Tis The Season

It's that time of year again...when everyone is hustling and bustling to find presents, have parties, prepare for the Christmas season. We had our Christmas party on Sunday night. It was fabulous as always. It was at the Klontarf Castle on the north side of Dublin...all inclusive, everything from tranportation, appetizers, a poker tournament with a prize pool per table, tarot card readers, cartoonists, free flowing mulled wine and whiskey, a 5 course meal, open bar, dancing and DJ, a cigar roller, etc. Quite amazing!

I met some of my neighbors over the weekend as well. One works for Google and the other is a landscape architect and I went out with them and their friends on Saturday afternoon into Saturday night.

Last week, I had a nice dinner with Christine & Lisa one night and another really late night after a dinner with Christine, Aaron, & Kevin...I ended up out all night with Gavin & Brendan and was wrecked for the next two days from lack of sleep followed by an early work day the next morning.

Other than that, just settling into the new place, bought some new bedding for the 2nd bedroom and towels and trying to pull it all together.

Still need to sign up for a new gym closer to my new place...and getting ready to come home for Christmas, yay!

BTW, I don't think we will have a lunch at my mom's house after all, unless anyone was interested...if you were let me know so I can arrange but I didn't really hear from anyone about that so I assumed we wouldn't do it.

Let me know if you are.

xoxo.
ness

There's No Place Like Home

I moved into my new place right after my last blog,


and went to London for my birthday weekend. That Friday night we went to watch jazz...it ended up being hilarious...12 saxophone players, playing badly all at once.


Then Bobby, Natalie and I went to a nice bar in a hotel and then back to Bobby's. Saturday I ate breakfast at a quaint pastry house accross from Harrod's, had sushi for the first time in months,




did some shopping and had people over with Bobby & Natalie on Saturday night. Sunday I had my first Starbucks since I left LA, and no it is not as good in London as in LA. I did the tour of Harrod's which I formally refer to as "SHOE HEAVEN" but it was a nice family weekend and great to see Cai and Tao for the first time as well.


On my birthday night, a few friends from work suprised me and took me to Acapulco's as I have been craving Mexican food since day one of arriving here...it's like a drug addiction that I've been in remission on...need MEXICAN FOOD now, haha.

Spent the next weekend partying with the FTP players that were in town for an event in Dublin and with Gavin...my neighbor and friend from work.

Went back to London for Thanksgiving weekend to have Thanksgiving with Bobby which is right about when the crazy homesickness kicked in and lasted all week until Karen finally saved me on Wednesday with a three hour phone call. I did get to visit the Tate Modern Museum



and see Big Ben



and Parliament, etc while in London this last time...and spent a day pampering.

Last night I went out by myself (most of the guys from work left early this morning for a "boys" trip to Amsterdam) and met some new people from outside of work which was nice....two of them live in London and are visiting for the weekend, 2 were Greek, one was African, one was a Dubliner, and one was confused (she's moved alot). Had a blast, all very nice people....good times...still miss home.

But I will be home in 20 days and cannot wait.

Traveling

There is up to 60 mile per hour winds outside...it is scary. I won't leave the house until this dies down a bit. So I've been keeping myself busy with silly things...like thinking about where I have travelled to and where I would like to visit while I'm here so here's the list of where I've been.....

And the list goes on and on and on and on:

Born: Los Angeles, CA

Raised in: Chatworth, CA (San Fernando Valley)...yes, I'm a valley girl

Places I've Lived:

Chatsworth, CA; Barstow, CA; Canoga Park, CA; West Hills, CA; Glendale, CA; Pasadena, CA; Sherman Oaks, CA; Studio City, CA; Woodland Hills, CA; Dublin, Ireland;

Places I've Visited/Vacationed:

California: Los Angeles (Hometown), San Diego(mostly college & weekend vacations), Santa Barbara (love wine country), Ventura (childhood summer beach vacations) Lake Tahoe (Skiing & Summer Vacations); Big Bear (skiing); Catalina Island (summer camp & camping trips)

Washington: Seattle (visiting family & friends)

Vancouver, BC: (World's Fair)

Texas: Houston (visiting family)

Nebraska: (visiting family)

Iowa: (visiting family)

Bahamas: Nassau & Eleuthera (visiting family)

Utah: Salt Lake City (skiing)

Colorado: Vail (skiing)

