Obamania

I've spent the last 3 days of this week being congratulated by one person after another on my new president. My only response is, "he's not my president!" There aren't too many people with whom I can have an engaging conversation at work. On Monday one of the doctors was saying she loves Obama and thinks he'll be the best thing to ever happen to America. When asked why, what makes him great, I got the same answer I seem to get from everyone over here. "He's brilliant, such an eloquent speaker, gives people hope." While I don't argue with the fact that effective leadership involves intelligence, powerful oration and the ability to motivate and inspire I think the fact that to what end that leader may direct us is infinitely more important. That question never gets answered over here.

The infatuation may be short lived. The front page of Thursday's paper reported of the upwards of 100,000 jobs that could be lost in Ireland when Obama's tax plan takes effect. Currently, companies the operate over-seas receive tax breaks but Obama wants to bring jobs home and plans to make it fiscally impossible for companies to continue operating over-seas. This will not only effect American economics as companies will not be able to afford the labor force it currently employs and will consequently suffer losses in productivity but the economies of some of the poorest countries where the majority of employment is via American contracting. Think of India where AOL, DELL and other technical support is routed through. It would be a devastation from which those people could not recover. And if you think tech support is bad now then wait until you have a 2 hour que on the phone because of the cuts in personal. That is just one example and probably not even the best one.

On a side note. Dana's been talking to a lot of foreigners trying to learn English and met some Iranians. To her shock they told her that they love George W. Bush and where hoping McCain would be elected because they thought he'd be like Bush. They said all the Iranian people loved Bush. Funny, that's not what you here on BBC or CNN.

Barcelona

I've been trying to find a new site to host our slide shows so I've been delayed in posting my Barcelona pics. Barca is visually very stunning. The city is known as much for its architecture as anything else. The famous architect Gaudi designed and built a number of buildings around town and then started the Gaudi Cathedral called Sagrada Familia. He died before it was finished and the city has employed builders and artists to finish this mammoth cathedral. It is very odd because each part is different because it has been designed by different people. It is hard to get a feel for that through pictures but take my word for it...it's weird! Some pictures of his other buildings are included as well and hopefully you can get an idea of the odd shapes and designs he employed.

Barca is all about shopping. Paris is the only city that compares. The main pedestrian street La Ramblas was covered with street performers and shops. The food was quite good and we found some good tapas and paella. The best part was the weather! Shorts and T-shirts everyday. So nice!

We took a cable car ride, saw an old Catalan castle and strolled down the harbour. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

Closure

As you've probably seen on Dana's blog we just got back from Manchester for a weekend in which I received my final certification to practice in the U.K. and Ireland. I've spent the last year working toward all my post grad certs and now the pressure is finally off. I have to admit that all my hard work went into my American board exams and fortunately it paid off for my GB and Ireland exams as well. Manchester was a cool city. We pretty much love everywhere we go in the UK. It is odd how it can have such a different feel than Ireland when they are so close, but hey, look at Florida and Mississippi!
What Dana said of the bittersweet feelings about Ireland is true. I feel like this is home (especially when we've been travelling so much) and now the thought of leaving brings mixed emotions. My interview is set for November 19th and Dana has managed to tell everyone except her family so for all of you who know the secret location...DON'T TELL!!

Cha..Cha...Chili's!

It is amazing what you appreciate when you are away from home for so long. We just discovered that Chili's (yes the chain) has a restaurant newly opened in Belfast. That was last weekend, and today we went. Yes we drove 110 miles to eat at Chili's. That's not all...3 other people also made the trip and 3 others living in the North met us there. They had all been to Chili's in the States during a missions trip and once we found out there was one within driving distance we organized and went! It was amazing and exactly like home...including the service (which is quite novel in Ireland). Well, that's our current excitement.

Scotland...again

We made trip number 2 to Scotland to visit Edinburgh and travel North to Loch Ness and Inverness. We got to see a lot of the Highlands which is a beautiful unique landscape. You may be shocked by what you see in some of our Loch Ness photos. I'm working on selling them on eBay as we speak!

Bordeaux

I've had some trouble with uploading our videos but finally here is Bordeaux. This is one of the areas of France I wanted to visit the most. We flew into La Rochelle and took a 2 1/2 hour train ride inland to Bordeaux. I didn't realize that Bordeaux was the 5th largest city in France but with all of its grand architecture and populace it didn't have the busy feeling you get from most big cities. The French people there were much friendlier than those in Paris as well. We took an amazing wine tour while we were there. The city existed simply as a wine producing region full of chateaus with owners, buyers, workers and sellers of wine. We started off in an old chateau that has been converted into a museum. We learned about the history of the region as well as how wine is produced, aged and stored. That ended with a wine tasting of a white and red wine from the region. We then walked through the area where the many of the chateau owners and buyers lived, many of which are still owned as family estates in the heart of the city. We then had lunch at this little whole in the wall place that you would never find out on your own. We had an excellent meal, lots of wine and access to a cheese room (see photos) with over 150 type of cheese some of which were mold city! We then went out to the region of Saint Emilion, the oldest vineyard region in the area. We took a tour of a working chateau complete with a wine tasting. Bordeaux is a must for wine lovers in my opinion. It was a great trip and now instead of rambling on any longer I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Restocking

My mom is here and she brought with her some goodies! Here are some of my favorites.

