Welcome, my friends, to my so called life. This story takes place in Ireland at the moment, Cork city to be exact. And it's about a girl named Lauren, a "blow in" from Canada. She moved here at the beginning of May, after, essentially, running away from her life at home. It wasn't a bad life that she had in Canada, she just needed to get away from it all.
After a hard breakup of a 3 year engagement, she decided that it was his loss and she needed a new adventure. The world was her oyster and it was calling her name. "Lauren, you can sing London bridge is falling down ON London bridge!" "Lauren, you could learn to surf in Australia!" "OOH OOH! Waltz with a handsome stranger in Austria, Lauren!" She'd thought about all of those places, but in the end, the enticement of playing with fairies and leprechauns had won out over more exotic locales, because as many of you know, she's a giant 4 year old. It might also have something to do with the fact that her best friend from Japan had been living there for the past 3 years. (But we all know it was mostly the fairies.)
With her plane tickets bought, visa in hand, she said a difficult goodbye to all of her friends and family. The people she had come to meet over the last 3 years left a lasting impression on her soul, and they helped shape her into the person she was to this very day. She knew she would see them again. And they would stay in touch. That's what all of the technology is about right? Bringing the world together.
When she arrived, she was as giddy as a 3 year old on Christmas morning. Getting on the bus after her best friend picked her up, she wouldn't shut up. So many new things to see and smell and learn. The country of Ireland definitely lived up to it's reputation. Everything was green. Green grass, green trees, She was in green heaven. Good thing it's her favourite colour.
The duo spent a few short days in Dublin before heading to where she would call home for the next 2 years. Cork city. the tiniest big city you ever did see. With it's 5-6 streets classed as "city centre", people from all over Ireland come here before Christmas to do their shopping because it's "such a nice big city". FUN FACT: Cork city is Ireland's 2nd biggest city population wise after Dublin. but for being so small, it sure has a very multicultural population. Lauren's met people from Hungary, Poland, Russia, Singapore, France, Spain, New Zealand, Italy, South Africa, Bangladesh, Australia, and others that she can't even remember right now!
She works in a fancy schmancy hotel called The Imperial Hotel. 1 of 4 in the Flynn hotels group, centrally located in the heart of the city, it boats an almost 200 year old building, and an even more impressive staff following. Some working there 20+ years! It is rated as a 4* hotel, but if you were to come and see for yourself, you'd know that no rating can compare or explain the rich history and decor. Michael Collins spent one of his last nights in room 115, before he was shot. Many celebrities choose to stay at the hotel because of it's location, such as the boys from Miami and New York Ink when their new tattoo shop opened in Cork city. The mouldings in the lobby are some of the finest you'll ever see. With it's rich history and charming cast of characters, turning down a job at Apple seemed like the easiest thing in the world to do for Lauren.
So here's where we are today. Lauren is still living with her best friend and her best friend's cat in a small apartment on the other side of the river from downtown Cork. She walks to work and thinks that she won't try and change over her licence because she doesn't need a car and the expenses that come with it. There is a view on her way to work that she never gets tired of looking at. She is still working on herself, and trying to figure out what she wants to do with her so called life, but right now, she's just leaning towards happiness,
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