This morning at work has been INSANE. Crazy upon crazy upon crazy. I went upstairs to go to the bathroom in one of the brief breathing moments and figured I’d take a quick pic of Bertha, seeing as I haven’t documented Bertha’s progress for a while.
34/365
Bertha is HUGE, but she hasn’t grown a lot over the last week or two. She’s starting to open up a new leaf now, but it’s been a while since I saw any clear signs of growth. I’m a little worried about those spots on the Ficus though. Those don’t look happy.
Anyway, this will be my photo-a-day pic because I am not going to have time for anything more elaborate.
I logged into a video conference call at 10:00am. At 10:02am a mouse tried to climb the floor lamp next to my desk. It almost got to the top before falling off. It was equal parts startling and freakin’ adorable.
A mouse. I mean, it is that time of year, right? The weather is getting colder and the critters are looking for warmth. I get it. It’s not surprising.
This mouse was either an arrogant asshole, or supremely stupid. Why? Because when I first saw it I made some noise and moved around. I was on video in a meeting so I couldn’t get up and chase it. I made my very large presence known and that should have scared it off, right? Nope. The little shit hung around. It tried going up the light a few times, and it was running in and out of the pile of stuff in the corner next to the desk, and it came strolling out from under my desk a couple of times. It didn’t get the hint.
When my string of three consecutive video meetings ended I got up and kicked some stuff and made a lot of noise. I had a minute or two where I thought I was in the clear. Then I heard it behind me. It was standing next to my amplifier. Yeah, my Fender ’65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue that costs over a grand. It was curled up next to the power cable. Oh no, you little shit. I got up and it ran. It went under my desk and hid behind my little foot rest. I kicked it… hard. It dashed to the other side of the room. I went after it. Eventually I lost it in the closet. I hoped that would be the end, but somehow knew it would be dumb enough to come back.
I logged onto Lowes’ website and started shopping for mouse traps. I was thinking of capture traps because I don’t want open traps that Patches the Wonder Cat could accidently trip and mangle herself on. That’s when I heard it again. It was next to the amplifier again. I got up, walked over, and kicked it. It smooshed between my foot and the wall.
Well, my four day weekend is over and I am back at work. Oh well. It was a very good weekend all around. Lots of photography exploring, some guitar playing, some new furniture, a couple of trips to see Mom including one where my father, brother, and sister in law all visited too, lots of fun spending time with the love of my life, a quick visit with the kids in Vermont, and lots of resting and relaxing and being calm.
And it’s over. I’m back to work. My next time off is for a doctors appointment on October 18th. Bring it on, let’s go.
New episodes of Andor and Handmaids Tale tomorrow, I think. A She-Hulk on Thursday and a Rings of Power on Friday and a House of the Dragon on Sunday. Also, most importantly, the final eight episodes of The Walking Dead kick off this Sunday. I don’t want it to end, really, but I think it’s time. Not sure about the 13560823467 spin offs on the AMC agenda though. There’s a Rick and Morty from this past weekend that I haven’t seen yet, but I as of this morning I am caught up on Archer.
Today is the last day of my four day weekend. I’m thinking of making it a mostly flake kinda day. I have an errand or two to run, and I want to visit mom. It’s her 82nd birthday today. Join me in wishing my mother a happy birthday.
I’m going to bring my camera with me when I go out, but I am not going to go out of my way any where. If I am out of the house and in the neighborhood I might pull over and snap a pic or two, but no exploring for a while. It’s time to start focusing all of our financial efforts on the Disney trip in January. No more wasting gas for a while.
Other than that, it’s music again. Guitars, guitars, guitars, and writing crappy riff songs. That’s my thing for a while. When I start burning out, then I might go camera nuts again. Until that day, it’s shitty rock and roll time again.
My exercise is done for the day and my calorie goal is about 70% complete. It’s time to start exercising like a madman again. I had three days where I took it easy. Now we’re back on the wagon. Let’s go!
