The Ireland Series- Week One

From your local correspondent in Dublin, Ireland:

Dear friends,

It has been exactly one week since I touched down in Ireland. After a gruelling 16.5 hours flight- 13 to London, 2 hours in transit, and another hour plus from London to Dublin, I finally touched down in Dublin. I touched down- sleepy eyed and dazed from jet lag, and the driver picked me up as planned. After a quick city tower, he brought me to Tesco (a supermarket) and made some grocery purchases. Following that I was brought to my apartment and gratefully went to concuss in the big comfortable bed. Lunch was settled at a nearby restaurant, and I managed to meet an ex-colleague’s friend for dinner. Finally- at least I know 1 person in Dublin. I concussed early, and woke at 6, and had been waking about 6 for almost every day since then.





On my second day, I spent most of it sleeping it. Was feeling ill, and did not manage to go and explore. It was a really bad day. At night I was setting my ironing board- can discovered that its super low! No more than 40-50 cm high! I spend 20-30 mins in a vain attempt in trying to figure out if there was any way to set it correctly. I decided to improvise and raise the board between 2 chairs- so as to have an easier time ironing. I started ironing- only to discover that the iron is dirty! As I was without an iron, and had crumpled clothes, I had to spend an hour plus scrubbing the iron clean, and continuously tested it the cleanliness of the iron on service apartment’s towel ! Super Low morale! Subsequently, the previous occupant of the same apartment did confirm that the ironing board is super low and the iron was dirty. (SO IT WASNT ME!) A thoroughly miserable Wednesday



I started work on Day 3, Thursday, and was initially lost. It was raining, and I could somewhat wet. Certainly not the best way to start work. Fortunately the people were rather friendly, and noticed that the FS (Financial Services ) Audit is a rather multinational in nature. In my team, I have a Parkistani and Australian Co-senior. The Parkistani appeared to be rather friendly, but for unknown reasons I have some reservations. I managed to contact wan ling’s friend who also worked in KPMG and we met up for dinner. Friendly and chirpy, she put me at ease, and I discovered we stayed in the same building. She kindly allowed me to go to her flat to use her iron and I met her housemate there, a friendly and likable fellow. The gal, Widi, is a Indonesian Chinese who worked in Singapore for a few years, while the guy a Malaysian Chinese, Kim, who worked in KL and the Bahamas before going to Dublin. Yeah—New friends- and less lonely.

Friday was rather uneventful and Widi and Kim brought me out to meet other Malaysian Chinese for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. The Malaysian community was rather friendly and it was a community of Chinese looking out for each other. I took solace in the existence of such a community. At night, 4 of us played Dai DI in my apartment till 4am, and I lost 50 Euros that night. Really blew a hole in my pocket. It was the first time I gambled with Dai DI and lost big. Oh well, I took it as an opportunity to know the people better, and bond better. After all, these bonds will help me see through lonely Dublin.

The weekend was rather uneventful. Saturday was mainly spend in the apartment as it was raining heavily. We ate at another Chinese restaurant for dinner, and got a free meal, as one of the people within the group is a good friend of the owner. I had early night after dinner, and did not participate in the Dai Di sessions. I spent Sunday out, exploring for a couple of hours and manged to visit the local university- trinity college. Trinity college is a rather large compound, and has lush green lawns and classical European style buildings. It was a beautiful sight, but it was also a little sad. Where are my blading khakis to take photos with me? The thought was really depressing and had took me a while to get it off my head. After the gang who went to the oriental and asian makets. There, I saw the familiar Maggie Mee, and was delighted, and hence bought 4 packets ( of 5)! Hurray.I don’t have to eat bread anymore! Until then, almost every meal that I “cooked” by myself is a sandwich.






Cooking In Ireland
As indicated above, almost every meal prepaid by me is a sandwich. Bread will be toasted and butter applied and a slice of ham or sliced roasted chicken thrown in. A quick meal that is quite filling but after a while I missed home cooked food. Sigh. Until my rice cooker arrives I can only make do- with Maggie mee at best. A significant improvement from Bread but still no wherewhere close to Singapore food

Missing You Guys
Yep. I must u guys. Period. Although its only been a week it feels like an eternity. Time passes slowly when you are alone, and distant. I miss blading, miss our craping session, dinners and clubbing.