Interview with the future

(note: I was planning to post this sometime during my final week in the states, but kind of ran out of time. I ended up finishing it on the plane, and am going to backdate it to my last day at home)

I recently managed to acquire a DeLorean and a flux capacitor, so I thought I'd zip ahead three months and ask myself a few questions about my time in Ireland as its nearing its conclusion. I also told myself to check in again in at that time and see if any of the answers change due to some mysterious time paradox...

Q: Did you find a job? Are you going to be staying, or returning shortly?

I've acquired a permanent position as a Guinness taster. Unfortunately, I won't ever be returning home because I am unable to pick myself up off the floor of the pub.

Kidding. In all seriousness, this is a bad question to start off this interview with, and I'm going to have to break character already because I really have no sense at this point for whether I'm even going to want to try and stay longer, let alone, whether I'll be able to. There's still a lot of great things to be had about staying for 1 year, but the goodbyes I've said in the past few days have been rough enough. Coming back in July only to have to turn back around and leave for a longer period of time would be much worse. Not to mention the fact that I likely have a very promising employment situation that will likely be waiting for me in 3 months. It's questionable whether it'll be there for me in a year. But still, the rich experience of living here for an entire year and seeing all the seasons cycle through with all that brings with it is an enticing draw.

Q: Where did you end up living?

Galway, in a house with three other fantastic people.

Q: What other countries did you end up seeing?

Italy, Germany, England, Scotland. Didn't make it to Wales, France, Poland, Spain or any place else I was hoping to hit, unfortunately, but that'll save something for next time. Particularly bummed about Wales.

Q: What did you miss the most?

Family and friends.

Q: Okay, so maybe that's a given. What trivial aspect of daily life did you miss the most?

Hi-powered laundry dryers.

Q: What was one thing you missed more than you thought you would?

Work. Seriously.

Q: What was one thing you missed less than you thought you would?

American junk food.

Q: What will you miss most about Ireland?

The friends I've made here.

Q: Meet anyone... special?

Ummm... you do realize this is still me you're talking to, right? Even three months in the future?

Q: So how are the pipes coming?

Meh. Got some great pointers and had a chance to do some quality practicing, but it's a long, slow road to learn to play the uilleann pipes, and three months is but scratching the surface.

Q: And the whistles?

Pretty good. Learned a few new tunes, anyways, and feel like I've improved overall.

Q: Favorite single memory? (25 words or less)

*bzzzt*crackle*static*What was that? I didn't copy*bzzt*

Damn sunspots... (Did I say something about a DeLorean? I meant that I was communicating with future me via an old ham radio. Yeah, that's it.) Either way, looks like we'll just have to wait until June to see the answer to that one.

Q: Who came to visit you from home?

Met up with Jen C in Italy, and Justin G in Scotland. Russ, Justin B and Mom all talked about coming to visit in June, but it didn't end up happening.

Q: Any hassles with immigration?

Only getting back in the country from the UK after the England/Scotland trip.

Q: Worst thing that happened to you?

Got drunk and passed out in a pub, woke up with an atomic wedgie, a shaved chest and my wallet replaced with a stinking dead fish, after dreaming all night that I was stuck on the evil boat ride from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (original version, but with Johnny Depp's creepy glasses staring at me the whole time).

Q: When are you going back?

:)

Live from McMorran

Front row, right next to Rochester bench, 26-13 PH leads at the half.

Update: The above was texted in from my phone at halftime of the Port Huron Pirates vs. Rochester Raiders game at McMorran Arena. For a birthday/going away present, Mom decided to take me to the game, and popped for "primo" seats. Little did we know, we would be not only in the front row, but sitting immediately next to the Rochester bench! The Rochester team owner was on the other side of us, and players who weren't suited up were behind and all around us. What a riot. It was an experience I'll never quite forget!

Pics and video will be upcoming once I'm back on a broadband connection, but suffice to say, I've got some great closeups!

Oh yeah, and after the relatively close first half, the Pirates blew the game open in the second, outscoring Rochester 34-0 to make it a 60-13 final. The Pirates, in only their second season and already the defending GLIFL Champions, have yet to lose a game as a franchise.

And as you've probably figured out by now, this means I made it back to Michigan okay for leg 1.

Well, this is it...

The laptop is going to be the last load taken out to the car here as soon as I finish this post. Only running about a half hour behind what I'd hoped. Should still give me plenty of time, as long as I don't run into too many construction problems.

I'll check in at least one more time from MI before I take off, but this is my final post from Chicago.

Catch you on the EDT side.

I can almost smell the peat

Last update before I turn in for my last night of sleep as a full-time Chicago resident. All the stuff that's moving is packed up, save for my bedding and bathroom stuff that I'll need in the morning. I didn't quite get my bags packed with my final inventory for the trip itself, but I've got it trimmed down to everything I *want* to take. Will probably have to go through one more time to finalize the list, but I'll probably just dump everything into a couple bags tomorrow morning and sort it out once I get back to Michigan. Close enough for now.

I really wish I would've made it back to Michigan by tonight as I'd hoped and would have all day tomorrow to just hang out with my nephews, but so it goes. I'll still see them some tomorrow and Saturday.

Gonna be an early start tomorrow, but I should be able to get the van all loaded up and make it back to Port Huron in time for kickoff. Go Pirates! (There's a Neptune High joke in there somewhere, but I'm just too tired to find it right now.)

Overall, the mood is improved. Some encouraging words from a friend earlier tonight helped a bit, as did finishing up as much as I have. It's currently tired, but content. The next two days will be a bit of a rollercoaster, but I'm looking so forward to my first few steps outside the airport once I'm on the ground.


ps - I really wish I could get that map widget in the sidebar to work. Is anyone seeing an actual map there? Let me know if you are. All I'm seeing is a white box with the zoom and view mode buttons at the top. I put in a question about it on the blogabond site, but so far, no replies.

Quick melancholy break

My room is just about empty now. I just shut down my desktop PC for the last time for the next few months, so I'm strictly running off the laptop now. Hope I got everything off it that I needed. The emptiness in here is disconcerting. I'm not looking forward to loading the car up by myself in the morning and taking off without anyone to say goodbye to. It was good that Justin worked from home today. Gave me someone to chat with throughout the day. Too bad he won't be around tomorrow to help me load up.

I still have to do a final sort through my clothes and pack up those that are going with me into my backpack, load enough for the next couple of days into my duffle bag, and box up the rest. Also need to box up the 'puters and have probably one more small box of random computer stuff in the closet to deal with.

But its getting very close now. Just need to keep thinking about what's ahead.

Moving sucks

Sorry for the lack of updates. As you can imagine, I've been pretty swamped trying to get everything packed up and ready to go. I was hoping to be heading out of Chicago with my last load of stuff today, but its looking like its probably going to be tomorrow at this point. Getting close, but still quite a bit left to go.

It doesn't help any that I still ache all over from WhirlyBall and Laser Tag on Tuesday, although it was really a blast (no pun intended)!

There probably won't be too many more updates between now and when I leave, but I've got a few final thoughts I'll try and get up there sometime before Sunday.

Right now, I've just got to get back to packing. I need to be in Port Huron by tomorrow evening, as I have front row tickets for the Port Huron Pirates game! Awwww yeah! Thanks, mom!

Chicago Memories, part VII: What I won't miss

To read all my Chicago Memories posts, you might wonder why I might ever want to leave somewhere so fantastic. Well, while there have been many great times and memories--and the good have most definitely outweighed the bad--there are a number of things that just drive me nuts about this place, and that I'll be more than happy to put in my rear view mirror.


Driving! - To be more specific...

- Traffic
- Accidents (two in as many weeks in January was a real hoot)
- Blind turns due to cars blocking your view of the cars barrelling down on where you hope to turn.
- Ridiculous rip-off repair shops
- Parking (Ah yes, I got a final going away present from the City of Chicago just last night, in fact. The meter was paid until 8:58. I returned to my car at 9:14. They'd nailed me at 9:12. Loves it.)
- Traffic Management Authority (those wonderful folks who are stationed out at some of the major intersections to "direct" traffic. Never have I seen so many get paid to do the exact *opposite* of what they actually achieve!)
- The Dan Ryan Not-so-express-way
- Buses (taking them and waiting for them is nearly as bad as trying to share the road with them)
- City Stickers (nothing like a little organized, legal extortion to make it even more expensive to own a car here)
- Taxis (don't even get me started)
- Gas prices (some of the highest in the nation, due to ethanol requirements and state and local taxes)
I swear, there was not a day that I drove into work over the past month that I didn't have at least one or two small outbursts of road-rage at the inconsideration, the stupidity, or just the general absurdness of the driving conditions here.

