The Life of Brad: September 2023

Day 1

The adventure begins... A little stint in Europe to switch working night shift in Canada to day shift on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Only issue is the job was cancelled so I guess I'm just going to get my walking shoes on and check out a few places on my bucket list and a few I've known before.

Hadn't been to Europe since 2019 and yes they have inflation too like the Americas. Having said that I chose the option to spend only a half day instead of a night or two in Dublin crossing paths with my good buddy Nate and Tanya who just got engaged on the Eiffel Tower (which is not in Dublin btw). Congrats you guys!

Connected with Nate, Tanya, Greg and Celeste at the airport, me coming from Canada and them just about heading back coming from Greece. Originally I was going to meet them in town, but because I sat in my Westjet plane on the tarmac forever before leaving Calgary I actually landed within 30 minutes of the team. Love it when a plan comes together.

Side note: Westjet claims a communication safety issue so no payout and not even a free whisky while we sat in the sardine can for an extra 4 hours on the ground. Long enough for a passenger to faint and be escorted off the airplane by EMS and another to have an anxiety attack witnessing the fainter go down. First time seeing EMS on an airplane for me and sadly who ever was meeting the guy in Dublin must have been shocked. Plus the guy himself waking up whenever thinking he was in Dublin and sadly still 8 more hours away by plane.

Taxi'd down to Temple Bar area with the team and spent 8 hours eating and drinking. Then eventually returning when everyone was tucked in their hotel beds and slept on the airport floor for a few hours before my 6am flight to Greece. And that kids is how you save $200+ although I think I spent at least $100 or 150 in Temple Bar that night.

Super side story of Martin Byrne the Taxi Driver: "how much to go to the airport" we asked a freshly made Irish Citizen. 40 euros, weird we just came from the airport earlier and it was 22 euros. "I'll pass". Fair enough, it's in the night on a Friday in the party zone so expect to pay more. And then there was Martin Byrne, the legend! who said 20 euros, Ok. "I have to put the meter on for insurance reasons" Ok. We arrived at the airport after a very good conversation to a meter that said 26.20 euros. Alright I thought, close enough and better than 40! Martin handed me the terminal to my surprise the price was 20 euros. Very cool! and he was helpful too. "make sure you didn't leave anything in the back seat, passport, cards..." Made my way inside with a smile on my face. What a great guy. Turns out either the card didn't work or he cancelled the transaction. Either way I am trying to reach out to thank him again and make sure i don't owe him 20 euros! Cheers Martin.