Category: The DayBook

Early this morning a flock of Canada geese flew by. Going south. Hope they weren’t going far because they don’t have the Vee wedge thing working.

Pretty normal boring day. And, after some of the days we have had lately, boring is OK.

My “pod” gathered to wish one of our kids bon voyage. He started here as a server in our dining rooms about the time I moved in. He advanced to one of the team leaders and then to supervisor. All the while he was going to college. He graduated, became a US citizen, and today is heading off to his future as a dental hygenist. I bet that he will take that job to the next level too.

That is one of the real pleasures of living here. The Asylum hires high school kids to work in the dining rooms and helps them with tuition and citizenship and we get to watch them grow up and leave.

Gratitude

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Grateful for my Kindle. And, Mac & Cheese. (Which one of the aforementioned High School kids will deliver to me in a plastic box. Soon.)

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Covid in the house unchanged from yesterday. That’s as good as it gets.
Mālama Pono

A nice winter day today. For winter. Reminded me of summer in Southeastern Alaska. Went for a nice walk in shirt sleeves then found a sheltered spot to lounge in the sun and soak up some very weak rays.

Checked on the garden box. That was something new and different. It seems to be doing fine all by it’s lonesome. I could amuse myself by ordering some new plants for it. But that might defeat its wild nature.

I have to keep myself from lapsing into serious retail therapy. This week already I talked myself out of new jeans when I have one pair that fits fine, new undies when I don’t need new undies, and a new skirt when I have all the skirts I can possibly need or wear. I am a person who lives in a none too spacious studio apartment. I don’t even like getting new clothes. I just want to wear the clothes that I have SOMEWHERE.

Gratitude

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This sunny warmish winter day.

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The Asylum Covid Box Scores just landed in email box. 18 active cases. 2 new ones. There were 5 new cases yesterday and 7 on Big Island. Just saying.

Mālama Pono

A funky foggy start to the day. But, a lovely day for an impeachment.

I had a very lazy day. Even considering making future plans. I mean outside of the Asylum plans. I think that Bermuda will be stuffed with visitors this summer. I might want to make reservations for late summer NOW. But, my most preferred place to stay is a little family-owned establishment and their cancellation policies are not real friendly. And there is my postponed garden trip to England. Not getting any younger. How many times can I move it? And my Iceland swim from North America to Europe adventure – well, I will have maxed the age limit by spring. Maybe I could sneak up to Iceland for the aurora next month. Or maybe I’ll just hop a train and ride round and round the country. Serious case of jackrabbits in my boots. And, the World Health Organization just said that the 2nd year of the virus might well be worse than the first.

Impeached or not. The Orange Lord isn’t going anywhere. I was wondering about when Donald as Politician first showed up on the blog? 6 Oct 2010 – Check it out. It’s past time for him to leave the arena.

It was warm enough for friluftsliv today.

Gratitude

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Bacon

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Mālama Pono

Orchids have an undertone of sinister. I spent an entire 15 minutes taking pictures of my orchid plants with a real camera. The light wasn’t great and I should have broken out the monopod. But, I still took pictures. I took a couple of exercise classes and had a nap. And, I did a little work. 

And, I so needed that. A drama-free day mostly devoted to *me*. 

Gratitude

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Cashmere goats. especially this winter.

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Mālama Pono

There is some real light today.

1. 1. 1. It seems that my “job” of getting data to the state can be turfed to the software. And, a company called Iron Bridge. Can not come soon enough. Figure maybe sometime in February.
      2. Covid vaccines for the inmates Jan 20 and 21st. That is all great.

We just have to stay alive long enough. 

Gratitude

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Grateful for friends who have tech issues that you can not fix but they give you a glass of fine red wine anyhow.

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Mālama Pono
 

I want to believe that the days are getting longer and the sun is coming back to my side of the building.

About 2:30 this afternoon I started trying to generate some numbers so the boss can justify my outrageous billing rate. Extract a mess of data from my system. Fire up excel. And bang. I ended up in pivot table hell. Trying to get 4 or 5 pivot tables from the same data to give consistent results. Five hours later, I declared the result “good enough” shipped them off. We ran over 5,000 covid vaccinations through my system. Tomorrow, I am meeting with the vendor and hopefully, I will be replaced by a custom upgrade. 

Gratitude

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Grateful for chicken soup. Yesterday I made some OK chicken soup from things I ordered off our room service menu and some excellent chicken stock that I had delivered from Whole Foods. That was dinner.

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In addition to falling down an excel rat hole, I did laundry and went for a nice walk. friluftsliv you know. 

Oh, my Covid shot reaction. The arm is sore. But not red like it was with #1. Yet. This Covid shit isn’t going to be over in my life time. Neither is the evil that the Orange Lord has unleashed. 

Mālama Pono

Waiting on COVID shots to be finished. Hoping there is one leftover for me. And, Baby It’s Cold Outside for curbside delivery of a shot in the arm. 

