I’m too tired to comment on that Adam Grant piece in the NYT. I’ll do it sometime Saturday.
It was a little bit of a rough day, not because anything went wrong. I was just dragging all day. Aaaaaalllll day. Still, I got a few things done but honestly not as much as I should have. I’m going to have to do some stuff over the weekend.
My brain feels a little mushy.
Okay breakfast was overnight oats. The plan was to steam some broccoli for lunch while I cooked shoyu chicken for dinner, but the chicken came out so good that I had that for lunch instead. Dinner was an unplanned two cheeseburgers from McD’s I grabbed in the middle of my long walk. I don’t think I snacked, but I definitely went overboard on the chicken at lunch.
My friend Ali in Boston is one of those people who returns my texts someday. I suspect she doesn’t do this with all her friends; I think it’s a kind of intentional armslength-keeping. Which is fine. She answered some of my messages today and then had a bunch of conversation. It was nice. I really miss her.
I also had text conversations with Sylvia (she’s sharing her sourdough starter with me tomorrow) and Crush Girl (she was interested in getting a burger at this place I’m familiar with). It was all some pretty good interaction.
When I went out for my walk (at about 10:30) I already had 10,000 steps for Friday. I got it up to 17,500 before midnight, then walked another 7800 steps after midnight. Kind of a lot of walking in two days.
Saturday I want to catch up on some reading and on some sleep. I think I’ll go do one of those now.
It’s a weird time we’re going through. I feel pretty good about the weirdness, but not everyone does, and I’m seeing it come out in some friends who admit they’re going a little stir-crazy. If this is you and if you don’t have someone to with whom you can decompress about it, please reach out. I’m here for that.
Someone asked me about overnight oats, so here’s how I do it. If you Google “overnight oats” you’ll find a hundred ways to do it. I tried it a few of those ways, adjusting for my preferences until it evolved into this.
The one-pint Ziploc Twist n Loc containers work best, but store-brand copycats work too. I use ’em both, ‘though I’ve found the Ziploc containers to be less prone to leakage.
One pint is two cups, which you know. So if you fill the cannister halfway with old-fashioned rolled oats (that is, not quick oats or whatever they call them), you get a whole cup of oatmeal goodness. I add about two tablespoons of a flaxseed-chia-seed mix. My local grocery used to sell it mixed, but no longer. Now I buy flaxseed and chia seeds separately and mix them in a plastic container, spooning out what I need each evening for the next morning.
If flaxseed and chia seeds aren’t part of your intake already, you may find some interesting effects on your going to the bathroom. The effect on me lasted a few weeks, but now it faded over time for some reason. I can’t think of a good reason for it unless the chia seeds i used before were ground and the ones I use now are whole, and perhaps this difference means my body responds differently.
Okay, half a container of rolled oats, two tablespoons of flaxseed and chia seeds, a couple of dashes of cinnamon, and two (or three) tablespoons of brown sugar. The brown sugar you could really do without, but I just find it easier to eat the whole thing if I sweeten it a little. Some mornings I’ll sprinkle more brown sugar on top. I know, I know.
Heres where you can add fruit or berries, which I tried for a little while. It just didn’t work for me. Slivered almonds are good, but I don’t know. They aren’t an improvement.
When all the dry ingredients are in the cannister, I mix it up as thoroughly as I can, but that’s just to make it easier the next morning. You really don’t have to stir it at all. Sometimes I’ll screw the lid on and give it a few vigorous shakes. Then take the lid off.
Now top off the cannister with milk or a nondairy alternative. I like oatmilk the best, but my local grocery store doesn’t carry it, and Costco (when I’m going there, which I’m not for the foreseeable future) has good, inexpensive, organic almond milk, so that’s what I usually go with. Now that I’m shopping at the neighborhood grocery store, I stick to almond milk. Use flavored or sweetened or plain. I use plain, but I also like the vanilla flavored.
Screw the cap on, and leave in fridge overnight. Give it a little stir in the morning, and dig in. I love eating my breakfast out of the container I make it in, plus it’s portable if you want to throw it in your bag and have it at your desk at work in the morning (I put it in a sandwich-sized Ziploc bag if I take it to go).
