I was up late Sunday night, far too late to enjoy my Monday off as fully as I’d hoped. It’s my fault; I know. I let that stupid article kill my long weekend and my envisioned five days off in a row. I got to sleep close past 5:00 and didn’t get out of bed until 10:00 or so Monday. Sleeping in was definitely part of the plan anyway, so I didn’t feel too bad about that, but I didn’t have it in mind to wake up at 10:00 sleep-deprived. I was supposed to wake up at 10:00 rested and relaxed.
I’d set my alarm for 10:00 so I could run to the stripmall and drop my Netflix DVDs in the box before the 11:00 pickup. I thought if the place wasn’t teeming with my Kalihi neighbors, I might get a few things I’m sure I didn’t need, but it looked like any weekday in any month in any year, but with masks. It was stressful and alarming.
The Korean takeout place had just opened (a lot of joints are opening later in the day now), so I got a BBQ chicken and meat jun (it’s a Hawaii thing) plate with bean sprouts, shoyu potatoes, kim chi, and choy sum. I was the only customer in there except someone who came in while I waited. She breezed past me and picked up her order and left.
The Baskin-Robbins was empty too, and I suspect it was the real reason for the errand. Ice cream and vacation go together. I had a scoop of Jamoca and a scoop of cookies and cream in a cup, which I enjoyed in my car.
Got back home to finish watching The Banker while I had half the Korean food. That was breakfast or lunch. The rest was lunch or dinner. There was a slice of apple pie somewhere in between.
I did crosswords. I watched some YouTube videos, something I almost never do. Listened to podcasts. Took a short nap. Watched and read the news.
I took care of those loose appendages of the Monster. It was the same task, but not as much of it. It was almost exactly half what had been my usual chore, quantity-wise, so it took just over half as long. It was equally disgusting and unpleasant.
There are still tiny little stray pieces of the Monster to deal with, but they won’t be the same task, so I’m not dreading them as much.
I had enough energy to do what would be half a week’s worth of attending to the Beast, my now-directed, focused decluttering project. Threw out some old hardware, mostly, stuff that was taking up ridiculous amounts of space in very inconvenient places in my home. Sweat the big stuff first, they always say.
That was a rewarding, sweaty way to end my vacation day. There were all kinds of things I meant to do but did not. Perhaps I’ll take care of them Tuesday.
I meant to put myself to bed by 9:00, but didn’t get to sleep until 11:00.
Not that many texts Monday. Crush Girl knew I was taking a day off, so she asked if I was enjoying it. We traded a few messages about some new TV she’s watching. I mentioned Halt and Catch Fire, not really expecting it would perk her ears up. A description of the series doesn’t really sound interesting to anyone, and it wouldn’t have sounded that great to me either, if I hadn’t heard some people on the Ringer talking about it during its first or second season.
Julia told me about her job interview. I sent AJ a link to a Washington Post article about advice for people renting RVs. That was it.
It was a decent day. I was productive in menial ways which had positive psychological payoff. Maybe Tuesday will be about being creatively productive instead. Here’s hoping.
And here’s hoping that if you, in these days of staying home, staying safe, and staying away from others, need to connect with someone, you’ll reach out in the comments. I’ll delete your comment after I send you my contact info, if you wish. I’ve done it for others, whose texts I don’t mention in this space. I’m here if you need some witty banter and lame photos of Korean food.