random truths – Day 1,078 (Tuesday) – adulting awards

Adulting occurred today. This probably isn’t shocking news to anyone who knows me. I can adult with the best of the super responsible, boring-arse, working stiffs who participate in capitalistic society in all the ways available – providing labor, collecting a paycheck, paying taxes, and attempting to have a good night’s sleep to be sufficiently energized to do it all over again, day after day, year after year.

During the paid labor portion of the day, there was an unfortunate and excessive level of frustration related to technology. As an adolescent, my reaction would likely have been to break something. I was once so mad at Dad that I took one of my beloved navy blue clogs with the solid wood sole and spiked it into my bedroom floor like a football, cracking the length of the shoe. I'm  more settled now and understand the concept of replacement cost as it relates to my wallet.

As a responsible adult, more productive reactions to stress have been cultivated. Today, there were majorly annoying periods of computer lag, frozen programs, and mysterious program shutdowns. The remedy to the frustration was a trip outside to the fresh air that was filled with delicate falling snow all day. There was some angry ice chopping conducted at the front stairs and around the two frozen downspouts. This was tackled with a plastic snow shovel, the whole time wishing I had the ice chopper Dad had when I was a kid and wondering how much longer the shovel will hold out after this level of abuse.  

Ice melt was liberally sprinkled. And I finally got smart and plugged in the system that runs along the roof edge and through the gutters to melt the ice and get things moving, like a downspout enema. 

I also ate the entire box of adventurefuls^TM Girl Scout cookies as dessert after a reasonably light and healthy homemade soup lunch. This specific tactic for dealing with stress and frustration came with a load of guilt commensurate to the calorie count of the box. There should be a Scout badge awarded for this level of skill. 

At the conclusion of the paid labor portion of the day, the tax return filing was completed. It was started in January, then set aside until last night with the plan to finish tonight. Recent emails proclaiming “Last day to save” from Turbotax and “Save $10 when you pay with Paypal” were appropriate motivators to get it done. It certainly wasn’t the promise of a nice fat refund check.

The days of tax refunds sufficient to inspire splurges on luxuries like dinner with friends or maybe a weekend trip seemed to disappear a couple years ago. Last year’s filing yielded a most generous federal refund of $5. Tonight’s filing required a payment of $21. Each of these filings caused thoughts along the lines of “What in the actual bloody hell?”

And it’s done for another year. Yet another skill worthy of an embroidered badge. With the gutters unfrozen and the taxes filed, and no badges in sight, it looks like it's corn chips for supper in the homestyle perpetuation of life’s system of rewards. 

random truths – Day 1,077 (Monday) – cookies

Office coffee. Instant oatmeal for breakfast (apple and cinnamon). News, emails, projects logged to the approval program. Quick chats. 

There was a personal delivery of Girl Scout Cookies. That reminded me about the special online only Girl Scout Raspberry Rally cookie that was available today. I almost stayed up late Sunday to log in after midnight to place an order, then got all sensible about sleep and didn't. When I thought of it again at 9:30 this morning, they were already sold out.  

Then there was a chunk of time out of the office for the last remaining location photo shoots for the annual report. The best part is they are done on schedule and before the snow forecasted for tonight and into Tuesday.

Location shoots are fun. They almost always involve people I wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to meet. It's fun watching the photographer pull lighting and umbrellas out of a small case that is the equivalent of Mary Poppins’ bag and work magic in cramped spaces.

Now that the photos have been done, it’s time to shift gears and refocus on a few other big work projects and a couple smaller ones. At the top of the list for after work fun time is finishing the tax return started weeks ago. And eating the Girl Scout Cookies. Nom, nom.

random truths – Day 1,076 (Sunday) – not quite

Quirks and screwups ruled the weekend. Not in big ways, more like not quite right, and the death by a thousand tiny annoyances and cuts kind of way.

Friday, while exiting the parking garage, the car window was frozen shut. It took some jockeying to roll the car far enough forward to open the door near the sensor, but not so far as to crash through the automatic gate arm. The seatbelt had to come off, and my arm was extended around the barely opened door so I could wave my pass card at the sensor. Meanwhile, I was feeling stress because there was another car behind me. Hopefully, they enjoyed the show.

Saturday, while hunkering down from the cold, the decision was made to vacuum. Somewhere between the upstairs bedroom carpet and the downstairs dining room rug, the beater brush, which facilitates the rug cleaning, decided to stop working. An internet search indicates it could be the belt, but further investigation requires a tiny Philips head screw driver which I do not possess and a skill set of which I am not confident. 

A few hours after the vacuum incident, I was rinsing the coffee maker parts and the valve and spring came out in my hand, leading to the merry-go-round of customer service chats with Amazon Customer Service and the coffee maker company.

Late in the afternoon, Winston went outside, and when he came back in, his back right leg was hitched up as if he was still peeing. He yelped and whimpered and hopped on three legs into the house. I gently massaged his hips while wondering if he needed to go to the emergency vet. Suddenly the leg was back to its normal position and he was bouncing around begging for cookies as if nothing had happened. Thanks for the big scare, little boo.

Suddenly weird email.

Today, the quirks continued. The morning was expected to be a bit rough sans coffee. Instant Spiced Chai Latte was tasty, but deficient as an awakening agent. It was a rough morning of dance classes with a caffeine deprivation headache that blocked any muscle memory while we rehearsed dances for a show in a month. The caffeine dependency/deprivation condition led to an afternoon nap. [Note: it's actually two months until the performance. This caffeine-deprived fog is worse than I thought.]

All weekend long, my email on my phone has suddenly been displaying really screwy. Anything that should be an image is a box with an x. No idea why. 

Supper, planned yesterday, was to be a flaky spanakopita spiral bought at Market Basket on Saturday. It was heated and its flaky pastry goodness set on glass plate. The first bite seemed weird and prompted close examination of both the item and the package. It wasn’t spanakopita, which is spinach and cheese, it was just cheese. Not awful, just not the supper that was looked forward to all afternoon. But it fit with the theme of “not quite right” that prevailed all weekend.