The smell - Chicago can take on a nasty smell of rotting garbage, particularly in the heat of summer. Add to that the fresh urine smell at certain El stops and parking structures and its enough make you want to scrape your nose off your face. And then there's the chocolate factory, which depending on the wind and what they're making that day, can cover just about any part of downtown with either a wonderful sweet chocolaty aroma, or a foul concoction that smells more like waterlogged dogfood, but still carries the faintest cousin of a chocolate smell, enough to nearly turn even the most devout chocoholic off the good stuff.

Crowds - Just having so many people around all the time.

Noise - There's just always some white noise or another going off in the background. True, peaceful silence is extremely rare in the city.

The Weather - again, a few sub-comments:
40-degree temperature swings in under 12 hours (It was in the 70's this morning. I left this evening and it was about 40. )
Windchills (They say that despite the nickname, Chicago isn't any windier than many other northern cities. I don't know about that. I've lived in the midwest my entire life and the bitter cold windchills in the winter here seem far worse than others.)
Black/grey/brown snow (As a general rule, I don't mind snow. In fact, give me a day that's 30 degrees and snowy over clear, dry with a -10 windchill ANY time. But the pleasantry of a white snowfall is a fleeting experience here. Anything that sticks for a day or more turns nasty shades of various pollution.)
Summer humidity (Ridiculously muggy in the summer time. Where do some of those nice winds go then?)

I know the weather here isn't that much worse than it is back in Michigan, but I've said for a while now that when I moved here, I managed to find the one place on earth that is both hotter in the summer AND colder in the winter than Michigan.

Crime - I've been pretty fortunate, in that the worst I've run up against personally is a crazy guy that ripped my side mirror of my car in the middle of an afternoon. But you have to be constantly mindful, depending on the situation.

Well, that's about it. Not too bad, really, and not any worse than any major northern city would be. But enough to grind on my nerves over five years. If those things are a manageable sacrifice in the light of all the great benefits of living here, you can live a very happy life here for a long time. You just have to be willing to accept those as a part of life.

As bluesman Eddie Boyd once sang, "Don't expect nothing different, Chicago is just that way".

Whirleyball--An Irish tradition?

I doubt it, but while googling for a picture of Whirleyball for today's 1000 words, one of the first hits was this rendition of the Cliffs of Moher from someone's MySpace page. How that got mixed up with Whirleyball, I have no idea, although the owner of that page is from Chicago according to her profile. Random, but kinda funny. Nice image, regardless...

Chicago Memories, part VI: Sports/Leisure

Trying to wrap up a few more thoughts on Chicago.... What a great city this is: it waits until my final days here before busting out the really nice weather!

Here are some highlights from a few specific fun times at various sports and leisure events from the past few years.

Sting concert - Fall of '03. Free concert in Grant Park underneath the lights of the downtown buildings spelling out their support for the Cubs, who were playing just up the street at Wrigley Field that night in the NLCS. That was, I believe, the last game before the term "Bartman" became a permanent foul addition to the Cubs fan lexicon. The concert was great too. We were about a quarter mile from the stage, it seemed, and could barely even make out the image of Sting on the video board they'd set up, let alone actually seeing him. But hanging out with friends in that great setting on a perfectly tempered fall evening was very memorable!

Wrigley Field - Speaking of the Cubs, catching a game at Wrigley is an absolute not only for any baseball fan, particularly, but for anyone who just enjoys a fun setting in the summer, too. I had the pleasure of going to several and will miss 'The Friendly Confines'. Of course, the three most memorable games were the only three that I attended where I was not pulling for the Cubbies--last season's inter league sweep by the Tigers!

Red Wings/Blackhawks - Speaking of DET domination over CHI hometown teams.... As a Red Wings fan, its always a blast to go catch the Wings at the United Center, though the atmosphere there has dropped off dramatically with the decline in the Blackhawks prowess over the past few years, and the entire NHL lockout not helping the cause.

Lions/Bears - Okay, so my Detroit teams didn't always fare that well when facing off against their Chicago counterparts. I only made it to one Lions-Bears game at Soldier Field (and, unfortunately, it was already the 'new' Soldier Field at that.). Well, I'll say this about the game... at least we lucked into free tickets from some guy in the parking lot, so we almost got our money's worth.

Tigers/Sox - I can't really say much about the atmosphere at White Sox games in general, but with a big thanks to Julia and Marty, we managed to score some GREAT seats, including some just a few rows behind home plate, to a couple games last year during the Tigers' great run. And even in the years before the Tigers' resurgence, they always seemed to have disproportionate success against the Sox.

Michigan football games - Watching a Michigan-Northwestern game in Evanston is an interesting experience, and typically if you're wearing maize and blue, an enjoyable one, too. (Someone is telling me that I came into town for one of those games in 2000, before I moved here. Strangely, I have no recollection. No, really. They must be making it up. I mean, with a score of 54-51, they must have been talking about a basketball game or something. Right? I digress.)

But aside from those games, one of the greatest things about living in Chicago, for me anyways, was its centralized location and relative proximity to the majority of the Big Ten programs. Of the 63 football games Michigan has played during my tenure in Chicago, I attended 57, including every single game during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. I have attended every home game since 1995--a streak very much in jeopardy should I get a job and a work permit to allow me to stay in Ireland for a longer period of time--but living in Chicago helped me to maximize my attendance at road games as well. I've seen Michigan play at every Big 10 venue at least once (most 2-3 times) plus Notre Dame and several other non-conference stadiums. This is why many who know me so well are highly skeptical that I could opt for a longer stay in Ireland, where I may struggle even to
find the major games on TV. But we'll see how it goes.

It would be impossible to pick just one game over the past five years that is the most memorable, but if I had to choose one that stands out, with proximity to Chicago as a criteria, last fall's 47-21 FBD of Notre Dame in South Bend probably tops the charts.

I'll wrap up the 'sports' section with a memory of the craziest sports road trip I took during my time here in Chicago (it's a close race for craziest overall with the trip to Boston for the NCAA Hockey finals in '98, but that's another story...). On Nov. 9th, 2002, at around 9am, Justin and I left our place headed towards Minneapolis for the Battle of the Little Brown Jug between Michigan and Minnesota. The game was a night game, though, and as we had to pass through Madison, WI on our way anyway, we stopped off at Camp Randall and caught half of the Illinois-Wisconsin game. All decked out in Michigan gear, we got a lot of strange looks and heckles, but we cut out at half-time and got back on the road to Minneapolis. After the Wolverines walked off the field with the Jug firmly in hand, we busted out of town and headed due east, stopping off at a motel in the middle of Nowheresville, Wisonsin around 2am to catch a couple hours nap before getting and continuing on to Green Bay, where we got to take in the awesome atmosphere of Lambau Field, though only to watch the Lions lay another egg. Nearly 900 miles and two and a half football games in just over 24 hours.

Venetian Night - one of my first great Chicago memories, from just a few weeks after I moved in. An annual boat parade in the harbor across the lakefront downtown, Mike came into town to hang out with us and his now-wife, Melissa, and we all headed down to the harbor to watch the boats and the fireworks on a warm August evening, 2002.

Bluesfest/Taste of Chicago - Two of Chicago's most popular summer festivals. Both offer tons of great food and music, though they come at the price of huge crowds, long lines, and, well, ridiculous prices. But hitting either at the right time and with the right folks can be a great experience, especially if you happen to get a rare pleasantly mild, dry day.

Airshow - The Chicago Air and Water Show, while lacking in the close-up looks at static aircraft provided by most airshows, makes up for it with the pacing of the acts. Since the show is held over the public beaches and parks along the city's north side, there is no need to wait for planes to cycle through landing patterns before strutting their stuff for the crowd, so the performers are on show center with very little time in between.

Milwaukee Irish Fest - I finally made it to Chicago's Celtic Fest last fall for the first time. While I got to see a handful of fantastic musicians, the fest is, surprisingly, not nearly at the same size and scope as the Milwaukee Irish Fest, which I made it up to a few years ago with Justin G. It was a treat to get to hear Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem both perform, though odd and sad that they played just a few hundreds yards and 45 minutes apart, yet each made no acknowledgement of the other.

