Ireland, Days 4-7
Day 4: Today was a big day for Merit Medical in Ireland. Our new facility was opened which should eventually lead to about 250-350 new jobs for Ireland. As their economy has struggled along with the rest of Europe's, any kind of positive economic news like this is a big deal. Ireland's prime minister which they call "An Taoiseach", pronounced "On Tea Shook" (this became a running joke as us Americans butchered his title with names like T-Shock, Tea Shank, etc.)was at the opening of the building along with many of the big business men and women of Galway for the festivities. The facility is the absolute nicest manufacturing facility I've ever seen! The reception area is probably four stories of all glass with marble imported from India all over the place. I was honored to be there representing Merit.
Now, as you may recall the "Occupy Galway" camp was torn down. It just so happened that An Taoiseach had a breakfast scheduled with the Galway Chamber at our hotel the day after the camp was dismantled. There were about 75-100 protesters outside our hotel before the day of our ceremony at our new plant starting at about 6 a.m. because the knew the Taoiseach was going to be there. I guess they were actually chasing the guy's car down the street yelling at him and what not as he left after the breakfast. The parking lot we used was underground so we didn't see or even know about the protesters until we pulled out of the garage. One guy ran up to us with a sign that just said "Vote No". It was all about the austerity measure thing going on all over Europe. But I wasn't going to get a vote anyway, but that's the closest I think I've been to a political protest. On a side note, Mandy and Lisa were downstairs in the hotel eating breakfast after we left and Lisa, Garrett's wife, actually approached a lady about what all the fuss was about. When the lady found out Lisa was related to Merit Medical, the lady actually brought the Taoiseach over to talk to Lisa. Merit really does have a bit of "stroke" in Galway Ireland.
The ceremony was really nice. There was a string quartet playing and some pastries and coffee/tea were served. The head of Merit Ireland and Europe said a few words than the Taoiseach spoke. Then Fred made a brief statement and we all made our way to the new "canteen" for more drinks and hors d'oeuvres. All in all it was all first class and something any Merit employee would and should be proud of.
After finishing the day up after the ceremony, we headed back to the hotel and got dressed for a night out. One of the ladies Garrett and I work with really closely in Ireland was taking a position at our Paris facility and was having a going away party that night. We went and had some pub food at the Merry Fiddler (which was playing Johnny Cash when we walked instantly making it my favorite pub I'd visited) then headed to the party at Busker Brownes. Mandy of the Merit Ireland folks showed up, even quite a few executives. We had Guinness and good conversation and it was a great night.
Day 5: By this time I was starting to get tired and a little homesick. Luke had had a meltdown at Grandmas and that made both Mandy and I miss the boys even more. Plus, it was not very sunny while we were in Ireland so we were missing the sunshine too. Mandy and I spent the day alone together hanging out in the room most of the day and then walking up to Shop Street to eat. Uneventful for sure, but a needed rest and break.
Day 6: We had planned to take a tour today to the Cliffs of Moher but we overslept and ended up simply exploring Galway together. Saturdays on shop street are WAY busier than any other day. We shopped for last minute gifts and checked out St. Nicholas church which is just off shop street. The stained glass in the church was amazing and the feeling of reverence being in that church was something I don't think I've ever felt anywhere else. It was both a little eerie and calming at the same time. On shop street we saw all kinds of people; buskers, a guy dressed up like the devil, a guy dressed up in all tin foil (sort of creepy) and another guy dressed up like he was made of seaweed. For just plain old people watching, you can't beat Shop Street in Galway.
Day 7: Long plane ride. Jet lag. Got our boys back!!! Sleep. What a fantastic trip, but it was absolutely great being home. I'll try and either post pictures here or on Flickr soon.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Ireland, Day 3
Today was the big day for my boss and I. The audit we were here to support kicked of at 9am. A Scotsman named Magnus was in as the auditor. It was funny to me listenting to Irish and Scottish people interact. At one point, I thought it had evolved into some sort of match to see who had the strongest brogue in their accent. I almost went over-the-top southern drawl on them!
