Fish out of water

Yesterday was an overwhelming day. Today was much more manageable.  I was so tired yesterday I went to bed at 9.  However, Connor had a fever from school and kept waking up and crying.  Poor thing, I think he might be teething because he is drooling a lot.  One nice thing about the creche here is they will give Connor his fever reducer medicine and not make him go home if he gets better with the medicine.  In Florida, the daycare would make us take him home and then not allow him to come back for 24 hours even if he's better.  So, you already lose 2 days, which is hard when both parents work. Michael took Connor to the doctor yesterday and he has some kind of virus and the doctor just said to keep using the fever reducers and it should go away on its own.  I really like the creche we put him in because his caregivers really seem to care about him.  They feed him breakfast, morning snack, lunch (they call it dinner here), and a tea snack.  They also provide milk and water.  The only thing I need to bring is change of clothes and diapers.  It is so much easier here than in Florida.

Yesterday, I got to work at 8 am because I had a meeting at 8:30am.  I was the first one in the office.  People started straggling in at around 8:20 and 8:30 and only because they were attending the meeting too.  People really don't get to work until 9 am.  I got a few project assignments yesterday and it was a lot of overwhelming information. I had to talk to three different people to get background on the projects and it was too much to take in at one time.  People here will say, Oh, its probably the same as how you did it in the US.  And internally, I think, No, no, its not. 

Today was better, I made a list of things to do and prioritized my tasks. I did some research on client questions that were passed on to me and found the answers.  Things are called different names than in the US here so I have to do research to figure out what they are talking about and then I realize, Oh, that's what they are asking about and then tackle the question.  Hopefully it will get easier as I go through a few assignments. I feel like a lone wolf sometimes and constantly ask people (usually the same poor two people) questions.  I don't know if they get annoyed that I keep bothering them, but I'll never learn otherwise.

I went to lunch today with a girl who is also from the US and in the same function as me.  I am so glad that I went to lunch with her.  She had already been in the Dublin office for 9 months but she shared some insights and we were able to compare notes about differences we noticed.  It made me feel that I was not alone or crazy.

Something interesting is that the paper here is longer than in the US. So, folders and binders have to be longer.  If you have holes on the sides of your papers, it will be two holes or four holes but not three. I have a hole puncher that only punches two holes.  I had the hardest time figuring that thing out.

I think I am having a harder time than I anticipated because I like feeling confident in my knowledge and always being prepared.  Being thrown into an environment where I constantly feel unsure is very frustrating to me.  I'm also the hardest person on myself so I have to take a step back.  I have only been working for 4 days.  I can't expect to know everything at this point.  OK, enough rambling from me.  TGIF tomorrow!! 

This is what my hole puncher looks like.




Hmm, maybe I should invest in this paper. Might make things more interesting. :-p



Nesting at work

It took me around 16 minutes to walk to the office.  I think what slows me down is waiting for the traffic lights.  I have three big intersections to cross with a lot of traffic.  I wore my brown sneakers and socks with my navy blue suit/skirt and tan trench coat today.  When I looked in the mirror, I reminded myself of a maid in a fancy hotel.  All dressed up in a dark suit with stockings and ugly sneakers.  Haha, oh well. At least my feet were comfy. 

Today was nesting day for me in the office.  I asked the Admins (executive assistants?) to order me some office supplies like spiral notebooks, binders, sorting trays and they told me that they would get me a "Starter" office package and order me some hard cover spiral notebooks. One of the admins had a few very nice hard cover notebooks that she gave me and I was very excited.  Office supplies really make me happy.  The starter package arrived and it had two notebooks, flags, post its, calculator, ruler, stapler, hole puncher, pens, highlighters, pencil sharpener, all the good stuff.  I took a coffee mug from the kitchen and arranged all my pens and pencils in there.  My trays arrived and I stacked them up and put my notebooks in.  I also got a few guidance books for IFRS, Irish GAAP, and Irish legislation on Companies that I will be working on and stacked them on my shelf.  While all this is probably boring to everyone else, it felt good to make the desk, even if it might be temporary, feel like it is mine.  I got my required trainings done today too.  I felt very accomplished and tomorrow I have a group meeting in the morning and I have a lot of reading to do to get caught up on guidance.  I also meet with my main boss tomorrow who was meeting with a client in London for the past two days.  I'm sure I'll start working on things after I meet with him.  I also met a girl today from the US who is working on my floor. She is not in my department and she is here for a different reason than me but it was nice to meet someone new. 

After work I went on Grafton Street to search for flats to wear instead of my sneakers. My feet are pretty small so its hard finding shoes that will fit. I went to a few stores with no luck and as I was heading home I decided to venture into Clarks and found two very nice flats on SALE in my size! They were both only 15 Euros! Now I don't have to look like a maid anymore!

It was a good day today and my goal for the rest of the week is to get to know more people around me.  Hope the rest of the week keeps gradually improving!

