I just realised it’s almost been a week since my last post. My job has continued to be very stressful, and honestly not much has happened other than working all day, relaxing for a bit in the evening, sleeping, then repeating the same cycle over again. This weekend I’ve had a chance to relax and unwind a bit. On Friday evening, my friends CJ, N., and I met up to see the new James Bond film, No Time To Die. It was the first time I had introduced two of my friends together, which sounds unremarkable but over the last year my social life has consisted almost exclusively of 1-on-1 interactions. Our unanimous opinion of the movie was that it was entertaining and a fitting send-off for Daniel Craig. Afterwards, CJ headed home while N. and I strolled down Capel Street to have a pint. Dublin’s pedestrianisation initiative is over, at least for the season, so the crowds are now confined to the sidewalks. There was a noticeable presence of gardaí officers on the streets, presumably to ensure that people were following the “old” rules and not blocking the streets. Given that it was already late into the evening, all the usual places on Capel Street were packed full, so we continued onwards over the Essex Bridge to Parliament Street where we managed to score seats around a barrel outside of Street 66, one of Dublin’s other gay bars on the south side of the Liffey. The streets of Temple Bar were crowded with people as usual. N. and I enjoyed chatting over a couple rounds of pints and then called it a night.
Saturday morning I followed my usual routine of waiting for my weekly SuperValu grocery delivery while doing some chores around the house. My neighbour Irene had undergone cataract surgery recently, so in the afternoon I decided to get her a get well card and some chocolates. The weather had warmed up later in the week and was quite pleasant, with highs in lower 60s F / low 10s C. The streets around Grafton shopping district were packed, and some shops even had queues of people waiting out front. Perhaps they were getting an early start on their Christmas shopping? I stopped for lunch at the Il Fornaio cafe on Dawson Street, where I’ve been before, although I’ve never seen it quite so busy. I placed my order inside first, then waited a short while for an outdoor table to open up. Around the time my food arrived, a rather old man with a shaggy appearance approached and invited himself to sit down in the other open chair at my table. Instead of protesting, I made a welcoming gesture but kept to myself thinking he might be a homeless person expecting a handout. The cafe served him a cup of coffee, and after a few minutes of silence we struck up a conversation, first by just trading some innocuous comments about the nice weather. I asked if he had always lived in Dublin, which he had, and that opened the door for him to share stories from his youth when he had traveled the world while serving in the merchant marine — South Africa, the Suez Canal, Argentina, Brazil, Japan. Then somehow he switched the the topic of classical music, for which he had a passionate appreciation. His favourites were the works of Brahms and Wagner, and he referenced various symphonies and operas I recognised by name but couldn’t say I knew as well as he did, based not only on his descriptions of the melodies but also on his explanations about their historical context and the personalities of the composers. He did not seem particularly curious about me or where I came from, although I assume he knew I was American or at least not native to Ireland. What mattered was that someone was willing to listen to his stories and not shun him as a derelict. Perhaps he was just spinning a yarn, but it made for interesting company. After I had finished my lunch, I bid him farewell and continued on my way. When I passed by the cafe again later on, he was no longer there, perhaps having been shooed away by the staff to make room for other customers.
Saturday was also my good friend CJ’s birthday. To celebrate the occasion, he invited several friends out for drinks at Pennylane in the evening. I showed up early at 5:00pm when the bar opened to help CJ secure a couple of tables. His friends arrived one by one until we had amassed a small group of about seven of us — a couple of Italians, a Slovakian, myself, with the rest native Irish — quite an international set!. We went through a number of bottles of white wine over the course of a few hours, then eventually left in search of food on Capel Street, ending up at a casual Italian restaurant that I think was run by Filipinos. It was the first time since my arrival that I’ve taken part in a group gathering of more than 3 people.
I slept in Sunday morning, did some laundry, and had a late breakfast. I hadn’t made any plans for the day and probably would have missed out on enjoying the good weather if it weren’t for an unexpected text. The message came from S. with whom I had chatted online during lockdown, although we had never met up in person since he lives outside of Dublin. As it turned out, S. had come into the city to do some shopping and asked if I was available for an impromptu date. I suggested meeting at a coffee place near the Jervis Shopping Centre on the north side of the Liffey, and we ended up hitting it off right away. From there, we took a walk back over to Temple Bar, down Grafton Street, then around St. Stephens Green. It had been a couple of weeks since I had been to the park, so I hadn’t yet seen the leaves in their autumn colours. It took me back to a year ago when I had first arrived to Dublin. Experiencing the change in seasons is still somewhat of a novelty to me after spending so many years in timeless California. The afternoon was getting late, and we were still enjoying each other’s company, so we decided to go for an early dinner at Pitt Bros. BBQ on South Great George Street. The last time I had BBQ from there was for my birthday, and S. had never been there before, so it was a treat for both of us. Sadly, they were out of brisket, which would have been my first choice as it was my Great Aunt Lula Mae’s specialty that I fondly remember from childhood, so I ordered ribs instead while S. ordered smoked sausages, and we shared a variety of sides — beans, mac and cheese, bone marrow mashed potatoes, and onion rings. The portions were huge! All in all, it made for a wonderful and enjoyable time… hopefully we will have a chance to see each other again soon.
Until next time….
