Things to do when I get paid

1. A haircut.
2. Cut spare keys.
3. Flights home in November.
4. Be sociable!
5. Buy Assassin's Creed 2 (I know this contradicts number 4).
6. Get some baking utensils.
7. Attempt some baking.
8. Get some frames and photos for said frames.

My First Trip Home

This weekend I got to go back to the ol' sod for the first time and I picked a damn good weekend to do it. Not only did Cork win the All-Ireland, but I got to spend some great time with my Maeve and there was a little surprise for me when I got home from Tralee on Sunday... KITTENS!

Evil looking kittens admittedly, and they their mark on my mother's wrists when she was trying to move them, but since then they seem to have calmed down a bit even in that one day. Apparently there's a third on the way too. 

All in all an excellent weekend. I'm now back in the big schmoke and things are really really good (apart from my ever declining bank balance) but pay day is soon and things should be ok then. 

So in essence; things are awesome!

Sweet!

The Letter R

The small differences are beginning to become more and more clear. The most annoying one currently has to do with the letter R. Now, I have no other idea if other Irish people do this, but I pronounce the letter "r" like the work "or". People over here pronounce it with more or an "ar" sound. This had led to much confusion when I have to spell things out for people.
Also, I don't mean to seem insensitive or come across as having some weird prejudice, but there really seems to be more crazy people over here. Like serious insane, walking down the street, ranting and raving about the colour of the giant winged walrus that's following him around. They also smell odd. Maybe it's just Camden. It does seem to attract a fair few weirdos.

Gadgetastic!

As promised, the details of some of my recent acquisitions.

First of all, my phone:

HTC Wildfire; packing Android 2.1 on the Three network. It’s super fancy with oodles of apps available. The screen may not be as big as the Desire or the iPhone, but it was relatively cheap and it maintains my policy of not turning into a Steve Jobs sycophant (for now at least). Anyone out there with app recommendations?

Secondly, my TV as shown in my Integrated Media Centre^TM.

It’s a 26 inch LCD Toshiba with two HDMI ports which I am making good use of. One is connected to the Xbox 360 for some jaw dropping graphics, the other is hooked up to the TV box at the moment at even though I’m not getting the HD service, it does make the picture a little better I think. I also hook up to the laptop so that I can watch my downloaded material on the TV just because it’s cool. The TV or laptop are hooked to the speakers (depending on which I am using) to provide audio excellence. The neighbours haven’t complained about the noise yet despite that sub woofer giving off enough bass to attract some Norwegian fishermen (bad joke I know).

Thirdly, there’s the new laptop itself.

It’s also a Toshiba meaning there someone in Japan that’s very happy with me right now. It also means that it’s good; i3 processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, nVidea graphics card (512MB) with Windows 7. I like it. The only problems I’m having with it are the placement of the power socket on the side I use for a mouse which leads to cable entanglement and there’s only two USB ports. It may not seem like much but when it’s very annoying when that limitation becomes an issue.

Lastly; my most recent addition; a Logitech MK300 wireless keyboard and mouse.

They make controlling the laptop when it’s hooked up to TV practical and allow me to cause havoc if I hook them up to someone’s computer when they’re not looking. There’s something very satisfying about typing your blogposts using a wireless keyboard and you flatscreen TV as your display. It really makes me feel like one of the technological elite or something.  

Alls Changed, Changed Utterly

I have a cheque book. This is weird. Nothing else to say about that; I just wanted to get it out of my system.

Soon... Soon I will have internet access AND a fancy tv service. By then I’ll have finally gotten my phone and my moving in period will be officially over. Soon is Friday by the way. Hopefully it’ll mean I’ll have the time to analyse my fantasy football team properly and recover from a disastrous start.

It’s amazing the difference a couple years makes. From a messy, lazy, hairy student to a considerably less messy, less hairy, employed productive member of society in a few short years. Stranger things have happened though; the flag waving communist that was a 16 year old Ross Frenett is now working for the man, in a suit, and in that most capitalistic of endeavours that is management consultancy.