During the audit, Garrett and I ran into the CEO of Merit, Fred Lampropolous. Fred invited us out to a dinner where the grand opening of our new Irish manufacturing facility would be celebrated by a select few. I didn't know if this was a good or bad thing, but I must say when it was all over I felt pretty honored to be there with Mandy at the dinner that night. But I digress... The audit was a success. There were no findings, which is a good thing, and Merit can continue doing business as normal. It's always a great feeling when an audit goes well because it means your company is doing a good job.
After work we headed back to the hotel to change and get ready for dinner. We caught a bus with the other Merit folks at the hotel and made our way to KC Blake's, a fairly high-end seafood restaurant in the heart of Galway. I'll admit that under normal circumstances these are not the kind of dinners worker bees like myself, Mandy, and my boss Garrett get invited to. However, besides running into Fred at the IReland plant, Mandy and I actually flew on the same flight as Fred from SLC to Paris. He spoke with us first about dinner on the plane, but it was in passing and I figured he was just trying to be polite but maybe really didn't want us to go. The second invitation at the plant meant I was wrong I guess and we got an official email invitation on Wednesday morning.
The restaurant was really nice and the company, drink, and food were all top notch. Mandy got seated next to one of Merit's female sales reps. from Massachusetts who she'd had very close dealings with over the phone regarding some of the woman's benefits. I guess this lady has a son who is a lot Luke regarding some of the peculiar things they do and ways they act. It seemed they talked all night which I was really happy to see (but felt left out by my own spouse! LOL) as Mandy as well all know is normally on the reserved side. I had a rabbit entree which was awesome. Mandy had teh smoked salmon and crab claws which was also very good. I spent most of the evening talking to two guys from the Netherlands who head up some of our operations there. Rene and Camille. They were both very nice guys and Rene had actually vacationed in Austin, TX the year prior so we got to talk Texas which is always a welcomed thing as far as I'm concerned. All in all, it was a great day and night. After dinner Mandy and I strolled back to the hotel and went to bed full on great food and great company.
A few things I forgot to mention about this week:
On our way to dinner Monday night, we walked passed Eyre Square which is a park in between our hotel and Shop Street which is where all the shops, eateries and pubs are. On the square was the "Occupy Galway" camp. It wasn't as big as some of the "Occupy" protest camps in America, but it was fairly large. I snapped some pictures and will post them later. I guess this camp had been there for about 250 days. Anyway, on Wednesday morning the Garda (Irish police) did a pre-dawn raid of the camp to dissolve and remove it. It was peaceful and the news reported there were only 6 protesters in the camp during the raid. By the time I got home from work on Wednesday it was like that camp had never been there. To us it was just weirdly coincidental the camp would be torn down during out stay here, especially after it had been up for more than 8 months.
During the audit, Garrett and I ran into the CEO of Merit, Fred Lampropolous. Fred invited us out to a dinner where the grand opening of our new Irish manufacturing facility would be celebrated by a select few. I didn't know if this was a good or bad thing, but I must say when it was all over I felt pretty honored to be there with Mandy at the dinner that night. But I digress... The audit was a success. There were no findings, which is a good thing, and Merit can continue doing business as normal. It's always a great feeling when an audit goes well because it means your company is doing a good job.
After work we headed back to the hotel to change and get ready for dinner. We caught a bus with the other Merit folks at the hotel and made our way to KC Blake's, a fairly high-end seafood restaurant in the heart of Galway. I'll admit that under normal circumstances these are not the kind of dinners worker bees like myself, Mandy, and my boss Garrett get invited to. However, besides running into Fred at the IReland plant, Mandy and I actually flew on the same flight as Fred from SLC to Paris. He spoke with us first about dinner on the plane, but it was in passing and I figured he was just trying to be polite but maybe really didn't want us to go. The second invitation at the plant meant I was wrong I guess and we got an official email invitation on Wednesday morning.
The restaurant was really nice and the company, drink, and food were all top notch. Mandy got seated next to one of Merit's female sales reps. from Massachusetts who she'd had very close dealings with over the phone regarding some of the woman's benefits. I guess this lady has a son who is a lot Luke regarding some of the peculiar things they do and ways they act. It seemed they talked all night which I was really happy to see (but felt left out by my own spouse! LOL) as Mandy as well all know is normally on the reserved side. I had a rabbit entree which was awesome. Mandy had teh smoked salmon and crab claws which was also very good. I spent most of the evening talking to two guys from the Netherlands who head up some of our operations there. Rene and Camille. They were both very nice guys and Rene had actually vacationed in Austin, TX the year prior so we got to talk Texas which is always a welcomed thing as far as I'm concerned. All in all, it was a great day and night. After dinner Mandy and I strolled back to the hotel and went to bed full on great food and great company.
