Lockdown: Christmas tranquilitea

Christmas! I didn’t sleep well but it was okay. I meant to hit the beach at sunrise. It didn’t happen, but my brief family time would be early enough to leave plenty of room for an afternoon swim.

None of which means it was any easier getting out of bed Friday morning than every other Christmas morning of my adult life. I got the car loaded and rolling about half an hour later than planned, rolled up to the drive-through pickup at Big City Diner for the prime rib holiday meal, and got it to the parents’.

We chatted at a distance (me wearing a mask), split up the food, wished each other Merry Christmas a few times, chatted some more, and said let’s do it again as soon as the world’s a safer place.

I got my dad a bottle of the Balvenie 15, aged in sherry casks. Got my mom thirty pounds of premium Japanese rice. Also presented her with last year’s Christmas gift. I was going to make an appointment with a dog groomer last spring (the groomer in Pearl City was booked through February) and then we got locked down. So annoying.

She seemed pleased. I’d made the appointment and driven to the groomer to pay in advance. A little bit of an inconvenience I hope pays off.

When I got home I made myself a plate and pigged out while reading the news. Took a very short nap and hit the beach, where I got a pretty good parking spot, as it was a gray, rainy day and people were packing up to go. There were a lot of people on the beach when I went in; when I got out the beach was practically empty.

I also had the ocean mostly to myself. It felt great, and I lingered a bit longer than usual.

Drove to the office. Wednesday or Thursday, my gift to the office came via FedEx, too late for officemates to appreciate it ahead of the holiday, but it’s okay. It’s meant to be enjoyed for some time.

Came home. Watched Noelle one and a half times. Played around with my phone.

Oh yeah. The other early morning when I mailed some gifts, I remembered that I never gave Reid his birthday gift in July. When I ordered it, I kinda thought life would be normal again by midsummer. What a foolish man.

I had a rough idea of where I left it. Took me a little bit of time to locate it in a small plastic box of stuff I brought home from the office in August. Yay. They were face masks made from fabric supporting a certain football team I hate. I stuck that in with his and his wife’s gifts and dropped it in the mail.

Christmas afternoon as I got ready to hit the beach, it hit me. The long-misplaced Kindle could very well be in that plastic box. The last time I saw it was when I took it to the office a few months ago — it’s why I never purchased a replacement (‘though I considered it). The only places it could be were the office, my car, my house, and the laundry. I was certain I never left it at the laundry (because I never actually took it out to read while at the laundry). It wasn’t in my cubicle and it wasn’t in my car.

So yeah. It was there. I spent the afternoon charging it up, then after Noelle I settled in to read. I thought starting a new book was a good way to go into the final week of the year. David Mitchell’s Utopia Avenue, which I purchased the week it dropped but never got around to. I’ll be happy to have it read, as I completed many books published in 2020.

It’s quite good, seventy pages in. I fell asleep reading (something I almost never do with a physical book but frequently do with the Kindle) and look forward to wrapping myself up in it Saturday.

I skipped breakfast in favor of sleeping a little longer. Lunch was a hunk of prime rib, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, garlic shrimp, and bread pudding from Big City Diner. Delicious. I got hungry again close to midnight so dinner was some Chicken McNuggets and fries from McD’s.

There were the usual Merry Christmas texts from friends and relatives, including Reid, Jennifer, the writing partner, Charles the Rock, and Anto.

Ali texted me to thank me for a Kindle book I gifted her. I actually got her something I wanted to mail her, but I had a feeling she wasn’t going to give up the mailing address (I’ve asked before, and she didn’t refuse, but neither did I get the address), so a Kindle book it was. That led to some conversation about books and how we spent Christmas.

Crush Girl and I messaged sporadically through the day. It was nice; almost like spending it together in a very casual way.

I feel lucky not to have lost friends or relatives (or even acquaintances) to this stupid disease. It’s been a crappy year and I’ve made it so far because I like being alone anyway and because I’ve had good friends to connect with, not in person. Don’t try to go it without connections. Leave a comment and I’ll reach back.

Friday 5: Year in review, part 2

From here.

