The Ides of March

So this is the first post on this blog about my future adventures in Ireland. I'll write a few posts about previous days if I have the inclination and the memories ... later. I thought it appropriate to type something today since I created the blog just a few minutes ago after 2 days of deciding title and url.

My course guide (not sure if that is his official title) just gave me an allowance on the tests since I got the visa late and will be reaching Baile Átha Cliath (and then possibly if there is no airport quarantine, on to Luimneach) on the 15th of March. I was reminded of the phrase from Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar". I then googled it to realise to my pleasant surprise that the ides of March usually falls between the 13th and 15th of March. While I was in school, my father used to tell me that while he was in school, the teachers and other elders used to tell his peers to "beware the ides of March" since March and April are the months when most "regular course" academic exams are held in India.

Ides simply referred to the first full moon of a given month, which usually fell between the 13th and 15th. In fact, the Ides of March once signified the new year, which meant celebrations and rejoicing. Yet when heroes in movies, books and television shows are faced with the Ides of March, it's always a bad omen.

Seems rather appropriate since my last night in my home town for a long foreseeable time will be on the 13th. I will be leaving Alleppey on the 14th and India on the 15th. Been waiting a long time for this but now that the time is here and the visa has been obtained, I no longer want to go. I feel like the dog that was chasing a car. I just hope I do well in my course "MSc in Data Analytics" from Limerick Institute of Technology. This could be the beginning of a new phase of my life and I hope I don't screw it up.

Edit on 6th March 2021 : An interesting email exchange with my faculty

Me : Thu 25/02/2021 01:29
I will reach Dublin Airport on the 15th at 1:10 PM

My Data Analytics Professor DL :Thu 25/02/2021 01:37
aha, ok, is that 15th of March?, you can relax about the deadline for my assignment in Data Analytics.

Me : Thu 25/02/2021 08:04
Thanks. I guess I now don't have to beware the ides of March 🙂

My Data Analytics Professor DL : Fri 26/02/2021 07:46
Not this year Caesar! 🙂
Location: Benedict Rd, Vazhakkala, Kochi, Kerala 682021, India

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