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 1 year anniversary in Ireland. It is a strange thought because it feels like yesterday that we packed up our lives and moved out here and yet it seems like we've been here a lot longer than a year. When we decided to move we wanted to take in as much of Europe as we could and below is a map of where we've been this past year. We'll be adding 2 and possibly 3 more locations before the New Year. There are so many places to go and see that we have no plans of slowing down. Next year we hope to visit Northern Africa, Maldives, Greece, Israel and hopefully more of Europe. If any of that sounds good let us know and we'll be glad to coordinate!


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From here to there

For those of you we haven't talked to real recently and who don't religiously check my calendar we have a few trips coming up. They're kind of in rapid succession. Next week we're back to France this time exploring the famous wine region of Bordeaux with a day at La Rochelle which is supposed to be beautiful. Next we're going back to Edinburgh with my Mom. If you've ever been there you'll know why there wasn't any arm twisting to get us to visit again. In October we are going to visit another famous port city, this time in Spain! Barcelona will complete our "planned" European trips for the year but there is a chance we'll get to Copenhagen in November if I get to go to a work conference there. That's life here as we know it.

America the beautiful

Pete has made an excellent and maybe somewhat over-looked point. America, with all its faults, is still the greatest country in the world and I'm still proud to call it mine. We have privileges and rights other countries fear and envy. Russia is in the news again for being everything that America is not. Thank God for that! I think we all wish America would return to the original ideals that founded it and maybe someday it will be completely unrecognizable. For the time being bring on the compliments and criticism allowed by our great constitution.

Song of the week

Here is a new song. It is a cover by the New Frontiers. It isn't sophisticated technically or lyrically but it has something appealing about it. Hope you like.

NewFrontiers- Look...

Damage control

They say you should never discuss religion or politics amongst friends, however I think we're all friendly enough to avoid being butt-hurt.

First, I think Obama will be a good leader some day if he completely changes every view he holds. He lives in an anti-white, anti-capitalist "Utopia" that is frankly...dangerous. Can you really believe that the pastor he had been relying on for guidance and truth suddenly fell off the deep end and started preaching America the white devil for the first time in 20years? Sounds a little familiar...like something that comes out of extremist mosques all over the world. He actually has a Che Guevara flag in one of his campaign offices...a revolutionary??? Try another mass murdering communist.

Ryan, the "Hitler vs Stalin" comparison is hardly applicable and all though I don't think Ron Paul is completely wack (although I'll NEVER respect a man that believes 9/11 was our fault...we can get into a "man is responsible for his own actions"/"terrorists simply want to terrorize and send the world back into the 7th century where fear rules") I know he will not win the election. Do you really think that economically and socially the country will be in the same place regardless of who gets elected? I tend to agree that the president has relatively little power compared with congress and the judicial system. McCain actually hit it on the head when he said that one of the greatest weapons of the U.S. president is the bully pulpit and I believe he will stand up and say what needs to be said to leaders around the world while Obama will studder along with no conviction. The rest may be up for grabs.

As a side note, the U.S. is not a welfare state. Not yet anyway, and you had better hope that the socialism that is preached by liberal democrats (like Obama) never comes to be. I have seen some of the real evil that sneaks in with all the government control over every aspect of society. Ryan, I hope you're wrong about America being lost...but I wouldn't bet on it.

McCain

Last night we watched the McCain v Obama interview at Saddleback. I was a little worried before watching it that I would be even more skeptical about McCain but it turned out to be quite the opposite. Obama looked like a lost puppy about to be run over by a freight train every time he was asked a question. To be honest I'm not sure he completely answered any question that was posed to him relying on his rhetoric to get him through the interview. I mean, when asked who is one of the three wisest people he knows that he would rely heavily on in his administration, Obama actually said his grandmother...seriously. McCain on the other hand had answers so fast that Rick Warren didn't have time to complete the question on many occasions. I particularly liked McCain's stand on taxes, drilling for oil and greater school choice. McCain also has a little something called a sense of humor (see the bear DNA joke...really funny!) I did find a sound bite that should convince you to vote for McCain if all those other reasons fail. See below.

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U.S.A.

This may be the most amazing swim in Olympic history. What makes it better is that the anchor swimmer for France guaranteed they would "smash" the Americans. I don't know if you've seen this (I don't know how you could have missed it by now), but just in case.

...more Germany

More from our latest expedition to Germany. These are just some various sites we saw and some pictures from inside a couple of the castles that we were able to tour. As most of you know we ended our trip in Mainz which just happened to be holding a beer festival. I mean, what's a visit to Germany without a beer festival??...am I right? Hopefully you are getting excited about seeing Germany because you might just be able to twist our arms to go back.