  1. What did you learn in 2020?
    A major lesson I learned on my own, highlighted by recent events at ESPN and the testimonies that followed, is that you simply cannot assume your work will speak for itself. There are people who make important decisions about your employment who do not know what you do. I listen to this podcast I’m fond of but don’t always enjoy. Its target audience is younger than me by twenty years, it’s about sports but not really, it’s super creative in how it uses its time (even the ads are mustn’t-miss programming), and it’s way up front about its host’s mental health issues. It didn’t start off this way: its host and co-host took time to develop a relationship and a nurturing community of listeners (a community that doesn’t include me, but this is also part of its appeal). The co-host is pretty much 49% of the reason for the show’s success — its creative success and its commercial success. It was doing so well that ESPN asked them to produce the podcast twice a week after a couple of years of going once a week. Not two weeks after it began its double output, the co-host was laid off. It’s a clear case of executives acknowledging a program’s success while having no clue what makes it successful. Screw that. People get laid off; it’s a ridiculous, unfair fact of business. This is insane, though. ESPN is killing the show it’s trying to build. Anyway, I wen through a bit of this myself this year.
  2. What do you regret doing (or not doing) in 2020?
    The big one is injuring my knee. Long, late-night walks were the thing around which my lockdown life revolved on a day-to-day basis. When my knee got too sore even for sleep, it was the end of my walking obsession. My physical and mental health since then is now one of the things I have to manage consciously, and I’m not always good at it. It has definitely healed some, so that I’m not thinking about it 24 hours a day, but last week’s car repair stuff meant a bit more walking than I’ve been doing, and my knee has really complained, reminding me that when this pandemic crap is over, I need to get it looked at. We’re talking major quality of life issues now. I regret not reading.
  3. What are you proud of doing in 2020?
    I neglected my living space for quite a long time, and I’m proud that I’ve taken big steps toward getting it squared away. I have a lot yet to do, but it feels really good to see my progress.
  4. Who did you get to know better in 2020?
    It was a real challenge getting to know anyone better in these circumstances. I have some new coworkers I’m getting acquainted with now, but I think the spirit of the question has more to do with people who were already in my life. I think my answer is Ali, who was already one of my best friends at work, but she’s got these walls that keep me away from a lot of personal stuff. She left the company (and the state) in February, and we’ve spent a lot of time communicating via text since then, and I feel like she’s letting me in, a little at a time, ‘though she insists she doesn’t consciously keep me out anymore. I think I disagree, yet I acknowledge I’m getting to know her better. I’m grateful for her friendship.
  5. What do you hope to accomplish in the remaining days of 2020?
    I would really like to get these car repairs done. I don’t think it’s going to happen. I don’t want to leave my car anywhere during a long holiday weekend, and I don’t think they’ll be able to take me during the week. Oh, I know. The new blog. I still haven’t decided if I’m actually going to launch it, but my frustration with the writing makes me think I should really do it, if for no other reason than to explore the challenge of writing it interestingly and well. I’m giving myself until December 31 to decide. If I go live, I go live on New Year’s Day. I’d also like to finish a few books I started.

Lockdown: A bowl full of mellow

Thursday was mellow, as Christmas Eve always is on a work day. Half the company took the day off, so emails were mostly a trickle, and nobody was really waiting on anything to be completed. This is the perfect setting for my being seriously productive.

With my coworker, I finished the film review column, then added my monthly writing tip and a few more edits. Sent it off for the guy who assembles the thing in MailChimp who doesn’t plan to get on it until Monday. In fariness, I was supposed to have it in by the end of Tuesday, so I was a full day and a half late.

I edited and posted a news story on the website and did a little bit of outlining on one of those student profiles.

During my lunch break, I ran a few more Christmas errands. They were a little exhausting, I have to say. In fact, all the Christmas erranding was exhausting this year, not to mention stressful, but my car was running nicely and I had the means this year to get people what I wanted, so my spirits were good even while my nerves were close to fraying.

After work, I vegged a little while, wrapped a few gifts, and drove to my sister’s place in Waipio. She wasn’t home, but my niece was. The niece met me in the parking lot and grabbed gifts for my sister, my nephew, and her from the back seat. We chatted very briefly, but it was good to see her.

