Alice Sebold and Sinéad O'Connor

Two inspiring women.

Alice Sebold wrote a little book called "The Lovely Bones" that took the literary world by storm -- one of those books that was a word-of-mouth smashing success. What makes the book so unique is its perspective, because it's told from the point of view of a girl who is murdered in the opening chapter...she narrates from heaven as she watches her family deal with the aftermath of her unsolved disappearance and death. While the subject matter is devastating, the writing is wonderful -- fluid and spare.

I went to see Alice Sebold read from her new book last week at a bookstore in Dublin's city centre. The new book is about a woman who kills her mother -- also in the opening chapter. So she doesn't really write cheerful novels... But it was an inspiring evening for me, as I listened to her talk about her writing process. It was fascinating to hear her say that she didn't find the voice of the narrator in Lovely Bones for a couple of years after she'd started writing the book...so I asked her what she did write about, given the importance of that element of the novel. She said she has these obsessions that she writes about and out of the obsession comes the voice and then the rest of the story falls into place. So unusual -- just like her books I guess. Her obsession that created Lovely Bones was about voiceless dead girls, who disappear with their untold stories. And Almost Moon was almost in reaction to the "Hallmark" style portrayal of mother-daughter relationships.

I have no segue to move to Sinéad...:)

I have listened to Sinéad O'Connor since I was 14...I played her album "I do not want what I haven't got" about a million times and found her sad soul-searching songs comforting in those lonely teenage years. "Black Boys on Mopeds" was the first song I ever learned to play on the guitar. I have always loved her voice -- it's so powerful, honest, and emotionally raw.

To see her in her hometown was too good of a chance to pass up, so I headed out last night in the wind and rain and ventured to the city centre to the Olympia theatre. I didn't recognize her when she walked on stage. Dressed in a baggy man's suit with a white collared shirt and clunky shoes, I thought she was a man...one of the band. Watching her made me realize I've only ever really seen her face -- that famous face with huge eyes, perfect skin, and shaved head is all you see on her album covers and videos. I thought her body would match her face and be delicate, feminine -- the reality is that she's surprisingly gawky, awkward, and boyish. She's a bit knock-kneed and kind of duck-footed. For all her years on stage, she's shy to the point of not being able to look directly at the crowd, and dances in a shuffling, self-conscious way.

But that voice, that amazing voice, was all that mattered. And because of the size of her body of work I didn't bother hoping she would play anything from that album I listened to so many years ago, so I was thrilled when she opened with two songs from it, then did three more during the show, and sang a solo acoustic version of "Black Boys on Mopeds" in the encore. Wonderful.

Job, home, and travel news

The past couple of weeks have been pretty up and down for me, which is why I've not been communicating much, but now things feel settled and I feel ready to talk about it! No, it's not really that dramatic, but its just been the most turbulent part of my time here, which is not bad considering the scope of the change in my life.

Anywyay, I was offered a position with a company called Europlex, and I accepted it. This is not the job in the city centre -- I didn't end up having the second interview for that position because the person I needed to have it with was out of town for so long I didn't feel I could defer the offer from the other job for much longer without jeopardizing it. So, rather than risk having no job, I accepted the Europlex offer.

This means I had to move and I was lucky enough to find a place immediately, and it's great. It's a 20 minute walk to work, 5 minutes from a mall that has two supermarkets and everything else you could need, and 10 minutes from a cinema complex. There's also a bus stop practically in front of the house to get to the city centre, and several large parks nearby. I went for a long walk this afternoon to explore them all. Now I just need to find a soccer team to join:)

I live with two others: Sean, who owns the house, and Jenny, who's a renter like me. They're both lovely people, and we get along really well, in that communal living kind of way. I would like to get a bike so I can more easily explore the neighborhoods around me, and just to give myself mobility outside the buses.

So my new address is:
22 Glin Road
Coolock, Dublin 17
Ireland

The job is pretty good so far. Europlex designs complex alarm systems, and since I have no electronics knowledge, it's a pretty steep learning curve, which is fine... My boss is based in the UK, and the first week was hard because I felt pretty alone, but I had a long talk with another guy in the office, who's also sort of my boss, and he said he would step in and give me some direct support, because I really need it at this point in the job. Everyone is very friendly there...there aren't very many women there, but they all get together and have lunch together everyday, so I get some female company then! I'm the only female in the R&D department, but the guys I work with are great -- helpful, friendly, kind. It's a real treat.

Anyway, those are the high-level things. I can't believe what a difference having my job and accommodation settled have made to my state of mind. I feel really happy for the first time since I arrived here. Not that I was unhappy per se, but it's quite stressful to have things up in the air for as long as they've been for me.

My other big news is that I've booked my Christmas holidays!! Europlex has four days of forced holidays over Christmas, which means we have 10 days of holiday time, so, I'm going to visit my cousin Erik, who's my only family this side of the Atlantic, in Israel!!! I'm SO EXCITED. I can't believe I get to go to Israel. Such a fascinating country in so many ways -- historically, geographically, religiously. It will be great to be there with Erik, who's so knowledgeable, and who's fluent in Hebrew.

Anyway, I'll be in touch a little more now that the big things in my life are taken care of. I'm going to London this coming weekend to collect the remainder of my luggage -- and my fiddle! Have to start looking for an instructor:)

Ciao for now, my lovely friends and family.

PS I went to Kilkenny a couple weeks ago and put a few pics up on my Flickr site.