Irish

Irish pub + Irish bartender + Irish beer + Irish music + Chicago = good times. Thanks Jennifer for rescuing me from an office holiday party and providing me with multiple hours of fun. We will have a standing date until I leave the country.

Strawberries

Do you see these strawberries? Those are the damned strawberries that I planted for three entire days straight, alone and cold, on the top of a windy hill in County Clare, Ireland back in late March. Not to mention, the care that I had to give to each individual plant to "keep them happy" in the following weeks. I was relegated to planting strawberries on the hill when I injured my wrist the week prior. It was an easy enough task, just very mundane. The first day was met with a steady rain and wind. We had laid down black plastic over the ground to keep the weeds down (seeing as though we couldn't use any herbicide, being an organic farm and all). The downfall of the black plastic is the fact that when it rains, the water just pools up in the uneven spots of the earth. This didn't make for much fun for me, seeing as though I was kneeling on the ground while planting the strawberries, and the water slowly seeped into my work boots, not to mention soaked my knees, and every inch of fabric in my pants and socks from waist to toe. Oh yeah, and don't forget that it was raining, so come time to come in for lunch, I was soaked from head to toe. Robin saw me and said "well, if it isn't...Miss Wet!" I told him that I felt like a drowned cat and went upstairs to change my clothes and probably felt like crying. It was one of the lowest days that I had back in County Clare. The following days weren't all that great, seeing as though I was still stuck on "Strawberry Hill" alone, but at least the weather improved. It had warmed up enough on the second day to wake up the bees that were housed mere feet away from me in the strawberry patch. In the middle of the day, at the height of warmth, they were really buzzing, but didn't bother me much. I also brought a flat board with me, so I could sit on that, instead of the wet plastic filled with little pools of water. There were times where I would take a break, and lay down on the wooden board, and just stare up at the blue sky and the wispy clouds, feeling the sun's warmth my face. I would listen to the sheep and lambs bleating. The sheep were annoying, but those little lambs were too damn cute. I also listened to the wind coming through the trees in the small forest next to me, and hear the screams of what I assumed was a wild pig, which sometimes sounds like a woman screaming. The birds were chirping and the bees were buzzing. It became satisfyingly solitary. I had all the time in the day to sit alone and contemplate for hours on end. What did I think about? My family. What I was doing with my life. What I wanted to change in my life. My friends, and how much they meant to me. Trips to Spain and other places in Europe. What travels I would hope to take in the following year to visit people. Self-inventory, so to speak. I had a few revelations on that hill, and some of them I've carried through on.

I can close my eyes today, and see everything that I saw there on top of that hill and hear the sounds. I often wish that I was back on that farm again. For all of the low times, there was so much satisfaction that I got out of the days that I spent there. It definitely felt like a home to me, complete with family. If I could do it all over again, I definitely would, in a heartbeat. I wish I could be there tomorrow, in fact.

Anyway, back to those strawberries. When the farmer talked about those strawberries, you could see the euros in his eyes! I could have cared less about them. Miserable, miserable strawberries! At least I now know that people were able to enjoy them and reap the benefits of my labor.

I just asked the hardest question and had the toughest conversation in my life so far. It's not over yet. I don't feel well. Why do I have to be one of those "glass half empty" people?

Things

1.) I am still in love with WOXY, today has been a superb "Request the X" day.

2.) I think I've gone a couple of weeks without eating bacon or a hot dog. Prepare for the world to come to an end.

3.) It's too damn cold outside.

4.) I've decided not to put up a Christmas tree this year. Why? Because I don't feel like looking at it until March, like I did last year. I am also thinking about forgoing the Christmas cards as well.

5.) I've gotten really lazy about washing the dishes, and have resorted to using paper plates, and making sandwiches that require little or no cutlery, since I am out of or running dangerously close to out of the real stuff. I think I see a pattern arising between points 4 and 5, because I also have a pile of laundry on the floor similar to last year's.

6.) I am tremendously bored with my job, and have been thinking about not showing up one day and saying "You know, I just don't think this is the right fit for me."

7.) I now have enough money saved up to buy a plane ticket to India in the spring. Now, I need to nail down the specific two weeks I'll be spending there in April or May. Any suggestions?

8.) I have secured a meeting with an HR Recruiter to discuss job opportunities in India with the Target Corporation.

9.) I wish I had my farmer physique back.

10.) If you think that Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" is even remotely close to your top 20 songs of 2006, I can no longer be your friend or acquaintance, and you obviously did not spend time in Europe between the months of March and May, and heard it every time the radio was on, no matter the station, no matter the location. The same probably goes for the U.S. between the months of June and September, but I wouldn't know. Thank God I have non-commercial radio choices in America!