That put me in the spirit, as gift delivery always does, so I came home and watched Noelle over dinner.

Breakfast was the last of my leftover quinoa and kale, with some fried eggs and Vienna sausage. Naughty, I know. For lunch I made a large bowl of pasta. Jarred sauce, dried garlic flakes, red pepper flakes, vodka, gorgonzola, brown sugar, and a huge handful of steamed kale. I had leftover, so that was dinner. I also (finally) had the last piece of the strawberry guava pie, two weeks after picking the pie up from the bakery. Whew. Glad that’s done with, and happy for the space it opened up in my fridge.

Crush Girl was delightfully chatty; we texted most of the afternoon and evening about Christmas plans, about which Christmas movies we’d watch, and about our baking projects. She’s quite the avid baker. It was nice and connective, and friendly and Christmassy. Most of the rest of my texting Thursday was practical: working out details with my sister and niece for the gift dropoff.

Mellow mellow mellow with a dash of productivity, a sprinkling of accomplishment, and a twist of Christmas spirit. Not to mention some nice driving on long freeways with podcasts (I wasn’t in the mood for music). A good (nearly merry) Christmas Eve.

Christmas eve reminder to reach out if you need someone to connect with. ‘Tis the season and all that!

Lockdown: What’s up? Docs.

Wednesday morning on the way back from the post office, I went through the McD’s drive-though despite being super tired and only slightly hungry. I don’t know why.

Had a very early (for me) breakfast while I read the news and wrote a few emails, then went back to bed for a couple of hours. Again: that was the best sleep. What’s up with this?

Got up to work on staff newsletter stuff. Had my weekly one-on-one with my boss, then a phone call with one of our new directors. We’re working on a Valentine’s Day card together for her department. We’re also collaborating on my movie review column for the newsletter this month, each of us listing our five favorite documentaries. She mentioned in her bio when she came aboard that she loves docs, so I got on that for the collaboration.

This is my part:

Wordplay (2006)
It’s a wonderful look at the New York Times crossword puzzle—the people who solve it, the people who construct it, and Will Shortz, the brilliant, singular man who edits it.

35 Up (1991)
A class of English seven-year-olds was interviewed for a film, and profiled again every seven years. Last year, the kids were 63 for their ninth film. 35 is the best, but they’re all great.

Spellbound (2002)
Superimposes the Scripps National Spelling Bee on class and education in America—heartbreaking and triumphant.

Woodstock (1970)
Three days of peace, love and terrific music.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008)
In 1973, high-schoolers Steve and Robb formed a metal band, vowing to keep rocking together until they died. They’re still at it, even after performing in front of 174 fans in a 10,000-seat arena.

Most of my Wednesday workday was newsletter stuff. I had a late interview with a student, one of those students who calls alumni to ask them for donations. She’s my second student interview in a week, and I have one more next week.

Took a nap after work, then read the news and did some gift-related things. Called my mom and dad for a little while. Did a little bit of writing.

My Diet Pepsi ran out before the food in my fridge ran out. By a lot. This tells me I got takeout too many times these past two weeks. Still had to go to the supermarket, so I waited until half an hour before closing. It was blessedly uncrowded and unbusy. I focused on replenishing the cupboard, with so little room in the fridge, and didn’t buy anything new. I didn’t have time to mess around.

Did a little more writing, a few chores, and more gift stuff. In bed at close to three. Yikes.

Breakfast was a local deluxe platter (it’s a Hawaii thing) from McD’s. Lunch was a boneless chicken plate from Rainbows. That was dinner too — it’s a lot of food. I had a slice of strawberry guava pie for a snack. This pie is two weeks old Thursday, and I have one slice left. It’s not that I don’t like it — I do. It’s just really sweet for my tastes.

Crush Girl and I texted a bunch at different times. That was pretty much it, but it was enough. Good interaction.

