Well I'll tell you a secret: there are not so many job opportunities when you are an over 30 years old guy in the south of Italy with a stupid degree in languages and a passion for silly things like books, TV series and Blood Bowl. Days go by all the same and you spend your life imagining a better life, but as long as you take a decision you know nothing is changing, you find yourself surrounded by the same old faces and a graveyard of dying dreams. "Damn, I gotta change this" you say to yourself. Eventually, you pack your bags and book a one-way-flight.

It was 2013 when I left Italy and went to London with my fiancee, I started working as bartender and man... that was hard. I've been working night shift as wholesale market picker in Italy, but that pub stuff was harder. Ten, twelve, fourteen hours per day, then almost two hours to go back home in a old house in Peckham, one of the most infamous areas of the city. It was hard, really, but still I tried to stand my ground as better as I could. I never had the chance to like the town, it seemed too big, grey and noisy to me. It was probably only my perception, London can't be so bad. Then one day a guy came into the pub in which I was working. It was Ryld, this guy coaching Smashing to Oblivion, he was in London as well. We became friends, but his appearance was obviously a bad omen, as few months later my ten-years-long love story fell apart and was swallowed by the putrid waters of the Thames. In two days I quit my job and caught a plane back to Italy. It looked like game over.

Then in May of 2014, when my wounds had turned to scars and stopped hurting so much, I decided to go to Dublin. Ireland is a lucky country, and here I found my luck. I was hired as fraud analyst by an American company, I quickly became good at this job even though I never did it before. Life was better, as well: Dublin is smaller than London, less chaotic, full of friendly people. I met some guys I can call brothers and some girls I can call when my bed is cold, I had epic times drinking in pubs and found my peace writing and reading in solitary mornings at Starbuck's cafes. Still, fellas... this freaking Irish weather...
Rain all the times, clouds, wind, a bit depressing for a man from south of Italy. So I started looking for a job elsewhere, and eventually I found it.
I have been living in Dublin for one year and seven months.
This is my last week in Ireland, as in January I will start working for a UK company based in Porto, Portugal.
You know Portugal, do you? It's 5 degrees in Dublin today, heavy rain shower. It is 17 degrees in Porto, sunny! I hope I can finally settle down there for a while, if things work fine I could stay there for long.
Who knows, we'll see, I learned not to make long time plans in my life, trying to live day by day. I'll be back to Italy for Christmas and New Year's Eve and then fly to Porto as soon as new year begin, these will be busy weeks and I dunno if I can play so many Stunty games and get a ticket for Necromiser final.

Just wanted to share this with a community that, for bad and for good, is part of my life.

Best regards

Crook