Get online!

A project that I have been working on for months at work FINALLY launched yesterday- Getting Irish Business Online!  It's a great initiative that helps small to medium businesses get online for free. We had a launch event yesterday, and guess who showed up?

My new BFF! Enda Kenny the Taoiseach of Ireland.  

If you have or know of people who own a business and are looking for help to sign up and receive a free website, definitely check out the Getting Irish Business Online website! 

Expoloring Dublin

So I've been here over a year now and yesterday was the first time I actually walked around Trinity's campus. Slacker!

We had a team event yesterday which was a fun crime scene treasure hunt. I felt very Jack Bauer receiving all these clues through our phones and in random places around the city. We scoured Dublin for the "criminal" and in the process I got to see some sights that I usually just walk past quickly to get to my next pint (kidding, well, kind of).

Additionally, we had ANOTHER celebrity sighting. Six members of the rugby team were having dinner at the Exchequer pub downtown. I recognised only a couple of them (Tommy Bowe, Paul O'Connell and Ronan O'Gara).

After we solved the crime, the team (that's us, not the Rugby team) headed over to Messer Maguires for some pints. (It always goes back to the pints!)

All hail the (ex) chief

We had a special guest in the office today... Mary Robinson, first FEMALE president of Ireland.

There was a Q&A session and she was great although, you could tell she was a politician by the way she answered her questions - bringing it always back to issues that she cared about. Still, it was great to see the former president of Ireland and hear her perspectives on a variety of topics including global warming, the EU and my favorite, work-life balance!

Dublin Celebrity Sightings

Saturday morning I woke up early to catch my flight to London for a girly shopping trip. As I walked into the airport, I heard children singing. Random, right? So I walked over to where I heard the singing (arrivals gate) and saw MASSIVES of teenage girls holding signs for....JEDWARD.

In case you have been living under a rock- or not in Ireland :)- Jedward are two talentless but lovable twins who were contestants on the X-Factor. This would be the US equivalent of running into Adam Lambert. The girls were singing JedWard's "Hit" song - Under Pressure which is indeed a remake of David Bowie's song with the Vanilla Ice's twist. err... Yes I do have it on my ipod. For shame!

I waited a bit since I was there early and managed to get a glimpse of them. They are ridiculous! ;) They came out of arrivals jumping up and down like they do on the X Factor and one even did a cartwheel before they got mobbed by fans. Fun fun!

Here's the best shot I could get with my camera. Their hair is actually about 5 inches high. Impressive! Can you spot one of them in this picture? It's kind of hard to see, so I thought I would help you out.



I texted BF to let him know because last time he was at the airport he sat next to Colm Meaney, a popular Irish actor and JedWard certainly beats Colm Meaney.

But then, on Sunday I got a text from BF that he ran into Paul O'Connell at the G-Star store in Dundrum shopping center. Paul is a member of the Irish Rugby team who played this week in the Six Nations Rugby Tournament. BF said he looked the worse for wear from the match and was a bit bruised in the face. Poor guy! BF also said he is MASSIVE. He was trying on some shirt, and it was a bit too tight. He asked for a larger size and the store associate said that unfortunately they did not carry the shirt in XXX-L. EKKS! BIG! Also some insight into the Irish rugby team, apparently G-Star, the jean brand, is popular with the rugby team since they can fit their muscle-y thighs into them. If you're looking to spot one, perhaps hang out in the Dundrum shop?