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Monday, April 26, 2021
Random Stuff
And here we are in the last week of April already. I am not even sure how we got here. In my mind it's still March. But I guess it's just all been a bit mixed up for me. I left for Austria at the end of March, spent almost three weeks there and now been back almost 2 weeks already too. Guess that's where the time has gone when you think about it logically. Just feels weird.
My Timehop/Facebook Memories keep showing me pictures from my Croatia vacations with my parents in 2019 and 2018. It's bittersweet and kind of hard to look at these pictures as I know we will never have a vacation like that again, with the three of us. I have thought about, once everything is finally back to some sort of more normal, to maybe go somewhere with my mom. We can start small, take the train to Salzburg to see friends and family. And maybe eventually we can take a trip somewhere farther away. A lot of places aren't really all that far away and reachable by train or bus. Or maybe I will actually start practicing my driving again one of these days so I would feel comfortable renting a car. Well, one day and step at a time I guess.
Nothing too much else is new really. Work has definitely been much busier which is good of course. But we have also been pretty short staffed which isn't helping matters but we do have somebody new starting next week on Monday. And I believe a few more candidates are in the pipeline. So eventually we will get back to more normal staffing again, especially as we are getting much busier again.
Last night was the Oscars and as always we watched them. But it really was a weird one this year. I mean I figured as much since they had to re-do everything they normally do but still even taking that into consideration it was just odd. They didn't show any clips of the nominated movies and I feel like especially this year where a lot of people didn't get out and see a lot of these movies it would have been beneficial to do that. But hey, what do I know? lol
Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a response to: Nina/WA, Tiffany/OK.
Posted by Hanna at 07:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, April 19, 2021
New Normal
Flew back last week Wednesday and am finally mostly over the jetlag again. It's been strange adjusting to being back here again and getting used to my "new normal". The travel back was thankfully uneventful. My aunt paid for a car service for me to take me straight to the airport from the house so I didn't have to take the train. The airport in Vienna was pretty much deserted with very few flights going in and out. I was in Premium Economy again and also didn't have anybody next to me again so the flight itself was fine. Immigration was super quiet (never seen it so quiet don't think) and I was able to pretty much fly through. Had to wait for the luggage for a bit but everything arrived in one piece so yeah, can't really complain too much as far as travel goes.
Work's been busy so I have just been dealing with that getting back into the swing of things. Last week I just had to work Thursday and Friday before having the weekend to break things up but this week is my first full week in a while and it feels really strange. But once I get back into a routine things will feel more normal I suppose. Our office is also now open again so I will probably start going in about once per week to get used to being in the office again and for a change of scenery.
Mike had his first Covid shot the day before I flew back and I have my first one scheduled for May 3rd. (Mike's second one is May 4th) So that's good that we are moving along with that as well. I will feel much safer once we are both fully vaccinated. Especially now that Connecticut has announced re-opening plans. On May 19, all business restrictions will be lifted. Indoor mask mandates will remain in effect but that's about it. No more capacity restrictions and no outdoor mask requirements. I am not sure I am quite ready for that yet. Maybe once I am fully vaccinated. But things like crowded concerts/shows/sports games still seem a little risky to me. Guess we will just have to see how it all goes.
Oh in more fun news Diana Gabaldon announced the publishing date for her new book "Go Tell the Bees that I Am Gone". It's going to release two days before Thanksgiving on November 23rd. Yay! It would be fun if there was some sort of launch event but god knows of course. Considering I just said I don't feel quite comfortable with crowds yet I know I am being a bit hypocritical. But at least by November a lot more people should be fully vaccinated.
Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a response to: Nina/WA, Tiffany/OK.
Posted by Hanna at 07:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, April 11, 2021
Almost time to leave ...
Only 2 more full days here before I leave on Wednesday morning on my flight back to the US. I don't even know
where the time has gone. When all is said and done I will have been here for almost 3 weeks but not sure how it's flown by that fast. To be fair even though we were in lock down for a good amount of the time I have been here I was still keeping busy with sorting things in the house, getting things ready and setting things up for my mom. So each day was filled with a certain task.
I also worked this past Thursday and Friday (1 pm to 10 pm to match US East Coast office hours) and will be doing the same on Monday. But did have the weekend in between to give myself a little break which was nice. And luckily the weather was really nice over the weekend as well. The weather has been a complete roller coaster while I have been here. When I first arrived it was decent, then turned almost summer like for a few days before turning to winter and snow and now back to spring. But starting tomorrow afternoon there is another cold front coming which will bring more winter like temperatures and possibly more snow. Complete up and down weather wise.
I have been successful in resetting my dad's computer and setting everything up for my mom. I hope she will be able to use it ok as she has not used a computer in some years and anything new is difficult for her since her stroke. I did write her specific instructions and also wrote up a guide for her smartphone (so she can text more easily and use Whatsapp) Fingers crossed. She does have my aunt (her sister) who will be able to help her if she gets stuck.
I am not sure if I am ready to leave again in a few days but ultimately it is what it is of course. I can't stay here forever so the leaving has to come eventually. I am hoping to be able to come back at the end of the summer/early fall. All will depend on what everything looks like with Covid etc. I do have my first vaccine shot scheduled for May 3rd so by the time I come back I should be fully vaccinated. I am also trying to have my aunt help with getting my mom registered for her vaccine as she really should be getting it with her preexisting conditions.
Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a response to: Nina/WA, Tiffany/OK.
Posted by Hanna at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, April 04, 2021
Salzburg Visit, Easter, etc.
And here we are, April 4th. I already leave in 10 days, April 14th, again. I don't even know where the time has gone.
I did have a pleasant time in Salzburg Wednesday into Thursday and the weather honestly could not have been more beautiful. Wednesday especially was a beautiful almost early summer like day. I tested again when I got there (negative) and then walked around. Was planning to meet up with my great cousin Kathrin but we ended up not being able to (she had a false positive Covid test and out of caution we decided to cancel our plans - her PCR results did not come in until the day after) Such a strange world these days. But I still had a nice day walking around, getting ice cream and lunch, taking in the sights of the city and even just sitting in Mirabell Gardens reading my book for a few hours.
It was still kind of weird being in Salzburg and not seeing the usual amount of tourists, no dining open (normally with nice weather there would be TONS of outdoor dining for restaurants/cafes and stands and whatnot) etc. Such a strange world these days.
Wednesday night I met up with my friend Anneliese and we had a fun picnic by the Salzach river overlooking the fortress up on the hill. I stayed overnight at her apartment and then took the train back mid day on Thursday.
Not too much has happened since then. Just been spending time with my mom. My aunt stopped by as well and seen a few neighbors etc. but that's about it. We have been in 24 hours lock down since Thursday anyway so not much to do really, even if I wanted to. Also just been focusing on helping with getting my mom settled in the house, clearing out and organizing things, setting up her smartphone again and working on my dad's laptop. The laptop honestly has been the most hassle. We don't know the password/pin for it and all the other recovery measures are also a dead end. So just figuring out work arounds so we can hopefully get it all set up for my mom before I leave.
Weather has been all over the place with being almost summer like and now turning back into winter weather. But I guess that's about normal for this time of the year. Also, anybody who celebrates Easter, Happy Easter of course. We aren't usually big Easter people so we didn't do anything special for it.
Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a response to: Nina/WA, Tiffany/OK.
Posted by Hanna at 04:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)