The sun did come out today, but I didn’t go outside because I was working. And, it seemed to be windy. Maybe tomorrow. 

If you let Google know way too much about you, every once in a while Google tells you where you have been and what you have been doing. Well, according Google a trip to Glencarlyn Dog Park was one of the highlights of 2020. Sad thing is – it was.

Gratitude

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Now, I am going to have a little supper and hop into bed with a strong espresso and a very light book. Hopefully I will just have a sore arm. And 10 days from now, 94% protected. At least that’s what science says.

Mālama Pono 

Another cold bleak gray day. Is this what winter is like? If so, I am not loving it. On the other hand, it wasn’t hard to stay in The Old Bat Cave and wrangle data. Seems like the data wrangling gig will be winding down. There is the rest of today and tomorrow. These are big days. And 7 more small to midsize days at the end of the month. Other than that, it will be make-up days. Or shots in the office. Like regular shots. Over 4,000 vaccines have gone through “my” system.

It was decided that I get my final COVID shot at the end of tomorrow’s session. Most likely, they don’t want me to crash due to side effects and not be able to get the last big batch of data shipped out! Not complaining.

Note to all: Grab the first COVID shot that comes your way. Don’t wait for one brand of the other. Or even for your “turn”. If offered – take it. This isn’t the time to “trust the system”. There is no system.

I was feeling strange about being old and still doing this job. Then I remembered that Dr. Fauci is a little older than I am. And Joe Biden is a little younger. I guess if they can suit up and show up – I can report for duty in leggings and sweatshirt from my WFH corner “office”.

Gratitude

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Grateful for hot chocolate, clean sheets, and being 24 hours closer to Jan 20th.

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Mālama Pono

This is Kyle. A rather strange cat. No, I take that back all cats are strange. I went into his apartment when his owner personal assistant was out. Kyle made not a sound. He didn’t attack, threaten, or cower. But, he did glare at me the whole time. “I know who you are. But what are you doing in here?” In Hawai’i we would say “Kyle give you stink-eye auntie”. Kyle was the best part of my day. 

Yesterday was some day. The Orange Lord has been sulking in the White House all day today. Rumor is he is going to pardon himself. Which seems a little like Napoleon crowning himself.  

On a more productive note. I have been busy getting data ready to submit to Virginia about all the COVID vaccines my hospital has been giving. Tomorrow, I get my 2nd shot and will be as protected as I can be for an indeterminate length of time. 

Gratitude

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Grateful that the country survived yesterday.

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No residents died yesterday or today.
No residents were diagnosed with COVID.
But 5 staff tested positive yesterday.

Mālama Pono
 

Gray depressing gloomy freighting upsetting painful dismal bleak saddening wretched …

That’s the view from my window with the 600mm glass. No helicopters.No fires. Yet.

Gratitude

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I am sure there is something to be grateful for tonight. Yes, my hospital is busy giving the 2nd Covid shot to about 500 healthcare workers today. And, no new COVID cases at The Asylum today.

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Fade to black.

Mālama Pono

There wasn’t much light for me that day. Getting married was totally Carlton’s idea. (Notice his smirky expression.) I saw no reason to get married. Heck, I didn’t even know I was getting married until the Marriage Celebrant showed up. Followed by two friends. With cake and flowers from Giant.

I am not sure what year that was – remembering it never seemed very important. Just looked in Carlton’s Little Book. It was January 5, 1994. His AA sobriety date is January 5, 1973, so he felt that since he was 21 years sober, it was time to get married again. 

Enjoyed another light day at the WFH Office. All that comes to a crashing halt tomorrow for sure. 5 or 6 days of real crunch time. It is not fake news. The rollout of the Covid vaccine is not slick as owl shit.

Gratitude

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Grateful that I am able to do something more than wear a mask and not die in the Covid War.

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We haven’t had news on how The Asylum is doing Covid-wise in about 5 days. Not too great. And, we lost a couple more residents. That’s 5 this year. 

Tomorrow will be a very interesting day in the history of the Republic. DC is reported to be all boarded up. I wouldn’t know because I am a POW in the Covid War. 

Mālama Pono

Mask wearing seems to be up at The Asylum. No one wants to die just before the vaccine lands at The Asylum. Or maybe we finally realized that we look better with half of our face hidden. Isn’t that why guys grow beards?

And, I am still going to the grocery store for curbside pickup. “And what parking space are you in ma’am?”  It’s easier to just get in a parking space. With my imaginary car.

Upon my return from friluftsliv I discovered that an ambulance was making a pickup. Not necessarily Covid related. This is an Old Folk’s Asylum.  But, our “Table of the Dead” is getting a little crowded. We average about 30 deaths a year, but we have had 3 already this year. 

Gratitude

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I enjoyed an unexpectedly easy day at the WFH office today. That was nice.

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Mālama Pono