It’s a very forgiving recipe. I measure nothing. And if you decide to give it a try, you’ll take some things I do and toss others. It’s that flexible. I have it at least every other morning because it’s filling and satisfying, even if some mornings it’s not as interesting as others. Because all that fiber is good for me, I make myself finish the entire thing even when I fill up quickly. If I don’t finish it, I’m more likely to snack before lunch.
It took a long time before it was satisfying, lemme tell you. It used to fill me up, but then I’d really be craving some sausage or bacon or something. Now it almost always takes care of me until lunch, although occasionally I’ll have something small and savory right after, especially if I have leftovers in the fridge. I just had to train myself to think of the oats as breakfast, I think. Now I look forward to it most mornings.
Which doesn’t mean, as you know if you’ve been paying attention, that I don’t sometimes still have a couple of hot dogs for breakfast instead.
I wasn’t super productive Thursday, but I did get a few things done. Finally got in touch with the donor I’m writing about, and we had a really nice phone conversation for about half an hour. I reached out to one of the chancellors to get a quote because I can see the shape this story will take even before drafting it. Should be a nice one, and I’m looking forward to drafting it tomorrow.
Breakfast was overnight oats. Lunch was a bowl of Apple Jacks because I have some milk to use up. It’d been several years since I’d last had a bowl of cereal (it’s rather pricey in Hawaii), so the Apple Jacks were an impulse buy a couple of months ago. I don’t really know what came over me: I like flakes. So it’s taken me this long to finish off the box.
Dinner was three small burritos — not the frozen burritos I’ve been having, but a kind of shortcut burrito I make rather often. I normally keep a large container of the filling in my fridge, then spoon it onto tortillas and add a slice of cheddar. Fold, then zap in the microwave oven. Simple ingredients. Tasty, quick, and inexpensive.
I had an egg salad sandwich for a snack during my walk.
Man, I got off to a super late start walking. Like 11:30. I only hit 5000 steps before midnight, then added 10,000 steps after midnight. Now it’s past 4:00 in the morning and I start work at 9:00(ish). There is going to be a lot of napping this weekend. I listened to a couple of podcasts and my short but awesome Amy Grant playlist.
Traded messages with Crush Girl periodically all day, mostly about books and food. She’s reading a book I let her borrow. I’m still trying to finish Dig by A.S. King, which is an amazing piece of work. I’ve just been too distracted at home, so I’m only getting reading done at the laundry. I miss reading in cafes!
That was it for texts and IMs, ‘though I got some decent engagement on FB, so I’m counting it. Tomorrow I’m going to comment in this space on an interesting piece by Adam Grant in the NY Times about introverts working at home.
I watched all the extras on Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, but was suuuuper disappointed to see there’s no commentary track. Ugh. I’m going to watch the movie again before I send the DVD back. Definitely a movie for fans of the franchise, and only for fans of the franchise.
I haven’t been drinking coffee or tea much this past couple of years, but Friday is going to be a multi-cup day for one or the other. I need the jolt if I want to be productive, and I really do. I have interesting projects to work on, and unless something “urgent” comes up, I’m going to have time to work on them.
Whatever you’re working on, if you’re having difficulty feeling connected to others for whatever reason, I hope you’ll reach out. We can trade texts or DMs. I want to know what you had for breakfast. I want to know what you’re streaming. I want to hear about what you miss.
Yer not from around these parts, are you, Pardner?
The mayor has given us until Monday to begin wearing masks when we’re out in public. It’s not a huge deal since I’m mostly only out to get exercise, and you don’t have to wear a mask for that. However, some stores have already begun requiring masks in order to enter, and I still have to get groceries once in a while.
I ordered some masks online about ten days ago and they haven’t arrived yet. I had a small inkling the moment I made the purchase that I wasn’t dealing with a reputable merchant, but I made the payment through PayPal, which means my purchase is protected, so I’m not going to worry about it yet. The website, company name, and PayPal merchant name were all different — three names! Yikes. I trust PayPal to take care of me or I might freak out a little.
So I did the no-sew t-shirt mask suggested by the CDC itself. Pretty easy, but I have to say the t-shirt material doesn’t instill a lot of confidence that I’m keeping my viruses to myself. On the other hand, I’ve seen other tutorials that look a bit more reliable, and now that I’ve seen how to do this one, I have ideas of my own to try.
