Arya kiddin'

I jut had a sore arm when I woke up after the first night, but by afternoon it was gone. Overall no issues. Glad to hear ibuprofen worked, I had it with me for the first shot, but did not need it. Might need it for the second one. Where is this caution where I live *screams*. The place I go to for haircut emailed me this past weekend that customers no longer are required to wear masks while getting a haircut. Their employees will continue to do so though. Makes me rage.

Say strong Buck. Getting two weekends shortened in a row is going to be hectic. I just got my first shot this afternoon. So far don't feel any different, would know in a couple hours. This is thankfully a long weekend here with Monday being a holiday for Memorial day. So I will just sloth around I guess

Finally as weekend approaches weather takes a turn to be bearable, it's been raining since morning. And good to know you got your first vaccine @RhaenysBee . Mine is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon and I'm nervous. I'll stock up on food and fruits and meds today and hopefully I won't get too sick. @Buckwheat getting vaccinated through work sounds nice, there will be company. Also it's Friday, and this was a loooong week at work so I'm happy to be done.

I'm not sure whether I prefer Weekes to Gaider, maybe we'll see how Weekes handles the 4th game. I'm pumped for it since hearing that they scrapped the live gaming model since Anthem bombed and it will be a proper single player game. Hope they dont muck it up FOMN . The DLCs are really good especially for 2 and 3. Lair of the Shadow Broker in 2 is amazing. I'm midway the second game now (forgot how difficult Horizon was lol) Oh that sucks. It takes one unruly kid to rile them all I guess. Make him the class monitor maybe (don't know I'm not a teacher ) The weather has been consistently hot these past few days in high 20s with no rain. Thursday it might rain and I'll be able to go out again.

Yeah, the last vacation proper I had was a year back in January, just before the madness started. I so wish for things to be normal again. I'll check out Defending Jacob. I was hunting for something new. That's insanely productive. Good that work is interesting. My work has kind of stagnated lately, because the company I'm working for keep making personnel changes and keep changing their minds about what they want to do. Oh great! another fan . I think if you played it recently getting the remaster might not be worth it. They packaged all three games and all DLCs in a single offering, and there is no multiplayer required. I'm on the first game only and there are some quality of life changes - mostly things don't take a million bullets before they die, so it's less tedium that way. But there are no extras per se, if you played the original you have the full experience as far as I know. Also, do you play the Dragon Age series? I always liked that one better, and am looking forward to the next one.

Bucky, I work as a Data Scientist. My org contracts out data sciences work to other companies who dont have expertise for it. They mostly work for American companies so these kind of moves are not uncommon. RB they look so appetizing. The color looks so good. I really want to have a sweet bun now *adds to shopping list* The weeks in this pandemic are just whooshing by. Also the US being US has ended mask mandate, saying fully vaccinated peeps don't need a mask anymore. The crazies just get a free pass now Has anybody played the Mass Effect games? I used to love them back when they released and a remaster dropped last Friday. It has now consumed my life.

Helena I see that Mary Berry is beloved in the UK. I've only watched her in GBBO ever since it's been on Netflix. I loved her on the show, and the later seasons without her are quite bland, and I haven't re-watched them. Also, 'You clever girl' >> Hollywood Handshake That thousand page book sounds interesting. My mom liked GBBO and has started to get more into baking lately, maybe a Mary Berry book would be a good gift *takes notes* Yes Best Served Cold was the recommendation I got from other friends. Seems to be the consensus now - so will start that. Yes I've adjusted to the weather now. In Delhi I'm used to seasons being stagnant. So all the winter clothes would be put into storage around March and would only come out around November. Here I've had to adjust to always having all kinds of clothes at the ready, and eyeballing the weather outside without looking at the app and stepping out has resulted in some mistakes. That 30 minute thing sounds wild, like a class on weather where a teacher wants to show as many as possible in a single sitting Yes, the work is similar in a new location. The virtual secondment seems like a nice idea, glad you're enjoying that. It's good you enjoy what you do for a living, it would be good for both career and mental health. I myself have sort of become disenchanted with the work itself lately, as it has become repetitive only with different clients. I'm thinking about a job switch, we'll see if that materializes.

