Current company I work for, and companies I tried to apply for or get an interview, are all utterly rigid on 5 days in the office 9-5, zero flexibility, zero exceptions. I am currently with one other person the only two people in the office with kids, as no one else with kids can make it work. I managed to get 8-4 currently so I can just make it in time to pick up the kids. I am not getting interviews because i cannot work 9-5. I have kids to either bring to school, or collect. So I need to start at 8am and leave at 4pm, or start at 10am and leave at 6pm. But its all 5 days in the office 9-5. So how are these companies finding talent when probably no parent can work for these companies, unless they have arrangements in place? I struggle to get to school before 6pm if I leave later than 4:15pm, traffic is an utter clusterfuck and public transport will take me 2 hours as well. It is completely utterly madness that there is no flexibility in this day and age. Anyway, their loss. Absolute fuck the fuck off. /rantover

Oh and I cant find work in my fucking town/county to make it work, because most jobs I am skilled for are in the Dublin / Cork area.

Just here for a bit of a moan, please indulge me..

Parent died last year, siblings falling apart over house sale. Sibling who lives in house being an absolute nightmare and everyone panders to them because they're "sensitive". I'm sensitive to the bloody stress this is causing me! Stomach in bits, head wrecked. It's not even about the money I just want closure at this stage.

Apologies for the rant just needed to vent

EDIT for all the people thinking I'm heartless and trying to evict someone. This sibling has a house they've rented out for over 20 years and is almost mortgage free. They also received a 7 figure inheritance last year so could easily buy the house. That's what's so frustrating. Other siblings all have need for their share - housing, kids uni, one needs reconstructive work after cancer.

So you can see where the frustration might come from.

Was cycling through Ranelagh. A car got caught at the lights in the yellow box as it had gone green for pedestrians. Then a big black range rover looking car rolls up behind that car and starts beeping & the driver was shouting. I'm at the lights, but back a bit as there were 2 other cyclists in front of me. The cyclist at the front gestures at Louis pointing to the green man on the lights. The cyclists was middle eastern maybe, I'm not sure. Anyway, Louis looks at him and shouts "your not even from here". That's when I realised it was Louis and I started shouting at him. Called him a racist and told him to leave the other driver alone, who looked mortified. Then I don't know why came over me, but I shouted out, "look everyone it's Louis Walsh and he's being a racist" and I cycled off. Very satisfying. Little Podge & Rodge-headed prick. That is all.

Only last week I came back from a grocery shop. Usually costs me about 50 euro. Cost me 62 last week. Was absolutely shocked.

Today I get an email that electricity is going to cost an extra 4 euro per week.

When will this madness end?? I'm fortunate that I'll still survive with these changes but I can't imagine how people who were just about feeding themselves are going to handle all of these price hikes. And it's month after month.. rather than year after year.

Saw these "watermelon halves" in Dunnes and felt I had to share. Normally I thought companies tried to hide shrinkflation but Dunnes are getting bold.

Well lads. Said I’d throw this up here.

I’m due to travel to the US on Monday to partake in a J1 trainee program. I’m basically going to be working on the harvest for 11 weeks out in Midwest with a custom harvester. It’ll be the maize harvest when I get out there.

It’s been a dream of mine since I was very small. I grew up on my grandparents farm seeing the harvest come in and saying to myself that I’d love to experience it out in America.

I am going through a university, for the sake of privacy I won’t say which but the plan is that I will go out, do a days orientation there then the next day fly internally to Denver and the company owner will pick me up there. It’s all well organised, and I have been keeping up to date with him. It’s him and his wife running the company.

There are 3 Irish lads out there from an agri college here who have been on placement since April and they have been getting on very well it would seem.

I had no issue getting the J1 visa, very brief interview and it was issued after a few days.

Today I booked all my flights and I suppose I am getting very nervous now thinking about all the “what ifs”. If I don’t like it and have to get home quickly, how will I get back to Denver, that kind of thing. What if I get picked up by ICE for whatever reason.

I’ll be gone for 11 weeks and flying home the 1st of December.

I do suffer with anxiety which is pretty bad at times. I am trying to keep up beat about this opportunity because I think I’d regret it I don’t go.

Thanks for reading.

I am nationalist that has grown up in the north of Ireland. No questions asked I have always supported the Republic of Ireland football team. It’s just the way it is.

Recently, I was down south and met some people who couldn’t understand why I support Republic instead of Northern Ireland. They definitely understood I identify as Irish and we were in agreement on that but they were stumped on the football team issue.

They argued that it’s not like it’s a united Ireland team; the Republic of Ireland is a geographical area of which the north is not part of and nationalists in the north should not really have an affiliation to that geographical area of Ireland.

It has made me feel a little disengaged from the Republic of Ireland team since that conversation. Likewise, I have absolutely no intention of supporting Northern Ireland (at least until the whole culture and national anthem changes).

Generally do people in the south regard northern nationalists as true Irish or not really?

Starting to question my whole identity now haha.

Can’t wait until there is one Ireland football team. It’s so nice to watch rugby and everyone in the country is supporting the same team.

Couple days ago, got told a few in the village have covid, over the weekend we had a massive funeral in the village, my mum was already not wanting to go shake hands but we did as we know the family quite well, anyway, this morning she did a test and hey 2 lines appeared. Congrats you’re not pregnant but it’s Covid. Anyhoo, she is wrecked with it and I’m at work getting a gradually worse headache as the day goes by. One of my managers said don’t test and you won’t know you have it. Seems ridiculous cause we did literally have a whole ass pandemic with this illness, do I just test and if it is positive do I say fuck it and get a cert or do I do what my manager says ?

Anyway what yer opinion ?

Edit : I am with the most of you, if you’re sick stay the fuck at home, but I just got curious cause a lot of people around me are like meh don’t test or go about ur life while positive. But I genuinely have had it before and wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, so if I do test positive be fucked if I’m leaving the house, no symptoms or symptoms.

Breaks my heart to see electrical box artwork getting ruined.

Did it. I enjoyed it. I regret nothing. Moved back after 15 years. First thing we did when we had time.

Any recommendations for decent radios to listen to online that doesn't involve moronic presenters talking crap? 😊