ArchiveApril 2021

I wake up from my first night of sleep with the plywood panels under my mattress. The support is much better! There’s only a slight tightness/soreness in my lower back when I get out of bed. The weather is still cold, with highs in the mid 40s F / high single digits C. There’s another short sleet/hail shower in the afternoon, but then the sun breaks through the clouds, so I take the opportunity...

It’s another day of moody weather with occasional blasts of sleet/hail throughout the day. My focus for today is to review a section of material in my CMA study programme and then take some practice tests. The way the programme is set up, you have to score 86% on 50 randomly generated multiple choice before you can move to the next section of lessons. There many tricky, counter-intuitive...

The weather continues to be gloomy this week, with intermittent rain/sleet showers. I have been mostly staying put in the apartment over the last few of days, although today I get out for a short walk in the late afternoon to Merrion Square. It’s well timed as the grey clouds have cleared up somewhat, letting some blue sky shine through.  Clouds above Dame Street: Merrion...

My back and hips feel really sore when I wake up this morning. I had flipped the mattress over the weekend during my deep spring cleaning in hopes that it would help, but I think the slats under the mattress just aren’t enough support for a big guy like me. I’ve researched different solutions, although there seem to be limited options in Ireland other than buying a new bed setup...

A cold snap has hit Ireland again. It’s been sunny off and on today, with some brief snow/sleet this afternoon. I’m feeling lazy after the long walk and having a late dinner yesterday. This morning, I receive a notification that a package from Amazon UK has been dispatched for delivery today. I wasn’t expecting it until tomorrow, and it was supposed to be delivered to my Mail...

I sleep in late this morning, with no set plans for the day. I peek out of my bedroom window and see that the tulips and card I left for my neighbor Irene have been collected. For breakfast, I toaste up another hot cross bun to have with my coffee then make a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich — a treat I usually save for just the weekends. As I’m finishing up my late breakfast, my friend CJ texts to...

My only ambition for Saturday is to do a deep spring cleaning of the apartment. I have been sweeping and vacuuming the floors throughout the apartment regularly but only mopping the kitchen and bathroom floors. However, I just realised that the cleaner I found in a cabinet when I first moved is also safe for the laminate flooring in the living room, bedrooms and hallways. Now all the floors are...

It’s a long weekend for most folks here. Ireland observes Easter Monday as an official public holiday that most people have off work while Good Friday is observed only as a bank holiday. I start Good Friday off with a toasted hot cross bun, slathered in some butter, of course. My weekly SuperValu grocery delivery arrives on the early side without incident. At the top of my agenda for the day...

For whatever reason, I end up sleeping in late today. Perhaps the greyer and cooler weather are to blame? A friend texts me first thing in the morning with a meme about one of the Poolbeg Chimneys toppling over in the middle of the night, but I didn’t fall for the April Fool’s prank.    There aren’t many new job postings on my to-do list, especially since most require...