“Remoted” – Workday Twenty-Three – Wednesday

The crack in the bottom corner of the laptop screen is getting worse, probably due to the commute from living room to kitchen and the need to sometimes shift the screen angle. The fear of computer shopping in the immediate future is adding a fine veneer of stress to things. Having just bought  the laptop 13 months ago, the anxiety from that purchase is still a bit fresh, when a fantasy of again playing video games caused me to spend much more than I needed to. What was I thinking? Reality has shown that my laptop is used for Facebook and Scrabble, Word, and now for work. There has been no movie watching, no video games. At least I know there is no need to spend $1,200 on the replacement unit.

Noodle kugel for breakfast!

It wasn't until after dinner I realized it was kind of a weird food day. Breakfast was noodle kugel made the other day (not to be confused with potato kugel or matzo kugel). It’s a sweet one, with apples, pineapple, and raisins and was chosen for breakfast for ease and speed. Lunch was an instant ramen cup, chosen for speed and convenience, and dinner was leftover fettuccini with leftover veggies, again chosen for speed and ease. There seem to be themes emerging with the food today – speed, ease, and noodles. So many noodles.

It’s the gap time between Amazon deliveries arriving and the money having left the account. The way some of the orders charged in bits and pieces, it practically requires a degree in forensic accounting to figure out what charged and if anything else will still be coming out. 

In a couple weeks the pantry will be restocked with a bunch of stuff I barely remember ordering. It's already been days of "Did I order the granola bars/ chili/ tortillas/ canned plant-based pretend hot dogs? Was the mayo in the successful Pantry basket, or is that the Whole Foods cart that never has an open delivery window?" 

The delight of receiving forgotten wanted stuff coupled with the disappointment of not receiving the things that were sold out or were edited out of the cart, will carry all the elements of Christmas as a kid. And just like Christmas, the wait is feeling like forever. 

It will be nice to ease up on rationing granola bars and mayonnaise. Without a lot of storage, I operated in the "JIT - just in time" inventory management theory, and restocked as needed. That was  before I decided to see how long I can stay at the house without leaving -- which was done without benefit of preparation. It's been 30 days so far, and I haven't even left the house to take a walk. There hasn't really been time. And who knew all the time spent in my room grounded and sulking over being stood up by dates in high school would come in so useful in adult life? I may have to be dragged back into society, kicking and crying.