It's been One week

Just 38 minutes ago (at the time of writing this) I finished my second full day in the office. Neither of those two days were "normal" on account of injuries, unforeseeable and potentially problematic complications with the university (where the church holds sunday services), and travels etc. Normally, apparently, everyone gets in a 9am, works. Gets together for tea at 11 for about half an hour, works. Takes an hour break for lunch at 1, then works until 5, and promptly goes home.

Not so for the first two days. Both days, I didn't even get to the end of coffee/tea/toast time until nearly 11am, at which time I either heard or thought about what I would with the rest of the day or year. And both days I spent only a few hours doing actual work and it was only today that I was able to report actual activity and a (miniscule) product! So goes the beginning stages of any job, I suppose. And possible all future stages of church jobs (so I hear). What did I do? I called a bunch of people to invite them to a function. At any rate, I like it so far. I work with good people in a tilty, drafty sort of office (yet well-heated with portable radiators) which sits on top of a seafood restaurant in Portstewart.





Home

So that's the job. More on the living situation: my house and roommate are really great. The house is lovely little townhouse, of which there are pictures on the picture page. And I like my room, and the living room has good lighting and it always smells nice because Liane is so smart, she has sachets on all the radiators so everything smells cinnamon-y. She also uses incense, which is also nice and I always forget how much I like incense. The living room is pleasant to be in and read in and Liane and I do a lot of reading. It has the same ambiance as my lamp with the lampshade I painted, which you may have seen, with deep reds and tan and brown colours, which has yet to transfer well into photo form. We're the house with the red door.


On that note, I'm trying to spell words in a way that is appropriate to my location--you may have noticed. Anyway, Liane, besides her good taste and intelligent design (in room decor, that is), is an entirely pleasant person. She's really sweet, still, even after a whole week. By the way, it was Adam who said that Irish people are charming, and I've decided I agree. Except I asked one guy, I think it was Dave, "so you're Irish" because he said he was from Belfast. But he sort of looked at another of the locals and said, "Hmm, are we Irish? Are we British? I don't know." And so it goes. Whatever they're called up here in Northern Ireland, they are pleasant.

Anyway, Liane and I share a general propensity to buy the cheapest thing at the store, as grocery store sales can be quite outrageous and some people are really into it. Supposedly, someone at church got a bag of decent bagels (5, or 6, I don't know) for 15p, which is approximately 30 cents. It depends on the day, time of day, and place you go, I guess. Hopefully I can acquire a skill for it quickly. By the way, most small shops are closed on Sundays, and after 6pm. Even the local coffee shop closes; $7/cup Starbucks stays open.





Coleraine

Besides work, and home, there's the town. I visited the Coleraine Library only to discover the only real literature that's findable is by W.B. Yeats (you'd like he was the only famous Irish writer, it's the most common topic following my answer, "I studied English Literature") and a biography of/response to Iris Murdoch. I did find Anna Ahkmatova's poetry, which was a surprise to me, and a little bit funny since she is one the few poets whose poems I don't need to reread. All in all it was a crappy library, which is disappointing not only because it's the only public library, but also because it's a neat shape, and right now the town centre and I would have enjoyed going there often. I am going to try out the University library, or else I'll just be reading christian books and borrowed books for the next year. There is a book store, but I haven't checked the prices yet -- it's bound to be outrageous (ha! bound!).



I think I like Coleraine, the capital of the Causeway Coast. It's friendly , so far. I think Christmas will be fun. Seems like the town makes quite a fuss about it. There is a ceremony, complete with fireworks, on Friday night to celebrate the turning on of the lights in the Diamond (the town centre), and soon and until New Years, many of the shops will be extending their hours way past the normal times--all the way to 9pm.