random thoughts – Day 1,733 – (Saturday) – service and decor

Christmas decorating
is nearly done.

After failing to schedule my oil change and 60,000 mile service for several consecutive weeks, I finally remembered to call the Jeep dealership last week. Yes, it probably costs more going there, but they frequently send postcards with specials and discounts and the waiting room is always well stocked with granola bars and other snacks plus the coffee machine and fridge of cold drinks. 

The appointment was at 8:30 this morning. Thanks to light traffic and an absence of annoyances on the drive, I was outside the service area at 8:15 and checked in and seated in the waiting area by 8:20. The tech doing the check-in seemed unconcerned about my complaint about the tires losing pressure every two weeks (the warning came on again this morning, just two weeks after the last go-round). He said it's because of the cold, which would be plausible if not for the fact this is my fourth winter with this vehicle and I'm pretty sure it got cold during the other three and I definitely didn't need to get air every two or three weeks. 

In the waiting room, just like at the dentist’s office, the TV was playing a real estate show. Today is was the one where a decorator and contractor update the people’s existing home while a realtor tries to move them into a new place and then they have to choose to sell the renovated home and buy a new one, or stay put. Like most allegedly unscripted “reality” shows, it felt fake, but was still mildly entertaining.

The table is comically
far from the seats.

I enjoyed two relaxing hours in the waiting lounge. I had a cup of mochachino from the fancy coffee machine and a granola bar with peanut butter. The drink had to be set on the floor because the large coffee table is too far from the seats placed around it to be useful. Luckily, I didn't knock it over.

I read a couple chapters in a novel (How to Not Die Alone) and played Words with Friends and Woodoku on my phone. There were six or seven of us in the room and it was mostly quiet. Exceptions were when my lug sole boots squeaked on the floor at an embarrassing volume when I got coffee and then went to the trash with the empty cup, and when the much older couple who would be wise to invest in hearing aids tried talking to each other. It was painful. Holy Crap. 

Back at home, some signs of Christmas were hung – wreaths on each side of the front door and one on the bathroom closet door. A snowflake tree topper is set out like a piece of décor. Tinsel trees on the table in the enclosed porch. It might be done for this year. 

There were art exhibit receptions, open studios, and holiday markets happening today but I didn’t make it to any of them. The auto service took a ding out of the wallet and the newly derailed career prospects have taken a lot of wind out of my sails. The choice to lay low at home felt comfortable at the time, but was regretted later when I saw photos of friends and by friends at the reception for an exhibit.

random thoughts – Day 1,732 – (Friday) – cold out

It was colder today than I expected. Yes, I know it’s December. Yes, I know there are weather apps and other means for checking the current and forecasted conditions. For some reason, today I neglected to check the technological wonders available to me before leaving for the office. I rejected my warm coat with a hood and put on my leather coat. At least it was the longer one that goes to mid-thigh and not the short one. I grabbed the green leather gloves, and as an afterthought, a lightweight hat that I wore indoors last year when I was cold.

When I got outside, it was cold, but the car is barely 15 steps from the back door. I had remote started the car but not very early and had turned the heat off yesterday when I parked the car. The engine, steering wheel, and seat were warmed up, but not the air in the cabin. I figured the day would warm up by the time I wanted to go for an afternoon walk. 

It didn’t get warmer. Colleagues went out and when they came back in, the report was “Brrrr, it’s cold.” The top temperature of the day was 30 degrees. Ugh. I never went out until it was time to leave for the day. I'm a weenie like that.

The tree in the office.

As cold as it was outside, there was some warmth inside. One or more colleagues decorated the office Christmas Tree recently and it looks great. As I punched the button to the first floor, as the elevator doors closed, the tree was the last thing I saw as I mentally braced for the cold. It stood between two lamps that glowed soft and warm and pretty. 

