Better than last time I commented on this thread! My gastritis has taken a turn for the better which has had a huge positive effect on my mood. I got some extra hours in work too, after working part time for ages due to being sick. I’m hoping to pick up some private students for online lessons after the summer to earn some more money so I can move out of my house which has been the plan since 2020 but it’s been delayed at every turn 😭 2025 is going to be my year… Possibly

The gastritis is… bad. And I’m tired of working through the pain. But my friend made me dinner this evening which was amazing because I’m so tired of making food that’s suitable for me to eat.

Never take ibuprofen on an empty stomach.

I teach English as a foreign language and if any of my students wrote the same way you do I’d cry with joy. You have no problems with accuracy but if you’re having trouble speaking then it’s fluency you need a hand with. Conversation classes would be a good place to start or as someone mentioned just chatting to someone over the phone or zoom.

Also if you really want to expand your vocabulary, try learning lists of phrasal verbs. Even my most advanced students find them difficult, but native speakers use them all the time so it helps with understanding and will make your English sound more natural.

Update 4: my eyes are drooping now and finding it hard to keep up with the sheer pace of conversation here!! I’m going to put it down for now, but my biggest takeaway from this part so far is, despite the lack of punctuation and paragraphs, how accessible it is! It sounds like a gang of women gossiping!

Update: I’m one page in to the final chapter and you’re right. It is a wild ride. But it’s so DUBLIN. It reads like I’m overhearing one half of a phone conversation with loads of gossip.

The last chapter is missing any kind of punctuation as far as I know, so that has to be a wild ride

Just got in from some pints in town myself, I’ve decided this is the perfect time to take a look at this mythical beast of a chapter. It’s what Joyce would have wanted. Will report back!

I love Bloomsday! But I must admit I still haven’t finished Ulysses. I’ve heard its best read with a companion book. Once I finish Dubliners I might try tackling it again.

What I love about Joyce in general is the geographical accuracy of his portrayal of Dublin. It’s mad that it has hardly changed over the hundred years since Ulysses and Dubliners were written.

A good memory I have from last year’s Bloomsday was walking past a crowd of people in period dress holding pints of plain and talking loudly over a guy reading out a chapter of Ulysses on a podium outside Davy Byrne’s. It’s not just about the literature, Dublin is all about the atmosphere. It’s a pity the weather isn’t great for it this year.

the quotation marks are missing

I’m pretty sure that’s a stylistic choice by the author himself. All the dialogue is mixed in with the stream of consciousness. A delicious mess.