Also, with October starting this coming weekend, it’s just about hockey season. I am going to make an attempt to be a UMass Lowell hockey fan again, for the first time since 2003. I’m going to try and catch games on the radio when I can. I don’t think they are on my old station anymore (good, the athletics department is unworthy), but I think they are on Lowell’s AM commercial station, WCAP. The Lock Monsters and the Devils games used to be broadcast on that station. I wonder if it’s the same team? We’ll see.
Here’s the schedule. Unfortunately both games against Vermont are in Lowell, so no hockey road trip to see the kids this year. Bummer, though a part of me is thinking about going to one of the games and sitting in our old Lock Monsters/Devils seats. Section G, Row 19, seats 3-6. Maybe we’ll see if Boston University is playing at Vermont and use them as an excuse. Or maybe Merrimack College? Hell, I drive through their campus when I visit mom. That could be a good enough reason.
I am nine minutes away from a four day weekend. Jen just told me she put in for Monday off too, so we’ll have an extra day together to do stuff! I think we should go leaf peeping, or lighthouse chasing, or stay home and watch Andor… twice.
We finished Cobra Kai’s new season last night. Why is that show good? It should be idiotic, but it’s good! Why? How?
My back is killing me and I am feeling weirdly full. I had breakfast a little late and had to break for lunch a little early and the two combined to make my stomach feel completely full five hours later. I am optimistic that come the time I finish preparing dinner I will be hungry again. It’s possible though that I just need a good fart and I’ll be fine. Welcome to the dream factory, kids!
My back is hurting today. I am sitting in a new office chair. I don’t know if the two things are related or not, especially because I have done 60 minutes of exercise today after doing more than 60 minutes yesterday. I even jogged in place a little this morning instead of just walking. Those things might relate to my back being sore, but it might be the chair too. I need more data to say for sure.
One minute to go…
…and it’s 5:30 and I am officially on a four day weekend!
Visiting my mother. She’s asleep in the dining room. That’s not uncommon. It makes me sad, but as dad once said, if she’s sleeping she’s not in pain. That’s some bright side thinking right there.
I’m hitting the grocery store on the way home and might (if weather and population allow) stop at The Park and snap a pic or two. As always, we will see.
One of my father’s friends, who also used to be my boss (twice), passed away this morning. I haven’t had a chance to talk to my father yet. His friend (my former boss… twice) had been ill for a while. This isn’t a surprise. It sucks though.
It’s also sad that Queen Elizabeth II has passed away as well. It doesn’t effect me at all, but to all in the United Kingdom, my sympathies. 96 years old and 70 years on the job? I think that qualifies as a “good run.”
I am 51 years old and I have never lived in a world where England had a King. Is the correct saying now the Queen is dead, long live the King? I’ve never heard it said that way, but it makes logical sense.
Rest in peace, Charlie. Rest in peace, Elizabeth.
ADDENDUM: I should clarify that my father’s friend’s name is Charlie. Saying rest in peace Charlie was not a political commentary on the future of King Charles III.
Bellana and Harry both go to the University of Vermont. Jen and I both graduated from UMass Lowell. Both schools’ men’s ice hockey team play in Hockey East. They play each other a couple of times a year.
Pre-pandemic I came up with the genius idea of using hockey as an excuse to visit Bellana at school (Harry was still in high school back then). Lowell was playing at Vermont so I bought a few tickets and up we went. We didn’t end up at the game, but we did have a nice visit with Bellana. I couldn’t do this last year when Harry joined her at school because of Covid. I was thinking that this year would be a good year to try again.
I just checked the schedule. They play each other twice this year and both games are in Lowell. Crap. I might get tickets anyway. My UMass Lowell athletics boycott is over now that the ass munch athletics director who tried to sell my campus radio station to the local shitty newspaper is no longer employed by the university so I am free to pay attention again. I am kinda considering becoming a full fledge Lowell hockey fan again. If I do, I might get tickets anyway.
Back when I was a student and went to a few games a year (prior to the ass munch trying to sell the radio station) the place was almost completely empty during home games, apart from the student section. Social distance is easy in a case like that.
I miss hockey in person. Not as much as I miss live music, or playing with the band, but I do miss it. I wish they were playing in Burlington though. I was hoping for a fun excuse to go up and visit. Oh well.
Inside the Red Head's Head 