days_unfolding

I'm trying to figure out what I can do after work on Monday because I really, really don't want to drive with the sun in my eyes. Ideally, I would do homework, but I don't want to do it on my work computer. Hmm. I could bring the Lousy Laptop, but it's so slow. I could bring my Better Laptop, but that requires moving the digital piano to get the power cord. (Its battery is not working.) Probably the best thing to do is ask my boss if I could use the work laptop. I also ordered some polarized sunglasses that fit over my prescription glasses.

Ack. My instructor canceled Italian. I need to make time to study it on my own so that I won't forget it and keep learning. We've had class canceled for a month! Maybe I should bring some Italian grammar with me on Monday in case I can't study for my programming class (although I bet my boss will say yes to using the laptop).

I had a grilled cheese sandwich on multigrain bread, and Zara hoovered up the crumbs. Strange kitty. And Mimi is lying on her favorite position on her back with her belly in the air. (She also likes belly rubs.) A quiet morning at home.

I checked to see if Champaign has a Trader Joe's, but alas, no, it's only in the Chicago area. Madison has a Trader Joe's. Another point in Madison's favor.

Ran out to pick up a few things at the store, including frozen dinners to bring to work on Monday and Wednesday. I could eat dinner while I'm waiting for the sun to go down. Frozen dinners are more expensive than what I usually make, but still cheaper than eating out. Now I'm chilling for a moment (though Mimi's on my lap so maybe I'm "warming"). Then I'll get the garbage out (done).

Wow. My Italian teacher is canceling the group class, but will offer private lessons at a very reasonable price. I said that I was interested.

Oh! I never ate dinner! Too busy! (Done.) I'm taking my nighttime meds early to help me wind down. Now I need to do nighttime tasks (partially done).

I found a retirement community in downtown Madison, but I suspect that it costs megabucks. It does. Oh well.

I need to make a shoutout to the Google Maps GPS, without which this trip would have been much more difficult.

It was a beautiful, bright, sunny day. After I checked out, I went in search of a gas station. Found it, but the stupid pump kept on asking for a rewards card that I didn't have. I went inside, and the guy there said that I should have paid at the pump, but he finally put $40 on my card, telling me that I'd get the change back.

Then I went in search of the Olbrich Botanical Gardens with the help of Google. Lake Monona looked pretty today. The gardens are huge. My body kept on complaining that I was doing more walking, so I sat and soaked in the ambiance a lot, taking a "nature bath" as the Japanese say. When I was taking a picture of an obelisk in a pond, a lady asked me if I wanted her to take a picture of me with the pond. I said "No thanks but thanks" because I was having issues with seeing the picture on the phone with the bright sunlight. There were some trails leading off the main path that I didn't take, but I made the big loop. Lovely gardens. Then I went to the conservatory, which impressed me less, but it had a nice rainforest display. The cost of the conservatory was $6, plus I made the recommended $1 donation, but $7 isn't much for a really nice walk.

Then I used Google GPS to find the highway. It had me turn in some wacky directions, but it knew what it was talking about, and guided me to 39/90. The Wisconsin part of the trip went quickly. I stopped for lunch outside of DeKalb.

Now I'm home. Zara has been using me as her personal cat tree, but Mimi is suspicious. I need to run a couple of errands, but I think that a nap is in order first.

Couldn't sleep. Mimi has decided that I was indeed Mommy and was also climbing all over me. I ran out to drop off my rent checks and get gas, so I should be able to stay home tomorrow.

Pictures!

Overslept a little, but not too bad. I'm working on my program, but ran into a problem about which I had to ask my instructor, so I'm going to go pack in the meanwhile.

My instructor got back to me when I had completely packed. I've gotten to the point where I have gotten the data for the output, and I just need to tweak the display of it, which I'll do at the hotel. Now I'm having lunch and I'll throw myself together. Healthy Choice Chicken Noodle Soup is the bomb. I ordinarily don't like chicken soup because of all the salt in it, but this was good.

Dropped off the key at the pet sitter. Stopped to buy a candy bar to break a $20 for bus fare. (I'll take Uber if I have to, but bus fare is cheaper.)

I'm now in Madison. The drive was okay, but I hit stop and go traffic a few times (in Wisconsin, not Illinois, which surprised me). I'm dripping sweat from bringing my stuff in. I kept on forgetting to put on my mask when I stopped, which isn't like me.

Had a lovely dinner of tomato soup and cookies in the hotel room. (It has the all-important microwave and refrigerator.) I forgot to bring dish soap. Oh, and I forgot my swimsuit. Oh well.

I just handed my program in. I had one error that I couldn't figure out but oh well. Now I can enjoy my mini-vacation. I think that a good night's sleep is in order. Oh crud, I need to fix my blazer, but I'll do it in the morning.