I wore it out on my walk anyway, at least until my midway stop at 7-Eleven for a Diet Pepsi. It wasn’t comfortable, but it wasn’t unbearable. The breathing wasn’t as much an issue as I thought. I found the breathing easier if I inhaled through my nose and exhaled through my mouth for some reason. It was pretty dang warm tonight, and the mask did not help. Still, not unbearable. Certainly bearable enough to wear when I have to step into a grocery store or convenience store.
Writin’ with the homies
A work recap would be boring, so I’ll just say it was a semi-productive day with some disagreement with team members about how to approach the wording of an email we’re sending out to 500 emergency fund recipients. I may have gotten someone angry with my input, and I can’t say I wasn’t sorta aggressive about one specific point about which I am sure I was right.
I’ve been thinking a lot these past couple of weeks about how I feel I’m always the person who yields. I don’t mean just at work — actually, this was prompted by my having to go far out of my way to avoid people when we pass each other on the sidewalks during my late-night roaming. but it’s always been true at work too.
When I taught ninth-grade English, the ninth-grade history teacher was famous for being really, really strict with her students. I don’t mind that at all — students need one teacher like that every year or so, and I don’t have it in me to be that teacher. This teacher wasn’t just strict; she was demanding, giving way too much homework, not accepting late work on most assignments, and not listening to excuses very often.
We used to try to coordinate with other teachers not to schedule big tests or big assignments at the same time, and whenever there was a conflict between ninth-grade English and ninth-grade history, I was always the one who yielded. Mostly because I didn’t really mind.
So I’m a yielder. There’s not much I can is wrong with that, especially since I don’t mind being the flexible one. What’s bugging me lately is that I shouldn’t have to be the yielder all the time, yet my willingness makes me be the one. Thisis starting to bug me a little. I don’t mind yielding, but maybe I mind always yielding.
Which is why I may have been a leeeettle too insistent on taking out one small phrase. And perhaps it wasn’t received well.
I also tried to interview a donor by phone but had to leave a voicemail.
Text is natural; text is good. Not everybody does it, but everybody should.
It was Antony’s birthday so I sent him a happy birthday. I’ve been a little concerned because he’s a bus rider and I do not want people I care about riding buses nowadays. Traded some IMs with Crush Girl about places we each can’t wait to dine at, once we’re allowed again to dine out. She’s a good food friend, the kind of person likes cooking and dining out and talking about both. Traded a few work-related IMs with Sylvia too.
That was about it. I was kind of in leave-me-alone mode most of my day.
Breakfast was overnight oats. Lunch was last night’s marinara over penne, with some of that blue cheese mixed in. Delicious enough that I had it for dinner too. I had a late snack of an egg salad sandwich.
I hit 15,900 steps for Wednesday and got home before midnight. The plan was to go to bed early-ish and wake up to hit the beach, but I remembered moments ago the full moon was April 7, which means Thursday the 16th is the first day of the monthly jellyfish influx, and the soonest I’ll be able to get wet again is Sunday morning. I mind sharing the beach with the jellyfish a lot less when I’m in the water several times a week. When I’m down to once a week, I’d appreciate it if those guys would just stay out there. They have a whole ocean.
During breaks in the action Wednesday, I watched Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, a movie I heard nothing about when it was in theaters last fall. I have about half an hour left; maybe I’ll finish it before hitting the hay, since I don’t have to be up early anymore.
If you’re lacking someone with whom to share whatever you’re doing to get through the lockdown, please reach out. Tell me about Tiger King or the cinnamon swirl mug cake you made today. You don’t have to go through any of this alone!
I might have to make this quick since it’s so freaking late.
Garbage in
Okay, so let’s talk about food. I ate garbage all day long. I do not know what came over me. On my way to the laundry, I went through the McD’s drive-through for a Big Mac combo. Only I didn’t stop at the combo. I added ten chicken McNuggets to the order for no reason I can fathom except sheer gluttony.
It was all faaaabulously delicious. I regret everything.
Lunch was half a can of corned beef hash with brown rice. Dinner was the other half, also with brown rice. I have that canned stuff for when I run out of fresh food and can’t make it to a grocery store. No idea what happened! I also snacked on Korean barbecue flavored tortilla chips. They were really good.
As if all that were not enough (and it apparently wasn’t), during my walk, I stopped at an empty 7-Eleven and had an ice cream bar AND an egg salad sandwich! Gluttony was my deadly sin of the day. Why couldn’t it be sloth?
