Lockdown: Rainbows are visions

I was a little more productive Friday than I thought I’d be, but less productive than I should have been. I’m not trying to use Bloody Wednesday as an excuse for working slowly or half-heartedly, but it’s a factor for sure. The storytelling part of my brain wasn’t working. I’d have welcomed a proposal, something more businesslike. I had a few quick-turnaround things (can you read this terrible sentence and tell me how to fix it? that kind of thing). That second story I’ve almost completed a first draft of remains in this state.

What my brain lacked in enthusiasm my appetite more than made up for. Gluttony and sloth, part 2. I drove down to Rainbows, which is five minutes away, and picked up a shoyu chicken plate, a boneless chicken plate, and a side of chili tater tots. The plan: eat that all day. It’s exactly what I did. Together, these were my breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I neither fired up the Instant Pot, nor opened the microwave oven door, nor took a lid off any food storage container.

It was comforting and disgusting, sensory and guilt-inducing. It would have been just about perfect if midway through the day it wasn’t getting a little old. I didn’t even touch the mac salad — I keep forgetting how absolutely terrible Rainbows mac salad is. It’s freaking gross. I don’t know what that stuff is they put in it, but it’s not mayo, and the macaroni is always cooked to within a second of disintegration. Bleah.

Listened to music most of the day, since a lot of the good podcasts took the week off. Friday is new music release day, but there was nothing to get excited about on the metal list. I jotted down a few things to check out later; there just wasn’t something that needed listening to right away. So I returned to the Loudwire power metal list and spun Gamma Ray’s Land of the Free (1988). Number four on the list but number twelve in your heart. Or thereabouts.

I’ve already rhapsodized about Helloween, so a quick thought on Gamma Ray. If you listen to power metal, you already know that Kai Hansen founded Helloween and turned it into the most influential power metal band ever, but he left the group in its early days of glory and founded Gamma Ray. So the two bands are sorta joined, the way Metallica and Megadeth are because of Dave Mustaine.

It’s a good album although occasionally very cheesy, as Gamma Ray is wont to be. Note to up-and-coming metal bands: don’t write songs about metal itself. And don’t write songs with “heavy metal” in the title.

In the evening before bed, I listened to Sonata Arctica’s Winterheart’s Guild (2003), number eleven on the Loudwire list. I’ve actually owned the CD since 2003, but I wasn’t sure where it was so I spun it three times on Spotify. It was exactly as I remembered it, and it has aged well. Happy to know the one Sonata Arctica album I own is the one to own, according to some.

I was so exhausted I went to bed at 9:30. Tried to read for a while but my body wouldn’t let me.

AJ in SD has this new game she enjoys. She guesses whether I’m awake or asleep in the wee hours, then texts me just to see. It’s pretty funny. Friday she texted at 6 a.m. and yes, I was still up. Brushing my teeth to get ready for bed after wasting all that time Thursday night (Friday morning, that is) looking for potato chips.

Sharon and I did some work talk via text. We had a little conversation about the aloha email. You know, the one you send on your last day at the office.

Ali was in one of her chatty text message moods, and it was a blessing. We did all kinds of book talking, plus some stuff about Bloody Wednesday (she used to work with us, remember).

Jennifer texted me a link to an article about sourdough starter. I didn’t read it yet. That might have been Wednesday, now that I think about it.

I didn’t go for a walk. Remember, gluttony and sloth. And crossword puzzles. My post-Bloody-Wednesday survival kit.

Text me if you need to connect. I’m down for it if you can handle long breaks between responses for the next few days. Leave a note her and I’ll send you my contact info.

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