Living the other side of the world: 05/08/2011 1356

Okay, I've got to be honest. I feel like a little bit of a complete and total retard now... and I mean that in the gentlest sense of the word. I am a 33 y/o woman and every time I see a TV, child, car, or store front, I giggle like a 5 y/o. I don't remember what to do with such things!
Okay, let me rewind a bit. I've been out of touch for quite sometime. My name is Dana. I haven't changed. If you're reading this, you likely know me. It's all good. Enough of that.
So I got to Dublin day before yesterday. When I made it to the hotel, I was sufficiently frustrated and angry. It took forever and a day not only to find the right bus but also to find the hotel. But I finally made it, I'm happy to report. My first hotel/vacation-related order of business was a shower and it was spectacular. I think it lasted at least 30 minutes. No shoes, no slime, no turning the water off in between sudsing and soaping. Sheer paradise, I tell ya! I went down to the bar and had a drink (or 4) and my first real meal. Aaaahhhhh.... Spectacular :) Spicy beef sandwich. Basil. Watercress. Cheese. Real cheese. All sorts of deliciousness that I don't get in my Afghanistan paradise. It was wonderful. I met a local who gave me a lot of good information. Truth be told, after watching him as he spoke, I have a sneaky suspicion that he and I might be related. No joke. His expressions varied between my dad's and my grandpa's. It was bizarre to say the least. I'm going to have to get a picture of him to show the fam. Uncanny. Anyway, I wanted to stay up late but could not. I was almost falling asleep mid-sentence on Skype. Not pretty. So I crashed and slept for somewhere around 9 or 10 hours. It was nice. Yesterday wasn't too pretty either. I was lacking motivation to do much of anything. Breakfast was overpriced and not worth it. I took a nap, went back down to the bar for another round of 3 Guinnesses, and then sent out to find food. Mexican food to be exact. Of all the places I found, that looked absolutely delicious, a burrito the size of my face was the winner. Came back and relaxed again, more movie, a bath even!
Didn't get all the sleep I wanted to last night but I still feel vastly better today. I swam, hit the sauna and jacuzzi, and had wine. And more beer. And I'm out exploring a bit. Hit up the pub/restaurant at the end of the corner where the hotel is. I just consumed a beer (Smithwick, which, for the record, is infinitely better on tap than from a bottle), garlic bread with cheese, and garlic fried mushrooms. Um, yum! So this is what it's like to feel human! I almost forgot.
From here, I plan to head to the nearby shopping center to do some shopping and look into my tattoo. Defnitely looking forward to that.
I just met a nice gentleman named Robin. I do believe he's currently teasing me for being such a writer. Yes, I'm sitting at a bar writing. He actually just came over to ask if I'm writing about him yet. Might as well give him a place here, right? I realized that people are a lot nicer (the typical Ireland friendly that everybody talks about) behind closed doors than they are on the streets. I suppose on the streets everyone is going somewhere. In restuarants and pubs, they're just chilling, chatting, watching a game... If they're anything like me, watching people. Europeans are such a fascinating sort to me. As are Brits. And there is a very large amount of both here, which really appeals to my love of observing people. I started off sort of slow, but I'm pretty sure I'll have a good time here. If nothing else, I'll get to watch a HUGE amount of people.
Alright, signing off for a bit so I can go spend money on things I don't necessarily need. Hmm, I've sorta missed that too!

Ooh, before I go, my pictures!