Category: The DayBook

Today, I took action, i.e., spent real money, on my Northwest Passage adventure. Gotta wonder about any trip when one of the items that you are told to bring is “Sea sickness medication”. Also “Flashlight” and “Playing cards”. They don’t tell you this until you give them money. A rather large chunk of money. They seem to be expecting the passengers to be seasick, in the dark, and bored. 

But, Sylvie Earle is a cool woman. It’s great that this Aussie company named a ship after an American woman. And, it seems like a very nice ship indeed. Check it out.

Saw the eye doctor today. No problems. Just old eyes. The old eyes match the rest of the package. But, no glaucoma. No degeneration.  Nothing detached. No cataracts that need removing. Basically all good. Just old.

60+ sunny degrees today. 

Great dinner with my boss of almost 20 years from the hospital. 

Not real sure that MidJourney knows what a beaver looks like. But obviously, beavers use big phones. Or iPad Minis. 

Little by little, I started trying to regain mental focus and direction today. Today was OK. I made tiny bits of progress on my Shit2Do backlog. I didn’t add anything new to the backlog. A modest beginning. 

I committed to the Northwest Passage and Halloween to Xmas in Kona. 30 days in the Arctic. 60 days in Hawai’i. Good. I have travel plans and 90 days away from The Asylum. I was away for 107 days last year. I am sure I’ll find somewhere else to go. After all, it’s a long way to August 24

Didn’t sleep well last night. (The watch agrees.) So, I don’t know if I’ll make it through the State of the Union Message tonight. Heck I might not even make it to “Mr Speaker…”

My doctor is in the ugly building. It’s about 2.75 miles away from The Asylum. I walk there but frequently bus it back part of the way home. I always stop on this corner and ask myself: “If I am healthy enough to walk here why am I here?”

The doctor couldn’t find anything wrong with me. She will try again in October. 

I have a bunch of unfinished projects. This is not good. They aren’t going to finish themselves. But, the bigger question is: Do I need to finish them? Mostly, I think that I have been mentally disorganized for the past 6 months or so. I hope this is just mental laziness and not catastrophic mental decline.

This would be me. I am not amused by the weekly menu.

I made it outside today. Managed a 2.5 mile walk. That helped my mental state. The sun was out. The wind was not. It was well above freezing.  All good.

While walking I was thinking about my elderly self on a 100-meter boat. For 30 days. Much of it above the arctic circle.  What happens if I have a heart attack? Or a stroke? Well, I guess I will just die. And that will be fine with me. Damn inconvenient for the ship and my lawyer. But, fine with me.  I will have checked out while on an adventure. Which sure beats checking out from The Asylum Dementia Unit. 

At dinner my beloved besties said that the boat could just put me out on an iceberg. Gotta love my accidental family. Had really good wine and OK pizza for dinner tonight. After dinner one of the family mentioned not being willing to spend $350 for a winter coat any more. It’s funny how this sort of thinking creeps into our lives. It’s not sad or depressing. It’s just an increasing acceptance of reality. Or impermance. 

Too bad there isn’t Photoshop for the spirit. I am very tired of winter. And there hasn’t really been much winter. 

But I have been enjoying the Chinese balloon saga. I was hoping it would fly over DC.  No luck. 

I have a bunch of things that are 90% done. Have to kick my ass in gear and get them finished. THEN. THEN. I can go on a little trip. But, not until I get my affairs in order and my taxes ready for the Tax Guy. It would really be easier to just do the taxes myself.  There is no real deadline so there is no real incentive to wrap things up. 

Hey, I found Photoshop for the spirit! Dinner with my besties. And free wine. 

Getting about 15 minutes of sun in my room early every morning. Sun didn’t do a heap of good today warming things up-wise. It has been below freezing all day and the wind has been howling around. 

Which brings up. The Northwest Passage. In early December I was thinking  about three boat trips. December 8, 2022 Now The Old Bat is fast approaching “If not now, when?” So… Money on the table for …

I’ll pick up a charter flight in Toronto to Greenland and the boat and get off the boat in Nome for a charter out to Anchorage. Icebergs willing.  It’s with an Australian company that had a nontrivial problem with a  covid infested ship in March 2020.  I picked this one because it seems to make more stops along the way. And because the ship doesn’t make any pretense of formality. They are Aussies for goodness sake. The only dress requirement seems to be “closed shoes” when outside of your cabin. Oh and waterproof pants when going off the boat.  

