“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 972 (Monday) – Karjalanpiirakka

Ten weeks can fly by in a blink, and that is exactly how it felt for the ten weeks of Finnish language lessons. In our tenth class, we went through our homework and did new exercises. At our coffee / cocoa / tea break we were introduced to Karjalanpiirakka (Karelian pies) made by Saija, our teacher. They are a rye crust with a rice filling, which we topped with egg butter, which is hard cooked egg mixed with butter. It was quite delicious. 

Saija's Karjalanpiirakka and egg butter.

Karjalanpiirakka are included in the Finnish cookbook I bought a year or two ago with high hopes of learning Finnish cooking and baking. Unfortunately, by the time the book arrived, recipes were reviewed, and the rye flour needed for many of the recipes, including Karjalanpiirakka, was ordered, the mood had passed. This is not a surprise and is not the first time. If it’s not possible to strike while the iron is hot, well, my iron can cool pretty fast.

I can’t believe the class is over and we won’t have more in-person classes again until spring. Luckily, our teacher has online language classes and a couple book clubs in the meantime. It’s a way to avoid forgetting everything between now and the next class.

Now that I know what freshly made Karjalanpiirakka taste like and what the goal is, the iron is warming again. Maybe next Monday, to fill the hole where class would be, I can make Karjalanpiirakka.

“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 971 (Sunday) – loungers

The morning arrived without the miserable side effects of the previous vaccines and boosters. It is entirely possible it was the massive water intake and Ibufrofin that was suggested by the person who gave me the shot. That is the one thing that was done differently than the other shots. Coincidence? Cause and effect? Whatever. I woke up feeling a little off and not 100%, but it was significantly better than before. There was a lot of lounging about, and I think I'm becoming quite skilled at it after all this time. Professional level, or at least well on the way.

There was a trip to yet another grocery store today. Grocery shopping is my most frequent pastime. Not because I like doing it, but I do like to eat. Today’s trip to Hannaford was inspired by another $10 off coupon that expires the 14^th, and with work and Finnish class on Monday, it was today or never. Today’s shopping bounty was heavy on the fresh produce I haven’t been eating enough of in recent months. It included things needed for the family Thanksgiving stuffing/dressing recipe and soups – celery, carrots, broccoli, onion, mushrooms, and some apples and blueberries for crisps. On the way home, there was a stop at Family Dollar for size 3 diapers and biscuits for Winston.

Winston takes a nap.

Before shopping, the plan was to make macaroni and cheese. An hour later when I returned, the interest was gone, and now there is nothing interesting for lunch during the week. Soup was accomplished. Lunch will likely be a peanut butter sandwich on Monday.

The soup pot and knives and other random hand wash things were cleaned, along with the sink. Not five minutes later, as usual, another mess was underway with a fry pan for a Korean sweet pancakes. There was the new pan to clean, as well as a load of laundry to wash the blanket on the couch that was the lucky recipient of the cinnamon filling when it oozed out of the hot pancake. It is a vicious cycle – make a mess, clean it up, make a new mess.

Winston, the Canine Overlord, took a day of rest. He ate his breakfast without a fight. There were minimal trips outside, probably because it was raining. He lounged on the couch with me and in his living room bed. He ate only the fresh chicken out of his supper then begged for cookies. I hear you little dude. Dessert is pretty awesome.

“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 970 (Saturday) – top fan

When I got up at 7:30 today, I remembered there was a vaccine clinic and checked online to verify the hours. It began at 9:00, which allowed time for coffee beforehand. When I arrived at the site at 8:45, there were already at least a dozen people ahead of me in line.

Registration and check-ins began promptly at 9:00, by which time the line behind me extended through the lobby and the vestibule and outside onto the sidewalk. It had also begun raining quite hard. The staffers asked who had appointments, which inspired mini conversations in the line. Those of us without appointments said “Wait, we could make appointments?” and those with appointments said, “What, we could have just walked in?” 

The early cluster of people seemed evenly split between walk-ins and appointments. The appointment folks were checked in first and it was quick because all their info was already in the system.

Grocery money for boosters!

Even with the line, registration, the wait for the actual booster, and the 15-minute wait in the observation room, I was out the door and back in my car at 9:45. In addition to the smooth and efficient process, they were giving out $75 Market Basket gift cards to everyone who got a shot. I will admit, the profit motive was a big inspiration for getting to the clinic. Despite my teenage fantasies of being wealthy, I can recall no time in my entire working life where I earned that much money for one hour of my time. It was a most profitable morning and worth the time invested. 

Now the wait begins for any post-vaccine effects. After each of the first two shots and the booster, the next day, I felt like I’d been run over by a truck. The day after that, I felt like a million bucks. The guy administering my shot asked how I was after the previous ones, and suggested taking Ibuprofen and drinking “two bottles of water,” which I swear sounded to me like “two bottles of wine,” and we both had a chuckle over that. Two bottles of wine would definitely leave me with a headache, so I’ll stick to the water.