Castles and fairytales

We are back from Germany and here is my first slide show. We took so many pictures it was hard to narrow down what I wanted to show so I think I'll just keep making slide shows until I run out of good pictures! This was from our trip down the Rhine river. I tried to keep everything in order and added some shots from the river side towns and vineyards along with the castles of course. Dana usually does a better job of describing our trips so I'll let you read her account of our weekend. I'll just say that this part of Germany was beautiful. I always think of it as part of the old Eastern European block with its impoverished, war ravaged buildings and cities. From what I've seen of cities like Berlin and Munich I'm sure that impression would be somewhat reinforced but the Rhine river valley is fairytale Germany. We enjoyed touring some of the castles (we have 16 more for anyone that wants to join us!), enjoyed the small villages, relaxed on the cruise and even took in a beer festival! Wunderbar! Hope you enjoy the pictures.

For Mother Nancy

Sorry about the delay! Here is Ray Lamontagne who's music I have been a fan of for the last couple of years. He doesn't get a lot of play time but he is quite a good singer songwriter.

The Bourne Disappearance

As the charade that is the Zimbabwe elections now enters the "counting" phase I have one question...where is Jason Bourne? Mugabe has proven himself to be nothing more than a junkyard dog ready to rip the flesh from anyone he deems an intruder into his world of power and money. There are nearly constant news images of opposition supporters who have been tortured or slaughtered for having the courage to stand up for democracy and yet the West has done nothing. Gordon Brown has threatened to ban the Zimbabwe cricket team from play in Britain and has had talks with Tesco, a major food chain, to stop selling to the country demonstrating the stark contrast with his predecessor's action over talk policies. The U.S. is no doubt caught in a catch 22over the international anti-violence/anti-action stance all the while calling on America to "do something." I want to know where Jason Bourne has been all these months. Surely Mugabe can simply have an accident or be killed by a member of his own staff right? So Jason if you're listening, the people of Zimbabwe need you.

Song(s) of the Week

This song of the week is more like artist of the week, but there are 2 artists. Really it's just play whatever I want of the week. As you know we saw Clapton last weekend (awesome!) so here are a couple of songs he played as tribute to that great event. Also included are 2 songs off the new Augustana album. I really like these guys as they fit neatly into my taste of solemn pseudo-indi rock or something like that. They have a good sound. You can preview their entire album on their website here and if you order on iTunes you get a free acoustic version of Sweet and Low.

Age old problem

I'm under the impression that I've hit another milestone (30 years on Earth) and since I've looked 30 for some time now and I'll probably never act it, I figure now is as good a time as any. I think middle age is now 40 so at least I'm not included in that label yet but I will admit that I already miss being 20 something. This is turning out to be quite an event over here though. My boss took us out to eat at a restaurant her nephew is the head chef at and included are some crude cell phone pictures we took. Mine is a rib eye with ox cheek won-tons, mashed potatoes and breaded broccoli. I had a tomato salad with rare South American tomatoes that are only produced by some Dutch company now. Dana had a stuffed chicken with sweet potatoes. The desert picture is of a pineapple parfait with a sort of honey lace decor on top of it. I actually tried black pudding and sting ray. I can now turn down black pudding as an experienced taster but the ray was surprisingly good. It was quality and presentation rolled into one. Felicimo!

Dana has gotten me amongst many other things, a trip to Portugal to watch one of the Portugal World Cup qualifying games at the end of the summer and a chance to see one of the world's best players Cristiano Ronaldo in person! We planned for my birthday some time ago to see Eric Clapton who played last night at Malahide Castle. The weather was menacing for the first part of the night but cleared to make a beautiful evening. Clapton mixed some classics in with his new songs and it was a pleasure to watch one of the music legends live. Here is another very crude phone video which won't do it justice.


Thanks to everyone for their cards and gifts. I only wish that I could have received them in person.

For my one and only

I've counted and we've been to 8 countries in the 10 months we've been here. That's not too bad! We've seen Edinburgh castle, the Colosseum, Eiffel Tower and Big Ben to name a few of the great sites. I've come to believe that what makes it all special is not where I've been and what I've seen but who I was able to share it with. All of these places have been unforgettable and what has made it so is my travel partner. So I wanted to pay her a little tribute and thank her for sharing this great adventure with me...plus tell her I love her along the way.

Turks!

We've been back from Turkey a few days now and after processing the trip and trying to tell everyone how my holiday was I think I've figured out what the trip was all about. I originally wanted to go to Greece this summer as a birthday gift to myself but after deliberation and concurrence with Ryan and Yunuen we decided on Western Turkey. I have to admit that I didn't know much about what I was getting into and I was a little scared of being an American in a predominantly Muslim country.

Kusadasi is a tourist town for lack of a better description on the West coast. It is near to a number of the ancient cities such as Ephesus, Didyma and Priene to name a few. While in town you are accosted by shop workers trying anything (especially the question, "where you from?") to start a conversation with you and get you into their stores. We talked to a few Turks who explained the situation to us which is basically that they work in Kusadasi for 6 months during "high" season around 15 hours/day, 7 days/week. Once you get the hang of just walking down the street you get a chance to talk to a few of them. Yusuf is the owner of a hookah bar near the bus pick up in town that we spent almost every night with. He was one of the nicest people we met, always with a smile and he even put American service to shame. Med was another young man who worked at our hotel and had brain teasers for us every time we saw him. Yunuen jokingly said we have more friends in Turkey than in Ireland and sadly, at least for a week, that was true.