Hawaii: (family vacation)

New York: New York City (visiting college roommate)

Illinois: Chicago (21st bday)

Mexico: Rosarito (college partying); Ensenada (hate it); Tijuana (mostly just passing through as quickly as possible); San Miguel (surfing); Cabo San Lucas (summer retreat)

Nevada: Las Vegas (too many times to count and what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas)

Ireland: Dublin (live here now); Galway & West Coast

London: (twice visiting family)

Total U.S. States Visited= 12

Total Countries Visited: 5

Hmmm...seems like it would've been more, I'd like to see how this list grows now that I'm living in Europe:)

***Update on 4/12/07:
Paris: in February 2007 with Caroline
London: in March 2007 for St. Paddy's Day

Total U.S. States Visited: 12
Total Countries Visited: 6

Upcoming:
Los Angeles: April 2007 for Coachella
Barcelona in May 2007
Las Vegas & Los Angeles: June 2007

Culture and Living

Hi all,

I haven't been able to write in forever because my internet at home has been freezing constantly so I figured I would write on my lunch break today and share some of my adventures.

Two weekends ago was a holiday weekend and we made our way to the west coast of Ireland on a day tour on Saturday and to Newgrange and the Hills of Tara on Monday. Monday was a bank holiday - don't know what that means but I like it:)

The trips were amazing: Christine, Aaron and I boarded a train early on Saturday morning (6am) and traveled to the west coast which only takes about 2 hours. I of course slept most of the journey as I was exhausted from the previous two days of fun...our company had a social event the previous Thursday night at Samsara which had turned into a whole night of dancing and fun. Our first stop was to Bunratty Castle, which was where one of the kings of the 4 provences of Ireland had lived previous to England taking rule over Ireland. It was intriguing the way they had designed the castle around avoiding people from being able to take over the castle. There were trap doors, and long tall, uneven staircases, port holes for spying and lots of other amazing things designed to keep unwanted visitors out. They had the original village still surrounding the castle and you could walk into the little thatched roof houses where the space was designed for protection and efficiency including bedrooms on 2nd floors with no stairs and ladders that could be pulled up for when people were sleeping. There was also roosters walking around area and one of them began to pose for me which was quite hilarious.







We then headed to a little village for lunch and shopping and then made our way to the Cliffs Of Moher, which would have been beautiful except that the mist had kicked into full gear so visibility was only about 10 - 20 feet. I did get one pic which was funny because my camera apparently had better vision than I did, and I didn't see the details until I downloaded the picture. So I made the best of the situation and took pictures of my new friend the cow:)



See the haze!!!


We then went along the west coast, where the ocean is lined with beautiful slate rock and through the villages, all quaint and cozy and headed up to Galway, where we then took a train back to Dublin.



Quite the experience including my first real train ride.

Sunday night, we found a bar that shows US football so a bunch of us went there to watch the games and we tried to go see Deep Dish play right near City Centre where we are staying, but it was sold out...so sad.

Monday we took a historical bus tour to the Hills of Tara and Newgrange, both historical landmarks. They are both North of Dublin approximately 1 hour and the tour guide was extremely knowledgable on the History of Ireland and walked from Neolithic Times to Present day History of Ireland lesson which was quite remarkable. Newgrange was my favorite as it was a megalithic passage tomb built in approximately 3200 BC and is considered as important as the Seven Wonders of the World and is actually a tomb built during the megalithic period where on the winter solstice, the sun atually shines directly into the chamber of this deep cave-like structure.

The rest of my off work time has been focused on apartment hunting, which is a journey all in itself. I viewed almost 14 apts in the last 2 weeks, was about to give up hope as most of them were dingy and old and extremely overpriced for what you would get, but I finally found an amazing place on Tuesday. It is in Blackrock, two blocks from the sea, 2 bedrooms, 2 bath, fully furnished, next to the quaint village area and easy enough to get to work and to the City Centre on the Dart(train) or by bus. I am so excited and will hopefully move in next week as I am heading to London this weekend to visit Bobby in Notting Hill for my birthday weekend.

I can't wait to go on my 1st European weekend. It's great too because the London Jazz Festival is this weekend:) More to come! xoxo!

to ME!!!! haha!

