Co. Cavan: The Life of Reilly

Along with County Leitrim, County Cavan is part of the medieval kingdom of Breifne and was ruled by the Ui Raghallach clan, commonly known/pronounced in English as O'Reilly. The O'Reilly's ruled out of Cavan and were in constant competition with the O'Rourkes who ruled over County Leitrim to the west (also part of the kingdom of Breifne). The O'Reilly's did so well for themselves that the term "Living the Life of Reilly" was born . . . or so claims the museum in Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan.

Though there isn't much to do in County Cavan, I found the aforementioned museum quite informative, as well as affordable. For three Euro you learn quite a bit about the county. For instance, prior to the potato blight (circa 1847) the county had about 250,000 residents. When the blight was over, the numbers were reduced to around 170,000 people. Today, there are just over 50,000 residents and boasts to be the most sparsely populated county on the island. This was mostly due to economic reasons. Thus, living the life of Reilly is no longer as lavish as it once was.

The above picture is from the museum as well. It is known as the Corleck Head - a stone carved with three different faces one on each side. As the exhibit rotates the stone, you can see the distinctly different expressions on each of the faces. The meaning and use of the object is unknown, but reinforces the Celtic belief in the power of the number 3.

Finally, I discovered that County Cavan is the home of Edgar Allen Poe's ancestors which emigrated to the United States in the mid 1700's. The ancestral home is at Kildallon, Killeshandra, County Cavan. I did not drive out to visit it. As far as I know it's not open to the public.

So, though I wouldn't place County Cavan high on my recommendations list, if you're in the area (or if you're an O'Reilly) I'd definitely stop by Ballyjamesduff and visit the museum.

County Monaghan

In my quest to do something "touristy" in every county of Ireland. I hit two counties this weekend: County Cavan and County Monaghan. These counties constituted a small detour from my house-hunting efforts (trying to find a place to rent for a month that's a little bigger for when Beth and RJ next come over) in County Meath. Both counties are north of Meath in the Province of Ulster, though still part of the Republic of Ireland (most of Ulster is part of Northern Ireland).

I had a hard time finding something touristy to do in County Monaghan as there really isn't much to do there. I settled on driving up to the village of Tydavnet, just north of Monaghan town. Why Tydavnet? Because there is a story there and I love stories. This story is about St. Dymphna.

St. Dymphna's father was King Damon who, when his wife died, looked long and hard for a replacement that was as beautiful and virtuous. It turns out Dymphna, his teenage daughter, possessed all those characteristics that the king found beautiful in his wife. Damon made sexual advances at his daughter, who then fled her incestuous father and ended up in Gheel, Belgium. Unfortunately King Damon tracked her down and when she did not return to Ireland with him, he had her beheaded.

St. Dymphna is the patron saint of those who suffer from mental illness, nervous system disorders, epileptics, mental health professionals, incest victims and runaways.

In Irish her name is Davnet, hence the village named Tydavnet is named in her honor. The parish there is also named after her. The picture that I've posted is of a old celtic cross in a cemetery that also bears her name.

I also tried to get out to her shrine a few miles outside of Tydavnet, however, the directions were hard to follow and I ended up driving around rural Monaghan for about an hour. By the time I arrived at Dympna's Well, it seemed to be closed. I did glimpse it from a neighboring hillside (while lost), but didn't get any good pictures.

Later that evening, I got tossed out of a pub in Monaghan town for bringing my take-out food inside. All I wanted to do was to have a meal, a pint and watch the US World Cup match. The bouncer, however, thought that since they had a restaurant upstairs, I shouldn't bring in my own food. After telling him I would have ate at their restaurant if they would have showed the match on TV, he proceeded to tell me to take my food elsewhere.

As you can see, there really wasn't much to do in County Monaghan. It is a beautiful county to drive through, with rolling green hills, but I wouldn't advise stopping. So far county Monaghan has been my least favorite county, mostly due to the fact that I got tossed out of a pub for wanting to eat and watch a sporting event. Apparently they don't have the concept of "Sports Bars" over here.

Soccer Done for Four Years?

After pulling off an amazing win on Wednesday night to win their group, the US Men's Soccer team looked pretty bad against Ghana in the first match of the elimination round. They managed to send the game to extra time, but an early goal by Ghana's Asamoah Gyan sent the Stars & Stripes home. It was a proud day for Ghana, who is the last African team left in the competition.

