ArchiveNovember 2020

Today I have been focused on getting a few more job applications out and haven’t left the apartment. It’s the eve of Ireland’s partial re-opening, so it will be interesting to see how much the streets of Dublin will change starting tomorrow. With only a few weeks to go before Christmas, I imagine folks will be frantically making up for lost time with their holiday shopping. One of the...

The new pillows I bought yesterday work great! So much so that I slept in way later than usual… maybe due to residual fatigue from Thanksgiving? I also stayed up late watching Lady Snowblood (available on HBO Max), a Japanese film from 1973 that was apparently the inspiration for the Kill Bill movies. It came to my attention after reading some analysis about the influences for the recent...

Yesterday, after much anticipation, the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheál Martin announced the easing of COVID-19 restrictions starting December 1st: Most places will be allowed to re-open up this next week, but with some social distancing “restrictive/protective measures”  — including retail shops, restaurants, museums, gyms, barbers/hairdressers and churches. New mask guidelines...

This is my belated Happy Thanksgiving blog post! I missed posting something yesterday, as I was busy cooking for a large part of the day. I wanted to do a proper dinner but tried not to be too ambitious — just a 4 lbs. turkey breast on bone, which turned out perfect! And pecan pie is a must… I made crust from scratch the day before and used the dark corn syrup I had found at the...

Today I found myself doing a deep dive (pun intended) into the topic of domestic water usage and funding mechanisms in Ireland. As I believe I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I don’t have a water bill, which is rather curious. Apparently there’s a long history around attempts to impose water service charges here in Ireland. The following synopsis is based largely on...

It’s a very food centric day. First thing, I prep some chicken breasts to slow cook for an enchilada casserole recipe (see steps and photos below). Then, after my usual morning routine and a shower, I head out in the afternoon to do more shopping for Thanksgiving ingredients. The health food store was out of brown rice syrup, but I found Karo brand dark corn syrup at the upscale...

Last night I stayed up later than I probably should have to watch “My Octopus Teacher” on Netflix. It had been recommended by my friend T back in SF, and it was well worth it. Very profound stuff! As a result, I was extra lazy this morning. The first half of the day has been largely unproductive. I whittled away a good amount of time shopping for Christmas decorations online on Amazon...

It’s another lazy Sunday. Although it’s clear and dry out, I feel like being a homebody. My friend J comes over again to hang out for the afternoon / early evening. I know he stays at home most of the time and practices social distancing, so it seems like a reasonably low risk. Ireland’s Level 5 COVID-19 restrictions do allow isolated individuals to have a “support...

This post will be brief. I met up with a new friend this afternoon, D. We took a walk around the northside for a bit. There were some anti-maskers protesting in front of the GPO post office building on O’Connell Street. D and I got some Thai food to go which we ate along on Liffey, then we ended up back in Temple Bar for some drinks and good conversation out on the street...

I’ve been a homebody today. My weekly SuperValu grocery delivery arrived on the early side. When the intercom buzzed, I was happy to hear the delivery person was Ciaran again, the older Irish gentleman with whom I’ve struck up some rapport. He asks if I’m doing anything to celebrate Thanksgiving, having noticed there was a turkey breast in my order. He then goes on to tell...