Category: everyday life

In Milwaukee

Today, I am a more human being than I was yesterday and probably for the past several weeks. Yesterday, although I “didn’t do anything,” I was a complete zombie by 9 PM, and today I could function and even do some work, talk to my co-workers, and catch up on some of my personal things. Also, we finally started to make plans for “after.” Many of these plans depend on whether any of my conference submissions will be accepted and which of them. Also, although I am going to be away from work for more than two weeks in December, I still feel that I need some vacation after that :).

Now, being not as sleepy as I was yesterday, I want to repeat that I was very impressed by the level of technology, and with the detailed information we were given. Also, I am looking and the machines Anna is using at home, and I find it incredible that nowadays, they have all kinds of machines you can use at home, and you do not even need to be in the doctor’s office for that.

There is a machine that ices the leg, then another machine that massages the calves, making sure there are no blood clots, and yet another machine to straighten the leg that was operated.

Still, there are a lot of things, big and small, which I can help with, and I am glad I could come.

The Surgery And Technology Advancements

Anna had her knee surgery today, and everything went great, “to the best possible scenario,” but the recovery will still be long.
I was very tired because the whole day was going back and forth, waiting, and there were a lot of uncertainties. What impressed me, however, were all the recent advancements in technology.
From the very start, Anna gave the hospital staff the phone numbers of people whom she wanted to keep in the loop, and they were sending text messages about the progress of the operation and also notified us when we should be ready for the surgeon to talk with us after the operation, and when we could go in to see Anna.
The surgeon walked us through all the stages of the surgery, showing pictures and explaining what was done (perhaps more details than I needed!)
Anna has multiple devices attached to her leg (some of them are for both legs), all preventing different complications. All together, it looks like a kiborg! The buttons flash, and the sounds are heard.
I will stay here for four more days, and I hope that the recovery will be smooth.

Long Weekend

This Thanksgiving was not ideal, to put it mildly, so I am not going to talk about it. I am just hoping that next year, it will be better.

However, despite that fact, the long weekend was pretty productive. Boris came on Wednesday afternoon, and I told him right away that I would need lots of help around the house in general and to help me get ready for a very busy December in particular. He was indeed exceptionally helpful, and I felt supported in all possible ways.

Friday was our day in the Loop. We went to the Art Institute because there were three exhibits I wanted to see, and having how my schedule looks for the next month, I won’t have that many options. In fact, the Remedios Varo exhibit closes tomorrow, and I kept “not having time” for it. The Picasso drawings exhibit just opened, the same as Canova’s “Sketches in Clay.”

Overall, we didn’t like either of the exhibits that much:). Picasso’s exhibit is hype, but I was never very fond of him anyway, and this particular exhibit is all about his “dark side” and the Minotaurus, and I looked at all these drawings in horror.

Continue reading “Long Weekend” →

The First Skating Of The Season

I tried to go on Monday and then on Tuesday, and both times, I didn’t have 1.5 hours straight when I didn’t have any meetings, but I finally went on Wednesday. As usual, I came just in time after resurfacing – just twenty minutes later, the ice was already messy. As it always happens at the beginning of the season, there are way too many people skating, and most of them were doing it for (almost) the first time. I know it will be much better starting from the second week of January, but it’s so much fun when everything around is decorated and the holiday music plays over a skating ring! Besides, I will hardly have any options until almost Christmas!

Other Christmas Things

Everything opened as it should, on the schedule, and I decided that if I wanted to do at least some of the Christmas things, the only time I could do them was last Saturday. I am still not sure whether it was a good idea because I also decided to take Mom with me (and we met with Igor in the Loop), and the crowds were ginormous! Also, the Magnificient Mile Light Festival was happening at the same time. I wisely decided not to go there, but even without it, there were lines everywhere, crowds so massive that it was difficult to walk, and we ended up spending more time in the lines than otherwise.

