ireland, poetry and the world at large

So just some updates about my life.  If you are here there have been some changes since April 6, 2024.  

Besides the obvious, which is that I haven't been writing on this blog.

I'll try to remedy that now.

I just finished my application for a Master of Arts in Creative Practice at the Atlantic Technological University in Galway, Ireland.  I should hear back in about a month or so.  The course starts in October.  I will be focusing on poetry.   If I am accepted, of course.  It's hard to say - I've let a few people read my poems and they liked them, but I have no idea how high the bar is for the program. 

Ireland has really captured my imagination in the past year.  I've been there five times, it feels like home in a way the DC metropolitan area has never felt.  

Also, there is surf there!  It is cold, but sometimes it really pumps. 

Oh, here is a photo of me at the Cliffs of Moher.

I also started learning to ride horse since I last wrote.  I went over my first jumps and I dream about horses now. 

There were some other trips since I last posted.  Last year at this time I was in Hawaii with my parents and the kids.  That was awesome.  

Here are the other trips:

Berlin in September 2024
Mexico January 2025
Prague in January 2025
Colombia in February 2025
Iceland in March 2025
Costa Rica in April 2025

I have had to hit pause on some of these trips for now.  I'm hoping that I'll be back traveling the world soon.

The world has certainly become a bit of a stranger place lately.  I do have faith that things will work out.  But we seem to be going through collective growing pains.  I know it can all feel a bit overwhelming, there are wars and rumors of war.  But we can all get through this together.  

I love you. 

Hold on. 

~ Billy