I'm back!

Did I miss anything?

Three strange days

Tuesday, it was warm, wet, and windy in Chicago--I even heard a thunderclap at one point. And I was happy to stay in bed and read.

Wednesday, it was bright, blustery, and bitterly cold. And I was happy to stay in bed and read.

Thursday, it was cloudy, blowy, and snowy. And I was happy to stay in bed and read.

Today, we've got at least four inches of snow on the ground and perhaps half that or more on the way. One of my co-workers called in because she couldn't get her garage door open. And I dragged myself out of bed and went to work.

Taking one more day off would've felt silly. I mean, I didn't--and don't--feel great, but it's not like I'm on death's door. I think of the miserable viral infection I had some years back where it was painful to ingest anything and I needed codeine just to fall asleep and a mere head cold looks like a freakin' slumber party. monshu warned me not to tire myself out before tomorrow's rendezvous with family, but I figure I can blow off the day if need be in preparation for our big night out.

I wish I could say I got a lot done at home, but at some points I was too tired to even read. When I wasn't, however, I pushed through Teach Yourself Irish to the end. It concludes with an excerpt from Séadna (why can I not find this book in an un-"corrected" edition?) and a lullaby with the refrain:

Seóthó, a thoil! ná goil go fóill!
Seóthó, a linbh, a chumainn's, a stór!
Mo chúig céad cumha go dubhach faoi bhrón
Tú ag sileadh na súl do chom gan lón!

I also made it through the last couple chapters of An Nollaig thiar and the first two-thirds or so of Portrait of the artist as a young man, plus an unknown number of fairy tales from Yeat's collections. (Anyone notice a theme?)

What I didn't do, however, was write any letters or sort through any papers. Plus I've got loads of cleaning left before Chinese New Year hits next week. (And so much for getting it down this weekend *grumble grumble*.)

Still sick, but not as much as humanity

If you've read Joyce's Portrait, then you might recall that the death of Parnell is featured significantly in Chapter One. I'm sure his accomplishments are vague even to many Irishmen, so you can well imagine how dim they are to an American who's never had a history course centred on the British Isles in his life. This prompted some remedial reading which I continued on Wikipedia today.

As you might expect, it's pretty heavy going, particularly when you get to the more recent events, like the Troubles. (Why couldn't I have gone my whole life without ever having to learn of the Shankill Butchers?) I have vivid memories of such events as the Irish Hunger Strike and the Enniskillen bombing (a.k.a. the Remembrance Day Massacre) so it's hard to achieve something like objective distance. Still, one thing the comes through in reviewing the developments (particularly in light of some of the recently declassified reports and documents) is how, in retrospect, it's almost like there was someone in the British administration wondering, Hmm, how can we best radicalise the populace in order to build support for the Provos? when they conceived their policies.

What's worse is how many of these are appalling familiar. Lessee, interment for ordinary civilians coupled with prison torture? Check. Arming and colluding with sectarian militias? Also check. The British Army were also seen as saviours when they first arrived in the North, but within a couple years they were being stoned in the streets. It makes one think long and hard about what our legacy will be in Iraq. (As does this sombre post from magdalene1.)