Here's hoping for a clean slate and fewer quirks and hiccups for the upcoming week. 

random truths – Day 1,075 (Saturday) – spring valve

A new coffeemaker was bought from Amazon and has been in service about a month. In the two weeks immediately after its arrival, the manufacturer messaged twice asking for a review. I ignored the requests, as it was too soon to comment.

The new coffee maker was replacing one that was in almost daily use for more than six years in Massachusetts and another six years before that in Tennessee, with a three-year period of R&R in between where it lived in a storage unit behind Big Lots in Fitchburg. After all those years, the old coffeemaker had finally called it quits. 

The pretty aqua color of the new coffee maker led to multiple changes in the kitchen to make the color look like it belongs there. New dish towels. A pink, purple and aqua whisk came out of the drawer and went into the utensil holder on the counter.  A new clock was bought to replace the somewhere between apple- and lime-green one that suddenly looked odd. The lime ceramic vase on a counter that held some of Winston’s things was swapped out for an aqua and white one that had been in the living room.  A small piece of artwork with touches of aqua was moved nearer the coffee maker. The valance from the bathroom, which featured circles in various shades of blues and greens was repurposed as a café curtain over the sink. 

Things have been gradually coming together, which means it's time for something to go sideways. Obviously.

Parts no longer whole.

Today, the valve and spring that regulate the flow of coffee through the funnel and into the coffee pot came off in my hand while rinsing it. They can't be put back into place. This does not bode well for upcoming mornings, including the one arriving some twelve hours after the mishap. 

A search on the vendor name led to a product page for my coffee maker. There was one review on the site. It was a one-star rating that said the reviewer’s valve broke off after 2.5 months. Lucky me the overachiever, mine broke after barely one month.

I logged into Amazon Customer Service chat to ask about a replacement funnel. I was referred directly to the coffee maker company with a promise from the Amazon rep that they would reach out to me on Monday to follow up on the vendor’s response. A link and instructions were provided in the chat. Then the rep logged off and the entire chat disappeared before I could click on the link. Not cool.

The product in my order history was revisited to open another chat. Luckily, the previous one reappeared so I could retrieve the link and step-by-step instructions provided.

The vendor link led to a chatbot, which provided another link to reach the vendor. That new link looped back to the same place as the link from Amazon – the product page where I accessed the second chatbot. This time it said it would forward my message to the vendor. Now I’m wondering if I should just go buy a another coffeemaker. Or at the very least, some instant coffee so I can survive the morning. It might cost me as much in coffee shop coffee waiting for some resolution.

random truths – Day 1,074 (Friday) – ice dance

It was a cold morning. Looking out the bedroom window in the dim 6:00 am light, the street glistened with ice edge to edge and as far as I could see up the road. It appeared to be free of either sand or salt, and the worry about driving on it began to kick in. The Jeep has 4WD settings for snow, sand, and mud, but not ice. 

The worry about driving was mostly unwarranted. The bigger danger turned out to be walking. Getting down the steps from the back door and down the driveway to the car was an adventure. Once off my own ice-encrusted street, the major roads were just wet. The sidewalks along John and Merrimack Streets were an adventure in ice, slush, and the slabs of stone that get slippery when wet in every season.

Ice slid over the skylight.

Inside the office it was quiet, but outside, the wind howled and ice slid with a roar down the roof and over the skylights all morning. 

The patterns of melting ice could be seen through the graphic shade printed with the image of blue sky and puffy clouds that filters the light through the highest of the skylights.  Other sky lights feature images of the Masonic Building and the mural on the wall of the Quilt Museum, scenes which would be visible through the windows if they weren’t covered by the shades that keep us from cooking under the sunlight. 

The arrival home was met with front steps encased in ice and the gutter across the front of the house sporting small icicles. That disappointing situation was believed to have been fixed when the gutters were cleaned in the fall, but apparently not.

I stomped on the ice on the steps with my feet and hit it with the edge of the plastic shovel to bust it up and shove it away. Despite the stomping and hitting efforts, Winston still slipped off the bottom step when he went out to pee. Once on the still-glazed walkway, he did a remarkable impression of the Disney animation scene where Bambi is on the ice and ends up sprawled on his stomach.

Dreaming, perhaps of ice dancing.

Win picked himself up, got his business done, and came back inside. Then he carefully picked the chopped chicken out from his dinner and left the prescription kibble in the bowl, which has been the process for every meal for the past three days. 

After dinner, Win enjoyed some undeserved cookies, usually awarded for the completion of the meal. He then spent the rest of the night sleeping on the couch, possibly dreaming about his recent magnificent ice dancing routine.

random truths – Day 1,073 (Thursday) – book club

The snow was light and looked innocent when I went to bed Wednesday night, but it had matured and become more serious overnight. When I let Win outside in the morning, it was several inches deep and the landscape was pretty. Kind of like a fresh coat of paint on a tired, dingy wall or chipped woodwork. It outlined tree branches and fences and rejuvenated rusty, tired gates.

During the workday, a thirty-minute break was taken around noon to do a rough dig out of the three or four inches on the car. It was as much to work off some frustration as it was to clean the mess off the car in anticipation of the Boozy Book Club meeting after work.

Boozy Book Club - February edition.

Book club was fun. As usual, the conversation was relaxed and the appetizers were delicious. We had flatbread pizzas, onion rings, and sweet potato fries. The beer list has improved to include a couple nice dark beers, from which I chose Mad Elf, a Belgian strong dark ale. 

The book was Fiona and Jane, and we were all in agreement that the writing was good but the story was less good. We discussed some of the story’s issues, like the confusion of the time jumps that seemed better suited to a visual presentation like a movie or series. How the mothers in the book seemed more interesting than the main characters. The less than satisfying ending.

