Hey Everybody!!

Soooo sorry I haven't updated for a bit. But I'll make it up to you if you go to my new blog! I promise this is the only time I'll make you do this cause this new one is way easier to use and I can put way more pics on there for you guys to see!

So, from now on... I will be updated the following site: www.getjealous.com/marleeritchie

Please check it out and gimme some feed back as to what you think!
Hope you enjoy!

Talk to ya soon,
Marlee

Day 8 on the Island... :) Things are lookin' up!

YAY!!!!! One thing crossed off the list of things to do....we found a place to live!!! That is a big weight off our shoulders. We found a beautiful apartment fully furnished with cable tv to share with an Irish guy about our age, it is only €240 a month and our budget was €400 so we are happy with that. Even the beds come with linens which most of the places didnt. IT's so clean and new with all the kitchen and laundry amenities :) IT is a ten minute walk to downtown and a ten minute walk to Galway Bay (ocean) and our kitchen table window overlooks the city and Galway bay! IT is on the top floor and has a balcony and we have our own bathroom/shower in our room! We are sharing a big room (and it has two closets)which isn't new for us as we did for 4 or 5 years in the past :) It works better for when I take off and leave Jess to pay the full rent for a few months. Also, the guy we are living with has a computer that he is willing to share with us as long as we chip in for internet which is only about €7 a month each. Way cheaper then paying at internet cafes.
You dont understand how happy we are to have found a NICE place within our budget, you would not believe the dodgy dives we looked at over the past few days. But we did get to know the city quite well as we have been walking all over hell's creation on a budget of two eggs and one bowl of special K per day!!! This one apartment was a an old musty shed (not even joking) behind an old womans house and the fridge was in the middle of the living room in front of the couch because there was no room for it anywhere else, and you literally had to step over the toilet to get into the shower! I could barely turn around inside it! Anyways, feeling much more positive about the living and working here. Jess is keeping her fingers crossed as she has applied with a home care agency as well, and where she doesn't need her Irish nursing license to work there as it is mostly health care aid work. She's been getting more hastle with getting the 6week orientation and stuff so it might work out better. I'll look for work when I get back at the start of February... I'm not ready yet :)
We haven't been doing much here in Galway besides looking for places to live. But we leave tomo for Dublin then onto Amsterdam! Really excited. Then meeting Kristi, my sister, back in Dublin on Jan 25th and her, Kim, and I will take a small tour of Ireland then onto Scotland. Flights from Dublin to Edinborough right now are 1 Euro... crazy! It will end up being 66 euro return. Perfect timing.

So, I'll check back in later with good tales to tell I'm sure and x-rated pics to share :)

Anyways, thats all, hope everyone is well!

I'm working on another site at the moment where it is easier to upload a bunch of pics so STAY TUNED!

Me :)

Jan 15 Day Trip to the Aran Islands

So this was the first real touristy thing we've done here this time. Jess stayed behind to do laundry for the first time in 6 weeks:) eeeewwww.... I guess that's what I hve to look forward to. Anywho, Jen, Kim and myself booked a ferry out to the Aran Islands to do some site seeing. Bought an hour ride in some rough seas but not as bad as the plane ride that's for sure! We originally thought we would rent some bikes to tour around the island but as soon as we stepped off the ferry, we were practically blown away from the high winds so we quickly accepted a tour guides offer to take around the island in his minibus for the day! It turned out to be a great choice because I was pretty funny and had grown up on the island so he told us all the history, which was pretty cool. One of the places we drove by was this light house that was practically in the middle of the island (island is like 9miles wide by 13miles long)he said that they had built this lighthouse way too far inland and alot of ships were crashing into the shores thinking they had a bit more sea ahead of them... well our driver, Rory, kept calling it the "the lighthouse that was up to no good" because the local people soon realized that when the ships crashed, they could loot all the supplies etc from the shipwreck! So, nobody did anything about the lighthouse for years! crazy. They didn't receive electricity to the island until 1973! They still used lamps and candles. All the houses only have 2-3 windows because before electricity was available, the town taxed them for the amount of sunlight they allowed into their houses, and most people could only afford to have 2-3 windows! If they had a front door that opened just on the bottom half... they weren't taxed for that light... who knew! So even the newer houses are only build with minimal windows in case the tax ever comes back! As we drove around, there isn;t a spot of land that isn't surrounded by rock walls. Rory said that the rock walls had 3 purposes, to establish ownership of the land, (land is all privately owned by farmers, some farmers have 10 acres while others have 100, but they are small lots all split up all over the place, never too many together), to provide shelter for the animals and to help clear the land and make use of all the rocks. He said that if the wall was damaged or fell over anywhere, it was up to the farmer who's field the rocks landed on... that it was their responsibility to fix it. :) Keepin it simple :) Lots of good info, got to see a seal playing in the waves, some local art work and of course a pint to warm us up :) Jenny forgot her backpack in the cafe that we were in at the biginning of the tour which unfortunately had her passport in it... so after panicking, we asked a local shop keeper how to get a hold of our tour guide again as we still had a few hrs to wait for our ferry. She wasn't sure but directed us to the grocery store, when we got there, I recognized a lady that was getting into her car as the lady who owned the shop across from the cafe Jenny's bag was in. Jenny bagged her for a ride back to her shop so she could get her bag. The lady said of course. So kim and I hung around and waited. 1/2 hr later... this island is not very big... so we were wondering where they were... Jen reappears with her bag adn very nice things to say about the lady. When Jen was talking to the lady, she said, "I suppose you woudn't happen to know a Rory that drives the tour bus.." the lady replied, "Well, I know him quite well actually...Rory is my son." LOL Very very small town. The cafe was closed, lady knew where the owners lived, went to their house they said they took it to the tourism and info place... and wouldn't ya just know that the tour/info booth was where Kim and I had decided to wait for Jenny! Argh. Funny in the end. The lady was super sweet and wouldn't take any money for her troubles. Nice end to the visit on Aran Islands. :) Hope you enjoy the pics.