This is my third Christmas with this foundation, and each year they’ve given us a bonus day off: either Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve, or we can take half a day on each. The last two years I’ve taken the half day for each, but this year I’m taking off for New Year’s Eve. I don’t really know why, since the days are going to be nearly identical. I mean to every other day since March, not just to each other. I’m thinking maybe I’ll go on a long drive, or hit one of the beaches I love in remoter sections of the island. Or maybe just read.

Anyway I work tomorrow when half the company is taking the day off. This is good. It means I should get a lot of work done. I have a few errands to run during my lunch hour. Other than that I think my day is clear. There’s a meeting I think is going to be canceled. Good conditions for productivity.

Oh when I was getting gifts Monday, I bought a nice-looking bottle of prosecco for my Christmas holiday. Should go well with Taco Bell for breakfast.

I’m looking forward to some down time, but I plan to stay connected to my people. If you’re not connected enough, I hope you’ll leave a comment. I’ll give you my contact info and you can reach out whenever. Don’t be lonely.

Lockdown: The greatest among you shall be your soft-servant

The days have a sameness I saw coming back in March. It’s one reason I was determined then to log certain things, to separate one day from the previous with projects and goals and updates on trivialities. Also to avoid falling into bad tendencies, such as the predilection for staying in bed two weeks at a time.

Because Monday I only got half my errands done, I took a few hours off Tuesday morning as well, and continued the tasks. So as unusual as a day like Tuesday is, it looked and felt nearly identical to Monday. The details were different, as were a couple of the frustrations, but as Tuesday wound down, all I could think was that it was like a redo of Monday.

I got up. Finished up this story I’m working on and submitted it. Had a phone meeting with a development officer about two stories I’m working on for his department. It was a normal call and the stories are pretty straightforward. Typed up a few notes and sent my supervisor an update.

Around lunch time I got in my car and zipped around town, finishing up the Christmas shopping. Parts of it were frustrating, as these errands often are, but parts were quick and easy. I was in the area, so I poked my head into Ohana Hale Marketplace to see if I could grab food and eat it on the car, but yikes. That place was packed, and there were people everywhere with masks off (because they were eating) or not covering their noses (because they were idiots). I’m shuddering just remembering it. I couldn’t get out of there quickly enough.

With everything pretty much done, I still had some time for a late lunch. I opted instead for soft-serve. There’s a spot in industrial Kalihi, right behind the Nissan dealership where last week I got the airbags replaced, and I’d never been to this spot. They have an original location in Aiea I have been to.

Ordered a s’mores soft-serve, which was chocolate soft-serve with little marshmallows, graham cracker crumbs, several medium-sized toasted marshmallows on a skewer, and a gigantic Oreo cookie. I could have done without the little mallows, and the Oreo was terrible, but the rest of it was quite outstanding.

Got back to my desk and tried to work, but I had enormous difficulty focusing. Spent most of the rest of my day throwing around ideas for this Valentine’s Day card I’m working on for one of the departments, in anticipation of a meeting I was supposed to have about it the next day.

When work was done I just crashed. Like comatose before hitting the pillow crashed. So, so tired.

I got up to write a little, but decided the best way to use my time was to go to bed, around one-ish, I think. I had planned to stay up and finish wrapping gifts, then make a late-night run to the post office.

Instead, I got up at 4:30, stuffed six Priority Mail envelope mailers, loaded up the car, and headed for the Makiki post office. Got there around six . Yeah, I don’t know where the time went, but I know it was six because I checked, and because that’s when I got there a week ago on my way home from the laundry to maile that first batch of gifts.

Aaaaand I think it went smoothly. Which cannot be taken for granted, since last week I sent two friends (who don’t know each other) each other’s gifts. Uggggh. The late drive to Penny’s Monday night was to fetch one. The other’s on its way back to me from Kauai. That recipient just did a return-to-sender for me, so she didn’t have to pay any postage.

I’m not done. I have to more Priority Mail boxes to send out, hopefully Thursday morning early. I’m going to do a grocery store run as soon as I finish typing this, then pack those boxes up. I already paid for the postage, so if all goes well, I just stick those labels on these boxes and drop them in the self-serve dropoff Thursday. Yee-haw.

