___Day

Ever completely blank on what day it is? I tried a few different ones before I came up with the right day...turns out it's Saturday. That was pretty far down on my list.

Two weeks until Northern Ireland....I've been instructed to not wear red/white/blue or green/white/orange, as those could identify me as belonging to "one side or the other." My mom's work colleagues have told her,"don't worry, his family will never accept her" as a way of making her feel better about the whole ordeal. If you had told me back in middle school, during one of those forced newscast viewings about the Northern Ireland conflict, that one day I'd be visiting my new close Protestant friend there, I'd have said...why'd you point out that he's Protestant? I don't give two shits, and neither do most people here. Point is, I'd never have imagined myself in a position where my religion could be a potentially serious point of contention. For the record, I'm a lousy Catholic. He says that it's a non-issue, won't be a problem....and that he has lots of Catholic friends and work colleagues. The same way that some well-meaning person here might say "I have LOTS of black friends!"

Had a trip anxiety-induced dream last night...it wasn't anything serious, but it did touch on my worst fear....not meeting him at the airport. In the dream, I was at a hotel, with my parents, with no recollection of having gotten there from the airport, and not having seen Jonny (yep, that's his name) at all, two days into the trip. What happens if for whatever reason, he's not there? I have a feeling he'll be there at least an hour or two early and every bit as anxious as me, but if he's not? Then what? Do I turn around, march back to the Continental desk and turn in my return tickets for the very next flight? And then hang around the airport all day til it's time?

Wait, I know this one....there'd be about 3 hours in between when my flight gets there and the next one leaves, so that's exactly what I'd do. Not an appealing option. He'll be there.

Also, in my dream, everyone drove on the right and the steering wheels were on the left. That was my first tip-off that it wasn't real.

Crazy, Insane, A Bad Idea, and I Can't Wait

Instead of "Life is Good," I should've called this blog "Things I Write When I'm Avoiding Schoolwork." Semester one of grad school is ending, this is finals week, and so far I've made a detailed schedule/plan of attack, outlining due dates, telling me when I should be doing what....and then I realized I haven't updated here in a week or two, and that I have Very Exciting News, so I let this take priority.

First of all, my passport arrived today....now's probably a good time to divulge why - most of you already know. Ok, here goes: I went to the Bahamas in early June. There, I met and made friends with a couple young men from Northern Ireland...in one case (the cute one's case), a little more than friends. I thought, what a great romantic story to tell my grandchildren someday....he thought, when can I see you again? We've been keeping in touch via e-mail ever since, and he put on the table an offer of an all-expenses paid trip to visit him in sunny, friendly Northern Ireland. I of course thought this was ridiculous, and besides, I'd pay for my own airfare....and somewhere between those two thoughts, the decision was made. I'm going, alone, Sept 3-10.

1. He is not a serial murderer.
2. Or any other type of criminal.

Understandably, my family and many of my friends are concerned (or outright terrified) that I'm about to walk into being the next Natalee Holloway. Frankly, I don't have the heart to continue to defend my decision, as long as you're not going to stop me. All it makes me feel, when I hear how stupid I am, is bad. I'm taking a lot of precautions here, and I believe I'll be 100% safe...take that for what it's worth.

Now, the good part.....it feels AMAZING and FREE and SPONTANEOUS and GREAT to be doing this.....and think about it, an (almost) all-expenses paid trip (I won the airfare battle) to a beautiful, if rainy, English-speaking foreign country...on my own....with a built-in romantic interest for a week. EXHILARATING.

And the castles!! The castles!!!