Pay check please!

I was told from the beginning that the good side of living in Europe is how easy it is to go from country to country. Everyone talked about all the places I would get to see and the trips I could take. It's not that I didn't believe them, but I'm from Canada, and my brain is wired to think that changing countries, or even provinces, isn't quite that easy. And so, with 20 days of vacation per year and only €90 of spending money a week, I didn't think I was going to get very far travel wise. Boy was I wrong.

It started with my pay check (very first pay!!!), which ended up being a lot more money than I thought, although I'm not too sure how I messed up my calculations. So it turns out that teeny tiny €80 a week is no more. This month, I have €195 of loose money per week. My first reaction was something along the lines of "That's way too much money. There must be a mistake." And so I checked, and nope, it's all mine. I'm rich, I tell you! RICH!!! At least for the next month. Not that I'll spend all that money, but having it means the Christmas getaway to Scotland I'm thinking about is already paid for.

Then I had a chat with a guy I live with. He explained to me that for most of the cities in Europe a four or five day trip will suffice. That means I can go during the weekend and I'll only have to take two days off my vacation time. Which sounds good, but had me thinking "Yeah, four days, two of which are spent travelling." Nah-uh. Going from Dublin to another European city only takes a couple of hours. This is where my mind started being blown, because I realized that going to Paris for the weekend really is possible. People use to tell me to go shopping in London on the weekend and I always thought they were kidding, but I don't any more. This opens up so many possibilities. It means I don't have to stay close during Christmas, I can spend Christmas in Germany and New Years in Prague. For a Canadian, this sounds like a life of luxuries. For a European, it's business as usual. No wonder everyone I meet has been all over the place. Now let's get that world map. I have two years of travelling to plan and a whole continent to explore.

Day out

Usually on Sundays I do not so pleasant things, like laundry and groceries. But, having done that yesterday, I got to go run around today. I left with a list of errands, which has not been completed since everything was closed (Ireland is religious like that). Instead of mailing postcards and getting a library card, I went shopping. I was looking for something to do and wondered into a store. Next thing I knew, I was at the cash with my second purchase. As always, I didn't buy much, but every little bit helps. What also helps is going to stores that I can afford, instead of attempting to find something I can afford in the multiple malls they have here that carry only designer items and price tags. It might be H&M, but at least I can afford the things I like there. Speaking of things I like, I have discovered that an outlet mall/shopping center exists not too far from here (alright, it's about one and a half hours, but to me that's not far). Although next weekend will be all about moving, I am getting paid next week, which means that I can plan my shopping getaway for the following weekend. There is one brand that I particularly like that they supposedly have. I am looking forward to that. They even have a bus service to get you there from the City Centre for €10. Luxury at a low price? Yes please! To be fair the label malls are not all bad. I did find a little stand on the makeup level (yes, there is an entire level in each of these malls reserved for makeup and other beauty products) that is rather different. My kind of different, with lots of purple. It's the type of place that calls foundation "potion". They have very nice stuff. Once my hair finally gets it's makeover, I will go back and collect a thing or two. Or three. I'm a girl and it's makeup, what did you expect?

But no worries, my thoughts weren't focused all day on my style inner dilemma (that story could be a post in itself), I did take some pictures while wondering around the city.

Wall of a demolished house near where I live.

The Spire. It's on the North side of the river, but you can see it from far.

The above mentioned river. The busiest road of Dublin is on that bridge.

A little Irish pub. They make a great hot chocolate.

The Usit office

One of my favorite shops, a little pagan store in Temple Bar.

High five!

Having some fun with my zoom while waiting for the bus.

The view when you sit in the top part of the bus.

Kangaroo and ostrich steaks... I don't even want to know how they get those.

At last, a rainbow! I hadn't seen one in so long.

If you look carefully you can see that there was two.

So many bubbles!

Why hello there!

It's been a while, has it not? What can I say, once you start working full time, you don't have time for much. Except of course apartment hunting. I started looking for a new place the day I moved here and yesterday, success at last! It's a small three bedroom apartment with a small kitchen and no living room, but my room is big and has a double bed. Not to mention it's a 10 minute walk form my work and St Stephen's Green. Who doesn't love having a park right next door? I am going to give my deposit today and then it's a done deal. It may not be in a quiet area and be big and beautiful like the houses in Dublin 6, but it is a short walk away from work, which means I can go out on Friday nights without paying €15 in cabs every time. All in all, I have accomplished the impossible: a double room without carpet in the City Centre for €400 a month. Mind you, it did take over a month to get here.

On the job side of things, it was more quiet this week. I will even admit that sometimes I was bored. But oh no, that won't last. An avalanche of work happened Friday afternoon, so now I have a list of things to do Monday. It's ok, I like it better that way. I tried one of our serums (the Tibolli one) at home this week and the results were amazing. This stuff really works! Which is a relief, because with my conscience there is no way I would be able to sell to people a product that doesn't work. But nope, so far I only have good results with our products. The next step will be getting a flat iron. The one I have now was only 30$ and I have a feeling it's what's killing my ends. I'm sure having a quality iron would make a big difference.

I went shopping a bit last weekend. When I say a bit, I actually mean a whole day that resulting in three purchases. So I'll have to go back to the front lines soon. I have never worked in an office before and it shows. I'm more jeans and t-shirts, and that won't do. I also brought mostly fall attire, because I didn't expect a real summer here. But just my luck, this is the third week since I've been here that it's melting hot. And it's suppose to stay this way, which blows the minds of the people here. It's a great excuse to go shopping and I will take it.

