It’s hard to believe that I haven’t written a blog post in almost a week. On Saturday, I had a first date with someone new, another “J.” We met at Bewley’s on Grafton Street, ordered some take-away coffee, then walked around St. Stephens Green. The conversation was easy going, and both of us seemed interested in extending our time together, so we headed to a bar called Street 66 on Parliament Street. It’s one of the other gay/queer spaces in Dublin, and if I’m not mistaken it is lesbian-owned. I had never been inside before and was impressed by the mixed crowd of old and young people of all different orientations and identities. We had a couple of rounds of beers before J. had to head out to other plans he had for the evening. I was happy that the date went well, although he’s traveling for the next couple of weekends, so I’m not sure if/when we’ll see each other again.
I took it easy on Sunday in anticipation of another extremely busy and stressful work week. On Wednesday, I went to see the new Marvel superhero movie, The Eternals, with my friend N. We both had low expectations for the movie based on the reviews but were pleasantly surprised. Afterwards, we stopped by PantiBar for and discussed various aspects of the film over a couple of rounds of beers. It was a welcome diversion that helped break up the week.
Today (Thursday), I visited the UCD campus for only the second time since starting my job in August. The Bursar had scheduled an all-staff meeting for everyone in the Finance Office, which usually take place quarterly, although this was the first in-person meeting in many months. Attendance was not mandatory and it was broadcast over Zoom. Still a fair number of people showed up, probably about 50? The programme featured a lecture from a professor about her research on Roman aqueducts in Crete, as well as a representative from the university’s “Dignity and Respect” initiative that was created to handle reports of bullying and sexual harassment. Unfortunately, the presenters did not use microphones/speakers so it was very difficult to hear in the large conference hall. The programme concluded with a few brief comments by the Bursar, then we were treated to a formal lunch at the adjacent University Club. It was the first time I had the opportunity to interact with colleagues face-to-face, so I’m glad I went to the event. However, after returning home in the mid-afternoon, I ended up having to work later than usual to make up for lost time on the never-ending flood of work.
As of earlier this week, Irish citizens can finally travel to U.S. again after the travel ban that had been imposed at the start of the pandemic was finally lifted. The number of new COVID cases continue to climb in Ireland. At this point, there has not been any serious discussion of reimposing any restrictions. The government has backtracked on promoting its return-to-work policy. The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) met today and is recommending that people should work from home whenever possible, although stopping short of any work-from-home mandates. Earlier this week, I booked an appointment at a Hickey’s Pharmacy (an Irish chain) for a flu shot. It cost €35, and I’m not sure if my health insurance will reimburse it or not. I’ve been fighting off a gravelly/scratchy throat all week, and so far it hasn’t gotten any worse.
Until next time….
