Back in the States

Wow! I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted last...I hope no one was holding their breath. I had such a great time in Ireland I didn't want to ever go on a computer because Ireland way too amazing to spend time inside alone on a computer!
I got back in the States on the 29th and spend about 23 hours in New York City with my brother Andrew and his boyfriend Andre. I decided to pull an "all-nighter" and stay up for over a day straight so I could hang out in NYC. I met my brother on the subway near JFK and we went to his apartement then went and bought tickets for a show called "In the Heights". It currently is an off-broadway show but the rumor is it will be going on Broadway in the next month or so because it is so good. We met up with Andre a little while later at a chinese restaurant their friend owns which was great because I was a little sick of straight Irish cuisine for 2 months. After dinner we got a frisbee and went to Central Park and messed around before we headed for the show.
In the Heights is an amazing show! It is about a neighborhood in Manhattan called Washinton Heights which has a very large population of people from the Dominican Republic. It was a musical, which is great because I have an affinity for show tunes and Tony Bennett. I only nodded off three times and I woke up immediately, but I didn't feel too bad because I had been awake for about 23 hours at that point...I was way too tired for emotions anyway! After the show we took the subway back to his place and went to the roof! For anyone who hasn't been on a roof in NYC, it is amazing! You really get a feel for the physical map of the city because you see lower Manhattan all lit up then darkness and then upper Manhattan all lit up too, all the bridges connecting the city...it is really gorgeous and it made leaving Ireland a little easier. I think I finally went to bed around 1am which was 8am where my body was and I miraculously woke up in time to shower, pack and take the numerous trains to JFK again. It is really weird to think I left NYC yesterday but it is true, and I got into Seatac at about 9:15 last night...thankfully! When I was trying not to fall asleep in the San Franciso airport I heard that my plane had broken down and was now delayed! I went up to the desk and asked what was going on and they had no idea and told me it would be a couple hours before they knew anything. Thankfully the woman working there was really nice and got me a ticket for a plane going to Seatac at 7:15 (my original plane was supposed to leave at 5:50) and when I finally landed at Seatac my original flight hadn't even taken off yet. I was so thankful that I went and asked because as I was boarding my new flight they made an announcement saying they had no idea when the plane was getting fixed and everyone should try and get onto a new flight just in case...about 150 people got in line trying to get onto my plane! Whew so lucky!
So now I leave for Portland tomorrow morning to go to the Northwest Writing Conference with the Cooper Point Journal, my college paper I have worked on for the past two years and which I am the Managing Editor of next year. During the weekend I have to write a 20 page paper about my experience in Ireland which shouldn't be very hard at all! The only hard part is staying awake....dang that jetlag it feels like it is about 10pm right now but in Seattle it is 2pm or so! I am hoping to post parts of my paper on my blog so keep checking for that and pics and thanks a bunch to anyone who has read my blog and/or emailed my while I was gone! It meant a lot! Also if anyone would like to see my pictures email me and we can either meet up or I can email them to you, believe me I have soo many Ireland, Norway, and UK stories you will have to ask me to stop talking!