On Christmas day, my dad said we should all go around and answer two questions:

1. What was your biggest accomplishment of 2009?
2. What is one thing you plan to accomplish in the future?

We never actually got to this activity because we waited for my sister and her husband to get there, who had another party and got there just about the time my Christmas Cold was kicking in and I had to go home to bed. But I thought I’d do it here.

1. My biggest accomplishment of 2009.
I hate to measure my successes through education and career, but I think this year I have to say my biggest accomplishment was getting a Master’s degree and finding a good job as a result.

2. My plans for accomplishment in the future.
In the next year, I hope to learn how to be a great partner in a marriage. I know it’ll take a lifetime of learning, and I still might never get it right, but next year will bring my first attempt.

Hope you all had a great 2009, and if you didn’t so much, I hope your 2010 is rockin’. I hope EVERYONE has a spectacular year, in fact.

When I started my job two and a half years ago, it was with the mindset that it would get me through my Master’s program, and then I’d be on to bigger and better things. But then the economy fell out from under us, and I found myself living in the state with the highest unemployment rate in the nation. When I finished my degree in August, I began to make new plans: I’d stay at my job until the Giraffe was done with school, then we’d open up our job search beyond this city, beyond this state, beyond this country even. There were no job openings around here, and I didn’t want to move away months before our wedding, so I was stuck until he could come with me. It was discouraging and disheartening to know I’d have to stay at a job that was far from where I wanted to be in my career, especially since I just spent two years and too much money on a degree that was supposed to move me forward.

Although I was resigned to my situation, I did still keep my eyes open for local job opportunities, only applying for those I’d be truly interested in accepting. But my hopes remained low when rejection after rejection rolled in. Then, suddenly, last month I found myself at an interview, and then a second interview, and then I was on the phone accepting a new position. It has its downsides, but the job is at a nonprofit (which is what I went to school for) and it’s in a field I’m really excited about. Just when I had accepted that I’d be in a holding pattern until at least June, this incredible opportunity was given to me, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

The biggest downside is that it’s not quite local. It’s in a city a little over an hour away from home. The Giraffe and I tossed around several ideas, but in the end we decided I’d commute to work until he finished school in the spring, then we’d reassess. So just as winter is setting in, I’ll be driving to and from work, an hour each way, every day. I’m not looking forward to it, but for such a good opportunity, it’s worth it.

The strange thing about getting a job right now is that along with feelings of elation and relief, I feel very guilty. I know so many people who have been laid off, are underemployed, or are stuck in jobs they loathe because they can’t find anything better. I often feel like I want to apologize for my good fortune. It’s a strange internal conflict between joy and guilt. I know I worked hard for this position – two years of school, making connections, etc. But so did many other people who aren’t being rewarded in the same way. I’m having a really hard time reconciling it with myself.

I’ve been done with graduate school for almost two months, and I gotta say: it’s brilliant. I want to be done with school all the time! I like classes and I like learning, and I’ll probably find myself going back one day because I imagine it’s like child birth in that it sucks while it’s happening but then you quickly forget how much it sucked and agree to do it again. But right now I still remember vividly how much it sucked, at least at times, and I’m very much enjoying the not-in-school thing.

Here’s what I’ve been doing with all that extra time:

- Going to a hell of a lot of weddings, bridal showers, bachelorette parties and baby showers
- Taking an online Creating Web Pages class to learn a little more about how that whole deal works
- Trying to find a good volunteer fit (I have a meeting tonight with a cool place, fingers crossed!)
- Watching way too much Buffy the Vampire Slayer – we’re currently cruising through Season 5
- Reading, reading, reading
- Working
- Brainstorming ways to afford my student loan payment in the likely event that I won’t have a much better paying job by the time they start billing me
- Gaining weight – apparently the stress of school helped me keep it off (maybe I should go back for that reason alone)
- Attempting to get back into crafting – anyone need anything custom embroidered?
- Cuddling my so-fucking-cute cat
- Cuddling my so-fucking-cute fiancé
- Planning a wedding and documenting the process

Somehow I feel like I still never have enough time to do anything. How did I ever go to class and do homework while also doing normal life?

