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Would You Like $12,000 to Drink Craft Beer All Summer? Be a World of Beer Drink It Intern!

Getting paid to travel around drinking delicious beers and telling the world about it?!  Well, I sure as hell wouldn’t mind that gig.  In fact, that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing with my life lately — in between testing new entrepreneurial ideas, that is.

In the past 6 months, I’ve drank in Ireland, Germany, and a whole shitload of Asian countries: Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore (Thank You God for the beer in Singapore), Indonesia and Russia.  All the beer I tried in Asia (aside from Singapore) really made me miss American craft brews and old-style Euro-brews.  I would crack open a can of something, take a sip, and then look back at the cold metal with bitter sadness.  “Oh grains, you could have been so much more.  What did they do to you?”  At least I enjoy novelty to the point I could find delight in trying the new things even when they tasted like disappointment.  Plus, all the bad beers enhanced my appreciation of the good stuff in the West.  Beer and internet speeds: I never truly knew how good I had it.

Then there is the food.  A delicious craft beer is lonely without some truffle fries with aioli or a perfectly grilled meat which was lovingly massaged by off-grid hippies every day of its living life.  When I finally got to Singapore after months of travel, I was craving a well-made burger and craft beer so hard that I blew my food budget for the week on those items.  It was one of the most sensible decisions I ever made.  Upwards of $50 to once again taste a hoppy, in-your-face Bridge Road Bling IPA from Australia, and a thick, juicy, flame-licked burger smothered in cheese, onions and mushrooms.  Magic.

Thank you Singapore, and thank you Bridge Road for your BLING IPA
Thank you Singapore, and thank you Bridge Road for your BLING IPA

Of course, just as with drinks, I enjoy the novelty of new foods even when it tastes strange in bad ways.  I brought you along in all those food discoveries as I tried lamb shanks in Ireland to pair with my Irish red, and chocolate banana roti in Indonesia to compliment a refreshing can of Bintang Radler.  These were the things that tasted fantastic.  You were also there for raw horse meat, fried octopus tentacle balls, and chicken heart.  These were in the more-totally-fucking-strange-than-savory category, but I think you enjoyed the novelty, too.

Ok, so you might still do some stupid shit -- like eating raw horse meat. BUT DID I DIE?
Mmmmmm, raw horse meat.  Our favorite!

Onto the part where you can get paid to do all of the above:

World of Beer is selecting 3 “Drink It Interns” to travel for 3 months this spring/summer, learning about beer, drinking beer, and telling the world all about it. They’re looking for beer lovers who can learn, travel, drink and social media proficiently. Yes, social media can be a verb; it just makes sense. It probably helps if you’re comfortable roaming the planet alone and striking up conversations with strangers in places where beer lives. I so got this.

If you want to apply, too, hurry!  Application deadline is March 26th, 2016.  That’s my birthday, by the way.  So, you could just not apply as your present to me to help my chances.  That would be great!

Here’s my application:

And here’s where you can apply on the WOB site if you plan on getting me something else for my birthday:

https://worldofbeer.com/DrinkItIntern

Good luck!

How to Quit Your Fecking Job

Where Now? When Life Hands You Lemons, Make a Mai Tai

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Currently writing this from Ireland, to reveal my plans for when I get kicked out tomorrow on December 6th…. only have the first 6 weeks or so sketched out with over 3 months to fill with adventure!

It’s been a wild ride just figuring out where I would go if I not only could but HAD to go anywhere in the world outside of where I am and home.  Where would YOU go?  Remember, you only have 7 days to decide and book the plane ticket which you must use.  I’m very curious.  Let me know in the comments below!

 

How to Quit Your Fecking Job

Turning Myself into a Box of Fruit Loops

With plenty of time and unprecedented levels of freedom at my disposal, I decided to paint myself every color in arms’ reach.

If sitting along the River Liffey for the afternoon was done to please my inner child, I did this to please my inner teenager.  19-year-old me is SO PSYCHED we could finally do this!  Gray, corporate environments are so stifling and lame.  Now, I finally don’t have to play by their rules for the first time in my adult life!

If your student loans are as stifling as corporate culture and the payments are too high for you to entertain doing anything else with your time, look into refinancing!  There are some great companies out there now which may not have existed last time you thought about it.  To be referred to SOFI or DRB by me and possibly earn me some cash, please go here:

erinmmcdermott.com/referral-student-loan-refinancing/

Day in the Life, How to Quit Your Fecking Job

What It’s Like to Drive in Ireland

Are they like England and drive on the left side of the road?  Yes.

Is it true it’s hard to get automatic transmission rental cars?  Yes.

Are there roundabout things?  Yes.

Those are the basic points most Americans are curious about when imaging driving a car in Ireland.  Yet it doesn’t even come close to giving an idea of what it’s like.  Here’s a video where I take you along on a whiskey-seeking adventure with me to give you a better feel.

For the full effect, though, you’re really going to need to come visit me.  Maybe if you refinance your student loans you can save over $1,000/year cash money like I did and be able to do so!  SOFI has excellent terms and rates, and DRB has even more excellenter options.

 CLICK HERE to Be Referred for Student Loan Refinancing Through DRB (and earn me $200 if you refinance).