It was quite apparent that Ghana was the better team on the field. Their passes were quick and accurate; their ball control was better than their opponents; and their keeper had a better day. I can't take anything away from the US, though. The Stars & Stripes, though looking outclassed on the field, created more shots on goal than Ghana and more legitimate scoring chances. The difference was that Ghana's keeper, Richard Kingson, was an impenetrable wall that stopped at least three would-be goals. The only goal the US scored was from the penalty spot. That was not enough to win.

So now that the US has had it's World Cup bubble burst, what now? Is soccer over in the US for another four years? I've heard a few Americans make such a comment. I wanted to criticize, but I would be a hypocrite. I haven't watched US soccer since the last World Cup in 2006 (we had a much better show from our team this year). The MLS is still playing, but the level of competition isn't up to what I've seen on this side of the pond. In fact, the good US players are likely not even playing in the MLS.

I think that the sad truth is that the US just doesn't care about soccer unless it's the World Cup. Even then, I don't think the US cares too much. Admittedly, I love my (American) football. I find the sport much more entertaining. So what would make soccer more entertaining? My thought is to get rid of the offside penalty or to alter it in such a way that more goals would scored. I favor a rule more like hockey's where once the you are onside in the attacking zone, anything goes. How would you make soccer more entertaining?

24 Hours in Bavaria

I just returned from my whirlwind trip to Bavaria (Germany). I flew into Frankfurt airport, then traveled south to visit one of our project pilot sites in Kleinheubach. I would have liked to stay a little longer and gotten up to visit some relatives, but I needed to be back in Dublin on Thursday. I was in Germany for one night and one day. In that short period of time, here's what I learned:

1. I don't like the Autobahn. A flock of coworkers and I (eight of us in total) were driven in a van from the Frankfurt airport down to Miltenberg (where we stayed the night). To be honest, I'm not quite sure if it we officially took the Autobahn, but there were vast sections of motorway that had no posted speed limits. Our top speed was 180 kph (roughly 110 mph). It wasn't the speed that frightened me so much as the rate at which we'd overtake trucks. I love roller coasters and driving fast, but I did not feel secure, nor did I feel in control of the situation. I usually say a prayer when taking off an landing in airplanes, but this experience had me appealing to the almighty at constant intervals throughout the trip.

2. I like German bier. We ate dinner at a restaurant in Miltenberg that served a local bier called Faust. It was gut, ja.

3. Mmmm . . . red cabbage. Although it isn't quite as good as my grandmother makes it, it was quite delicious at the restaurant we where ate.

4. We make tons of bread crumbs. Literally. Our plant in Kleinheubach makes 150 varieties of bread crumb. It's sister plant closer to Berlin makes another 150 varieties. The most impressive site, though was the 1 ton bag of bread crumbs sitting in the storeroom - one of our packaging options. If you don't like 1 ton bags, you can always pull your truck up under our bread crumb silo and we can dump a few tons into it.

5. The bread crumbs we make are colored by Tumeric and Paprika. If you want a yellow bread crumb, it's colored with Tumeric. If you want a red bread crumb, it's colored with paprika. If you want a white bread crumb, no additives are needed (or kneaded - yuk, yuk).

I'm hoping to get a few more days in Germany in the future, perhaps a weekend or more. But for now, I'll just have to reflect fondly on my 24 hours in Bavaria.

A Fish Out of Water

I got an unexpected surprise today when I checked in for my Aer Lingus flight: Free Business Class Upgrade. Score!

This was my first visit to the highfalutin' business class and I didn't know exactly what the prevailing ettiquette would be. All I knew was I would be getting a seat that reclined far enough back that you could actually get some serious sleep on the overnight flight. So here's what I learned:

1. Hot Towels - I'm not sure if it's the same on all airlines, but Aer Lingus provided a pre-dinner hot towel and a post-breakfast hot towel. I don't know what it is about hot towels, but they're nice.

2. Free Drinks - When I first boarded, I was offered my choice of champaigne, orange juice, or ice water. I wasn't sure at the time if the drinks were free, so I took the OJ, because I knew that it is free back in coach. Later, however, I put the free wine to the test and had a couple of glasses of a Spanish white wine with my meal.

3. Real Plates/Silverware - None of this plastic junk. The glasses were glass. The silverware was stainless steel. The plates were ceramic.