While I was scarfing dinner, I did throw some thing in the Instant Pot to make marinara sauce with the canned whole tomatoes left over from the chili. The tomatoes, their juice, a small can of tomato paste, some cocoa, thyme, bay leaf, dried basil, and a few cups of Riesling. It came out pretty dang good, although it could use some sweetening. I shoulda thrown in some dried red pepper flakes too.
Tomorrow I’ll use the marinara to go with some penne and some of that blue cheese I’ve been thinking about but not opening. And probably drink the rest of the Riesling. It’s a lot of empty carbs, probably too many, but at least it’s not trash like my entire consumption Tuesday!
Familiar places; familiar paces
Holy mackerel it took me forever to get out the door this evening. I almost didn’t go. And since I strated j ust ten minutes before 11, there was no way I was going to hit my 13,000 steps for the day. I got about 7500 before midnight and 4500 steps after midnight, which means I didn’t even get my 13,000 steps for the trip. Since I came atoms from not going at all, I’m going to count it a win anyway.
The walk felt pretty good, but it was noticeably warm! My Dark Sky app said it was 74 at 1:00 in the morning. Yow.
IM, I said
I traded some good texts with Ali in Boston, about an article she sent me outlining why nonprofits should pay their people better. The writing partner and I have been disconnected for more than a week. Turns out we had some miscommunication. I swear it was her fault but it’s never one person’s fault. The Borg vs McEnroe film reminded me of one of the funniest sports quotes I’ve ever heard, so I sent it to Penny and it started a short text conversation about some of the tennis players of our youth.
A delicate sound of numbers
The cases in Hawaii go up, but not by much. We’re just not seeing a spike, and I suspect it’s because of not enough testing. Thirteen new cases yesterday, five new cases the day before. This is not what I expected. Maybe the people of Hawaii are nicer to each other than I thought.
The leadership in this country is driving me mad. The state leadership isn’t much better.
I still didn’t make my mask, but I did clean up my scissors in anticipation of doing so. Wednesday for sure!
I am not lonely, but I have to say I’m beginning to miss female companionship. I could really go for lunch with some female platonic friend or any one of the unusual number of very young women I’ve gotten to be friends with in the past few years. Or ex-colleagues, my female teaching kinfolk. Just a little bit of time to soak up some company with the fairer sex. The women from the engineering firm with whom I trade texts. One of them moved last month, but two are still here. I keep avoiding going out with them, but when this thing is over, I could sure use some time in their space.
I’m not feeling down about any of it, but if you are, and if you’re going through this alone (or if it merely feels like you are), please reach out, whatever your age or sex. 🙂 Let’s commiserate. I know some funny stories and sympathetic noises.
“You wanna live inside some fairy tale. I’m just trying to make things better.”
I had to get up a bit earlier than I’m used to on a work day. There was a Zoom meeting with the CEO and some VPs in our company to talk about our communication strategies with our emergency relief projects. That meeting was pretty good, but it went an hour, first thing on a Monday morning after a three-day weekend.
I’m equipped to do a lot of things well, but this isn’t one of them. But I think I contributed adequately. Then, in order to debrief, my department moved its daily Zoom meeting from 2:00 in the afternoon to right after the first meeting. That went about half an hour.
I had enormous difficulty focusing for that second meeting. I thought it boded ill for my productivity Monday, but I had a pretty good day. I finalized one of the proposals I worked on in the second part of last week (the urgent one that maybe turned out not so urgent). Did some photo editing for a coworker — an easy task I usually enjoy. In the virtual desktop environment, stuff like Photoshop tends to drag, and on the minuscule work-issued laptop monitor, Photoshop is kind of a pain to work with.
First-world problems, I know.
I worked a little on some acknowledgment letters, and offered edit suggestions for an article written by someone outside our organization.
The day went quickly. Perhaps we should begin every workday with 90 minutes of meetings.
“There’s got to be something more to love than commitment.”
Breakfast was overnight oats. Lunch and dinner were both leftover turkey chili and brown rice — I finally finished the chili, which was my goal Monday. I didn’t snack at all, mostly because all three meals were pretty darn filling.
I skipped the late-night walk, opting instead to do a little bit of house maintenance, to watch the first hour of Borg vs McEnroe (2017), and to get to bed at a decent hour in anticipation of waking up super early for laundry.
