More studying, walk + happy hour, job search updates

I’m continuing to focus on studying for my first CMA exam next Thursday. I’ve skimmed over the textbooks, created flash cards, and reviewed formulas. Today I did a practice test on some of the multiple choice questions and hit the 86% target in my first attempt, in just a little over an hour, which is very encouraging. I still need to practice some essay questions and then do a full-on 4 hour exam simulation or two.

I haven’t been out much, but today my walking buddy CJ and I meet up mid-afternoon for a walk + happy hour. There’s a blue, sunny sky above Dublin, although the temperatures are still on the chilly side with highs in low 50s F / 10s C. We head to Blessington Street Basin park, eventually finding a bench in the outer portion of the park that runs alongside a street called Royal Canal Bank, which apparently is built over the channel that runs from the canal to the basin. We enjoy a couple rounds of take-away pints from the nearby Back Page pub in Phisbourough while watching dogs on walks with their owners enjoying some unleashed playtime.

The Merchant’s Arch gateway in Temple Bar with the Ha’Penny Bridge in the background:

A convoy of swans swimming upstream on the Liffey:

The Back Page pub with murals on its exposed brick side wall (the boxer is Katie Taylor, the subject of the Netflix documentary “Katie” that’s still on my watch list):

Map for reference:

A few job search updates: UCD emailed back from my interview on Wednesday saying that they’ve offered the job to someone else, but I’m a “reserve” candidate. The Outhouse LGBT Centre is inviting me back for a second interview sometime next week. While I was out this afternoon, I got a call back about a Finance Administrator position with Jigsaw, Ireland’s national youth mental health services agency— they are inviting me to a first round interview (TBD). Fingers crossed!

Until next time….