A few things I forgot to mention about this week:
On our way to dinner Monday night, we walked passed Eyre Square which is a park in between our hotel and Shop Street which is where all the shops, eateries and pubs are. On the square was the "Occupy Galway" camp. It wasn't as big as some of the "Occupy" protest camps in America, but it was fairly large. I snapped some pictures and will post them later. I guess this camp had been there for about 250 days. Anyway, on Wednesday morning the Garda (Irish police) did a pre-dawn raid of the camp to dissolve and remove it. It was peaceful and the news reported there were only 6 protesters in the camp during the raid. By the time I got home from work on Wednesday it was like that camp had never been there. To us it was just weirdly coincidental the camp would be torn down during out stay here, especially after it had been up for more than 8 months.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Ireland, Day 2
So today, I had to go in to work. It made it easier reminding myself that work is the main reason I was in Ireland, but I still would've preferred to just hang out with Mandy. However, that wasn't in the cards, but that's not a big deal. I'd always wanted to visit the plant in Galway and put faces with the names of the many people I'd worked with from there over the last decade or so.
The drive in to the plant was exciting to say the least. The Merit-Ireland folks had arranged a rental car for my boss to drive while he was here so we took that into work. First, I went around to the passenger side to get in but oddly there was a steering wheel on that side. The vehicles here are all left-side drive which we'd forgot. Then, over here they drive on the left side of the road. My boss had driven in this situation before but it takes a bit to get used to it apparently. I have to admit, it takes some time to get used to even riding on the wrong side of the road. Several times, I thought for sure we were headed for a head-on collision before remembering where we were. Also, the lanes seem way more narrow here than in the States. When the big double-decker buses pass you, it seems as though they're just inches away from you. It makes riding in a car quite the adventure. We almost got into to only one accident and the car would've hit us on my bosses side of the car so no big deal (I was actually pretty scared!!!).
The folks from Merit-Ireland are great people; real salt-of-the-earth type people. It was great to get to put faces with names. Just being around them all talking with their Irish brogue is really cool. All of them are very polite and have great dispositions. Being good at being social is a must for Irish people due to the amount of bad weather. There is a lot of time spent inside socializing. That's why Public Houses (Pubs) are so abundant and popular I've been told. Oh, one other thing I forgot to mention, all of the street signs, advertisements, and things of that nature are presented in both Gailec and English, Gaielic first, and sometimes only in Gaelic. There are still communities in rural Ireland only minutes from the city center of Galway that don't speak any English and all the signs are in Gaelic.
After work, my boss and I headed back to the hotel to pick up our wives. Mandy and Lisa (my boss Garrett's wife) had spent the day together walking the streets of Galway. Mandy visited a couple of really beautiful old churches. She also went to a sweater store to buy a hoodie as she didn't pack a jacket. She bought it just in time to get caught in a rainstorm that soaked her new hoodie through and through. Her and Lisa also went to a tradition Irish tea shop and had tea and pastries. Let me just say I love tea of all kinds and have continually tried to get Mandy to like it too for as long as I can remember with no success. However, she loved the tea at the tea house and I may make her into a tea drinker yet.
Once we picked up the ladies we headed west up the coast of Galway towards O'Grady's Seafood on the pier in Barna Ireland. The day prior Lisa had read that O'Gradys had been named Ireland's best seafood experience so we were super excited. On the way we drove to Spidael Ireland wher they had some craft shops. We just missed several of the shops as most shops close around 5pm durint the week, even in city Galway. But the jewelery shop was open, so we poked around in there for about a half an hour. The shop keeper/owner was a typical Irishman. He was very social, funny, and a very accomplished craftsman in his own right. He had to know where we were all from and swore he knew Garrett and I both. He then proceeded to tell us of how his real love was engines and how he just go through restoring a 1950's Massey-Ferguson tractor and was hoping to start retrofitting his VW bus into a camper van. I wanted to tell him about the VW Bus Mandy and I had, but that would've led to another half hour of socializing, so I decided to keep that to ourselves, and we got back on the road and headed to dinner.
