2010

The year that was.

2010 had some ups and downs, but mostly ups.

I went home a lot this year, which was awesome. I'm very fortunate to have been able to plan and execute so many trips home. I don't know if you knew this, but I'm very close to my family. I think they're pretty great people and enjoy spending time with them. On the flip side, my in-laws are also pretty great people, so I feel lucky all around.

In January, we took a weekend trip to LA. As you do. It was nice to get out of the apartment for a weekend and nice to see some of the sunshine and the huge LAX letters outside the airport. It was also nice to have a delicious quesadilla and wash it down with some Blue Moon.

In February, a doctor prescribed me to join a basketball team. I have yet to fill this prescription.

In March, the SJC and I flew into Orlando airport and traveled to Savannah, Georgia for St. Patrick's Day. We were delightfully underwhelmed with the festivities but fell in love with Savannah. We also took a day trip to Charleston, SC. On our drive back to Orlando, we stayed a night in St. Augustine, Florida. Incidentally, I've been dreaming of St. Augustine ever since. That was an awesome trip.

In April, I went home for the Boston Marathon. People don't understand why we Massachusetts folk love the Marathon so much, but it's a staple in our yearly lives. I also got to spend time with the littlest niece, Beans, and wholeheartedly enjoyed every minute of it.

In May, I dreamed of Mega-Bed. I also went to Turkey for a marriage of East vs West. A British groom married a Kazakhstan bride. I got to step in the Mediterranean an added that to the ever-growing list of Oceans I've been in.

I went home again in June, at the end of June, for Beans's birthday and stayed home until the second week of July. In July, we experienced the most oppressive way to survive a heat wave. No air conditioning? No thank you. Mom flew back to Dublin with me in July and stayed until August.

In September, I went home again for my Gramma's 90th birthday party. It was a hit. My Gramma rules.

My year shifted in October and all the fun and excitement seemed to die down, but for a very good reason. I got to go home again for Thanksgiving, which was fabulous and at my sister's house. I cried on the flight back to Dublin but didn't bawl because the knowledge that I'd soon be (hopefully!) moving back to the US was in the back of my mind.

And this was a December to remember. Not much happened this month, besides my 31st birthday and the greatest Lizmas to date. We survived Snowpocalypse 2010, barely. I think parts of Dublin are still struggling with burst pipes. I'm still in Sligo and will be here until next year (Ha - Monday is next year!) which is a superb way to ring out 2010.

I hope you all had a fabulous year. So, so much more has happened to me in 2010 than I'm willing to admit, but it's all for me to know and for you to find out.

Happy New Year to you and yours!

A Successful Lizmas

In case you were wondering, I really cleaned up this year at Lizmas. One could argue that it was the greatest Lizmas of all time, except for the missing ingredients that look an awful lot like my Mom, Dad, sisters, brother, brother-in-law, and beloved niece.

I had a wonderful Lizmas in Sligo at the SJC's house. He was worried that I'd have a miserable time since a) I hate Christmas the most and b) I'm 3,000 miles away from my family, but misery wasn't on the agenda. And it was a fabulous day.

I got some moccasins, a new Orla Kiely bag, lovely smelling lotions, several Carl Hiaasen books (score!) and a new lens for my camera. Yeah - talk about a huge windfall of awesomeness!

But that was 3 days ago (in Denmark, Christmas was 4 days ago, just so you know.) And boy have things changed. Well, the only thing that has changed is the sound of my voice and my sinus cavities.

I am completely miserable, San Diego. I was in good health on Lizmas, but the second day of my 31st year brought on a massive head cold that I am going to have to suffer through. Normally, I wouldn't complain (okay, I would) but I feel badly going around coughing, sneezing, and having gorgeous snots drip from my nose in front of the whole family. The SJC's siblings are here, as are some spouses, and a few children. Looking at me like I'm a leper. It's not a skin disease! It's just a cold! And I get one every year at this time. A true Christmas miracle!

So I've got some toilet paper stashed up my sleeve, as you do. I'm not wearing makeup because my watery, watering eyes would just rinse it all off, and I've become so good at the Vampire Cough (you know, where you cough into your elbow) that I've decided to wear my black sweater to give a real Dracula effect. It's working! Spooky, scary!

But every cloud has a silver lining. The snow has melted, and unlike SOME places I know about (ahem, Dublin) we have running water.

On that note, I hope you all had a fabulous Lizmas. And Happy New Year to you and yours!

Festivus. A Holiday For The Rest of Us.

Happy Festivus to one and all.

It's snowing today - a Festivus Miracle! And when it stops, that will be another Festivus Miracle! And if we can get on the train to Sligo without delays, that will be the trifecta. A day full of Miracles!

Those familiar with Festivus know that the day is full of events such as the Airing of the Grievances and the Feats of Strength.