They also offer snorkeling. I am pretty sure that I should give that one a pass.  I will pass on ocean kayaking. And paddle boarding. 

Apparently, most of the passengers are from Australia or New Zealand. Guessing the boat will be wired for Type I plugs.  The artic is a wifi free zone. No cell towers either. 30 days. Off line. Kinda Scary.

Wonder if they will serve roast groundhog for dinner tonight? Actually not fair. Tonight is Petit Fillet night. Believe I’ll have mine with fries. Steak Frites.  Complete with cheap red wine. 

I am tired of winter. And we haven’t really had any winter. So, I asked ChatGPT how to survive winter. 

From ChatGPT: Here are some ideas to help you enjoy winter:

1. 1. 1. Outdoor activities: Take advantage of the winter weather by going skiing, snowboarding, sledding, ice skating, or snowshoeing.
      2. Winter sports: Watch or participate in winter sports such as ice hockey, curling, or the biathlon.
      3. Winter festivals: Attend a winter festival or fair, such as a Christmas market or a winter carnival.
      4. Hot springs: Soak in a hot spring or visit a spa to relax and warm up.
      5. Indoor activities: Try indoor activities such as cooking, reading, movies, or video games.
      6. Travel: Visit a winter destination, such as a ski resort or a winter wonderland.

OKAY. Let’s try MidJourney.

A train trip? Maybe?

Most do/go something/someplace. 

Woke up this morning to a little sprinkles of snow.  Didn’t amount to anything.

Soon the sun was out and I got my sorry ass out for a nice walkabout. No complaints at all. The sun was shining. There was no wind. Nothing was slippery. 

A little reflection of getting older. I find that my focus has narrowed. As recently as BC (Before Covid), I didn’t see boundaries. I still had time to go everywhere, time to read all of the unread books that live on my Kindle, time to learn to make every origami model. Time to do everything. All I had to do was work harder and/or smarter.

Well, guess what? Nobody is promised tomorrow. And, I find myself consciously editing my life to fit into my perceived boundaries.  And, also fighting the editing process. The old conflict. Plan like you are going to live forever. Live like today is your last. 

Little things, like reading the books that I really want to read NOW. And not save them for LATER. Big things like getting my affairs in order. Little things like not buying a 5 year supply of conditioner. Big things like realizing that if I am doing to do the northwest passage and get off the boat, I best do it this summer.

It is as if every day has become more valuable. Every friend more precious. 

It was 10 degrees warmer when I woke up this morning than it is now. It’s just plain nasty out. Time for gratitude? 

Gratitude

---

Homemade, by someone else, cookies. Hot coffee. Cold beer. Zoom yoga. Origami with a friend. Great tax loophole for residents of the asylum. Almost ½ of my yearly “room and board” charges are tax deductible as a “medical expense”. I don’t approve of tax loopholes. But, I am not dumb enough to turn one down.  My 9 year old Kindle. Handmade, by someone else, wool socks. 

---

 

After this rather bleak start, I had a fine day. It was almost 60°. And I spent much of the day outside. 

I celebrated global warming by going to the hospital with a friend and then walking back home. It’s a little over 3 miles, not far for the young. A little farther for the elderly. 

It was just good to get out in the real world. The Asylum can be a little like a cruise ship to dead. Notice above, we have rails on the walls. Friends get big serious diseases.  12 residents have died since I returned from Hawai’i. We have buffets and trivial pursuits. And Bingo. Plus enrichment lectures. It is good to get out in the real world.

Think I will put on some Jimmy Buffet and clean up the office before dinner. Lobster or pizza. Those are my choices.  And not bad choices at all. 

AI is better than real life in this case. Maybe in every case?

Time to go tidy the office. It’s not like I can close the door on it!

It was too nice a day to spend all day indoors ordering my affairs. Nevertheless, I made some real inroads on the tax front. 

But, it was warm and sunny out. So, I went out. According to the trusty Pixel Watch, I walked 3 miles. Nowhere special. Just out. Real air. Sun. What’s not to love?

Speaking of the trusty Pixel Watch. I got it a month ago. It does text messages great. Phone calls are OK. Email – more or less tells you if you need to check your real email.  It tracks all my little old lady fitness activities or inactivity nicely. It nags me to get my ass in gear. It watches me sleep. It even notices when I take a nap. It does a mini-ECG.  And I haven’t really tried the Maps feature. It connects to Spotify. And I have a really good grandfathered-in deal with Pandora. So, I haven’t used it to play music. OH. And it tells the time! How cool is that?

I love the thing!