I’m at the laundry now, alone so far after 22 minutes. Here’s hoping!
I did not make a mask Monday as I intended. Brought the materials to the laundry, though, so it’s possible I’ll get it done before I get out of here.
“People have gotten married for a lot less.”
During work, I traded IMs with my coworker Laura about some of the messaging we’re putting out there when we ask for money via mass mailings. It was a good conversation, of the sort I kind of geek out about. It’s part marketing, part writing, and while I am not much of the former, I think I do the latter pretty well.
Away from work, I traded texts with Crush Girl and IMs via FB Messenger with the Friday 5 girl. Not the most connection-filled day, but it feels okay.
“If there’s any kind of magic in the world, it must be in the attempt of understanding someone.”
I had a couple of gift certificates from the Criterion Collection, one of which expires at the end of April, so I used them both on Richard Linklater’s Before Trilogy: Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight. It’s a lovely set in a three-Blu-Ray slipcase. It came in the mail today and I’m pretty stoked to rewatch them (I’ve seen all three only once), and of course to explore the extra features, which Criterion Collection is the best at.
I also made an impulse purchase of the Kindle version of Thinking Inside the Box: Adventures with Crosswords and the Puzzling People Who Can’t Live Without Them by Adrienne Raphel, breaking my resolve not to purchase new books while in lockdown. Tuesday is also the day a Kindle book I (right before the lockdown) preordered drops, Sarah Frier’s No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram.
I’m thinking I’ll read them concurrently with an eye on finishing them at the same time.
Now that most of the fresh veggies and most of my leftovers have been cleared out of my fridge, either because of consumption or throwing out, I’m looking forward to cooking something new. 2020 is supposed to be my #yearofcookingshellfishly, according to the New Year’s resolutions I never posted. This may be on hold during the lockdown. I haven’t really thought of my options at the supermarket because I was really looking forward to going to the fish market in my ‘hood and bringing home something fresh, like someone who knows what he’s doing.
That fish market is extremely close quarters. I just don’t think I have it in me, even with prescribed social distancing, to go in there. Those lovely clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops will have to wait.
“I guess when you’re young, you just believe there’ll be many people with whom you’ll connect.”
If you’re frustrated or bummed out by your own New Year’s resolutions being put on hold (or anything else on hold, really), and if you’re going through this alone, please reach out. I’m happy to text, IM, or DM you through it. The world’s a crazy place in normal times; it’s downright maddening now. Don’t be shy; let’s connect.
I had too much fun not doing anything for a three-day weekend. I’m really not ready to go back to work. Bleah.
I woke up a couple of hours too early, but it was time for the meds anyway, so I had overnight oats for breakfast, popped the meds, and did the L.A. Times Sunday crossword (I’d finished the N.Y. Times Sunday crossword Saturday evening). Then right back to bed for a few hours. It was lovely.
I did a wee bit o’ writing, worked on a couple of chores, and made lunch. I had a ton of string beans to use up. Made some instant mashed potatoes. The beans were really not good. I do a lot of my own cooking, and since I enjoy experimenting, things don’t always come out great. Still, they usually turn out good enough. Maybe I wouldn’t take some of my experiments to a potluck, but I’m fine consuming them myself.
Not these green beans. I ate most of a large bowl of them and reminded myself of a few things. While I’m not wealthy, and while I don’t like to waste food, I make enough to throw something out if I don’t like it. And since I’m eating almost every meal at home, I’m not spending much money on food anyway. So if this dish was terrible, there was really no point in trying to eat it for my next six lunches.
Into the trash the beans went. I finished the potatoes with a little bit of mediocre cheddar and some wasabi oil.
I did some more writing and then the Washington Post Sunday crossword. I thought I’d have a very late dinner, after my walk. I had a few things to mail, so I started with a walk to the nearby stripmall, where there’s a mailbox. Then walked toward Dillingham Blvd, a different route from my usual. Midway there, I was kind of a miserable mess. Cold-sweating and a little shaky; I was really hungry! I had a feeling there was a blood sugar issue, although that didn’t really explain the cold sweats.
Thankfully the McD’s at Waiakamilo and Dillingham was open for takeout. I thought I needed to get some sugar into me quickly, so I had a small vanilla shake, then chased it with two cheeseburgers and a medium fries. They did the trick. At least the weird internal shakiness was gone.
