days_unfolding

Two out of the three people that I messaged on the Language Exchange messaged me back. Cool!

Just remembered that I need the pet sitter for when I'm in Chicago. Need to contact her and get some cash.

More cool, wet weather today. A colleague said that it's supposed to be in the 40s F this weekend. It might be time to bring in the rosemary and thyme.

Went to the doctor. I asked her if I could work out in the gym instead of doing physical therapy for my leg (which would cost at least a thousand dollars from my deductible). She said that I need to make sure to exercise all the muscles. So I'll do some research. I also asked about getting the impacted wax out of my left ear. She looked and said that it was like a brick wall, so she wants me to put drops in my ear for a few times and then make an appointment to have the ear rinsed out. I'll do that at the same time as my fasting blood test.

Bought a Greek Alphabet practice book and a frequency dictionary of Italian. And cat food. Subscribed to the Premium Plus option of Greek Pod 101, which gives me access to a teacher for questions. Still cheaper than one-on-one lessons.

Ugh. Got the programming midterm back and didn't do very well. I currently have a B in the class. Need to study more.

Hmm. I was looking at the shops in a shopping center in Champaign, and there is an Irish dance studio. That sounds really cool, but I don't know if my bum knee could handle it. Need to think about it. I was also looking at swimming lessons, but I think that I should wait until I move to Champaign.

Hmm. I have all-season tires, but I'm wondering if I should get snow tires for the drive to Champaign. Need to price them. Hmm. Kind of pricey. Costco has a snow tire that looks good, but it's a member-only price. I wonder if I know someone with a Costco membership. Maybe someone at work? I checked to see if I could get Swagbucks for getting a Costco membership but no dice. I looked at a discount gift card for Costco (sold out) and Walmart (only a few bucks).

Called Mom to talk about what Great Courses DVDs she'd like for Christmas (they're having a buy two, get one free sale, and there are a bunch that interest me), but she wants to make a list of the ones that she has first. We'll talk about it on our usual call on Saturday. Mom has an appointment with a cardiologist tomorrow at 7 AM! Yikes!

I bought a ton of cat food and kitty litter to get free shipping on Chewy. I got a 35-pound pail of litter, but it least I don't have to carry it up the stairs.

Zara is hanging out on my lap (she did that while I was in the bathroom and I told her that I'd give her lap time later), so I studied some Greek.

Went to get some library books at my old workplace. Chatted with my friend Jude, who is also having health problems. What's with this year? Picked up some ear wax softener at Walgreens.

Zara licked my veggie bake plate clean. I told her that she's one weird kitty. Zara settled on my lap again, so I paid some bills from my phone. Yay technology.

Paid my car registration online. Now I need to get stuff together for work tomorrow, do nighttime chores, and crash.

I kind of want a map of Greece too, to go with my map of Italy. I learned the geography of Italy by staring at my map. I installed an app to learn the Greek alphabet.

Italian went well. My teacher asked me if I had studied Italian before starting the class, which is a good sign. We're going to study past tense next week, which is new and not review.

It's a dark and rainy afternoon. A good afternoon for a nap.

I opened up my closet door for Zara because I'd rather have her in there than in the litter box. So far, she hasn't noticed that it's open. Mimi is in there.

Overslept my nap. I kind of want to make veggie bake as well as soup, but I probably need more tomatoes. I bought them a couple of weeks ago, before I screwed up my leg. I'll make a grocery list. Oh, I need a zucchini too. And I also need to return library books. (I didn't have time last night.)

Zara is on my lap, grooming herself. Yay. I'm trying to explain to her that I need to get up to feed them, but she's not grasping that. Finally, she jumped off. I studied some Greek letters while they ate.

Saved an article about retiring in Panama, although I'll probably retire in the States. Spanish is supposed to be easy for Italian speakers to learn. I also read an article about people who retired in Portugal, which interests me more.

Remembered that today is garbage day, so I emptied the bathroom garbage cans. My leg hurts.

Ack! The New York Times is recommending an $80 pair of slippers. Their "budget pick" is $50. Right. Hmm. I found slippers on eBay for $22.50. Mine are getting ratty so maybe. (eBay is my shopping place of choice for shoes.) I found a cheap pair of cozy slippers at Walmart. Even better. I'm ready for winter!

Dropped off my library books. The person who knows how to check out books at my old workplace wasn't there (or she was driving a different car) so I didn't go in. I got my veggies. It's a little late to make the veggie bake, but I'll do some chopping so that I can just throw it together tomorrow. Oh, maybe not. I need to go to bed.

Mimi is hanging out on my lap while I recover from shopping. She's nice and warm :) I got Harlee's old water dish for Zara. It's like a water cooler, so she'll have fresh water all day long.

There are some people offering "affordable" group online Greek lessons, so I'm going to roll with it and contacted them. We'll see what happens.

Time to crash.

Ugh. I'm wondering if I have some allergies. Sinus headaches out the ying-yang (which is a nice trick :)) And a sore throat. And my face is warm, so I might skip guitar tonight. I wonder where my thermometer is. I need to run out tonight though to run a couple of errands.

I'm accumulating resources for learning Greek. I have a book and recordings waiting at the library, but I don't know when I'll get over there. Probably Tuesday or Thursday. Read an article: "Greece has reopened, but here's why you might want to wait to go". Bother. The upshot is that a lot of places aren't open, plus you have to find a place for a COVID test before going back. Well, the Greek islands are supposed to be nice in the spring. However, I'll be moving, so scratch that. May of next year?

Hmm. Costa Rica is open to people from the U.S., and TravelZoo is listing a $599 trip from the U.S. But the only departures from Chicago are May 11th and 13th. No can do. Oh, there are more departures at a higher rate. For that matter, there is one in November during my birthday. Hmm. I think that I'll ask about the rate for one person because it's double occupancy. But I'd have to drive, and I don't think that it would be a good idea to drive by myself where I don't speak the language. Tours are more expensive, not surprisingly. I did find one tour that wouldn't break the bank.

I'm thinking about abandoning low-carb and getting some oatmeal for breakfast. It'll keep me full a lot longer. I wonder if I have some sugar-free syrup to put in it? Hmm. I should start calorie counting. Weight Watchers will let you join for only $10 a month, although there are free calorie counters out there. Noom is much more expensive.

I did do guitar (I should just do things and not think that I have a choice), and it was okay, except I'm painfully slow on the chord changes. I need to practice. We were doing "Margaritaville," and I was wondering what the young girl in the class was thinking of it.

I ran errands...and forgot to get sugar-free syrup. Bother. Maybe tomorrow. I did get the oatmeal. I could put fruit in it.

I tried calling Mom tonight instead of tomorrow night, but couldn't get through.

I'm trying to get up the energy to do something constructive, but I'm tired. Maybe I'll study some Italian and Greek (done). That requires zero energy. Italian is really easy to spell. I was nailing the spelling exercises.

I just can't do more. I need to sleep. Pronto.

Crud. I didn't do laundry. I guess that I'll do it in the morning.