The lobby to Tallaght University Hospital I haven’t posted since surgery, and given that it is more difficult for me to take, I’ll keep this to a brief recap. Last Friday I arrived to Tallaght University Hospital around 7 AM and proceeded to outpatient registration as instructed. It was a small area on the second level of the hospital, with two registration of windows and about half a dozen...
On Thursday morning, I set out to Tallaght University Hospital for my consultation with the orthopaedic specialist. Tallaght is a suburb to the southwest of Dublin city centre at the end of the Luas light rail tram red line, which takes about 50 minutes from Jervis Station a short walk over the Millenium Bridge from Temple Bar. Once outside the old city centre, the tram follows the Grand Canal...
It’s Friday! What a busy week… not to mention month. Where did January go?! Dublin has been having chilly, but we’ve been having mostly sunny bright winter days. I don’t understand why people complain about the weather in Ireland at this time of the year, saying that it’s gloomy and depressing. Yes, it still gets dark relatively early but the days are getting longer...
The first “lockdown free” weekend was surprisingly quiet in Dublin, although I did not go out to any pubs on Saturday so my only first-hand experience was the street noise outside my apartment building in Temple Bar. A quick run-down of notable events from the past few days… Lunch at BrewDog On Saturday, after my usual SuperValu grocery delivery, I met up with my friend CJ for a...
The reality of the New Year is setting in. The remnants of Christmas decorations that still hang above Dublin’s streets have gone dark. Last week’s cold snap has abated, with the return of mild temperatures in the mid 50s F / mid 10s C. The weekend went by all too quickly. On Saturday, after my usual weekly SuperValu grocery delivery in the morning, I met up with my friend CJ for a...
This past week has been even more stressful and hectic at work, due to a culmination of multiple deadlines over the past few months. I’ve been putting in extra hours on some evenings to stay on track. Thankfully by the end of the week I finally felt I had caught my breath somewhat, having ticked off at least a couple large projects from my list. I’ll be working through December 23rd, then the...
It’s been another long and stressful work week. I’ve been cooped up in the apartment more than usual, in part because of Storm Barra that hit Ireland with rain and gale force winds Tuesday-Thursday. Schools were closed, and non-critical medical appointments were canceled. Thankfully no one was seriously injured, although thousands of homes were without power in Co. Cork for awhile. Storm Barra...
After a very long work week, my friend CJ invited me out in Friday evening for a Dublin Pride walking tour around Temple Bar. It was good to get out the apartment. The streets were busy as usual, and our tour group of 20 or so people had to navigate through the crowds on sidewalks and streets. It was interesting to hear more about the history of evolution of the Irish LGBT rights movement in the...
Today is my 48th birthday. I had to work, so it wasn’t the most exciting birthday, but I enjoyed receiving texts from friends and family throughout the day. For dinner, my friend CJ and I went out to a tapas restaurant in Temple Bar a couple of streets away from Spranger’s Yard. It was an enjoyable, relaxing meal over wine and some tasty dishes — charcuterie, spanish cheeses...
It’s hard to believe that I haven’t written a blog post in almost a week. On Saturday, I had a first date with someone new, another “J.” We met at Bewley’s on Grafton Street, ordered some take-away coffee, then walked around St. Stephens Green. The conversation was easy going, and both of us seemed interested in extending our time together, so we headed to a bar...