PIKEYS

I suppose all you can do is laugh. I've had the WORST two days ever (after a very nice two and a half days) and I suppose things happen in threes because after having to say goodbye to Darren in Penrith, Northern England (not for good though!!!!) then finding out the hostel was massively overbooked for this weekend, to top it all off some KNACKER/gypsy/pikey/scumbag came into the hostel and took my cute little pink phone from the counter right in front of our faces and walked off with it.

I'm upset on principle. All the people who I need numbers for are around me and I have Darren's number in my Aussie phone-which is still being as temperamental as ever-so it's not like I've lost anything more than my SMS gadget and alarm clock.
I'll get a new one tomorrow probably, and then switch the number over.

Stupidly, the idiots who stole it proved their idiocy by picking up the phone when we rang it. They even picked up when the Garda (policeman) rang it....TWICE

So yeah, it's not coming back so I hope they have similar fortune as I was having when I had it lost. I shouldn't be so vindictive though. I did swear at them down the phone though after they told me 'You're not getting your phone back whore'. Wanted to know the PIN code for it 'in case it turns off' HAHAHAHAHA as if I'd give them that. I just wish I did have a pin code on it. But that's not much of a deterrant, because on every corner and in every little newsagent or shop there are phone unlocking services advertised.

Anyway, onto more pleasant things...

It was great to see Darren up in Penrith. I flew into Glasgow then got the train (a Richard Branson Virgin train-very nice!) down about an hour and a half into Cumbria (a county in N. England just above Yorkshire) to a little village called Penrith. It's comparable in size to Riverstone back home, I reckon...except it has like a million pubs and they are all very old. The one Darren is working in used to have King Richard or someone staying over in it back in the day. I don't want to sound like a dag but it was a lovely little town, and it is in the Lakes district so we saw some of the lakes about and they were very pretty. As usual it was horrible to have to leave and come back to DUBLIN and to come back to what's been happening???? Well that's just cruel.

I also have a conundrum...or a crisis, if you will. I want to stay over with Darren for a bit because we have been shuttling and commuting so much just to see each other over the past few months and while I will fight for this, it would be nice to be settled just for a little bit. Thing is, I won't be able to work over there because I don't have a UK visa (and can't get one unless I go home and apply from there). Working illegally hasn't fazed me before but I am told it is much more strict over there so I probably wouldn't get anything. The pub owners said themselves they are looking for extra hands in the kitchen over the busy summer months-I don't care if I'm peeling potatoes and washing dishes I would honestly take anything if it meant I could stay there for a little while.
My 90 day visa waiver for Ireland is running out FAST so I need to lay low for the next 90 days and maybe go do some travelling or something then try and get back into Ireland with another stamp. I could always apply for an Irish visa, even though I know I wouldn't use it to it's entirety. Thing is, I NEED to come home between Christmas and March for my brothers wedding, and if I am there by March then I would be stupid to not stay and go finish off my last 3 subjects at uni from March to May/June. Even with Darren coming back for his birthday in April, that means a 5 month gap between when Darren and I would see each other.
People will say it's stupid to try and keep this going but dammit how often do you meet people like this? Chances to be happy don't come along very often so if you have it then you should fight for it!!! The worst thing I can imagine happening is me being back at home, in a crappy job or something, and sitting on the train or at work or at home wondering if this whole thing was a dream...did it really happen...did we really have something good and I gave it up?
I DON'T WANT TO HAVE ANY REGRETS!!!

Is there a way that I can stay until January or February?

The other thing is, should I buy a return ticket or a one way ticket?
Pros for return are:
don't have to save money to get back
it gives me something to look forward to
i'll most likely see Darren when I go back
can get a working visa and have everything sorted

Cons:
costs more money, money that I could be using to travel about places
what if I don't use it? or situations change?

What would you do, my dear friends and family that *sometimes* read this (when I can be bothered updating)???

I have the money for the ticket ready, all I need to do is to decide which one. Cheap flights home are in November, and stopover in Hong Kong (can get a cheap laptop and camera accessories while I'm there...bonus). I could be leaving in September (when my visa waivers run out) or....who knows when.

I'm so confused and I don't think I'm thinking straight about this because there is so much emotion involved. I get proper upset every time I think about it...
Just wish there was a simple solution to all this that doesn't end in me being devestated.
Do you know any? Short of a hard knock to the head to make me forget the past 5 or 6 months...

Some of the girls are going to Octoberfest so I could go to that in September...and another of the girls here said she'd travel around eastern europe with me (like from Estonia down to Macedonia and everything in between) so it would be nice to travel a bit. Being in Europe is fine because it's not far to England. I just wish I didn't have obligations back at home to go to otherwise I could get a french visa or this irish visa and then stay for a year. Darren has two years before he gets citizenship and in those two years he can only be out of the country (ie go back to Australia) for three months in total. However going home is the only option if I want to get this UK visa. CAN YOU SEE THE BIND I AM IN?!?!?!

I'm going to stop whinging now. Hopefully I made at least a little bit of sense.

The Garda said they will drop round tomorrow so I hope they don't enquire about my employment status. I'll say I'm just looking after the desk because one of the girls was off sick or something...

IF ANYBODY ASKS, I DON'T WORK HERE!!!