4. Super Recline-O Chairs - I was not disappointed. The reclining chairs were wonderful for sleeping. Don't get me wrong, this isn't Serta or Simmons comfort, but leagues beyond the chairs that recline one inch back in coach.

5. Better meals - Though these meals won't be served at 5-star restaurants, once again it's a considerable upgrade from coach.

6. Separate Baggage Claim - Your bags come off first and go to a separate baggage claim so it's easy to find your bag. Unfortunately, I did not realize this and sat at the regular baggage claim for half an hour before going to the baggage assistance desk. There they pointed me to the right place to pick up my big. Low and behold it was sitting there all by itself.

Thus were my adventures in Business Class. I hope that I get the privelege of riding there again. If you've flown Business Class, what's your favorite feature? If you haven't flown Business Class, what do you utterly hate about flying coach?

Free Prize Inside by Seth Godin

Sometimes a book doesn't need to teach you something new for it to be worth reading. Sometimes it just needs to remind you of what you already know. This is one of those books. If you'd like to learn everything that you already know about Marketing, this book is for you. However, it's hard to be critical of a book that I pulled out of the dollar bin at Borders. I mean, what could I possibly expect for a dollar?

So here's the advice that this book gives:

1. Don't develop something new, rather develop a marketable improvement to something that's already a viable product (a "soft innovation" as he calls it). Developing something new costs a lot of money and the return on investment is often watered down by the fact that you've invested a bunch of money into it. If you remember getting the "free prize inside" in boxes of cereal, that's exactly what he's talking about. The cereal companies didn't fundamentally change the product they were selling, they just gave their consumers a free prize that made the whole package more marketable.

2. Godin also preaches how throwing large sums of advertising dollars into advertising campaigns is no longer a viable marketing scheme. "Interruptions" happen far too frequently today for it to create a lasting impression, or any impression at all. So instead of paying for advertising, give the customer a "free prize." Example: Amazon.com, stopped advertising and put it's advertising budget into their free shipping program. Result: 37% increase in sales. Add value to your customer and you get returns. If your addition does not add value to the customer, it will not give you returns. If you've done your job right, your customer will sell your product for you.

3. Lastly, he gives some ideas on how to champion an idea through the company. In essence, it's an internal marketing scheme that creates a buzz about the soft innovation that you've created. You need to create support for your ideas if you're going to get them implemented. Turns out, the easiest way to do that is to talk to people about it. Go figure.

So as you can see, nothing mind-blowing. Interesting in some respect. A quick read. Well worth the $1 I paid for it. Not worth the $19.99 that it originally listed for.

Another Gift from England

Today, the USA Men's Soccer team almost blew their World Cup run. The got down two goals early in their match against Slovenia. After halftime, however, the Stars & Stripes rallied to tie the match. This was a little bit of a let down . . .

In the same way that English fans were let down with a tie to the USA last Saturday, we were let down today. We should have beaten Slovenia. However, hats off to the Slovenian club. They played a hell of a game. Luckily, USA was resilient and managed to draw after scoring two second half goals. The coach's son, Michael Bradley scored an 82nd minute equalizer to force the draw. The boys almost won 3 minutes later, but Maurice Edu's goal was disallowed.

The stage was set for England to take control of Group C with a win against Algeria. England did not manage to score a goal and drew against Algeria, keeping the US in a good position to make it through to the elimination round. This was a gift. I don't think anybody expected Algeria to do so well against England.

So now, with one game to go, Slovenia tops the group with 4 points, USA is in second with 2 points, England has third with 2 points and Algeria sits at the bottom with 1 point. Next Wednesday, USA plays Algeria and England plays Slovenia at the exact same time.

USA makes it through to the next round if they win. If they draw against Algeria, they will need a Slovenia win (or low-scoring draw). USA can still win the group if they win with a larger goal differential than England winning over Slovenia.

Good luck, boys!

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die."

Even though George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones is 800 pages long, it is easily the best book that I've read in the past year. Even though I haven't read too many great books in the last year, that list does include: All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Murder on the Orient Express and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agathe Christie, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli.

Martin's style (constantly shifting viewpoints between characters) helps to create believable, fallible characters. I usually don't like when the viewpoint shifts so much, but Martin uses it in such a masterful way that I didn't mind. Specifically, since there is no "central" character, their is no contract with the reader that the main character will succeed/escape in the end. In other words, anything can happen to any character at any time.