It is now Jan. 16. Hanging out at Diane's (Irish friend that jess met in Australia last year) doing laundry... chillin'

We'll, I guess that's all for now! We start looking tomorrow for apartment cause that;s when the paper comes out with all the listings! Wish us luck!

Later all,
Marlee

I've Finally ARRIVED!!!

Ahoy!

We've arrived safely... barely tho! There were 80km winds and crazy blowy rain gusts while we were approaching Dublin... then the pilot told us that we had to hang out for a while up there cause there were some escaped prisoners that got loose at the airport and were somewhere on the runways so they had closed all runways! .... Prisoners!??... The turbulence was so bad that when the stewardess came around to collect all the "sick" bags... she had to stop half way to get a new garbage bag! GROSS!! Kimmy and I held down our Heinekens okay... but my face was a tad green. I have my luggage and made it through immagration with only a smile... no questions! I must have that country girl charm I guess.

When we were "debarking" the plane, we had to use stairs out onto the tarmack due to the huge backlog of planes grounded because of the prisoners that were loose... anywho, the rain and gail force winds were so bad that the girl in front of us was almost run over by a runaway wheelchair! It looked so creepy! Then there was this guy that was running after it trying to catch it before it rolled into the flight path! ... really funny. :)

Anywho, on Jan. 11 we booked a room in a Dublin hostel in an area called Temple Bar which is kinda downtown and reminds me of Osborne. Lots of cool shops and pubs. The hostel was okay but too many rules. Like... can't get to your room before 3pm but have to check out by 10:30am. They upped there prices but no longer offer fruit for breaky just toast and jam. At least it's something. No internet, laundry (if your interested is like 7.5 Euro a load! They do it for you but we learned that people in Ireland don't have to pay for water so ... hmmm... anywho. We can't have guests at anytime, which meant that my friend Jenn who was staying with family friends couldn't even come up to meet us in our rooms in the day! So ya... hope not to stay there again. But we just needed to sleep anyway.
Jan. 12 (I'm using dates cause I really am losing track of what day of the week it is :)
Jess and I went to an orientation session that was offered to us with our Irish Working Visa's. It was really informative and a lot was thrown at us in a short time. Lots of paperwork and tax info to figure out. We have to get a bank acct to get a job but we need an address... so, I guess we'll try to find a place first. The bad news is that we will be taxed 42% until we get our employer to fill out some forms and send them in to the government proving what tax bracket we are in. Then they only charge us 20%. The good news is that we get every cent back when we are done but it will be sent home. If we want to change jobs, there is a form you get the old employer to fill out so you can give it to the new employer... lots of other forms too for other stuff... :)
After the orientation, the four of us met up again (Jess, Jenny, Kim and I) and bought tix for a 3.5hr bus ride across Ireland to Galway on the west coast. This is where Jess' friend lives and where we will be trying to live and work for the next few months. But I won't start looking until after Jenny, Kim and my sister all go home the first week of Feb. We are planning a trip to Scotland and possibly Wales if we have time.
So, we arrived in Galway last nite around supper time, got a hostel room for just the 4 of us which is nice cause we don't have to worry about leaving all our stuff sprawled everywhere... which it is. This hostel is way better. FREE internet! Super nice. Great kitchen facilities and minimal rules... which is more my style :) We went out last to a nite club cause by the time we were all ready to go and had had a few wobbly pops in our room, it was too late for the pubs. Most pubs close around midnight. Super early by our standards so I guess we'll have to learn to just start earlier!! hee hee... when in Rome.... :)
Today, we all finally had a chance to sleep in and take it easy. So, we walked around downtown, and are cooking a good meal here in the hostel. Then we'll try to get the ball rolling a little earlier tonite... we'll see how that goes. ;)
Kim and Jenn are going to take off on a bus tour down the west coast to see the sites tomorrow. I had a pretty thorough trip around here last year so, Jess and I are going to stay in Galway and maybe start looking for places. We actually are going to look at a place on Wed. morning. Wish us luck. Then at the end of the week, the girls will reunite and take off to Amsterdam for the weekend :) I've always wanted to say that... :) So that's the plan the moment. See how she goes.

