gnat sucks at weather worldwide

when will i learn?

gnat (hazily) resurfaces on the other side of the pond

i made it! and i am still awake!

immigration was not interested in my spices, and i was greeted at baggage claim by a lovely older gentleman by the name of jim who drove me to cheex's house (after commenting that i must have brought half of america over with me in my suitcases - if only, sir - and letting me know he had practiced the route yesterday). i got to rest for all of 20 minutes before cheex got home from class and we headed into city centre.

things i accomplished within 6 hours of getting to dublin:
- setting up my cell phone
- touring campus and the downtown area
- getting a letter of registration from school to open a bank account
- (potentially) finding an apartment
- my first irish meal (pot pie of the week!)

things i did not accomplish:
- sleep
- finding a leprechaun

there was more to this post but i honestly don't remember any of the other things i had to say (as if i had the focus to type it all out even if i could remember). i've avoided sleep all day in hopes of beating the jet lag monster, and it's almost time for me to finally crash. i leave you with this - ireland's ketchup analog (tomato relish) is a huge departure from the vile, artificial red stuff we have in the states. it's 41% tomato!

(edit: after minor unpacking to extract pajamas, i have discovered that the uppermost layer of clothing in my bag smells strongly of garam masala. so much for the ziplock odor protection.)

gnat leaves

packing to move to a foreign country sucks. i started with three empty suitcases (two big guys, one carryon) and have spent the last several days putting items in, taking them out, putting them back in, making agonizing decisions about how indispensable or replaceable things were, desperately weighing each bag after every repack to make sure i was still within that damn 50 pound limit. some surprising items that made the cut:

- a pretty exhaustive collection of herbs and spices (it remains to be seen whether i make it through customs with these)
- my trusty orange ing cafe travel mug (which readers of my chicago blog may remember almost didn't make it back to california)
- my ukulele, liam
- the empire strikes back on dvd

well the bags have been checked (49 and 50.5 pounds, sucka) and i am hanging out in the international terminal at sfo sippin' on some coffee and waiting to board. my total travel time including this morning's drive to the airport and what promises to be a very special trip through customs and out to cheexy's house (as i attempt to navigate a foreign country with mind addled by jet lag and lack of sleep) approaches a full 24 hours, so you can expect that there will be more blogging in the very, very near future (in between the crossword puzzle and researching my fantasy football roster - 'murrica).

signing off for now, for the last time from the states (for a while at least). wish me luck, internets.

gnat's next adventure

so, i'm moving to ireland.