We saw a number of great sites, my favorite being the library at Ephesus. We spent time on the beach and even took a boat cruise for a day. Really the trip meant a lot to me for several reasons. Obviously having Ryan and Yunuen along made it a lot more fun. Ryan and I smoked more cigars that week than I had the six months prior! I also learned to be weary of presuppositions about other people. The Turks were some of the friendlies most welcoming people we've met and I would have never gone if my travel companions hadn't wanted to go. That would have been a shame on a number of levels, but mostly because I wouldn't have learned this one valuable lesson. Surely Eastern Turkey would have been a different experience (or so I assume)...well, I guess it's a lesson that I'm "learning."

Song of the Week

This is turning into more like the song of the month so I'll try to be more consistent. The Kaiser Chiefs are probably over played now in the States but it is still a fun song to listen to.

Ruby

kaiserchiefs_ruby_...

Irish Flat #2

We are finally ready to post some pictures of our new flat. We are actually "sorted" and the place is feeling like home. We've loads more space and an extra bedroom (hint, hint). We are the top floor of a 4 story building which gives us a lot of light (2 skylights) and windows galore and a sweet view off our balcony. Green/blue carpet (not so good) is one of the drawbacks but we have a bike shed and quiet streets. We could hear the Springsteen concert the last couple of nights which was pretty cool. The cats are...well, cats and don't need much encouragement to settle in. Hopefully the calendar will fill up with visitors. See you soon.

Cambridge

We just got back from a few days with the Brits. I took what may be my last written exam...ever! I won't have any scores for 6-8 weeks but at this point I don't really care about that. We were in London for a couple of days then we took a 45 min train trip up to Cambridge to see one of my mates. Mike and I went through perfusion school together and he's now working for a company that has designed a new heart transport machine that could double the length of time a transplanted heart can be in transport. Well he was in Cambridge so we used the excuse to swing up there and say hi. See Dana's blog for sweet slide shows.

For Liam

This is my contribution to welcome back Liam. I call it the French pastry chef but I'm sure there are more appropriate names. Anyway...good to know you're back Liam. Welcome back to the good ol' U.S.A. from your mates in Ireland.

One day at a time

This has been a bit of a roller coaster week. First, we found out that we were being evicted from our apartment. The owner has decided to sell the building and gave us 28 days to get out. That sucked! Dana got hard to work and got us 10 viewings over the next 2 days and we found a new pad...Woo Hoo! It is a bit further from work and the gym but it is a "penthouse" 2 bedroom with a balcony and a fire place (pictures coming soon). Two days later I got my exam results from the boards I took earlier this month. Fortunately I passed both exams which certifies me as a clinical perfusionist (CCP). I do have quite a bit of preparing to do before my Irish exams in 3 weeks during which time we'll be moving so I'm a little concerned but we continue to push on.

On the road again...

Our next big trip is planned! We're heading to the Aegean coast of Turkey to a town called Kusadasi. It is smack dab in the center of the "historic" region of Turkey and offers some of the more ancient sites of the Persian, Greek and Roman cultures. We are very excited because it is not only a chance to so some serious site seeing but we will be right on the coast with what look like some beautiful beaches. R-E-L-A-X!
Ryan and Yunuen will be meeting us in Dublin before we head off so you can bet there will be some serious spades lessons going on. This is our most "exotic" trip yet and will prepare us for some of our planned holidays in Israel and Africa.

Here's what's up

I've been pretty bad about keeping my blog up to date. Here's what's been happening over here in the emerald isle. I took my American board exams a couple of weeks ago (which most of you know already) and I have to admit that it was probably the most difficult exam I've ever taken. I had been preparing for the last several months but you can still (evidently) feel under-prepared when you sit down and read the questions for the first time. I have my Irish exams next month which is a completely different in format and, from what I can tell, content. I guess I'd better get back to studying.

Ryan and Yunuen are coming out in June for round 2 which will be mainly consumed by a visit to Turkey (yes, the country). We are super excited to see them again and take another adventurous trip. I have to use up my vacation time. Somehow through my visits to Rome, London, Paris, Western Ireland (twice) and the U.S. I've only used 2 of my 25 vacation days. It's a tough life, but someone has to do it!

Other than that I can't say there is much new to report. I have a 50 capacity humidor that has about 85 cigars in it so I'd better get busy. With that I'll sign off...until next time.

Back home from...home

I'm back in Dublin from my whirlwind trip home to Tucson. It was a perfect time of year to visit with the temperature in the mid-80's the entire week. I do wish I'd been able to stay longer and enjoy it after all my errands were done and it would have been nice to have brought Dana along as well. I brought home a suitcase of goodies including some special gifts from Ryan (picture included!) Thanks to everyone who was able to spend time with me and to everyone who offered even though I just ran out of time. On a bright note, I think Spring has arrived. It has been quite warm the last two days and the gale force winds have subsided.

