BLOG — Boots and Beer

The last few months of my life have been quite stressful with work and the anxiety surrounding the unknown of whether I was going to be able to stay in Ireland or if I had to go back to the United States. At work, we were coming up to a major election and we all were putting in long hours, so I was uncertain of whether or not sponsorship would be a possibility until the very end. However, I wouldn't trade my last few months for anything.

I spent most of my time at work, but I still was able to spend a lot of time with my mates, and drank and ate far too much. It was somewhat like an extended holiday that I had to work through. I did still get to enjoy life though, and spent some time out in Wicklow which is always amazing.

Fianna Fáil did really well in the elections as well, much better then we all even hoped for! Now there's a lot of uncertainty when it comes to the state of next government, but I wish you all the best of luck.

As the date of the end of my visa got closer and closer, I realized how much I came to love Dublin and Ireland, and how much it pained me to think about going home. I wanted to stay there so badly. I had made a life for myself, in this beautiful and miserable country. I had a solid group of friends, a great job, and despite the stress, I was happy. I came to realize that home is not always where you come from or where your family is. Home is where your heart is.

The last few nights in Dublin spent with mates.

My final memento to Ireland. Forever in my heart.

Ireland stole my heart. I miss all of you and I miss you Dublin. I will see you soon.

I mo chroí go deo.

This year was the first year that I spent a significant amount of time away from my friends and family. I was unprepared for my first holiday season away from home, and was generally moaning about it all. Many of my friends here were going home, whether that was somewhere else in Ireland or somewhere else in Europe. It was a bit harrowing.

The first major holiday that I missed was Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving doesn't exist in Ireland, I wasn't too terribly disappointed to have missed it, since no one else here was celebrating either. No turkey or ham for me that day. I had a burger and beers, instead. Beer always cheers ya up.

Getting into the Christmas spirit, haha. I was a tad grouchy when I made this.

When Christmas started approaching, I was becoming more of a grouch and was grumpy towards everyone's holiday cheer. The Christmas party at work did help change that a bit, though. I was somewhat forced into both a festive mood and festive dress, plus the drinks always help. :)

Rudolph getting locked, christmas party, & christmas lights.

I was fortunate to find an Irish friend who invited me over to spend Christmas with him and his lovely family. It was not like any Christmas that I had ever experienced. It was mad. It was lovely. But, mostly it was mad. There was so much gargle. We starting on the drink at 10 a.m. and finished the sesh at 6 a.m. The morning and afternoon was spent with the family opening gifts and then having Christmas dinner. Irish Christmas dinner is very similar to American Christmas dinners. Ham, turkey, mash, brussel sprouts, stuffing, carrots, and gravy. The exceptions would be mushy peas and Yorkshire puddings. Anyway, it was grand.

Christmas finery (ha) & Irish Christmas dinner

As the evening kicked off, we sat around playing various drinking games, until all the friends came over. We laughed, we sang, we drank, and we seshed until it was time to kick everyone out as the sun came out. I wish I would have gotten a photo or video of that night. It was definitely a mad experience! I do want to reiterate that I very much appreciate the hospitality that I was shown, because I had nothing to do on this holiday otherwise.

The drink. That was my Christmas. And handlettering.

New Year’s seems to get more anticlimactic every year that passes by. New Year’s Eve was the typical let's get smashed and bring in the new year right or whatever bullshit. I had Christmas till after New Year’s day off from work, and spent the majority of the time in a haze of shitty food and far too much drink. It was good times though.

I failed to get many photos over this period, but there's always friends and food.

Unfortunately, being away from home and your friends and family made it seem like I was in some sort of alternate time/place reality and that it wasn't really Christmas and New Year's at all. Oh and also, the Irish winter is far more mild than I am used to.

As my birthday is in January, I generally lump it into the holiday season as well. Damn, being 25 sucks though. No more early twenties, ah oh well, good things will come! My birthday weekend wasn't as nice as I hoped, with all the stress and silly shite going on in my life. Oh, and Bowie died on my birthday! Very sad news. As for me, well, there's always next year! 2016 has decided to be a mean bitch so far, but it can only get better from here. All the stress, sickness, landlord issues, and shite will soon be a thing of the past. Here’s to kicking ass and taking names. Peace out bitches.

THE END OF MY TIME IN THE BEAUTIFUL EMERALD ISLE

MY FIRST HOLIDAY SEASON AWAY FROM HOME & THE MADNESS OF IRISH CHRISTMAS