United We Stand

There are Americans here! yay. When I lived there, couldn't stand the folks, now I walk around town with my ear tuned in waiting to hear any Yankee Doodle Dandy. Our landlord's wife works in a men's shop and she said that she had a customer that was getting married and it turns out the bride-to-be is American and somehow in the conversation she found out that this gal works for the Kilkenny Advertiser. That's all she knew, but I know where the Advertiser is so now all I have to do is hatch up an advertisement that needs posting. Im such a stalker too, anytime I walk past the store front I walk real slow and look in to see if I can just tell by looking which one she is. Or I talk real loud to Katie just at that time. So far, haven't hit the jackpot there.


But there is a website for Irish mums and dads and on that site is a discussion forums for expatriate moms and dads and actually one post is about this which I so sneakily suggested; that we American women want our children to call us MOM and not mum. But I digress.


I posted the question of Americans in Kilkenny and while apparently there aren't at least who are subscribing to 'Rollercoaster.ie', 2 American girls responded that they were from the States and get this, BOTH went to UF... How bizarre is that? And what is in that Gainesville Green that made us fall for Irish lads? (yes, LADS and get used to it. Its used a lot. My dad still remembers a conversation with Niall (father-in-law) and when he refered to Manus and Brian he called them "me own two lads". okay, at least that's what he thought he heard. Niall's is an accent strong for even the Irish. Sometimes the only right thing to do is nod and smile, nod and smile. So anyway, digression again. So we three gators are chatting it up and one lives in the neighboring county so we said oh, we should meet up and have a coffee sometime after she gets back from her own holiday in the States and this is all on the open forum so I send her a PM "private message" (ooooooh) with my email address and to let me know when she gets back cause we really should meet and I could drive there etc etc etc and she's never replied.

She left me hanging. High and dry.

So then I start thinking, was I too forward? Should I have waited 2-3 days from her last post to send the message? Should I have played hard to get and ignored her for a bit? Now do I send another PM just in case her computer broke and she never got the first? Its a good thing I dont have her phone number cause this could become one of those scenes from a movie, leaving message after message on the answering machine that make you just cringe (Jon Favreau in Swingers) or Monica in Friends: "I'm Breezy!" I want to just ask her.. tell me what I did wrong?


But that's really how it feels. Go back to when you had to TRY to make friends.. It's like you are asking someone out. You have a nice conversation with someone and then what? at the end you say, gee, I like you. Will you be my friend? Wanna see a movie or something sometime? Its awkward.


I went to a Mommy and Me group for the first time today. It was a success I'd say. It was 1.5 hours of kids running and screaming and this one hitting that one and dear quiet Katie in the middle of it not knowing WHAT to do. But, there was an American there too! Well, she was born in Ireland to Italian parents who moved her to the states at age 12 where she lived until 6 years ago when she and her Italian American husband moved back, but I'll take it! And, they own the great pizza place down the street from our house. That alone could be the makings of a beautiful friendship...

She is going to be there again tomorrow and she said there is another American mom who goes to the Wednesday group too so cross your fingers and wish me luck. Its time for me to dust off some of my old pick-up lines...

"Hiya, How YOU doin?"... "Come her often?"... "Can I buy you a juice?"... "Is that a turd in your nappy or are you just happy to see me?"