Breakfast was more of the kale-quinoa stuff, with a couple of fried eggs and a little bit of extra-sharp cheddar. It was yummy. Lunch was the soft-serve and a hot dog (it was a combo, okay?). Dinner was a bowl of pasta with jarred sauce, vodka, red pepper flakes, a little bit of sugar, dried garlic chips, blue cheese, and a mess of steamed kale. It was quite delicious. I would eat this every other night if there were no negative consequences.

Texted a few friends for addresses. I have their addresses, but it’s easier and faster just to ask. Gwen and I texted while I ran my errands; she needed some Mac help I’m no longer qualified to give, but I did my best. Crush Girl texted me a link to this great photo essay in one of the national papers. Amazing photos. Now I want to go to northern Europe for the winter.

Time to hit the grocery.

Do not go through pandemic sameness alone. Leave a comment if you’re not feeling connected. I’ll send you contact info. We’re going to get through this. You’re going to get through this. Don’t go through it alone, even if that’s your inclination, as it is mine!

Lockdown: Christmas errands and grilled steak

I’m still not sleeping well. I actually put myself to bed at a decent hour Sunday night, too.

Monday I got up and reworked my rejected email copy. It was approved immediately and sent around for others to okay. Took care of some emails, worked on my contribution to the staff newsletter, and took a few hours off to finish Christmas shopping stuff.

Things took a lost longer than I expected. The line at the credit union to use the ATM was crazy. I gave up, jumped back in my car, and headed for a no-fee ATM near my parents’ house. No line there, but the line to get my car into a spot was a bit annoying.

I got a lot done, but it was only half my to-do list.

It was nice zooming around the island in my newly-tuned car. I listened to Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run on my way out and The Night Flight Orchestra’s Aeromantic on my way back.

Got back to work, editing a thing for the med school.

I don’t remember what I did between the end of work and the dedicated writing time, but it was probably unproductive. I did a track-by-track evaulation of the debut album by ARO (that’s Aimee Osbourne, Ozzy’s eldest daughter, the one who refused to be part of the reality show because she wanted a normal life), the first time I’ve tried to review an album like this while I’m spinning it for the first time.

The result was really more pre-writing than writing. Lots of fragments and ideas but no real prose. Good lesson, though. I think a second listen while I’m writing more stuff beneath what I started with could make a good review.

Spent some time sketching a plan for the next few days. Asked for a few more hours off in the middle of the workday Tuesday. Drove to Penny’s so she could throw something through my rear window. Did some cleaning and went to bed late.

Breakfast was the uneaten Subway sandwich from Sunday. It was kind of gross but also pretty good. Lunch, grabbed on the way home from Christmas errands, was a few tacos from the Taco Bell drive-through. I planned to skip dinner but got pretty hungry late. Drove to Bob’s on Dillingham and got a grilled steak. The place is super inconsistent: sometimes it’s excellent and sometimes it’s not good. I’m talking for the same order, on different visits. Anyway this time it was excellent.

Texted Ali a few times and didn’t hear back. Crush Girl and I texted a few times about Christmas shopping and the book I loaned her, which she’s midway through.

Here’s your daily reminder that you needn’t go through this pandemic disconnected. Leave a comment if connectivity you lack. I got your back.

Lockdown: Gee, mail.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

My sleep Saturday night was a joke, even for me. Dragged myself up arond 9:30 to use the bathroom and decided I was up. Read the news, watched some football, goofed around on my phone, ate a small slice of pie.

The auto shop called at 10:31 to say my car was ready, a minute after the start of my fantasy basketball draft. The draft took an hour — I think I did pretty well — and I took another hour getting stuff squared away at home and ready for a trip to the office. Walked down to the shop, paid my ton of money, and drove it home for my stuff.

It was noticeably better. The thing I was most stressed about, this mechanical pop I heard a few times on every drive, coming from my right front axle, was gone. The ball joint. I thought the engine had been running well, but now it ran even better. The tuneup. The car already growls while waiting at red lights and roars as the light turns green, but this time it was practically snarling in idle. The wheel alignment made me realize I’d been wrestling for control of the vehicle for months without really thinking about it. I knew the alignment was bad, probably related to the bad ball joint (as were the bad front tires), but I had no idea how bad it was until I drove it right after the repair.