I've been able to update our visitor calender. Ryan and Yunuen are coming in June. YES! I have to go practice my spades.

Oh Daddy!

My dad told me one of the funniest stories I've heard in a long time last night. He has a whole slew of dogs (I use that term loosely as the are dachshunds and smaller than Sharptooth) that surround him in his sleep and all have their designated sleeping spots. I guess he has been having some pretty crazy dreams lately involving hand-to-hand combat and the like. The other night he woke up and was attacking and he thinks, trying to bite one of his dogs! All he can remember is that in his dream he was fighting some guy and when he woke up he had the dog pinned to the bed. You probably have to have an intimate knowledge of my dad and his relationship with his dogs to fully appreciate the hysterical humor in all this. It actually sounds quite horrible but from my position I couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably! I mean UNCONTROLLABLY!

It'll be great to be home in a couple of weeks and see everyone. I think it'll be a while before I let my dad live this one down.

Song of the Week

Here is an oldie. I don't know for sure whether this is Men at Work or if someone covered them but the voice sounds very close. One thing I am sure about - this is pretty sweet!

men at work - down...

Photos

Jordan 2
Jordan 1
Egypt
Norway
Belgium
Florence
Venice
Athens
Barcelona
Scotland 2
Bordeaux
Rhine River
Turkey
London
Paris
Ring of Kerry
Rome #3
Rome #2
Rome #1
Edinburgh
Belfast
Newcastle

Friday Night

Last night was a big relief. We had both had a busy week where Dana took the final exam for her current class and I had to give two talks at a meeting for cardiac professionals in Dublin. This all culminated in a night at the beer garden with a Guinness and a cigar. I smoked one of my remaining two Conga Black Pearls and Dana had a 5 Vegas Miami. I'm working on converting her to the cigar from her cigarillos as I think for a woman to enjoy as good cigar is both sophisticated and sexy! Congratulations to my missus for all her hard work and acing her class!

Song of the week

The song of the week is an oldie. I picked it in celebration of the fact that we are going to see Clapton at Malahide Castle in June. SWEET!!!

Before You Accuse ...

London

Hello London! We made our first trip to the UK's Big Apple. Big Ben, Parliament, British Museum, Tower of London, eating, shopping, it was all there. I'd say it is a place that we could go back to again (to live?). In fact, we'll be back in May so I'm sure this is going to be the first of many London slideshows.

Traveling

Check out this sweet slideshow!

Old Paris!

We've just returned from our big traveling adventure having seen more of the West coast of Ireland and jetting across the pond to London before taking the train under the channel to Paris. We have a TON of pictures and the slide shows will probably be trickling out over the next week or so.

The trip was a blast. Regan and Pete (my sister and brother-in-laws) came for a visit and with all we saw I'm sure they got their money's worth. Here is some of what we saw in Paris. I tried to keep the main attractions together so you'd know what you were looking at. They include: Notre-Dame, Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre and more. The whole time we were there it reminded me of one of my favorite movies (it won't be hard to figure out which one!). Enjoy!

Superbowl

I have been continually surprised at the amount of American sports on television over here. This weekend alone I was able to watch the Arizona basketball game and the Superbowl. Neither turned out as I had hoped so I'll just leave it at that. We don't get the commercials, however, which is normal a good thing except during the Superbowl. Fear not, everything is online! Here is my favorite!

Song of the Week

The song of the week has turned into a song of the month but I'll try to get a little more consistent. This is Griffin House. He's a folky rhythm guitarist with what sounds like Johnny Cash/Bob Dylan influences. This song is called Only Love Remainsand is simple in it's progressions but attractively smooth and easy on the ears. Check him out. He's got a number of good albums.

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Purrr

Today my Mom went home after a 2 week visit. It was really nice having her stay with us as we had been accustomed to being able to see her on a regular basis. We got to do a bit of traveling, show her around Dublin, hang out around the house and eat...a lot! She also brought us the best gift...our purrrrrs! They are back to normal after the long trip and I think they did remarkably well. Now we are sharing our bed again with a couple of bed-hogs!

West Side!

This weekend we took our first road trip in Ireland. After a couple of hours you really get used to driving on the "wrong" side of the road. We headed West through several small towns and villages stopping at the Rock of Cashel (an old 4th century castle) along the way. Or final destination was Killarney where we stopped at the Muckross House and saw the house and gardens. From there we tackled the Ring of Kerry which is about 100miles of spectacular scenery. We started off up through the mountains in the Kerry National Park and then went around the peninsula before cutting back across to Dublin. These pictures are just a few of the countryside and coastline. Dana will probably be posting some of the castle and house fairly soon. It was great to get out of Dublin and see "proper" Ireland. It really is as beautiful as everyone says. Truly breathtaking.

One more from Rome

Here is one last show from Roma from me. We saw many spectacular fountains during our stay and took some pictures of a few of them. There are several shots from the famous Trevi fountains among others. Enjoy!