Strictly Sail - Quick. Think Chicago in February. What's the first thing that comes to mind? You mean its not sailboats? Hunh. I've enjoyed heading to Navy Pier and checking out the boats on display each year I've been here, but the best thing about this show, bar none, is that its been good for at least one guaranteed visit from Dad each year!

1 week...

1 week...

Moving Day

"...the frost is off the ground, and Moving Day is at hand."
-Auntie Shrew

Well, one of several 'moving days' at least. The odd thing about doing a piecemeal move is watching your stuff gradually disappear from your living space. Tomorrow (well, 'today', technically) should be the biggest single move, though. I'm hoping to get the bulk of all the stuff that I won't need for the next few months up to my brothers place tomorrow. Dad and Judy are down to help, as is Russ, who, being the awesome Russ that he is, offered to come down to visit and to help haul a load of stuff back to Michigan (nevermind that he's still living in Ohio.).

Packing is a bit behind schedule, but we made some good progress this afternoon/evening, so it should all work out. Tomorrow will be a long day though, then I'll be back down here on Monday to finish packing, as well as wrapping up any loose ends. I'm looking at a final departure from Chicago of probably Thursday, but if things go well, maybe Wednesday.


...to the lee of the stone.

Chicago Memories: part V: Music scene

Music has made its way into several installments of Chicago Memories already, but I wanted to take a minute to note some specific folks and settings that I'm going to miss.

Obviously, the traditional Irish music scene here has been significant to me, but while I was here, I also took some advantage of this locale by spending some time learning a music niche that is particularly "Chicago": blues harp.

I wasn't really into blues when I started taking harmonica classes at Old Town. But I was enjoying taking the classes and all of the more advanced ones were blues-centric so it was a natural progression. While I'm no master bluesman, I had a lot of fun learning to bend and vamp and work to create that dirty, "Chicago blues sound" in classes taught by Joe Filisko. I also dabbled a bit in old-timey, acoustic blues as taught by Rick "Cookin'" Sherry. Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention Skip Landt, who helped get it all started with my first beginner harp class at Old Town.

The blues harp classes, especially Joe's level 3 and 4 classes, are a tight-knit group who are dedicated to learning the full ins and outs of playing blues harmonica. Though I've been somewhat removed from it myself for a few months, I'm going to miss the folks in that crowd... To Bill, Dave, Will, Nitro, Ray, Dennis, Shoji, RickEy, Alex, and all the rest of the crowd spending their Monday nights in Room B1... keep your licks clean and your bends dirty and best wishes always!

My classes at the Old Town School were also the gateway into my developing interest in traditional Irish music. It started with bodhran classes from Mike Austin. Add in a few workshops and lessons along the way with noted Chicago area trad musicians Jackie Moran, Sean O'Hare and John Williams, and eventually I took up tin whistle and ensemble classes from Pat Finnegan. When the Irish ensemble class at Old Town dried up due to lack of interest and bad scheduling, I pursued other options and join a similar class taught by Sean Cleland and Jesse Langen through the Irish Music School of Chicago, which Sean founded in 2003.

Sean and Jesse are fantastic teachers on top of their outstanding musical skills (click here for a clip of them playing together from Jesse's site), and the group was a lively one. The folks in the class are also the core of the regular crowd at the sessions that I've been attending for nearly two years now, so there were a lot of familiar faces and a lot of great friends I'm going to miss.

Between the various classes and sessions, I've had the pleasure of getting to know many individuals who were great people as well as fantastic musicians, and who have been incredibly helpful to me along this journey of learning. A huge 'thanks' and a wish for all the best to Sean, Jesse, Pat, Mike, Katie, Mary, Gary, Tim, Scott, Connie, Cam, Trish, Claudia, Sean, Eileen, Jessica, Pat, Karen, Matt, Ralph, Joe, Dean and all the other session regulars I've had the pleasure of playing with at Cullen's and The Grafton. You guys are the best, and I hope to see you all in July, with a pocket full of new tunes and improved skills.

A final thanks and farewell to all the folks mentioned above for sharing your wisdom, insight, experience and patience with this relative newbie crawling slowly along so many different musical paths. A couple more years, and I may begin to reach a level approaching 'competence'. That is, if I don't drop all these instruments and decide to learn sitar, pipe organ and bassoon, instead.

Chicago Memories, part IV: Work

Today is my last day in the office. I was the fifth employee when I was hired as a Client Services Engineer by my company (name withheld just for everyone's best interest, given that this is a public forum and all) in July of 2002. At the time, the company had been around about 4 years, had a handful of clients, and no office. I was a bit skeptical of the situation at first, but after meeting with several of the folks, I knew I'd found a company that would be a challenging, but rewarding place to be. I really had no idea how much of both I was in for.

Since that time, we've quadrupled in size, acquired a fine office in the West Loop, (which has already needed to be expanded once and is nearly full again!), and added much to our client list and revenue, not to mention the technological advancements and developments that we've gone through.

And yet, there is still a very tight, close-knit family feel to the organization. We've had many fantastic opportunities to bond both during work and outside of it, and I can honestly say I am going to miss these folks and these good times immensely.

Some highlights:
Jam sessions - what are the odds that about a third (at one point in time, over half!) of the company played musical instruments, at some skill level or another? What started as an impromptu song session after a poker night one time has turned into one of the cornerstone regular social events for the company. A few guitars, a bass, a keyboard, and harmonicas are the backbone instruments, but there have been occasional contributions on the saxophone, flute, pennywhistle, banjo, bodhran, fiddle, mountain dulicimer and even uilleann pipes! Add a stack of guitar tabs and lyrics, a couple amps and mics and we can entertain ourselves for hours struggling through standard classics from rock, folk, blues, country and celtic, not to mention our occasional original blends. My particular favorite sessions were the ones on McKinley's rooftop deck in the summer, and any time we had anyone else from the company who just wanted to hang out and listen, or possibly chip in on vocals (Jen's mad lyrical stylings on that tricky part of Blues Traveller's "The Hook" springs to mind!) . Tonight we'll be jamming for one last time before I take off.

Poker nights - even those that didn't turn into jam sessions were always a good time. Chong was definitely the master host and bartender when it came to casino night, but as for being a shark, watch out for Justin when he gets some drink in him!

Softball - after several years of talk, we finally had enough people to try and field a softball team last year! Though the results were mixed, there's nothing quite like getting out on a nice summer evening and running around the diamond with some good friends. Too bad most of our games were either the hottest day of the year, or during an early fall chill!

Darts - Perhaps my most lasting contribution to the company will be the custom dartboard case that I made with the (now outdated) company logo, which adorns our break room. It's been collecting dust a lot lately, but some great games have been had on that board, and on many pub boards around town.

Football game road trips - How many people can say they've talked their company president into a spontaneous road trip to Iowa for a college football game? John and Chong have both been part of several memorable Michigan game day experiences, trekking with me not only to Iowa and back to Ann Arbor, but also Purdue and even the Rose Bowl!

Monday morning meetings - Monday afternoon lunch meetings in the conference room are the norm these days, but in the early days before we had an office, about the only time we'd see each other as an entire team were on Monday mornings when we'd descend on one of a handful of favorite breakfast joints for food and to talk some business. (Usually Wishbone or Pauline's, although Toast, Nookie's, and a few other places made their way into the rotation eventually)

The Merger - The biggest project, probably of my entire career, was leading the team responsible for seeing through our end of the merger of two of our biggest clients into what's now one of the largest financial institutions in the nation. The 80-100 hour weeks, catching cat-naps in my chair for 20 minutes at a time in the middle of the night, driving home at 5am just to crash for a few hours before returning by 8... Yes, believe it or not, the memories are fond when I look back at it. I'm not sure I've ever been prouder of an outstanding effort and challenge in my professional life, but what sets it apart even more was the amazing amount of cooperation and teamwork that was involved. Those last few nights were an amazing bonding experience with an all-hands-on-deck atmosphere that just exuded teamwork and support for one another.

And we won't even get into the Holiday parties.....