O'Grady's was what I thought a typical Irish seafood restaurant would be. It was right on Galway Bay with fantastic views from almost every table. Mandy and I split a ravioli filled with local prawns and greens for starters and split a fantastic seafood platter for the entree that was made up mainly of cold smoked fish. All of it was first rate. The food mixed with the ambience and company of my boss and his wife made for a very special and memorable evening. After eating, we walked down to the beach and picked up a few shells and rocks for some special folks back home. We saw some old fishing vessals that looked to have simply been left where they currently lay. Ther were in a bad way but made for some great photos. I can't post the pics from my phone over here so I'll get some photos posted next week sometime.
Upon arrival back to the hotel, we parted ways with my boss and his wife and Mandy and I headed for a dip in the hot tub. The jacuzzi was outside. The hot temp of the water mixed with the cold temp of the air and the view from the hot tub of the water was truly relaxing bordering on perfect. We soaked for about half an hour than went off to bed. Day 2 is in the books.
The drive in to the plant was exciting to say the least. The Merit-Ireland folks had arranged a rental car for my boss to drive while he was here so we took that into work. First, I went around to the passenger side to get in but oddly there was a steering wheel on that side. The vehicles here are all left-side drive which we'd forgot. Then, over here they drive on the left side of the road. My boss had driven in this situation before but it takes a bit to get used to it apparently. I have to admit, it takes some time to get used to even riding on the wrong side of the road. Several times, I thought for sure we were headed for a head-on collision before remembering where we were. Also, the lanes seem way more narrow here than in the States. When the big double-decker buses pass you, it seems as though they're just inches away from you. It makes riding in a car quite the adventure. We almost got into to only one accident and the car would've hit us on my bosses side of the car so no big deal (I was actually pretty scared!!!).
The folks from Merit-Ireland are great people; real salt-of-the-earth type people. It was great to get to put faces with names. Just being around them all talking with their Irish brogue is really cool. All of them are very polite and have great dispositions. Being good at being social is a must for Irish people due to the amount of bad weather. There is a lot of time spent inside socializing. That's why Public Houses (Pubs) are so abundant and popular I've been told. Oh, one other thing I forgot to mention, all of the street signs, advertisements, and things of that nature are presented in both Gailec and English, Gaielic first, and sometimes only in Gaelic. There are still communities in rural Ireland only minutes from the city center of Galway that don't speak any English and all the signs are in Gaelic.
After work, my boss and I headed back to the hotel to pick up our wives. Mandy and Lisa (my boss Garrett's wife) had spent the day together walking the streets of Galway. Mandy visited a couple of really beautiful old churches. She also went to a sweater store to buy a hoodie as she didn't pack a jacket. She bought it just in time to get caught in a rainstorm that soaked her new hoodie through and through. Her and Lisa also went to a tradition Irish tea shop and had tea and pastries. Let me just say I love tea of all kinds and have continually tried to get Mandy to like it too for as long as I can remember with no success. However, she loved the tea at the tea house and I may make her into a tea drinker yet.
Once we picked up the ladies we headed west up the coast of Galway towards O'Grady's Seafood on the pier in Barna Ireland. The day prior Lisa had read that O'Gradys had been named Ireland's best seafood experience so we were super excited. On the way we drove to Spidael Ireland wher they had some craft shops. We just missed several of the shops as most shops close around 5pm durint the week, even in city Galway. But the jewelery shop was open, so we poked around in there for about a half an hour. The shop keeper/owner was a typical Irishman. He was very social, funny, and a very accomplished craftsman in his own right. He had to know where we were all from and swore he knew Garrett and I both. He then proceeded to tell us of how his real love was engines and how he just go through restoring a 1950's Massey-Ferguson tractor and was hoping to start retrofitting his VW bus into a camper van. I wanted to tell him about the VW Bus Mandy and I had, but that would've led to another half hour of socializing, so I decided to keep that to ourselves, and we got back on the road and headed to dinner.
