I’m glad it’s the weekend. What a terrible week. The Keane concert was fun, but didn’t have much of an effect on how the week unfolded. It was an historically bad week at work. The industry needs a break, so it’s good we’re at a weekend. Hopefully POTUS will stop making things worse by talking and tweeting. Because that’s what he does, makes it worse.

I went to the super market this morning to do my usual shopping. Holy crap! I’d read news stories about lines and shortages, but I didn’t think it would be bad before 6:30am! Was I wrong!!! If you wanted pasta, sauce, beans, water, pork, anything other than chicken thighs or really expensive cuts of beef, you were out of luck! Not to mention paper products!

The produce and freezer sections were sparse as well. I was lucky to get a four pack of russet potatoes!

Snack foods seemed well-stocked though. Same with ice cream and frozen pizza. I had to search for frozen broccoli, but not junk food, lol! I guess that’s a good sign that people are stocking-up on good food and not crap.

Odd thing, I couldn’t find Havarti cheese anywhere. So random! It’s the only cheese I buy regularly and I’ve never really had an issue finding it. Not today! Maybe Trader Joe’s will have it tomorrow? I’m thinking about heading over before they open so I can buy my favorite sourdough bread anyway. I might as well see if they have my cheese.

One thing I don’t get is the run on bottled water. It’s not like people are preparing for an earthquake, where water supplies can become unsafe or pipes might break and service is interrupted. We still have working faucets! Plus, I am fortunate enough to live in an area where our tap water is very safe. I mean, sure, I prefer bottled water, but tap water is fine. I drank from a hose throughout my childhood and survived!

I get that people are buying-up hand sanitizer and soap. In fact, I can even understand buying a little more toilet paper than usual, but the rest of this is just crazy.

So I got my few things (I keep a pretty well-stocked home, so I didn’t have to buy a ton of stuff) and stood in the long line to check-out / pay for my groceries. Seriously, it was looooong! It took around 40 minutes to get to the checker! I chatted with her for the few moments I was checking out. I feel bad, people were being so rude and nasty to her. She actually thanked me for being nice! Come on people, we’re all just trying to do our best! Be nice!

I’m hopeful that once folks have two weeks worth of supplies stocked that things will get back to normal. Things can’t continue like this, right? RIGHT??

Fingers-crossed Trader’s is a better experience tomorrow!

It’s pouring rain today, so I think I’m going to stay inside. If it clears up, I might go to Bev Mo or Total Wine and More....surely, their lines will be short. HA! Riiiiight.

Be safe out there and please be kind to service workers. You should be nice to them anyway, but especially now!

After having such a nice, relaxing weekend, my work week has been crummy (to put it mildly). I can’t believe it’s only Tuesday! It feels like it’s been an entire week already. I feel beaten, battered, baked and fried! Plus, I got a comment from someone at work (but not about work) that has really thrown me into a funk/blue mood. I’m supposed to go to a show tonight, but I really don’t want to.

The drive home was exhausting. I haven’t driven in rain that hard since I was driving around Ft. Lauderdale Florida in November 1994. Today was equally as bad! I couldn’t see anything through the windshield. I figured I’d probably die in a car crash to finish my shitty day. It just doesn’t rain like that here! It was like hail. I am relieved to be at home. Not really excited about going back out in this. I paid a lot for the ticket though and my friend is expecting to pick me up.

I hope tomorrow is a better day. Maybe something good will happen? Hope springs eternal with me....

Man, I love Sundays. I especially love them when the weather is nice like it is today. Bright blue sky with big clouds (both bright white and ominously dark), a nice breeze and temperatures in the 60’s. You can feel that it’s going to rain, but not quite yet.

I got up early, set all the clocks ahead an hour and did a little tidying up around the apartment. I started re-listening to an audio book I really like. After a while, I decided that I’d walk to go pick-up an order I’d placed online. The store opened at 11:00am, so I had plenty of time.

I left the apartment at 11:00am and walked over. I live in a really walkable area. There are tons of shops and restaurants with plenty of new businesses to discover every time I decide to walk around. I was only gone about 50 minutes, but it was a good walk.

Being that it’s Sunday, I still have clothes for work to get together for the week and I’ve got trash to take out, along with a bathroom to clean... I know it sounds boring, but I enjoy it.

The best part of a good Sunday is that quiet time around 5pm, with chores done, nice music playing and dinner cooking, when you can sit down with a cocktail and think about the week that just finished and what the week ahead holds.

Yep, today is a good Sunday.

Election Day! Super Tuesday!

I had a crummy day at work, but I had voting to look forward to!

I got to the polling place around 2:15pm and, wow, was it different to what I’m used to! Instead of checking-in, having my name crossed-off, getting my long ballot, slipping it into the ink/punch machine, it was all tablet computers and stuff. One thing I didn’t care for was the fact that when I got to the bit where I voted for my Democrat candidate, all of the candidates, even those who dropped out a while ago were still on the list (Booker?). I really had to scroll through to find my person. I wonder how many folks had issues with finding theirs?

Other than that, it was pretty smooth sailing. The polling place was crowded (YAY!), but moving smoothly. I really hope we have a great turn out and good people score the delegates!!

My folks were in town this past weekend and actually told me ahead of time! I took a half days vacation on Friday as I had an appointment with Gotham’s new vet at 10:30am, so I told my dad I could hang out with him if he was around while my mom was busy. We had a really fun time and then I took him to dinner at a little Mexican stand I love. He said he enjoyed it, which makes me happy.