The Feats of Strength will take place this afternoon when I lug my 30lb suitcase over the unsalted, icy sidewalks of Dublin to the train station. I shall emerge victorious from these Feats of Strengths based on sheer power and determination. The day is mine.

Now, on to the Airing of the Grievances.

I've got a lot of problems with you people! No, not you, readers, you guys are alright in my book. Partially with the Dublin City Council for being so negligent with the sidewalks and roads during this Snowpocalypse. Partially to the Meteorologists for getting the weather so horribly wrong most of the time. And mostly with Mother Nature, for being such a heinous bitch. Fix that jet stream, milady!

A huge Grievance is dedicated to the hot water heater aka the immersion. I've got a lot of problems with you, hot water heater! First, you hardly work. Second, 10 minutes of hot water? What is this, the third world?? And finally, don't you know it's cold out? Stay hot, dammit!

My other Grievances are minor. Things like the fact that Fallon & Byrne didn't have Fluff. What am I supposed to put on my peanut butter sandwiches now? Jelly? Ha!

I hope you all have a fabulous Festivus and a very Merry Lizmas. My gift to you all is, of course, a donation to The Human Fund: Money for People.

Merry Lizmas to all!

Last Minute Luck

Because I usually wait until the last minute to do pretty much everything, I went Lizmas shopping today. I walked in and out of stores, uninspired and talking myself out of everything.

(Side note: Orla Kiely, quit adding brown to your designs. I'm sick of it.)

I saw one million things I could buy for other people, but nothing I wanted. And I was shopping for myself.

Why? It's a long story and involves the trans-Atlantic shipping, particularly avoiding trans-Atlantic shipping, so I figured I'd buy stuff for me here and say it is from other people. They agreed.

I met up with Kim and new friend Sara (who bears a striking resemblance to my old friend Jordan, who is a lady,)for burritos. Then I peer pressured them into going shopping with me. I'm sure they were actually living their own personal version of hell, but they were good sports about it, even when I walked in and out of several different jewelry stores because I didn't care for anything.

I had given up home. Resigned myself that this Lizmas, I'd be getting a high five and/or something in January or February. Or March, April, May, June, or July. Maybe even August. Do you see where I'm going with this?

Then Kim suggested The Designyard and, well, jackpot. That place is awesome. It's a jewelry and art store that specializes in designers from across Europe. I found a pair of earrings that I immediately fell in love with. And promptly purchased them as a gift to me from the SJC. He has such great taste in jewelry.

And then I walked home and made it about 1/3 of the way before I really wanted to fall asleep on the pavement. The snowy-snowy pavement. Also, it's still snowing. I'll probably move to Florida for my 32nd birthday.

The Second Snowman of the Snowpocalypse

The first Snowman of the Snowpocalypse has come and gone. There is no sign of snow from where I sit, but we live close to the Irish Sea and, well, the ocean effect.

Tonight the second Snowman of the Snowpocalypse is supposed to descend upon us. It's already hit Sligo and Mayo and pretty much rolled over Northern Ireland. I hope it skips over Dublin (ocean effect!) because there's not enough salt. So they won't be salting the roads or gritting the sidewalks. In short, it's going to look like the Ice Capades at Amateur Hour when you're out and about this weekend.

Not that I mind, really. You see, I grew up in New England. We're hearty stock. It snows like hell in the winter and the summer temperatures can reach insufferable highs. Like being 100 degrees for two straight weeks with no relief in sight, not even an air conditioner, because you're staying down the Cape where the ocean breeze usually cools things down. To make a long story short, I know about the snow. I know how to walk around in it, I know how to clear it off, and more importantly, I know that it sucks out loud.

So bring it on this weekend, snow. Do your worst. You still cannot defeat me. And since I don't have a car, it looks like I'll be winning this battle!

Hopefully the third Snowman of the Snowpocalypse never shows his face, otherwise, Russia wins at weather.

A Joint Venture

Yesterday, I was regaling my dream from Saturday night to the SJC. Yeah, I know, dreams are boring. He was a good sport. It involved staying at a new casino in Las Vegas called The Dive and probably roller skates.

A casino named The Dive doesn't exist. We decided we should open one. And the ideas kept flowing. The bar area would be called The Hive. And the SJC came up with this show stopping number: We'd have entertainment. It'd be called The Clive (Owen Look-Alike Experience.)

Next stop: Billionaire status!

Not My Best Argument

This morning, I woke up around 6am, because apparently that's how my jetlag works. As soon as I move into the future (GMT,) I wake up at 1am in my body. It makes perfect sense, in a bizarro world kind of way.

Last night the SJC lost a button from his coat. Well, he lost it in the hallway of the apartment, so it was easy to find. At 6am I decided to sew it back on his coat. Thank you, Home Economics class from 8th grade!