Continue reading “Other Christmas Things” →

Biking In Winter

It’s not winter yet, but for me, starting from the lower 40s, biking is challenging because my hands are getting unbearably cold. Same with my feet – that’s why I do not escort from November to March. Some time ago, I mentioned that to my one-level-up manager, and he suggested I try BarMitts – he said that that’s how he solved a similar problem.

I decided to give it a try, and it worked! I am not sure this would work when the temperature would drop to the 20s, and I still need gloves, but now i can bike when the temperature is in the 30s!

Turkey!

For the second time, I ordered a Thanksgiving turkey from the CSA. I am unsure whether it was a good idea to order a size Large… but there is no way back now 🙂

Mid-Week

Somehow, it is difficult to plan for anything after my return from Prague. Logically, I understand that there should not be any life-threatening with Anna, and if I can plan my trip to Prague, I can plan things after. But I am stuck on uncertainty. Also, there will be not even a day of vacation between now and the end of the year (excluding the state holidays), still I feel that I am going to be out of the office to such an extent that I can’t take any time of fin January.

***

On Tuesday, I was at the Beetlejuice show with my neighbor. No, I did not see a movie. Yes, I knew what it was going to be about. And I was willing to give it a try. And I didn’t like it:). And that’s fine, but … there were three young women behind us (no, not teens!). And they were screaming so loud!!!! All the time! My Apple Watch started panicking and showed me dangerous decibel levels,l so each time they started to scream, I had to cover my ears! My neighbor said that the woman behind her was kicking her chair from the back all the time!

***

I was barely home this week, and it’s already late and I didn’t write three important emails I was supposed to write last weekend.

A Week In Review

Once again, way too many things going on, and oftentimes, no time for a short reply to somebody’s email…

This post is a random collection of small things that happened last week; too small for separate blogs but still worth mentioning for this reason or the other…

  • The first time since I owned AirTags, I used it to find a missing object – the house keys, which fell out of my pocket when I hurried up to cross Sheridan before the light turned red. I only noticed it when I was approaching my home, but the FInd Me app showed a bold blue arrow leading to the place where I dropped them, and I quickly returned and found them.
  • Making dinner in the Youth shelter. I asked J. whether he was OK with peeling potatoes. He: I love peeling potatoes! I do it every Thanksgiving at home. I mean, I did it before I was kicked out…
  • Another exchange in the shelter. S.: I hate Florida! That’s where I was called n*** for the first time.
  • I remember when I made pumpkin pie for the first time, I used milk instead of the heavy cream and declared that “it turned just fine.” On Saturday, I made it with heavy cream. What can I say?!… the same as with Georgian Apple Cake – you can’t cheat when baking! If it’s heavy cream, then heavy cream it is! Makes a world of difference!
  • I took two pairs of boots for repair instead of throwing them away and buying new ones. Aside from the fact that I really liked one of these two pairs, my primary diver was a desire to minimize waste, so I am quite proud of myself!
  • I bought all my Secret Santa presents.
  • We made progress with the Pg Conf EU slides, so I almost stopped panicking.
  • I finally scheduled a plumber and had four annoying things fixed. All four were in my small shower, and it would take me several hours to fix them (although, technically speaking, I could fix them all). That’s something that was totally worth delegating!
  • The weather is so gorgeous, I do not know whom I should thank for it!

Assassins At Theo

The week is almost over, but it feels like it was just yesterday: I went to Theo to see a performance of Assassins with my long-time friend who is very much into musical theater.

That was a perfect outing for us! The first time I saw a show at Theo, I loved it but realized I wanted to be at the table. Then, I subscribed for a table sitting, and it was awesome. This time, I added a ticket for my friend and dinner for both of us. I didn’t want to add a dinner just of myself, and I was not sure whether I wanted to spend an extra hour and a half in the theater before the performance. With my friend, however, everything was just perfect!

We both liked the food, and we had enough time for a long conversation, and she liked the show, and she liked the whole cabaret idea (and I liked it, too!).

Today, I was finally able to find a show clip, which I am happy to post.

And here is more reading about the musical. It is running for five more weeks! (And I just can’t believe I am so fortunate to have several amazing theaters so close to home)