Category: The DayBook

A chilly and windy day. 

The Asylum has sunk to a new low where food is concerned. 

Some random rumors and thoughts about the state of Dining Services at The Asylum.

1. 1. What you order (take-out) isn’t what you get.
   2. The take-out ordering process isn’t all that great. Have to call numerous times to get an answer.
   3. Way too much cilantro considering how many people hate cilantro.
   4. Overcooking – especially the meat and fish. And the sauces are strange. 
   5. Undercooking – the veggies.
   6. The food is boring/weird. 
   7. The food is a secret diet plan.
   8. Dining Services is trying to rebalance its budget by using cheaper ingredients. 
   9. They seem to have forgotten how to cook.
   10. The proposed lunch service plan, i.e., by reservation only with no take-out isn’t going to fly with the residents.
   11. Soups resemble dishwater. And the soups used to be reliably good. 
   12. Even the mac and cheese is suffering. 
   13. We might be old, but we remember before COVID, the food was mostly good. We were happy to invite our friends to eat here. Some of them even wanted to eat here. That is no longer the case. (Even if it were allowed.) 
   14. A resident said that she would never recommend The Asylum to friends until the food improves. 
   15. It is not just the usual suspects complaining about the food. Seldom is heard an encouraging word where Dining Services are concerned. 
   16. The Knit of Kids Group was heard to say “Now they are feeding us prison food”. 

And why am I complaining about the food here?  Because twice a day I get reminded about how bad the food is. Breakfast is OK. And I can still cook.

Busy day today. But a good day. We celebrated a 2nd Covid Birthday. Last year it was a Zoom Birthday. This year it was a nice in-person celebration. With cake and ice cream and illegal candles on the cake. We are working our way back to normal. 

Gratitude

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Grateful that everyone who was at last year’s Zoom Birthday made it to tonight’s in-person celebration.

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Got my hospital Windows 10, my personal email on Big Sur 11.2.3, my iPad is waiting for a zoom to start, and I am working on an origami. My phone, which is taking the photo, would be in the mix, keeping up with incoming text messages. Fortunately, the brain was firing on most of the neurons today.

Had a good origami day. 

I am beginning to master a new money heart. And money is very favorite origami paper. Too bad money isn’t square.  

And, I had great fun making the really simple but very traditional Japanese cicada. In fact, during the upcoming cicada season, I might teach a little class on how to make a cicada.  It is really the only model that I know that I am 100% sure that most of our residents could make without frustration. 

It isn’t nice to frustrate old people. Especially when you are old people!

Work tomorrow. Plus two exercise classes. Which usually wipes me out. But, there is a birthday party to look forward to at the day’s end. 

 

Slipping off into senility – Just realized that I missed Mr. C’s 86th birthday. Which was on April 17. But, that is not so very different than real life. When I feel sure many birthdays went unnoticed. They all went uncelebrated.  

The Asylum has “invested” in all manner of backyard type “sports” equipment. Badminton, basketball, pickleball, golf, who knows what else. Now, we are not out in the outer ‘burbs with lots of land.  We are less than 8 miles from The Washington Monument. We have very little land that isn’t paved over and most of it is very steep. And did I mention that 400 Old People live here?  But, I am not in charge.  Nor will I participate.

Tired today. Treated myself to a generous nap this afternoon.

Today’s excitement at The Asylum. Yesterday’s perp was apprehended. But this morning a homicide victim was discovered in a nearby parking garage.  The police had their tracker dogs out. And the cops were outside our establishment. 

Sort of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic today.  Or, trying to tidy up, declutter, organize, minimalize my closet. 

Also, puttered around with my origami cat quest.

One ended up looking like a road-kill flying squirrel. And, the blue one looks more like a French bulldog than a cat. 

The big excitement at the Asylum: One of our housemen is wanted by the police on a DC Superior Court arrest warrant charging him with two counts of First Degree Murder While Armed and Assault With Intent to Kill While Armed.

He apparently shot and killed two women and torched their apartment. The sprinkler system seems to have saved a baby that was in the apartment. And he shot a woman outside the apartment – but she survived.  A domestic dispute?

