I found the craic

I spent most of yesterday sending out resume after resume, up until about 3:00, when a) my internet time ran out, and b) I got sick of it.

I didn't have a clue what to do for the rest of the day though; no work to do, no friends to see. I turned to my trusty Lonely Planet guide, which includes some self-guided walking tours around Dublin. I should get some touristy stuff done before work starts taking over my life, no? So I set off to do some sightseeing - but I didn't get far. I hadn't reckoned on the legendary friendliness of the Irish people. No sooner had I spotted the first sight of my tour (some big ol' church) than a lovely old Irish gent said hello to me. I said hello back and we got to talking. He told me some lovely Gaelic poems (in English) and I told him about my travels.

After a while (being Irish and all) he invited me down to the pub on the corner for a pint. So we sat and chatted over a Guinness (my first in Ireland, and might I say it's a damn sight better here) and he told me about being a shipbuilder, and fighting in the IRA, and about meeting the love of his life. Sean Halpin, his name is. We were soon joined by another random bloke who was sitting at the bar, and the three of us were chatting away like old friends. When we parted ways, Sean showed me a secret IRA hideout where he and his mates used to live back when they were "fighting the British".

This is what comes of actually taking the time to say hello to someone, instead of walking by in a great big hurry like I would normally do (granted, it's not often I don't have anything else to do other than chat to strangers). Add a little Irish warm-heartedness and you have a very pleasant afternoon.