Suffice to say, is has been a truly fantastic experience to work for this company to be a part of its growth. It has certainly been frustrating and overwhelming at times, and I've done more than my share of complaining off the record. There have been many moments when I really wondered whether it was worth it and pondered just leaving flat out, but something always kept me around. It was going to take something big to separate me from this company and well, I've found it. But even that may not be enough.

I honestly have no idea where I'm going to be at in my life at the end of this 3 month adventure. But I do sincerely hope that my affiliation with this company continues or resumes at some point down the road.

Chicago Memories, part III: Hangouts

Here's some of my favorite Chi-town haunts that I'm going to miss:

The Grafton - As many times as I've frequented some of the bars back in Ann Arbor, I've never had any bar that has taken on a feeling of "home" quite like The Grafton has. What started as an interesting place to check out before a class at the Old Town School one night, soon became my favorite local watering hole. Monday nights before/after class... Sunday evening sessions... The occasional mid-week or Friday night visit in between. I've gotten to be quite good friends, as I mentioned previously, with the Monday crew, Jen and Tracy, as well as with Malcolm, one of the owners. When it came time to celebrate the big 3-0, there was no place I would've rather staggered out of. Aside from that, my next most memorable time at the Grafton was the night of the labor boycott that was part of the immigration reform movement last May. The pub stayed open, but fully supported their workers (who, reportedly, wanted to come in to work anyways, but Malcolm and Joe wouldn't have it.) by closing down the kitchen for the night. As my usual pre-class timeslot was peak dinner hours, the pub was deserted except for a handful of regulars and Jen and Tracy. So we all pooled together and Tracy ordered a couple pizzas from a place nearby that was still delivering and we just enjoyed the sensation of really having the place all to ourselves.

The Old Town School of Folk Music - Whether to catch a concert, take a class or even just go and hang out for a bit, the Old Town School is THE place for any sort of traditional or folk music of all backgrounds. I started off there with beginner harmonica lessons and moved up and around, eventually taking several different harmonica classes, as well as adding bodhran, tin whistle, and later an Irish ensemble class.

Martyr's - A great small music venue. Conveniently just down the road from The Grafton's Lincoln Square location, they are very supportive of the local Irish music scene in particular (every Monday night!), although they offer music of all different genres, featuring live acts every night. My favorite shows I've seen here have been the two times I've seen Flook, but I also had the pleasure of catching amazing harmonica virtuoso Howard Levy, along with Paul Sprawl. Add to that a plethora of smaller, local acts, and Martyr's is definitely the top of my list as far as places where I've seen great live music.

Cullen's - Another great Irish bar where I've frequented the Tuesday night sessions. They do a bang up job decorating the place as the seasons change. The warm orange glow it takes on in the fall is particularly fun.

Blue Chicago - If its blues and only blues you're looking for, there's a ton of great places in town to find it. Buddy Guy's Legends and Kingston Mines are two of the most popular, but I enjoy the smaller, more quaint feel of Blue Chicago's two downtown locations. Of course, if you're looking for a real blues bar, sans tourists, you'll have to trek down to the south side.

The Hopleaf - Wonderful Andersonville bar that has a huge selection of beers, with focus on Belgian styles. They added a smoke-free back room and kitchen about a year after I moved here with doubled the appeal of a place that was already fantastic.

Ginger's Ale House - One of our favorite happy hour haunts in the days before we had an office, my most memorable trip to Ginger's Ale House was watching the final, cataclysmic implosion of the Cubs appearance in the 2003 NLCS. It was that night I decided that while my primary baseball loyalty would always be with the Tigers, there was some small part of me that had earned the brand of agony and sympathy known only to true Cubs fans.

The lakefront - Walking and biking the lakeshore path; sitting and playing my harmonicas on the breakwall; Venetian night downtown; summer lunches with McKinley at Castaways and Beachstro. Chicago's lakefront is tough to beat.

Happy Village - What a secret little gem! Just a few blocks from some of my friends' old place in Wicker Park, this bar is the definition of unassuming. In fact, to walk in to the bar itself, you'd be convinced that no one under the age of 50 had ever set foot in it. But pass through the bar (stopping to pick up a cheap six pack of bottles on your way) and out the back door and you find the most awesome little backyard beer garden. There are few places in town more pleasant to sit and chat with friends on a warm summer night.

Caribou Coffee on Ashland - When I first got a laptop from work, I started to hang out here pretty regularly. Their super cheap (now, I believe, free) WiFi made it a great escape when I wanted to get some work done, but needed a change of scenery. Many hours have been spent here fiddling away at work, and a few evenings of just sitting and trying to re-discover my writing chops.

Rock Bottom - Has the distinction of being, if I recall, the first bar I hung out at as a full-fledged resident of Chicago. As a semi-national chain, its beer and food are better than average, though nothing particularly special. But the rooftop garden set beneath the towering high rises of River North is a great place to go and enjoy the spectacle of the big city, while cutting off some of the noise.

The Vic - Sadly, I haven't been back there in several years, but the old Vic Theatre just off of the Belmont Red Line stop was well known for its Brew-N-View nights. Kick back with some friends over a pitcher of beer and even seeing Scary Movie 3 for a second time can be fun!

Jak's Tap - Friendly neighborhood bar just down the street from my office, Jaks has been our go-to spot for lunches and happy hours. Finding out that Mike, the owner, is a Michigan grad didn't hurt, either!

1000 N. Wood - Former home of several members of the aforementioned UM-NU circle, it was a favorite spot for dinner parties and movie nights. And of course, Wood St is fairly well known around the city for its private (illegal, though the police only stopped by to watch) Fourth of July celebrations. I've seen professional fireworks displays that couldn't compare to what was being fired off a couple dozen yards from our friends' doorway.

I may have to add to this as I think about this some more... five years is a lot of time to collect favorite spots, especially in a city which has so many to offer.

Mood update: clearer skies ahead

I see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as work is concerned. I still have a ton of packing and a good handful of organizational details to resolve, but for a few moments tonight, I was able to recapture the giddy excitement about the trip that I honestly hadn't been feeling in what seems like forever.

I was at work pretty late, but after raining most of the day, it was a very pleasant evening with a stiff, warm breeze. I took the relatively scenic route back, taking upper Wacker along the river and up the Magnficent Mile of Michigan Ave, just soaking in the impressive setting that Chicago can be at times.

Still way too much to get done in the next week, but I've got a pretty good all-natural buzz going on right now.

Holy Cow! Turkey!

Our controversial Lambs turkey has officially made the big time. The story (first scooped to the Port Huron Times Herald by none other than my own dear mother and discussed previously here and here) has been picked up by CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/15/turkey.remembered.ap/

....

Chicago Memories, part II: The UM-NU ring

I moved here in the summer of 2002. When I arrived, I found a wonderful network of friends already in place. Several friends from U-M were already here, including Lori, Jordan, Sonia and Jen, in addition to Justin and Tony. In addition, Jordan's twin sister Amanda (Jordan and Amanda had also both been great friends with Lori since high school), a Northwestern alum, was still here, and her extended circle of Northwestern friends bonded instantly with us Wolverines. Michael, Ivy, Jeff and Eisa are all great folks who I have been glad to get to know over the past several years.

From late-night picnics off of Belmont harbor, to bunny bowling, to A Taste of North Wood St, to celebrating each others birthdays and other major occasions, we've shared many great times, though many changes have shaken things up.

In the time I've been here, Justin's finished law school, while Tony, Jordan, Ivy and (soon) Michael have all started and finished. Jen, often my lone fellow non-lawyer at gatherings these days, started and finished physical therapy school. Manda has moved away, returned and moved away again. Lori married Jim--our token Notre Dame adoptee into the circle--and has moved back to Ann Arbor. Jeff and Eisa have also moved on, and are getting married in April. And Sonia now has an adorable son named Azadi.

At least with one more Michigan grad now leaving the group, geographically anyways, perhaps Ivy can finally fulfill her greatest desire regarding the group--getting a block of tickets on the *home team* side of Ryan Field next fall when the Wolverines make the trek to Evanston!

This is not a sports blog

Anyone who knows me personally, knows that sports--particularly those of the University of Michigan--is a very big part my life.

But while I may talk about UM and other sports (I'm looking forward to talking hurling, rugby, and may even dabble in Gaelic rules and/or that *other* football) occasionally, it would be completely pointless to make it a major emphasis, as there is absolutely nothing I could add on top of the fine work of Brian Cook at MGoBlog. If you're interested in reading a blog about Michigan (and occasionally other Detroit area) sports--and one that's far more entertaining than this one to boot, that's your one stop shop. (I should mention that Brian's also been yet another helpful resource in my planning for my time in Ireland, as he spent 4 months in Galway after finishing school!)