Visas & Moving & Things

Great news, we got our visas yesterday. So we are now officially Dubliners...which also means I have to find a place to live as the corporate housing days will soon be over. My shipment arrived from the states last weekend as well but I haven't had it delivered as I don't want to have to move everything again. I've already moved 4 times since leaving my apartment in Sherman Oaks, so 1 more time and that's it for at least a year I hope. My biggest dilemna with regards to the move is whether I want to live by the beach on the coast or stay in City Centre. The transportation system is much better from the city and there's a million things to do over here, but at the same time I've always wanted to live by the beach so this may be the perfect opportunity for that. This weekend I'm going to scour the websites and take a trip down to the coast and look at the different areas and see if anything catches my eye.

Next weekend is a 3 day weekend here, so Aaron, Chrsitine and I are going to take 2 day tours in Ireland. One will take us to Newgrange and the Hill of Tara and the other one will take us to the Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle, The Burren, and Galway Bay...very touristy but it's a great way to get around when we don't have transportation and I love the history lessons so I actually can learn the significance of what I am seeing.

I also may visit Bobby in London on my birthday weekend which would be nice...and then go back again to have a birthday celebration for Aaron at the end of the month.

I booked my flight home for the holidays this week. I will be in LA from December 22nd - January 3rd. I am so excited, I can hardly wait. My mom wants to have an afternoon party on December 30th at around 1pm so keep your calendars clear.

I also talked to Caroline this week and she's coming to visit me hopefully the 1st week of February. I'm really looking forward to that.

Last weekend, Christine and I enrolled at the gym... I got my first real workout since I've been here and it felt great. Then we went to dinner and had a girls night out with Sarah and some of her friends. I loved the place we went, it's called The Village, and is a pub downstairs with very cool decor and a club upstairs. The music was different upstairs and downstairs and Christine, Sarah and I made our way upstairs and danced a bit. It was nice to be out with a group of girls, I don't know if I mentioned this before but the ratio of guys to girls here is about 10:1 at my work so I am truly appreciating female company. Not that the guys aren't fantastic, they are...but most of them are IT folks so they speak techie talk which is great and I learn alot but it can sometimes be a little too much testosterone for my taste. The last song of the night, was "Hey Jude", very appropriate and sentimental...and the entire bar was singing at the top of their lungs...Jude, you would have been very proud.

I wish I could say I was dedicated and went to the gym 3 more times this week, but I caught another Irish bug and was completely wiped out every day by the time I got home from work. It amazes me that I've been sick twice in 6 weeks here but I guess it happens when you have not built up any immunity to the bugs over here and the weather is much colder than I am typically used to as well. It's been in the 60's all week which is actually quite nice for here but the locals keep warning me that it's going to get much colder and much rainier so I better be prepared.

Christine and Aaron introduced me to "The Ted Talks" this week which was really quite interesting and I would really recommend to download and view. It's basically a group of 1000 successful or prestigious individuals, invite only, who apparently get together every other year and have speakers come and do presentations on various world topics. This year, they recorded it and have been releasing them on the internet, two a week.

The one I watched was a woman speaking about her travels to 3rd world countries, teaching communities, mostly women, how to support themselves and create businesses so that they could better sustain life. What was most interesting is that the tools she taught were giving them tools to be self-sufficient following the "give a man a fish, feed him for a day, Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime" approach.

It was very moving...reminding me of all the community service activities I used to plan, organize and be involved in. I haven't done as much of that lately, but it was a reminder to me that I should stay actively involved in volunteer organizations that contribute to society. The Hathaway House was my favorite place to volunteer and we had some really great group activities there that hopefully inspired and motivated some of those children. For those of you who don't know, the Hathaway House is a home for teenagers (10-18 years of age) who have been taken out of their home for abuse, because their parents have died, some of whom may even be under secret service protection, etc. Some of them have behavioral disorders and such, but the more years we were involved with them, the more you could actually see them opening up and getting more excited about the activities we planned. I could never imagine how hard that must be to live there with other teenagers and never get visitors from your family.

As such, I think I will look and see if there are any places to volunteer around here. Even once or twice a month is a valuable contribution, and really in the scheme of things doesn't take up too much of our time, so I encourage everyone to consider doing the same. Find one you can be passion about it and join or volunteer. I know that Sandra has been volunteering at the animal shelter, Dad volunteers at the Children's Ministry at church...and Jude constantly has charity functions at the Hangar. I'm going to try and motivate to do the same. Let me know if you sign up for anything...I'd love to hear what you are getting involved with.