On Saturday, Before I met up with both of them, I splurged and bought a Roomba. Not the really fancy one that emptied itself, but the model under it. OMG! I love my Roomba!! No more cat litter tracked out of the bathroom! Plus, it’s mesmerizing to watch. I tried scheduling it to clean while I’m at work, but it got stuck and ran its battery down. It doesn’t seem to do that if I’m here watching it, and trust me, if I’m here and it’s running, I’m probably watching it, lol! I can’t help it! Gotham doesn’t know what to make of it yet, so he will sit with me and watch it. We’re weirdos! It will probably stop being interesting in a few days, but for now, it’s cool!

Work was nothing but challenges today, but I made it through okay. Time for dinner, maybe an audio book and then some Roomba watching....

The convention was fun. The one panel I really wanted to go to was amazing. So insightful and heartfelt. I had a good time with my friends as well. I came home mid-day Sunday, showered, changed and pretty much went to bed, then puttered around the apt for the holiday Monday. Unpacked, hand washed some stuff and had a good day.

Only drawback from the weekend I can determine is that I’m now sick again and since I just finished a round of antibiotics last Thursday, I can’t take anything other than OTC stuff. I’ve got a sore throat straight from hell. Dayquil and Nyquil are my only friends right now. And my cat. Although, he’s not helping much by laying on my chest.

Blah.....

Well, last Thursday evening I finally had the follow-up surgery to last June’s procedure. I fancied myself a pretty Bad ass tough cookie so I told the surgeon I didn’t want general anesthesia, just a ton of the local stuff. Holy fuck, was that dumb!!!

In all honesty, since my surgery was scheduled for 3:30pm, was only supposed to take an hour and the office was only four blocks from my home, I couldn’t rationalize asking any of my friends to deal with traffic and stuff just to drive me four blocks. Plus, I got so sick when I was put under the general anesthetic last June, I couldn’t face it again. So local only for stupidly independent me!

The surgeon was running about an hour behind, so we didn’t start until 4:30pm.

I was taken back to the operating room and hopped up on the table. The surgical assistant was kinda surprised I wasn’t being put out. In my head, I thought, “she’s thinking how hard-core I am and is TOTALLY impressed with me” (she wasn’t). Anyway, there I was, on my back with nothing but an eye mask on (I was emphatic I didn’t want to see anything!), a lot of iodine/betadine painted all over me and some towels strategically placed when my surgeon comes, greets me again and gives the word....I get a ZILLION shots to numb everything. I guess they also have to move the area manually to help it spread and work faster, which was really weird. Then comes out the laser to burn and open me up. I could smell burning ME! Gross! Then I could feel tugging, wetness and a releasing sensation. I could have sworn I sensed the guy flinging a big piece of me aside, lol!

After a bit, it was time to sew me up, it was so surreal to feel the tugging and sewing, but no pain. Then I felt the surgical glue being painted on. It was so odd. Once he was done, I got bandaged-up, got dressed bid everyone a good night and walked the 10 minute trek home.

Later, when I was home, I thought “I wonder how long until this local wears off”. TOO FUCKING SOON, that’s how long. It was so painful, yikes!!!

I took the next day off work and literally slept all day! I was thinking about taking another day, but came back on Monday. I think that was too soon. Better every day since though.

I have to say, the surgeon was really nice and chatted with me through the hour it took to do everything. He had funny stories to tell me and it wasn’t too terrible of a time, and it went by fairly quickly.

The timing was a bit inconvenient as I have my usual February sci-fi convention this week (I bought the pass about a year ago before I had any idea I’d be having any surgeries at all). I’ve got about 75 stitches and have to care for the incision, but I really like the main guest this year and don’t want to miss their panel, so I’m a little bit excited and still going to go. Weird after so many years of not really caring much about most of the guests. I’ll go to a few panels, but will probably spend most of the time relaxing in the hotel room though!!

I’m glad it’s a 3-day weekend. Even with the convention, I should still get a lot of my chores done AND relax. Win-Win!!!

A very belated happy new year to everyone!

The holidays went well. First time I can remember that Christmas was just me and my parents. Stress-free! We’d planned on decorating their tree, but it ended-up being bare, with lights and a couple of bows thrown on it, lol! I think I ate pretty much the entire time I was with them. I must have put on 10lbs. Ten. Solid. Pounds. It was SO worth it though!

My visit with them lasted a week and I had a thoroughly good time. I was really happy to get home though. The ride-share lot at LAX worked out really well for me on the way home. The walk from my terminal only took a couple of minutes and my car showed shortly after I requested it. Luckily, while it had been raining earlier, it stopped right before we landed, so I was able to stay dry during my wait. When I got home, I looked to the north and saw the foothills dusted with snow. It looked so pretty with my Christmas lights!

I was sad to take my decorations down, they made my place look so sparkly and homey. Putting everything back into their boxes was a little depressing.

I’m not sure why, but I’ve been really tired the last couple of weeks. I’m thankful for this long weekend, it gives me an extra day to play with my cat, bake stuff, cook my white bean chili, run my errands and maybe lay around!

I didn’t have any resolutions to start the year, but my fat ass needs to get to the gym, lol! I can’t think of the last time I went! That extra Christmas weight is still hanging on! I don’t want to get crazy or anything, maybe just start back on the treadmill and, if I’m feeling it, work my arms.

Not much else is going on, so I really have no excuse!

I’ll check back in later. Happy Friday!!