Around 7:30 he woke up and I decided to try and convince him that he should call in sick from work today. For the selfish reason that I wanted to hang out with him, I tried various suggestions. Like we could hold hands and watch Harry Potter (no dice,) or we could go to lunch at Herbstreet and caress each other's faces like they did in the 1950s (would you believe that one didn't work either?)

Then he headed to the shower and I looked at the calendar. Today is December 7th. It's Pearl Harbor Day. I used my best debate club argument, informing him of the importance of today's date. I even reminded him that he works for a Japanese company and his wife is American. I may have lied a little bit when telling him that the only reason he has a job now is because we Americans helped rebuild Japan after WW2. It was pure propaganda. He didn't buy it.

In hindsight, I should have just changed all the clocks so he slept through the day, and then informed him at 3 o'clock this afternoon that it was really 11am and whoops, he's missed work. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow.

A Sunday Evening

I flew back to Dublin last night, via Aer Lingus. Before I go any further, let me just announce how glad I am that I have completed my last Aer Lingus BOS to DUB flight until at least August, maybe longer.

My Dad drove me to the airport and I was hell bent on being upgraded. All previous airlines have either looked for empty seats with a wink and then a frowny face because there were none, or said I could upgrade for $400 or more. I was figuring I could use my Aer Lingus miles (don't get me started on their hot mess of a frequent flyer program - set up for people to fail,) and pay the difference. I know I have close to enough miles and I had some cash. Turns out I was 200 miles short and if I wanted to pay the difference, sorry, they don't do that. But I could pay $2,000 to upgrade. To business class. On Aer Lingus. For a 5 1/2 hour flight. Because that makes good financial sense and is worth it.

No x-ray machines, no pat down, want to know why? Nobody was there to do the pat downs and the x-ray machines were turned off. Let this be a lesson. To avoid the dreaded invasion of privacy, fly on Sunday evenings! Internationally!

The flight was as expected. Uncomfortable, long, uncomfortable, and the a-hole in front of me reclined all the way. I politely tapped her on the shoulder and asked her to move her seat up, and she did, so she wasn't all that bad. The flight left a few minutes late and landed after New York (those jerks!) so we were second priority instead of #1, which is what we usually are because we usually get there at 4:45am and not 5:30am which was this morning.

And then there was a technical problem with the baggage claim. At this point, I was just ready to walk out and into the open arms of the SJC, who was there at the crack of dawn, waiting for me, and, well, I love him. You know how it is. Eventually the bags came, I made it out, we got in a cab, who took us for quite a loopy ride around Dublin and chatted our ears off about the snow and his many homes all across the world (meanwhile driving a 2001 Toyota Tercel...)

Finally we made it back to the apartment. I opened up my suitcase and noticed things weren't where I thought they were. You can probably figure this one out. The TSA had a nice rifle through my luggage. They probably stole some granola bars (jerks!) and definitely were suspicious of the bag of presents my Mom sent over with me (thanks, Mom!) and now I have to clean all my underwear. Just another glorious travel story!

It was about 2am in my body when I finally went to sleep. And that was my Sunday evening.

TCOB Thursday

TCOB means Taking Care of Business. And that is precisely what I did today.

First, I woke up at 7:30, on my own accord. Perhaps jetlag isn't bothering me that much because I go to bed by 10 pm? Either way, score one for Liz in the sleep department! Because sleep is the goodest.

Anyway, one of the things on my Agenda for Home was to get my license renewed. It expires on December 25th, 2010, which, you know, is convenient, since the RMV is open on Christmas day and all (no, it is not.) But I'm a forward looking thinker (to some extent) and decided that TODAY was the day to renew my license.

We've all been to the RMV. It's hell on Earth. Comedians don't have bits about it for nothing. The last time I renewed my license it took something like 2 hours. This time I was prepared. I brought provisions. I got there at 9:15 am with a sandwich, granola bars, and a bottle of water packed in my pocketbook. I also had some reading material and my iPod to pass the time.

I thought I was in the wrong place. There was nobody in there but a handful of people behind the counter. I told the lady at the RMV reception area that I was here for a license renewal and that I had filled out the application online. She told me to take a number. I took a number. It was B201. As soon as I finished reading it, a voice came over the intercom, 'Now serving number B201.' Amazing. I didn't jump up and run to the counter like I was the next contestant on The Price is Right but I wanted to, and it's the thought that counts.

I was in and out with a renewed license in 5 minutes. That's what I call service.

Well done to you today, Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles on the Mass Pike in Natick. You made my day that much better for being so awesome. I look forward to doing business with you again in another 5 years when this one is about to expire. Or before then, when I get some license plates.

And that, other RMVs in the world, is how you Take Care of Business in a Flash.