Picked up two footlong sandwiches from Subway. I figured one for breakfast-slash-lunch and one for a late dinner.

Went to the office and dug in while I updated software. Sharon needed to get in (she doesn’t work in our main office anymore so she doesn’t have a key) so she dropped by when I told her I was in. We stayed far apart, even riding down to our floor in separate elevators, but dang it was nice to see her. It had been nine months.

Her stuff didn’t take long. I tried to work on this article I’m on. It’s not especially difficult but I couldn’t focus, and boy was I tired. I took care of a few housekeeping tasks instead, put an ornament on one of our lobby trees, placed a bunch of healthy(ish) snacks on the reception desk, and took care of a few Christmas things.

I’d loaded four large grocery bags with empty bottle and a small rat in a live trap into my car before leaving the house, so I walked the bottles toward the park where the homeless people are. On the way, I met a woman with two shopping carts, doing something interesting with either a tube of paint or a tube of something edible. I honestly couldn’t tell if she was preparing a meal or working on some kind of art.

“Excuse me. Are you collecting bottles?” I asked.

“Yes, thank you,” she said.

“Can I just put them in here?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Thank you for taking them off my hands,” I said.

“You’re welcome.”

Cleaned up in the office. Drove up to my preferred rat-releasing spot, and let the little guy go. He seemed happy to be out of the cage. The car handled great coming home a windy-twisty route.

I wasn’t feeling that second Subway sandwich, so I stopped at Liliha Bakery and picked up a meat loaf plate. It was exactly what I needed while also being just what I didn’t need, but ah well. Comfort food.

I was so tired. Took a little bit of a nap that ran too long, so now it’s nearly two in the morning as I write this, and I’m still too tired to be up.

The shop said I’d get my invoice in email but it wasn’t there, hours later. I was using a custom email with my name in the domain (the domain at which this space resides), which Gmail imports into my Gmail account. I did a webmail check directly into that email address and dang it: Gmail hadn’t fetched mail from that box all weekend. Among the not-yet-retrieved mails was an email from Keith, my old boss at the community college, asking if I’d help a friend of his start a podcast (of course I will) and to text him because his new phone didn’t have his old contacts.

But also: an email from the shop SATURDAY MORNING AT NINE telling me my car was ready for pickup! I got it twenty-seven hours later. I am furious. I feel like I lost a weekend day. Gosh fricking darn it. It took me a while to figure out the problem with Gmail and fix it (it was kind of an easy fix and soooooorta nobody’s fault). I’ll spare readers the tech details. I made the adjustment of other email accounts I have Gmail set to import, but didn’t get it all done. Just the important accunts. I’ll do the rest sometime this week.

It’s okay. Saturday was restful if not productive. The car drives well, and I had the money to cover it. I still have a few big deals and then a couple of lower-priority things to take care of, but I no longer feel like I’m driving myself into a prophesied doom. As long as I don’t get pulled over for my long-expired safety inspection sticker, I feel pretty safe taking care of some late-minute Christmas things Monday and Tuesday. So I can stop being furious.

Right. Now.

When I wrote about Saturday’s breakfast-slash-lunch (penne with jarred sauce) I forgot that I also threw in a bunch of that steamed kale I loaded my fridge with. Although I’ve many times had fresh greens with pasta in red sauce, for some reason I never think it’s going to work when I do it at home, but this worked great. If I have to eat all this kale, combining it with perhaps the unhealthiest thing I love most, a huge bowl of pasta, seems like a good way to mitigate the damage I’m doing with all these empty carbs.

I still have a boatload of quinoa in the fridge too, and that already has kale in it. I guess that’s a more sensible option. Especially since I love quinoa and it goes great with fresh greens.

