people constantly.
On Sunday Brian (one of the lads, pictures will be coming soon!!!) and I met with our friend Colin (an American) since it was his last night in Galway. Colin and I worked together briefly at Revive then helped me to get my job at B. Mills where he was later working. He's headed to Europe with his friend for a few weeks before returning to DC. I'll miss chilling and talking about music or playing card games with him :(
Last night was Padraic's 25th birthday. He's my amazingly fun guy friend. We've spent a lot of time together lately and are always laughing and being stupid. Our friend Ronan the 20 year old womanizer threw a big party for him at his place where we danced and chatted before heading over to GPO, the club I can see (and hear every night around 230 am when it lets out) from my bedroom. Its probably the sleaziest club in Galway, bad music and people, but still good fun when you're among friends. After we all migrated back to Ronan's, he lives just below me in our apartment building.
Tonight we're going to King's Head, a local pub where tons of americans and other tourists go. They usually have live music and stay open late. We're going to surprise Deborah with her boyfriend there. He's been on holiday for the last two months in Europe and was meant to return on Monday where debs was going to surprise him at the airport. Instead, he's coming back today and we're going to meet him at the club later. She's going to die, but it will be good to see them together again and have her stop whining about him not texting her. Sorry debs, but you know its true!
I went and looked at turtles today with Grainne. The pet shop on shop street has these adorable little turtles that are about two inches across. I really wanted to buy one but it would be close to 75 euro when all is said and done. I really can't afford that when I'm leaving in a month or so.
Right now I'm researching how to get a job in social work. If I can wheedle my way into it I can stay here for up to 2 and a half years. I would really like to come back in January and stay until the end of next summer.
Well, that's about it for now... Write more later.

Hungover
Mood:  don't ask
Still no job... So i've taken to having house parties with all of my friends and not going to clubs... Erin and I threw our first house party last Saturday and it was tons of fun. Had two this weekend and have enjoyed teaching the Irish lads how to play American drinking games. Pretty funny stuff. I drank a bottle of buckfast last night which is this curious tonic wine that you can buy for ?10 and makes you incredibly hyper, well at least it makes me hyper. It's nice too cause you don't need anything else for the rest of the night. Unfortunately I forgot my key last night and slept on the doorstep cause Erin locked the door after we left the house and wouldn't wake up when we rang the doorbell. Luckily tho I only slept there for a little while until my neighbor came home from his night out and made me sleep on his couch. Good thing I met him the night before, otherwise he probably just would've walked by and laughed at the strange girl sleeping on her front doorstep in the rain. Think that's the last bottle of Buckfast for me... Been meeting lots of fun people. Olivia my kiwi friend and I met some guys at a night club and went to their house party. Now we hang out with them quite a bit. They're all pole climbers and move around Ireland every six months or so to start jobs in a new area. We happened to meet them just a couple days after they moved to Galway and were having a little soiree in their new house. Random...
Going to continue my job search on Monday. I've put in about 10 CV's to various places and no one has gotten back to me so far. Most people are looking for long-term staff and I'm anything but... Everyone says that I need to start telling people I'm here for a year, but I really hate lying. Can't believe my time here is already halfway through. Makes me pretty sad, I really love Ireland. My friends here are a huge part of why I love this country. When the girls (Deborah, Ide, Grainne and Erin) heard that I was jobless they were so sweet. Erin bought me a huge chocolate bar and professed that it had special powers that would help me find a job... Ide made me go to their apartment so we could look through the Galway Advertiser to find me a job. Deborah brought me grocery shopping and we spent the evening making a massive salad and enchiladas for all of us and had ourselves a little dinner party. They were so yummy, except the ones that tasted like dish soap (luckily I didn't get one of them). Then watched movies together. PS Matchstick Men is a really good movie. Grainne also brought me some chocolate and has been keeping a lookout for all restaurants looking for staff. Gotta love em! Thanks girls!
Erin and I went to Connemara and Kylemore Abbey. So gorgeous. I hate guided bus tours tho. Sitting on a cramped bus and listening to some idiot talk for 7 hours, ugh. It wasn't all bad though for my first tourist adventure here in Ireland. There was a funny Irish song playing about a rooster catching hens off guard and making them lay eggs... In the end a queer rooster is caught off guard by a hen and he starts laying hens... Erin and I couldn't stop laughing at the ridiculous song. I have pictures of the day too. Will put them up sometime this weekend, just didn't bring them down here with me.

PICS!!!
Mood:  irritated
Photos Just as a warning, there are only two pictures on there right now. More to come soon!