One of the most annoying things to Martin's readers is that the series isn't complete. I'm itching to get started on A Clash of Kings, which is the sequel, but I'm apprehensive. Martin has completed 4 of the 7 books that he intends for the series, but the last one, A Feast for Crows (Book 4), was published in 2005. Book 5 is being worked on, but has been 5 years in the making so far.

What's taking up his time? Could be the HBO series that is based on A Game of Thrones that is being cast and written, due to air in 2011, starring Sean Bean (who played Boromir in Peter Jackson's movie of Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring.

I have decided to take it slow, to hopefully give Martin a chance to complete his fifth book, but I'm sure my patience won't last too long. If you like Fantasy/SciFi, you have to read this book. Hell, if you like good books, you should read this book.

Meet Joe Bloggs

You may know him as John Doe or John Q. Public, however over here his name is Joe Bloggs. He has a brother, Fred Bloggs and together they fill the role of placeholder names in England and Australia - specifically in teaching programs.

I discovered this as I was reviewing training materials for our SAP project where I kept running into Joe as a fake employee. At first I didn't get it, but after seeing his name show up repeatedly, I started to understand what was going on. I asked a colleague of mine if there was any particular origin to the name Joe Bloggs, but she had no idea. Do you know the origin of John Doe? No? Neither do I.

When looking it up on Wikipedia I found that there were many examples of placeholder names. The world is full of them. The most infamous of them seems to be Jane Roe as in Roe v. Wade. Others include: Richard Roe, Jane Doe, Mary Major, Richard Miles, John Stiles, John Smith, Joe Blow, Joe Schmoe, Max Mustermann (Germany), Erika Mustermann (Germany), Felix Muster (Switzerland), Maria Bernasconi (Switzerland), Mario Rossi (Italy), Peder Ås (Norway), Kari Holm (Norway), Anna Malli (Finland - Anna Malli translates literally to "Anna the Model"; does this give further depth to the Incubus song?), Seán Ó Rudaí (Translates to Sean O'Something), Juan Perez (South America) and Medel Svensson (Sweden).

There are plenty more where that came from, but I don't have the patience to list them all; nor do I suspect you have the patience to read. I hope you enjoyed your short lesson on the many variants of placeholder names. Any favorites that I haven't listed?

It's Just a Game

The USA Men's soccer team drew 1-1 against England yesterday, much to the chagrin of England fans across the globe. The Three Lions came out strong against the Stars & Stripes, putting the Americans down 1-0 in the fourth minute. However, Steven Garrard's goal would not be the focus for discussion when the match was over.

Later in the half, USA's Clint Dempsey put a shot on goal that slipped through the England keeper's hands and rolled slowly over the line. The equalizer was the focus of sports writer's and analysts as that was the end of the scoring in the game. Robert Green, keeper for the English side, stood up and took responsibility for his mistake, yet he still suffers the wrath of the whole of England.

I understand that the harassment and verbal abuse of players on the field is part of the game - it's part of home field advantage. But when that harassment follows the players off the field, that's when it becomes a problem. How far will it go? Let's not forget Andrés Escobar, a Columbian soccer player, who was murdered after the 1994 World Cup where he accidentally scored an own-goal (scored against his own team). The gunman shouted "Goal!" each of the twelve times he pulled the trigger. I don't propose that Green's life is endanger, however, he'll be heckled by English football fans for the rest of his life.

If you think that we Americans are any better, look at how Cubs fans treated Steve Bartman after his attempted catch of a foul ball got in the way of Moises Alou trying to catch it during the 2003 National League Championship Series . They drove him out of town. In fact, it was Cubs fans treatment of Bartman that led me to abandon my loyalties to the Cubs and become a White Sox fan.

As my wife reminded me when the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, "It's just a game." That's the truth. I know that most people aren't as fanatical Escobar's shooter and not all Cubs fans crucified Steve Bartman, but its sad that these things still happen. I hope for Robert Green's sake that English supporters can remember that it's just a game. Lord knows that it's enough of a burden to bear that he screwed up, he doesn't need his country piling on.

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

Have you ever heard of the term "Machiavellian?" Most likely you have and it was used to describe somebody dispensing cruelty to achieve power. It's used quite pejoratively. But what exactly does it mean to be Machiavellian? Inquiring minds want to know. I wanted to know. So I picked up the piece of literature responsible for the creation of the term: Niccolo Machiavelli's Il Principe (or The Prince as it's know in English).

