Work continues to be absurdly busy, so I couldn’t wait for the week to be over. This Friday evening was Culture Night in Ireland, described as: “An annual, all-island public event which takes place each year on the third Friday of September, Culture Night / Oíche Chultúir celebrates culture, creativity and the arts and seeks to actively promote the belief that this rich and varied culture is...
Today I had my first doctor appointment with a GP (general practitioner) since my arrival to Ireland. The practise is located at St. James Gate, about a 10 minute bus ride away from Sprangers Yard, and used to serve the employees of the Guinness brewery exclusively before opening up to the general public. It’s now part of a network of practises under an umbrella called “Centric Health,” which...
Saturday morning my SuperValu delivery arrived unexpectedly early, right on the dot at 10:30. It was Ciaran, the older Irish gentleman who used to be my regular delivery person when I first started using the service, and probably the friendliest. After putting everything away, finishing breakfast and cleaning up, I felt the need to get out of the apartment after being cooped up at home for the...
There hasn’t been much of interest to write about over the past few days. The weather has continued to be warm and humid, highs around 70 F / 20 C. I’ve been fighting off a sore throat, and consequently, I have forgone some walks in the evenings to rest instead. Geese and ducks in St. Stephens Green from a walk earlier in the week Work continues to be unrelenting. I’ve managed to cross a few...
After a stressful week with work, I had a relatively full weekend of social activities that were a welcome distraction. On Saturday, I had a coffee date in the afternoon with a new friend in Dublin 8, then dinner and drinks with my friend CJ, and finally a couple of beers with my friend J on Capel Street. I enjoyed sleeping late on Sunday, then met up with a new American friend for a nice dinner...
When I went to The Ireland Dispatch website to write this post today, I was dismayed to be greeted with a white screen and an ominous message that a “fatal error” had occurred. I tried to remain calm and not panic. Thankfully I found plenty of information on how to fix the problem, but it was frustrating nonetheless. Apparently one of the “plugins” stopped working after an...
The weather has suddenly turned cooler and grey, with highs in the upper 50s F, mid 10s C. Nevertheless, I’ve been compelling myself to get out for walks after work. I’m reaching for my flannel shirts again for the first time in months. Yesterday (Monday), I did a loop out to the Docklands, which I haven’t visited in awhile. Dublin docklands Today Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced a “gradual”...
The weather was clear and relatively warm on Saturday (high in mid 60s F, ~20 C). I did some routine chores around the apartment, and my weekly SuperValu grocery delivery arrived later than usual. In the afternoon I met up with a new friend, M, for lunch and a walk. He’s one of the many immigrants from Poland in Ireland and has been here 5 years. It was good conversation, although he lives...
It’s been a long week. Work is becoming increasingly frustrating. There is a lot to do, but I haven’t received enough training about how to do it, and in some cases, not even an explanation about all the responsibilities that fall to our office. For example, emails about “OHF approval requests” suddenly began appearing in my inbox, but I had no idea what an OHF actually is despite my best efforts...
My thoughts have continued to be on my friend Adam over the past few days. The grief comes and goes. I had met his sister years ago when she was visiting Adam in San Francisco, and I spoke with her over the phone on Friday. She forwarded my blog post to their uncle, who posted a comment and reached out to me over text. It meant a lot to be able to connect with them. Adam was living in Portland...