After a longish holiday and returning to find my computer would not come on and taking it off for repair, I’m now back online. I’ll fill in a few posts from the last month retrospectively, but in this one I’ll list some key points and events.
First, my computer is working again, hurrah! Who knows how long it’ll work for, but it’s working now. And thank heaven that I set up all those back up mechanisms before going on holiday, as my stress level was definitely far lower when it seemed that a week or two of inconvenience and the expense of buying a new computer was the worst I would have to deal with.
Second, we got our second vaccine last night. I went first, then an hour later the GF. This time it wasn’t at the hospital right by our flat, but the hospital right by a very nice cafe in Cihangir. This was also a slightly more bureaucratic operation, as we had to fill out release forms, give emergency contact details and write out a sentence stating that we accepted liability – or so I presume as, for all I know, it might been a sentence accepting I was a duck. This is a great, great relief, and it feels like I can now start making plans for my Pakistan trip. Mask wearing etc will continue of course, but I can be a little less careful outdoors and be less hesitant about going into malls etc, with a mask on. I think I have escaped the blisters this time, but the GF is feeling weak and overheated, so I think it may be his turn for side-effects.
Third, it is very, very hot. It feels far hotter than last year, though this is because our current flat doesn’t catch the breeze as well as one upstairs where we stayed last year, and for some reason the rooms don’t have ceiling fans. Southern Turkey is on fire – including some of the places we were in just last week. This whole climate change business is quite terrifying, now that we seem to be well into it. I shrivel with shame at what our descendants will think of us.
This afternoon we went to the Inebolu farmer’s market again. We got a nice little selection of foodstuffs, including a speculative block of halwa, and an even larger watermelon than on last weekend’s trip. The watermelon and heat at the farmer’s market probably contributed to the GF’s feeling under the weather but he is now napping in a cool room so will hopefully feel a bit better soon.