I'm poking around doing my due diligence about Madison. I looked for meditation places, and they had several, including a Tibetan Buddhist place. And there's a bus from Madison to O'Hare Airport. I also read the Best Places reviews of Madison. To sum them up: Good: Beautiful, lots to do, low crime (though that might be changing), bike-friendly, college town. Bad: Winters, high cost of living (housing and property taxes), polluted lakes.

Eeek. My fall class (Computer Programming II) is starting tomorrow. I am so not ready for it. Yikes.

I did snack on celery dipped in hummus. Go me. And I read about all the good properties of celery. I'm looking into the flexitarian diet. And looking at lots of cookbooks for weight loss and clean eating.

Took a nap after work. Now Mimi is climbing on me.

Didn't do much else. I'm a lazy bum tonight

Woke up eightish. Had a kitty squabble because both Mimi and Zara were peering at me from the doorway, and they were too close.

Mimi thinks that it's a work day because I woke up at the usual time, fed them, and I was sitting in the office posting to LJ. She's settled on my lap. I need to go eat breakfast, so I see some disappointment happening.

I'm looking for a place to stay overnight when I'm in Chicago. I found a place with a "pod room" (basically a bed) and a shared bathroom. I think that's the best that I'm going to do without spending tons of money. It's on Michigan Avenue, and I think that there's a bus from there to the train station.

Tried to nap, but couldn't sleep. I'm trying to figure out what to do. I need to go to the store, but want to wait until later when it's less crowded. I could clean or do some weeding, but I'm not sure how hot it is out. (78 F. Not too bad.) Hmm. I was thinking that I need to go to the store earlier because I have nothing for dinner, but I could bake a potato in the microwave and have it with sour cream. That should hold me together. Maybe I'll leave a little earlier and get some boxes to go through, which reminds me that I should go through the ones that I have.

I had a bad case of the shakes, so I ate lunch. I know people who can go for hours without eating, but not me. Zara was highly interested, which I'm glad to see. She's been sleeping a lot, so I worry about her, but maybe it was because of the heat over the last few days. She seems more lively today.

cerezamarrero's post reminds me that I wanted to check out Madison as a possible retirement place (with snowbirding). Maybe that's the trip that I should take this fall. I checked their COVID stats, and they aren't too bad. Ugh, the housing prices are high though. I'd have to live in a condo, and I'd prefer a small house with a garden. They do have community gardens though. (That' s what I plan to do in Champaign.)

Went through a plastic drawer and found a good USB microphone on which you can plug headphones. I want to use it for singing and for presentations at work. Excellent. Now I' m going to do some Italian as a break. I've decided to do one paragraph of reading a day, looking up all the words that I don't know. Or maybe several paragraphs on the weekend?

I sent an article about a link between smoky air and COVID, and my dad sent me an email that could be summed up as "correlation isn't causation". Okay, I guess that I deserved that. But I wish that he'd get vaccinated.

Box#2. I found a picture of Harlee and Nima, and I put it near their urns. Also excellent. (And this is why I have to go through all the boxes.)

Hmm. I put on some shorts and a tee for cleaning and got my Bluetooth headphones to listen to an audiobook, and sat down for just one moment. Zara decided that she wanted lap time. I guess that I should thank her for the procrastination time. Studied Italian while Zara was climbing on me.

The baked potato was good. I found a recipe for making it in the microwave and topping it with butter, cheese, and sour cream. It was tasty. Zara was a little out of control because she wanted the toppings. I ate the whole thing, including the skins.

Somehow it got late, so I'm going to the storage place tomorrow.

Ran to the grocery store. And crud, I just realized that I forgot to get a pizza. I bought a pair of shorts that were on sale.

Got home right before my mom's call. I was stuffing my face with a croissant when my mom called. Apparently there was a big nasty storm there on Wednesday, and her cable is down so her landline is down. And mom is going crazy without TV. She thinks that I should definitely take the trip to Madison. I just need to figure out when. She's a little nervous about me walking around the Loop at night when I go up to Chicago for the concert. I've been having issues with static during the calls, and I think that the problem is that I didn't have WiFi calling turned on. We'll see how it goes next week. Oh, and she was thrilled to learn that you can "bake" potatoes in the microwave. She said that my schooling was worth every penny :)

Okay. I found a hotel in Madison that I like. I need to double check the drive, but I think that it's four hours? 3.5 hours.

Hmm, thinking of snowbirding, maybe I should get a condo in Orlando, and Airbnb it while I'm not there. I'd have to hire someone to manage it. But I could defray the cost of the place. Hmm. Just found the perfect place, right near Universal. Well, hmm. A lot of condos don't allow Airbnbs. I did see a house almost across the street from Universal, but it's kind of pricey.

Need to crash. I want to get up early to shave my legs in the shower before Italian.