Ireland numero uno!

Yes it's been a while since I commented. I'm not going to comment on that fact, I just didn't make the time for this, and my thoughts lately have been fairly private and I'm not ready to publish them. That said ... I am back in Dublin after 12 years away. I've been back and forth a lot over the last 12 years, but this time I'd like to spend a more extended period here. The Economist reckoned that Ireland was the number one place in the world to live. Clearly not written by someone that lives here. One of the metrics was the low rate of divorce. That's because divorce was illeagal in Ireland until a few years ago. I'm sure that once the backlog clears we'll have caught up with other comparable countries. There is a booming economy and a definite pace that I can feel here. I've come back and friends and acquintances appear to have been very successful both professionally and personally with most having two and three kids. Hopefully the above speculation about divorce won't manifest itself with any of them. The consumption seems very conspicious, and that's coming from someone that's been in the good old US of A. I was in San Francisco so that's not a fair reflection of the rest of the States, even so. Oh, and it's expensive here to do anything. The dollar to Euro exchange rate has made every euro I spend equal $1.35 or so. So I guess that exchange rates have made me 35% less successful than my peers here. If you measured success by such measures. hmmmm. I'll let you know more about Dublin as I find it out. Wonder if I can last the pace? I am enjoying my 2nd cold in 3 weeks, it's dark outside and it's 4.45pm. But GDP should grow at 5% this year.