It has been a mostly uneventful past few days. I’m continuing to focus on my CMA studies and submit a few job applications here and there. Today I just finished the last lesson in part one of my CMA study programme. That leaves me a full week plus a few days for a final review before the first exam. Memorizing all the formulas is going to be the biggest challenge.
The weather has been chilly, which has been a good excuse to stay in to study, but it’s left me feeling more isolated. Over the weekend I had a couple of good phone calls with friends back in the U.S., so that has helped. I’m also making a conscious effort to socialize more. Last Friday, my friend CJ and I met up for another happy hour on the riverfront boardwalk and enjoyed a couple of pints. Yesterday (Sunday), I met up with a new friend, P, for a walk to the Docklands. We stopped by my favourite deli on the way to pick up sandwiches for lunch. It was actually quite warm with some sunshine and partially clear skies, but then the clouds thickened up and the chill returned. Today, there was a heavy downpour around midday but with the temperatures have warmed up since last week with highs in the mid 50s F / low 10s C. Despite the nasty weather, I trudge over to The Liberties to catch up with my friend M (the one who DJs on a internet radio station). Although we’ve kept in touch over text messages, it’s been months since seeing each other face to face. It was the first time I’ve used an umbrella since my arrival, although the gusty wind made it only partially effective. Thankfully, the rain cleared up to sunny blue skies by the time we were done visiting, so I could walk home without getting soaked.
After getting home, I get a text from another friend, J, who asked if I was available to meet up for coffee. Today is a bank holiday in Ireland, and he has the day off like most people with M-F office jobs. We have been chatting for months online but have never managed to actually meet up, so I say yes even though I’ve already been out most of the day. We meet up at Bewley’s Oriental Cafe on Grafton Street, then do a couple of laps around St. Stephens Green. The rain returns off and on, but it’s not nearly as bad as earlier in the day. For each of the last two days, I’ve clocked in more than 10,000 steps… I’ve definitely made up for the days I stayed in!
Fitting for the weather, I seek out Anne’s Lane, a small street hidden in a maze of small alleyways off Grafton Street, that is covered by colourful umbrellas strung up overhead:
Clearer, but chillier skies during last Friday’s happy hour alongside the Liffey, looking back to Temple Bar and the old Central Bank high rise:
Today marks the 100th anniversary of Northern Ireland’s partition from the rest of Ireland. The six northern counties with more Protestant populations (Londonderry, Down, Armagh, Tyrone, Antrim and Fermanagh) remained in the UK, with its own devolved government, while the other 26 counties became the new Irish Free State. Given ongoing tensions and the pandemic, there haven’t been any huge events to mark the occasion. Recently, there’s also been a shake-up in the leadership of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland that favours UK allegiance. Arlene Foster, who has led the party since 2015, announced her resignation last week after a vote of no confidence had been passed by other party officials. There had been dissatisfaction with her leadership for some time, especially in the wake of Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol with the EU, but the final straw was when she broke with party lines to abstain on a non-binding resolution condemning gay conversion therapy. The DUP, which is considered to be right-wing and socially conservative, opposed the resolution on religious grounds saying that there should be an exception made for churches.
A map of Ireland showing the partitioned counties that make up Northern Ireland:
Until next time….
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