Fun fact: my pre-covid wardrobe is still complete enough to not shop for anything this year, even given multiple family trips, regular hikes and workouts and business travel. Only... the business casual and dress code section seems to need a lot of dusting

... on the other hand some boys come home from summer camp wearing their favorite pair or shoes like this. 

Having a chat with a friend on how things are going in our sides of the world, suddenly came to an interesting revelation:

- There you are: we have a Demo-version of our world without vaccinations!

- And mind you, this is a Demo-version of the world without one single vaccination.

Just last week had a discussion with a potential partners on AI, how they use it in their company and whether they are happy with the results.

Now - tried to play to play on the piano the beginning of Bach's Chacona to Google search. It could not have recognized the tune. 

Used the Google search to search for piano sheet - nothing that looks like it.

Finally, recognized it on Youtube after several attempts. Turns our it's Pachelbel, not Bach.

But then Google AI would not know this either.

Our Taekwondo Grandmaster tells us that competing with others is the best way to disregard physical pain, inconvenience, fear and push yourself to better results.

I feel like that's exactly what my boys have in mind when running door to door in our community in their Halloween costumes, with their pumpkin cauldrons. Also, since Arthur's school had a "Truck or Treat" event this year with teachers and parents handing out treats and gifts from the back of decorated SUVs and Trucks - Arthur takes this as a perfect opportunity to show off and be original:

- Truck or Treat!
- Oooh, I love your costumes! - another neighbor says as she moves the bowl of candy closer to them.
- Thank you! - yells Adrian so that parents know for sure they did say thank you, and gallops on to the next house, through the ice, through the mud, getting snow in his trainers.

- We'll get more candy than anyone else!
- Yes, we'll get soooo much candy!
- Truck or Treeat!

Faster, and faster, door to door in chaotic order. Only teens seem to be having more fruitful raids on candy bowls. Dogs back off from the door. Neighbors get educated on the costume being "T-Rex", not just a "dinosaur". In one house, the parents are kindly offered liquor shots "to keep us going"...

- Trrrunk or Treat!

The street is now completely dark and empty. Adrian decides it's time to go home and probably make Dad wear pants with bigger pockets next year. Arthur wants to do just a few more houses. No, he is not cold, in fact he is very-very hot, never mind his shivering chin and sniffing,please-please just a few more houses:

-Dddrunk or treat!

A quiet Mermaid walks on the other side of the street with her dad. As we pass them, Arthur makes a sudden loud observation into the darkness:
- I got more candy thank aaaanyone else!
The Mermaid makes a step closer to her dad and starts to walk faster.

We've got a couple of pounds of candy now, hidden in my personal Narnia and not claimed. Yet. I sincerely hope the competition stops here and there will be no attempts to EAT more candy than anyone else.

Found Arthur's certificate confirming he ate a real fried bug:
- Mom, I ate a bug today!
- You mean, like a gummy worm?
- No, a real one! But it was cooked!

For those parents who don't believe it:

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Adrian's daycare report for a group of 4 and 5 year olds are more dramatic: "Our students were having a debate on whether or not Jupiter has volcanoes". Asked Adrian where he stands in the debate, he was sure it's Saturn that has volcanoes. Hmm...

 - So how is beautiful Colorado then?
- Good. There was another shooting in a school, just several miles away from us, the school I actually considered at some point for my kids.... And the city of Denver decriminalized psychedelic mushrooms... But Colorado is beautiful and sunny, yeah.

Hiking in Castle Rock with our entire dojang

at least those, who wanted to, with families. It was a great idea, and the weather was on our side, and it was especially fun to guess one another by voice now that wearing hats, sun glasses instead of doboks.

When our coach came up with the idea of this hike, and was sharing the details to the group, he said that at the home stretch of the hike there're 200 stairs we'll have to climb. The teens will have to run them up, but the adults can just walk slowly. I chuckled and said not only will I walk up 200 stairs my normal speed, I will also do this with a 35lb kid on my back.
And so I did today.

A friend of mine created an authentic May 1st state of mind for me.

He sent me the videos of his balcony at home, shared by him and his wife. Half of the balcony is made into his workshop, with not just an exemplary use of space - up to the ceiling and shelves arranged on top, but with a freaking designated place to keep every single freaking screw-driver. He has over 2 dozen tools at a glance.
 - Do you really know what to do with all these tools and really use them?!
- Yep! Of course, some of them I only use occasionally...

His wife's made her side of the balcony into a pottery workshop. With a pottery wheel. And a kiln. The kiln has not been entirely set up - there has to be another pipe set up for ventilation.

