The beginning of February brought some wet and windy weather, and also marks St. Brigid’s Day / Gaelic festival of Imbolc. A summary from Wikipedia: “Imbolc / St. Brigid’s Day is a Gaelic traditional festival. It marks the beginning of spring, and for Christians it is the feast day of St. Brigid, Ireland’s matron saint. The holiday begins on the evening of 1st February and ends in the evening of 2nd February, which is about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with: Bealtaine (1st May), Lughnasadh (1st August) and Samhain (31st October). Imbolc is mentioned in early Irish literature, and there is evidence suggesting it was also an important date in ancient times. It is believed that Imbolc was originally a pagan festival associated with the goddess Brigid, and that it was Christianized as the feast day of Saint Brigid, who could be a Christianization of the goddess. Starting in 2023, Imbolc/St Brigid’s Day will be a yearly public holiday in the Republic of Ireland.” In honour of the holiday, there are numerous exhibitions and programmes sponsored by the Herstory movement (an interesting organisation founded in 2016), including a light show of artworks projected against Trinity College Dublin.
Today, 2nd February, is also the 100th anniversary of the publication of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses, which is considered one of the most important works of modernist literature. Notoriously difficult to read, the 700+ page novel is divided into 18 “episodes” that read like different books, the last of which is a lengthy monologue of about 10,000 words that comprises two giant run-on sentences. I picked it up in college but can’t say I remember much of it. RTÉ (Irish public radio) has released an audio version via podcast, so I may try listening to it on walks retraining Joyce’s steps around Dublin.
In other news this week, my new U.S. passport arrived in the mail without much of a wait. Yesterday, I had an appointment with an endocrinologist on the referral of my GP regarding the medication I take for low testosterone. I had a very positive impression of the doctor, although it does not sound likely that he will feel comfortable prescribing the “off-label” medication I have been taking for the past 3 years (it is only licensed in the U.S. as well as in Ireland for treatment of early breast cancer and fertility issues in women). He said he will do some research, but the most likely outcome is that he’ll recommend treatment via injections every 3 months. In the meantime, I received a text message from Boots Pharmacy that another prescription refill was ready for pickup, and I was able to use my Drug Payment Scheme card for the first time — this sets a monthly limit on prescription costs at €100 (the two prescription medications I take have been costing me just slightly more than that, at around €108 per month). Also, on the way to the endocrinologist, I received a phone call from the recruiter at Mazars about scheduling a second interview in follow up to the one from last week. However, I’m still waiting to receive confirmation of the details. Fingers crossed!
Until next time….