-or-  CLICK HERE to Be Referred By Me to SOFI (and earn me $300 if you refinance).

I’ll be aiming to add new videos to YouTube every Tuesday, so please CLICK HERE to subscribe to my channel if you find these amusing!

Day in the Life, How to Quit Your Fecking Job

Lovers on River Avonmore: Watercolor Painting Available

Prints are now available for purchase of a slightly fantastical watercolor painting of the River Avonmore.

After trekking through the woods in completely inappropriate footwear, I stumbled upon the banks of the Avonmore.  The word “Avonmore” stems from Irish words meaning, “big river”, and it’s no wonder why those who view images of the river frequently refer to it as a lake by mistake.

Standing there, I felt as though the branches of the tree to my left flowed wistfully out to the tree on my right.  She looked like a woman’s scarf unraveling in the wind.  The tree to my right also reached and longed to cross over, but he did so rigidly.  He was inhibited by his masculine form.

River Avonmore, the Original Photograph
River Avonmore, the Original Photograph

I decided to give the two lovers a little help in my reenactment of the snapshot of their dance.  The woman received an array of colors and even more sway to her branches.  The man received a deep, ruddy hue and his skeleton became the grasping hand in my imagination.  The rest I left to its ordinary splendor.

Lovers on River Avonmore
“Lovers on River Avonmore” — Finished Piece Available for Sale

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE NOW

If you wish to purchase a print of this piece, they are available through the link to the distributor above.  The majority of the cost goes to the distributor for production and shipment of the prints, with a smaller portion going to yours truly.  They show the most expensive options first, but if you’re looking for least expensive, go to “FINE ART PRINTS” at the bottom, right side of the page.  Click “buy now”, then on the next page that opens, change the “paper type” to anything other than “hahnemuehle rag 308”.  The “luster photo” and “glossy photo” options are the least expensive, but I would recommend at least the “fine art matte” for this piece.

How to Quit Your Fecking Job

Life After Quitting My Job and Moving to Ireland: Old Man of the Mountain

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Life is different now that I no longer trudge into a freezing cubesicle every weekday, and instead awake to  views of an Irish mountainside.  For one thing, I grew out a beard.

Becoming Old Man of the Mountain Means You Stop Tweezing
Becoming Old Man of the Mountain Means You Stop Tweezing

For another thing, I’m paying WAY LESS in student loans after I refinanced through DRB.  Whether you want to become an old hermit too, or you’re just paying too much in student loans, it makes sense to look into student loan refinancing.  You might be eligible for lower interest rates, meaning more cash toward actually paying down your loan or lower payments, and/or better repayment terms which change how much you owe each month.  DRB (Darien Rowayton Bank) offers the best rates and widest range of payment plans I’ve personally seen, second to SOFI.

If you’re interested in refinancing please sent me a message via the CONTACT tab at the top with your name and e-mail address and let me know!  I can then refer you to DRB and possibly earn some cash from them for doing so — meaning at no cost to you, you’ll be funding a way for me to leave the mountain and have a pint of Guinness with real, live people.  AND I WOULD APPRECIATE IT SO VERY MUCH!

Or, if you know people who are also choking on student loans, please share this article or the video below!  You’ll be doing us both a big favor.

For more insight on my new life, watch the Old Man of the Mountain take you through his day:

 

Day in the Life

Fleeing the Country — Day 1: Shannon, Ireland

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I’ve escaped!  Yesterday, before my flight and after waking up around 2 a.m. and not being able to get back to sleep, I got a head start on my jetlag battle.  It lead to a full day of pain upon think attempts, but I think I’ve beaten this time zone war in a single day!  It’s noon in Ireland, 6 a.m. in Chitown and my body is not in a cold, lifeless heap on the tile.  Winning!

But…you know… it may be too early to tell.  Let’s go with I’m winning for now, though!

I’m on a long layover in Shannon, Ireland on my way to London, where I will celebrate the birthday of a wild Welsh gent, in what I can only assume will leave me and parts of the world scarred and broken forever, but in the best ways… yeah.

Btw, if I forget to mention, Jesus fucking Christ, these Irish women are making Me blush with their torrents of profanity.  I love Ireland.

One thing I didn’t love, and which you didn’t love either (because I’m pretending you are here, of course) is when we witnessed one of the cruelest, vilest offenses the world has ever known.  I’d heard a rumor of it, but could barely believe it was true…  Baggy, multi-colored pajama pants are now in style in Ireland for women… to wear In Public.

Exhibit A:

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Exhibit B:

wpid-20140808_104409.jpg

 

“What the fuck.”

That’s what I said to you when we saw it.  Then you gave me a look back that just silently said, “what the fuuuuuck?”  And then I made this face as a way to purge myself of the horror and confusion within me:

wpid-20140808_103302.jpg

 

Mostly the confusion.

Ireland, we all know you are home to the most beautiful women in the world.  Got it.  Check.  But you really don’t need to be so kind to give every other population the upper hand.  You’ve gone too far.

On the upside, your Guinness, chowder and soda bread are still “grand”!

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And, bonus: your cider taps have friggen videos on them.

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I’m about to board for London.  I will see you on the flip side of this trip, Ireland, in a couple weeks.  I expect to see some wardrobe improvements.  But, please don’t run out of beer.

Love,
Erin
XOX