do i say that every week?

we had a great night out. i really missed those boys.

and the fun continues over at tramway court since exams ended last week. but along with exams ending comes the departure of many of the students here. sad days.

we had the last big party in the apartment next door last wednesday to celebrate the last day of exams.

i'm not so good at the self-control though.

anyway, the party was great. and included the final paquito:

and kiki ended up stealing our #42 off the wall outside our apartment, and then wore it on his shirt... luckily later he stole a 4 and a 2 from other apartments and put them back. now #43 is #3 and #21 is #1. but at least 42 is back.

a good last tramway court party anyway.

so that party was not the last. people continued to leave during the week,

once all the bottles were consumed, we headed out to city center to go to a club called Zanzibar. the ride on the luas was quite eventful as there were several international sing-a-longs.

and an impromptu luas paquito...

finally we made it to Zanzibar and and a fabulous last night for kiki.

there was lots of dancing...

drinking...

self-taken photos...

and other fun...

but we had to leave to get christophe home for his taxi at 4.

it was an emotional night overall. but on the ride home it started setting in that kiki was leaving, and everyone started to get sad.

the rest of the night was a complete wreck. i was fine the whole night... sad, but i hadn't cried. we stood in the courtyard while kiki said goodbye to everyone, and then it was time to go get his luggage. the minute we walked into his room i started crying... up until last night.

it's really just devastating to lose my kiki. it won't be the same around here without him. he's become such a big part of my life over here and, as the comment states, he has become my ireland family. i will truly miss him.

anyway, we came back inside and i clawed around in the dark trying to find the candles and blankets. and thanks, mom and dad, for talking to me while i drunkenly bawled my eyes out over the phone with you. it helped a lot.

then yesterday the power still wasn't on, so the group of us went to blubar, a local pub, for some warmth and warm food.

it's funny that ireland's idea of pub food is either stew or roast meats along with potatoes and vegetables. not quite the same as the greasy stuff you get in pubs at home. it was really nice though.

then we went to tesco to stock up on water and candles, not knowing how long the power would be out.

the power did end up coming back on last night, thank god. i was finally able to clean up the apartment from the party the night before, take a shower, and do the dishes. i did have to throw away all my food from the freezer and fridge, but i find that i appreciate running water much more when i've gone without it for 24 hours.

anyway, more people leave tomorrow. soon it will just be us survivors who are staying in the building for the next few months. vive the survivors!

it's lonely over here without kiki though. i will really miss having him here.

you will miss me, kiki.

tu vas me manquer.