I did it. I finished graduate school.

I took last friday off work, settled into a cozy corner of the local Panera, and wrote my final graduate school paper. I proofread, edited and submitted it that night. My professor wrote back right away to say he’d be reading it on Sunday or Monday. Today is Tuesday and I haven’t heard anything, so I’m gonna take that as You Passed!

I guess I’ll know for sure when final grades are posted. But I’m just going to go ahead and assume I passed and I’m done. I’m done I’m done I’m done!

Soon I’ll get my real-life degree in the mail, and I’ll officially be a Master (muahaha). Of course that also means I’ll have to start paying back all those loans soon. Which means I need to make some more  money, like now. Which, ya know, the master’s degree is supposed to help with that right? Except, not so much.

So I’m done with school (yay!), but I’m about to be really broke (boo!). ‘Tis life.

Ready for some Ireland goodness? I’m in the process of uploading hundreds of photos to flickr, so if you’re my flickr friend, check them out. So far I’m still on Day 2 of the trip, so this could take awhile. But I figured I’d write some photo-heavy posts as I go along.

Day 1: Dublin
We arrived at about 9:30am Ireland time, but it was 4:30 in my brain, and I hadn’t gotten any sleep on the plane (that rhymed). However, the plan was to go-go-go that day until we couldn’t anymore. We checked into the Trinity Capitol Hotel, then hopped on a tour bus. First stop was a quick walk through the Trinity College campus, where they have such pristine lawns, you’re not even allowed to touch them:

We only spent a few minutes here, then it was on to the Guinness Storehouse. And, holy crap, it’s huge. We were there forever before we even reached the top – the Gravity Bar – to retrieve our free pint.

The bus then took us to the Kilmainham Jail, which has apparently been used as a set for many films, though they failed to tell us which ones. It was pretty cool regardless.

Unforunately we were all so tired that we were ready for a nap by the time the jail tour ended. We went back to the hotel and crashed for an hour before dinner. We ate as a group that night to “bond” but were told that most evenings we’d be on our own. However, we were a small group of six students who all happened to like each other, and we ended up eating every meal together (and doing almost everything else together) the whole two weeks.

After dinner, we just toured the city for awhile. A few went out to the pub, but I knew I needed a good night’s sleep or I’d never recover, so I opted for an early night instead.

I’m home. Ireland was amazing. I can’t believe I’m on the other side of the trip that I anticipated for so long, but I’m so glad I was able to go. You guys, I finally made it to Europe! And I’m ready to go back. As soon as I save enough money and vacation time, I’m there. I’m thinking France or the Netherlands this time. Or Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria… so many choices.

I have a lot of stories to tell and pictures to share, but it might be awhile before I get around to it. My computer is old and crabby, and I think it might melt if I try to download the 800+ photos I took. So I’m still trying to figure out what to do about that.

It was hard to come back. After two weeks I was ready to sleep in my own bed, wear clean clothes and straighten my hair (flat iron didn’t work in Ireland – I had fro hair for two weeks), plus I missed the Giraffe terribly. Even more than I thought I would. But coming back to real life—working at a desk, finishing up school, paying bills, finding a place to live—was hard. My everyday life is in such stark contrast to the beauty and excitement of my two weeks in Ireland, and that was hard to accept. Has anyone figured out how to get paid to travel and experience amazing things all the time? Please give me tips.

I’m rapidly deteriorating here in Ireland. First my flat iron broke, which means I’m walking around with fro hair. Then I got Monster Eye, so I had to stop wearing contacts (and only wearing glasses) on the second day. But I actually really don’t care because I’m really ill and could not care less about how I look. First I developed a nasty cold which will not go away. Then I got a sinus infection. And since I don’t want to miss out on anything, I keep chugging along, all in the cold and rain, which is not helping the illness situation. Also, we were in a remote area with no stores for three days, and I ran out of medicine. I was so relieved to get back to Galway today where they have pharmacies. But guess what. Bank holiday. Everything is closed. No medicine until tomorrow.