After that, the conversation shifted into our favorite books and how many of us were writers and the various writing groups, open mic nights, and other book clubs hosted at LaLa Books. When the meeting was over, several of us went next door to the book shop to get the March book club selection. Three of us stood near the local authors bookcase and chatted about Jack Kerouac and our various love and love/hate relationships with his books and the merits of the annual Kerouac celebratory events.

It was a great night. 

random truths – Day 1,072 (Wednesday) – weather

A new crown was installed in my mouth this morning, but the really big news was donuts at the office, the orange line subway car on 495 North, and the weather. Despite traveling 495 North to the office from the dentist with my sleek, smooth, new porcelain crown freshly planted in my mouth, I saw nothing odd like a subway car. Or maybe I'm now just numb to oddities.

Advisories appeared on the weather app on the phone and the toolbar thingy on the work computer. A phone call from "Emergency Notifications" and a text alert came in from the city around 2:00 about the parking ban going into effect at 9:00 pm and lasting “until such time the ban is lifted.” 

Throughout the day, weather reports referenced 4:00 as some magical hour for things to begin and the end of things was noted as Thursday afternoon at 1:00. At 4:00 it was just cloudy, and the same at 5:00.

Once home, I changed into my lounge around the house fleece pants and parked my butt on the couch with a piece of pizza. This was followed by half a box of on-sale Valentine chocolates bought Tuesday night. The weather was completely forgotten. The focus was New Amsterdam and the multiple dramas at the hospital, including a hurricane.

Snow arrives.

Winston signaled his desire to go out side at 8:30 by leaving his bed and standing quietly near the front door and scratching it lightly. As Win went outside to the front yard, snow silently fell. The air was full of it, the front lawn was lightly coated, the pavement was wet. Only two cars could be seen parked on the street, but the parking ban still had 30 minutes before taking effect. The weather report referenced the “heavy wintry mix soon” and the weather advisory was extended until 4:00 am on Friday.

After a winter that was mostly a non-event, I’m not really in the mood for it now. Months ago, when the snow shoes were pulled from the shed and set in the front porch in anticipation of winter activity, I was ready. Now, not so much. 

But it’s New England, and the weather is famous for its fickleness. Maybe we’ll get a bunch of snow or rain or mix or slush, maybe we won’t. I guess we’ll see in the morning. The shovel and rock salt are standing ready near the front door like they have from months. It'll be fine.

random truths – Day 1,071 (Tuesday) – mixed day

The day had a little of everything. It started with a bizarre dream that one of our branches, which was on my schedule to visit, was set up like a Caribbean resort with a huge food and drink counter, hot tub, and open-air courtyard. It felt a bit like a resort I once stayed at in Cabo San Lucas. It was wonderful and I didn’t want to leave. Or wake up. When I got up, it was to a steady snow that was pretty on the trees and grass and just wet on the pavement.

The workday began with a to do list, a large cup of black coffee, and a dose of determination. It launched immediately into a case of aggravation while logging in to the work system which froze as soon as I was in and having to start over. The process took close to 20 minutes. 

When I finally got into my email, there was an unexplained cancellation of Wednesday’s photo shoot which had taken too much effort to schedule and required nipping at heels like a chihuahua to extract minimal info to reschedule.  Having to play chihuahua is one of the things I absolutely hate having to do, and it seems to be required practically every day to gather enough information  to proceed with even the smallest of assigned tasks. The chihuahua routine danced headlong into an issue with a vendor program that first told me I needed to change my password, then locked me out after the password was changed.

By noon, the snowy covering on the trees had disappeared and they just looked like wet trees. Homemade chicken soup soothed the morning's agitation and the nonsense finally took a break. The afternoon's photo shoot went well. The branch visited after the photo shoot was nothing like the version of it in my weird and amusing dream. There was no bar/restaurant. No hot tub. No open-air courtyard. It wasn’t surprising, because I probably would have heard about it already if one of our branches featured such un-bank-like amenities.

Prizes for the day.

After work there was an event planning meeting, and after that, a stop at CVS. The side quest was a search for discounted leftover Valentine candy. 

Victory was achieved and the prizes were gathered. Two heart boxes of chocolates were bought at half off, along with two Cadbury caramel eggs that were on sale. Definitely a win to erase the weirdness of the morning.

random truths – Day 1,070 (Monday) – holiday of rest

Today was a holiday and it had been looked forward to since the last one in January. Like so many of my holidays, there were no plans. A few things were accomplished, but on a normal non-holiday weekend, they would have all been done on Sunday, so this wasn’t anything great or ambitious or extraordinary.

Winston at rest.

Trash and recycling went out to the curb. The bountiful crop of dog poop interspersed with bunny poop was harvested from the front yard. The chicken bone broth started on Sunday was finished off into a soup of chicken, rice, and veggies that was so delicious two bowls were eaten for lunch. Laundry was washed, dried, and folded. 

There is a list of  things to be done has not been addressed for weeks. Locate the suitcases in the attic and choose one to use or replace. Try on everything in the closet and dresser and conduct the long overdue purge. Go through the stuff in the spare room and donate the things that will never be used by me. Research the locations of the textile and shoe recycling collections that, according to the postcard from the Waste Management department, are located “throughout the city” in order to deal with the box of broken shoes. Take off the chipped nail polish. Mostly boring stuff.

Instead of addressing the many, many tasks, I followed Winston’s lead. New Amsterdam streamed from Netflix, and boy, am I learning a lot about hospitals, or at least the public hospital depicted in the show. Win and I lounged on the couch. We are soulmates in sloth-like behavior. No wonder we get along so well.

random truths – Day 1,069 (Sunday) – healthy injury

The wellness program at work features challenges throughout the year. The most recent challenge was to eat two servings of both fruits and vegetables for a set number of days over a set number of weeks.

I gravitate towards vegetables all year long, but it turns out I’m not that keen on fruits. The key to my success in the fruit segment of the recent challenge was bananas and cara cara oranges. If I missed eating a banana before work, one went into my bag and came with me to the office. The oranges were an evening snack, when I have the time, patience and tools to deal with peeling them.