Crap
Mood:  blue
Sorry I've been absent for so long. Many things have happened since my last entry. I went to the Galway Arts Festival Parade with Erin which was the best parade I've ever been to. The costumes were so incredibly vibrant and interesting, as were the dances. I have pictures and am working on uploading them onto my blog.
After that Ela came and visited. We basically shopped and walked around Galway during the day and partied at night. We went out every night she was here... I believe it was 3 nights in a row, but it's all been a bit of a blur. We had a great time dancing and laughing together. It was so good to have someone from home here. And by home I mean someone from the US... Funny how a whole country can become 'home' when you're abroad. Anyway, I was supposed to visit her in Turkey but it looks as though she won't be able to go after all. There were a few complications with her parents selling their apartment and having to move out quickly which meant they wouldn't be able to meet her there and basically she's returning to Chicago sooner than originally planned. Pretty sad, we had big plans to work on our tans and relax together.
Work--The day Ela came to visit my manager told me the owners were threatening to fire me and really didn't want me working there anymore. Apparently I talk too much and work too little. It's basically bullshit. The problem is that I smile and am too friendly so they think that I'm not working hard enough when really I work as hard or harder than everyone else. None of the staff understood since they talk to their friends while working more than I do. I guess I just wasn't what they were looking for in an employee. Anyway, I started job searching and managed to find a waitressing job at Bridge Mills Restaurant which is by far the most picturesque restaurant I've ever been in. Complete with old mill wheel that works, the Corrib River on one side, a stream on the other, and swans. I tried out and they asked me to work full-time so I quit Revive. This was my last week at Revive, I was supposed to work through Saturday, but I got fed-up and told the manager that she treats her employees horribly and I couldn't stay through the week. So I've had the last few days off. I was to begin working at Bridge Mills on Monday; however, I received a phone call while shopping with a friend today from the owner of B. Mills. What did she say? The boy whose position I was to fill extended his visa to December, so they could hardly tell him he couldn't work there anymore. Since they decided not to extend their hours later at night, they will not be needing me. Basically I am unemployed with only two months left to go on my visa. I'm in a terrible mood, but about to start the job search for the third time. Luckily I've been having it pretty easy up until recently and managed to save enough for August's rent. I now need to find a job in order to pay for September and travelling. Will it be possible? I guess we'll find out. So, off I go! Wish me luck.

Erin's Birthday
Mood:  celebratory
This week and next the Galway Arts Festival is going on. It just means that lots of hippy-types are out on the street selling their art, whether it's jewelry, homemade clothing, paintings, or entertainment (magic shows, dance, etc). Erin said while she was walking along she saw a two-man band with an acoustic guitar and a kazoo-player. As if this wasn't entertaining enough they were accompanied by three male dancers in their underwear with what she assumed were socks stuffed in them otherwise they were very well-endowed. Pretty funny and far better sounding than anything I've managed to come across. The festival also has life-like dummies set up in windows of various shops and pubs across the city. They're really interesting because they look like real people at first glance (really ugly real people...) so everyone is doing double takes and realizing they aren't actually people.

This past Sunday was Erin's 22nd Birthday. We were originally going to go the Aran Islands but were too tired out and she had some dates to go on.... Ooh la la. Although they seemed to have fallen through, bad form boys! It was her birthday, what were they thinking?!?!? We ended up going out to Central Park (C.P.'s) a night club I've mentioned before. Erin, Deborah and I danced our hearts out all night and I got to talk to the hottest Australian I've ever seen... Gotta love those Aussie's, I think they have the best looking men I've seen in my travels. Anyone disagree? Much be all that sunlight... Who knows. On Sunday we woke at noon to a very very beautiful day! It's been around 85 degrees out everyday this week. SO nice! Especially compared to the rain we have come to expect and quite often loathe when it's paired with nasty wind that will flip your umbrella inside out. We then proceeded to get our ears pierced together and thought about getting best friend key chains because they were fuzzy, ugly mice. Yes, this was Claires, like the ones from home and they sell the same cheap shit. Erin got her ears pierced for the first time (technically the second, since she did have her ears pierced at 12 but took them out and couldn't handle poking anything back through her skin), while I got second holes. We have some pics, I'll try to get them on here. After that we bought cans of Irish cider (Buhlmers) and sat out by the Spanish arch and Erin managed to get a really nasty sunburn... Not too good, but the atmosphere there was great. Everyone was just lazing about watching the swans on the river and soaking up the sun. There were tons of people out.
We also went bowling later that evening. I have never seen bowling balls with so many pock marks on them! It was awful. I swear they wouldn't roll straight, but Daithi was convinced that I was just saying that because I was bowling so poorly; however, those of you who bowled with me regularly in Claremont (Alla,Ela!) know that 65 is not a normal score for me... I swear!!!
We went back into the city for ice cream and sat at the Spanish arch again, grabbed another pint (yes, we drank in the afternoon and again later that night, it's the Irish way!) and then headed home with some chocolate to watch Ghostbusters II. Too bad both Erin and myself fell asleep before the end. It was a pretty good day and I think Erin really enjoyed her birthday.
Monday night we went out for a pint with Deborah, Ross, Grainne, and Eda, our Irish friends and were met by Jeff (Erin's current love interest... Although she's not quite ready to admit it). He's American but has lived here for a year while rowing (he does crew here) and working at the rowing club. He actually has an Irish accent which is funny cause our Irish friends were impressed. He's from Iowa and he's gorgeous! Go Erin!!! I'm so proud of her. They have a lot of the same interests and seem to enjoy hanging out. I won't tell you too much, but I will give you that little bit of background on him, cause I'm not sure if she will. She said she hasn't been that excited about a guy in a while which is so great. Now, I'm waiting for my hunk to walk in to work (she met him when he was eating in the cafe she works at)so I can say the same thing. :)
Anyway, that about sums up my current events! Not much has been going on. Oh, wait! Ela is coming next week. I can't wait to have someone from home to show around. I managed to get Friday off of work which means we can hit the pubs on Thursday (a very busy night in Galway, even busier than Friday nights) and do some sight-seeing on Friday during the day! Woop! We're going to have sooo much fun. You can count on us staying out late dancing all the time, which is pretty much what I do on my own anyway but it will be good to have her here to do it with!!!
I promise to put in pictures the next time I come to the computer, I have so much to show you guys!