Roman Forum

The Roman Forum, or Forum Romanum, was the center of Roman antiquity. Commercial, political, religious and legal proceedings all took place in the small valley at the foot of the Palatine Hill. The Senate building is directly across from the forum which held shops and markets. The area held temples to Saturn, Jupiter, Agustus and Julius Caesar among others. The main street connecting the Flavian Amphitheater to the Capitol was called the Via Secra or Sacred Road. At each end of the road is a large arch way one of which was erected to celebrate Emporer Titus' victory over Jerusalem. The Temple of Vesta was considered one of the most important because it was dedicated to the goddess Vesta who was the protectress of family. It held the Vestal Virgins who guarded the eternal flame which was to represent the eternal life of Rome. The virgins were chosen by the Pontifex Maximus between the ages of 6 and 10 and had fulfill 30 years of chastity and vigilance over the flame. They were held in the highest esteem and were given a huge dowry by the Senate; however, if they failed their punishment was harsh. If the flame went out or they were untrue to their vow of chastity they were buried alive with a loaf of bread and a lamp.

After Constantine many of the buildings were taken down or converted to churches and even today a few of them still stand.

The Colosseum

The Colosseum is one of the great remaining historical artifacts and sits literally in the center of a bustling modern city. It stands as the embodiment of ancient Roman culture. Construction started in 70 A.D. on the site of Nero's imperial gardens and originally carried the name Flavian Amphitheater after the family that built it. In front stood a 30 meter tall statue of Nero made from bronze and gold that was called the Colossus of Nero and is what eventually led to the nickname Colosseum. Each person was issued a clay "ticket" and each entrance was numbered leading to a section that had numbered seats that each entrant was assigned to. The entire outer face was constructed of marble with marble statues filling each outlook from the upper levels. Canals were in place to fill the floor with water for naval battles (which didn't work very well) after which the floor was reconstructed to have a sand covered wooden floor over a series of passageways and rooms to bring gladiators and animals out through elevators and various trap doors. The sophistication and beauty of the Colosseum is breathtaking and demonstrates the advances the Romans had achieved. The other side of Roman culture is also evident. Upon its opening there were 100 days of "games" where 5000 animals were killed. Slaves would fight trained gladiators and be slaughtered. Rebels who wouldn't join the army and martyrs were led out to be devoured by lions and all to a raucous crowd. It is eerie to look and know that the floor was covered with sand to absorb the blood so it didn't rot the wood. Rome was certainly something to behold.

Ariana

Congratulations to my brother Michael and Jessica on the birth of little Ariana. I can call my parents Grandma and Grandpa which is very fun. She's a cutie. She must take after her Uncle!

The Bucket List

This is the video of John Mayer's (yes Ryan, John Mayer) song for the movie The Bucket List. The song is one of those cliches that is only brought up when the circumstance calls for it but it is well said in this song...and the movie looks very good as well.


Music Videos - Say

Song of the Week

Week 2 of my song posts. This is Augustana. They have 2 singles out, Boston and All the Stars and Boulevards, and this is another off of that album. I think they have a good sound.

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Work Stuff

Dana has been telling me to blog about work since I started but to be honest there hasn't been much to blog about. The past 5 days have changed that. This may not be too impressive to most people but I've done 3 Norwood Stage 1 procedures, 2 Arterial Switch operations for transpositions, a Tetrology of Fallot and 1 ECMO in the past 5 days. I would say that MOST perfusionists don't see all of those cases in a year and a good few won't see them in their career. Gotta love paediatrics! It has been very busy as I've logged almost 100hrs in the past 9 days (yeah, 9 days straight) which is making me look forward very much to our trip to Rome at the end of the month. I've caught up on my case load for the year so I am back on track for my March exams.

Song of the week

I haven't blogged in a long time and totally don't have anything to say so I thought I'd start a "song of the week" to give me an excuse to blog every once in a while.
Enjoy.

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Edinburgh and beyond

Scotland, and Edinburgh in particular, is an amazing place. There is so much history in such a small area that it is unfathomable. The "young" artifacts and locations are a couple of hundred years older than our own Declaration of Independence. While visiting Edinburgh we took a day tour into the Highlands including Sterling Castle and Loch Lomond. Our tour guide had an awesome grasp on his country's history and talked for nearly the entire 4 hours we spent in the van recounting Scotland's past. It was fantastic.

I won't pretend to be able to recount (even in brief) much of what we learned but I will relay some of truth behind the Wallace fairy tale. Wallace was a huge man as judged by his sword and stood nearly a foot and a half taller than the average man. The story goes that after the death of his father and brother he was raised by 2 of his uncles. After fishing one day he was confronted by 5 English soldiers who demanded his entire catch. He offered half to them and they denied the offer and threatened his life. He killed all 5 soldiers which enraged the local sheriff. He was labeled an outlaw and it was discovered that the family of his wife/fiance' (Marion) was hiding him. Marion was taken and hung as an example not to harbour fugitives. Obviously enraged, Wallace attacked and dismembered the sheriff. Wallace went on to win a number of small battles but his most famous was the battle at Sterling bridge where he and his military strategist Andrew Moray defeated an English army more than 3 times their size. Moray was killed and Wallace was defeated at Falkirk where most of his army was slaughtered.