The sweats came back, and while they weren’t really cold, they weren’t the usual warm sweats I get when I’m out for a long walk. I think my body just isn’t feeling right. I considered calling it off and just going right back home, but I definitely wasn’t feeling like an emergency situation, as I had felt before McD’s. So I finished my intended walk, kind of sore and unhappy the whole way.
I got it to 14,000 steps before midnight and tacked on another 4,000 after midnight. I’m planning to hit the laundry super early Tuesday morning, so I may not walk Monday night, and it may be just as well.
I got eight responses to the Easter Song video I sent out, just reciprocal Easter greetings, which was nice, but no real connecting besides that. Easter’s been something of a solo day for me these past several years.
I still haven’t made a mask. I guess I’ll do that Monday!
Note to self: tomorrow might be a nice day to discuss Gus van Sant’s Melancholia.
New week! No real end to this weirdness in sight! If you’re not handling it well and you’re going through it alone, please reach out! I’m here for you, as long as “here for you” is okay via texts, DMs, or IMs. I so seldom have anything of value to lend people. The world is not built for introverts, but this new world may be. If I can lend you some of my introversion and talk you down of metaphorical or real ledges, I’m here for it.
I seriously don’t know where the day went. I slept in, sure. Got up for breakfast (two frozen burritos) and to pop my meds, then went back to bed. That much is clear.
Then, much like Friday, I kind of alternated between the bed and the desk, only I don’t think I have anything to show for any of it, except the Sunday NYT crossword. My one major task was going to be making a few face masks out of old t-shirts, but before I knew it, it was time to get out for a walk. Then I took a nap, and then I went out for a walk. It’s like one moment it was 2:00 in the afternoon and the next it was 10:30 at night.
Lunch was a whole lot of steamed brussels sprouts. Dinner was the homemade bread with balsamic vinegar and the mediocre cheddar. Wasn’t in the mood to break out the blue. Somewhere in there was a snack of tortilla chips and what remained of my fresh salsa.
I love my city at night, but it’s especially beautiful when the mayor declares a curfew for people in cars. It’s so quiet and so safe, and I revel in the darkness. I reeeally think I’m allergic to something in the flora on Nuuanu Avenue, between Wyllie Street and Judd Street, on the Ewa side of the street. I was sneezing and sniffling like a madman again, and only while walking that one block.
Thanks to those 8K steps very early Saturday morning, I got the stepcount to 15,700 steps before midnight, and then added 5200 steps after midnight. The first half of the walk was rough; my body and mind didn’t want to be out there. The second half was really nice, though, my body and mind both loving the quietude.
I listened to a few podcasts, plus my short but decent The Cure playlist and then my short but awesome Easter playlist. I’m kind of hoping that my fellow believers will experience this Easter soberly and deeply, and realize what I’ve been quietly trying to tell them for the past few years. Maybe we don’t need a physical church. Or maybe we don’t all need one.
Didn’t do a lot of connecting. I wonder if that’s why the day seems not to have really existed. Early Sunday I sent a link to Keith Green’s “Easter Song” to a bunch of people and traded a very few IMs with a person I know from Friday 5. Penny texted around dinner time to check up on me. We talked a little about how easy it is for introverts to just do their thing at home alone.
I don’t think I’ll plan anything for Sunday except maybe making one mask just to see if I can. I have a few veggies I’d like to use up too. Maybe send out for a late pizza? Who knows!
It’s Easter, which may not mean anything to you. If it does and you’re feeling separated from the body, alone when you feel you shouldn’t be, I hope you’ll reach out. We can have a Keith Green listening party or something. Through DMs, texts, or IMs, of course!
If you’re paying attention, you probably figured out I went to bed early(ish) Thursday so I could go to the beach early(not ish) Friday.
Last week Thursday, I tried to park at Kewalo Basin so I could walk through the little mini-park there (it’s there for people who live on the boats) and hit my usual beach. I got there at around 7 and much to my dismay (‘though not really to my surprise) the tiny parking lot there was full, and people were waiting for spots to open up. So I drove to that free parking area behind the Ilikai, behind the lagoon at Hilton Hawaiian Village (I gotta find out what the surfers call that spot) and walked to Fort Derussy. It was nice, but it wasn’t ideal.
