The longer this summer break is the more I lose track of the time. Until Friday I was sure that I had another three weeks off. Then I realized that it is already almost August, meaning it was only two weeks. When I walked through Boston today, it struck me that August is so long that I really have another three weeks of vacation. Yaaaayyyyy!!! Then again, it is one of the best things of a long summer vacation that I don’t have to care about time very much. During these last two weeks I cared more for these things:
- While I was in Toronto, I broke my beloved Canon DSLR. Because I was plain stupid. I immediately knew that it was beyond repair. At least my “good” lense didn’t break, too.
- After a week of mourning I gathered courage and my credit card and went to the photography shop in Harvard Square to buy a new camera. I ended up buying a Canon 80D and I’m very happy. Also, because I bought this quite expensive camera plus a 5 year insurance (yes, it is necessary because I am that clumsy), I will probably not go on another longer road trip this summer. Priorities …
- You might remember the story about my car’s check engine light on my way to Upstate New York [here]. Well, so on the way back home it showed up once more. I was driving in the middle of the I-90, about 30 km to Boston, when the light suddenly went on plus the engine sputtered. I immediately changed to the right lane, but there wasn’t any shoulder so I continued driving home really slowly. It was dark. I needed to go to the toilet. Urgently. And I was half dying because of the engine. But I somehow made it home okay.
- The next day I took my car to the garage. Fortunately, it was only a minor issue: according to the code, the cam sensor was broken. They repaired it within two hours and it wasn’t terribly expensive. But right now I don’t really trust my car as much anymore and listen to any sound it makes. Great. Does any of you have trust issues with their car?
- I finally had my big allergy test because I was sick so often in winter. But – luckily – I am not allergic to any of those typical triggers. The little hypochondriac in me already waited for a cat allergy to turn up. I still have an allergy though and have to be really careful in the future. Back to regular nose rinses soon.
- Game of Thrones: OMG! How great is this show?! These days it is my only commitment. I am always looking forward very much to Sunday evening. I find it interesting that almost only women are in power right now – which is awesome (except for the fact that Cersei is insane).
- I have a little too much time to follow politics closely. I watch German news every morning and evening, read the New York Times, and listen to and read other U.S. news. Not so great these days. I must say that the American president is quite entertaining, but he is a huge twit. This is not the country anymore I once moved to. And for me personally the sad part is that I can say the previous sentence about Turkey, too.
- In order to tax my brain a little more, I have started to read a book a French. This takes time. But I am also aware that I can improve my speed in reading in a foreign language only by reading more.
- Talking about reading, I saw an advertisement this week that both, Orhan Pamuk and Salman Rushdie are going to have readings in Cambridge in September. I immediately went to the book store and got myself tickets. I am already over-excited.
|Watched| Game of Thrones, Storks, several German crime movies
|Read| Lemon Meringue Pie Murder, Carry on, Cream Puff Murder, Istanbul Passage; Tartelettes, Jarretelles et Bigorneaux
|Listened to| my Spotify summer playlist [here], the radio
|Done| stayed in Toronto until Wednesday last week, visited a former student in Syracuse, NY on the way back to Boston, had to recover from my road trip, played a board game for a day, walked through Boston and tried out my new camera
|Eaten| ramen, bagel, egg cake, Japanese omelette, pulled pork, Chinese takeout, burrito
|Drunk| water, coffee, coke, cider
|Thought| Can I please stay in Toronto for the whole summer?!
|Been happy| mostly (except for when I broke my DSLR and when my car engine stuttered on the way back)
|Laughed| when I came home Thursday night (last week) and Canavar didn’t stop meowing with joy
|Desired| that my camera wasn’t broken, that my car didn’t have a major problem
|Bought| food, tickets, a Canada magnet for my fridge, a catnip ball for Canavar, a new DSLR, I had to have my car repaired, this one pair of amazing shoes
|Clicked| the Bahamas have been on my travel bucket list for some time: “Travel Diary – Exumas, Bahamas”; these are my favorite köfte in the world, but I’ve never made them myself (yet): “İçli Köfte / Gefüllte Boulette”; I really want to try and make this ice cream: “Ein Rezept für Cappuccino Eis-am-Stiel ohne Form und ohne Eismaschine mit Tchibo Blonde Roast Kaffee”
© janavar
