Hey Everyone!
I hope you're all doing wonderfully. I've finally settled back in to Ireland and I'm loving it. I thought I'd right a break down of the things that have struck me the most after 5 years of not seeing the place.

1.The Weather- I've always laughed along with the notion that Irish people are always talking about the weather but I never knew how true it was and to what extent, compared to every other country I've been to. Weather talk is everywhere! You can't have a conversation without someone throwing in the word 'weather'. Say your on the phone and you're just about to hang up and you've forgotten to mention the all important topic, you can guarantee that it will manage to cram it's way in without notice. Example:
Person 1: "ok speak to you soon"
Person 2: "right so, bye"
Person 1: "jesus, did you feel the cold last night?"
Person 2: " I know the weather is dreadful and I heard on the radio that there is going to be snow"
Person 1: "Gasp, you're not serious?"
and then you've opened yourself up to another 20 minute conversation and a higher likelihood of radiation poisoning.

2. Gambling- My first real exposure to the gambling world was SBR and so the American attitude towards betting on sports for me was the norm; underground, frowned upon by the Government and most people who are pro or semi pro are shy about admitting it publicly. Here's it's like eating ice cream - if you're not in on it, you're missing out. I overhear house wives speaking in detail about their latest Xfactor wager and quoting odds in real time, PaddyPower and Ladbrokes shops have replaced the traditional corner stores in most suburbs, of course you can bet on the weather and only last week my mother asked me if I could show her how to play online poker since all the girls are doing it!

3. The Recession- In the past 5 years it seems that everyone has become a self proclaimed economist. You'll even hear teenagers talking casually about global monetary policies, and just so we don't forget the weather, Irish people have become obsessed with the 'economic climate'. I can't even watch TV any more with the thousands of drones taking about a load of shite that really doesn't impact me or anyone I know. I mean the roads and infrastructure here are fantastic. I haven't met a homeless person since I've been back. If you're really sick and can't afford to pay you will be covered some way or another. All my mates are employed and anyone who's not as far as I'm concerned is choosing not to be; even if they realise it or not. So just before I was about to get angry at the complainers and tell them all to shut their faces I came to realise that the main reason that this is such a fantastic country is in fact because of the complainers. They complain and expect more, and since perception is reality we get more. Of course there are some cases which are very sad, such as families with 100% mortgages who will be paying back banks for the rest of their lives even if they sold their house today and then the husband lost his job and so on and so on but realistically, on a daily basis there is going to be a way to put food on the table and there is going to be a Government scheme to help warm the house. Really, how much more do we need?

So all in all the country is great. I love it here and I love being Irish. It's an innocent place with magical scenery and although I might not stay here forever, I'm proud to call it home.

So there is a long-winded catchup. I hope you all are doing great. I'm working on video editing as much as possible and taking a documentary making course. I'd also like to create a home studio in the next few months so hopefully I can make Industry News videos in the future as I miss all that jazz.

Peace,
Judie