In 1305 Wallace was captured after one of the Scottish nobles John de Menteith betrayed him. He was drawn, hung, castrated, eviscerated, beheaded and quartered. Obviously King Edward I was making a statement.

That was a very brief report. It is amazing to be somewhere that stands on so much history. Edinburgh castle is built somewhere that has ruins dating back to around 850B.C. That's old baby! There is a movie coming out about Mary Queen of Scots which should be very interesting as she was a complicated figure. Anyway, enjoy the slide show!

Belfast

Last week we took a trip up to Northern Ireland and spent the day in Belfast. Everyone knows about the troubled history that has only recently begun to resolve in Northern Ireland but if you are like me the Irish Republican Army is the only group who's involvement is well publicized. We spent a good portion of our time on a black cab political history tour. I'll do my best to regurgitate the information we learned so maybe you can have a better understanding of what has been happening in N. Ireland.

Back in the 17th century a rich lord was given a substantial amount of land in N. Ireland. The overwhelmingly catholic community was expecting to receive jobs working the land, however the lord brought over Scottish protestants instead which was the beginning of the trouble. Fast forward to the 1972 when a catholic civil rights march to obtain equal rights was confronted by a British regiment that shot and killed 26 unarmed protesters. This was termed "Bloody Sunday" and began the organizations of the IRA which consists of catholics who want to be part of the Republic of Ireland and the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) who are protestant loyalists to the British crown. Both groups have been labeled terrorist organizations and have since become heavily involved in organized crime. Western Belfast is still extremely split between a catholic side and a protestant side that are separated by a huge Berlin-style wall that has gates that close at night or anytime trouble starts. You'll see the murals on the houses in the UFF neighborhoods of their heroes and on the IRA side a memorial we visited. You'll also see a photo of a house with a steel screen covering the back yard. People still throw things over the wall and the houses that boarder it are all protected. It was amazing to be somewhere that only a few years ago would have had army patrols to keep the peace. There are also pictures of a now closed down court house and prison reserved for terrorists.

That is the abbreviated history lesson. It was a very educational trip to say the least and one I'm glad I could see myself.

Newcastle

I just spent the weekend in Newcastle for the general annual meeting of perfusionists in Great Britain and Ireland. It was very interesting to go to a professional meeting that is meaningful to my career. I've been to national meetings before but typically only to satisfy my boss or pad the CV. I got roped into giving a talk as well which wasn't too bad and was actually quite an honor considering my recent graduation. I got out in Newcastle a little and caught a soccer game and took some pictures of the city. I intended to post them a while ago so with out further adu...

Irish coffee

I have finally found coffee I like. Irish Coffee! A good Irish coffee looks like a well poured Guiness. It is made from coffee (of course), brown sugar, whiskey and topped with thick cream. Delicioso! We're going to practice the fine art of creating these so we can provide our visitors with a traditional Irish beverage.

Run Dublin

The Dublin Marathon was run today. I was told that it attracts some 11,000 entrants, 2000 of which are from the U.S. It has been a beautiful day for it and our house is right about at the mid point. Here are some pictures from right our our front door. One of my friends said the American runners typically bring a lot of friends and family with them and they are responsible for most of the loud cheering that you hear along the streets. He thinks it makes for a great atmosphere.

I have cable!!

Today is a great day. My lovely wife agreed, nay, encouraged me to subscribe to cable TV and it was just installed. The normal channels are not horribly exciting, though there are channels like Discover, National Geographic, etc. plus a number of European channels that play American sitcoms all day. The real excitement comes from the fact that we added a sports package that airs football on Sunday nights...American football! Not only do I get to watch 2-3 of the Sunday games live, but I get a bunch of premier league soccer games as well (I'm probably the only one excited about that).
I hear it calling my name...gotta go!

The social system

I have to vent. Let me know if I'm off completely.

I read in the paper this morning that senior government officials have received around a 15% pay increase. This is amidst a huge budget crisis in which many hospitals are having to cut back service and all hiring has been suspended. It will cost over 19 million euro per year to cover the pay increases, which by the way were revealed the day before a holiday weekend. The chief of finance is now making over 370,000 euro per year. I suppose the saying "Socialism works great if you have the right people running it" can again be shown a farce. The government is reporting that it will have to raise taxes next year to accommodate its spending. I am still not being payed over-time (I worked 12 hours today) and people that can't do their job correctly are giving themselves enormous raises. The physicians I work with have been offered a 37 hour work week and will not be paid for any time over that (which means they probably won't be paid for working on Thursdays or Fridays because they'll be over their hours by then). The free market system could accommodate raises because they are in fact based on productivity and share holders won't pay for poor results. Even in the government voters approve such increases or show the government employees the door. These government officers now make more than the President of the United States, who is (throat clear) the leader of the FREE world. It is sad how dependent people become on such an inept group of leaders.

We just go about our business and hope for the best. Hopefully we won't be corrupted by this sour system. Be thankful for what you have, it could always be worse. I could go on but I'll sum up with this: When Hillary is elected urge your congressman to VOTE NO on government run health care, and send your HMO a thank you card!