There was quite a bit more texting Sunday than usual for this day. Kerri asked me something about East of Eden for some reason, while I was walking to the shop to pick up my car. I traded texts wtih Penny about a stupid Christmas gift situation I caused with some carelessness. Then there was all the texting with Sharon about getting her into the office. I also texted her later, saying how nice it was to see her and sorry for being unfriendly. I’m stressed out being around people, especially people I care about. Don’t want to get anyone sick. Texted Ali some updates on life in the office. Crush Girl and I texted a few times about stuff she’s been watching. I told her I was watching Noelle Sunday evening, which I did.

I wanna get a lot of work stuff done before the holiday weekend, and some Christmas errands early in the week. Here’s to a good, festive, Christmasy week.

Don’t go through it alone. If you need some connection, leave a comment and I’ll send you some contact info. The holidays suck if you’re floating adrift. Don’t float adrift.

Lockdown: The wheel deal

I tried to keep it mellow, unplanned, and flexible for Saturday. Went to sleep far too late Friday night, but set an alarm so I wouldn’t sleep the whole day away. Woke up at nine, got out of bed about forty-five minutes later. When I realized I didn’t actually have to be anywhere or do anything, I went back to bed for another hour and a half. Heavenly.

Why do I sleep so much better when I go back to bed?

The call never came, so none of the things I thought I might do once I got the wheels back materialized. Just kind of floated about the house. Read the news. Did the crossword (my third failed Saturday in a row — I am not happy), listened to music (Fates Warning and Taylor Swift). Caught up a few times on all my phone games. Took a little nap. Texted friends.

I had a late breakfast because I got out of bed so late. Made a lovely bowl of penne with jarred sauce, vodka, blue cheese, brown sugar, and dried garlic flakes. For lunch I made a huge pot of quinoa. Stirred in a bunch of steamed kale and a little bit of extra sharp cheddar. Topped it with a couple of fried eggs. Unintentionally meatless day.

My coworker Kapio texted in response to a message I sent Friday. Sharon and I texted a few times — I told her I still didn’t have my car back, so our plans for me to let her into the office would have to be in flux. I might have to lend her my keys so she can do what she needs to do.

Ali and I texted all day. What we’re reading. How we’re doing. Stuff like that. It was good, mostly. Crush Girl texted to talk about some of her work stuff, and later to tell me what she was watching Saturday evening. It was nice too.

It’s only 10:30 in the evening and I still have time to write. Think I’ll work on a few things before bed.

Don’t pandemic alone. Please reach out if you need some connection. Leave a comment; I’ll send contact details.

Friday 5: Year in review, part 1

From here.

  1. Who made you laugh most this year?
    The hosts and producers of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz. The podcast was once about three hours a day, five days a week. It’s a bit shorter now, but because these guys got more of my attention more often, they had an easy lock on this answer. The refusal to take sports or anything else too seriously (except very serious trivialities, like whether or not the original Running Man was a good film) is exactly what I need in my sports talk. They’ve ruined me for most other sports programs because the others are so dang sportsy.
  2. In what ways was 2020 better than 2019?
    I was seriously depressed from July to September last year. It creeps back in once in a while, when I’m reminded of the stuff that had me depressed (there isn’t usually a reason, but this time there was), yet overall my mental health has been so, so much better this year. I’ve also been much less stressed about money this year, a thing that will make a big difference all around.
  3. What was the best movie or TV series you saw in 2020?
    The best TV series was easily Ted Lasso, which I have now seen five times all the way through, some episodes more times than that. I haven’t watched as many films as usual, since my attention span makes it difficult lately, but the best is probably Borg vs. McEnroe (2017), which I watched three times.
  4. What was your favorite food discovery of 2020?
    It may be the Instant Pot the Tamashiros gave me as a late Christmas gift in February. I don’t use it every night as I did when I got it, but it’s super useful, especially for things like curries and stews. Tatsoi was a nice discovery, a veggie I’ve been familiar witih but which I hadn’t brought into my own kitchen until this year. Works great cooked or raw.
  5. What’s something nice you purchased for yourself or received as a gift in 2020?
    I splurged on some pricey wireless headphones on Prime Day. They’ve made a difference in how I hear music, even though I don’t use them every day for that. They’ve really made a difference in my Zoom calls, a now-regular part of my work life. I also bought a green screen, which takes away some of the Zoom stress.

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.