Hugs and Kisses to you all! Can't wait to get home for Christmas:)

Cooking and Cars

Things We Take For Granted:::

ok, it's a little later in the afternoon and my frustration is peaking so excuse me while I vent for a minute...I just looked out the window and it's raining. I am hungry, I had cereal for breakfast but I only have milk, cereal, a bowl of soup, cheese and crackers in my fridge...in some countries, this would be a blessing...However, I am a spoiled girl who usually has a full fridge and isn't used to having to walk to the grocery store and only buy as much food as I can carry so I basically have to grocery shop every other day. Today would normally be the day since I picked some stuff up on my way home from work on Friday night.

In LA, stores are open all day and all night and I have a car so I can grocery shop once a week and or even every other week, load my car with groceries and be done with it for a while....and if you don't feel like cooking there is a million cheap restaurants and even drive through fast food. I'm sure you have all experienced this and can relate even if you've never really thought about it.

The Dilemna:

It is Sunday here so all the stores near me are closed...the closest grocery store is two long blocks away and I do not feel like walking two very long blocks in the rain to buy only enough food to last me until tomorrow. I could go to a restaurant but it usually costs 30 - 40 euro which I don't feel like spending on a meal that I am eating by myself and then have the same problem in a few hours since I still will not have actually bought groceries.

So here I sit, very upset...my solution...melting cheese on the crackers in the microwave(there is no oven here) and sitting here complaining on my blog which again proves how spoiled I am... because if I had my car I would jump in it and go find a good place to eat, maybe even drive through if I didn't feel like dressing up or being in public. Here I have to dress for the rain and walk with groceries (can't carry umbrella and groceries at the same time) getting wet in order to eat. Very frustrating!!!!

Note to self on lessons learned...

1. don't take drive through or sunshine or having a car for granted and don't be so spoiled.
2. Cheese and crackers taste good. (I'm eating them now and feel better since I'm not starving anymore)
3. Convenience stores in the US have spoiled me.
4. Stop being a baby and go get wet:) Otherwise, I will be very hungry in a few hours again.
5. In the future try and get groceries when it's not raining so I can carry two bags instead of one...then I won't have to juggle the groceries and the umbrella.
6. Don't vent to your friends about being hungry or they may stop reading my blog;)

And....that's enough of that...Happy Days!!!!!

Sunday Afternoon - 10/8/06

It's been another crazy week...don't know if y'all heard but there was a major disaster in the poker world last week...We'll call it "Black Monday" of the poker world...legislation was passed in the US to stop American's from using American based forms of payment for online gambling...it's really sad because they put the legislation in the port security bill which no one can vote against and they snuck it in with that...so it will be interesting to see how this plays out...you can get more info at www.pokernews.com if you want to hear more about it.

I hope American's will stand up for their right to privacy. My opinion is that it's a violation of privacy to have the gov't dictating what you can and can't spend your money on, and the gov't is asking financial institutions to monitor everyone's US based bank accounts to monitor violations of the new legislation. It's seems that "Big Brother" may be a reality sooner than we think if this continues and has historically never been successful in the past...just look at what happened during prohibition.

I think a better solution would be for the US gov't to regulate poker(because it is a skilled based game vs. other forms of online gambling), which makes billions of dollars each year, tax it(to work on the huge US debt), and put some iniatives in place to inform and train people about responsible spending, ie. how to not be irresponsible gambling degenerates, which is a funny concept considering that people who want to be degenerate and wasteful of their money will be that way will be regardless of the law prohibiting it...and once again the masses suffer for the few.

So needless to say, it was a very busy work week as FTP (a private company) has announced it will continue to operate (at least in the near future until the legislation is actually enacted) and most of the public-based online poker companies pulled out of the US market immediately(answering to shareholders and lost billions of dollars..hence the Black Monday analogy). Who knows where this will lead...but it's very interesting to say the least.

I have been so busy, I haven't had a chance to really sit down and plan out my trips so I've dedicated today to some planning online...I'd like to book a few trips and sign up for French lessons...I think it would be so good to learn a foreign language while I'm here.

Other than that, just been fighting off the crazy drunk Irish boys and getting acquainted to the new city and lifestyle...it's definitely a learning experience.

