Just when thinking there is nothing happening...

On Sunday, I felt that my left arm was aching and there was also a tingling sensation. On top of that I was feeling as if something was squeezing my heart. For a while, I decided to ignore it but, then all sorts of weird thoughts started filling my mind.

SIS is retiring come next year. This means we will be able to see each other more, travel and have tons of fun. If I die due to a heart attack, that would be such a bummer. I will not know what the heck happened to me but, SIS will be heartbroken and sad. Also, there are so much I want to do. New songs to listen to, new destinations to travel to and all sorts of fun things to do.

Besides, I have been improving my health lately and I couldn't understand why I was feeling what I felt? 

Then I think, I started feeling a slight panic attack as well. 

I took a shower, packed a small backpack with a couple of underwear, nightgowns and my daily meds and drove to the ER. I was relieved when I checked in. After all, it is much safer to have a heart attack at a hospital right?

I reached out to a High School friend who lives 15 minutes from where I live. Gave her my sister's phone numbers just in case and promised to update her. She wanted to come to the hospital right away but, I stopped her before I learned what was going on. 

Anyhow, they gave me an EKG, took my BP and drew some blood. The doctor told me not to worry because the EKG was fine and my BP was lower than usual. Then, the blood tests came and the doctor assured me there was no indication that I could be having a heart problem. My CRP was elevated and he thinks may be I was having a slight infection but there was no need to do anything just yet. He also encouraged me to keep exercising.

I was relieved and came back home. 

I am still thinking of seeing a cardiologist soon. 

And I was thinking there was nothing new or interesting going on in my life. They say to be careful what we wish for. I think, we need to be careful about all our thoughts too.

Lost Mojo

Lately, I have lost my mojo to blog. Don't know why but, perhaps due to lack of interesting things to write about.

The headhunting project started and then, the customer decided to put it on hold for the time being. Honestly, I am not surprised because, the position is somewhat vague. It feels like the position was created for someone whom the company did not want to lose at one point. Now that he has left, they probably thought he needed to be replaced and then started having second thoughts. The company also seems to be going through some form of re-organization. I think it is better for them to think thoroughly about this.

My days are pretty much the same. I am exercising regularly lately and listening to tons of new music I was not familiar with. K-Pop is my new interest and I started following and loving many young Korean artists. 

I have also watched a few Korean rom-coms and they are hilarious. They are as good as cheesy Hallmark movies.

Here is a sample of what I have been listening. These young men are so talented. I am thinking they are making their parents proud. This tiny concert was during COVID. They are already famous internationally but, I recently became aware of them. 3 of the members are now in the military for the 18 month compulsory military service in South Korea. The rest will soon be enlisting too. So, we will not be seeing their new work until the end of 2025. I hope, they continue to make music together after serving. They have solo careers too.

Projects projects

Once upon a time, I had bought a cute Christmas themed fabric panel while in the US. It had been sitting among my hobby pile forever. I have decided to finally finish it so that, I can hang it up. I sew the backing and filled it with some polyester filling. I put small knots in certain places to keep the filling in place. It is not finished yet. I need to go out and find a stick so that I can hang it up. I will share the finished product hopefully soon.

I also have another fabric panel that is Fall themed. I was going to work on it too but, my remaining backing fabric was not long enough. Bummer. I need to purchase some fabric to get that done.

Long time readers know that I sometimes take on headhunting projects for technical positions. I was not planning to take another project but, my friend who owns the company called me for a very specific C- level position which will be reporting to a CEO whom I have known from a previous job as a colleague. I thought about it for a whole day before I accepted it. During the past 10 months, I had two pleasant, one highly irritating project. Luckily, that project has ended well after a lot of back and forth as well. So, please wish me luck with this new one.

I need to keep busy during the cold months so that, I can stay away from food. Boredom is the worst enemy of a healthy life.

This weekend, I want to tackle two kitchen cupboards and my kitchen towels. Need to get rid of some stuff and re-organize.

It is time for a steaming cup of Linden Tea. Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend.

The Chickpea Recipe

I had promised to share the recipe of the chickpeas if it turned out to be tasty. I loved it. It is a Vegan recipe so, a broad number of people may enjoy it.

