I sleep in late this morning after staying up late watching TV last night. I have a leisurely breakfast, do some more laundry, and watch the U.S. news from the previous evening. The explosion in downtown Nashville on Christmas morning is the top story. Will anyone claim responsibility? And for what aim?
My drive-thru COVID-19 test is scheduled for 2:00pm, and the pickup time for the car share is at 1:30pm. It’s the same car I used yesterday, parked in the same spot, so I don’t think anyone else has used it since me, although the seat has been adjusted forward. (Maybe someone from the car sharing service just checked up on it?) The traffic is heavier and there are more pedestrians, but the drive goes by quickly especially since I practiced the route yesterday. I even arrive a couple of minutes early. The large lot is eerily empty, with multiple lanes leading to a row of white tents set up for testing. Only a few other cars besides mine are there. It’s a grey blustery day. I feel sorry for the testing center personnel having to stand outside. There’s someone who conducts a preliminary check in using a tablet, asking for my name, date of birth, and my ID. He directs me to lane #3 where I wait for a car in front of me to finish their turn and the person conducting the test to finish processing their test, change gloves, and get the testing supplies ready for me next. The person then signals me to pull up, they scan the confirmation barcode I received for my appointment via email, motions for me to roll down my window, and asks for my name, date of birth and ID again. He’s an older Irish gentleman decked out in full PPE with a congenial demeanor. He asks me to blow my nose first, “to get things livened up,” then proceeds to swabs my throat and one nostril (much deeper than the test I had in SF), and that’s it. It takes less than 10 minutes from arrival, most of which was waiting for the car in front of me. I should receive the results later today.
On the way back I stop through a McDonald’s drive thru in a suburban shopping centre for some lunch. Other than everything being right-side orientated to align to the driver’s seat, it’s basically the same experience as in the U.S. I eat in the relatively sparse parking lot then head back to the Dublin city centre, returning the car to the same spot where I picked it up. Everything went smoothly, and I even got a €10 credit so the trip only cost me €12.50.
I decide to check out the Marys Street shopping district and pop into the Jervis Centre mall to pick up something at the Tesco grocery store there. There are plenty of shoppers out, many standing in queues waiting to get into popular shops, although the post-Christmas sales are supposed to be much more subdued this year at the government’s request in an effort to curtail COVID-19 infections. New daily cases in Ireland have jumped to 1,296, which is around mid-October’s peak.
Marys Street:
