Nobody is Promised Tomorrow. . .
More or less spent the day rearranging the deck chairs on the proverbial Titanic today as far as work went. But what are they going to do? Fire me? Let’s just say I know a lot of techniques that will not work. Good news is, I didn’t hurt anything. I just made zero progress.
So, I decided to go for a walk. And to take in some rays. Will be having BYOD with the Asylum Sisters tonight. My sandwich will be passable. But the company will be great.
Started a new data wrangling project today. Much like the last one. Should keep me busy until mid-month. A new contractor shows up at the hospital. We put them in our database. They leave the hospital, we may or may not remove them from the database. After nine years, the database has dust bunnies.
Made chicken, onion and potato soup today. Cafeteria food is supposed to stop next week. But, it never hurts to have the freezer will stocked with soup.
I put on my warmest baselayer, jeans, hoodie, Carlton’s leather jacket, and out I go this morning. According to Alexa, it was 23°. But it wasn’t windy. The sun was out. I wore sunglasses! Positively balmy.
It was a mini-trip. Will the bus come? Will it be on time? Will my new bus card work? Will the bus, if it comes, be crowded? All that good travel-worry. Then on the bus. Travel chill-out mode. Then the dentist. Paperwork to fill out. Just like travel. And my new hygienist has relaxed into the job. Hope he stays. I like him. And then. The trip is over. The app says the bus will leave in 5 minutes.
And, it was actually waiting for me. I was the only passenger. Another old woman got on when I got off. I was having so much fun on my trip that I rode a couple of stops past my stop.
The old teeth are “stable”. Which is more than you can say for me.
Grateful that Alexa is back in business.
Yes, last night at about 8 PM Amazon had a non-trivial problem with Alexa in my area. I am glad that it was Amazon’s problem and not The Asylum because it was fixed in a couple of hours. I was afraid that I would have to actually turn off my lights myself. Or even start my own coffee. Not sure I remember how. Talk about a first-world problem.
Celebrated Sunday with steam table waffles. They are easy enough to perk up. Toast them a little. spread on cream cheese. Slice up the last of the strawberries. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Wash down with coffee.
In my opinion, I am finished with my data wrangling mission this afternoon. That is just my opinion. I worked up a spreadsheet and shipped it off to the clients. Don’t know if they will agree that I am finished. But, until I hear otherwise, I am done.
Actually looking forward to my trip to the dentist tomorrow. That’s how desperately bored I am.
It is so cold today that the kids who would normally be sledding down their hill across the street stayed indoors.
Worked at getting my taxes ready for “the tax guy” today. As soon as I finish getting them together. I will get out of here. I checked on “my” hotel in Kona. It’s OPEN again. Until the land lease expires in September.
Grateful that we missed the worst part of the blizzard. We just got cold and wind.
You would be surprised how fast I can get my ass out of here to someplace warm. Tidy up taxes, see the dentist, get some drugs… gone. Work’s not a problem. Anywhere that has WiFi works for work.
Enjoyed pizza so much last night that I ordered one for tonight too. If it works don’t fix it.
All things considered, not too bad of a day. Made progress I think, untangling the data.
At the end of the day, I was summoned to cocktails. Need to support our local bartender. I was in the mood for an umbrella drink and Weird Old Dennis (inside family joke) had his generous pour on. That and talk story time helped me recover from a week of work. Followed by a pretty good pizza. And a zoom meet-up with my besties. We couldn’t get together in person because one of us is in quarantine. She escaped from the Asylum for 10 days. Got 5 days in solitary as a result. Well worth the cost.
Grateful for a good day. Never mind the work or the weather.
As much as I hate it here, I can not imagine what it would be like to be getting older by the minute without my wonderful accidental Asylum family. Because of where we are we all know that one of us will die someday. Maybe sooner. Definitely not later. And I for one hope that I am the first to go. Selfish. I know. The endgame is bitter-sweet.
Answer: Right now it’s 14 degrees Fahrenheit. That little conversation was at 6:45 this morning. All of the buildings are puffing away.
Today is just like yesterday. Still moving data around. Went to barre class. Made a BIG mistake. Weighed myself. Not a good idea. I kept pushing and pushing and pushing the little weight farther and farther to the right.
Dinner tonight is going to be “Slutty Oatmeal”. Meaning I will add enough good stuff to the oatmeal to completely counteract any possible nutritional benefit. I plan on adding brown sugar, butter, cream, granola, berries at a minimum. My plan is to pass on adult beverages and dessert. We’ll see how that works.
Management installed a “Is that bitch dead yet?” monitor in my apartment. If I don’t go to the potty between 9 PM and 9 AM management will dispatch a search team to my apartment. Not really sure what’s in it for me? And, as I recall, Carlton died very nicely in his own bed around noon. Shortly after taking a shower. So, he would have been dead for almost 24 hours before they found him. Apparently, we can opt out if we have “concerns”. Lots of room for drama.
Another day. Like yesterday. Only colder. And more work. No barre class. No zoom yoga. Just work. And cold. I felt like I was in a Gulag in Siberia.
It is 6PM. Time to step away from the data. And have a nice bubble bath. But, I don’t have a bathtub. Or any bath bubbles. OK. I do have beer. And beer has bubbles. That’s a start!
Do some yoga. Drink beer. Make dinner. Eat dinner. Plan escape.
I don’t have to work from home in the freezer.
No, it wouldn’t be better if I weren’t buried under a mountain of data. I would be worse. I would still be cold and have nothing to do.
Worked absolutely nonstop today except for a break for yoga and barre. Barre was an elevator ride away and yoga was by zoom. So, I didn’t even “waste” anytime getting to class.
Salad is planned for dinner. Had the chili I made yesterday for lunch while huddled over the computer. Passing on the cafeteria food is working for me. “Management” hinted that the cafeteria might be a forever thing. Not acceptable. Not even close. Carlton is yelling “wreckage of the future”.
Time for me to step away from the computer. And phone. And iPad. Let Alexa play some music. Fold some paper.
I am pleased with my WFH Office and Orchidarium. Good thing too, because I took delivery of another traunch of data this morning. Lacking anything else to do, data wrangling is fine.
Also, made a pot of veggie chili. And rounded up all of my notes about interesting things to eat. I did decide to get breakfast from the house on days when my favorite breakfast cook is on duty.
And that’s about it. Well, the stock market was “interesting” today. As was yesterday’s game between the Bills and the Chiefs. It really isn’t boring, is it?
I shouldn’t be surprised that my sinus problems haven’t gotten one bit better. And, indeed have gotten worse.
This morning whilst eating my cafeteria steamtable eggs, I realized that one of the cooks made “better” steamtable eggs than the other cooks. So, “If Virginia isn’t working. Don’t get eggs. Get oatmeal”.
I also decided that I needed to stop complaining about the cafeteria food. Most of the residents have taken a “They are doing the best they can” Pollyanna approach. Well, their best doesn’t cut it with me. I reopened the Old Bat’s kitchen. I will do my own cooking. If I am too lazy to cook then I can just go to the cafeteria. But, no complaints allowed. The cafeteria was my choice.
So, if I am going to feed myself. What to eat? Since it is winter. Soup. Stew. Tortellini. Eggs. Starting with pea soup. That’s what I made today. Will make chili later in the week. I will trek to the grocery to pick up some chicken or something for the crockpot tomorrow.
Our grocery store is also “doing the best it can” to keep supplied. I am not as disturbed by empty shelves as some. Maybe it was those summers in Skagway when “Sorry NO ______ Until Tuesday” was a regular feature at the only grocery store. I quickly learned to feed us with what was on the shelves.
Last summer, 20 years later, Fairways had a “No yogurt until Tuesday” sign up. The delivery barge arrived on Tuesday. Usually.
Carlton would say: “Make a gratitude list”. My retort: “I am not in AA and I don’t have to be grateful.”
And that’s about all that is going on in the Old Bat’s Cave today.