They open the Kewalo parking lot at 4, but I didn’t think the dawn patrollers were going to be there that early, since dawn wasn’t until just past 6. So I got up at quarter to five and got down there at about 5:20. Plenty of parking.
It’s not a free lot, but it’s a dollar an hour, so it’s totally worth it. I paid for three hours (just in case). Almost everyone already parked there was either a surfer or a standup paddleboarder. And the regulars at Ala Moana (especially the SUPers) all know each other, so it was a chatty crowd at an hour when I just wanted some quiet time.
But yay. The sun came up, everyone made the trek to the beach, and I trailed behind. I jumped in at what was my usual spot for years, and swam two buoys down and back. It. Was. Lovely.
I don’t usually swim on that end of the beach anymore. I’ve found the other end, just beyond the pavillions on the Magic Island end, much nicer lately. The parking’s not quite as close to the water (because the beach is wider) but there’s more parking at sunrise and more room in the water for spreading out. The water movement’s a bit mellower too, most of the time. Oh, and the shower on that end is much better. There’s one showerhead with amazing water pressure — the regulars usually wait their turns for it, or they’ll jump beneath one of the other showerheads and move over when the good one opens up.
I love showering at the beach. I took the showerhead off my shower at home so I could emulate beach showers. And I usually take cold showers too for the same reason, even when I’m at my parents’ house and showering there.
I’m chatty; can you tell? It was a good day largely because of the excellent beginning, and I’m feeling pretty good.
There were still a few open parking spaces when I left at quarter to 8 (or so). Maybe last week was a fluke. Or maybe Friday morning was a fluke. Guess we’ll find out sometime next week!
I picked up breakfast on the way home at Pancakes & Waffles. A Denver omelette with a short stack. It’s not the best thing on the menu but I wasn’t interested in anything exciting. I wanted something simple and filling. What I really wanted was a Subway sandwich, but the last time I tried to get to the Subway in my ‘hood, I pulled up at 8 and the store was still dark. I get it, and I’m trying to be patient, but don’t people know how much I love my Subway sandwich after a good swim?
Eat. Sleep. Write.
I ate breakfast while I read the news, then went back to bed. It. Was. Also. Lovely.
I pretty much spent most of the day moving between the bed for lazing horizontally and the desk for lazing vertically. I really wanted to write my review of The Lighthouse (see entry below!) and do some other writing, but the review took most of my writing time. Ridiculous.
I skipped lunch again. Snacked on some potato chips (Kettle Bourbon BBQ again). Dinner was some of my fresh bread with slices of mediocre cheddar. I’ve got some decent blue in my fridge and I think I’ll break it out for the rest of this bread Saturday.
Regrets, I’ve had curfew
I cut myself a little slack on the walking because of this morning’s swim, but still thought it would be nice if I could hit the daily goal. I didn’t. Took way too long getting out the door, so I only got it up to 7400 steps before midnight. I think next time I go to the beach an hour before sunrise, I’m going to walk along Ala Mo Blvd and get in as many steps as I can before jumping in the water.
I got 8100 steps after midnight. It’s quiet out there after 11! Unheard of for a Saturday night. I stepped into the 7-Eleven at Nuuanu and Kuakini, the one I usually walk right past because there are always at least four customers in there no matter what time it is, and it was so slow that the lone clerk (there are always two, but not tonight!) had parked his SUV right in front of the store in the customers’ parking, and was hanging out next to it with the door open.
I have to say the curfew makes the walking much, much more pleasant. As long as the police chief says it only applies to driving, I think I could get used to this.
I listened to some podcasts, my short but awesome Foo Fighters playlist, some songs from I Am Abomination (inspired by an email I got from the band about the new album this month, which I backed on Indiegogo two years ago!), and the first few tracks from the new Nightwish album.
I suspect Nightwish fans aren’t going to love this one, but I think it’s really interesting, perhaps their most interesting album (so far) since Floor Janssen joined the band.
Connecting points
Friday I traded a few texts with Ali in Boston (no holiday for her), the friends from the engineering firm (Suzanne braved Costco! Nooooo!), and Sylvia (we had chatted about how we each wanted to go to the beach this weekend so I sent her the photo I’ve shared here). Swapped a few DMs with my uncle in San Diego — he’s still working at the office but will work from home some days. And there was some IMing with the person I met from Friday 5 (in Wisconsin) about lighthouses, and with Laura about The Lighthouse because she’s the person who pretty much made me watch it.
