Tag Archives: United States

Jun19

Thanksgiving in New England – The flights out

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Thanksgiving! Last year, Thanksgiving was a bit too busy for me to fly back to the United States… classes, and general insanity, conspired to keep me in Dublin. Which, frankly, was a perfectly lovely time with friends and classmates. 2025, however, had none of those challenges… and thus, saw Andrea and I winging our way to New England for a well-deserved holiday…

Sunday, 23-Nov-2025

Flying is one of those really fun things for me. I adore the calmness once you’re in the airport… it’s magical time, to me, where I can really focus in and get things done.

This time was no exception. Flying from Dublin to Boston is simple and easy, thanks to TSA being on this side of the pond (probably due to the sheer volume of Americans coming back here), so it’s clean, it’s simple, and it’s a beautifully quiet spot.

May19

Flying to Nuuk, Greenland

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Wednesday, 01-May-2024, and Thursday, 02-May-2024

I was on my way.

Flying out on an adventure is always an interesting one, to me. It’s so simple – you check any bags, you walk through security, and then you sit in a seat for a while. Then when you get up, you’re somewhere else – Maybe partway across the state, or maybe halfway around the world.


I hopped on the flight in Portland, stopped in Seattle and Reykjavik, and then I was in Greenland.

I sat by the window on each leg, making a point to focus on looking out and maintaining that sense of wonder that you have the first time you fly. The sense of scale, and speed, and movement… I mean, I’m pretty sure that 100 years ago there weren’t any planes flying at 37,000ft, or cruising at around 530 mph.

It was lovely; not too much else to say, except that the food in Seattle was horrible (don’t get the mac and cheese, it’s just poorly microwaved ziti), and the Icelandic Hotdogs were delicious (They had mustard and… a peanut butter flavored condiment?).

May12

The process of leaving – Part 9

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April, 2024

Closing out the store is almost like a ritual. Shut off the lights, shut down the equipment, sweep the floors and clean the counters, and lock the doors.

Closing out my apartment was a bit less of a ritual, but it felt a bit more somber.


I took it slow and steady, as I’ve done with pretty much everything else in preparation for this trip. I packed my things. I cleaned as I went. The international movers came, and took my most important things with them. My friend and I rented a uHaul, and took everything that I was going to sell out from the apartment. I brought the remaining middle-ground things to the storage unit. Lastly, the disposal folks came by and we threw out everything remaining.

I went through each utility, line by line. I called, cancelled, and told them that I was moving internationally and wouldn’t be able to transfer service. It went smoothly, and kept me busy enough that (for the most part) I was able to focus on the tasks at hand.

It was emotional in between the tasks.

I’ve mentioned, but seeing my home turn into a generic apartment was really tough on me. The photos coming down was the hardest part, and lasted the longest, but that didn’t mean the rest were any easier. I rode the emotions as best I could, keeping my to-do list in mind and making sure to grind through it as best I could… while liberally reaching out to friends and family when I started to sink into deep sadness.

Friends and family helped a lot – when going through emotionally tumultuous times, I absolutely reach out to the life rafts around me.

What else to say about this?

I cancelled the utilities one by one. I worked with the apartment management company to ensure everything went smoothly, thanking everyone profusely for the amazing home they’d helped me maintain for these 3 years and 11 months. I was friendly and grateful, and in turn they helped me make sure everything went smoothly… and even helped me ensure I didn’t get caught in a few common traps that they knew people oft-times would.

I’m sure I missed one or two things, but I’m cautiously optimistic that they won’t be too challenging to fix on the road. Time will tell, but I can cleanly say that I felt a strong wave of closure and loss when I locked that door and gave away the key for the last time… but that sadness was strongly flavored with optimism and hope for the next grand adventure.