This weekend is the start of the August Bank Holiday and off we go to Edinburgh, Scotland!!

Here is a picture of ducks I had in my training that I thought were cute and reminded me of Connor as he is obsessed with ducks and pictures I found on the internet of one of my new flats.



Quack! Quack!




Hope these flats are comfy!



New beginnings

Today was my first day of work. I had my suit all picked out for today but when I put it on this morning the pants looked too long. It looked like I was playing dress up in my mom's clothes. I had gotten the suit jacket altered so it looked great but I can't for the life of me understand why I didn't get my pants altered too. So, I started panicking and searching for another good first impression suit and decided to wear one I bought right before I left and just found out the night before that the security tag was still on. Thank goodness for You Tube because Michael was able to get it off for me with a plier. It looked fine but just didn't get me started on the right foot. Speaking of feet, I decided to wear some black boots instead of my sneakers as I was thinking boots are probably more comfortable than heels. Um nope, sneakers from now on. I learned my lesson.

I walked to work which was nice and it took me around 18 minutes. I think if I had sneakers I would of made better time. I'll time it tomorrow. I walk next to the museums, prime minister's office and St. Stephens Green so a scenic walk. I so so love that I don't have/need a car.

I got to the office and found out my company takes up three buildings next to each other. I will work in the second building. There was an itinerary for me and I had someone from my department introduce me to people, take me to IT, show me the cafeteria, and I met with HR. It was all normal first day stuff. I have a desk but I think
It will be a temporary desk. One of the managers is leaving and I think I will get her desk when she is gone. The one I have is ok but kind of in an awkward place. I had lunch with two people from my department and they were giving me recommendations for grocery stores, bakeries and farmer's markets.

I did get an angry phone call from a client looking for the person who used to have my extension. I think that might have soured the day a little even though it had nothing to do with me. I don't like being yelled at and I don't think it is professional to ever yell at work.

I do feel like I'm starting all over again and it's not like before where I started with a class of people in the same boat. I miss my team, my friends, family and I miss the familiarity I had in my old office.

However, i have to remind myself that this is a great opportunity and I know I will learn a lot and hopefully make new friends as I start getting assignments.

This experience is making me more cognizant of how I will treat new people that I meet in the future and be more welcoming.

Something strange to me is that the keyboard is different what I am used to. The enter key is shaped differently and the left shift key is tiny. The @ and # and " keys are in different places. I'm going to have to get used to that!

I am happy to report that Connor had a great day at daycare and only cried for a few seconds. Here are some pictures of him on a chair statue in Merrion Square and in front of our door.

Dun Laoghaire

We took a family trip to Dun Laoghaire this afternoon.  Dun Laoghaire, pronounced Dun Leary, is a seaside town southeast of  Dublin.  It was a 15-20 Dart train ride from our apartment.  Dun Laoghaire is known for its two piers that stretch out into the water.  It is also a quaint little town.  We walked on the East pier and saw the most sail boats I have ever seen in my life.  Sail boats are not as practical in Florida as we don't always have that strong of winds, at least on the Gulf side, and the water can be very shallow.  The pier was windy but had great views of the town, harbor and of the ocean.  There was also a playground next to the pier that looked like a boat.  We let Connor play on the playground after the walk on the pier and then we ate a gourmet burger place.  The burgers were very good and came with rosemary fries. There was also a homestore there which is not something you normally see in Ireland and we got Connor a nice nautical toy box and some other house accessories. It was a shorter trip than going to Howth.  You definitely needed at least half a day at Howth because of how long the cliff walk takes but Dun Laoghaire can be enjoyed in a few hours.  It was a nice trip.

I can't believe I start work on Monday and that we have already been here for almost a month already.  Our Scotland trip is also next weekend! That came up very quickly.  I am starting to feel more at home here and love being able to walk around everywhere.  It will be interesting going to work on Monday with my business suit and sneakers.  There is no way I am walking in heels.  I did time how long I anticipate it will take me to walk to work and I think it will take around 12-15 minutes. 

Well, here are some pictures from our trip to Dun Laoghaire:

I think this is the Dun Laoghaire courthouse



Connor at the playground





See how the playground looks like a boat?




Town of Dun Laoghaire from the pier




Water fountain



Sailboats everywhere, this was just a few of many, look at the distance

Hooray

I'm back in business and have internet again! Our landlord left us a router and Michael had the good idea to plug it directly to our main computer.  We went to Argos to buy a monitor, plugged in the router and computer and..............Nothing! Michael had to call Eircom and the customer service guy was trying get Michael to the router settings page in order to change the username and password to connect to the Eircom internet.  We could only get to the Status page so it was a frustrating time.  Michael looked on the internet on his phone and found out how to get to the settings page and now the internet works!  I was so excited!!  Now I can post on the blog more, look at IKEA on the internet, use Skype, and just do random searches as I think of them.  Hello 21st Century, I'm back!

