My wife always gives me grief when I refer to Ireland as home because she feels my home is in Oregon with her. This is true and I do consider Portland to be my home, but I am blessed with a family I like. I enjoy spending time with them and after living there for the better part of 24 years, I still consider the place home. Not only do I call the house I grew up in home but also consider Ireland home, so as soon as that plane touches down I am home. In Oregon I have to actually be parked in my driveway before I can consider it home. It’s strange but a simple question like "where are you from" can be so tough. I’m always wondering if they hear my accent and are trying to place it or do they mean where do I live. I always end up giving a long-winded answer telling my life story in the process to cover all the bases.

A few weeks ago, I made a quick trip back to Ireland as we have a use it or lose it vacation policy at work and it was the best way to avoid the list of chores Amie had planned out for me. I got a great fare for $500, flying on Delta from Portland to Dublin returning from Shannon. It was my first time going home by myself in a few years so it was a little strange, but it was also a nice opportunity to spend quality time with my family without being worried about entertaining the "Yanks." I flew into Dublin where Padraig who is married to my sister (Ann) was waiting at the airport. They live in Kildare with my niece who is the only kid in the family (but not for long as Ann is due again in early January). I spent 2 days with them before getting the bus to Cork, the city I grew up in. My brother Martin met me at the bus station and we went to the local watering hole where my dad was waiting. He was sitting with a bunch of guys and, as always, he was the center of attention spinning a yarn about something or other. I spent a nice few days in Cork. It was very relaxed and I got to spend time with my 2 brothers Martin and Kevin, as well as with my old friend Barry. I tried finding some other people whom I have not seen in awhile, but no luck there.

Ireland is changing so fast it is hard to keep up. Cork was always slow placed when I was growing up and there was never a lot of money as there were a lot of business closures, Ford Motors being the major one. Now Ireland is booming and Cork is thriving and there is a huge shift in priorities - now there is an effort to make the city more pleasing to the eye. The downside to this is that property prices are soaring and with the dollar falling Ireland has become an expensive places to visit. I sometimes consider moving back and Amie would be game as well, but with the cost of living you would want to be making a lot of money to have any decent standard of living. For now we plan on staying in Portland once we return, but if there are any large companies in Ireland that are looking for a packaging consultant give me a call and maybe we can talk.