Good luck with your next yeast endeavor then. Hope it comes out proper this time . I must try Silk Roads or an Abercombie book then. Only read the first First Law trilogy by him and it was great. RB I moved because the company I used to work for had open positions here, they asked me and I said yes. I'm currently in MidWest. The weather here is so different from Delhi. Delhi gets as hot as 45 degrees and only as cold as 2 degrees. Here, temperature can change by 20 degrees in a matter of a day. 30 degrees is as hot as it gets, but the first time I saw a -20 degrees winter it took the wind out of me. But now I'm adjusting. This northern hemisphere weather is still a little weird for me. But I like it here, and it is a new and good experience. About covid in India, it would get worse before it gets better. I'm just wishing for the best.

I cant believe it's still a thing . Bumping for Benjen!

Helena how are you doing, it's so good to see you. I've just heard of many friends of having varying level of success with her recipes, but maybe they're not just good bakers. Yes, I've heard a lot of praises for Abecombie's audiobooks. Must give it a go. That is extremely sad what happened to your colleague. I actually moved to the states 2 years ago, so I'm doing fine myself (last year was another story). But I was in India in Feb and things were fine. Now it's a clusterfuck. My parents are in Delhi and are fortunately doing well but there is not a single person I know whose family has not been affected by it. Just hoping this passes soon.

Oh that's sad about the buns. I think half the baking recipes on internet are not correct. Do you know the youtube channel Tasty? They've been called out so many times about how the recipes they publish and the product they show can never be the same. Keep trying I'll try Talking to Strangers. Jonathan Haidt I did not like because Righteous Mind did not lead anywhere (how did you like it in Audible, it has tables and stuff) I've met Peter Frankopan! I have a signed coy of his Byzantine Empire book, met him at the Jaipur Literature Festival in 2014/15. I'll check out Silk Roads

Yeah the video calls are exhausting, we use Teams. Some people have absolutely lost their sense of boundaries with this. They think a Teams call is the same as dropping by at someone's desk and abuse that function. Makes me rage. It's good you're commuting BW, do the thing that keeps you healthier. Rona madness started here last March, and June I moved to a new apartment which is 7 minutes walking to my workplace. At the time I did not know working from home would go on for this long so all the moving effort has been for nothing .

Buckwheat, congratulations on new job! great to hear. Sad to hear about neighbors renovating, it takes your energy out after a day when you just want to relax. Treat yourself. My sleep schedule gets all weird during the weekdays then I have to stay awake for Saturday to reset the clock. Very difficult to maintain a proper schedule when you are not dependent on going out for 8 hours a day. RB, good luck on hot cross buns. Mary Berry is the GBBO judge right? I've heard in later life she went bonkers just to publish more books for the money (she has 70+ books I think) and now has multiple conflicting recipes for the same thing. Might be worth checking on the internet if the recipe actually works. I'll pray for the stand mixer's soul. I've never baked a thing in my life other than banana bread (does lasagna count?) or a sorry looking chocolate cake. But I love watching people bake. Please share the photo of the buns when they're done Also, audible. Folks I tried getting into Audible but found it to be a much less enjoyable experience than reading. Maybe because English is not my first language and some words sometimes just go by without making sense. I started with an Ursula Le Guin book, don't remember which one. Can you suggest another one to try? I'll give it another shot.

BW, RB so good to see you. I'm good. Covid life is fine, I've been fortunate to not have been affected badly by it as hellish as this pandemic has proven to be. I've been working from home for a year now so my cooking has improved remarkably. How have you been? Did anybody pick any new hobbies in the pandemic? I tried to learn Piano, but I lack discipline and am generally bad at it. Progress is slow, but it's not like I have a concert to play next month

Long time no see good people. How's everybody I've been trying to get a vaccine scheduled but it's quite full in my area. I realistically might get a date next week.