Month: April 2020

Feeling every emotion today

Reblogging mainly to share the Queen’s address, with many thanks to Sam who shared it with his followers 🙂

Sam's avatarOne Chance to See the World

Good evening everyone, my post comes later today as I wasn’t able to publish at work. Today I wanted to upload these shots of the Shard that actually have very little to do with how I am feeling, other than this is the city in which I currently feel them.

IMG_3678-2

The weather in both these shots was perfect, and today was another glorious day. Around 20c I believe (68f) and no clouds whatsoever. The images here are from different days earlier this year, but both close to Southwark tube station.

The sun puts me in a good mood. That is normal for us humans, I don’t think I actually know of anyone that gets depressed at the thought. But today I felt a little gloomy.

IMG_3516-2

We freak out here when the sun finally beats the clouds. And even though we are in a lockdown, I just knew that there would…

View original post 667 more words

Supporting the Local Business

Love this one! Since they can’t deliver to my place, ordered it for Vlad 🙂

How Things are, and How I am

It calmed down in many different ways. In the beginning, I was calling Boris at least three times a day. I told him upfront that I will be not a normal person, and that I need his help to get to some stable set of mind.

I think that what affected me most was that things were changing so rapidly, and that was giving a sense of everything falling apart. But recently, I got back to almost normal. There are no logical reasons for that. The situation in the country and the world didn’t become better; in fact, it became worse. I even somehow started to accept the fact that Boris and I might not see each other till the end of the year. 

It would be the longest time ever for us being apart, and it does seem like “never.” I told him the other day that I want to put his things away, out of sight. I did not want to do that, because the only time in my life I did it was when I thought we are going to divorce. But he said he is fine with me putting his things away if later I can make a show of putting them back. 

We talk for 30-40 minutes every morning before I start work and, most of the time, for another 30-40 minutes later in the day. And our usual long talks on the weekend. We talk about work and research, and various home improvements, and yet another new computer. And we never talk about how much we miss each other. 

A couple of days ago, Boris told me that Finnair called him about the flight on March 20, which he canceled online. They said to him that they are going to “uncancel” it and that he will be able to choose any other flight before the end of the year. They said “for now,” assuming that based on the situation, the extension may go to the next year. For some reason, I felt very encouraged by that exchange, although I know that nobody knows:)

Neighbors

On one of the first quarantine days, I went out to take a walk right after I finished working. And when I was passing the mailboxes, I saw four of my five closest neighbors staying at a distance from each other and talking. I said: Hi, neighbors! So nice to see everybody at the same time – I do not remember whether it ever happened before!

Everybody these days behaves differently. Some people had isolated themselves way before the actual quarantine measures were announced. Some were and still are ignoring official guidelines when it comes to their relatives and neighbors; they think that the closest people “do not count.” I am trying not to judge anybody. It’s very difficult to tell at the moment which combination of measures, if any will work. Different doctors, different scientists, often disagree on the best course of action. I am trying my best to be a responsible citizen, and sometimes it is tough.

One of my neighbors is very strict in following social distancing. She was covering her face with a scarf way before it became a requirement, and she keeps the six feet distance all the time. When we talked on the porch, and I asked her whether she wants some of my soup (she loves it like anybody who ever tried it :)), she asked me to put a container on the steps. I did, and then stepped aside, and then she picked it. (She returned it to me in the same way, texted me her thanks, and left a container in the bag on the doorknob).

My other neighbor, my next-door one, still wants me to visit from time to time, and I do stop by, although I understand that when I am inside, the distance is less than six feet. She is heartbroken that her children and grandchildren do not visit. She was telling me that she suggested they come and sit on her deck, keeping the distance, but they said they want her to be safe. She is usually very calm and does not show her emotions, but she was visibly upset. We talked, and after a while, she said: I should not complain, we are better off than many people.

Yesterday, I was returning home from my midday bike ride. And another neighbor, the one who lives here only for a couple of years, waved me and asked how I am doing. We walked towards our houses, and out of nowhere, she asked: so when is next time your husband coming? I caught my breath: maybe, never! I don’t know at this point, perhaps not this year. She continued: it must be very hard… – It is what it is! Not until the planes will start to fly again. She went on: oh yes, that’s right, but I mean, in general … that he is away… is it because of his work? I replied: It’s a long story! And then I tried to increase the distance to the size required by the State of Illinois 🙂

Caffeine: A Book Review

I listened to this book a long time ago (everything before the wartime is “a long time ago”), but I didn’t write a blog post, which I intended to write; other things took preference. By now, I have five books that I read and never wrote a line about, so I am trying to fill in the gap. 

That short book (or a long essay) was suggested to me by Audible.com.  Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World is available only in the audio format, which is, in any case, my preferred format. I really liked it; it was something unexpected:). For me, like for many of the readers, the part where the author Michael Pollan decides to live a caffeine-free life while working on this book looked a little bit weird. Being a heavy user of this drug for at least forty-six years, and also being off it for both of my pregnancies and breastfeeding periods, I do not understand how in the world skipping one cup of half-decaf drink can have such a drastic effect on a person! 

What I liked in the book was the history of caffeine-containing drinks (tea and coffee). I never linked the introduction of these drinks to the Europeans to the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment. But after Pollan mentions that fact, it seems so obvious! Yes, the coffee-drinkers got this new power – the ability to think faster (and getting irritated when people around them don’t do that :))

Also, I was very well aware of the fact that in Medieval times people would drink beer instead of water for sanitary reasons – water would often contain dangerous bacteria. And both coffee and tea came as safe substitutes of water! Pollan indicates that in the earlier times when manual labor didn’t require a lot of precision, it was ok if a laborer is always slightly drunk:). But for factory worker operating machines, it was unacceptable. So it all went hand in hand – progress, and caffeine!

There are lots of other interesting facts in this book, like the part about having coffee machines at the workplace, and why in some countries most people drink tea, and in others – coffee. 

But I still do not understand why the author decided to go without caffeine for several months. Maybe to create an intrigue 🙂

Social Distancing in the Forest Preserve

If everybody will do the right thing, the forest preserve will stay open

Walking Around

Continue reading “Walking Around” →

I Didn’t Mean It!

I am not a panicker, and I did my best not to run to the store after the shelter in place was announced. But you can’t live in the society, and be independent of the society, as the Marxist theory says. And that’s how it happens.

When everybody started to stock up the toilet paper, I didn’t care. I buy all my supplies using Amazon subscriptions, and my toilet paper was not due until June. However, my other subscriptions were due on March 29, and most of the time, Amazon delivers them ahead of the actual date. 

One of the items was a pack of dishwasher tablets. Technically speaking, I still had thirty of them, but each of the bags lasts from three to four months, so I was not going to skip this delivery. But all of a sudden, when looked at my list, it said: “item is not available, we will make every effort…” Well, then I started to worry! Because what is it won’t be available in a month?! 

I started to search, and lots of other dishwasher tablets were “unavailable.” Then I became concerned and picked up the first brand I, which was in stock (which turned out to be something “eco”). It arrived in two days, but three days later, Amazon sent me a message that they will ship my “subscribe and save” item in two weeks! Now I will have two months extra supply :). 

The irony is that since I am at home every day, I indeed use more paper towels, more dishwasher tablets, more soap… And I will buy all I need when I need it, if only… people would stop hoarding!

When I examined my supply of napkins, I thought that I might want to order a next two-pack. But when I checked on Amazon, they were also “not available.” And the story was repeated: I looked for other brands and once again ordered the first, which was in stock. Four packs instead of two, just in case :). That’s how I joined the crowd with no intention to do so!