The weekend went by uneventfully. I took it easy on Saturday, going for a walk with a friend and enjoying being outside most of the afternoon, then spent a quiet evening at home. On Sunday I slept in, cleaned around the apartment, and then took a trip down to Dalkey to meet up with my landlord. As previously mentioned, I’ve negotiated a 10% discount on rent by paying two months at at time in cash through the end of 2021. We met over a couple of pints at a local pub and for the first time got to know more about each other over a casual chat. He comes across as being sincerely interested in my well-being beyond our business relationship as landlord/tenant. I am very grateful not only for finding a comfortable place to call home in Dublin, but also that I have him as a landlord. When he asked about how things were in the apartment, I mentioned that the sealant around the hob (i.e., stovetop) was coming off in some areas. He became very concerned at this, since he had just renovated the apartment before I moved in. I offered to pick up some sealant at a hardware store and re-do it myself as a gesture of goodwill, which he seemed to appreciate.
Monday came around all too quickly. Work continues to feel like I’ve been thrown into the deep end of the pool and struggling not to drown. Every day something new comes to light that has been languishing for weeks or even months. It’s very much a half-step forward, two steps back situation. I continue to laugh things off as best I can and also get out for a walk after work to clear my head. Yesterday, Ireland eased the work-from-home requirements so that employees can return to offices on a “phased and staggered” basis. It will likely still be a few weeks before I’ll be expected to go to campus, because we are waiting on additional computers and other equipment to be delivered so that everyone has a functional set up in the office as well as at home. A lifting of all remaining restrictions is still planned for October 22. I also just read in the news today that the US travel ban on visitors from the EU and UK will be lifted in November. It’s hard to believe that it has been in place this long.
One of the biggest news stories over the last week has been the decision by Irish President Michael D. Higgins to decline an invitation to a religious service in Northern Ireland next month on the grounds that it is political in nature and commemorates the “centenary of the partition of Ireland.” The President has strongly denied any suggestion of a snub on Queen Elizabeth, who is due to attend the service in Co. Armagh in October. There have been few commemorations of the events of 1921 this year, in part due to the COVID-19 lockdown, but also because they are not something the Irish want to celebrate, given the bitterness over the partition of Ireland and the subsequent civil war that ensued in the Republic.
Until next time….