BTW...everyone seems to be reading this but no one puts comments on my blog...does everyone know that a blog is a two-way form of communication where you (the reader) can post your thoughts and comments as well....so get to it, haha! I want feedback:)...and if you don't know how, then sit down and figure it out, mabye you'll learn something:) I'll help you if you like.

Have a good week:) Challenge yourself to do at least one thing difficult this week...step out of your comfort zone...and then tell me about it...challenge is the best way to grow...and why I've picked myself up and out of my world in LA and moved it to Ireland (to get out of my own way in my too comfortable zone in LA) so maybe that will motivate some of you to do the same. My experience here has been challenging at times, but I'm learning and I will come back better for the experience.

I miss you all very much! The homesickness (is that a word) is really kickin' in so send me some love...xoxo!

Saturday Rainy Day:) 9-30-06

First things first:

I now have two skype screen names: ness1113 (home pc) and missness1113 (work pc).

My LA # is the same but it doesn't work from here. I can check my messages on it though.

It's been two weeks and it's been very busy...so I'm sorry for not posting sooner and thanks for the reminder Caroline and Sandra. Let's see... work has been good but very busy...I'm finishing a project to launch our new recruiting site and database which is keeping me very busy. We've hired a ton of people which is also keeping me busy...but to the fun and unusual stuff...

Laundry machines in Ireland do not work. They have a washer/dryer combo in my new room, which I moved into the day after I last wrote, and the dryer simply doesn't work. It spins clothes for over 3 hours and they are just as wet when you pull them out as if you never dried them at all...so I'm not sure why they're called dryers...they should be called spinners or time wasters, haha but if the whole purpose of a dryer is to dry clothes, this contraption certainly doesn't qualify.

I spent most of the week before last sick with the flu...caught my first Irish bug and it knocked me out for a solid few days. Nothing to make you homesick like getting the flu when your 8,000 miles away and are too tired to even walk to the pharmacy (2 blocks away) to get medicine because the walking makes you break out in a cold sweat and get dizzy from your fever.

Once recovered, I've been to a few more restaurants and outings...last Friday night, I went out with Aaron and his wife Christine (from Canada) who just moved here as well. We walked around Merrion Square and had dinner and a drink at a really great restaurant. Christine is great. She was a dance major in college, so we have the love for dancing in common...they are both very fun.

We decided to take the Dart (which lines the beach side of the city) down the coast. We ran into Kevin as we were coming out of the apt. building and tricked him into coming with us by basically walking so far out of the way, that he got stuck on our little adventure..which then turned into a pub crawl.


Her drink is bigger than her:)

We went to Dun Laoghaire and Christine and I signed up for a modern/hip hop class (I later decided not to do it because I don't want to spend every Saturday stuck in dance class when I could be travelling around Europe). Then we went for an early dinner at another pub, watched a little bit of the Ryder's Cup (golf is huge in Ireland), met a Dun Laoghiare native who took us to another place near the docks of Dun Laoghaire (pronounced Dun Leary) where we had another round and then hopped on the Dart back to Grafton Street to meet Bill at a club called Dakota.


Me & Christine:)


Kevin, Aaron & our DunLaoghiare Native, Garrett!

Christine, while we were lost near Grafton St., had heard me saying to Bill on the phone that we were going to meet him in South Dakota (a joke/trick to remember the name of the club) and proceeded to walk up to a very drunk Irishman and asked him with big brown eyes, "Excuse me sir, can you please tell me where South Dakota is?" to which he replied, "No I'm sorry, I'm not from here." So funny I almost fell over and my stomache actually hurt from laughing.

It turned out that Dakota was literally right across the street from where we were, but unfortunately we had to walk a few blocks out of the way since we were technically asking for directions back to the United States.

We did meet up with Bill and a few other co-workers and went to a few more places that night and of course ended the evening in American fashion...at MacDonalds.

Thursday, Christine and I had our first "girls only" evening and went to the National Gallery Art Museum, to dinner, and then watched last week's Grey's Anatomy at my apt. It was very girlie and very neeeded as I've only been surrounded by men since I got here and I have been going a little stir crazy...I think Christine has been too so it was very good.

Last night we had an un-official work birthday party for Joe O'Reilly at Cafe En Seine...or as I like to call it Cafe Insane. About 30 of the FTP crew passed through at some point in the night so it was good, very bonding. Jennifer, our HR Generalist, came over before hand for a quick bite and then we went over there together. Unfortunately, I think I gave her my flu so she retired a little bit earlier than the rest of us. The music was good and the place is huge. It's a 3 story club packed from every direction.