Bowl of  potential injury?

Tonight, while peeling an orange with the assistance of the paring knife from the knife block, I sliced the pad of my left thumb. The juice from the orange stung like a … well, you know. It stung a lot. 

It started out as a cara cara orange, but by the time I got through peeling it, it was closer to being a blood orange. It's amusing that peeling a fruit that helps the body make collagen and heal wounds resulted in a little injury.

It was due to happen. The mysterious cut of unknown origin on the neighboring index finger just finally healed after days of reopening before I finally remembered there are bandages in the medicine cabinet. Once protected, it healed quickly, but I never did figure out how it happened.

As for tonight’s laceration, it was 100% avoidable. This would not have happened with a different treat. There is no way I would have cut my thumb accessing potato chips, cookies, brownies, or cake. So much for trying to eat healthier. And there are still several potential injuries in the bowl waiting to happen.

random truths – Day 1,068 (Saturday) – sponsor party

First stop - River Styx.

Today was a most unusual Saturday, with a schedule loaded with being social. The first stop was a class reunion planning meeting in Fitchburg at River Styx Brewery. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to relax and enjoy the beer menu or the pizza the team had delivered from Espresso because I was busy minding the time. 

Our meeting started at 2:00 and I needed to be out of there at 3:00. I had to get back home to take Win through his supper routine and then go right back out the door. 

There was an event tonight at Cobblestone's that began at 5:00. Event sponsors of Lowell’s Winterfest celebration were invited, and the bank was one of the sponsors. A two-piece band played and sang and a colleague and I attended an event at a nice restaurant I rarely have a reason or the budget to visit.

There were passed hors d’oeuvres of arancini, tuna something-or-other, and bruschetta. Buffet tables featured a cheese and veggie spread, pasta dishes, burritos, and chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans. I piled burrito fillings onto a small plate and had bottled IPA which was nice, but not as great as the options I didn't taste at the brewery. It was delicious food and beer that I didn’t have to shop for or cook, so the evening was a big win in my book.

Burrito fillings - hold the wrap.

It was fun seeing our ad rep from the local paper, who I hadn’t seen since before the pandemic, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, bankers I rarely see on campus, and a couple bankers who used to be on our team but have gone elsewhere.

The best part might have been being home by 8:00. Being out with people is great, but dang, I like to be home afterward.

random truths – Day 1,067 (Friday) – photos and chips

It’s the time of the year for location photos for an annual work project and today the photographer and I were at a museum. We started the photos outside under cloudy skies with some pretty even lighting. After about ten minutes, maybe less, who knows, it began to rain and we took it indoors.

Mesmerizing sand table.

There were some cool exhibits in the museum, one of which was a sand table with a metal ball and a magnet under the table that made the ball move around and create a design. I could have watched that thing all day. Well, for a while anyway. 

While the photographer was busy making images and our subject was busy being photographed, I was busy watching the sand table, looking at some contraptions of tubes, and quietly looking across the room and out the window. The trees whipped around wildly outside, and suddenly the rain was a lot heavier, slamming against the windows. It was nice to be inside. 

Periodically, the Photographer and I conferred on the images just shot and other spots for more photos, so the designer would have options. 

The wild weather didn’t last too long. By the time we finished and things were packed up, the rain was less enthusiastic.

Back at the office, there were still some Cape Cod chips left from “Snack and Share” Wednesday. I was surprised the Thursday folks didn't finish them off, but that was probably because I wasn't in the office on Thursday and my colleagues have more highly evolved levels of self control than I possess. 

The chips were there when I arrived and some were enjoyed for a morning snack, and they were still there when I got back from the photo shoot, but by the time I left, they were gone. It seemed wise to not have them hanging around over the long weekend where they could get stale and have to be thrown away. And seemed shameful to waste them. So there we have it. I ate all the rest of the chips.  

random truths – Day 1,066 (Thursday) – reckless sweating

It’s been 48 hours since the ThredUp online coat buying spree. The coats haven’t even arrived yet, and the buyer’s remorse is already kicking in.

Why did I buy these? (They were on a big sale!). Where will I put them? (Get rid of the not-so favorite coats?) Why am I freaking out over spending $32 online? (Might be genetic.) 

Most of the time I am pretty conservative with money. Some may call it sensible. One ex called it “frugal.” It might be lingering fallout from growing up hearing “we can’t afford it,” then becoming an independent adult with bills and discovering that “can’t afford it” wasn’t just my parents making up a fancy new way to say “no.”

There is a pattern where, after some period of being hyper mindful of pinching every penny, I suddenly start spending it like I’m someone with the last name of Hilton, Bezos, or Musk. Well, it’s usually at a thrift store or a major clearance sale, so maybe it’s not like a wealthy person at all.

In one unusual week, there were two trips to Kohl’s and an online purchase. The total expenditure was only $100, which is less than I used to spend every Friday night for my share of a restaurant and bar tab. And yet, it suddenly feels a little reckless.

I probably need to stop sweating the small stuff. Of course, focusing on the small and stupid stuff keeps my mind off the really big stuff like train wrecks with toxic air, spy balloons, mass shootings, and all the other doom and gloom and weirdness in the news. Maybe it’s not so bad obsessing over spending $32 or $100 after all.  

random truths – Day 1,065 (Wednesday) – working memories

It was 10 years ago today that I had my last day of work at my super cool marketing agency job in Tennessee, after working there for 6 years and 11 months, surrounded by talented and awesome colleagues. Our company included a full team of graphic designers, account managers, and a production manager who kept us all in line and on task. 

Award winning video project
we did in Tennessee.

I got to be part of amazing projects that included museum exhibits and video scripts sprinkled in with the bank marketing work. My client list included an iron foundry, economic development group, Civil War interpretive park and museum, and a couple banks. 