Merriam-webster.com defines Machiavellian as "suggesting the principles of conduct laid down by Machiavelli; specifically : marked by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith." So, why would I want to know about cunning, duplicity and bad faith? To guard against it, of course.

I've come to a point in my career where I can see office politics making and breaking peoples careers within my company. Truthfully, I hate office politics. OK - I hate all politics. Since I have such a dislike of the subject, I have not spent much time learning about it. Yet I now have a family that relies solely on me to be the bread-winner. I need to make sure that I can continue to win bread. Thus, I set out to read Machiavelli's book.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed it. I honestly thought that it would tell me that to get ahead in this world, I would need to lie, cheat, and steal. I'm not down with that. Granted, there are passages in the text that blatantly tell you things like "Men ought to be well treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, of more serious ones, they cannot." However, you begin to realize that a lot of the advice is based on how a "prince" achieved power: By one's own arms and achievements, by the arms or good fortunes of others, or by wickedness.

Thus I realized that wickedness is not the only path to power. In fact, Machiavelli states: "Those who by valorous ways become Princes . . . acquire a principality with difficulty, but keep it with ease." I think that I like that approach better. There is a lot of wisdom in this book, however, to examine it all would mean to write a book longer than Machiavelli's book itself. Pick it up. Give it a read - it's a short book.

For me, the book helped me to recognize political maneuvering when I see it. It has also helped me understand how to defend myself from the politically ambitious. I have not really decided if I truly want to achieve power within my organization. Right now, I'm happy just winning bread to provide for my family and hoping to get to a point where I can return home and be the father and husband I truly want to be.

One last interesting point: this book was written almost 500 years ago and it still rings with truth today.

One Cup Down, One To Go!

The Chicago Blackhawks finished off the Philadelphia Flyers last night to win the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. Go Blackhawks! It was a hell of an effort, although a climactic/anticlimactic overtime goal to win it in overtime. Credit to the Flyers. They are a hell of a team. I won't soon forget names like Hartnell, Richards, Pronger or Briere. More credit to the Blackhawks for pulling through. Names like Toews, Kane, Niemi, Keith, and Bfyuglien will live in my memories even longer.

Now, however, it's time to refocus on the next big sporting event, The World Cup. The US soccer team kicks off their World Cup aspirations against England Saturday evening in South Africa. A win over England would start the tournament off with a bang.

This year the USA side sports names like Tim Howard, Landon Donovan, Freddy Adu, Clint Dempsey, and Chicagoland local (Arlington Heights) Jonathan Spector - all of which have English Premier League experience.

Good luck boys! See if you can steal some points from the Three Lions!

Consistency Please!

In the past month, I've stayed at three Holiday Inn Express hotels. Two different ones in Liverpool and one in Bristol. For the most part, the experience is consistent and I get what I'm expecting. However, where they've fallen short is with their internet charge policies.

The rooms are consistent, the breakfasts are consistent, the lobbies are consistent, the check-in processes are consistent, so why can't make their internet charge policies consistent? One was up front about the charge. However, they waived the charge for Priority Club members (which I am) and they told that to me as soon as I checked in. Another one didn't communicate the charge of 5 pounds up front, but they still waived it because I am a Priority Club member.

Yet, this weekend, I called down to the front desk at the Bristol HI Express to ask how to connect to their wireless network. Their response was that it would cost me 12 pounds. Twelve pounds?! I asked them if that charge applied to Priority Club members. They said that it did indeed. Piss off!

Bristol: Birthplace of Wallace & Grommit

I didn't know this before I went to Bristol, but I learned that Aardman, the creators of Wallace & Grommit, are based in Bristol. Apparently because of their success, Bristol has attracted a total of 50 animation studios and is the hotbed of animation in the UK. Who knew?

Besides that, Bristol has three other prominent features: The Floating Harbour, The SS Great Britian and the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

The Floating Harbour makes Bristol the "Venice of the North." You can get all over town via ferries and water taxies. See the picture below. Yes, that's a swan about to get run over by the ferry. I assure you, though, that the swan got out of the way.


The SS Great Britain was the first iron hulled steamship ever built to feature a screw propeller. Essentially it was a passenger liner that failed at it's main task due to design flaws and inexplicable navigational errors by its captain. The ship made only two round trips to New York. However, after being refit, she made a long history of service running the England to Australia passage. The SS Great Britain, however, is another museum that I didn't actually visit. The museum wants 11.95 pounds for admission. Why would I pay 12 pounds to see the inside of a ship, when I can see the outside for free? Some these places need to get real with their pricing.


