Today marks a year (365 days) since I started a simple, 5-minute daily meditation practise. I haven’t skipped a day, although I may have skimped a little when traveling. If nothing else, it’s been a good exercise in discipline. I do think it is helpful in starting my day off from a more centered mindet.
The top headlines in Ireland over the past week have been dominated by the murder of a young woman. Ashling Murphy, a 23 year old primary school teacher in County Offaly, was killed last Wednesday, 12th January, around 4:00pm in broad daylight while out on a run along the Grand Canal Way in the small town of Tullamore. On Friday, vigils were held all across Ireland (including Northern Ireland) at 4:00pm, marking the time Ashling died. There were even events held in London and even New York. I attended the one in Dublin where an estimated five thousand people gathered outside the Dáil (Irish parliament building). It was a solemn event. The crowd consisted of all ages — teenagers, young married couples, professionals, and even some elderly people in wheelchairs being pushed by family members. Many held candles, while others brought bouquets of flowers that they laid alongside the fence in front of the Dáil. Ashling Murphy was a talented musician and fiddle player who was well known in Irish traditional music circles, and some of her friends who attended the vigil played played some songs in her honour. As of this evening, the Gardaí are closing in on a suspect but no arrest has been made. The horrific crime has sparked outrage over gender-based violence, with new calls for a “zero tolerance” policy and the need to address misogyny in Irish culture.
Work continues to be very busy. Earlier in the week, I received some replacement legs for my dining room chairs as the original chrome-plated metal ones have been bowing and even breaking at a weak connection point… obviously they aren’t designed for big guys like myself. The new legs are made of sturdy wood and are affixed to the bottom of the molded plastic seats with a solid metal base. The chairs are much sturdier than before.
I’ve been chipping away at a few projects over the weekend, including the renewal applications for both my U.S. and Irish passports. I booked a haircut on Saturday in preparation for my passport photograph, which I took myself by rigging up a phone holder and webcam light then using the timer on my phone’s camera. It took many tries to get a shot with no shadows, a decent facial expression, level shoulders, etc.
On Saturday I met up with a new friend, G., for a few pints at The George around 5:00pm. We sat in the older, original bar that dates back to 1985 prior to the expansion of The George into a full-fledge nightclub. The older bar is now known as Bridie’s Bar (in honour of a staff member who passed away), although the locals also refer to it as “Jurassic Park” because it attracts an older crowd. My friend G. knows most of the regulars, and while social distancing rules were still technically in place, it felt much more like the usual pub atmosphere with lively banter among the patrons. Closing time for pubs and restaurants is still 8:00pm as Ireland rides out the omicron wave, so it was an early evening. I grabbed some pizza slices from DiFontaine’s on Parliament Street and headed home for a quiet rest of the evening. The weather has been chilly and dry, with a bright waxing moon shining in the sky above for the past few nights.
Today (Sunday), I slept in late and have been feeling rather lazy. I went to a photo place not far from me to print my passport photo for the U.S. passport renewal application that must be mailed in hard-copy to the embassy for processing. While waiting, I checked my email and received very sad news about the death of LG, the wife of BG who was an administrator and teacher at my school growing up in Texas. The G’s have been a second family to me over the years. They relocated to New Jersey a year before I graduated from high school, but I saw them many times during my college years driving to/from Maine and spent Thanksgivings with them. Since then, I’ve called them every year on Thanksgiving, and in 2015 flew down to Florida to spend it with them in person. LG was always good about sending birthday and holiday cards on behalf of her and BG, and despite her being treated for an aggressive form of cancer, this year was no exception as I received a Christmas card on schedule through international post. When I got home, I placed a call to BG to express my condolences.
The rest of my day was sidelined after that. I met up my friend CJ for some solace over a few pints at Pennylane in the late afternoon / early evening. Somehow we struck up a an intergenerational and cross-cultural conversation with a young Irish gay couple next to us who live in Canada but had come home to visit for the holidays. It was fascinating to hear their perspective about gay life and community in Ireland as compared to their experiences living abroad. While Ireland has become a very progressive place in terms of LGBTQI+ rights and acceptance, the community is still relatively small here as compared to those in larger European cities. We stayed right up until the 8:00pm closing time and were the last ones to leave — another early night, although that’s for the best given that I have work in the morning.
Until next time….