And to top it all off, I can’t sleep. My sleep is so bad that two PM pills couldn’t touch it. No, not even three PMs could touch it. What I need most right now is rest, and even when I have time to get it, I can’t sleep.

So things are a little rough over here. But, on the upside, Ireland is beautiful. My camera and my words are worthless in capturing the beauty of the countryside here. I’ll share some photos when I return, but truly, you must come here someday. Just take Airborne before you do!

I graduated today. Want to see?

Unfortunately that’s what most of the pictures from the ceremony look like. The whole morning was pretty chaotic, and crowded, so I didn’t get very many photos of me in my graduation garb. Mostly because we were fighting this crowd:

And that’s just what spilled outside. However, I did force someone to snap these pictures in the parking garage before I shed the getup:

And then it was off to a celebratory lunch. It was amazing – I had all four grandparents, both sets of parents, all three sisters and their significant others, my brother, my half-bro and sis, and the Giraffe celebrating with me. Truly, I am blessed.

I don’t know if I’ll get a chance to post again this weekend before I leave, so I just wanted to say ta-ta to all! I meant to schedule some actual content-filled posts to keep you occupied—I don’t want you all to forget about my blog while I”m gone—but then I didn’t. Instead I selected some random photos, wrote brief descriptions, and scheduled those as Ghost Posts. I hope they’ll suffice until I can share tales and pictures of my trip. Except ya know, trip recaps are kind of boring, so we’ll see what I decide about that.

I have a busy night planned tonight, then tomorrow is graduation and lunch with family, then final packing. Sunday afternoon I hop a plane for Ireland for two weeks! I feel so fortunate for all these things – graduating, family, Ireland. I’m all full of smiles. See? –>

Be back in a couple weeks!

I clicked on “Add New Post” about 30 minutes ago, and then a billion things came up. Just now I was like, oh what’s this tab here? Oh yeah, I was going to blog. What about again? I can’t remember.

That’s pretty much how things go lately. About 18 different things all happening at once, and I’m just trying to stay on top of everything. Work is busy, school is busy, life is busy. I’m trying to wrap up the semester while also preparing for Ireland and planning for my graduation ceremony/lunch. At work I’m doing all my stuff for the next four weeks so that I can be gone for two weeks and come back to a manageable amount of work. Plus the first and last weeks of the month are always the busiest for me, and that’s exactly when I’ll be gone.

On a happy note, the weather is amazing today. It’s the quintessential spring day – blue skies, lots of sun, seventy degrees and no cold wind. Oh, and chirping birds of course. It’s about damn time! I hope tomorrow is the same, when I might actually get to enjoy it.

As I’ve already mentioned, I’m busy and overwhelmed lately, and I’ve hardly had a second to think about or prepare for my Ireland trip. But this weekend I squeezed a little bit of shopping in between homework marathons and other obligations because there are several things I need for this trip that I didn’t or don’t have.

And I bought a bag. Two bags actually. Because I can’t decide. And I need your help.

Here’s the situation: I need a bag that I can carry around Ireland with me. It needs to fit a jacket (when I’m not wearing it), a water bottle, notebooks, wallet, sunglasses and my camera. This is for daytime when we’re moving around from place to place. We’ll be doing some sightseeing and some agency visits. We’ll be riding buses and trains, as well as doing a lot of walking.

This bag needs to be comfortable to carry, easy to get into and easy to transport. It needs to be somewhat professional, but also kind of casual. If that makes sense.

When I first started shopping, I had sort of an idea in my head, but I couldn’t find anything that matched my vision. Everything I found was either modern-day briefcase-like (leather and buckles and such) or too beach baggy (bright patterns and no structure). I wanted something with structure, compartments and some kind of closure (zipper was my first choice). So here’s what I found:

BAG 1

Pretend like this is me walking around Ireland:

Pros:
- Compartments! I won’t have to dig to the bottom to find my sunglasses.
- Seconds as a great carry-on.
- Sturdy; good structure (as in it stands up on its own).
- More professional.
- Zip closure.
- Extendable strap for when I want to carry it across my shoulder and be totally hands-free.