It is normally a very hot dish but, I cannot tolerate too much heat and I modified the recipe. So, here are the ingredients:

4 cups of boiled chickpeas (you can use canned but I soaked them and boiled them)

2 cups of chopped peppers (any kind you like, you can also mix hot peppers)

1 cup of thinly sliced onions

3-4 big cloves of garlic

1 large diced tomato

1/3 cup olive oil

Salt/Pepper/Red pepper flakes

You mix these all up in a baking pan. Use a large pan and spread the mixture evenly.

Heat your oven to 390 F and put the pan in for 45 minutes. Every 15 minutes mix the ingredients well.

This is a main dish and I served it with salad. In Southeastern Turkiye, people wrap this in pita or tortilla type bread and have it for breakfast. I think that is too many carbs so, I had it for dinner with salad.

I used sweet red and green peppers but, added red pepper flakes to make it a bit hot. It is a perfect Fall dish. 

I finally put all the bags of the extra clothing I decided to purge, in my trunk so, next time I take my car out, those will go into a donation box. 

There is a pile of laundry that needs to be folded and put away. and a small pile of papers I need to sort through and I also need to straighten out my bathroom and the kitchen a little bit. So, these are today's chores. 

Hoping that it will be a productive date for everyone.

Settling In

Today, I took care of some bills and banking business. Then I put away my beach things, and started swapping out warmer clothes and summer clothes. Was able to purge a few things here and there which felt good.

I also filled my pill boxes, and started a shopping list. Tonight I am going to try a chick pea dish I have heard so much about. If it turns out yummy, I promise to share the recipe.

I have been having too much red meat recently, so I want to stay away from it for a while. I want to get some fish but, knowing that on Saturday, it will be very crowded everywhere, I am not sure whether I want to go to my favorite fish monger tomorrow. I also want to buy a whole chicken next week to roast. That yields a good amount of meals for me. The weather is getting chilly and may be it is time for a nice chicken soup. I have some veggie scraps in the freezer and using them up sounds like a good idea. After all, this is the season for chillies, chowders and hearty soups, right?

I sorted through lots of paperwork and tossed most of the pile I had as well. The central heating hasn't kicked in yet so, drying laundry is crazy during these days. It will take a while to get rid of the laundry I have. I has washed everything in my suitcase in Ankara so, that made a big dent in the laundry pile but, still there is a lot to wash.

This has been a productive day.

Guess What?

All went well as I have planned today. So, I decided to head home at 3 p.m. It took me four and a half hours and luckily the traffic approaching Istanbul was not as bad as I expected.

So, I am now home as I type this post. 

As soon as I walked in, I opened the windows to let the fresh air in. It is a bit chilly in the apartment. That what's throw blankets are for, right?

It is now past midnight here so, I better go to sleep. My sleep cycle is better than it used to be nowadays so, I do not want to go back to my old ways.

Hope, everyone has had or is having a productive day. Take care!

Before Going Home

On Monday, the dishwasher was taken by the service guys. They were right on time so, that was a nice surprise. I then went to meet my babyhood friends and had Chinese Food. Came home and watched the last episode of our TV show with my American friend M.

Yesterday, I took my car to have my winter tires put on. This year I had to buy a full set of regular tires and winter tires. However, I knew these expenses were going to be incurred this year. Therefore, they were budgeted. 

I then went to get a cup of tea and a napoleon to treat myself. I was so close to Anıtkabir so, I have decided to visit the mausoleum of the founder of Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. This coming Sunday, November 29th is the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the country as a democratic republic. I paid my respects and went to the museum in the complex. I feel so good about having visited Anıtkabir.

Today, I visited a friend who had a hernia surgery a couple of weeks ago. We chatted happily for a couple hours and when I noticed that she was getting tired, I took my leave.

I had a late lunch and came home, packed my suitcase and put it in my trunk. If I can finish my business with the real estate dealer early enough, I can just leave to go home to Istanbul. It is a highway and it only takes about 4 hours to drive. Why wait till Friday?

The dishwasher will be delivered early in the morning. After that, I will go to the bank and then to the real estate dealer. Wish me luck for smooth sailing tomorrow.

In about an hour M and I will be watching the first episode of the final season of The Sinner on Netflix.

Hope, everybody is having a nice hump day.