life in the stockade: day #13

Nice weather today. It was 51 degrees when I stepped out on my balcony for my daily walk, so I didn't even need a coat. All of this weekend's snow has long since melted.

I took a 45-minute walk on the balcony [steps: 5014]. It's good to walk. Nine paces is just long enough that I don't get dizzy. Below me (either on a lower balcony or the sidewalk, I couldn't tell) I heard someone on the phone saying, "We have [inaudible] cases at the hospital." Stay safe, dude.

It's around 5 pm. On a normal workday, I'd be packing up, getting ready to walk to the station and take the train home. Maybe I'd grab a froyo on my way back. It feels a tad surreal now: another me in another world.

(I wonder if the froyo store will still be there when this is all over. I don't think they get a lot of business under normal circumstances—I've never seen them busy—and the station rent is high, judging by the revolving door of businesses they've had over the past decade.)

We still don't have any projects at work. We're scheduled to get more Friday-ish, but it's never a strict timetable, and Melanie says that Tim says the main office is "in shambles." So who knows? I'll just enjoy this extended vacation while it lasts.

The thing I miss most is outside food. I'm a functional/adequate cook for simple stuff, but my repertoire is limited: spaghetti with mushrooms, shake-and-bake, curry udon, stuff like that. Normally it's not bad, but after nearly two weeks of only eating my own cooking plus freezer foods, I'm getting tired of it. I just want to hop on a train downtown and get some Qdoba nachos, or maybe vindaloo + naan from Baba's Village. (Baba's Village is another place that may not exist once this is over. They're a small outfit and they're tucked into the back of the food court where nobody sees them, so I bet they don't have much of a cushion for times like these.)

I should use my surplus of spare time to try out new recipes. This is challenging with my supplies on hand (for instance, I'm out of eggs. EVERYTHING wants eggs) but I'm sure I can figure out something to make. Will report back with results.

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update (3/26): I didn't end up making something new, but I did bake chocolate chip cookies. (When I said I was out of eggs, what I meant was that all three of my remaining eggs are earmarked—two for my weekend eggs and one for these cookies.) Also I found a simple recipe for Navajo bread that I intend to try soon.