Another long, stressful work week is behind me. Nothing much interesting has happened over the past few days. I wake up, sign into work, take a break for lunch, work all afternoon and sometimes into the early evening, then I try to motivate myself to get out for a walk, after which spend the rest of the evening relaxing at home. On Wednesday, the monotony of the week was interrupted by an outing to go see the movie Dune with my friend CJ and another one of his friends, whom I had met at CJ’s birthday gathering. We saw it on the IMAX screen at the Cineworld cinema on Parnell Street, on the northside about a 15-20 minute walk away from Spranger’s Yard. The movie was spectacular, although it ran over 2 hours, and my knees were very unhappy at the end of it due to the low seats.
Today at work we had a “section head” meeting held over video conference for the four teams that comprise our department, including three managers (including myself) plus the interim head and the finance director for the university. What was scheduled as a 45 minute meeting dragged on to 1.5 hours. My team isn’t the only one that is struggling, and I gained a new appreciation for the workload that others are facing, although I still have the fewest resources. The two temps who had been working on my team since August ended their assignments last week. I had made the case to the director of finance that I could get better results if other teams could lend me some of the time of their staff on a part-time basis. So far, this strategy seems is proving fruitful, although we’re still ironing out the wrinkles and finalising work schedules. Meanwhile, we have interviews lined up for the week after next for candidates to fill a couple of open positions. For now we are still passing through a long, dark tunnel.
I was getting restless as the management meeting kept on dragging on and on, because I had a long-standing 2:00pm appointment at the US Embassy today. It’s a long story, but I needed to get some documents notarised for some business affairs back in the States. As soon as the meeting ended, I darted out the door and got a taxi, which is never a problem given my central location in Dublin. The US Embassy is located in the posh Dublin 4 district of Ballsbridge. The Irish cabbie made some small talk about the weather, asked me where I was from, etc. Apparently his 24 year old “manchild” son lives in Australia, but hasn’t been back since the pandemic broke out. Such random taxi conversations are very much indicative of Irish culture. It’s very much about engaging in interesting conversation with whomever, regardless if you ever see the person again or not.
The notary appointment was exactly as one might expect. There is a small security checkpoint at the front of the US Embassy compound separate from the main building. For the security screening, I had to empty my pockets, take off my belt, and step through a metal detector. Mobile phones were not allowed inside the main building, so there was a cabinet of small metal lockers where visitors were required to store their phones while conducting their business inside the embassy. From there, one exits the small security checkpoint building into the a sort of courtyard plaza in front of the round mid-century embassy building, then walks around to a door on one side where the offices for visa and other services are located. Inside the main building, I had to pass through another metal detector although the security guard just waved me through into the waiting area with its banal chairs. There were a few service windows behind thick security glass equipment with a microphone/speaker setup and a pass-through drawer for documents. A young Chinese (?) woman, who appeared to be in her 20s, had showed up shortly after my arrival, and it turns out she had also come to the embassy for its notary services. Other than her, there were only a few other people who came and went. I had two documents that needed notarising, which cost $50 each. I paid the $100 at a separate cashiers window around the corner from the waiting area, then returned back with a receipt which I was told to leave in the pass-through drawer. A few minutes later, the actual notary called me forward, I signed my documents, then I was free to go. The entire process took about 30 minutes. As I was walking back through the outdoor courtyard/plaza area, I noticed a young tree with a stone set in front of it with an inscription. I could only make out the word “Berkeley,” so I deduced it was a memorial to an accident that had taken place in Berkeley, California in 2015 at a party attended by several Irish students. An apartment balcony had collapsed resulting in the death of five Irish students and one Irish-American student, as well as numerous critical injuries. I was tempted to walk over to take a closer look but decided to continue on my path directly to the security checkpoint, less I invite any undue attention from the guards.
It had been awhile since I had been in the Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 area. It took me back to a year ago, when I had first arrived to Dublin and had walked down to the US Embassy to drop off my ballot for the 2020 election. The area is known for its rows of red brick Georgian houses. I decided to walk back home so that I could get in some steps and take in the fall foliage. Closer to the city centre, I cut through St. Stephens Green and walked up Grafton Street, where a large Christmas Tree had appeared at its southern end. More and more holiday lights are going up above the streets, but as of yet they remain dark. I can’t wait for Dublin to transform fully into a holiday wonderland again.
I hadn’t had a chance to have lunch yet, since the managers meeting had gone so long and I was forced to rushed to the embassy for my appointment. On the way home, I picked up a burrito at Boojum, a popular pseudo “Mexican” fast food chain in Dublin. With my hunger abated, I signed back into work and sent off a few more emails, including a few with the big boss finance director. My friend CJ texted, inviting me out for a couple of pints at PennyLane off Capel Street. I gladly accepted and finally signed off from work. The bar wasn’t busy, at least not in the outdoor patio area where we sat under an outdoor heater. We had only seen each other a couple of days before to see Dune, but it was good company as always. We didn’t stay long, and after parting ways in Dublin’s “Little Italy” alley where CJ lives, I headed back over the Liffey to Temple Bar to settle in for the evening.
Until next time….