That said, I'd be completely remiss if I didn't at least acknowledge the biggest piece of Wolverine news to come around in some time: The end of the Tommy Amaker era for Michigan basketball. Coach Amaker was fired Saturday, after the team's abysmal performance got them bounced from the second round of the NIT on Thursday. By all accounts, Tommy was a class act who ran a clean program, which was something the U needed. Unfortunately, it also needed wins and tournament appearances, and in six years under his leadership, they failed to make the NCAA tournament once.

For knowledgeable opinions and details ad nauseam on the search for the new coach, check out MGoBlog.

Under two weeks to go and the mood is: Full Out Panic

I've run the gamut over the past weeks and months. Curious intrigue to brain-busting confusion and stress over the early planning and decision-making. Then, things began to fall into place and it was sheer giddiness. Recently, its been a dull burn out. I'm tired of the planning and the details and making all the arrangements. Over the past couple of days, even that's given way to an adrenalin-laced panic attack.

I know I've been meticulous in my planning, but what significant arrangement have I overlooked? What critical possession will I forget to pack? What challenges and problems that I couldn't possibly prepare for are waiting for me? Crime? Discrimination? Humiliation (my first attempt to play in a session will no doubt have a dose of this!)? Roommate problems? Unexpected costs?

Luckily the wheels are irreversibly in motion, so I will continue to plod through this funk and I know its going to be a fantastic experience on the other side, regardless of the challenges I might face. But right now the anxiety is masking the bulk of the exuberant anticipation. Once I get on that plane, and maybe get a drink or two in me, though...

The List:
The List has been a shifting sand lately, and I've been talking about most of the major things as they've been being resolved, but here's a quick update on a few:

Switch internet service over - actually, cancelled. Justin's got new service lined up. The land line has been switched over to his name now.
Contact consulate regarding re-entry - done and covered in a previous post
Book return flight - ditto
Get car fixed - yup, same.
Get insurance straightened out - same-o-rama.
Get phone and sim card - both have arrived and seem to be functional.
Get backpack - its big!
Get new camera - it's slick!

On jobs, homes, Detroit and abroad

The Renter's Manifesto

This is an interesting article that hits close to home on several fronts, and is something I'm going to have to seriously ponder regarding my long term plans. I found this line in particular interesting:

Many people like to stay near where they were born. But many others would like to seek new opportunities—even, dare I say it, new experiences.

I definitely stand with a foot firmly planted on either side of that line. At some point, I'll need to make a choice between the two and be ready to accept the sacrifice of the other, and the considerations in this article might make it even more difficult.

Chicago Memories, part I: JTT

As I'm winding down my last days here in Chi-town, I wanted to recap some memories and things that I'm going to miss (or in some cases, not so much) about Chicago. I decided to break it up into several posts, as I'm sure I'll have a lot to say.

Where else to start, but at home.

I moved into our place on West Carmen in August of 2002 with two friends from undergrad, Justin and Tony. The moniker JTT was applied to our fine abode some time later by friends. We had all been engineers of the electrical and/or computer sort, but Justin was already one year into law school by the time we moved in. Tony followed his lead about a year later and now both of them are full-fledged lawyers. I'm the only one that's stayed true to our roots, for better or worse.

What are the odds of three single, late-20's/early-30's guys living together for nearly five years, and not once having anything even remotely approaching any sort of serious disagreement or altercation? It speaks volumes to the sort of laid back guys that we all are and the friendship we've enjoyed, I guess.

When thinking of great times and memories here with these guys, many things come to mind. One of the first is the multitude of video game console systems. At last count, we had no less than 8 (did I mention that we were all computer geeks at one point in time?) ranging from a still-functional Atari 2600 to the PS2. One might be surprised, though, how little we actually used these systems, especially the past year or so. They're there more for nostalgia than anything else (which might explain how we've fallen so far behind the times now!) , although no one here will deny the unbridled joy that can still be had out of a quick game of Frogger, Q*Bert, or Carnival.

While we've seldom made time for gaming these days (let alone arduous tasks like cooking meals), we still manage to find time now and then for a quick game of poker, or to drop in and watch some shows that I will forever link to this place and these guys, most notably The Office, and everyone's favorite hottie/detective, Veronica Mars. Thanks to our friend Lori, Ms. Mars (aka Michigan's own Kristen Bell) has not only graced our TV screen every Tuesday night for the past few years, but has been a constant presence on our refrigerator door as well!

No talk of the JTT years would be complete without a mention of the fantastic parties that we've had here. While this past year's Festivus party was a smashing success, with our own Festivus Pole and the Airing of Greivances (I still can't spell the damn word) wall, the two most memorable nights here had to have been our two Halloween parties. Who would ever forget Justin's badass Wolverine costume, compete with retractable metal claws and a stogie. Or Tony's "Yellow Trash" mullet and NJ Devils jersey.

But even that paled in comparison to last year's effort, when we decided to party like it was 1986, as Maverick, Goose and Iceman.

Any party that can carry over for a day and wind up featured on national TV is always going to be noteworthy...




There it is... the greatest moment in the history of JTT. Although Tony shunned his responsibility as Maverick, you can still spot him among our many friends in the background. Props to Jack for picking up the slack, and filling the role of Pete Mitchell that night!

Autoresolutions

Contrary to what I was told by the first car insurance rep I spoke with, it seems that downgrading my current Illinois policy to liability only will not be a problem, even if the car will be physically located in Michigan, so long as it's short term (and three months is still considered short term).

If I had, however, opted for the other option of just cancelling my IL insurance and picking up a new policy in MI when I returned, the lapse in coverage could've shown as a black mark that would peg me for a higher premium when I open the new policy. So, in the end, I was able to change my coverage to liability only, effective 4/1, for a mere $20 or so per month.

I also was able to get the brakes and rotors replaced this weekend, (thanks again, Dad!) so now I'm reasonably confident that the ol' Alero will survive my last two weeks here, and maybe be ready for one last tour of duty when I get back.

Lessons learned:
The good... no need to register the car in Michigan before I leave
The bad... a lapse in insurance is bad.
The ugly... there's still a strange revving sound coming from the front end. Here's hoping what's left of my car doesn't just rot away while I'm gone.

A trip home. Or thereabouts.

So upon further research, it seemed evident that I would need to have a return ticket in order to enter the country without a work permit or other documentation supporting a longer stay.

In hindsight, I'm now kicking myself for not booking a round trip ticket when I booked my flight over there. When I was looking at it, one way tickets were between $300 and $400, and round trips were between $600 and $700. I didn't think I'd really save that much by booking round trip, figuring the prices were high in June because it's so far off. Maybe, but I think they're also higher because its peak travel time.

Regardless, I just booked a flight back for about $500. And its not even back to Detroit. I return to Chicago on 6/29. Flights into Detroit were about $100 more, and with a worse itinerary/schedule. I guess that'll give me a day or whatever to hang out with the Chicago folks before heading back to Michigan, either by train, or by the good graces of my family who might come pick me up (unless any of my Chicago friends decide to head back to Michigan that weekend!).

At least its A) a direct flight from Shannon and B) an afternoon departure, so I won't have to get up at the buttcrack of dawn and be in a rush to make my flight. I leave at around 3pm local time, and get in around 5pm local time. So yeah, its like only a two hour trip home. But different.

St. Patty's Musical Musings

And a happy St. Patty's to ye!

I figured I'd take this time to talk a bit about my favorite aspect of Irish culture--no, not Guinness, although that's probably a close second!

Whether it's potently mournful ballads, raucous and raunchy drinking songs, or cheerfully brisk traditional jigs and reels, Ireland's music always holds a powerful emotional sway. It resonates with me in a way none of the many other music genres which I greatly enjoy ever have.

I've mentioned before that some of my very earliest memories are of listening to Makem & Clancy records. While I wouldn't say that was a constant presence throughout my growing up, they were always back there as a foundational memory. I remember when we first got those black, plastic "song flutes" in fifth grade music class, proudly learning to play one of my favorite Clancy songs, "The Mermaid".