Happy 4th everyone!
Erin and I celebrated the 4th yesterday with two American boys, Colin and Evan who are from Washington D.C. It was very low-key but good. We just went to a pub called the blue note, had a pint, and chatted a bit. It was nice and relaxing. It's good to have American friends over here. Although I am enjoying the fact that the majority of my friends here are Irish. Lately I've just been working and going out. It seems that is the typical routine for people around here. This weekend (Sunday) Erin is turning 22. All of you should drop her a note. I think we're going to try going bowling and drinking on Saturday with all of our friends and then head out to the Aran Islands on Sunday to check out the scenery. It's supposed to be gorgeous out there. Either that or Erin is going to get her ears pierced. She's kind of nervous about it, but I think it's a grand idea.

Irish phrase of the week:
That's mingin--that's really disgusting or that's rank... Used often in reference to guys apartments here (not sure on the spelling, but that's how it sounds)
Or "what a minger!"--Never to be used unless someone is really really ugly, considered a very bad insult.

Working hard and playing harder...
Mood:  smelly
I just finished another day at work. It's been pretty tough going since a little over a week ago. There were three people who knew how to my job (barista or coffee girl) when I started but one quit and the other didn't show up to work on the same day. Since then the girl who didn't show up either quit or was fired. I'm not really sure and no one really talks about it. As a result I got to work about 52 hours last week instead of the 35 I was used to. This included an 11 hour and a 10 hour day back to back. I was pretty exhausted. Yet I still found plenty of time to go out with my friends.
On thursday I ended up going out with Erin and about four other Americans. It was so obvious we were all americans, but we had a really great time. Two of the guys were from Santa Barbara and knew Claremont. They were just visiting Galway for the night before they started off their 2 month long visit to Europe. Pretty crazy stuff. They had plans to visit all sorts of different countries for 3 days each. It seemed a bit rushed to me but they're going to see a lot.
Saturday I went out with Grainne and her boyfriend. We drank a lot of shots of Jack (me) and Vodka (Grainne) and danced a ton. While dancing with Grainne I somehow managed to tear open the back of my skirt. Sound familiar Sonja? It reminds me of what I did when we went to Cowgirls. You can bet I didn't leave the club though and kept on dancing. I just tied my jacket around my waist rather than mooning everyone at the club all night.
On Sunday Erin, Deborah, Ross, Grainne, Dave, and I went to the airshow in Salthill. We sat on the beach and watched all these crazy planes do tricks. It was a really nice day and I enjoyed people-watching and chatting with the girls more than I enjoyed watching the planes. After that Deborah, Eda, and I drank some wine and went to CP's, another club. It was the first time I'd been to this one and it was pretty swank. There were two dance floors there and it was pretty crowded even though it was a Sunday night. It seems this weekend was the weekend of blunders though cause some drunk guy and the girl he was dancing with fell on me while I was dancing with this guy from New Zealand. I kept on dancing but I ended up with a nasty sprained ankle out of it. My ankle is pretty bruised and swollen and unfortunately it's not getting much better since I'm standing on it all day at work now. I'm supposed to get two days off a week but I've only gotten the Sundays since we're closed on Sunday and that's what everyone gets off. I think I will start getting an extra day next week once the new baristas we've hired are trained. I am working around 45 hours this week which is much more managable. I'm glad to be getting the extra hours though because it means more money I can save/spend.
Melissa-- It was so great to hear from you! You live it up girl and don't give a shit about people worrying. Sometimes you just need to realize that they may not have a problem with you as much as they are insecure are jealous. But its just easier to blame others than it is to deal with our own shit. I'm glad you're moving into a place of your own. That sounds really great and I'll definitely be visiting you when I make it back home. It's really good that you seem to be so happy. Sometimes we just need to take a step back from things and find other things to keep our mind off them so we can enjoy them more. I think living with friends can be like this. It seems like a great deal at first, but it's very hard to manage spending so much time with anyone. If we step away from these things and find other people to hang out with for a while it helps us to appreciate what we liked so much about our friendships with those people in the first place. Don't stress girl and keep on finding ways to enjoy life! I am so proud of how hard you work and all that you've achieved in your life. Being able to pay for a place to live on your own (and the school you've already paid for your self) can be difficult. I never realized until I had to start paying monthly bills over here. I hate responsibility.