Reserve your dates

Malahide Castle

This is an 800yr old castle just North of Dublin. It was lived in by the Talbot family from its construction until the mid 1970's when the last family member died leaving it to the Dublin historical society. Now you can play golf and football on the grounds.

Heart of Life (acoustic)

Some of you may or may not be wholly impressed with this song. I suppose, since it hasn't been radio played yet (I think) you may not have even heard it yet. At present I can't seem to keep it out of my head so I will try to get it stuck in your head now too.

Welcome to Howth

We took about a 20min car ride North of Dublin to a small fishing village named Howth. It is built around a hill that has a beautiful walking trail. The photos don't do it justice.

Wanna stay with us????

These are some photos of where we're staying. We were a little scared when we moved in to say the least but we've since gotten over it.


It turns out that this is where U2's recording studio is and the grafitti is all dedicated to the band. It changes daily as people come to add there devotion to U2.

Week Three

Today marks the beginning of the third week we've lived here. We can see normalcy down the road but it still feels like anything but. I survived my first week of work which was mainly days filled with orientation, etc. and I have hope that I'll actually start doing my job by Friday. It is tough being away from everything and everyone we know and can't wait to start having visitors. We really need to find our own apartment soon so we can get out of our suitcases, fill our cupboards and refrigerator. We've seen a good portion of the city of Dublin and hopefully we can get out of town this weekend. If we do expect some more pictures soon!

Still Moving

Sorry it took so long to get more pictures up. We were having computer difficulties. The pictures towards the end were taken at Trinity College in the middle of the city center. Enjoy the show!

On a Monday night.

Tonight we went out to dinner in a little town down the street from our hotel. We were eating in a parking lot next to the take out place were we bought our food and a group of 12ish girls walked by and said hi. We replied and the immediately they turned around and asked if we were from America. It is hard to understand the Irish but when you have 6 of them talking to you at the same time it gets really tricky. They wanted to where we were from and it went something like, "Are you from California? I love California...Yeah, it's my favorite country."

We really haven't found anyone who doesn't like Americans yet. Most of them want to know what it's like. They have a lot of American TV and I imagine they want to know if Americans are like they are on the shows. We must be huge disappointments.

Days 3 and 4

We finally made it to the ocean yesterday. We also found out where Bono lives and it is just a short ride on the Dart down the coast. We have found temporary living arrangements which is huge relief so that we can look and find a place that the cats can come to. If we can't we at least have somewhere that we can rent next month. I start work tomorrow morning which would be a little stressful but I think it will be a day of observing and touring around the hospital. It is becoming quite apparent that my days will be quite long and since there is a current pay freeze on overtime (courtesy of socialized medicine) my hours will be "banked" and hopefully I can use them for vacation which we are really looking forward to.

From my perspective.

We have been very fortunate so far. Every Irishman we've met has been more than helpful (save the customs agent at the airport). One old man actually walked up this long hill with us to give directions. He told us that his hips weren't helping...and neither was the beer! Ireland (or at least Dublin) has really become a city of immigrants. It is especially funny to see (or hear) people of different races -especially Asian- speak with an Irish accent.

Finding somewhere to live has been another story. My supervisor has offered us an apartment she owns to rent which is 2bed 1bath in a very nice area and even has a little porch to sit out on. She said her building does not allow pets so we are very torn to say the least (which I'm sure non-pet owners do not understand). We have found someone who will let us live with them for a couple of months until we find something permanent because even that apartment isn't available until October and 2bed apartments in our price range are very hard to find.

Today is the first day that the sun hasn't been out. Yesterday was quite warm actually and with all the walking we do it makes for some sweaty times. We have yet to see one drop of rain - good Irish weather indeed!

First Days

Our first 2 days are in the books. Yesterday we were so exhausted from not being able to sleep on the plane that we spent a good portion of the day in bed. We did get out last night in to town. We took the LUAS which is a light rail and met our first people. A self admitting alcoholic woman that chatted the entire time and a young college student from the Netherlands who was able to hold a much better conversation. We've had several trips on the bus as well. Today we spent most of the day in line, first at the welfare office to get a tax ID number and next to register with the immigration office. It was pretty much a complete waste of the day but a necessary evil. We may also have a 2 bedroom apartment lined up for a couple of months from now in a really nice part of Dublin. We miss everyone very much (especially those little Teeth!). Enjoy the slide show!

Last Night in the Desert

We're just under 12 hours from flying the coup. I got to spend the afternoon with my parents and grandpa which was nice because we won't have the holidays this year. To my parents I want to say thank you for getting me to a place in my life where I feel I have the opportunity to live life to the fullest. To our friends Ryan & Yunuen, Ben & Lis, Caleb, Liam, Phil and many others, thank you for sharing your time and lives with us. You have made our time here rich. We hope to see you all sooner rather than later. Dublin or Bust!

Team Ireland wins...again!!!

I'm not one to gloat but I feel it is my duty to report (fair and balanced) the score of the latest round of spades between Team Polican and Team Ireland. The Irish emerged victorious with a score of 506 to 446. Team Polican fought until the end but came up short yet again.

On another topic, we bought our tickets and leave at 7am Tuesday morning. We'll see you all in Dublin!