days_unfolding

No contact from the lawn mower guy so far.

Had a nice nap at lunch and overslept.

Crud. My dad thinks that the economy is acting a lot like 2008 and there is likely to be a recession. He said, "If it happens, the shit will hit the fan between the third week of September and the third week of October." That's when my mom's house is likely to go up for sale. Dad said that if there is a recession, it is not likely to affect the real estate market right away.

Contacted the real estate guy who's managing the rehab of my mom's house, and he said that the waterproofing of the basement is done, and they're just doing some odds and ends like the backsplash for the kitchen.

Ran out to mail the package containing the backpack that I sold on eBay and dropped off stuff at the thrift store.

I attended the volunteer session for Kamala Harris. They mostly are looking for phone bank volunteers, for which I did not sign up because I suck on the phone. (I hate phone calls.) I did sign up for some social media work though. And I'd do postcards, but they didn't have a slot for postcards. Illinois is a reliably blue state, but I'm wondering if I should knock on doors in Wisconsin? But they don't like Illinois people up there? I ordered a lawn sign.

Well, the lawn guy came and mowed. He said that he ran into a metal pole and it almost destroyed the mower. if it's the one that I think, it's visible coming up to it. Now he wants to charge me an extra $100 for "cleanup," when he didn't actually clean everything up. I am not happy with this guy. And now I’m not happy with their support team because they just keep sending me email on how to approve the quote, which I did not approve. He said that they did not pay him for mowing, which they should have done. I told him that I was going to talk to the company, and he said, “Okay.”

I need to put out the recycling and get my blood pressure down (done).

Today is the day where reality sinks in. I’m not going to get a chance to study Italian or exercise before I leave for my flight on Friday. I should have plenty of time to study Italian at O’Hare Airport. (I should start throwing stuff, including Italian verb exercises, in my backpack for the flight.)

I need to empty the dryer, put clothes in the dryer (done), and write some emails and messages (done). Then I’ll go to bed.

Cool. I changed my Apple Watch face to the skyline of New York City in the hope that I’ll go there soon. The picture changes according to the time of day, here instead of New York. I never have seen the nighttime view because I’ve always been busy during the evenings until now. It’s lovely. Sometimes it’s the little things.

I just remembered to check whether I entered the number for TSA Precheck on my flight. (I have it through Global Entry. Some of the best money that I've spent.) I didn't, so I fixed it. I just need to throw some stuff in the backpack that I'm taking with me, and then I really will go to bed. I'll pack my suitcase tomorrow.

I sold the Pacsafe backback. I'll package it up tomorrow.

Woke up at 10:30 AM. Took care of the morning excitement for the cats known as “breakfast “.

I’ve learned a trick for getting clean sheets on the bed; wait until the cats are hungry and in the kitchen, and sneak off and put the sheets on the bed. Zara won’t follow me because she wants food, and food comes from the kitchen. She’s now back on the bed, lol. It’s her spot.

Broke down boxes and got them outside along with some garbage and recycling. Responded to some people on Buy Nothing and posted two new items.

Finished cleaning up the bedroom. Put clothes away. I decided that I was too tired to put together the organizer things for my underwear and bras, so I’ll do it later in the week. I’ve decided that I won’t be able to put away all the clothes in the laundry area, but I’m going to go neaten it up. (The house cleaner comes tomorrow.)

I got the bathroom as tidied up as it’s going to get. I sorted clothes into categories, so it should be easy to put away.

Got the kitchen tidied up. I’ve decided to not have them vacuum the upstairs. I’ll do it myself.

I was reading a discussion in one of my Facebook groups for shoes that will grip cobblestones, and someone suggested shoes made for nurses. What a great idea! I found a pair of shoes that I want to try.

I'm done with all my tidying. I'm skipping Italian because it's late, and I want to get up a little early to take out the garbage and recycling again and do the breakfast dishes.

My professor was annoyed that I waited to today to talk to her about the items that I got wrong on the test, when today was the deadline for reworking the problems. However, I thought that she'd go over the test in class on Tuesday (she didn't), and I contacted her on Tuesday night. I was kind of down on myself. Well, now I know how it works.

I did do the rework of the problems and got partial credit for it. With that done and tonight's homework done, I'm caught up on classes for a moment. Yay. I think that I'll change into my pajamas, do laundry, and do some stuff around here.