I got to see our new office for the first time yesterday, we have the top floor and 1/2 of the floor below that with one of the most amazing views of the ocean I have ever seen. It is gorgeous. I couldn't take pictures because they are still in construction..we even had to wear helmets to do the walk through, but it looks like it will be amazing.


This is the first rainbow I've seen which happens to be right over our new office space:)

I am still trying to get home for Christmas so I'll let everyone know if I can get it approved this week...I need to book tickets before they become astronomically expensive, but I'm hoping to come to LA on December 23rd - January 2nd...so cross all your fingers that it works out. I am very homesick today. As much fun as it can be here on this crazy adventure, I miss my friends and family alot. The people in Dublin have been very nice, but I'm also realizing that I am definitely a California girl and my lifelong relationships with friends and family cannot be replaced so I can't wait to get home and see everyone.

Love to you all!

It's Saturday night and I'm exhausted!

So I posted last about a week ago and so much has happened, I don't even know where to begin. Started my 1st full week of work..dosed up on caffeine trying to adjust to the time change..in essence, you are working and up overnight until you adjust. It went well though. Got a lot done and feeling back in the swing of things.

I moved hotels last night after work because the Ryder's Cup is in Dublin next week and everything is booked up. I was supposed to move to brand new apts in Sandyford but they weren't ready so now I'm staying in similar apts. in City Centre. I'm right across the street from St. Stephen's Green Park which is cool because it's easier to get to the train station and there is a lot more to do over here. Only downside is that it is very noisy at night with all the nitelife...so if you can't beat 'em, you end up joining 'em.

Kevin(co-worker from LA) and I bar hopped last night...I took some pics that I will download soon for y'all to see. We went to a few different places and landed in a club till about 3:30am. It was fun...the music is less updated than in LA, I noticed they played a lot of old school songs, still fun though.

Today I went through St. Stephen's Green for the 1st time, and walked around the shops on the other side...still learning all the street names. Kevin met me over there for lunch at a 1/2 decent Mexican restaurant (1/2 decent for Dublin anyway) and then we chilled at the park (I catnapped) and shopped a little bit.

At that point I was still exhausted from a full week of activities so I napped and now I can hear all of the action happening downstairs but am not quite motivated to go join in the action right now. It's about midnight here.

I move to another hotel room tomorrow since the one I'm in doesn't have a washer/dryer and I haven't done laundry in over 3 weeks...I will soon run out of clothes if I don't do some laundry.

I met a few Irish folk this week, one guy named David actually interviewed with our company when we were still in LA and then I met him here at my old hotel. It's very small town I can see already...everywhere you go you run into people you know with about 2 -3 degrees of separation vs. the LA 7 degrees, haha.

My phone just rang so gotta run!

1st week in Dublin.

Ok first of all, I'd like to say thanks to all of you who made it to my going away parties...it was great to spend time with y'all before I headed off to my big adventure.


This was the first party at The Magic Castle!


Here is the rest of what I've been up to...ending at the final going away party at mom's house where my camera battery finally died until I arrived in Dublin.

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

After that we had a bbq at Jude's house for Labor Day and then I proceeded to run around like a crazy person packing and doing last minute errands. I had no idea how much work it would be to get everything settled and packed into 6, yes 6 suitcases.

Morning of my leave after about 5 errands, Sandra and Karen met me for a final hug and farewell and the water works began. I hadn't opened all my presents and cards yet because I was afraid if I did, I wouldn't leave, especially after Alithea gave me a card at the party and began to cry saying, "Don't go, I'm gonna miss you!" For those of you who don't know, Alithea is Sean's 6 year old daughter and we have spent many a Sunday together, playing at the Farmer's Market, going to the park, having BBQ's etc. so when she started to get teary-eyed, so did I.

My mom and dad took me to the airport and Jude met me there and gave me one more hook up...she somehow arranged it so I didn't have to wait in line with all of my luggage, which was a God-send considering the amount of stuff I had on me...I won't get the rest of my things for about 2 months so my whole life was in these suitcases.

