No go on child minding

Friday, September 18, 2009

It seemed like if Ann-Marie was going to hire me, she would have called me already.

Julia Roberts has a house out in Commemara
Martin Sheen went to University of Galway after West Wing
Zach and I went to pay rent today. Mrs. Teresa was back from Spain. We told her about the leak in the kitchen. She said it happens when it rains a lot. At least we’re not responsible, but that’s not a good leak to have whenever it rains. She said they had tried to fix it, but hadn’t. I told her about the microwave not heating. She said we would have a new one soon. I went on to the café and Zach went back upstairs. He said she had a new microwave 15 minutes later delivered by the electrical store. Yea!

Today at the café was fun. I worked the busy shift from 1-4.I made lots of coffees and cappuccinos and lattes. I even made three bagel sandwiches today. I met new people at the café. I worked with a guy named Victor from Madrid, Spain. He is 28 and in the middle of University classes. He is learning English, but not quite there yet. He apologized for his inefficiency at the conversation, but I had to apologize for not knowing any Spanish. I was proud of being able to correctly pronounce the cities of Spain having recently visited much of Andalusia. Grace was at work today. Her night last night evidentially lasted much longer after I left her. She had quite a headache this morning.

Still haven’t heard from Ann-Marie.

I was walking around trying to find a café with internet other than the one I normally go to. I’ve gotten two things there and I feel like I’ve exhausted the things I would like on their menu. I did; however, make friends with the owner of Port café. He was even about to offer me a job till he found out I would only be around till December. I seem to be a wasted investment, but I’m a quick learner. I feel like after 7 hours at Amnesty I have a pretty good handle on things. I took every opportunity I could get to use the till! I like working with Marie-Ann too. She will tell you if you do something wrong, but it is in a very instructive way and not condescending. That is a rare quality to have as an overseer.

On my café search, I walked in a few places where I could go everyday for the rest of my time here and never get bored with the menu, but none of them had internet. I feel like if I milk it enough and put some time in, I might get some perks at Port café, but is it worth it?

In one place called Coco café I met a girl working there from California. She wasn’t sure if they had internet, but she told me to try it out anyway. I couldn’t get any, but she and I talked and I found out she was from San Francisco where she had met her Irish boyfriend and had moved over on a work visa, but they would soon be going back to the States together and moving to Boston. She was going to go stay with an aunt in Tuscany at her villa for two weeks before going back. Her mom was meeting her in Italy. I was super jealous. Today was actually her last day at work. I immediately asked if she would need anyone to replace her at her job. She said she would turn in my CV to her manager, and something might come of it. Who knows. Wish she was going to be around, I feel like she would have made a good friend. I actually didn’t even get her name before I left.

No calls from Ann-Marie yet, and she would have been off work for about an hour now.

I feel like I have a fairly good friend base now. Marie-Ann asked me to go back to the café tonight at 6:30 for the book launch they were sponsoring. She wanted to make sure they had a crowd. I told her I would try to. Zach made dinner, which was an Indian beef dish with jalfreezi sauce. It was spicy, but just at my tolerance level, so I liked it. After dinner he went with me to help out in the crowd making. There was a decent crowd when we arrived, but joined in for the free wine and chocolate. I’ve had more chocolate by working at Amnesty, and I love it! I met an Italian named Roberto, and two women from the Canary Islands: Demi and Marta, as well as a Welsh named Joss. We all had a lot of fun talking, mostly about languages and accents – a common introductory topic between internationals. I’ve met more internationals in Galway than I have Irish. I’m not complaining: I love it! They all said I spoke English very well. It was clear and not too fast. They could understand me better than most English speakers. I felt very flattered, but I do have a tendency to speak differently when I know I’m not easily understood. Not to slow that it seems like I’m talking to a child, but I enunciate every word and use more hand gestures than normal. I really don’t do it intentionally, it’s somewhat involuntary. Joss was my first interaction with a transvestite. He now becoming a she, had a really long e-mail address that she was telling Roberto about. I said something along the line of the meaning of his long e-mail. I was corrected by being told that, actually it’s she because of the transition period. Zach and I said goodbye to our new friends. We left Marta and Demi saying we would have to do a cook exchange at each other’s apartments. They are also here till December. They invited us to the music festival at Salthill tomorrow, but since we’re working we said we might meet up afterward.

On the way back from the shop, Zach and I went into Eddie Rockets for a milkshake. Gotta try what we’re promoting. We each ordered an Oreo shake, and it was delicious. I might have finished it a little too quickly, but it was what I was wanting and have been for quite some time. I’ll have no problem promoting that tomorrow. I just hope I can do it for six hours on my feet. Although, I did find out we get to take a break half way through and have a meal on the house! I though that was very nice. So it’s a nice juicy burger for dinner tomorrow.

I called Ann-Marie after dinner. She didn’t answer. I left a message, but she never called back. That seems to be the Irish way of saying “No, thanks”.

Do fruit flies bite? I have some sort of bug bite on my foot. It kind of itches, but it isn’t mosquito. I have seen a few mosquitoes, but I have not received any bites from them. I was able to clean my wound under water today. It seems to be healing well. I treat it like a puppy. I’ll take it out to dry while I’m sitting around the apartment, but when I leave the house, it goes back in its cage. I clean it and feed it antibiotics twice a day. I also get to tell everyone about it.

I devised a plan today that I’m rather excited about. After I get to know Teresa better and around the end of October / November I’m going to start my own little patisserie. I’ll ask Teresa if she will allow me to sell some sweets in her shop downstairs. I’d make fudge, brownies, cookies, pies and whatever else I can cook up. Really just to break even would be great, but to turn a profit would be marvelous! If she will let me, I would in a heart beat. Having the kitchen going would even help to keep the place warmer in the colder months.

I would have never imagined that I could endure such a small wardrobe, but I’m getting along quite nicely. I’m sure by November I’ll want to add to it, but I just have to keep thinking about how much I don’t want to lug around a heavy suitcase.