The weekend went by quickly. I was still recovering from my case of pinkeye, so I stayed home and relaxed for almost the entire two days. On Saturday I caught up on personal finances and other home projects. My friend J came over on Sunday, we ordered in food and caught up with RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season 3. The weather has been mild, in upper 50s-lower 60s F, low 10s C. The days continue...
Work continues to be extremely busy and very stressful. The deadlines for financial reports due at the end of the month are looming over me, while I am bogged down on transactional work that I can’t delegate to anyone because staff positions on my team remain vacant. Scholarships must be approved in order for students to be paid, and budget reviews must be completed in order for new...
The summer is officially over, marked by the Fall equinox this past Wednesday, 22 September. Nonetheless, the weather in Dublin has continued to be warm and dry. Unfortunately I have not been able to appreciate it as much now that I am working during the week. My friend CJ and I met up mid-week to watch Star Wars Visions, a series of short films made by some Japanese animation studios inspired by...
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...
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”...
My second week at UCD is behind me. The onboarding process is still slow going, but I’m beginning to get into some of the actual work. I’m usually worn out after a day in front of the computer and just feel like taking a nap. This makes it challenging to get out for a walk. While the days are getting noticeably shorter, for now it’s staying light out in the evenings until 8:30...
I’m in the second week of the new job, and the onboarding process is still slow going. No complaints, though — it’s nice to have a gentle re-entry. So far the work-from-home setup is working well. After work, I escaped the apartment for a stroll to St. Stephens Green. Summer flowers in St. Stephens Green Summer flowers in St. Stephens Green Summer flowers in St. Stephens Green A thick...
Today is one of the four yearly bank holidays in Ireland (the others being in May, June, October). I’ve been relaxing and taking it easy — catching up on some TV, talking with a friend in the U.S. over a long phone call, doing some small chores around the apartment. Yesterday I met up with a new friend, P., for drinks out at PantiBar where the streets were crowded with people enjoying the...
Dublin is reaching its peak summer weather, with highs in mid 70s F / mid 30s C tempered by a refreshing breeze. I have been decompressing over the last couple of days since my CMA exam on Wednesday. Yesterday I took the DART commuter rail down to Dalkey to pay a visit to my landlord who lives there. Once I knew I would be staying in Ireland through at least the end of 2021, I negotiated a 10%...
CMA Exam Yesterday I completed a full 4-hour exam simulation on my study programme’s website, although I only scored 69% (the target is 86%). The programme recommends taking it easy the day before the exam, but today I’m doing some more practise questions and reviewing the ones I’ve missed. I’m sure if I wasn’t doing the study programme in a compressed timeline then...