Like my office clothes, my going out wardrobe is seriously lacking. As I said, it's mostly jeans and t-shirts. I went out the other night and realized I wanted to have a style, an edge. I mean, I'm in Europe. Let's upgrade this shit. Tiago (our hairdresser at work) promised to give my head a makeover and I am waiting impatiently. As always, to me a change in my way of thinking or in my life isn't sealed until my hair is changed to go with it. Even more than my wardrobe.

I have at last found my apartment, I have made friends, I have drank my first beer (see title for details) and I have a full time job. Important milestones have been crossed, the important things have been acquired. Now, let the fun begin. My new European life is about to begin. Let's make the best out of this. Let's rock it out.

Good news at last :)

I FOUND A JOB!!! At last! No more worrying about getting my CV out there and constantly making a good impression. It's such a relief... I now work for a hair product company called Van Tibolli Beauty. To be honest, I was hired because they needed someone who can speak French to help out with the French market. My very first office job, and in the fashion industry! How exciting! Naturally I had to go shopping, as I mostly brought t-shirts and jeans with me (how tragic...). I didn't buy much, just two shirts, one pair of pants and flats, but it's a good start. I'm particularly happy about the flats, as the past has taught me that quality comfortable flats at an affordable price are not easy to find.

And so I had the perfect outfit for my first day today, which was great. Everybody has been very nice, especially my manager. She is the sweetest thing. And the CEO actually told me that I was asking good and important questions. We are off to a great start, I believe I made a great first impression. In the future I will take care of social media pages and I will work more closely with our representative in France (who I met through Skype and who happens to love my accent), but for now I mostly enter data online. I like it though, I leave at the end of the day feeling like I accomplished something. I do however have homework, with is this:

Free bottles of product, selected for me by my manager :) There are worst jobs, that's for sure!

My purchases

Pretty little flats :)

All dressed up and ready to go!

 All and all, it was a good day. I even found the perfect apartment. It is beautiful, clean, and shared with four lovely girls. Problem is, I'm not the only one interested, so I have to wait and see if they call me. If not, it means they picked someone else. I really hope they pick me!

Lesson of the day: You're in Dublin, honey, you're going to walk more than you think. So unless you want to make your blisters bleed, break in your shoes...

Photographic memory

Hello devoted readers,
I realize that my blog is lacking activity, unlike my life. The problem is, I might be crazy busy, I still haven't found a job and I'm still on the hunt for my second apartment, which means I don't have much to say. Instead, I decided to make this post about pictures I have accumulated on my phone. It'll give you a little taste of Dublin and Templeogue.

The view coming into Temple Bar

Very nice paintings on the front of a restaurant in Temple Bar

Never a dull moment on Grafton Street with its many street performers

Saturday night out

Yes, this is graffiti. Although it was probably done legally as I saw the artist working on it in the middle of the day.

Forget the burger, it's all about the apple juice. It's like drinking an apple straight up.

A little piece of home in this foreign land.

The lineup for the casting of extras for Vikings

My lovely free frozen yogurt. You make it like you want, then you pay by the gram. If you guess the exact weight then it's free. Mine was 206 grams and I guessed it right :)

Vespas are everywhere. But this one is especially nice.

What's this foreign language I see?

The price of gas (excuse me, petrol) is really high here.

Legalizing abortion is a really hot subject. There seems to be as many against as there is for it.

Another little piece of Canada, "From our land to yours".

More pictures will come, I'm always on the look out for interesting shots. Hopefully next I write a post it will be about my newly acquired job. :)

Moving day

I have finally checked out of Abigail's for good. No more hostel for this lady. That is, until I start exploring the rest of Europe. It was rather brutal emotionally. After three weeks I had gotten used to the hostel, and moving out was just starting over again in a new environment. Sadly it wasn't as smooth sailing as I had hoped. I spent the rest of the day running around City Centre to pick up various things that I am going to need, which give me quite the workout. And I also got an email from the recruitment agency at which I applied for a job at HMV UK in Dublin, which told me that they had high standards and that I hadn't made the cut. Gee thanks. I have two years of experience with this company, what more do you want? I mean, if the company I have experience with doesn't think I'm qualified enough, who will? So yes, very challenging day indeed. It was the first time I seriously considered going back home. I even looked at plane tickets (which are quite pricey). I'm hoping to return to the grocery store tomorrow to get more than the essentials so that I may start cooking some real food. Pictures of my new room are on their way.

Adventures at the zoo

If you ever go to Dublin, I recommend the zoo. It's in Phoenix Park, which in itself is worth the trip, being twice the size of Central Park. You can even rent a bike and go stroll in the park in style (my next adventure). But yes, the zoo. It's full of trees and huge plants, and even has two restaurants. And while they don't have the biggest variety of animals, they do have a nice African Savanna setup. Plenty of giraffes (my favorite) and a few zebras. I also discovered how good of a camera I bought. The zoom is fantastic. Needless to say I took a lot of pictures. Here is a few:

Seeing as I am nowhere near an experienced photographer, I am rather proud of the ones I took. It looks like having a good camera changes everything, after all. I went with a new friend of mine, who even bought me a little giraffe plushy at the end of our visit. I will hopefully return. There's some animals that were just so interesting to watch that I could have stayed there much longer. 

Yesterday I've kept a bit more quiet, just walking around town taking pictures. They have really nice graffiti here, so I thought I would make a collection of it before going home, like the closed HMV collection I'm making. Later tonight I'm heading to Howth, a village closer to the coast not too far from Dublin, with some Americans that are in the same room as me. That's about it for now, but now that I have found my camera I will keep you updated with more pictures!