O'Grady's was what I thought a typical Irish seafood restaurant would be. It was right on Galway Bay with fantastic views from almost every table. Mandy and I split a ravioli filled with local prawns and greens for starters and split a fantastic seafood platter for the entree that was made up mainly of cold smoked fish. All of it was first rate. The food mixed with the ambience and company of my boss and his wife made for a very special and memorable evening. After eating, we walked down to the beach and picked up a few shells and rocks for some special folks back home. We saw some old fishing vessals that looked to have simply been left where they currently lay. Ther were in a bad way but made for some great photos. I can't post the pics from my phone over here so I'll get some photos posted next week sometime.
Upon arrival back to the hotel, we parted ways with my boss and his wife and Mandy and I headed for a dip in the hot tub. The jacuzzi was outside. The hot temp of the water mixed with the cold temp of the air and the view from the hot tub of the water was truly relaxing bordering on perfect. We soaked for about half an hour than went off to bed. Day 2 is in the books.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Ireland 2012 Trip Journal
13-MAY,2012- Day 1 of Ireland trip
Mandy and I were super excited for this new adventure because neither one of us ever thought we would get to travel someplace like Ireland. However, there was also some fear mixed in with a bit of sadness. This was Mandy's first time leaving the boys and the longest plane ride either of us had ever taken. Not to mention it was our first time traveling internationally. And holy cow was it a long flight. Mandy swears they were the smallest and most cramped seats we'd ever had on a flight. And the movies they played were either horrible (Larry Crowne) or we had already seen them (We Bought a Zoo and MI3: Ghost Protocol). Neither one of us got any real sleep and the 10.5 hour flight seemed to never want to end. But it did.
We landed in France about 11am frog time. Walking into Charles Degaul Airport's Dutyy Free area was like shopping at the Caesar's Palace mall in Las Vegas; Chanel, Prada, Hermes, Armani, and a bunch of other places we don't shop all had large stores in the airport. Our connecting gate was close to where we departed So we had abou an hour and some change to wait for the flight to Dublin. I can't remember ever being that tired, and sleep just wouldn't come for us. UGH!
We finally boarded our flight to Dublin only to find out it was delayed.They were pumping techno pop music throughout the plane which actually made the delay even worse. Finally, we took off, and Mandy and I both slept until we landed. But the sleep made us even more tired.
We met the driver at the baggage claim and he taxied us from Dublin to Galway, about another 2 hours, so we napped a little more and saw some Irish country side. It was the first notice by us of why they call this place the Emerald Isle; it was very very green!
Once we finally got to our hotel, my boss and his wife just happened to be in the lobby when we were checking in, so we made plans for dinner, headed up to the room and then headed out to City Centre which is a part of Galway about 1/4 mile from the hotel. It's small streets and alley ways with shops of all kinds, restaurants, and pubs. We went to McDonough's for fish and chips. They were probably the best we've ever had. I wish I wouldn't have been so tired so we could've enjoyed it a bit more. After dinner, we stolled the streets of Galway and eventually made our way to a pub with a Gaelic name I cannot spell or say. We all had a pint of Guiness, the national drink of Ireland, and chatted with some Galway locals who asked all kinds of questions about U.S. politics. We bailed out after 1 drink and headed back to the hotel at which we immediately went upstairs to our room and passed out. A deeper sleep I don't think I've ever had! All in all, day 1 in Ireland was good, although a bit of a pain due to how tired we were.
We landed in France about 11am frog time. Walking into Charles Degaul Airport's Dutyy Free area was like shopping at the Caesar's Palace mall in Las Vegas; Chanel, Prada, Hermes, Armani, and a bunch of other places we don't shop all had large stores in the airport. Our connecting gate was close to where we departed So we had abou an hour and some change to wait for the flight to Dublin. I can't remember ever being that tired, and sleep just wouldn't come for us. UGH!
We finally boarded our flight to Dublin only to find out it was delayed.They were pumping techno pop music throughout the plane which actually made the delay even worse. Finally, we took off, and Mandy and I both slept until we landed. But the sleep made us even more tired.
We met the driver at the baggage claim and he taxied us from Dublin to Galway, about another 2 hours, so we napped a little more and saw some Irish country side. It was the first notice by us of why they call this place the Emerald Isle; it was very very green!
