Since I had been working so late this whole week in Ireland ... there was an understanding that Friday would be a day to "rest up" ... and that means you can come in a bit late. Since my night ended so "early" I didn't make it into the office until around 11am ... and even that was pushing it as my head was pounding. I did a little bit of work and then it was off to lunch around 12:30.
As a celebration for completing the project Deirdre - the manager of my counterparts in Ireland - took the group (including Brian, Caoimhe, Karen, and me) out to lunch at a lovely restaurant in Leixlip (can't remember the name!). They were serving all kinds of meat ... and I chose to sample the Salmon, which was an outstanding choice ... very fresh. The meal included 2 types of potatoes (mashed and roasted) as well as stir-fried veggies ... it was a feast for a hang-over to be sure. As a gesture of thanks, the group that I worked with in Ireland purchased 2 books for both Brian and myself as well as thank you cards. This was a very thoughtful way to say thanks, and to give me a little piece of Ireland to take home.
After lunch it was back to the office to get in a few hours of work ... catching up on email ... talking to the family back home ... planning the weekend's activities ... all the important stuffs.
When the work day was done, I was invited to visit with the only person that was missing from our original "team of 4" from Oregon ... Michael. He provided directions to get from Intel to his house ... and of course ... it being Ireland ... there really wasn't any street names ... just a lot of turn here, then turn at this town, etc. Needless to say ... it only took me 2 U-turns and 30 minutes to find his house. It was wonderful to see Michael and his family again ... they were just blessed with an addition to the family (about 3 months old). After a few hours of visiting ... it was decision time.
Do I go "out" ... or go back to the hotel and get some sleep. Stupid question ... when is the next time I'll be in Dublin on a Friday night? I dropped the car off at the hotel and proceeded to walk to the pub where there was another going away party for another person that works at Intel (don't ask me ... seems like a good place to work?!). The pub was called O'Reilly's and is located underneath an elevated train station in Dublin. The place was very busy, and VERY loud ... and apparently for me ... very difficult to find. I wandered around Dublin looking for this pub for about 30 minutes more than I should have ... but eventually found it ... and then it took me two times thru the place (no, it's not that big) to find my party. It was a low key evening with a few pints, some great conversation, and a relatively early knock off time of midnight. I was in bed by 1:00am for some much needed rest.
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