Cons:
- Too utilitarian?
- Too bulky?
- Too I’m-obviously-an-American?

BAG 2

Pretend like this is me walking around Ireland:

Pros:
- Cute.
- More casual without being too beachy.
- Pretty good structure.
- Some compartments.
- Comfortable to carry.

Cons:
- Not the best carry-on so I’d have to pack it separately.
- No long shoulder strap.
- One-snap closure.
- Too I’m-obviously-an-American?

Remember, I’m going as a student but also as a tourist. I need a bag that works for both. And the cost difference is only about six bucks, so that isn’t a factor. I’m tempted to take both and see which works better once I get there, but that’s just silly and a waste of money since I won’t be able to return either when I return (30 day limits and all).

So which is the better bag for my Ireland trip?

I think I’ve decided to shut this blog down.

Just kidding. April Fools! You know, whatever.

But for real, whenever posting starts to lag at one of my favorite blogs, it always culminates in a post about how they’re just not feeling it anymore and they’re done, farewell, it was good to know you, but I’m over this blogging thing. So I kind of felt like maybe that would appropriate here since my blogging has totally sucked lately. But nope, I’m sticking around.

*Rousing applause from the audience.*

I’ve been busy. And uninspired. The typical excuses. It’s been all work, school, homework around here. Not much to report home to the internet about. I’m in the final month of the semester, which feels really good. In 25 days I’ll be walking in graduation; in 26 I’ll be flying to Dublin!

The doctor slash Celexa slash emotional mess situation isn’t resolved yet. If you’ll recall, my favorite PA left the practice I go to, and I was stuck about who else to talk to there (since I’ve never actually met my doctor). Well, I decided to talk to the other PA in the office because I did actually see her once when I first started going there, and she was nice. Guess what. She left too. And she was replaced with Gus, who, well just no. I’m not going to talk to Gus about my problems. So I’m taking the Celexa and still trying to figure out who to talk to. By the way, should I be concerned that two PAs left my doctor’s office in the last few months?

The Giraffe and I are doing well. We’re both busy and don’t see each other as much as we might like, but the time we spend together is fun. Monday after class he met me downtown and we went to dinner where we (mostly he because I’m cheap, but he shared) drank Oberon (which, for those who don’t know, is the official beer of summer ’round these parts, and it just came out for the season on Monday), and afterward we stopped at Dairy Queen for blizzards. It has mostly been cold and rainy, but damn it, we’re creating the illusion of nice weather!

And that’s about it. Anything else you want to know about?

Cheers lads and mollies! Top o’ the mornin’ to ya! What’s the story?

Oh I’m sorry, did I not mention that I’m going to Ireland in five weeks? And that’s why I’m talking like the feckin’ Irish*? Has nothing to do with the fact that St. Patrick’s day just occurred. I really am. I’m going to Ireland!

I missed out on studying abroad as an undergraduate, which I’ve always regretted, and so I was determined to find a way to do it as a graduate student. Two weeks in Ireland on a faculty-led group trip isn’t quite the same as living in another country for a semester or two. But I’m thrilled anyway because a) I’m going to Ireland, b) it’s affordable, c) I get three credits for spending two weeks romping around Dublin and Galway and the Cliffs of Moher and several other amazing places, and d) I’m going to feckin’ Ireland!

I’m almost done with my degree, and even though I’m taking six summer credits, I’ll be walking at graduation in April. And the very next day I’ll be on a plane over the Atlantic. I’m spending exactly two weeks there, and while it’s facutly-led and technically a class, there is a lot of time built in for sight-seeing and fun and getting involved in Irish culture (hello pubs!). I’ll be traveling with a small group, six other students from a variety of academic programs. It’s actually a social work course though, so I’ll be visiting a lot of social service agencies, which is really appealing for me. Who knows, maybe I’ll find a great job with an Irish agency while I’m over there. I’d be okay with that.