This was the best motivational video on creativity and using the space around. I made a list of things that need to be fixed or replaced in the house, starting with cleaning and rearranging the garage. Of course, if would be nice if I could sell the kids' stuff already and move on to dusting the shelves and rearranging things, and replace the bikes, and sell the old ones. And that's just the garage, the entire to-do list makes one big summer project.

Arthur brought a stuffed toy monkey from school last Friday. Bobo the Monkey is supposed to live with us for a week, participate in daily activities with us and we are supposed to take pictures of his(hers?) Adventures and add them to Bobo's journal with descriptions. Sometime long this week I am running around taking pictures of a communal clss monkey in a helmet on a bicycle, gardening and baking muffins. Good apple pie monkey he was.

Some time parallel to this I am looking for Arthur's pictures of last year for his poster board. Basketball, microscopes, parrots and rock climbing, trip to London. Then Adrian participates by gluing pictures and adding colour to the poster, and Arthur makes drawing of him skiing , making snowmen and swimming. I bet that was the most creative poster in his class :)

Sometime parallel to this I am shuffling around work files, doing research and trying to fit in an internal presentation which would be quite an easy one otherwise,  had it not involved trying to match my schedule with someone with a packed schedule too and 8 hours ahead of me, while...

...while there's an armed woman in town threatening to schools. The FBI are looking for her,  the schools are closed, both chinchillas are hanging out in the backyard.
The daily calls and emails are diluted with running to the backyard to mediate, comfort and pick up pieces of broken glass. The corporate demo gets pushed back to next day.
The Easter trip packing has not even started yet.

And just as we got back to the base the life took off up the curve like nothing happened. First week at work - Audit fieldwork at a Client's, first Monday back in town - Von Zobel's client's corporate event to attend as if there was no jetlag. First Saturday back - PT session to attend, with stronger calfs though, and a friend's Birthday party to go to. It always felt surreal to me - how easy it is to drop out of day to day life, with your agenda full or places to be upon your return, and then just to come back and take over with your to-do list, like nothing happened. You show up for an event, party or corporate meeting - everything looks the same, meanwhile you've lived a short life and are not the same on that event.

I'm obviously missing this weekend's Gup test due to my vacation and US Open Championship, so time to improve training for September.
Chill Sr's Kindergarten begins in a month. It feels like it's time to book the next vacation now.  Say, Mexico, January :)
This July marks 10 years in CO. On we go.

Stoped by Walmart to get duplicate keys to the condo

- as there're a number of interested potential tenants - some time during the "lunch break" (Ha!).
The first store associate I bumped into, who wanted to actually walk with me to the right isle was Brazilian, but not only Brazilian but also a soccer lover and a teacher.
For some reason his accent sounded Hungarian to me, and right from the start I told him I was Russian by origin...
...For the next 15 minutes we got carried away by the discussion of the FIFA World Cup, of how he is jealous of the friends who went to Russia to see it, and how he would love to go if he could but the prices seem unreasonable, and how it could have been a great chance for Russia to make a leap forward but for the corruption throughout the government, and how Brazil is actually worse, and that  - no, Russia is actually worse since unlike Brazil, no Russian president was jailed for corruption recently... well, ever!, and how - no, Brazil it's still the worst I'm telling you!
By this time my set of duplicate keys was ready. We parted quite content with the conversation and each other :)

The countdown to the Grand Vacance of the summer is officially less than a month. Can still hardly believe the location I was able to find, our planned sites to visit and the warm dry weather. Hard to believe all the circumstances are so favourable, - probably because if was the right time to come back. Finally.


Reality meanwhile brings down to Earth: the experience workpapers have been signed and now the Application has to be finalized and pushed through before we leave. I'm missing the Green Belt testing this Summer(also due to classes cancelled because of US Open Championship and Hangmadang in Colorado Springs)  - but whatever - I'll catch up in September.
The most intense things to complete before leaving for the Old World are finding tenants for the condo, completing Arthur's Kindergarten enrollment, holding Adrian's 3rd Brithday party and finalizing all the open status projects at work. That's not to count all the shopping to do for the trip, all tickets to be bough, all preparations to be made.... which will be eventually done timely and easily, of course, as usual. Still though...

One great and relaxing week.

Started studying new forms in do-jang. It's getting serious, but it's fun and I like how it all starts to come together and make sense now.

Tried myself in the role of bourgeoisie and had our house professionally cleaned. Working the numbers from the invoice backwards, it took 2 people almost 5 hours to do deep cleaning. (does it mean my efficiency is double that of an average person?). Parallel to this ordered groceries in and - it makes such a big difference when after a hard day at work and a long stop at daycare for Chills you come back to a clean house - and the food is there! Looks like I'm in a desperate need of a ... wife!