Just in case this latest booster inspires achiness, headache, and overall feeling like crap, Sunday chores were tackled early. The puffy quilt and the sheets were washed and there was a trip to Market Basket for a roasted chicken for chopping and mixing in with Winston’s food.

While at MB, my dwindling cheese reserves were replenished with shredded Italian mix, Parmesan, and the beloved deli cheese ends which look like Provolone. And a bag of Tri Sum chips, which are now available in all Market Basket stores, according to the company’s Facebook page. There was a notification that I am a “top fan” on the Tri Sum page and was bestowed with a badge declaring such. The weighty honor made me felt obligated to express my support of their presence in Lowell with a purchase. It's probably a highly tested marketing tactic. If so, it worked on me.

Top fan!

I almost told the fully grown adult bagger to not put the roasted chicken in the same bag with the chilled cheese, then thought against it, because he’s a grown-ass adult, should surely know this, and probably didn’t need me telling him how to do his job. Bad move. 

Despite there being two reusable bags sent down the conveyor with my order, he put the bags of shredded cheese directly on top of the hot chicken, then the loaf of bread, and finally the chips. Then he slid the still folded second shopping bag into the bag with the food.

In the parking lot, I grumbled and repacked the bag to separate the hot chicken from the rest of the items and in doing so, dropped the one pound loaf of bread onto the precious bag of chips, essentially crushing them. Errrrr. The ride home involved mentally composing my imaginary letter to MB headquarters, beseeching them to please train the baggers about food temperatures and how to pack the groceries. It seems like a rule instead of an exception that the hot chicken is paired in a bag with ice cream or cold cheese or frozen ravioli. Maybe I can enclose a time card or an invoice for my time spent this year re-bagging groceries.

“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 969 (Friday) – barely maintaining

There were many ideas for things to do on the holiday.  Tackle organizing the spare room? Read a book? Finally attempt a recipe from the Finnish Cookbook bought one or two years ago? Make a puzzle? Draft a stained glass design pattern? Nope, nope, nope, nope, and nope. True to brand, these all remained nebulous ideas and not solid actions. The cookbook was consulted and the ingredients inventoried, but then it just felt like it would be work. 

The day wasn’t a complete blank slate. Basic (bare minimum) life maintenance tasks were handled. The bare minimum, like dressing and eating, and there are days those feel like gargantuan accomplishments. Today they were just routine tasks. There was coffee and a late breakfast of matzo brie, which is matzo crackers busted and fried in butter then scrambled with eggs. 

Korean Scallion Pancakes!
Thank you Trader Joe's!

Supper was Trader Joe’s Korean Scallion Pancakes. Similar pancakes were a favorite side dish with X2 at MoMo Korean Restaurant in Clarksville. The frozen ones from TJ’s are pretty good. One was fried in oil and eaten and it was so good, a second one was prepared. Unfortunately, now the house reeks of cooking oil and every time I let Winston out and come back inside, I gag a little. 

The heavy, stinky indoor air reminds me of visits to X1’s family in Co-op City in the Bronx and Rego Park in Queens. In both cases, the kinfolk lived in large apartment buildings where the air permanently hung heavy with the stench of cooking oil mingled with any variety of pungent aromas including cabbage and Lord knew what else. Tonight, that is also my house. Blech.

Other major accomplishments included hand washing the soup pan and a few dishes in the sink; Wordle in 5 moves (nothing to brag about); some Finnish translations done for homework; and streaming the Finnish crime drama Bordertown (end of Season 1 and into Season 2) all day, except for 20 minutes spent outside collecting dog and bunny nuggets from the front yard and the few minutes frying scallion pancakes. A very full day indeed. 

By 6:00 it felt like midnight. It wasn't a bad thing. I relished the thought there was still several hours before bedtime, and also the knowledge that my slug like activities probably wouldn't be tolerated by a spouse or significant other. There is a lot to be said for living alone. After so many years of it, it's highly unlikely I could ever again share space with another human. 

“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 968 (Thursday) – rut bound

The Internet outage of Wednesday night sent me to bed at the early hour of 8:00, chilly, slightly cranky, and mostly tired. Winston had us up at 12:30-ish, and the Internet was still out. I fell back to sleep mapping out my remote work day contingency plan where I would go to the office if there was no Internet when I got up. The wardrobe would be the black pants worn on Wednesday, because they fit, with some different top.  People might not notice the same pants two consecutive days, but an entire outfit on repeat might be less forgettable and I don’t need people thinking I’m senile or too lazy to put in some effort. 

Long gone are the days of my first "real job" when I went three months without repeating an outfit. There was a lot less to worry about at age 22.

Lunch would be tricky because there were no interesting leftovers left to grab. Remote days are usually designated as soup days because I like soup, but it's too tricky to carry in to work without the fear and risk of spillage.

