It is finally starting to feel like spring is here, even though we are having bouts of snow and it is still very cold. Something about the sun feels more spring-like. Maybe the feeling is induced by the yellow roses and pink tulips Dimitris surprised me with yesterday, which feel like very spring-y flowers. In reality, I wish the occasion for them was a bit happier. He dropped them off as a “get well soon” present for Rigel, who is once again having urinary problems.

At the end of last year I decided to use my vacation budget for something I would consider a luxury, and an unneccesary luxury at best: I got a robot litterbox.

I have found myself procrastinating a lot in my free time. This was especially noticeable to me toward the end of my Christmas vacation, and yesterday - the first Saturday since starting work again.

The vast majority of my long term private savings are in low cost index funds. I only hold a handful of individual stocks, from a small “play” bucket in which I have no high expectations. But I have recently been thinking about investing in companies that I actually care about.

It has been such a long year.

I like being by myself. For the most part I’ve enjoyed hiding away in my little apartment, getting groceries delivered, working from home. I don’t really need a lot of human interaction. But by this point even I have gotten pangs of wanting to go to the city and sit in my favorite coffee shop, or just window shopping, or being able to go to a restaurant or stroll through Gamla Stan. Most of all I’ve missed being able to meet Dimitris normally. In the last year we have had just two brief stretches of time when we could see each other semi-“normally” - ie not two meters apart, outside or with all windows open (in the freezing cold), sleeping in separate rooms. He can’t self isolate the way I have been, so we’ve had to be careful. Luckily this Christmas break has given us a week of safe self-isolation.