Those are the only changes though. Even in the last couple weeks many things have changed. For one, my past nemesis of coeliac disease has reared its ugly head again and it picked the night before my first day at work to do so. Fair enough I had only eaten a baguette the day before, but having to make several midnight trips to the loo didn’t help the nerves before the start. I’ve become a lot more conscious of what I’ve been eating and as a result I’ve had to tighten my belt (literally).

Right now, it’s hard not to be optimistic about the future. So much more now seems possible over here and my life is on the move again after an extended hiatus. There are a lot of things I miss about Cork but I already know that it’ll be a good while before I ever move back. That thought alone makes me sad, without even counting in that feeling of coming back home and seeing that everything has changed while you were gone.

I’m really looking forward to people visiting though! Even though I’ve only been here three weeks, my sister Eva has already been here and I’ve a couple more visitors due in the next couple weeks. Funtimes! So, come on over and visit me! I’m talking to you Laura O’Neill or whoever you happen to be (Laura gets a mention as she asked for/demanded it).

So ends this message on that note of optimism. Hopefully there’ll be another post soon showing off my shiny new gadgets... mmm.... gadgets...

I find my lack of internet annoying.

Well, here I am at my desk ready to start day no.2 at le job. My lack of itnernet at home means I have to do this from work which will limit the amount I can write. Suffice to say, everything is going well apart from a small few glitches with the flat (the shower specifically) but having an awesome TV makes up for it and will do even more so when I get a fancy Sky connection in or something. Hopefully that'll be sooner rather than later, but alas, I'm still waiting for my bank account to be cleared which is holding everything up. On the upside I am now registered to vote, so Boris Johnson, you have been warned.

My Sundown

So this is it. Tomorrow is move day. The next post will be from the incredibly huge schmoke that is London town. Unfortunately, today is incredibly busy so there's not much time to be taking it all in. Not for a while anyway. It's going to be weird. Cork has been my home for over 25 years and I've always felt an extraordinary attachment to the place. To say that I've had some great times here is an understatement. So, in the spirit of the cold, calculating and clinical science student I have become; I've decided that my best memories are best expressed in the form of lists.

Best Cork Moments

1. Cork Worlds 2009 - Headwrecking, exhausting, awesome.
2. Éire Óg winning the Junior County Football Championship - The club means more to me than life itself (nearly) and so this was very, very special.
3. All-Ireland Hurling Final 2005 - Cork beat Galway. Savage cabbage.
4. Heineken Cup Final 2006 final - While this wasn't the Heineken Cup final I was at, the outpouring of joy and relief that came with the 2006 win was unparalleled.
5. Urban Family Christmas Party 2007 - The Gilabbey St. one. Epic. 
6. Philosoph AGM, 157th Session - John's minutes, some minor personal redemption and just a lot of fun.
7. ISDA 2010 - It was in Dublin sure, but it was the Cork crew that made it. The Raftery's build was just so intense and so satisfying.
8. Grand Slam Match; Ireland v Wales 2008 - Watched it with some good friends while there was much screaming at the TV.

Top Things I'll Miss About Cork

1. UCC in March/April - Chillin' out, maxing, relaxing all cool, studying some calculus outside of the Boole. (Yeah, I went there. I'm very tempted to do the whole song...)
2. Christmas time around Cork - Christmas time in general is just an amazing time to be around Cork.
3. GAA - Nothing in the world comes close to the local passion and pride that is the GAA. I miss being  a part of it.
4. Philosoph & Dramat - Two great bunches of people that have brought me so much enjoyment and free holidays!
5. The Farm - It sounds trite, but the farm at home is part of me. It's been in my family for seven generations and now I leave it. It's sad. Boo.

Things I Won't Miss About Cork

1. The unemployment. It sucks
2. The rain. Though I suppose London has it's fair share of that too.

One thing that I'll miss is also something I won't miss; I love that I know Cork. I know where things are, I know the general placement of all streets, I just know the city. At the same time too I'm looking forward to having a new place to explore.

So mixed feelings. This is going to be an interesting day.