Maybe I’ll put one (or more) of my trees up. Maybe not. I can’t decide. I love the warm glow of the lights, but I’m dreading the idea of digging all the stuff out and clearing a space and setting it up and so on and so on. Until then, I’ll enjoy the tree at work.

random thoughts – Day 1,731 – (Thursday) – knish nosh

The past week has seen several random visits to grocery stores while en route to other destinations. Last Friday morning, a text message came in at 7:30 that my Christmas photo cards were ready at Walgreen’s. They had been ordered the previous night at 10:30 and it was surprising they were ready so quickly. The timing was perfect and there was time to collect them before work.

The traffic between my house and the shopping plaza on Bridge Street was nearly nonexistent on that particular morning at that particular hour and I was in front of Walgreen’s at 7:45. Too bad the store doesn’t open until 8:00. No big deal. I went next door to Market Basket because it was there and I had a few minutes.

Two loaves of bakery discount rack bread, a pack of cheese ends heavy on provolone, and a package of knishes from the deli later, and I was out the door. I didn’t even know MB sold knishes, so it was an exciting discovery. I haven’t had a knish in years. By 8:30, I was at my desk and logging onto the system, already feeling like I had conquered the day.

On Sunday, on the way home from the performance in Cambridge, the parking lot at Market Basket on Fletcher Street wasn’t packed and so, pursuant to my personal policy, I had to go inside. A container of salmon bits from the deli and a few other items were gathered. Unfortunately, I forgot the mustard I wanted to dress the knishes.

Olive oil a
smidge too tall.

Today, I had an appointment not far from a Hannaford location, where I had a coupon for $10 off a $25 order. My list was short – olive oil, mustard, and whatever helped meet the $25 target. 

On the way into the store, a baking supplies display inspired the grabbing of three bags of baking chips. Mustard was found and collected. The entire wall of olive oil was studied at length. After being low and rationing olive oil for a month, I went for the big one. In a panic, a large can of coffee was added. I don’t need it right now, but lately when I’ve been looking for it, the options have been limited.

Now the challenge is putting away the olive oil and coffee. The olive oil bottle is about one inch too tall to fit on the most easily accessible bottom shelf of the cabinet. The coffee cannister is too large to fit almost anywhere.

Knish and mustard.

Suppertime meant time for a couple knishes. There were two cooking options noted on the package. A 350-degree regular oven for about 15 minutes or microwave for two minutes. The toaster oven was called to service and two knishes were heated. They were delicious, but ten minutes later, I was still hungry. 

The remaining two knishes were heated in the microwave and were good, but soggy compared to the oven heated ones. That depleted the reserve of knishes and ended the evening’s science experiments. Now I want to go to a Jewish deli for knishes, latkes, and other delicious deli dishes. Maybe it's time for a trip to New York.

random thoughts – Day 1,730 – (Wednesday) – cold and balmy

Rain was promised. Rain came. It was accompanied by the gray cloud cover that carries the rain (obviously) and fog that provided a mysterious quality to the air. Because of the rain, the parking garage had the indoor water feature activated and the usual massive puddles in place.

The volume of rainfall varied throughout the day from barely a mist floating in the air to heavy like a fire hose on full blast. The forecast also called for potential thunderstorms and hazardous wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour later in the day and into the night and National Grid sent out a message on Tuesday about preparing for storms. 

At the office, when it was around 36 degrees outside earlier in the day, for reasons beyond all comprehension of any of the occupants of the fourth-floor suite, the air cooling system was on. Again. In anticipation, I had dressed in what I thought might be overkill with a base layer, merino wool pullover sweater, and a cardigan. It wasn't excessive and I was cold. Removing the cardigan layer was never a consideration.

Condensation
on John Street.

Even the facilities team is puzzled by this recurring air cooling situation. We are unable to change the setting from cool to heat, so my solution was to boost the temperature setting to 78 degrees to at least stop the chilled air from blowing down on us from the overhead ductwork. Some colleagues had their heaters going under their desks, just like all summer.

