I’m sitting in my almost empty and dark office.  The powerful luminance coming from the laptop bounces off windows illuminating wee droplets of dew clinging to the bare panes like lacquer to freshly milled wood.  The air is heavy with dust and drifting pollen sparkling in the moonlight.  Tiny zephyr’s hauntingly whir round the sharp corners of the house leaving me with a sense of urgency.

As most of you may know, I was supposed to leave for Dublin on Wednesday.  I was scheduled to leave my local airport at 3:51PM on that grand day, when I’d say goodbye to the family and start a new life.  All of that changed almost two weeks ago, when I realised that when I secured a job I’d have to prove that I had enough money to live off of for the six month visa.  I think it is a grand rule that I wish we had in the states.  I only have enough green backs to last for three or four months, if I live conservatively. 

A little over two months ago I sold a valuable piece of property.  I thought that I would have enough money left after paying off all of my debts to live for six months if needed.  However, it seems that every creditor that I’ve ever owed had their hands out.  And, friends and family started using me like a bank.  My large chunk of change dwindled in an expedient manner.  I still have a bit left but not enough for a six month venture.  It doesn’t help matters that the American dollar isn’t worth crap at the moment…  Thanks Mr. Bush! 

I mindlessly drifted for two or three days.  I stopped eating and walked a lot.  Walking puts me in a state of serenity.  After three days of not speaking to my family and not taking calls, I came out of the fog fighting.  “Since I’m going to be stuck here for a few more months, I might as well be illuminating myself”, I cerebrated whilst standing on the edge of a precipice looking over Raven Cliff Falls. 

I signed up for a few classes at the local University.  I’m taking Early Art History and Design.  I am supposed to start Friday, if I can get all of my paperwork sorted out.  I’m going to go to school, work on my photography, and work on computers on the side.  I helped my Uncle do some landscaping jobs last week.  We have a few flowerbeds to install in an elderly lady’s garden tomorrow.  Landscaping may be laborious, but I do so enjoy the outdoors. 

Truthfully, I was very anxious about the move to Ireland, yet very excited of the notion of a new beginning.  Many people have enquired as to why I love Ireland and speak of it with such veneration.   Ireland has a certain mystique about it that I can’t quite explain.  My love of Ireland started when I was a lad in school.

Throughout my youth, my mothers family had spoke of Ireland with the same reverence.  On occasion, my grandmother would pull antique papers and pictures out of the attic and show me and my cousins our ancestors.  She’d tell us of where we came from and how proud we should be to be who we are.  She’d talk of America and all of the great people that make up the nation from all nationalities. 

When I was ten, I had a social studies class that I excelled at.  I was the teachers pet in every class I had.  Teachers and professors alike still keep in touch with me.  On one particular brisk winter morn she asked me to help her bring in a bunch of books from her car.  We brought in about thirty small hardback books filled with vibrant pictures and words from numerous countries.  She asked us all to take one from the pile.  When I went to get mine, she pulled one out of her desk drawer that she had saved for me. 

My eyes lit up with delight as the fluorescent lights illuminated the glittering green letters that scribed, Ireland.  She smiled and whispered that she expected a good report.  We took our books home to read.  I stared at the pictures hoping to hop into this magical world depicted in the lines.  I had to read what I could while my parents were still at work.  At the time, it was a form of escapism for me.  It is not that anymore, but at that time, I desperately needed some form of escape. 

The older I got, the more I realised that we live on a small planet.  Every culture is unique in its own way, but we are also so similar. 

I’d like to thank all of my friends for all of the advice, help, and kind words.  I am supposed to get my internet back on Wednesday.  I hope to be back to regular blogging ASAP.  

P.S.:  Do you know what the up shot is to going back to University?  Illumination!  And, new skirts to chase…  

Thank you all. 

Best

jd