We did a wayfinding sign project for a semiconductor plant being built, and worked with local historians to research local Civil War events to create exhibits and an award winning video for a new museum. We created a video to commemorate 80 years of family ownership of a bank and several for the iron foundry, one of which chronicled 100 years of family ownership of the business. 

The projects I ended up loving the most were the ones that delivered the most panic and fear when I was first assigned to them. More than once, I wondered if my boss was nuts assigning me to visible and publicized projects like the 20-year plan for the city and the interpretive park, but those were projects where I was challenged and stretched and it was exhilarating.

I miss it. All of it. The incredible creative energy that buzzed around our wing of our small building. The research and writing. The creative meetings. The projects that could be visited and experienced by the public and the fear, panic, and then pride that came from working on them. All the learning and growth and satisfaction and pride in a job well done. Traveling to Winder, Georgia; Cleveland, Tennessee; and Hemlock, Michigan to meet with clients and to do research for projects.

Leaving Tennessee to return home to family meant leaving behind one of the best and most fulfilling chapters of my career. I just didn’t know it at the time.  At least I have the memories to keep me warm. And mementoes like the DVD of our award winning video with my name rolling in the credits at the end.

random truths – Day 1,064 (Tuesday) – temptation

The mail has been boring lately. A few bills. The depressing IRA balance statement. Periodically, the Val Pak arrives, stuffed with local coupons which I review, sort, save until they are past the expiration date, then throw into recycling.

Temptation in the mail.

Yesterday, the mail was more fun with an oversized postcard from ThredUp, the online thrift retailer. It pointed out that I hadn’t shopped with them recently and offered a tempting discount. 

A year ago, I bought a lightweight thermal jacket from ThredUp that has become one of my favorite coats for not so freezing weather. Two years ago, I bought an oversized knit scarf shawl thing that was warm and cozy and used for an entire winter in the home office and then forgotten about until just now. 

Trench coats in
the shopping cart.

Tonight, while browsing Facebook, a ThredUp ad was in the feed. There was a picture of a cool looking brown and aqua coat and I took the bait and clicked. That led to two hours in the ThredUp rabbit hole of looking at page after page loaded with coats. There are now four coats in my cart. Then I saw a picture of a bomber coat and that led to another little side trip down that style. There are two things that catch my eye – trench coats and bomber jackets. So, a new hole has been found in which to spiral down. 

This wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t already have a coat closet crammed with coats. It looks like 50 people live in my house with the number of coats in the closet. Several are vintage – wool coats in cream, tan, navy, and black, and Mummu’s long tan suede coat from the 60s or 70s. No, I don’t wear those. Not lately, anyway. Some coats have specialized usage – like the ski parka, used for skiing, snow shoeing, and shoveling. There are multiple rain coats, but they are more for the warm, spring rain weather and not the usual cold, raw rainy weather.

So no, I don’t need more coats. And yes, I’ll probably be right back in that shopping cart pining over the pile of coats until it’s time for bed. It is Valentine’s Day after all, and I'm pretty sure I heard Winston say he wanted to buy me something nice.

random truths – Day 1,063 (Monday) – jack white

When I lived in Clarksville, it took only about 45 minutes to get from my house to Nashville. Yes, it was pretty close, and no, I didn’t go there nearly enough. Nashville visits were usually for specific events – concerts at Ryman Auditorium, the annual Tomato Festival, the monthly Art Walk, roller derby bouts, shopping at Opry Mills Mall, and events at The Belcourt Theatre.

Blind Tiger Dames, February 12, 2010
Belcourt Theatre, Nashville.

Belcourt Theatre was (and probably still is) the site of some really cool shows. I saw Belly Dance Superstars there with belly dancer friends and we were blown away by the amazing and inspiring touring show. On February 12, 2010, I saw a show called Blind Tiger Dames there with my friend Stacy, and on February 13, photos were posted on Facebook to commemorate the night.

Blind tiger Dames was a vaudeville-type show and I remember liking the show, but very little about it. There was a ballerina dancing as if she was a music box ballerina, and that is about the end of the specific memories of particular segments. I probably only remember that because she was a ballerina. I got a photo, which helps a lot, too. 

What I do remember more clearly than the show is at some point looking around the auditorium, taking in the crowd and the ambiance, like I usually do when out somewhere. At first, it's to scope out the location of the emergency exits. Later, it's to see if any friends or acquaintances or maybe celebrities are in attendance. 

Across the aisle to the far right, near the wall and a couple rows behind ours, sat Jack White of the band The White Stripes, (and later the Raconteurs, and Dead Weather).  I was sure of it. Throughout the rest of the show, I periodically checked that it was him and he was still there. I whispered to Stacy that Jack White was in the house and hoped nobody around us heard me.

Jack White at Belcourt Theatre, 
February 12, 2010.

When the show ended and the lights came up I spun around to check for Jack White. He was wearing a black hat and standing with a group of people. A couple other people in the audience noticed him and tried to get photos, but a member of his entourage saw and stepped in to block the shot. I somehow managed to get a quick photo –  partially blocked, poorly lit, and grainy. 

We filed out of the auditorium behind Jack and his crew, and then lost him in the lobby. We headed to Stacy’s car and as we exited the parking area onto the street, Jack White drove by in a Black Mercedes. I kid you not. 

Excited, I was telling Stacy (more like yelling) to “follow that Benz, it’s Jack White!” and “change lanes, turn, turn!!” 

There was no plan of what we would do if we successfully followed him to some destination, but that next step would be dictated by the destination. If it was a club, that might be easy, we could probably go inside, but if he went home and we’d followed him to his house, that would be weird. 

It turned out it didn’t matter. It took too long for “change lanes, turn, turn!!” to be executed and we lost the black Mercedes after that first left turn, barely a block from the Belcourt. 