Almost every paragraph in this entry begins with the word I, something I didn’t do on purpose. In fact, I usually try to avoid it. I think this is a sign I am tired and should go to bed.
Looking forward to accomplishing even less Saturday than I did Friday. If your Saturday isn’t looking great, or if your outlook overall isn’t great, I hope you’re not going through this alone. If you are, please reach out. We can text, IM, or DM about whatever. Just please don’t despair.
Thursday is already a blur and it’s only Friday night. Evidence that if this is important to me, I need to log this stuff with minimal delay.
Breakfast was overnight oats. I kind of skipped lunch because I had breakfast a little late, and I kind of dragged it out all morning. I had turkey chili with brown rice for dinner, and I made a loaf of bread in the bread machine. Had that for a late snack. Somewhere in the middle were a handful of Kettle potato chips, the Bourbon BBQ flavor. They were yummy.
Traded quite a few texts with JB, who asked me if I could help him find some poetry to read. You know I love a question like this. My usual response is to ask someone some poems they remember enjoying (not as many people say Shel Silverstein as you’d expect; I wonder if people feel silly naming him), and go from there.
He said he liked “The Raven” and some other poet I hadn’t heard of. So I started him on “The Charge of the Light Brigade” and “The Highwayman.” He liked “The Highwayman.” Then I shared “Reflections on a Gift of Watermelong Pickle Put Up by a Friend Called Felicity” and “The One Girl at the Boys’ Party.” He was pretty amped and wondered why he never got into poetry before. I resisted the urge to say, “Because you didn’t have me as a teacher.”
Also traded texts with Crush Girl, which was nice. I called mom and dad on the phone. They seem to be in good spirits, although I can tell my mom’s getting a little restless.
I skipped the walk so I could get up early Friday for another try at Ala Moana. More about that in a few hours.
Work was pretty productive. I didn’t get those revisions on the proposal done until very late, like around 11:30 in the evening. It was slightly distressing as I was trying to get to bed early. But I feel pretty good about the work. Haven’t heard back from the fundraiser yet for feedback, but I kind of expected that. It’s a holiday, after all.
The mayor of Honolulu declared a “pilot” curfew for the long weekend. 11:00 in the evening until 5:00 in the morning, beginning Friday evening and ending Monday morning. He’s worried the Easter weekend will be too tempting for people who are already incapable of social distancing. Nobody on the roads for the entire island unless they’re driving to get medicine or driving to or from work!
Luckily, the police chief says if you’re out on foot, you’re probably okay. She just doesn’t want anyone on wheels. I’m about to test this when I go out for a nice long walk in a moment.
The mayor also said he and the police are ramping up their enforcement of the stay-home mandate by hitting the beaches hard. We’re still allowed to go into the water, to cross through parks and across beaches to get to the ocean. We just can’t linger. Can’t hang out. Can’t congregate. His edict was accompanied by a slide with an illustration of the beach. Crossed out with red Xes were a couple of beach chairs and several peaches. “No peaches on beaches,” he said, which is incredibly clever for this mayor. He was either really inspired or he’s got a pretty good writer on this team.
Hawaii’s new cases continue to hold at about the 25 new cases per day line. I’m trying not to be encouraged by this, but I’m encouraged.
I’m so grateful for a three-day weekend. Spent today taking it easy, if you can call writing my first film review in MONTHS taking it easy. I swear, sometimes it’s like opening a vein. I struggled with it all day and it’s still not very good. And then I had to lie down for a couple of hours after.
I might have to do a review every day, even if it’s a short one, to get those muscles back into shape. It shouldn’t be this difficult but I think that part of my writing brain is atrophied.
It took me four days to watch The Lighthouse twice. Partially because of business. Partially because of lack of attention span. I’m okay with this. On my walk this evening I’m going to decide what to watch next!
Hey listen. The news has been optimistic these past couple of days, but I think we’re at least three weeks from really being optimistic. If that’s a challenge for you, please reach out. I don’t know why, but I’m handling this pretty well — it’s almost as if I’ve been practicing for it for years. Get in touch if you could use some encouragement. And no peaches on beaches!