By the time we left work, the temperature had risen to 60 balmy degrees outside (also forecasted). That's normal for New England in December, right? A light rain fell in the warm air and downtown windows were covered in foggy condensation.

Outside the parking garage, it was possible to enjoy the balmy outside air and also the feel of refrigerated air that emanated from the entrance/exit of the garage. It was interesting and odd and reminded me of standing at the mouth of Dunbar Cave in Clarksville Tennessee in the hot and humid summer weather. Inside the garage, the temperature was significantly cooler than out on the street.

One of many conversations at the office today was about feeling dehydrated in the winter and how hard it is to hydrate. I prefer drinking chilled water, but I’m already too cold in the winter to drink chilled water. I usually end up nuking mugs of tea all night long. Or just not. 

Tonight, as I reached into the cabinet for the usual eight or ten ounce coffee cup for my evening Raspberry Zinger tea, I spotted a solution, right there in front of my face. A glass beer mug. Duh!

Raspberry Zinger
in a big mug.

A couple big beer mugs have resided in the same cabinet as the smaller coffee mugs for the entire time I’ve lived here. There are a few more that permanently live in the refrigerator due to space and the idea of pouring beer into a chilled mug (which I never think to do). Once or twice, I used a big mug for a slightly elaborate hot cocoa with whipped cream and some whiskey. 

Until tonight, it never occurred to me use a big beer mug for a larger pour of tea. There have been some ripple effects. On one hand, I need fewer trips to the kitchen to refill and heat smaller mugs of tea. On the other hand, I just cut my nighttime activity level in half. Life is all about tradeoffs.

random thoughts – Day 1,729 – (Tuesday) – slightly less stressed

The jarring news of Monday was alleviated today. There was an information session tonight with the leaders of the acquiring bank and team members of my bank. The drive out of Lowell wasn’t too bad, and then it felt like a parade of vehicles turning into the Westford Regency Inn and Conference Center. I felt a bit like I was attending a funeral while crossing the parking lot to the hotel. It was weird. 

There were three festive Christmas trees glowing warmly in a nearby corner of the meeting room. As lovely as the trees were, the prevailing mood in the room was leaning a bit towards somber.

The bank leadership team with executives from retail, commercial, wealth, operations and technology, HR, and the CEO told us about themselves and their areas of the bank, and how they landed with the organization. They shared the many ways our two banks are similar. This isn’t their first acquisition (one leader is on their 12^th) and they clearly have a system in place. I trust they know what they are doing.

We were able to submit questions in advance and many of these were addressed by the various leaders. The answers provided were direct and reassuring. It helped. A lot. What a difference good communication makes. The general mood was a lot lighter after the presentation. Most of the colleagues I chatted with felt relieved after the meeting.

Warming trays all in a row.

There was a buffet outside the meeting room. I neglected to check out the food before the meeting and was starving by the end, so I pounced and grazed. I explored the meatballs, spring rolls, crab rangoons, and meat on a stick. There were also cookies and brownies. 

My socializing took place near the buffet with a plate in hand instead of in the ballroom with most of the attendees. It was less crowded out there, so I didn't get all weird and awkward. 

It's a relief to have heard about the process for this next chapter from the folks in charge. We'll all be mostly okay.

random thoughts – Day 1,728 – (Monday) – surprise!

Some days are full of surprises and today was certainly one of them. There was a highly unusual early morning text message from work referencing a message we needed to read and an all-team online meeting at 8:45. This never happens. This did not feel good.

It was a remote day for me, and I considered changing things up and heading in to the office. It would have required changing out of jeans and into dress pants and the shoes that go with them and grabbing some lunch to take with me. That might have worked in the wedge of time available, but suddenly my colleagues and I were involved in a flurry of text messages with each other and I was simultaneously logging into the system to see the referenced message and there were more texts and then it was too late to change clothes, get to the office on time, and be logged in for the meeting. I stayed put and sat tight.

The news, which is now public, is that the independent, community bank I work for is being acquired by a larger, regional community bank. They are a lot like us, just operating in a different but adjacent geography.

