Well, it’s Sunday and I’m still here. The snow in these parts is quickly becoming a memory, but my attempt number three to leave Ireland is not yet a go. Today’s flight at Shannon at least resulted in a boarding card, but the flight is delayed by an hour. Not that this really fazes me— I have started to grow comfortable wearing the same two and a half changes of clothing. Unlike the poor sods who were stuck sleeping on tables in the Dublin Airport, I been in the care of some of the best hands that this world has ever seen.

It’s not in a bed and breakfast where I have continued to lay my head over the past week—but there are indeed signs sitting outside that this might have been the case. I’m fortunate to have friends who have vast experience in the business of hospitality. When you drop this on top of the fact that the Irish are already an incredibly welcoming people, then you’ve got a pretty kick ass situation.One of my biggest jobs for the week has been keeping the fire burning. I have also washed dishes, sat on the couch, watched the snow fall, and chatted with friends about my future. I even got so bored as to dig out an old CV for fine-tuning. It’s amazing what a few days of captivity will do in terms of productivity. The only downside that I could possibly see to the consequence of being so sedentary is the threat to your waistline. Life could be worse. If you are from a place where snowfall is a regular occurrence, then what Connacht saw with respect to this Beast From The East could not really be classified as a Snowpocalypse. But all the same, it has served to disrupt travel here in Ireland and beyond. As my good friend here described things, it’s almost like Good Friday and Christmas put together. Me, I was happy to pour tea from a pot with a reindeer on it and remark on the fact that we could celebrate without any holiday stress undertones. And the snow when it was freshly fallen, truly was a sight to behold. My friends remarked that now was the time to snap photos for next year’s Christmas card. As my departing flight was twice rescheduled, it was nice knowing that I had a warm bed where I could wake up in the morning, sit up in bed, look out the window at the blanket of snow outdoors…and then fall back fast asleep. 
So since I’ve started typing this, my flight here at Shannon Airport has been pushed back another hour. The status update for our flight suggests that passengers (most are rebookings due to Storm Emma) continue to eat, shop and relax. I don’t know about the rest of us (one guy trying to make his connection for Beijing), but pretty much all we’ve done for the past three days is eat, relax—and shop if we could find any interesting rations while accessing the open shops. I’m starting to eye the bottle of Teeling that I bought at Duty Free. But I’m not getting super nervous yet. It’s not like we were exactly stuck in our Galway house over the past three days. Like many people, we wandered outdoors to see if the pub was open, and we ultimately made it into a proper supermarket for more milk and eggs. During the earlier hours, the watering holes were less crowded; by yesterday afternoon, however, the places were packed with everyone was just about ready for life to resume. I laugh because I brought my running gear in my little suitcase– but what I really should have done was embark upon a cross-country skiing hobby while in Ireland. As we walked up the roadside that curved into town the center, we got a fair amount of slush and spray from many speedy motorists with little to no experience for how to navigate the terrain.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, there is no real objective behind the blog entry with perhaps the exception of killing some more time. And if you are anything like me, you really couldn’t be less interested in hearing about the travel misadventures of another human being. All anyone wants to hear is whether or not you finally got to your destination.

I don’t know how many people in the world get the chance to “call into the castle” in order to say hello to friends, but this is something we also did while walking around in the melting snow. As we sat inside, sipped tea, and looked out into Galway Bay, it struck me that this might very well be the most interesting snowstorm that I have ever experienced. And as a New Englander, I have seen quite a fair amount of snow.  The status board says that our gate is due to be announced in 5 minutes. I’m hoping that this is the case because I’ve been drinking pint glasses of sparkling water while in the lounge (yes, I do find the investment worthwhile).  If they push back my flight again, I will calmly open up the bus schedule back to Galway, and also dip into the whiskey sitting on the bar. It’s funny, because my American friends managed to make it out and travel thousands of miles back to their homes in the US and the Middl East. Me, I live just one country away and am still sitting here biding my time.

And in case you are wondering, this was the scene of us coming into the Shannon Airport this morning. Not much snow to be seen out here, so I know that that the fault lies somewhere else. I’m currently alternating between texting my Irish friends and exchanging puzzled looks with my fellow passengers. The Beijing guy just walked up again, willing the status board to give us something useful in terms of departure. Nothing. Now he’s positioned himself in front of the bar.

If all goes to shit again and I have to contact my boss to let him know that, amazingly I am trapped in Ireland another day, I won’t fret too much. Apart from the fact that this sounds like the world’s most BS excuse, I do know that I have a place to go at the end of the night. It might not be my flat in London, but it will without a doubt be a house full of warmth. A house that is not only warmed by the love of some really great people, but also the oven door that, well. Nevermind. They just showed my gate.