Sacked

After the miserable Monday at work it was almost a relief that Richard called me before my next shift to say, “You were very polite with the customers, and a pleasure to work with, but we’re looking for someone with more experience.” Despite feeling sure that he was actually blaming me for issues that were beyond my control, I left it at that—on good terms. I find it funny that I ignored all the signs that were telling me to look for work elsewhere, including the fact that they cancelled my first interview on me when I was already there waiting around for them, not to mention my fears of never getting time off to travel, and then my foot getting angry with me for all the overuse. I spent the rest of that day working out, cleaning the apartment, and finally finishing my second novel before going out with my Dublin friends! More and more, I’m becoming convinced that unemployment is better for you than work.

Dale and I met everyone at O’Neill’s (which is steadily becoming a favourite) for Cedric’s goodbye party. It was time for him to head back to Montreal, and he kindly offered to host us if we were ever there for a visit. Dale had to work in the morning, but considering that wouldn’t be a problem for me, I let Heather convince me to come to the next pub on the goodbye tour. We ended up at the Czech Inn, but not before a few of our number shouted at some guys trying to get the "Americans" into their pub that, “WE’RE CANADIAN!” and then laughed all the way down the middle of the road. I had a delicious raspberry cider in the Czech Inn, and finally realized that the group hadn’t been saying we were going to, “The Chicken.” I laughed nearly to tears when German Tessa grabbed a coaster and effortlessly pounded her pinky finger through it before crying, “Welcome to Germany!” The moment was made even greater by Heather, who then snatched up a coaster, damaged it with her middle finger, failing miserably, then followed it up with, “Welcome to Canada!”

We said goodbye to poor Cedric and wished him a safe trip home. Then I was able to share a cab with Heather and Anne, who had just moved in about a 15 minutes’ walk from us. The next day my eyes did not like the light, and I can honestly say that I have never had a hangover until coming to Dublin. I looked for jobs for the rest of the day—okay, and read Harry Potter—then Dale and I went to Heather, Anne, and Sydney’s new place for dinner. We had a really nice evening socializing among all the comforts of home for once. Tessa eventually joined us for dessert, as well as Mel, via Skype, from Germany.

On Friday I picked up a portable heater from Leonie’s parents. Apparently they are quite expensive to run, but Dale and I have noticed that it’s colder in our house than it is outside! I can’t wait until October, when the landlord puts the heat on.  Dale even brought home a dehumidifier one day, thinking the dampness is what was making it so cold. I’m not sure if it’s working yet. I later went in to Dale’s work and met a few of his coworkers, and his boss, Tom. Tom said he was sorry to hear about my job, and seemed like a really pleasant man. Then Dale and I went to MacDonald’s for dinner and spent most of the rest of the evening grocery shopping. We also bought some one-euro canvases for painting! One of these days we are going to decorate our place, and, if we’re lucky, maybe find a new talent.

On Saturday I read the rest of  “The Goblet of Fire” and then went out for a girls’ night at Joyanne’s place. It was surprisingly the first time I actually took a bus on my own. In the meantime, Dale went out with Niall, Leonie, and Fionnuala to see "Elyseum," so it worked out very well. At Joyanne’s we made sugar cookies and smothered them in frosting, Joyanne and Becca broke out a guitar and ukulele at one point, and we kept laughing at one of our poor American friends who almost completely lost her voice! I was one of the last to leave, enjoying Joyanne and KT’s company until my cab arrived and I had to make my expensive trip home on my own. I don’t remember the last time I laughed until I cried this many times in one week.

A poor Blackberry photo from the other side of the pier, looking towards Dalkey

Dale loves wine

Sunday was a beautiful day. Dale and I decided to make the most of it and took two buses to Dun Laoghaire. We walked along the long pier and bought 99s to slurp along the way. We crossed to the rocky side of the pier to sit, watch the waves and families playing along the rocks, and enjoy the view towards Dalkey. I think my skin sucked up the sun like a dry sponge soaking up water, but I don’t see a burn at all today. It was nice to listen to a busker playing the Irish pipes as we wandered. Eventually we went to Mao Restaurant for some Asian cuisine. We ate outside with a bottle of wine, and followed it up with dessert. We had a talkative young Polish waitress who was interested in going to work in Canada, so we told her all about SWAP. It was an expensive meal in the end, but a very enjoyable day overall. We ended the day with a night walk along the pier and enjoyed the music of the last remaining busker, who was playing some kind of giant clarinet that sounded something like a saxophone.

The pier at night: the light above my logo is how far it extends after the bend!

That night I was messaging on Skype while Dale was in bed and Danielle started prodding me about missing out on Oktoberfest when we’re practically next door to Germany. I looked up flights just to take a look at the pricing and found one that was only 65 euros each, both ways, and including tax. After an expensive week without a job, I felt pretty uncertain about it. Even hostels would be expensive during Oktoberfest. But in the end Danielle was sounding just like me on an optimistic day, so I must have been fairly easy to convince. I booked the flights. Now we shall see what Dale has to say about it… Good thing Germany’s on his “to visit” list. I just don’t think he expected to cross it off two weeks from now. Needless to say, I applied for a ton of jobs today and even got myself on a nanny-temp list thanks to all my experience with children. While most families want someone for a few years, the lady I spoke to said occasional nine month positions do come up. That sounds like my kind of temp work!