But we had fun. The show was great, and seeing Jack White and trying to chase him like some teenage groupies was an adventure. Dang, I miss adventuring with Stacy.

random truths – Day 1,062 (Sunday) – then and now

February 12, 2017

February 12, 2017 saw the front yard of The BungaLowell piled with snow. It had been a great winter for the free outdoor workouts. There were many sessions of putting on ski pants over my pajamas and digging out The BungaLowell, or as I sell it to myself, doing the “shovel my way to a beach body workout.”  

This winter season has been a very different story. There has been next to nothing on the home snow fitness front, and from what I’ve gathered in the minimal attention paid to the weather reports, the Tennessee saw more snow than Massachusetts this year.

February 12, 2023.

This morning, while Winston wandered the back yard, sniffing in search of the optimal potty location, I noticed green shoots coming up in the iris section of the flower bed. That felt most un-wintery.  

Aside from the recent brief spell of excessive cold, not much about this current winter season has felt wintery. I’m not complaining. Sure, there haven’t been any free shoveling workouts or snow shoeing, but as long as spring gets earthy and green and summer gets hot, Mother Nature and I will be on good terms. 

random truths – Day 1,061 (Saturday) – quiet day

It was a quiet day.

Coffee was brewed strong. It doesn't really taste any different than the regular brew, but it's still good.

Shows were binge watched on Netflix.

I called Dad to wish him a happy birthday and we chatted for a while.

A roasted chicken was bought, along with loaves of cinnamon raisin bread and oat nut bread, and a two pack of spanakopita spirals.

Spanikopita spiral!

Dinner was a spanakopita spiral warmed in the toaster oven on one toast cycle and it was tasty. Market Basket does a great job with the prepared food items. 

Tonight, the sky is clear and the stars are visible. Sometimes I can't see them. Sometimes I forget to look. 

Overall, it was a pretty good day.

random truths – Day 1,060 (Friday) – chocolate comfort

The morning was spent out of the office. There were visits to two of our New Hampshire branches and then a photo shoot on location at a customer’s site. I always forget how much I like being out of the office and talking to the branch teams and being on location photo shoots until I’m out there doing it. Bonus elements today included light traffic, arriving at each location with enough time to relax for a second before jumping into action. 

Back at the office, we're in the season where we enjoy the regular base layer of busy topped with a bonus level of extra crazy busy. When I started in April 2016, there were references to some mythical, magical time called “when it gets slow,” but I swear I still haven't seen a slow time that lasted longer than about 30 minutes, which is how long we get for lunch. "When it gets slow" reminds me of being a kid and my parents would tell us kids that “someday” we’ll do this or that thing, but not today.

 

Chocolate comfort.

We’ve been armpits deep in projects for various 2022 year-end reports (seems like more than usual) and the floodgates have opened with requests from multiple departments for new projects, some of which seem to have arrived from out of the blue and with due dates on a near collision course with projects that we already knew about and had on the work list. It’s kind of overwhelming with a spark of exhilarating, but it will pass, just like it always does.

And now it’s the weekend, with two full days free from thinking about work, which is easier to do during the day. Waking up during the night while dreaming about work and not being able to get back to sleep  is a different story, but it will pass, just like it always eventually does. I hope.

In the meantime, while waiting for the pace to settle down a bit, it’s Valentine candy season. Solace was sought tonight in a delicious box of gifted hand-crafted candies. Making chocolate disappear is my superpower. One of them. Hooray for chocolate comfort items in busy times.

random truths – Day 1,059 (Thursday) – suddenly hangry

The freezer continues to be jammed with containers containing mysterious contents. Earlier this week, a random container was extracted, and before removing the lid, it was decided to accept and work with whatever was dwelling inside. The container was placed in the less frigid refrigerator section to slowly defrost.

Sweet potatoes and stuffing.

Wednesday night, the container was breached. The bounty inside was cornbread stuffing with walnuts, apples, and onions. The first plan was to heat it up and throw some cheese on it, but by the time I dug some grated cheese out of the freezer, the idea had shifted. The next thought was to heat up the giant can of sweet potatoes in the cabinet and mash them with butter. Half of the stuffing and some of the sweet potatoes were eaten for supper. It tasted like Thanksgiving and Christmas all over again. 

Today, I was suddenly extra hungry and cranky at 10:30 a.m., which is when I realized I forgot to eat breakfast. It happens. Bananas and oranges sat in a bowl on the counter, but they were not appealing. 

It seemed a bit early, but the rest of the stuffing and all the rest of the sweet potatoes were set in the microwave and in two minutes it was time to chow down and ten minutes later I was feeling human again, in time for an 11:00 webinar training session. The microwave oven might my favorite modern convenience, especially when I am suddenly hungry, because “hangry” is a real thing and it lives in me, ready to pounce.

random truths – Day 1,058 (Wednesday) –prep work

The long-awaited dental appointment finally happened this morning. This was the crown preparation for the tooth that broke long enough ago that I can’t remember when it was. August? Maybe September?

Anyway. The tooth broke while I was eating trail mix I didn’t even really want and was probably eating from boredom. It was checked quickly, and based on the x-ray, deemed to need a root canal  and plugged with something temporary. The appointment was set for a root canal. 

Pointy tools.

On root canal day, the dentist looking at the tooth declared it looked worse in the x-ray than it actually was, and put a temporary something on it. An appointment was set for the next step, which I thought was to be the crown preparation, except when I arrived after the 45-minute ride, it was to blow cold air on the tooth to check the nerve to make sure it was viable. Ten minutes later I was on my way, with an appointment for the crown preparation a couple days after Christmas. The week of the appointment I tested positive for COVID. The crown prep appointment was rescheduled to the first available slot, which was some five weeks later, which brings us to today. 

At the office, Dr. L bounced between me and one or two other patients, one of whom had some sort of infection and was being sent to a specialist in Westford for an appointment in about an hour. The sound sure does carry in the space. As I overheard the discussion in the next station through no effort of my own, I thought, "hey, that's the same street as my dermatologist" but had the good sense to remain quiet. 