Later, during my college years, a love for the pub and drinking songs was re-ignited after going to see Michael O'Brein, a local singer/guitar player at The Old Shillelagh in Detroit. We began to frequent his performances there, and later making the trek across the border to Patrick O'Ryan's in Windsor after he reportedly got banned from The Shillelagh for his abusive and off-color renditions of some of the songs. The energy in the crowd, however, was always great. The drink, the music, and the camaraderie among friends, spiced with a dash of nostalgia of my first trip to Ireland created some of my most vividly enjoyable times of my early adulthood. Later still, I would learn that the Irish have a word for that sense: Craic. The craic, as they say, was mighty.

In the summer of 2001, while on a sailing trip with my dad in northern Lake Huron, I stopped in a gift shop in Killarney, Ontario and bought a harmonica. It was a simple and fun diversion to get me back in touch with playing music, which I had all but stopped since abandoning my trumpet after a few brief stints in the Campus Band my first few semesters. Naturally, I found the simple melodies of those fun Irish songs took very well to the mouth harp and they formed a large chunk of my early harmonica repertoire.

After arriving in Chicago, I decided to pursue a bit of formal instruction (as if anything related to the harmonica could be considered formal!) and took up a harmonica class at The Old Town School of Folk Music. Through this course, I found that I had no problems playing the melodies, but my rhythm at times, was lacking. I thought pursuing a percussion course at the school might help me to remedy that. I looked over the available offerings, and the one that peaked my interest, of course, was the bodhran--the traditional Irish frame drum. The timing of the start of that class happened to coincide well with my last trip to Ireland.

That started me down the path of learning what is considered to be "true" Irish traditional music.

What constitutes "traditional" varies a great deal from one listener to the next, but a near consensus among those who consider themselves traditional musicians is that it revolves primarily around fast-paced, instrumental dance tunes. Jigs and reels are the two most popular types of these tunes, although other rhythms and time signatures, such as slipjigs, hornpipes, slides and polkas are also fairly prevalent, depending on the regional influences.

The lifeblood of Irish traditional music (often abbreviated as ITM, IrTrad, or simply 'trad'), is the seisiun, or, in its anglicized form, session. Sessions are typically informal, open gatherings of anywhere from about 3 or 4 musicians, up to sometimes 20 or more. Some sessions are fairly selective groups of highly skilled musicians, while others are open to nearly all levels of ability and experience. Regardless, there is a certain etiquette that participants are expected to adhere to. The specifics and strictness of session etiquette--like everything else--is open to interpretation somewhat. But as a general rule, good manners and consideration and a respect towards other musicians will get you pretty far.

There are a wide number of melody instruments that may be considered acceptable for traditional sessions, although again, many instruments may be more or less welcome depending on the view of the other musicians and, most importantly, the level of musicianship with which they are played. The instruments that are probably the least debatable as to their place in a session would be the fiddle, tin whistle, concertina, button accordion, wooden flute and uilleann pipes. Many other instruments are fairly widely accepted, including tenor (4 string) banjo, mandolin and guitar. Guitar players, however, should take note of a fairly strict viewpoint of the guitar's role in ITM as an accompaniment instrument. Many fine guitar players have been shunned at sessions for trying to play a more individualistic style, that in the eyes of more traditional players, spoilt the feel of the tunes.

Many instruments, particularly those that are similar 'cousins' of some of the instruments mentioned above, may not be considered particularly traditional, but many fine musicians have made a great name for themselves playing traditional music on them. The piano accordion and silver--or boehm system--flute would be two great examples. The harmonica would probably also fit into this category as well.

No contemporary, symphonic band brass instruments are typically considered to be 'traditional', despite the fact that I've heard two separate accounts of a person showing up at a session with a trombone!

Like guitar players, percussionists should also be particularly careful in approaching a session. While some debate the "traditional" value of the bodhran, many musicians take issue with its use and its players. There is a perception by some that percussion is easy, and the result has been that many unskilled players have picked up a bodhran and sat in on sessions, banging along dumb and happy, completely unaware that they were trampling the rhythm, or confusing the feel of the tune with too much tone. Of course, that particularly drum invites many, many different styles of playing and tastes in style, even when played very well, differ greatly.

I've spent much of the past two years, carefully approaching sessions with my bodhran, trying to not be one of those bodhran players. I've had the fortunate benefit of some quality formal instruction on the instrument, and have taken great pains to try to adhere to session etiquette and to learn what those that I play with want and expect out of a percussionist. Only recently have I begun to feel like I'm really getting it.

Of course, I've also always had the desire to play melodies, as solo playing can be much more fulfilling. Towards that end, I started casually teaching myself the tin whistle around the same time I started learning the bodhran. I started to focus on it more about a year ago and in recent months, have developed to a solid 'advanced-beginner' or 'lower-intermediate' skill level. I've currently got a repertoire of nearly 40 tunes that I can play with some semblance of speed and accuracy, with some appropriate ornamentation (although mistakes and pauses are still far too frequent).

While I feel my whistle playing and my bodhran playing have both helped to improve each other, both have been a means towards a bigger end: the uilleann pipes.

The pipes are a complicated and daunting beast of an instrument, worthy of an entire post on their own, so I won't go into it more, other than to say that it is my hope and intention to get my first formal training on the pipes during my time in Ireland. I've owned what's called a 'practice set', consisting only of the bag, bellows and chanter, for a little over a year, though my practice time on them has been limited.

So, as you rove out to the pub this weekend, keep in mind the differences between the different types of Irish music, and the mentalities of the different musicians. If you come across a pub offering lively instrumental dance tunes, listen, enjoy and respect the music. But do not expect them to play 'Danny Boy', 'Fields of Athenry', or 'Whiskey in the Jar' for you.

If that's what you're looking for, move on down to the next pub in the line, or the next after that, until you find some folks amped up with guitars and a plastic green bowler on their head, belting out the lyrics to 'Black Velvet Band' or the like. There is nothing wrong with partaking in this type of fun pub song atmosphere, just be aware that not all Irish music is the same, nor are all Irish musicians' tastes or temperaments. Asking the wrong folks for the wrong type of music can get you ill-thought-of very quickly.

Oh, and whatever else you enjoy this weekend, please do it safely. Don't drink and drive and for feck's sake.... stay away from the green beer.

Have a Guinness instead.

Seeking shelter part 3

Looks like the plan will be to wait and find housing once I'm there. I've researched it enough to be comfortable that there's no crunching shortage, and to have an idea of what a reasonable price to pay will be, so I think it will be better to try and find something that'll be a known commodity by that point, rather than going site unseen.

I'll probably take a first week early on and rent a car and investigate Galway and the surrounding areas a little more, although I may also take a look and see what's available in Westport. I really enjoyed that town a great deal before.

There's also a chance that something will come up in Clare during my first week (The plan is to spend the first week I'm in the country at The Flowing Tide Music School in west Clare), although it seems broadband access is still pretty rare in all but a few towns in Clare, and that's unfortunately going to be my one modern convenience requirement.

And just because...

...I got an email each from Mom and Dad in the past few minutes that begged to be shared. Here's what Dad just sent me. 'Tis the season, I suppose:

We are winning the war on terror afterall

Not to beat a dead horse... or... well...

...but in a stunning follow up to this post, I present the following:

http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007703120308
http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007703140301

One less threat to our National Security. Otherwise, I'm just speechless. That this warrants not one, but TWO stories (one of which even made the front page of the print edition!) is just so....... St. Clair County.

(Note the photo credits in the second article.)

Sidetrips greenlighted... more or less.

I just spoke with the Irish Consulate here in Chicago, and they were much more helpful than the last time I tried. I wanted to check and make sure I would not have a problem re-entering Ireland from any side-treks I take outside of Ireland during my stay.

Basically, it shouldn't be a problem, as long as I have a return ticket out of Ireland within the 90 days. Seems I could probably even get away with treating each flight out of Ireland as a separate return ticket and only report whatever duration I'll be in the country for each time, but they could flag me for that if it looks like I'm trying to beat the system to stay longer than 90 days. So I think reporting a 90 day stay up front and having my flight home in June on hand is my best bet. When I re-enter, just show that ticket to prove I'll be leaving. (Now if work things out and am able to come back with work permit in hand, then that's another story.)

She also gave me one very useful pointer: I should not mention that I'll be looking for work. Even though I'd be following the proper steps of 1) get a job offer, 2) apply for a work permit, 3) enter the country with the work permit (after returning home briefly in July), apparently you're not supposed to come to Ireland to look for work.