Once on the plane I opened all the cards and gifts and of course began crying and laughing all at the same time from all the sweet cards and awesome memories...the lady next to me must've thought I was nuts....but not that nuts because she proceeded to talk and talk and talk even when I was wearing ear plugs and an eye mask (thanks Janine!). It must've been pay back for all the times I've talked your ears off, haha!

After a 10 hour flight, I landed in Dublin and dropped my stuff off at the hotel and went straight to the office.

Mike took Jeff and I to dinner at an Italian restaurant in City Centre and then to get an ice cream and then we came back to the hotel at which point I slept for about 14 hours until 3:30pm the next day.

Niall, my new boss, took our team to an amazing dinner last night at the Bang Cafe and for cocktails beforehand which was nice...the food was amazing.

This morning I woke up at noon and fussed around my hotel for a bit and then Mike called and we went to meet Ernest (it was Ernest's bday today) to the horseraces in Leopardstown. Everyone was dressed up like in the movie "My Fair Lady" but it turns out that there was a special event where they were judging for best dressed lady...wish I would've known, I could've gotten all dressed up.

Then they took me all over City Centre and to the mall in Dundrum and we walked up and down a street for 3 hours looking for a Mexican restaurant and when we finally found it, I ordered nachos and got a bowl of chili with chips on the side, not exactly what I was expecting.

Here Are some pics from my first few days here:

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Funniest and most random things so far...

the toilets are horrible...they are clean but none of them have toilet seat covers (not used to that, thanks for the warning, Jude!).

I got in the wrong side of the cab when the driver picked me up from the airport. He proceeded to kindly tell me that he would be driving today.

They drive on the opposite side of the road so you have to be really careful when crossing the streets or you will get hit if you don't look both ways.

They order goods out of a catalog store, the way that Sears used to be before the internet, that was strange.

None of us can figure out if, who and what you are supposed to tip for....we know it's different but we're not sure how different...still workin' on that one.

I had to buy a new wallet today because euros come in change and my wallet doesn't hold change and the euros are huge so they don't fit in my current wallet (Karen...you were right, again!)

I still can't figure out how to use all the converters and I don't dare use my laptop, blowdryer or curling iron for fear of blowing them up.

And lastly....you walk everywhere. We walked for 8 hours today and I can barely move my feet right now because they are so sore and that was with comfortable shoes on...it's most similar to NYC in that respect but definitely something I better get used to quickly.

Coolest thing so far...I really am only 10 hours away which is really not that far if you think about it so stop sending me emails that you think I am dead (Sandra...I Love You!) and if you miss me, get on a plane and come see how beautiful it is out here....by the way, it hasn't rained yet, knock on wood!


I love you and miss you all and I will see you all very soon! If I'm lucky, I'll make it home for Christmas! xoxo. Ness

My New Digs.

Hi All:

Got the news on my temporary housing in Dublin until I decide on a permanent location: It's in Dublin Sandyford.

This is the Hotel I will stay at my first week. Beacon Hotel Dublin is on the south side of Dublin city, in the Sandyford business area. It looks very comfy!



Here are a few pics of corporate housing and views of the area! After the first week, I will stay at the Premier Apartment in Dublin Sandyford until the visa goes through. Looks nice! Hopefully it's that beautiful in person.

PREMIER APARTMENTS DUBLIN SANDYFORD





In the meantime, I am a complete basketcase, lol! I haven't started organizing and the relocation company packs and moves my stuff next week...I have a million and one details to do to get ready...and the moving/relocation company says I have too much stuff...wherever would they get that idea? I think it's because the assessor was a guy and so he doesn't understand a woman's need to have clothes and shoes! That said, I do have to downsize a bit...so I've started emptying my closets...the way I see it...out with the old and in with the new, haha! It'll give me an excuse to go shopping when I get to Dublin.

Family/Friends Party is still on for Sunday, September 3rd at my mom's house in Pasadena. Please let me know if you need directions. Can't wait to see everyone there!

Gotta run...lots to do and no time to do it in.

Ness

Family Party Changes.

Things are changing constantly with move dates and parties, so I apologize in advance for the delay. The family party will still be held at my mom's house in Pasadena. The new date will be Sunday, September 3rd at 2pm. Hope everyone can make it. Please email me to confirm. We will be sending out an evite shortly.

I will hopefully have more news on the other party for friends but it will most likely happen on August 25th or August 26th.