The drill, vacuum, and water jet made enough noise inside my head to temporarily drown out the usual shrill of the tinnitus. The variation in frequency and tone was a bit refreshing. The dentist and assistant talking over my head and the crappy country music playing over the office music system added to the din. 

Impressions were taken and a temporary crown crafted and installed. It took 1.5 hours which kind of felt like forever, and I'm pretty sure it was the music that was the biggest contributor. In two weeks, the permanent crown should be ready and hopefully it will fit on the first try, unlike the last crown. I was assured that it wouldn't take a long as today's visit. Fingers are crossed for good luck.

random truths – Day 1,057 (Tuesday) – progess and plans

More vacation prep progress has been achieved. Some of this stuff is time consuming. Monday night included time spent trying to figure out how to get my passport number entered into my profile for the ITA flight from Boston to Rome. There was an add-on option noted to choose a seat that wasn’t working, but it did provide seating illustrations for a half dozen different models of planes.

One of the friends I’m traveling with mentioned the return flight is through Delta and recommended signing up for their mileage program. He checked the flight home recently and most of the seats are assigned already. He and his wife are in the center seats of the center section of four seats.

Tonight, it was onto the Delta site to set up a profile, add my passport and TSA PreCheck info, and get a window seat assignment. Being a singleton paid off with that one, as the opportunities for seats together look pretty lean and are all in the middle section.

In my wild vacation travel fantasies and imaginings, I will be flying the friendly skies seated next to a fabulously interesting seat mate who is also a witty conversationalist. My friends all have spouses, so they are all set. While the odds aren’t great for the fantasy playing out, it happened once, a dozen years ago. Even after all these years, we still touch base with each other.

Despite having at least four suitcases in different sizes tucked out of sight somewhere in the house, I keep thinking I want a new suitcase. I looked at Kohl’s over the weekend, but there was some sticker shock. There were no suitcases tucked on a clearance rack. I should have spent the energy looking in the attic or the spare room or wherever for the ones I already have.

More importantly, I need to find the items the many click bait articles claim you “Must have when traveling.” The bread bag clips are piling up on the counter, though I don’t know why. Neither do I know why a red scarf is a necessary travel item, but I do know I don’t have one. 

All the articles I’ve seen on “What to Wear in Rome” list "comfortable shoes" which I have lots of, so that is easy. They also say a scarf is a must-have, but they neglect to say what kind of scarf. The jaunty around the neck kind, over the shoulders shawl kind, or the over the hair like a movie star in a convertible kind?  Packing is one of the most stressful activities I know of. I stress out getting dressed one day at a time, never mind planning clothes for a week. 

At least there is still time to set up a beloved spreadsheet and figure it out. Yes, I have done that before and it's comforting. It’s probably also time for the recurring nightmares to kick in. The most frequent one is the one about being late and on the way to the airport and discovering my passport is missing. Love that one. 

random truths – Day 1,056 (Monday) – mysteries

The day began with mysteries. There was the early morning case of “What’s that smell in the kitchen?” At least I can smell most gross things, even if I can’t smell most flowers. Gross smells are probably an indication of something dangerous and smelling them is likely a survival mechanism. 

The base scent was unpleasant “eww” with hints of “could get a lot worse.” There was a lot of walking around the room sniffing the air like an animal. Then the human brain kicked in and ran through the list of places the pest control company had set mouse traps. Bingo. There was a very deceased small gray mouse with a white belly in mousetrap. That left me with the disposal issue. It was a hold the breath and hope for the best kind of ordeal involving the poop pickup tool, the dustpan and brush, a plastic shopping bag, and the trash bag that was mere seconds away from going to the bin and the curb.

By the time the deceased rodent was dealt with, feelings of power, conquest, and completion coursed through my veins. Or maybe it was the coffee. In any event, it was a rare feeling of strength and accomplishment.

Once at work, hunger hit hard. Of the food rations in the desk drawer, instant oatmeal with maple and brown sugar was chosen over various iterations of granola and cereal bars. It’s warm and comforting, but it was mere minutes before the next chapter of the mystery of “Why does oatmeal make me hungrier than I was before I ate it?” was launched. Most people I know say that oatmeal makes them feel full. Not me. I swear, it activates some hunger trigger for me, but it doesn’t stop me from trying. Leftover pizza lunch was eaten early, and I was still hungry.  When I remembered I had a banana in my bag, a portable fruit saved the day.

The third mystery du jour began last night when the Duolingo app suddenly started running captions on every spoken segment. They were annoying and covered part of the screen. They were also nonsensical and amusing. The situation continued this morning, with captions added to videos. The phone was restarted. Settings were checked without success. A google search on “How do I get rid of live captions” finally helped and the correct mystical sequence of menus arrived at the magical setting. I think.

The oatmeal question is still open, but solving two out of three mysteries feels like a pretty good success record for the day. Should sequels be warranted, the oatmeal is a certainty, and the phone mystery is preferable to the deceased rodent ordeal. 

random truths – Day 1,055 (Sunday) – FOMO

It appears there are two influencers in my Facebook friends. They may not claim “Social Media Influencer” as a career, but they probably could. It started this week with a post by a former colleague from my Kohl’s days. She listed all the amazing bargains she bought during the 50% off all clearance items sale that took place there this week. A day later, my cousin posted the incredible bargains she found in the clearance racks.

It was gnawing at me, the idea I might be missing out on some incredible, better than thrift store prices on brand new items. Fear of missing out dictated most of my life from about age 12 until I moved back from Tennessee, so I knew exactly what I was feeling. For years, I was convinced if I stayed home one single night, that would be the night the incredible thing, person, or event would happen and I would have missed it. So I went out, even when I was broke and exhausted. This weekend, it was easier to go to Kohl’s and check out the sale than to sulk and kick myself in the derriere from regret later. Saturday had a relaxed, two hour trip in the Kohl’s in North Andover, and Sunday saw another hour-and-a-half at the Kohl’s in Leominster after dance class.  

Sunday score.

