Weapons amnesty, Tikka Masala, and interesting vending machines.

It's been a little over two weeks now that I have relocated to Dublin, Ireland. Right now I'm still in temporary housing (and will be for 2 more weeks until my apartment becomes available) in my hotel in the midst of the bustling Rathmines area. It's not so much that it feels weird to wake up in a hotel every morning, it's more that it appears to be the same hotel for 2 weeks now. That's quite different than my last trip.

Rathmines is considered a university district, providing affordable (whatever that means in Dublin) housing and entertainment to many students. That makes this area busy and filled with life around the clock. Dozens of pubs, clubs, super markets, and trendy stores line the Rathmines road, countless eateries make sure that the post-drinking munchies are always cared for.

The Irish cuisine isn't famous, and looking at some of the traditional dishes (that almost always include potatoes), it's not a surprise that it isn't. However, luckily the Irish have experiences a huge influx of people from all cultures and backgrounds, which in turn has brought a tremendous variety of food to the city. And to my utmost delight Indian food is right there at the forefront of universal availability. Chicken Tikka Masala seems to be a national favorite, and I have already had the chance to sample various versions of this dish that I have grown so fond of since my days in Seattle. Without doubt the best I have had so far comes from ....... And not only will they make you freshest take away food, they also offer freshly chilled and frozen food that you can just pick up and eat later. However, what's the most fascinating to me is that you can even buy Tikka Masala sauce in normal grocery stores at every corner - it's that common. In your face, Chutney's Wallingford! I'm sure when Nate and Anne come and visit me next month I'll make sure they get some Tikka Masala as well!

I have gotten used to driving on the left side of the road pretty well now, and I think the cars parked on the side of the road are in much less danger of getting their rear view mirrors shaved off by me (although I'm sure that I'm not the only one who thinks it's hard to judge how much room there is on the left - every day on my way to work I see plenty of parked cars with mirrors dangling by the wires of the adjustment motors).

Now that I'm not totally focused on driving but get the chance of taking in the envinronment while cruising around, I noticed the giant billboards for the weapons amnesty that comes to an end this October. I followed the link www.weaponsamnesty.com - expecting that maybe it's in relation to the disarmament of the IRA (albeit that was Northern Ireland) - but it turns out that a new weapon legislation is being introduced, which will provide harsh minimum sentences for posession of illegal firearms. Thank god I turned in my Heckler&Koch in Seattle already!

A quite exciting change between my last workplace for MSFT in Redmond and here is that they have vending machines in the restrooms, and neatly stacked between the different flavors of chewing gum, are the different flavors of condoms in the same machine. Now that makes you wonder what prompted them to put those up in the first place! Too many pregnancy leaves that drove up the personnel cost? Should the Irish be really such hot blooded spontaneous people? I might have misjudged them so far.

Baile Átha Cliath

Even the best things come to an end at some time. It's been almost 9 months to the day that I left Microsoft and Seattle on a cold Saturday morning in January. My travels took me to the tropical heats of Costa Rica, the gorgeous women and wines of Argentina, the rugged wilderness of Patagonia, the birthplace of Moon and Sun in Bolivia, and the mysterious marks of civilizations long gone in Macchu Picchu and Nazca. I spent some time with my family and new family members, and had the chance to catch up with old friends.... but all good things have to come to an end some time.

Since Monday I am once again what's generally considered "gainfully employed" - and it's all new and very familiar at the same time. The reason it's all new is that I'm now living in Dublin, the capital of Ireland. A country I've heard a lot about, but until my job interview never had visited before. The reason it's very familiar, is that I'm once again working as a Program Manager for Microsoft Office - I even got my old email alias back!

In order to make relocating over here easier, my company is doing a lot for me: They picked me up right at the airport, for the first month I have temporary housing in a hotel in Rathmines (just 15 from the city center on foot), a rental car (with the steering wheel on the wrong side), and they even take care of taking all my stuff (which is still packed up from the US anyways) and bringing it to my new place in Dublin ... provided I'll find one in the next 4 weeks that is.

My first impressions of Ireland are great so far! It's not only that there is a pub at every corner, but I love the feeling of actually living in a city again - the streets are full with pedestrians at night, the stores stay open late, and the weather hasn't been terrible yet either. With a bit of luck I have already found my new place: It's a small mews in Ranelagh, located in a great neighborhood in walking distance of parks, shops, bars. Mews used to be the horse houses in the back alleys of the rich family homes. They have generally about the sizes of small townhouses, and are a unique Irish type of accomodation. The one I am interested in isn't officially on the market yet, but the real estate agent that Irish Relocation Services provided to help me find a new home seems to have an "in" with the landlord, so if things go well I'll post some pictures of my home-to-be soon!