Getting Settled in Dublin

My first night back in Dublin was mostly reflecting on having been gone. I downloaded the Lord Loves a Working Man album from iTunes and sent emails telling folks that I got home safely. I got to see a live Lord Loves show while I was home. As always, it was a good show. Some of the musicians were different, but the sound is still the same. Listening to the album (which was recorded in 2005), I realised that I know some of their songs that aren't on the album. For some reason that makes me really happy. Okay, I know why that makes me really happy:
1.) I have been to enough Lord Loves shows to remember the songs.
2.) They have been together long enough to have a repertoire of songs beyond their first album.
3.) This band is still rocking folks and getting them on their feet.

I am still a little wonky in the head, but that's probably a combination of jet lag and leaving behind my loved ones and loved places. Tonight will be apartment cleaning and unpacking and getting used to being in this apartment. I think the being alone is part of what is so difficult about this transition back. I spent almost every moment of my trip with someone else. Now I am alone with my thoughts, my memories, and my plans. Enter the music. If I listen to music that reminds me of home or of loved ones or of not being alone, maybe I won't feel so lonely.

Mary will be back in a couple days and then I will go to Italy to visit Gabry. I think I will indulge in the melancholy for another night and then try to wake up tomorrow with a renewed vigor and focus on my goals. I am here to study and prepare myself for a career in theatre and academia. It's rough, though, when I just immersed myself in the people, places, and memories that mean the most to me.