Crazy Week, still Recuperating
Mood:  party time!
I can't believe it's been less than a week since I last wrote in here. So much has happened and it's been funny/obnoxious/silly and everything you can think of.
I went out drinking with Elaine and Kris on Monday after work. The three of us closed Revive so right after we headed to the Pubs (Rabbit first, Then some other one I forget the name of and eventually Cuba a club). We started drinking at around 6 and just chatted a bunch till we were way too drunk and decided to go dance it off (which didn't work at all). Elaine is an Irish girl that lives just outside of Galway and Kris is from New Zealand. Unfortunately yesterday was his last day of work. I love those two crazies. We had so much fun on Monday and entertained each other the next day while working with killer hangovers. I will have to censor some of the events, but basically the three of us don't remember a lot of what happened at or after Cuba. What were we thinking? I definitely think Kris has it right when he says the best times are unplanned events. I mean, who plans on going out on a Monday night? Not me... That crazy night landed me with the nickname "Disco Stu" after the Simpson's character. I am always dancing and singing while I work too. Pretty silly. Tracy, another co-worker and Elaine's sister always asks how I can be so hyper, even when battling little sleep and hangovers. I don't really know how, I'm just loving it over here.
Went and hung out with Deborah and Grainne the other night over at their apartment. Got to watch telly. They have so many weird phrases here. Like "what's the craic?" (what's the crack is how you'd say it) which means how's it going. Or "it was good craic," it was good fun. They watch a lot of shitty reality TV over here. Man are they obsessed. Also, the shows are even worse than the ones at home, surprise surprise. Big brother is really popular (kinda like real world, where a bunch of people are stuck in a house). Then there is also Celebrity Love Island, the shittiest show ever. Basically some Irish celebrities are in Tahiti on an island, slut themselves around (excuse my language, sorry if you are offended) and Then people get voted off. Pretty lame. But they love it here. It was to the point where Fiona and Una, a couple of my coworkers had to call others while we were at dinner last night to see who was voted off.
Last night I was supposed to go on a date with Daithi, a boy I met in a pub that I mentioned in the last entry, but I had to cancel. He works for some political party here that is affiliated with the IRA, pretty crazy shit. We ended up having a dinner surprise good-bye party for Chris. Basically it was 12 of us from work drinking and eating tex-mex and having a great time. We managed to rack up an 800 euro bill by the end of it. Ouch says my purse (which is what we call a wallet in the US, but here wallets are only what guys carry, and a handbag here = a purse in the US). After that we decided to head to some pubs and drink some more. We ended up at the Quays which is pronounced the Keys Bar, where everyone was drinking in the street outside and hanging out. Daithi met up with us Then and we had a quasi-first date (somehow I keep ending up with weird dates) where he met all of my co-workers including the manager/my next door neighbor and the two owners. He ended up having a long discussion with Mary, one of the owners, strange. I didn't really plan on having it work out like that, but it was a lot of fun. By the end of the night it was Elaine, Kris, Daithi and me. Somehow the three of us (Elaine, Kris, and me) always end up staying out really late, even when starting early.
I haven't seen much of Erin (a friend from college in CA for those of you who don't know her) lately because she tends to start and end work later than I do, and I am usually out by the time she gets back. Normally I would have her come out too but she caught the nasty cold I was fighting when we first got here. We're hoping she gets better and can start going out.
I got my first pay check today! Weird thing is that it was all cash and they pay by the week. Who knew. Kinda convenient though since I don't have a bank account over here. Gotta remember not to blow it and instead save it for rent and utilities, ugh! I hate responsibility.
Well, I need to go shower, pretty badly... Long day at work, had to go in early and cover coffees cause the other barista decided she didn't want to go in on time today. Ugh, I could use sleep too, but no luck. Daithi wants to give me a driving tour and bring me to some house party in Salt Hill (a beachy area off the bay I think... Never actually been there) I promise to put some pics in soon, so you can see everyone I'm talking about. Feel free to comment on anything! Or ask questions.