Had a good review at work and received some unexpectedly great feedback and right on the spot comments. Seeing the firm partners have same work values and priorities is always a good sign.

And the library suddenly has all the books I need, and it has finally become nice and warm out. Good weather is one of the major time savers for me, so hurray!

 - Let's throw in sick kids 2 weeks apart, - said the Universe. - and see how she does now!

She did well. Working from home with a sick kid (or both!)  - who are miserable and constantly need attention, and catching up at night - now I've tried nearly everything in combining career with motherhood.

 - Let's throw in some more tax return and some more Audit work - said the Universe. - and let's see how she does.

She did well. :) hours are accumulating - that's what I'm most happy with.

On the other hand - there's a trivial to-do list that gets copied from other week to the next in my agenda for over a month now. The first week after April 17 will be hectic and insane.

Yellow.

Even in times when all energy seems to be drained by all first-priority commitments and not really replenished due to little sleep and unfortunate changes in my diet - there seems to be a hidden reserve that helps me stay active when I need it most. Yep, after this tax season I'll probably drop dead and remain a disoriented zombie for the next couple of months, but right now - on a typical working Saturday I nailed all urgent stuff in the office for a couple of hours, changed on the way to Dojang, at 11 was in Dojang revising poomsae, basic motion and stepping and stretching, had an engaging and tiring but fun test, and by 1pm left Dojang with a yellow belt, two halves of a broken board and a medal for perfect attendance (which goes to Belking for without him watching the kids there would have been no attendance at all). Then go back to the office and work for another couple of hours before returning home for a shift of being a caring, fun and patient Mom.

Breaking the board, actually was the only completely nerve-wrecking moment on the test. Seeing an inch-thick board suddenly made me think of the busy season at work, having little kids, playing the piano and another 1/2 dozen reasons I could not afford to have my palm broken :) Funny to remember just 10 minutes later when the board has already been hamer-fisted into 2 pieces and my palm had no bruise or scratch...

Re: the FAQ "I don't know how you go through tax season with two little children!"

I don't know either. Just walking out of study room at 0.30am to go take a shower (not to bother Von Zobel later) and to get back to tax returns - and realizing that you still have slow-cooked chicken in Insta-pot and a pot of boiled potatoes to be mashed - waiting for you on the kitchen counter top.
'Cause work needs to be done, but kiddos need lunch to be cooked and packed for next day too :)

*Work-life balance notes*

Kids are super exited to come with me to the office on Saturday. They pick and put on their best clothes. They dress up in 3 minutes. Arthur helps Adrian to dress. Adrian wears jeans (not some day-care-pants) and insists on a belt (!).
In his big boy voice Arthur asks for a snack:
- Can he take some goldfish with us? We'll get hungry while you are working.
-Sure, grab a handful for each of you, please.

Later in the office, I indeed find in their backpack 2 carefully closed containers with just a handful of goldfish crackers. Apart from the crackers, out of their back pack came: 2 whole apples, 2 whole pears, 2 bananas, 2 mandarins, 2 personally packed servings of humus, 2 sticks of mozzarella string cheese, 2 small... cheese pancakes (syrniki) and a handful of dried mango.

I honestly expected to finally roll out a cooler with beverages out of the backpack. But no, there were some paper towels packed at the bottom.

- That's our picknick! - smiled Arthur.

What do accountants do for their pre-tax season party?

They go shoot each other as teams in Dart Warz. :) A few takeaways from tonight:

1. It's always the quiet ones.
2. An average CPA can probably be an aggressive hitman.
3. Never wear a sweater to a dart shooting again.
4. Regular workouts help.
5. But I think shooting practice was on my RealPlans list for this year, so I should get to it.
6. Check the emergency kits in both cars to make sure they are stocked up with enough allergy relief remedy for any impromptu beer after-party at a house with cats.

What a life changer  it is to work out of office close to home! Literally - 5 minutes away from Chinchillas's daycare! 4 days out of 6 I will be going to the office nearby, for the next 6 month at least - that's so many hours saved on commute given it takes around 1.5 hrs a day to drive to Lakewood in traffic!

On the other hand, I am glad I took the chance of going through entire Shakespeare works last year, when I had it. I just got my Odyssey CDs from the Library, and I'm at end of Disc 1 out of... 12 and it's hard to tell how I'm going to cope with it listening just 2 days a week. And then, there's also Iliad to cover this year...