The professor is taking care of all the travel, trasportation and lodging arrangements, which is kind of relief. But I don’t want to follow along blindly the whole time. So what do you know about Ireland? Ever been there? Do I have any readers from/in Ireland by any chance? What should I do, what should I know, what should I see, where should I go?

*I had to look up that Irish slang and it’s probably all wrong. I am such a faker.

Usually I like to relax as much as possible on the weekends. So last week, when I knew the upcoming weekend was going to be busy, I was kind of bummed. Not bummed I guess, because some of my plans were intended to be fun, but just… wishing it didn’t all fall in the same weekend. It ended up being rather enjoyable though.

Friday
After work, the Giraffe and I went to my dad’s and hung out with my little brother while my dad took Des (his wife, my “step-mom”) out for her birthday. Little bro is a riot, so we had a good time.

Saturday
I had a 1-credit class from 9 to 6, which I was heavily dreading, but it was thankfully not so horrible. I even managed to talk myself and a friend out of the class around 3. We then managed to get ourselves (for free) into the Women’s Expo that was going on downtown. And it was such a lovely day that I was thrilled to be able to walk around the city. After the Expo, where we met up with another friend, the three of us walked to a little tavern for dinner. Post-food, we strolled back to our cars – it’s so nice to stroll when your nose isn’t freezing off! That night I chilled with the Giraffe for a few hours.

Sunday
This was supposed to be the day I deep-cleaned my G&G’s condo (where I”m staying – they get home this week!), but it was too amazingly gorgeous to be inside all day. A little cleaning got done in the morning, but then I had lunch with the Giraffe, his dad and his brother. And after lunch, I just couldn’t go home, I needed to be outside. So the Giraffe and I went miniature golfing!

The last time I mini-golfed (at that exact location even) was only a few weeks after Brad and I broke up. Robin and her boyfriend took me to get me out of the house, and I remember feeling shrouded in sadness, but trying to muster as much enjoyment as I could. I laughed and smiled, but it felt so forced. This time, I had so much fun. Geuine fun. It’s amazing how much has changed in seven months. After putt-putt, we decided to sit outside and read, and then I fell asleep. Then, finally, FINALLY I got around to cleaning. The Giraffe offered to help, and he is one bad-ass cleaner. So much better than me! In fact, he’s such an efficient cleaner that we had that place glimmering with enough time left over to make a frozen pizza and watch a movie.

I have pictures that would help make this weekend recap much more interesting, but I never have time to sit down and get them off my camera. So just use your imagination I guess. See, there’s me sitting on a fake rock surrounded by fake green turf, holding a small putter and a bright green golf ball. Maybe I’ll post that photo later and see how accurate your imaginations are.

This week is spring break for me at school, and I’ve been having so much fun NOT going to class and doing homework that I forgot I had a blog! What have I been up to you ask?

- Friday night I drove to visit my friend Jess. We had dinner, then stayed up late talking in pajamas. I left her house Saturday afternoon.

- Saturday night I visited my friend Erica and we stayed up late discussing important wedding plans.

- Sunday the Giraffe and I hung out, and later Robin came over. She and I talked while the Giraffe made some delicious dip for our book club (which he has joined). That night my book club crew came over and we discussed two books because we had missed last month’s meeting.

- Monday I had dinner with Erica and we did a little more wedding planning.

- Tuesday the Giraffe and I cuddled up and watched a movie.

And what do I have planned for the rest of spring break you wonder?

- Tonight we’re having dinner at the Giraffe’s mom’s house.

- Tomorrow night I’ll be watching reruns of the Office (we’ve been watching all the past seasons, just for fun) and then catching the newest Office and 30 Rock episodes (they’re not reruns again are they?).

- Friday is going to be a date night with a delicious home-cooked meal (I’m sure you’ve guessed I won’t be the one cooking).

- Saturday I’m going wedding dress shopping with Robin, then we’re double-dating that night for dinner.

- Sunday the Giraffe and I are going ice skating, having dinner and hanging out with my sisters and their significant others.

Seriously, I need to not have class all the time. This is fun!