Here is a picture of my little alcove at home:

Definitely looking up

We have been having beautiful sunny days for the past three days. It gets hot enough where I can only wear a t shirt and jeans. It is very gorgeous and blindingly green when it is sunny.

Connor started a 5 day induction at his creche this week. On Monday it was for one hour, Tuesday 2 hours, Wednesday from 10-2, Thursday 10-4 and same on Friday. On the first day I stayed with him for 30 minutes and he cried and I left for 30 minutes. He was crying and hiccuping and shivering. I felt so bad. He napped on the walk home but would still sigh and hiccup every few minutes in his sleep. He was just used to having me with him all the time and probably got freaked out when I left. The next day I stayed the 30 minutes and he still cried but started walking around the room and playing with toys. Teachers said he cried for 30 minutes after I left and then was better. The next day he only cried for a few minutes. Today he cried but when I gave him to the teacher he stopped crying. I'm so glad he had already started to adjust back to daycare so well. I saw him on the playground yesterday and he was running around and talking and playing with the other kids. So proud of him.

I forgot to update last time that the shippers came last week Tuesday. I definitely packed way too much clothes. I'm not sure where I am going to put it all. When I look at the piles of clothes, it stresses me out. I tried organizing it yesterday but only made a small dent. I need more storage space.

Good news on the job front. I found out on Wednesday that my green card got approved and I am starting on Monday as scheduled. I am both excited and nervous. I went back to the GNIB office to get a new card and stamp on my passport as the one I had before did not allow me to work. I should not have jumped the gun and gotten the card before the green card. The guy was saying that he might have to charge me another 150€ for another card but then went to talk to his supervisor and they waived it since I just got my card less than two weeks ago. I was so grateful. When I went there wasn't even a line and the whole thing took only 45 minutes. The people at that office have always been very nice to me.

One contentious point is that I still don't have Internet. I am waiting for the equipment which they send by mail. Since there is no mail on the weekends here, it will be some time next week (hopefully). It's been so frustrating with no Internet at home. I am at the mall now typing. I will post a picture of the clock and skylight in here. Looks like a train station.

I am going to share a few pictures of Connor in Merrion Square, a picture of my Irish breakfast for 5€ at Killkenny department store on Nassau street. Love that place and price for breakfast., a picture with the view from Samuel Beckett bridge, look at that sky.

Ups and downs

It's been a busy and challenging week. I still don't have Internet at home so I have had to find cafes that offer free wifi. You usually have to buy something to use the wifi. This wouldn't be such a big deal as sitting in a cafe and drinking lattes sounds pretty nice and European but add a bored screaming toddler to that picture and it's not as nice any more. Connor only had so much patience for sitting quietly in a cafe. I also don't have a cell phone as I am waiting until I start work since my work pays for it. But then I have no communication without the wifi. The Internet company has said that maybe we will get the modem.on Tuesday.

I met with my company's hr on Monday to find out the issue with my green card. The issue ended up being with the information my company sent on the employer's information, not my information but now they have to resubmit my entire application and change things as now I am in the country. Because of this error and resubmission my start date will most likely be later. No one knows when my start date will be or if it will have to go through the four weeks again. It is very frustrating and I feel very helpless about the entire situation. It was not something that I submitted wrong but I feel like I'm being penalized for it. Sure, people think well what's the problem, you don't have to work and have more time with Connor. The problem is we already booked Connor's crèche (daycare) for July 30 and cannot move the start date for him as they have a waiting list. So even if I dont start work, Connor is still starting daycare. It is an expensive daycare and we did budget for two incomes. Which leads me to another thing, how slow the bank is. We just received our ATM cards in the mail but still have not received our pins so we can't touch our Irish money and still have to pull money out of the US. You really need to save your money if you ever make a relocation like this. It had been a week and a half at least now. Things are just alot slower here.

I didn't intend for this post to be so negative but these things are starting to keep me up at night. I hope the green card does not delay me for another month. You only get paid once a month here too which was strange for me to hear.

Last week Michael started work and he likes it. I had Connor all to myself and realized that I had just been following Michael around the whole time and not really looking at roads since I got lost so many times. I am enjoying my time with Connor and definitely feel like we are a lot closer. I could see myself being a stay at home mom now because he's so interactive. I take him to the parks everyday.

Yesterday there was a fair in Merrion Square and they had toys everywhere for kids to play with. Connor had a blast and loved playing with a stand up door.

We also went to Howth, a seaside town north of Dublin. It was 15 minute train ride. We walked up the cliff and down next to the water. It was beautiful but a hard climb. Not going to lie, got a little grouchy close to the top, but the walk on the edge was gorgeous. A definite must see. There was also a castle there. Here are pics from the week. Here's hoping to a spectacular week next week.