The Clifton Suspension Bridge was a fantastic sight. It's simply a suspension bridge that crosses the Avon Gorge at Clifton, but it's a beautiful sight.



Finally, I'll give you my favorite experience in Bristol. On Saturday night, I took a co-worker's advice and went over to the Hotel du Vin just to have a drink. The hotel was upper crust, but I didn't feel out of place in my t-shirt and jeans. The bar area was designed in a rustic fashion and they were playing Michael Bublé. I ordered a bottle of Gem, an amber ale brewed in Bath. I'm not particularly a fan of Bublé but something about the combination of the location, the ale, and the music was uber relaxing. I didn't take any pictures; I'm keeping this memory to myself. If you get a chance to hang out at the Hotel du Vin, however, I'd highly recommend it.

Bath: Jane Austen's Most Hated Playground

I got off the train in Bath and I had no idea what to expect. I knew that there was a Jane Austen museum in town and old Roman bath house, but not much else. What I discovered was that Bath was the place for the elite to hobnob in the 18th century and into the 19th century.

Jane Austen was born in 1775 and grew up during the heyday of Bath's high society. Though she was raised out in the country, she'd often visit family and friends in Bath, where the gatherings at the Upper Assembly Halls and the society inspired much of her writing.

I've only read Pride and Prejudice and Emma, two of the books where the characters only visit the city and most of the story takes place out in the country, so I didn't know that Bath was such a big feature of her writing. I learned that Northanger Abbey and Persuasion took place almost exclusively in the city of Bath. So, in the gift shop, I picked up a special edition of Persuasion and plan on reading in the near future while my memories of Bath are still fresh in my head. In Persuasion Austen apparently shows her distaste for the city and the social climbers, which contrasts to the image she paints in Northanger Abbey. Persuasion was written after she'd lived in Bath.

The hot springs that rise from below provide the city with natural hot spring mineral baths. The baths are obviously where the city gets it's name from. At the time, the population believed that the mineral baths could cure all that ails you. In fact, there's a building in town (no longer in use for it's intended purpose) that was called the Royal Mineral Water Hospital. Here's a picture of the King's and Queen's Bath. You can see where the original water level was if you note the shade change from orange to cream in the picture below.


Here's a picture of the Royal Crescent. If you were the creme de la creme, you could afford a flat in the Royal Crescent or The Circus, both of which are close to the prestigious Upper Assembly Halls. Since Bath grew so fast during the 1700's, most of the city is filled with these Georgian style houses. On a sunny day, they make the hillsides glow.


Most of these Georgian houses would also have Georgian gardens in the backyard. Here is a picture of a Georgian garden. Note that there isn't any grass. This is because the lawn mower hadn't been invented yet. Thus, they'd use gravel in their gardens and the gardener would even the gravel with one of these gravel rollers.


The city lost most of it's luster during the Regency era when the ruling monarch decided that the seawater at Brighton was better for people's health than the mineral waters at Bath. Soon Brighton became the resort of choice and Bath's status began to slide. However, it appears as though the upper crust hasn't completely vacated the city.


Bath was an absolutely wonderful experience. If you happen to be in the area, I strongly urge you to stop for a day. However, I will warn you that it is a tourist trap. The price to do anything touristy is jacked up. In fact, I decided against going on the Roman Baths tour because they wanted 11.50 pounds (roughly $17.00) to look at a pool similar to the one that I took a picture of for free . . .

Missing In Action

I haven't posted since Sunday. Since I started blogging it is the longest I've gone without blogging. My apologies. Since Sunday, I've had an Anniversary (6 years) to celebrate, a transatlantic flight, and three solid days of work back here in Dublin with added responsibilities.

My increased responsibilities are thus: Not only am I in charge of data conversion for our project, I have also inherited the role of HR Functional Process Lead. I'll be filling in for my departing boss until they can find somebody else to pick up the duties. So, I'm now also in charge of the testing portion of the project. The new role comes with more meetings, which means I have less time to do more work.

On the bright side, I've booked a flight to Bristol tomorrow morning and will spend the weekend touring both Bristol and Bath in Western England. I look forward to posting a few more travel blogs. I hope that my absence hasn't deterred anybody from reading.

Oh yeah, I forgot something.

GO BLACKHAWKS!