Lockdown: My day as a Pixar pitch

Once upon a time

I stayed up too late Thursday night and only got five-ish hours of sleep, although I have to say the last three were pretty good. Kinda sucks. I only get lots of terrible sleep or a little bit of good sleep.

Because of that

I was tired and out of bed a little later than planned. I gave my car a quick scrubbing to get the bird poop and dirt off. I didn’t give it a great washing, just scrubbed it with soap and water and a sponge, then rinsed it off. Mostly a courtesy for the people working on my car, but also I suspect they do a better job on clean(ish) cars. Dropped the car off and walked a few blocks to take care of a couple errands. The next bus up the hill wasn’t for forty-five minutes.

Because of that

I thought I’d look for somewhere to grab breakfast-slash-lunch and maybe consume it at a park or something. I passed Diner’s, which is passable late at night but not known for being a great option when other things are open. However, a few years ago, the owner of a popular food truck bought the joint and brought his menu with him, adding it to the regular menu. Upscale plate lunches, and pretty dang good. Diner’s has eight outdoor picnic tables. They’re disgusting. But they’re in the open air and nobody else was dining.

Because of that

I dined out for the first time since March 19, if you don’t count Big Macs in the laundry at three in the morning. I ordered a garlic ahi plate, which had grill marks but looked like it was panfried in garlic and butter. It was topped with several whole cloves of roasted garlic, and servied with furikake rice, asparagus, and a pretty good tossed salad with a good non-oily lemony dressing.

It felt pretty good, and the meal was quite good. I walked to the bus stop and was pleased to see only two other passengers. Rode way in the back. Got home a about ninety minutes before I was expected back at work.

Because of that

I took a short nap of the drooling sort. Forced myself into some clothes and called a student for a twenty-minute interview. She’s one of those students who calls alumni and asks them to donate money, and she’s raised over a hundred grand in two years. Worthy of a short profile on our website.

The interview went really well. I caught up on emails and sent a few of my own, then looked for my santa hat because we had a holiday pau hana via Zoom at three. Yeah, early for a pau hana, but a lot of us end our working day at four (I don’t finish until sixish) so three makes sense. I’m so annoyed. I’ve been seeing my santa hat all through the pandemic but couldn’t remember where I put it.

Because of that

I had to show up without looking festive. I tried to wear this huge sombrero I own instead, but it wouldn’t stay put while I wore my headphones.

We played a few games, recommended our favorite Christmas movies, enjoyed each other’s company, and ended about twenty minutes early. We were invited to take the rest of the day off, which normally would have been great except I had a few things to do.

Because of that

I wrote some email copy that was rejected for being too dark. Haha. I knew it would be, but I had to try. Jotted down a few ideas for my second attempt but I’m going to let it roll around in my brainspace for a day or so before I try again. My first draft was actually pretty good; it just wasn’t appropriate. Filing away for another time.

I kind of rolled from that right into my dedicated writing time. One other person (the person from South Korea) was in the Skype chat, so we talked writing a bit and we wrote, with no timed writings this time. I did some journaling, then attacked something I’d been wanting to work on since last weekend: a track-by-track evaluation of Taylor Swift’s new album. Posted on FB but I’ll post it here too, sometime this weekend.

No, I don’t expect anyone to read it. It’s long! And it’s boring. I did it for the writing exercise and this it accomplished. Got me thinking about writing about music.

Because of that

I spent a solid two or three hours listening and taking notes, and now I’m very tired. My vision’s blurry and I can’t keep my eyes open. And it’s only 12:47 Friday evening.

When the car place called me to tell me their assessment, I ordered work on all the recommendations except fixing my AC, which I asked them to take a look at. It can wait, and it’s $350. The other stuff was safety-related and maintenance-related, so I’ll be happy to get it done, and made plans to keep my Saturday plans open so I can get down there as soon as the car’s ready and possibly finish my Christmas shopping for good.

Until finally

I’ll be in the Christmas spirit, with gifts procured and car running okie dokie. I may take myself for a longish drive, depending on how much of my day is left when I’ve finished the planned stuff.

Mid-credits scene

That’s not part of the Pixar pitch. Just had to add a component something to finish up. Crush Girl and I texted most of the afternoon and early evening and it was great. We talked movies, santa hats, food, and eggnog.

I sent Ali a few friendly texts and didn’t hear back. Texted my sister to ask if she wants to coordinate sharing family dinner with me and my folks. No reply yet. Sharon texted to ask if I’m going to be in the office Sunday, and I said yes and I could let her in but she needs to stay away from me. I texted Stacia a copy of my rejected email copy and we got some laughs out of it. She totally understands why I have to submit stuff once in a while I’m pretty sure will be rejected. Testing the electric fences keeps us from staying too far away from them, too centered in the safe area.

Breakfast-slash-lunch was the very good garlic ahi plate. Dinner was a bowl of penne with jarred sauce and blue cheese. So yummy. I’ve had the munchies all night but have resisted. Now my teeth are brushed and I’m ready for bed.

Post-credits scene

Daily reminder: leave a comment if you want someone to connect with in the hopefully last days of the pandemic. No, let’s not kid ourselves. We’ve got a long way to go. There’s a light but it’s a ways off. Don’t get stuck in the darkness alone.

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