It’s official. I’m finally a Dubliner (or whatever it is that real Dublin people call blow-ins from down the country). I’ve handed back the keys to my lovely apartment in Limerick and torn up as many Limerick roots as I can, or want to (Ancór and Limerick Roller Girls 4 LYFE!). I now live in The Smoke that is bigger than the other Smokes on this tiny island. I am cohabiting with Mr. Knows-I’m-Right and have even ventured to Portmarnock for a walk on the beach.

Now that the Tree of My Life has been prised from the fertile soil of the Mid-West, it’s time to put down new roots in Dublin. Finding a new doctor, dentist, hairdresser and Thai takeaway is one thing, but getting settled in a place is about a lot more than practicalities. Working out when’s good to meet my bestie for post-work drinks, getting into the habit of going to talks and tweetups, finding a new craft group to intermittently attend and working up the courage to join Dublin Roller Girls are all little obstacles in themselves.

I didn’t leave the house once this weekend, so I’ve set myself the challenge of doing at least one sociable and one educational (outside of the coursework hanging over my head) thing per week.

Last week’s educational thing was the Defuse IXDA talks in the Sugar Club. Attendees were subjected to eleven Ignite-style quick talks on topics ranging from

Designing For the Future Old: Complexity and Ethnography to _How content strategy can help you get a date. _The venue suited the informal format, and the free bottles of Bavaria were also much appreciated. What I took from the event was the idea of awareness – from being aware of how you are perceived by those around you, to awareness of the invisible infrastructures that make our lives easier. Definitely well-worth attending – fun and thought-provoking!

My sociable thing was visiting friends with a new baby. Suffice to say, the baby has a CROCHETED VIKING HAT!