is it fall yet?

Yes, summer vacation is over, and I am back in Galway. Finally. My (nice long) vacation was lovely, really, but it's also quite nice to be back in my apartment, sleeping in my bed. I got in on Wednesday morning and have spent the week unpacking, getting re-organized, and slowly conquering my jetlag. (I think I've mostly gotten it taken care of. Now when I sleep in, I have no excuse except laziness.)

I love this city, even though it's been mostly cool and rainy since my return. I also love my apartment, even though the problems I was having before my vacation didn't magically fix themselves while I was gone. The cold tap in my sink broke back in July-- this has happened before, and that time my landlord came over and fiddled with something that fixed it for a while, though it was still finicky. Also, back in June my shower had started losing pressure and gradually got hotter and hotter, until it began oscillating between scalding hot and icy cold. (This also happened before, earlier this year, and a guy came and fixed it while I was at school.) So, Wednesday, I called my landlord (hereafter referred to as "Frank," since that's his name) to inform him that I was back, and told him about these problems. Yesterday afternoon, he came over to fix things.

Yesterday was Saturday, and Saturday in Galway there is a great outdoor street market, with fresh produce and food vendors and all sorts of fun things. I had been looking forward to going, since it's been months, and yesterday was quite warm and sunny; I was planning on buying some vegetables and maybe getting some Indian food or sushi or fresh donuts. Then, right as I was starting to eat my lunch, Frank came by. He fixed the shower, and told me how to fix it myself next time-- the problem is limescale buildup in the shower head, so all I need to do is take it apart and clean it. Then he took apart the tap in the kitchen and discovered that the tap fitting (or something) was broken on the cold side, and that he'd need to get a new part. He left to go buy a replacement, and said he'd be back in two hours, at 3:00pm. By the time I finished eating and washing up from lunch, it was after 2, so I figured I'd just wait for him and thought maybe I'd go to the market after he left. At 4:30 he returned and replaced both taps in the kitchen sink for me.

I appreciated his fixing things for me, of course. The shower this morning was warm and wonderful, and having two working taps in the kitchen again is great. It's really nice to have a landlord who runs a construction company and knows how to fix household things. But instead of walking around the market in the sun, I got to spend the afternoon sitting around my flat waiting for Frank. I did leave at around 6:00pm to take a walk and maybe do a little late shopping, but all the stalls in the market were either gone or closing up. (I was surprised by how many were still there, honestly; they must have stayed late to take advantage of the great weather.) All the shops in town were closed or closing, too. Even on a Saturday everything in Ireland closes by 6:30, which I guess I'd forgotten.

There is a limited street market on Sundays, so I thought maybe I'd go there today. But, of course, today it's cold and rainy and blustery, and I really don't feel like walking around in that. Oh, Ireland, how I've missed you...

Windy City post!

Yes, I am posting this from Chicago! Sorry for the radio silence on this 'blog, but I've been on vacation, and despite spending my days being super-lazy that still has been surprisingly busy. Anyway I've been at my parents' house, and they are about 90% of my readership anyway. :-P

So, I am currently at Jim's apartment in Chicago. Tomorrow morning I am flying out to San Diego to visit my sister! I haven't seen Hanna since Christmas, and I haven't visited her in California in over two years. Needless to say, I'm very excited. Adventures will be had!

Then it will be back to MI, and the annual Pirate Party. Then I'll have another week to bum around, and then I'll go back here to do some research at the University of Chicago, before I fly back to Ireland on August 25. Oy.