Day two of the 47th orbit around the Sun

I spent the second day of my loop at work with that pleasant aftertaste still with me. At work I presented my project to colleagues; the idea seems to have landed, so we’ll see what happens next. I tried hard and believe in the project’s success—it is definitely needed in agriculture. At lunch I stopped by Miratorg and bought meat for the evening—Denver steaks from the Selection line and various burgers. Very nice-looking, high-quality ones. I also bought sparkling wine and red wine. I used a Miratorg gift card my wonderful aunt had given me the day before. A piece of advice to everyone: do not buy Miratorg gift cards. They are a hassle. I spent about twenty minutes at the checkout while they tried to activate and apply the card—the business process is terribly underdesigned.

In the evening I escaped work a little early and picked up lovely Leah from daycare on the way. She ran toward me with her arms outstretched, laughing wildly, while I, in a suit, ran toward her with my arms outstretched as well. The teacher said Leah had just been talking on a green block, holding it to her ear like a phone and saying, “Daddy, sweetheart, come quickly, pick me up.” Touching.

Leah and I stopped by the market and bought vegetables and berries for the evening. We all piled into the car fairly quickly and drove to Lapino, to Igoryan’s dacha, where he was expected back from Sochi. We drove on the fast toll road from the Third Ring. They really did a great job with it—twenty-five minutes straight from central Moscow to Lapino. Great location. On the way we also picked up another cake and a few other things.

At the dacha I immediately got busy with the barbecue, figured out Igoryan’s new gas grill while sipping sparkling wine to my own health. Igoryan showed up with the kids and immediately set about his favorite pastime—drinking sparkling wine and laughing. Time flew.

The steaks and burgers turned out great; the berries and corn roasted over the fire were also a hit. We left fairly early, headed out at 10:30 p.m., and were home by 11. Tomorrow morning some kind of surprise awaits from my wife.