Cork – Scott De Buitléir

How I’m Managing to Stay Sane (For Now)

It has been a long while since I’ve had the energy or desire to blog. Not because I didn’t have anything to say (my Twitter can probably attest to that) but rather that there has been a guiding voice in my mind this year that reassures me that I didn’t need to burn myself out – especially this year.

That got me thinking a little to do a blog post that harks back to blogging of long ago, before the age of sponsored posts and influencers telling you which amazing brands are paying them to recommend products you never needed. I remember when blogs were barely a twinkle in a digital marketer’s eye, and we used Blogger and Live Journal to open our innermost thoughts, stories, and nerdiness to anyone who might stumble across it. Still, enough of me showing my age.

Interval

A couple of months ago, I never knew what “thistlebond” was. It’s a strange, gloopy substance, like paint that has been mixed with a generous serving of sand. It’s used in preparing walls for plastering, should they need it. Some of our new home’s walls and ceilings do, while some others have been covered with plasterboard.

Where One Book Ends, Another Two Begin

I’m writing this in the warm, cozy, and inviting Fisher’s bar in Cork’s Kingsley Hotel, with a pint of Irish cider bubbling lightly beside my Chromebook. It’s a Sunday evening, and I have spent the entire day on my own, as my ~~partner~~ fiancé (I’m still getting used to that) is in Kentucky for work, and my parents’ weekend visit to the Rebel County finished this morning, with their return to Dublin.

Finding Time for Myself

When my fiancé and I decided to leave Nottingham in 2017 and come back to Ireland, I thought of how wonderful it would be to be back home, despite not actually returning to our home city of Dublin. Cork is three hours away by bus or train, and about two and a half hours by car, depending on traffic. So, while we were still moving to a different city, at least we were moving back to the motherland.