Today’s shopping trip netted booties, casual shoes, two blouses, and a bright blue crossbody purse, all for $35. There have been too many occasions where I didn’t want to schlepp the big everyday purse but the smaller purses in the closet are too small to hold my phone and my keys, rendering them not so useful. Hopefully, that won’t be a problem any longer. The blouses will go with the pants bought Saturday.  

I'm no longer worried I'll miss out on the great sale that ended today. And now my life will be better. That’s how it works, right?

random truths – Day 1,054 (Saturday) – service and sales

There was a service appointment for the Jeep scheduled for 8:30 this morning, made back before all the dire weather forecasts about the Arctic air that arrived and settled in for the past couple days. The decision was made to brave the cold and keep the appointment, making it just another day of getting up hella-early. At least there is coffee and snacks available in the customer waiting room.

Despite randomly receiving dealership service coupons in the mail for the past year and a half, the only coupons to be found today expired last May. The coupons found online at the dealership site required buying a three-pack of oil changes with tire rotation.  

At check-in, the clerk didn’t ask if I had a coupon and by then I had forgotten to ask if there were any specials. He didn't mention the three-pack special on the website. He did say it “might take longer due to the cold temperature.” Whatever that meant. I didn’t ask.

The waiting room was occupied by four people when I arrived. It was as quiet as if it was empty, just like the last time I was there. Two women were occupied on their tablets, a man read a book, and another man had his chair swiveled to face a display case filled with toy Jeeps and key rings and other small items. He was studying them as if he would be quizzed. My February book club selection, Fiona and Jane, was on hand to keep me entertained.

I grabbed a coffee from the machine and sat in a chair that was sort of near the large, square coffee table. Despite there being snacks on the table and the coffee machine and a mini-fridge stocked with bottled water and soda, none of the seating was located near enough to the table to comfortably use it. If I leaned forward in my seat, I could just about reach my paper coffee cup on the table. At least half the seating required getting up and walking a few steps to the table that held various vending machine packs of crackers with peanut butter or cheese and packaged cookies. Bowls held Starburst candy and Hershey Kisses. After an hour, someone who works at the dealership came and turned on the large TV mounted on the wall.

Awkward waiting room.

Even more awkward that the distance from chair to table, the table wasn’t under the light fixture that hung from the ceiling. I was nearly clocked in the forehead by the lowest hanging globe when I walked over to the coffee machine in the corner. 

It took every bit of self control I had to not reposition the furniture into a more logical, less hostile arrangement. It turned out, I would have had plenty of time to do it, as my oil change and tire rotation took two hours to be completed. Maybe I could have gotten a discount on the hefty $127 bill for my decorating, safety, and customer experience tips. Dang, I miss the olden days of the $29 oil change where they also vacuumed the car. 

After the oil change, I headed to the Kohl’s I missed visiting on Friday. The clearance markdowns are another 50% off, and friends had been posting some fantastic purchases on social media the past couple days. My $36 score was two pairs of pants, two bras, a cross body purse that will be great for traveling, and a Christmas ornament. I circled the shoe department like an animal of prey but didn’t see any I couldn’t live without despite the low, low bargain prices. It was a surprise when to realize I had been in Kohl’s for nearly two hours. I hate shopping, but when I do it, I sure do take my time about it.

Once I returned home to check on Winston, the rest of the day’s tentative schedule was scrapped. I didn’t feel like going back out in the cold, even though there were two great art events happening. It was an afternoon of sitting on the couch, sometimes thinking about the grand idea I had in Kohl’s to go through the closet and pull out the things that don’t fit. Maybe tomorrow.

random truths – Day 1,053 (Friday) – pre check

The pre-vacation tasks are being ticked off the list. Once Winston’s dog boarding was booked, it was time to move onto other tasks that had been set aside to deal with the holidays and such. Anything to improve the chances of traveling with ease.

The TSA Pre Check online application was completed early in the week. The website was consulted for locations for the in-person interview and fingerprinting. There were open appointments in North Andover as soon as first thing the next morning, but I selected a Friday early afternoon appointment and booked the afternoon off for a half vacation day.

At 12:30, I bundled up and speed walked to the garage in the frigid, Arctic temperatures and wind. It was a 24 minute ride past the beautiful old houses on Andover Street and a shopping plaza with a Kohl’s that I decided to visit on the way home for some of the amazing clearance bargains I keep reading about in my Facebook feed. I arrived at the Staples in North Andover about 20 minutes early and headed inside. 

The clerk at the TSA Pre Check In check in desk asked my appointment time and what documents I had with me. I answered with “1:30” and “passport.” It seemed my name wasn’t on his list, but whatever he was saying was unintelligible under his mask. I pulled out my phone to check for the confirmation and was immediately scolded that phones were not allowed in that area and I had to step away. I made it three steps away and he called me back, mumbling something about lunch, did I have on earrings, and I should have a seat. I sat, slightly confused, and wondering if my appointment ever actually scheduled.

A guy being helped at the tablet had papers and ID cards and something more complicated than TSA Pre Check and the tablet froze after his finger prints and before his payment. He was told to sit and a woman there for TSA Pre Check and a passport was processed. After her, the system was rebooted.

Three more people arrived to check in. All the women were asked about earrings. One woman asked about earring thing and Mr. Mumbles said there couldn’t be anything that would reflect light for the facial recognition image. She paced, and said something about needing to meet the school bus.

I was out of there at 2:00 after the system reboot, people ahead of me, and my own processing. I decided to head to a thrift shop on Main Street I saw listed online, but there was a giant “Closed” sign in the window. From there, the navigation system took me home a different way that didn’t pass Kohl’s.

After that, the rest of the afternoon was hot cocoa, microwave popcorn, and Chesapeake Shores on Peacock while the wind blew hard outside. The heating system has been running non-stop and all I can hear is the air flow and what I imagine is the gas meter racking up usage. It’s probably good that I missed visiting Kohl’s today.