Thanks to all for your comments! Keep 'm coming!

I'll report back soon! Take care all,

Slainte!

Continued from below... still 2 days to go!! yippee!

- New years was really memorable for me this year as I was able to spend it with a really special guy. It's kind of a fun story of how we came to be, but I'll have to share that one later. We stayed at his place in Kimberley, BC and he showed me the great ski trails that the mountain had to offer. He's been snowboarding for a while now and I only get out skiing about once a year, so I felt bad that I was holding him back from his double black diamonds! He didn't seem to mind tho and I think he got a kick out of seeing my skis and poles fly off at many different speeds and several different directions on a few occasions :) But... I figured that if I didn't break any bones just before I left on my big trip that it was a sign that I was meant to go. That doesn't mean that letting go of him at the Calgary airport was a walk in the park... :( Needless to say... the flight attendants didn't bother me much.

January:

- My last few days of work were also fairly tough emotionally. I didn't realize how hard it would be to say good-bye to my co-workers and boss. We are a pretty close group and have become very good friends. They were kind enough to have a little lunch party for me. My boss even played a tune for me on his tin whistle :) A fabulous rendition of "Waltzing Matilda"! I think only he and I will understand how touched I was by it. Thanks John! I'll join in when I get back with my digeridoo! :)

- I am now... officially off work for 13 months! It hasn't set in yet. I'll let you know when it does. I think I've just been too busy trying to get all of my stuff done before I leave. Like renewing my driver's license, purchasing an international driver's license, putting my car in "storage" (Thanks to Stacey and Helmut! horray!) getting my autopac switched over to storage status... which wasn't as easy as it sounds... especially since my sister will need to drive it when she comes home to visit in the summer. But I think we got it figured out... I also have been having brunches and suppers with all of my family one last time to say good-bye. Also extremely heart breaking as we are all so close. So basically, I'm outta work and outta tears so I best get outta here! :) ... k... that was pretty bad....

- So I guess I'm all caught up! I told you it was facinating! ... you still awake lil' fella ?

It's getting pretty late so I'll so good nite for now and will talk to you all as soon as I can!

Thanks again to everyone for their kind words and well wishes! They can sure make a person feel special!

Seacrest... out!

Merry Ukrainian Christmas... Everyone!

Marlee :)

Happy New Year!! 2 days to go!!!!

I greatly apologize for my very poor updating skills as of late! 40 lashes for me! As you can plainly see, my last entry was in November of 2006! Jeez! My goal before I left, was to update it with all of my outings and hooplahs... so the following is a brief recap of my extremely exciting adventures that I can't believe I haven't shared with all of you! (... cricket... cricket...) :)

November:

- Family fish fry with my Nanny's famous pickerel fillets! I even ate them... (I don't even like fish!)



- My dad's retirement party was held in Boissevain, MB hosted by the RBC. It was really nice. Good to see my dad so happy and to finally meet some of the great staff that he had told me about. He officially retires at the end of January! I'm super proud of him.



- I turned 27 years young on Tuesday, November 21, 2006. :) Right Shannon? tee hee
I went out on the town to our favourite watering hole and thanks to a few friends of mine who knew the band, I was asked up on stage to sing "Summer of '69" and the dance floor was packed! It felt really good that everyone was cheering for me :) Cause everyone knows how shy I am... ;) But I unfortunately don't have picks of that nite, a friend of mine got it on video tho. :) Kinda exciting! Step up from wedding singer :)

December:

- I was blown away when some of my closest friends threw me a surprise going away party on the first weekend of December. It was my first ever surprise party and it meant so much to me to see everyone there. Of course it was a huge success for a few reasons: 1. I wasn't informed of it earlier so I wasn't able to ruin it by telling the wrong people. 2. There was food. 3. There was karoke. 4. I got to wear a really cool, little green, leprechaun hat all nite. :) (again... no pics... sorry) Thanks again guys!

- Christmas was great. I was able to spend it with all of my beloved family (excluding my sister who is in Kuwait). I missed her but knew I would be seeing her in 1 month from Christmas day at the Dublin airport, as she is coming up to tour Ireland/Scotland with me and my buds for a few weeks. My family is pretty close so we all enjoyed each others company over the 3 day event. I'll cherish the memories as I'm sitting on the beach next year with my best friend Wally the Kangaroo. :)

Later,
Marlee :)