"What's in Ireland?"

How did I get here, you ask?

Some of you may be wondering, how in the hell are you in Ireland? Well, let me answer this for you. Once I moved home last July, I starting working for Poblanos again, a local Mexican restaurant in my hometown; at this point, I had been working for Poblanos on and off since the fall of 2012. My boss had introduced the idea of managing the restaurant for her on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as serving or bartending as needed, I quickly agreed (which in all honesty, I liked this set-up a lot). I also knew that taking this time to take care of myself would be good idea; I was able to catch up on seeing the dentist and to start seeing a chiropractor for the issues I had been experiencing in my neck and other areas. Everything kind of came to a head one day as I realized that I had really put the effort into taking care of myself for the past year, and something needed to change real quick and right now. After the start of the new year, I knew that I needed to get out of my small town no matter what I had to do to get there. I became a certified Notary Public as I applied for as many administrator jobs in Indianapolis that I felt I was best fit for. Multiple applications and rejections came and I honestly fell into a rut; I didn't think I was going to be able to escape and that I would continue to feel stuck.

Flash forward to the end of March and I happen to be working on this particular Sunday. It was a normal day, a double shift of managing while tending the bar due to the slowness of the day. That night, one of my servers, Brandon, came to the doorway of the bar and asked if I could help him figure out what his patron was trying to say. Unable to understand what Brandon was even relaying to me, I approached the gentlemen at the table and asked politely what the patron wanted to drink.

 He responded with, "gin and tonic please," and I followed with, "What kind of gin would you like? I'm not going to give you well; we have Beefeaters and Tanqueray."

"What are those," he asked as he look surprised, "I'm not really sure..."

I refrained from responding like a bitch as I could tell that the gentleman was clearly confused, "Don't worry, I'll make you a Tanqueray and tonic, give me a few moments." 

With gin on the mind, I poured the drink for him and delivered it. The table ended up ordering two more gin and tonics, and then the same gentleman I spoke with earlier came over to sample the two red wines in the entire restaurant. After finishing two glasses, the same table had me come over once more to ask if they could continue drinking in the bar because the restaurant was closing soon. Of course, I wasn't going to say "no" to two foreign men who I could tell were out of town and just needed to have a few more drinks. I learned that the two, Gerry and Tony, were from Ireland to present a demonstration of their company's software to Braun Mobility there in my hometown. They asked a multitude of questions concerning my background and what I had done throughout my life, where I went to college, and even what I studied in high school (they were interested if I enjoyed math or not, and I was honest with them, HA). It was close to 11pm when Gerry and Tony wrapped up their conversation with me; however, they closed with a question asking if I would be open to meet them after their meeting with Braun the following day to talk about a job opportunity. 

Nervous and disheveled, I met them the next day at One Eyed Jack's to discuss the opportunity of being a new trainee for their company, Avonbrook Software Solutions. Gerry and Tony were extremely pleased to know that I did as much research as I could before meeting with them and that I didn't have many questions other than the realm of benefits and income. However, I did inform them that at this time, I was waiting to hear back on an internship opportunity in Washington, DC. With everything said and out of the way, I was given Gerry and Tony's email addresses in order to send them my résumé and work references. I left the restaurant in complete shock and disbelief. When the hell did things like this happen? When I got home, I immediately sent my documents to Gerry's email in hopes that I would get a faster response. The next day, I received confirmation that they got my things, and in return, I let them know that I would keep them updated on the internship.

A week or two later was the about time that I would be hearing back from DC, and with anticipation for a positive email, I emailed the internship myself to find out when we would specifically find out. However, the return email stated that I did not in fact get a position within the internship, but to keep trying and that they would keep their eyes open for another opportunity. Let down, but still optimistic, I emailed Gerry and informed him that I didn't get the internship opportunity, but was still excited for the experience with Avonbrook. The first time that Gerry called after the DC answer, I discussed the income that I wished to have after training was completed and $35,000 was agreed on with opportunities to advance. Although I felt good after the first call, I still didn't believe that any of this was real. A second call took place a week later, and I was offered to fly out to Ireland the following Monday. Without hesitance, I immediately said yes and to book the flight that day. I sent Gerry all of my passport information after our phone call and received the flight confirmation the next morning. PROOF. This was for real... I was actually leaving the country and starting a completely new life, holy shit. But, everyone should believe that I didn't fully pack my suitcase until the day of the flight, and successfully packed all that I needed except the international plug-in converter and adapter.