Month: March 2024

New Version of an Old Song

I mixed a song, just like I said I might in my last post. I guess I am just the kind of guy who keeps his promises to himself and his blog.

This one was written and originally recorded last summer (June, I think) for the Record Every Month challenge thing that I haven’t even thought about this month. I should probably come up with something new soon seeing as the month is half over. Anyway. I liked it a lot right away and immediately added it to the Quarantine Tunes list. Now it’s done and I still like it. I can’t say if I like this new take better than the old one, but I do think it’s all right.

Still Sick: No End in Sight

The head cold persists. Today will be the fourth full day with it and I think it might be the worst day yet.

Yup, I’m still sick.

My wife had it last week and I have it this week. For both of us, with the exception of our one experience with Covid-19, this is the only real bug we’ve caught since the lock downs started four years ago. We have no idea where it came from, but it has turned out to be a persistent little sucker.

In four days I have plowed through two full boxes of tissues. I just started on box number three. Last night before bed I casually mentioned to Jen that I wished when I blew my nose that something substantial would come out. Well, I got my wish. What was the nasal equivalent of an annoyingly dripping faucet yesterday has turned into a gushing rush of snotty awfulness today… too much information? Probably.

The upside to this is that Harry is home! Bellana has been home since Tuesday and has already gone back to Vermont. Harry is staying with us today and heading back to school tomorrow. I’m really happy to have him here, I just wish I wasn’t so sick so we could hang out together. As it is I am keeping my distance from everyone. I don’t have Covid, but we’ve learned some things since the lock down started four years ago, and hopefully I’ll be able to keep Harry healthy. I’d hate for him to be sick when he starts school again next week.

Okay, there’s your update. My box of tissues and I are going to sit in the corner of the living room in our vegetative state for a while. I have a couple of songs that are ready to mix. Maybe I’ll mess with one for a while.

Too paraphrase U2, Achoo-babie.

Is Anyone Confident?

Daily writing prompt
Who is the most confident person you know?
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I read this question last night to prep a little for writing it up this morning. I honestly have nothing. Is it possible that something about my personality repels people who are confident? I can’t think of a single person in my life who is as self confident as they deserve to be. Everyone I know is smart and talented and capable, and all of them lack self confidence. All of them.

I wonder… does like attract like? I ask because I am the least confident of all of them. Out of the whole crowd of people that I know, none of them lack confidence the way I do. Is it possible that I am just projecting? Is it possible that people I know actually are very confident but because I am utterly without confidence I somehow can’t see it?

Everyone has moments of confidence. Everyone has moments of doubt. Maybe I just tend to focus on the doubt part and can’t really see the confidence part for what it really is.

Maybe I’m just bad at reading people. Maybe I’m just clueless.

More Cats?

I mentioned earlier today that the cats rarely come and visit me during the work day. Now here we see Robin the Cat came to visit me for a second time. I think she came into the room because Jen was in the room visiting me. The cat wasn’t interested in me at all, she wanted some attention from Jen. I think I’ve solved this riddle.

Flying

My step son woke up this morning in Scotland. He’ll sleep tonight at our house. He’s already part way through quite the travel journey today.

I used flightaware.com to watch his first flight, from Aberdeen, Scotland to London, England. In less than five minutes he is scheduled to take off on his second flight of the day. This one from London to Boston. He’ll land sometime around 9:00pm, or a little before then.

As is always the case when one of the kids is traveling by air, I am nervous. Hell, I’m always nervous, but like the good American who comes from Irish immigrants, I suppress my nerves and emotions and just bottle them up until I explode. See the collected works of Dennis Leary for more stereotypical information on this stereotype that is probably not accurate but sometimes feels like it is.

Yeah, I am nervous. I watched the first connecting flight circle Heathrow airport a couple of times and I started getting scared that there was something going on in London. Nope. Just a busy day at the ol’ airport. Everything is fine. Everything went fine. All is well.

Flightaware says the plane is taxiing for take off. I’m not superstitious, but I (figuratively) have my fingers crossed. Here’s hoping for the best.

Safe flight, Harry. See you on the ground, back home in the good old U.S. of A.

Morning Cats

The cats don’t tend to visit me while I am working, but for some reason they did today. Maybe they know I am in my step son’s bed room and he’s flying home from the UK today. He is currently in the air, on his way to London to grab a connecting flight to Boston. Can the cats sense that?

Anyway, I took some pic because that’s what I do.

197/365
197/365

Lily promised me she wasn’t the one who messes with the plant clipping I wrote about yesterday.

Yeah, whatever you say, feline. Whatever you say.

Different Question, Same Answer

Daily writing prompt
What strategies do you use to cope with negative feelings?
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This isn’t a repeat question, but it is a repeat answer. My strategies for dealing with negative feelings are pretty much the same as my list of things that I can lose myself in. With one important addition.

When life is getting me down I often retreat to music. Listening to music, mostly. Yesterday I was sick with this asshole of a cold and I spent the day working while listening to old 1970’s Genesis records. It helped. I will likely do something similar today. Maybe a different prog-rock group. Maybe some Yes? Close to the Edge always hits the spot.

Sometimes when life gets me down I will go for a drive and ignore reality. Sometimes I’ll snap a bunch of pictures or something. All of the good things that I can lose myself in also help when things are going bad.

The one additional thing is my family. When things are going rough I can always depend on my family to be there to make me feel better. I am pretty lucky that way. I know not all middle aged red heads can say that about their families, and that’s okay. I’m just a fortunate guy in that respect.