Category: everyday life

Easter

I spent Friday afternoon and Saturday in Milwaukee with my girls. The weather was as almost as bad as it could be, so we didn’t bike together as we originally planned, but we spent a lot of time together, which was very satisfying, especially after the last week as it was.

I packed several egg coloring sets and three boxes of cookies I baked last Sunday and decorated on Thursday.

After my escorting shift, I picked up more pastries from Vanille before heading to Union Station and boarding the Hiawatha train to Milwaukee. The first four days of the week felt like one gigantic workday, and I was more than tired, both physically and emotionally. I literally felt my legs heavy and difficult to move. On Thursday night, I sat on the floor in front of the opened suitcase unable to pack my stuff.

I feel tons better ow, although the to-do list didn’t become shorter. We had a great time in Milwaukee, decorating more cookies, coloring eggs, reading books, and talking. It’s amazing how much you can rechange just by being together with your loved ones.

Nadia had a group violin lesson, so we all went to the conservatory, and this time, I had time to explore this beautiful building.

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TIME: Why We Do Not Bring Lunch To Work Anymore

I never thought that it’s a trend; quite contrary, everybody is complaining that ther is not enough “food traffic” in the city centers, and in Chicago Loop in particuler. However, when I read this article, I realized I could relate. At least some of the reasons for “not to” resonate with me. I know very well, that getting to work when you were working from home for a while is time-consuming and “too exhastive,” and all the “extra planning” work, which makes me especially thankful for my firm providing meal as work.:)

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Time Management

I never felt as capable of doing all sorts of things as I am now, and at the same time, I never felt like “I do not have time” as now. My wants and needs as so much more than you can pack in a day, but I am still trying.

For the past several days, I wrote plans for each hour, both workdays, and weekend days, and that was the only way to keep me in some sort of control. At a minimum, I knew that no matter how hard I tried, I could only fit in about 60% of what I “needed” on any given day, so my disappointment was not so grave. And I was able to do everything that I marked as “urgent/important” and put in specific time slots.

Still, there are many things that are important/not urgent but will become urgent very soon, so I need to figure out a way to fit them in. Also, this way of living is completely not sustainable – you can’t schedule each and single hour of your life, at least not for long.

The purpose of this post is just to wave my hand and indicate that I am alive 🙂

Spring Equinox

User Error:)

It took me a while to replace the toilet in the smaller bathroom, even after a plumber told me it was time to stop fixing it and get a new one. A new one required at least some thinking and planning, and I had enough going on. Finally, I went to Lowes, ordered a new one, and the installers came and installed it. Right after that, I went on my European trip.

Then I returned, and after a while, I was sure that something was not right: it was not flushing enough water. Boris told me that he would be able to fix it. I just needed to wait until he came next time, but I decided to call the installers because I thought they messed up and should fix it. As always, it took me a while to make a call, and while Lena visited me, she checked and said that she was not sure why the tank did not fill to the maximum. Finally, I called the installers and scheduled them to come back and take a look. Now, the funny part: when they returned and checked, it appeared that everything was working normally. I simply forgot that in some models, you need to hold the flush to keep the water running. And I completely forgot that this could be the case – I didn’t have such models for a while! So there was no need to suffer for two months. Just a user error 🙂

PG Day Paris 2023

I didn’t post this picture a year ago, after the previous PG Day Paris. That was a picture from an all-female (almost :)) track. This year, I am not there because the conference is on the same day as SCALE, but I just found this picture, which I didn’t post last year, so let it be here! And next year, hopefully, there will be no conflict!

Elpha.com

Post on Elpha – first tin=me posting something personal to my professional network

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Boris arrived Sunday evening. I was thinking about how, during my February trip, we didn’t spend enough time talking and being together overall because I couldn’t detach myself from work, relax, or just be happy. Even the time which was technically a vacation time, didn’t work like this. I decided that this time would be different. I think that although work is still insane, I managed to put my life back on track during the last several days. Escorting after a long time not doing it and then spending a lot of time together with N. felt like finally doing the right thing. Our plan for Monday was for Boris to come to the Lopp and attend another screening of the CEUFF, but the weather was summer-like again, and I knew it was not for long, so I decided to change the plan. I left work earlier, came home, and we went for a long walk, and then sat and talked for several hours straight. And that was the best thing I did for a very long time!

One friend of mine will tell that she always knows who took a picture judging by how I look 🙂

Friendship

When we met with my friend N. on Sunday, she asked me whether I could promise her to wear the gift she was going to give me all the time. I said yes, and this bracelet is on my wrist now – all the time!

Summer Days

At the beginning of March, we had several summer-like days, and although the weather had already returned to normal, these couple of days were amazing! I biked before dawn and in the afternoon, and I swear I saw people at the beach!!!

It might not be very visible, but he is playing the guitar sitting on a tree.
Just before sunrise!