Once we finally got to our hotel, my boss and his wife just happened to be in the lobby when we were checking in, so we made plans for dinner, headed up to the room and then headed out to City Centre which is a part of Galway about 1/4 mile from the hotel. It's small streets and alley ways with shops of all kinds, restaurants, and pubs. We went to McDonough's for fish and chips. They were probably the best we've ever had. I wish I wouldn't have been so tired so we could've enjoyed it a bit more. After dinner, we stolled the streets of Galway and eventually made our way to a pub with a Gaelic name I cannot spell or say. We all had a pint of Guiness, the national drink of Ireland, and chatted with some Galway locals who asked all kinds of questions about U.S. politics. We bailed out after 1 drink and headed back to the hotel at which we immediately went upstairs to our room and passed out. A deeper sleep I don't think I've ever had! All in all, day 1 in Ireland was good, although a bit of a pain due to how tired we were.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Moab! We can't wait to go back....
So Mandy, the kids, and I spent Sunday through Wednesday before this Thanksgiving down in Moab, UT. Moab is just a few miles from the entrance to Arches National Park and about 30 or so miles from Dead Horse Point and Canyonlands Nation Parks. It's the most surrealistic environment this Texas kid has ever seen in person. My boss, a more-than-avid canyoneer and self proclaimed desert rat, has been trying to get us to go down there for years now, but it's just never worked out until now. Why did we let it take us so long?
Moab is a mountain biking and off-roading mecca along with being located very close to several national parks, so going down in November you not only avoid all of road hogging sprocket jockeys on their bikes (though we did see several down there, three dillholes actually riding at night withou any lights... natural selection in action I guess), you get off-season rates. We stayed in a dumpy hotel room the first night after we left for Moab a day earlier than we'd planned (you take what you can get right). We spent the next three days/two nights in a sweet one bedroom cabin right on the Colorado river about 14 miles outside of Moab. It was also a winery, but the wine tasted like Mad Dog 20/20, so it's not as posh as you might be thinking. It was definitely not a bad way to spend our 8th wedding anniversary!!
The pictures with the stables and the ones with the river are the views from our cabin. It was pretty isolated and very quiet (besides the sound of the running river) just as I'd hoped. The rest of the pictures are just random ones from all over on our trip. The pics aren't the greatest as we realized AFTER the trip that our camera was on the fritz. Still, you get the gist of it. I wish there was more scale to them because some of the photos just don't do the massiveness of some of the formations and arches justice. Sorry it took so long for another blog post. I make no promises about the future other than to say we'll update it the next time we update it. Love to all, The Sims
Moab is a mountain biking and off-roading mecca along with being located very close to several national parks, so going down in November you not only avoid all of road hogging sprocket jockeys on their bikes (though we did see several down there, three dillholes actually riding at night withou any lights... natural selection in action I guess), you get off-season rates. We stayed in a dumpy hotel room the first night after we left for Moab a day earlier than we'd planned (you take what you can get right). We spent the next three days/two nights in a sweet one bedroom cabin right on the Colorado river about 14 miles outside of Moab. It was also a winery, but the wine tasted like Mad Dog 20/20, so it's not as posh as you might be thinking. It was definitely not a bad way to spend our 8th wedding anniversary!!
The pictures with the stables and the ones with the river are the views from our cabin. It was pretty isolated and very quiet (besides the sound of the running river) just as I'd hoped. The rest of the pictures are just random ones from all over on our trip. The pics aren't the greatest as we realized AFTER the trip that our camera was on the fritz. Still, you get the gist of it. I wish there was more scale to them because some of the photos just don't do the massiveness of some of the formations and arches justice. Sorry it took so long for another blog post. I make no promises about the future other than to say we'll update it the next time we update it. Love to all, The Sims
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Master Nathan in a Sportscoat
We actually bought this outfit for Luke to take pictures in but we lost it, then found it later when it was too small for Luke. It's a little big on Nate, but it sure does make him look CUTE!!
As Always,
Jared
Snow Load
Here's a couple of pictures of our's and the neighbor's houses after the last big storm we had. This winter is by far the snowiest I've seen since I've lived in Utah. For about a month it seemed every day we'd wake up or come home from work to a couple of fresh inches of snow. We've gotten probably 5 feet total this year and no, I'm not kidding.
- The Sims
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