He was a great big friendly cheerful guy. Until  he wasn’t.

Accept what? Accept the fact that I really am getting old. That I am slowing down. I am no longer the Energizer Bunny. One of my friends was telling me about his excellent adventure. He went to Georgetown to buy shoes. And then to lunch with a friend. And he was back at The Asylum and in bed alone by 8 PM. That’s what happens. My big event today was the Old Lady Barre Class. Left me exhausted for the rest of the day. Acceptance.

Accepting getting old is different than accepting mortality. i.e., Nobody is Promised Tomorrow. Dead is a one an done thing. Aging is a journey that I am not too happy to be taking.

I am convincing myself that I could make this cat better if I had the “correct” paper. Yeah, right. Maybe the “correct” fingers and eyes. 

Acceptance. Focus on what is left. Not on what is lost. 

And what is left today is beer and pizza with FRIENDS.

Rainy spring day. Did some work. And some goofing off. Where did I get the idea that I am always supposed to be accomplishing something. Citius – Altius – Fortius. What am I? I am just an old woman. An AllBirds old woman. Not advertisement for Nike. 

These poor kids are our take-out ordering system. The reason they are not busy is our in-house phone system was on the fritz at that instant. 

But, I haven’t given up. YET. If at first, you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again. Then stop. Don’t make an ass of yourself.  Almost to STOP. But, the last one was pretty close.

My busiest day of the week. Always glad when it is over.  And, just about the time that work was done, it seemed nice and outside. So, go out and take a few photos. Just what I need. More photos.

Not really a bee. Actually a tiny hoverfly.  And, I have seen bees. But not within camera range. 

Convid-wise, the Asylum continues to sneak back to normal. I sure hope that the Pfizer vaccine that all but a couple of residents got holds. Because I don’t think I have another year like the last one in me.  

 

They were testing the fire alarms today.  My plan for dealing with 6 hours of noise and flashing lights was to leave the Asylum at the first “THERE IS A FIRE EMERGENCY IN THE BUILDING” blast. 

I had a whole grocery cart full of old electronics stuff. Off it went. With me close behind. 

I got the cart on the 41 ART bus. And, it was off to Goodwill. Goodwill is my default electronics “recycle” option.  I am sure that the stuff still ends up in various landfills and sweatshops in South East Asia but I tried. 

This is the same Goodwill that got my stuff when I downsized prior to moving to The Asylum. I was closer to it, and 6 years younger so I usually walked the cart to Goodwill. Every Friday afternoon. I hauled as much as I could to Goodwill so I’d be ready for a weekend of downsizing. 

Aside: I acquired a couple of items at Goodwill.

That chore done, it was still too early to return to The Asylum. So, back on the bus and off to Clarendon. The Apple store is still open by appointment only. I wandered around The Container Store. Got out without buying more stuff. And went to Whole Foods for the first time in almost two years. Scored some damn good (for Virginia) sushi. 

Before Covid, this street would have been busy at lunchtime. Not today.  On the bus again and back to The Asylum. And, the fire alarm testing was done. An altogether good day.

Nothing much going on. Flowers, rainbows, beers, Bob Marley. Not too shabby for 77 going on dead. 

Got my little old lady grocery cart full of old computer gear. Ready to take to Goodwill tomorrow. Gotta get out of the Asylum tomorrow. They will be testing the fire alarms. All most all day. And trust me on this one… Fire alarms in old folks asylums are freaking ass loud. And there are flashing lights too. A good day for an excursion. 

It is almost impossible to underestimate the importance of the Hokulea, the Polynesian Voyaging Society, and the navigators. Think about it girls and boys, “let us sail a canoe from Honolulu to Pape’hete, and let’s do it without using any navigational gizmos”. That was in 1976. And it was a watershed moment for every Polynesian when the Hokulea landed in Tahiti in 1976. 40 years later the Hokulea docked in Alexandria. Chad Kalepa Baybayan was on both voyages. As crewman and as captain.  Honored to have shared a world with Kalepa Baybayan.