So that's good to know.


Lessons learned:
The good... Should be able to come and go more or less as I please.
The bad... Don't tell them I'm looking for work.
The ugly... There are no definite answers. Each time I enter the country, I'll be completely at the mercy of the immigration officer. All I can do is keep my paperwork in line and hope I don't run across someone in a particularly foul mood.

Dottie has gone public

I just sent out the mass mail notification to cover the bases of all those I hadn't told yet about my plans. To those of you stumbling over here for the first time from the link in that email, welcome!


And to anyone who gets the reference in the title of this post... props for the mad recognition skills, but my condolences if you admit to it. It was one of the best/worst movies I'm proud/embarrassed to own. ;)

A small world after all

Last night I dropped in at The Grafton. I hadn't been in there on a Monday since my class schedule changed, but my friend and I used to stop there before (and often after) our classes at the Old Town School nearly every week. We got to be pretty good friends with the two girls who regularly work there on Mondays, Jen and Traci.

I found out a while ago that Jen grew up in Port Huron, and that her mom lives about a mile down the road from my brother. Last night, I found out that Traci's fiance is from the town of Kilfenora, in County Clare, which is currently the home of Raeanne, a Memphis HS graduate from a few years behind me, who is friends with my brother and sister-in-law (and who, I should add, has been incredibly helpful in my planning and particularly my housing search!).

Port Huron is the nearest town which could reasonably called a "city" (pop. 32,000) to Memphis, where I grew up. Memphis has a population of about 1100. Kilfenora's population is about 200. Chicago has 2.8 million.

What are the odds?

More Irish than the Irish

The Irish have a saying: "more Irish than the Irish". They use it in jest (or perhaps sometimes, not so much) to poke fun at foreigners who come to their land, load up on Aran sweaters and tweed jackets and proceed to wear them around, soaking up all that is stereotypically Irish. You might say that my grandfather epitomized the saying, so long as you mean it in good will. No one was ever sure why, but it was a bit of a running joke that Grandpa always claimed to be Irish. The man was as Polish as a paczki, but ask him to his face, and he'd tell you he was an Irishman.

As a brief aside, he did, in fact, finally make it to Ireland in his last few years. Which is the bigger miracle of that trip--his exhausted and failing old knees supporting his climb to the top of Blarney Castle to kiss that stone, or my grandmother getting on an airplane--is open to debate.

While Grandpa made a game of his confused sense of nationalistic identity, I really can not recall one instance of him openly and consciously influencing my love for the place. It must have been there in the subconscious, if not the gene code, though, as some degree of Irish infatuation has been floated down to not only myself, but my father, and my uncle, who took it to a whole different level when he married a lovely woman from Cork several years ago.

So, then, am I, too, "more Irish than the Irish"? I suppose I might have a hard time justifying why I'm not, but I will say that there is a shade to all this. There's a tinge of awkward embarrassment each time someone asks me if I'm Irish. I'm very self-conscious about the perception that I may be infringing upon someone else's culture and traditions, and taking them as if they're my own.

The only way to counter that embarrassment is with respect and education. I always tread carefully in my interactions with the Irish-American community here in in Chicago, and figure to do so while I'm abroad as well. It's important to know my place and that while it may be okay to appreciate and submerse myself in Irish culture, I need to be careful not to cross any boundaries that some would find offensive. To aid in this, I always seek to learn as much as possible about the roots and history behind the modern culture, to help understand it and the people whose lives are its fabric.

By continuing to follow those two basic principles, I hope to enjoy an enriching and enlightening time furthering my understanding of a culture that I admire and respect, while maintaining a sense of self-awareness so as to avoid being seen as a typically naive, "More Irish than the Irish", ugly American.

Why Ireland?

This question has been asked of me by many folks recently, most emphatically by two of my uncles at a family gathering a few weeks ago.

I suppose it's confession time, for those that don't already know: As far I know, I have not a drop of Irish blood in me. My family tree is rooted largely in Poland (~50%) and Germany (~25%), with the other 25% being somewhat of a mysterious mix, largely believed to be primarily English and/or Welsh.

So why the fascination with Ireland and Irish culture?

It may as simple as how you never get over your first love. Aside from Canada--which hardly counts when you grow up a mere 20 minutes from the border--Ireland was the first place I'd ever been to outside the US. It was also the first time I'd ever flown commercially. In fact, I had never even seen an ocean before we took off across the Atlantic that night. The trip was a very big and memorable event, so it's not really a surprise that anything that conjures up memories of that time would strike a chord with me.

But there were seeds planted long before that trip.

As anyone who knows me or has read this has figured out by now, my love for Ireland is inseparable from a love for its music. While much of the deepening of that passion has been building over the course of my adulthood, it started much earlier. Some of my earliest musical memories--if not earliest memories of any sort--were of listening to old records of Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers, who in the 1960's brought an Irish sound to the mainstream American folk music scene. Exactly how my parents got turned onto them, you'd have to ask them, but as they were hippies of a sort at the time, I just always figured that was the sort of off the wall things hippies got into.

But there is more to it than just the music. There is a certain feel and atmosphere in Ireland. It is a place that can still be timeless and ancient if you want it, and yet if you dare to peek beneath tourist board-approved the surface, you'll see a country as modern and advanced as any. Cozy, quaint and relaxed pubs still cover the countryside, but one will have no problems finding a more modern and hip nightlife in Dublin and other larger cities.

And speaking of that countryside, Ireland's rolling hills and rugged coastlines are known the world over. From the green, mystic peaks of the Wicklow Mountains and rolling green fields of the midlands, to stunning coastal views along the coast of Kerry and the mountains and bogs of Connemara, Ireland offers physical beauty that few places in the world can match.

But take the music, the atmosphere and the scenery, and you still have a place that would be lacking if not for one final ingredient: the people themselves. The particularly well-travelled parents of a friend of mine once claimed, when describing one of the dozens of countries that they'd been, that this particular country had "the second friendliest people in the world". When asked who were the first, they stated without hesitation, "the Irish." While my list of places I've been may be considerably smaller, I will say my own experiences firmly support their sentiment. While no sweeping generalizations can hold true for 100% of any population, the hospitality of the Irish is typically overwhelming.

It will be interesting to see how my thoughts and perceptions on the place change over the course of a longer period of time, when I'm experiencing it from a role somewhat different than "tourist". I'm sure there are many glossy ideas in my mind that will be smudged, erased, or rebuilt altogether. But I suspect that any voids in my perceived utopic view of Ireland will be filled ten-fold, by newer and richer ideas and experiences which will not even be conceivable to me until I begin to live them.

Technobabble

No new posts yesterday, but I spent a better chunk of the day learning a bit of javascript and adding the countdown clock up in the banner. What? You don't see it? Try enabling javascript. It's okay, you can trust me. It took me all day just to figure out how to make that simple clock. Infecting someone's computer with malware or other nastiness is just a bit beyond me still, even if I wanted to. Which I don't. I like you.

I'm also working on another one of those epic posts, but I was running out of steam last night so look for it sometime later today or tomorrow.

More car frustrations

It turns out I'm not going to be able to change my insurance to having it stored in Michigan without also changing the registration to Michigan. I suppose I could reduce my current policy to theft only and give them my Illinois address, but I suspect theft coverage will be much less in St. Clair County Michigan than in Chicago (wildfowl terror networks not withstanding). But even that could be pointless, as if it is stolen, from Michigan, I'd probably have a dilly of a time explaining that claim.

Now I'm looking at cancelling it altogether (I mean, I already had one car stolen from Mom's very rural driveway in my lifetime... what are the odds, right?), or possibly just giving it up for donation before I leave.

Of course, that's all assuming it even makes it the final few weeks. I just reluctantly dumped $450 into it yesterday to get the bearings replaced and a belt adjusted, as I thought that would be enough to get it through, but it seems there's some additional noise coming, likely, from the transmission and that the rotors are pretty severely warped.

Having a car available when I return certainly would be nice, but I'm not sure its going to be worth it at this point.

