Wednesday, 13-August-2025
Regardless of job hunt stress, general frustration, or chaos… it’s important to get dressed up for date nights and cook a fancy meal. At least every so often… such as monthly, when Andrea and I celebrate our month-versary.
Wednesday, 13-August-2025
It was a hot August day, and I was going to get some adventure in whether the Universe wanted me to or not.
The plan had originally been to hike Ben Bulben – rent a car, traipse out to the West Coast of Ireland, and leverage the long summer days to get me all the sunlight that I’d need to summit, then return home.
Unfortunately, that plan got waylaid – My car rental app thing required a re-registration, and had cancelled itself on me. I submitted it, of course, but it’d be a 7-day+ waiting period to get it approved… and in the mean time, no cars for Ben.
Instead, I packed a lunch, some water and some coffee, and hopped on the bike to explore Phoenix Park. It wasn’t ideal, to be sure, since I couldn’t listen to music while cycling, and I couldn’t watch the Midlands flash by as I made my way to the West, but… you know what?
Sometimes, we iterate.
Sometimes, we do the best we can, regardless of what happens.
And sometimes, we get to photograph semi-domesticated deer populations in a massive in-city walled park.
sTuesday, 12-August-2025
As an unemployed post-graduate with an MBA, networking seems to be the name of the game.
I’d been applying online, of course, but Ireland seemed to be focused on talking with people. Getting to chat, getting to know them, and then being introduced to the next person who would be worth chatting with.
To give voice to my frustration – it felt very similar to what I called “The Collins Shuffle” from my last job. That dance you’d follow where one person would send you to another, who would send you to another, and on and on in perpetuity… always one step away, until you end up right back where you started with no new information, leads, or opportunities… except for the time spent dancing the shuffle.
On the good side, though, it did give opportunity to branch out of town, see the seaside, and get to have a coffee with some interesting people in a lovely town I may never have otherwise have seen.
And lunch with some lovely birds (literally, flying buggers) who I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to photograph.
We’ll see. Only time can tell what the best way to find engineering roles here in Ireland is… but as of yet, time has been keeping its lips tightly sealed.