Also, my flight is booked for September 6th now as it turns out that planes don't fly on Tuesday's to Dublin....who would've thought? I guess that means that Dad gets his wish and I'll be here for his Birthday, yay!

Love you all!

Ness

Party All The Time!

The parties have begun! So much fun!

We went to Giant Village in Downtown LA! There were 6 stages on 4 square blocks of Downtown LA closed down for an all night party! It was a BLAST!



This is Sarah(from Texas), Alex, and ME! This is the day that LA had it's biggest heatwave and it was over 118* outside, so HOTTTTTT!!!!!!


The Fastest Ferris Wheel I have ever been on!


Where's Waldo? See me and Rasmus in the crowd - This was taken from the stage! Very Cool!



The Sun Rising over downtown at Mark's after party! What a VIEW!



My last concert before I leave will be Tim McGraw & Faith Hill's Soul to Soul concert at the Staples Center...I actually have tickets for both nights so I might sell the Saturday night tickets.





(Update***These are pics from the Friday night concert, Jude suprised us with 5th row tickets...I did end up sending the Saturday tickets to Melissa!)

The family party will happen at my mom's house in Pasadena on Sunday, August 20th. Everyone is invited to attend! Please email me or call me to let me know you will be attending and/or if you need directions...

Not sure when or where the other party will be, most likely August 26th. Details are still being arranged!

My official move date is the Tuesday after Labor Day, September 5th (day before dad's bday!)

Things have been very busy...have to figure out what I'm taking with me and move the rest into a storage unit. I can take 1000 pds of things with me to Ireland which is handled by our relocation company, The MI Group. Most people who have left so far haven't had too much difficulty that I have heard of, but I am anxious to get everything in order.

That's all for now.

xoxo

Well Wishes!!!

Thanks for all the well wishes! I really appreciate it and I can't wait for everyone to come out and visit the "Ireland". Really cool is the fact that you can fly from Dublin all over Europe for as cheap as 1 euro + tax if you book in advance, which means lots of weekend trips around Europe.

We will be having a "going away" party before I go so get ready for some fun!

On a side note, my favorite comment so far was from my mom, who when looking at the blog and saw a picture of the Dublin office, said, "Oh look, you will be by the water!" LOL, that really made me laugh since the whole country is an Island surrounded by WATER! I hear there is good surfing there too. Freezing cold but good.

Keep 'em coming! I love the feedback! So much fun! Of course, as soon as I created this blog, my laptop battery died, so I have to send it in for service to stay connected, and I can't believe how much I miss having my laptop at home! I think I'm becoming a technology geek, but maybe that's not a bad thing.

Another cool thing I discovered is a service called

Skype

where you can download a software that allows you to talk on the internet for free in the US and for only .02 a minute to call Dublin. All you need is headset and my laptop works using the built in microphone. Very Cool!

The French Girl in Los Angeles!

This is the blog of one of the girls who works for our new company in Dublin. She is from France and blogged her visit to LA, very funny!

Sarah's Blog

Official Announcement: I am moving to Dublin, Ireland

So as luck would have it, I can't seem to get away from "The Islands". There is the beautiful island of Sicily, where my mom's family is from, The gorgeous and exotic Bahamas, where my dad's family is from and now I've been offered a position with work which will take me to another island......Dublin, Ireland.

So here are the details:

Who? Me(Vanessa) along with 40 of my co-workers and some of their families from TiltWare.

What? The company I work for, FullTiltPoker is relocating to Dublin, Ireland. I'm moving over there as "Recruiting Manager" for the new company.

Where?????????? Yes, Dublin, Ireland - The office is in Cherrywood, to be exact, but that's not on a map yet (picture an office park in Valencia 10 years ago, when all there was in Valencia was Magic Mountain). "Cherrywood" is also known as "Loughlinstown" on your Dublin neighborhood searches. Here is a satelite pic: Map of Cherrywood

When? Most likely leaving end of August - exact date TBD with a time commitment of two years.

Why? Because I can (oh and it's an amazing opportunity to work and live and travel in Europe for two years, duh!)

So here is a link to some facts about my soon to be new home:
"Facts about Ireland"

So this is one way to keep my friends and family updated on how things are going as I move, for the first time in my life, out of "The Valley" in Sunny California and into what I expect will be a very beautiful but very rainy Dublin...stay tuned for more updates as I start my new adventure.