The longer that I stay home, the calmer that I get though.

I ordered a pizza for delivery because I didn't want to cook while I was working on homework. It was good but sheesh, pricey. I hope that someone or something can knock inflation down soon.

Packaged up an audiobook that I sold on eBay. I'll mail it after I'm done with the junk removal guy tomorrow.

My credit card is missing. I used it today (Saturday) online, so it has to be here somewhere, but I don't know where.

The Butter Chicken was pretty good. Maybe a little too spicy. I need to get more ice cream because I like to eat ice cream after spicy food. I made way too much rice, but it turned out perfectly in the rice cooker. Maybe I could make some stir-fry to use up the rice.

Italian didn't go very well. I kept on forgetting things. All the verb tenses are mushing up in my head, and I need to do some serious studying. However, my teacher is very patient. He also studied Eastern Philosophy in India and loves Indian food :)

Zara was asking for a snack while I was eating lunch. I was just about to take a nap when I remembered that she was hungry. I put the food in her dish but no Zara. I was walking around calling her but no Zara. I finally found her in the cat tree in the bedroom, looking quizzical with her head sticking out of the little "house".

Took a nap. Woke up boiling. I decided to go get my box fan because of the upcoming heat and email the complex management about the air conditioning in case they'd consider it an emergency, given the upcoming heat.

Downed a bottle of Cirkul water. Ran to the storage place and retrieved my fan. I also grabbed a box of office supplies that I can probably give away. Went to Aldi. When I was there, I spontaneously decided that I wanted to make a Mango Lassi, which is a kind of Indian smoothie with mango and yogurt. They didn't have frozen mango, so I just bought yogurt and various types of ice cream. I also bought a chickpea curry to try. Went to Walmart, and they had frozen mango. Also cardamon for the Mango Lassi. Bought frozen yogurt and ice cream cones. I'm at home now and sweat is dripping down me.

Heated up some Butter Chicken, and it was even better than yesterday. The strawberry-cheesecake ice cream cones were also very good.

I need to get the garbage out (done) and then work on the kitchen. I'm wondering if I should go to bed early and get up early, when it will be cooler. I haven't put shorts on yet though, which might help. It does a little, but I'm feeling like I don't want to move. The girls are not looking happy with the heat, but they're coping.

I packaged up an eBay sale that I need to mail tomorrow. I think that I'm going to head to a nice cool shower.

Holy cow, my item on eBay sold. I need to run out on Monday and mail it. Only $25, but that will pay for a book on Berlin. Or a German lesson.

It's pouring out. I need to go to the grocery store and the post office to pick up a mailing box, but I'm a wimp, so I'll go tomorrow.

The earliest that I'll hear from iCAN is on February 15th, and it could be up to May. I hope it won't take that long.

The cats crack me up. I worked a little late and saw them running back and forth in front of my office door to see if I was getting up yet to feed them. Clearly my priorities are wrong!

I studied German and Italian flashcards. I need to start putting the stars on my calendar again.

Tonight is my usual night for the Wondrium photography classes, but I'm putting them on hiatus during the Olympics because I'm watching a ton of television. Maybe I'll work with Canva instead. I'd like to become an expert in it, and create and sell templates.

Score! I previously found an Udemy class on German pronunciation, but it was too expensive. I was looking at Canva classes tonight and checked the German course, and it was on sale! Bought it! I also bought the Canva course too.

I was looking at Udemy to get ideas for courses to create. Ideas: Writing on Medium (once I have some success at it), Saving Money on Travel, and Creating a Budget. I'd like to write about software too because that's what I'm trained to do.

I just spent a bunch of time looking up librarians on Medium and following them.

Zara has decided that the box that I have almost emptied is HER box. I'll never get the last stuff out of there. I rescued some old posters that I don't know what to do with but are too cool to get rid of. (They are drawings of Paris.)

The short program (rhythm dance) for the ice dancing is at 5 AM. Ugh. I don't think that I can stay up that late because I got up at 8 AM today. But it's even less likely that I'll get up that early. And I need to go to the grocery store tomorrow because it's going to snow on Sunday (only one to three inches though).

Okay, I'm going to go play with Canva. Maybe I'll see if I can stay up until 5 AM and crash if I fade out. I have plenty of stuff to do. And I need to practice German for my lesson tomorrow at midnight. So now I can't stop yawning....