It’s shocking. Stressful. Depressing. Exciting, but maybe not for me. I'm trying to keep an open mind. I can't decide if it's a blessing or a curse that I’ve already been through this once before. Some will come out of it with jobs and mostly unscathed and others won’t be so lucky. 

There have been assurances provided about some areas of the bank. The assumption from some of us on my team is that every back-office role already has a currently staffed counterpart in the acquiring organization. This is what happened the last time I rode this crazy ride and ended up leaving the field for years.

So that was the shadow that hung over the entire day. It will be interesting. Which is not always a fun thing, but most likely won’t be dull.

Salmon, broccoli, onions.

To cheer myself up and exert some control over something, I cooked. A delicious and reasonably healthy supper of salmon, broccoli, and onions was prepared. It worked, and I felt in control of the few minutes it took to cook and eat.

Soon, I found myself stress eating creamy peanut butter on Ritz crackers, followed by more peanut butter straight from the jar. The fleeting sense of control from earlier was gone. The false comfort of the peanut butter didn't last for very long, either. It rarely does. 

random thoughts – Day 1,727 – (Sunday) – lotsa ladies dancing

Middle East,
Cambridge.

Today, Troupe Salaamati, the group I dance with, along with another 40 or so dancers from around New England and New York, performed in a show to benefit The Home for Little Wanderers. It was originally scheduled at a hotel in Woburn, but there was a double-booking situation and our event was bumped. The Middle East in Cambridge opened their doors to us. I’d never been there but I’ve heard of the place forever. Today was the day, and now I regret my tardy introduction to the place. 

The morning was spent drinking coffee and then putting on costume parts and makeup. There was eye shadow in three colors (green, pink, and pale gold) and poorly applied eye liner and false eyelashes and blush and lipstick which I wiped off after choosing the color and putting it in my bag to apply later. Then I neglected to apply it again, so that was dumb.

The show was divided into three acts and opened with soloists dancing to a live band (oud, keyboard, and drum). The dancers, costumes, and dance styles were beautiful. The second act was in a larger room and featured troupes and soloists dancing to recorded music while the band had a break. That’s where my dance sisters and I came onto the program. The third act was back in the room where it began and had more performances with the band.

Salaamati!

We were the second performance slot in the second act, and people who saw the eight of us lined up to enter wondered how we’d fit in the space. No worries. We had scoped the room out earlier and with one table relocated by the venue team, we were able to fit on a diagonal and reconfigure our entrance. We are used to checking space and making on-the-fly adjustments. It’s a handy skill.

After we finished our dancing and exited the performance space, there wasn’t an easy, immediate way back in without disturbing the group dancing after us. We dashed back through the maze of venue spaces back to the dressing room and changed out of our costumes and into street clothes. Then we grabbed our bags and slipped back in to see the rest of the troupe performances. 

There was a group dancing with swords (I always love seeing that) and another with glowing orbs in red and green. After the second act concluded, the dancers for the set were asked to gather for a group photo. Those of us still on site from my troupe formed the back row to hide our jeans and sweaters. We didn’t know there would be a photo when we changed. Oops.

I hate driving in a costume, because what if I get into an accident? This is fallout from that time I broke my leg in a roller derby event and went to the hospital by ambulance in tiny shorts, tights, and a tee shirt, plus a face full of camo makeup, and had to sit in a room dressed like that and freezing for hours. It lives in the back of my brain.

My friends and I left after the second act due to the distance and travel time from Cambridge to Lowell (me), Townsend, and other points (carpools). The traffic was not terrible, but still not enjoyable and now I remember why I don’t drive into Boston. Overall, the fun of the day far outweighed the "fun" of driving. 

Now it’s all over except for the unpacking and putting away of the makeup, costume parts, etc., and the Sunday chore of all chores – cleaning the litter box for Monday trash day. The glamour is fun, but always short-lived before reality rudely shoves it aside.