Luckily, the fallback plan wasn’t needed. The alarm went off at 6:15, the wifi was connected and I didn’t need to be self-conscious if I was wearing the same thing two days in a row. For the record, I did not wear the same thing as Wednesday.

A text message from Xfinity said the service was restored at “approximately 6:26 a.m.” meaning they missed the 2:00 target by a solid six hours. That was less important than the fact it was functional in time for me to work. Had it come back at 2:00 a.m., I still would have been sleeping and not aware of it nor cared.

Winston worshipping the sun.

The sunny day had the Canine Overlord twitchy being in the house. He spent time lounging on the deck in the sun while I toiled inside for the money to keep him in kibble and biscuits. Sometimes he finds a sunny patch in the house in which to nap and I will admit to some envy. It must be nice to have a life where someone prepares and serves all the food and one is free to wander from one sunny spot to another to nap and hang out.  

After work and beyond “regular” business hours on the brink of a holiday weekend, it was realized that the car payment is due tomorrow and I never received the bill. It required setting up yet another online account, this time with the lender, but it was good it could be dealt with immediately. Panic really helps to get things done pretty fast. This is the brutal stretch of the month when 90% of the bills are due in a 16-day stretch. So stressful.

All is back to normal with the cable and Internet functioning and the regular and familiar rut is solidly occupied. A Finnish crime drama series with English subtitles is streaming from Netflix, the phone is nearby, along with a cup of raspberry herbal tea, and the laptop is on my lap. All is well.

ummm what

The Internet went out at work this afternoon, but it seemed to be brief. 

The traffic home was awful, with the added joy of University students jaywalking all over the place and ruining our chances to finally move. There was a respectable amount of time to admire the no longer full but still plump golden moon over the Merrimack while stuck on the bridge.

At home, while debating dinner options and the possibility of an online delivery order, it was discovered the Internet is out at The BungaLowell. The day which had been mostly neutral and ok, devolved to full WTF status.

Despite being tethered to a box and the wall via an actual cable that runs to a box mounted on the outside of the house and the outside world, the TV is also out. 

There is a quick message about being unable to connect to the Internet and suggesting visiting a website for info. Then it returns to a photo screen declaring the time to be  3:12. Gotta love the "Internet is out, visit our website on the Internet you can't access for info" helpfulness from the company that provides both my cable and Internet. You rock, Comcast Xfinity!

An Xfinity app message indicated a time of 6:40 for restoration. It wasn't. At 6:54, a text squeaked in resetting expectations and adjusting the time to 2:00 a.m.

The Verizon cell reception is so bad at the house that the phone runs off the Xfinity wifi most of the time. By going upstairs I can manage to get two bars for reception. Technology is so very, very great. Until it's not working. 

It looks like a cozy sit on the couch and read a book night. Or sit on the bed burning data on the phone night. Or maybe just saying "good night" and going to bed. It's already pitch dark and 7:30 feels a lot later than it used to. 

“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 966 (Tuesday) – hello kitty

Canine Overlord Winston “oofed” me awake at 4:38 a.m. While he did his business on the front lawn, I looked skyward as usual. The dipper (Big? Little? I dunno), which recently sat squarely over the nuisance house across the street, was over the middle of the street. And not far from it, the full moon hovered with a bite in shadow as the eclipse progressed. For a nanosecond, the idea was to stay up and watch the eclipse, but I was just too tired to sacrifice 1.5 more hours of sleep.

In a miraculous hustle, after the 6:15 alarm sounded, I dressed, fed and medicated Win, reviewed the ballot questions, wrote my choices on a bit of paper, and was out the door by 7:15 to go vote. It took three trips around the block to find a parking spot at my recently relocated voting place. The lot at the school was full, as were the on-street spots posted with “Resident Sticker Parking Only” signs. This never happened at the old spot.

It wasn’t crowded inside and there was no wait. The three sheet, two-sided ballot felt a bit daunting. Thank goodness for the cheat sheet in my pocket. I was back home with time to sit with Winston and drink some coffee before logging in at 8:00 for a remote work day. Win's puffy mouth of yesterday is back to normal.

After the energetic start, the day continued on a pleasant trajectory. Four pieces of writing done for our website had been approved and were ready to load into the content management system. Steps were made on other projects. Progress feels really good. 

Hello Kitty!

From the desk, I saw a white cat wander the yard, make a poop offering upon the lawn, then dart across the yard towards the side deck. In true sleuth fashion, I headed into the dining room to see where Kitty was next.  It was wandering the deck, where it paused at the sliders to look at me with its one blue eye and one green eye before turning and bolting from between the deck fence rails. Kitty has some massive front paw thumb things.

According to sources found on the Internet, white cats make up only 5% of the total cat population and are a sign of good luck and bring good fortune. So there’s that. I feel luckier already.