Travel advisory: Lambs, MI

Persons travelling into and through the municipality of Lambs, Michigan are advised to be on high alert. The area has recently come under attack by a lone, turkey terrorist. No, not a Turkish terrorist. A wild turkey. If you encounter this turkey, you are advised to stay in your car at all times, vacate the town (i.e. drive 300 yards in any direction) and if you wish to be laughed at, contact authorities immediately. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you attempt to directly contact, provoke, or by any means, impersonate this turkey.

And to think that Ben Franklin wanted this threat to freedom and justice to be our national symbol!

Yes, we're going to go a bit off-topic today. I'd say that I'm posting this up to embarrass my mom just a bit (as payback for the many times she's done the same), but who am I kidding. The woman is shameless and posting this in a public forum really won't embarrass her a bit, much as it maybe should. In fact, the rest of this post is going to be more or less copy-and-pasted from her own post to an on-line community she's a part of.

But I couldn't let this go unposted as yet another great reminder (right up there with the infamous "beaver day" incident) of the sort of area I come from and how different a world it is from the big city life I've grown somewhat (albeit begrudgingly at times) used to, and why I feel some need to reconnect with that.

Here's the story as Mom tells it (edited for time and content). Those of you who have met her will have no trouble visualizing the hilarity of this:

Coming home from work yesterday, the road was blocked off between the corner and my house due to an accident. No one was hurt, luckily, but I had to go around the block to get to my driveway. "Around the block", in this case, is a distance of approximately 5 miles, 4 of which are chuck-holed washboard nasty gravel.

Ok, so I get most of the way around the block, and am back at the corner of my road, in "downtown" Lambs. I see a wild turkey. I notice that the wild turkey is chasing my car. I think that the turkey is very pretty. I think it is cool that I have this up close and personal opportunity with wildlife. I decide that I need to photograph this turkey with my cell phone camera.

OK, here is where I become temporarily insane. I stop my car, and GET OUT. I keep walking closer and closer to the turkey, taking pictures as I go. The turkey seems to like the sound that the camera makes. He is cooperating nicely and not backing up. I get about two feet away from him. Brain cells resume functioning. WHAT IN THE H E DOUBLE TOOTHPICKS ARE YOU DOING WOMAN???? This is an aggressive wild bird. He stands about 3 feet tall, and weighs about 20 pounds. If he reaches his neck out, you are certainly within pecking distance. Ut Oh. Back up slowly, return to car, do not turn your back on him. All of a sudden my brain is giving me some very sound advise, I think I will listen. And sure enough, he apparently did not like that I was going away...taking the clicking metal thing with me. Maybe he wanted to become intimate with this noise maker? Whatever. I just knew I had to return to my car, going backwards, and I needed to show him I was in charge (yeah right) so I was flapping my arms, and making whatever nonsensical sounds I could. All the while hoping against hope that the people in the house on the corner were not watching out a window, or running a video camera with which they would win millions of dollars from America's Funniest Home Videos. In my haste to get his picture, I had left my car door open, so I was able to back my behind right onto the seat, and then quickly swing in my legs and shut the door as he reached out to taste me!

I have talked to several people about this and this turkey has been terrorizing that corner for a few weeks now. He went after my son's vehicle a few days ago, and Nathan drives a huge Durango!

By popular demand, now that its no longer the daily 1000 words-in-a-box, here is the mugshot of the alleged perpetrator:

Seeking shelter part 2

The next big decision, and the question that is the first thing everyone I've talked to asks is, "Where are you going to be?".

This of course not independent of the type of accommodation as I discussed in part 1. But its a separate question all of its own.

Let's start with where I'm likely not going to be: Dublin. Great city, but as I've mentioned, I'm ready to be done with big city life for a bit. Also, Cork, which at 119,000 is only slightly larger than Ann Arbor, seems too large for me relative to what's available in the surrounding areas. It would be great to be close to my only real support network in the country, but I just don't feel that Cork offers the best combination of what I'm looking for at the moment. I hope none of my wonderful, occasional hosts in Cork take any offence should they happen to read this!

Now if a great job offer happens to come along that would put me in one of those cities, I may change my tune, but for now, I'm going to focus my search on the central west coast.

Galway has been my focal point for some time. Its first draw is location: centrally located along the west coast, it puts me as close to all the areas that I want to be near as is possible. Connemara, Clare, Mayo, Cork and even Dublin are all within a few hours drive. Secondly, it strikes me as being "just right" size-wise. Despite being the third-largest city in the Republic behind Dublin and Cork, its population is just 75,000. For perspective, that's a little more than double that of Port Huron and about 2/3rd the size of Ann Arbor. It'd take 37 Galways to match the population of Chicago.

Galway is also a college town, which in my experience seem to be among the most vibrant, lively and pleasant places to live. Towns like Ann Arbor, Madison, and Boulder are constantly rated among the best places to live in the US for their combination of small-town feel and security, convenience of amenities, accessibility to culture and entertainment, and overall pleasant ambiance. From what I've inferred, and heard second-hand, I can expect to find many of these same qualities in Galway.

If I have any regrets from my last trip, it was driving through Galway without even so much as stopping to walk around. But, we had things to see and places to be and more time spent there would've only meant missing out on something else.


On the other hand, part of my strong desire to make this trip is to find some time for quiet reflection--not to mention spending large amounts of time practicing music without self-consciously fretting that roommates and/or neighbors might be plotting to kill me in my sleep for it--and the truly small towns and rural settings that can be found all up and down the coast would provide that in spades.

I'd be particularly interested in the outlying areas of County Galway, particular to the northwest of Galway City in Connemara, with its ruggedly stunning terrain of mountains and wetlands; or the two counties that border Galway to the south and north, respectively: Clare, offering rolling hills, daunting coastlines and arguably the very best of traditional music; and Mayo, which offers a little bit of all of the above in the town of Westport, which struck me as particularly warm and hospitable on my previous trip.

Of course, if I really want isolation and a feeling of being in a remote, beautiful setting, the towns of Dingle in western County Kerry, or Donegal in the north would each fit the bill. Either one could be the Irish equivalent to Houghton, Michigan, with signs as you approach town proclaiming the End of The Earth to be 2 miles closer than your chosen destination.


The trick is going to be finding the perfect trade-off point that offers enough of all that I'm looking for. Living in the heart of Galway may prove to be more hustle-and-bustle than I signed up for, not to mention that it would likely drain my funds very quickly. However, a place in the countryside might ultimately prove to be a disaster as loneliness and boredom overtake my desire for solitude.

Also, I need to keep in mind that I'm not going to have a car, which will put some heavy convenience restrictions when it comes to gathering food, not to mention social interaction and auxiliary travel, regardless of where I am. Although it would reason that this would be much less of a problem in or close to Galway.


So, to re-cap, here are my needs/desires in a geographical location, in no particular order:

- convenience: Must be somewhere that I can meet normal minimal transportation needs without the use of an automobile. I'm planning on buying a bike, but how difficult it'll be to haul groceries--or god forbid, a load of laundry--with it could be a problem.

- setting: Must be in or near an area of substantial physical beauty. Pretty much anywhere on the west coast would fit this to varying degrees, but since I've lived all my life in the US midwest, and will likely be returning there after I'm through here, being able to walk out my front door and see mountains for once would be fantastic.

- proximity to local music scene: Ideally, I'll have a session that is friendly to outsiders and intermediate-level players that is within walking or biking distance *at least* once a week, and preferably several times a week.

- proximity for additional travels: Being close to Shannon or Dublin for flights out of Ireland would be nice, though hardly necessary.

- serenity: A place where things move a bit slower and there is a lack of the constant background hiss of white noise that is ever present in big cities.

- social interaction: Being in a position to meet and get to know new people. I might be a pretty heavy introvert lean, but 3 months with little other social interaction other than in passing would certainly wear me down.



Update since I first wrote most of this post: I've begun looking on craigslist, and while places aren't exactly plentiful, there are quite a few intriguing options, and the rental costs are actually looking quite reasonable. There's a 4-bedroom cottage in the Mourne Mountains just across the border into Northern Ireland that could be mine for about the same as I'm paying for my shared place in Chicago. For far less, there's a 1 bedroom apartment in Derry. Either of those would fit the serenity and setting bill, but may be short on convenience and social interaction. (also, they'd both technically be in the UK, which would mean re-investigating a lot of potential immigration issues).

But there is also a very reasonably priced room in a four-room house in Galway that I've been in touch with the owner of. It is close to the University and city centre, and sounds like a good arrangement, but I'm still trying to get some more details.