I rose at 7ish and crawled out of bed feeling more animated than actually alive. I nearly dumped 2x the needed coffee into the filter (returned some to the bag) and made dark, black as the night that was still clinging to me coffee, a talisman to drive off the phantoms of night — liberal coffee brings light to the darkness. All the cereal came out of the box at once. I had to put some back, much like with the coffee. At least the milk did not make a mess. I sliced a banana into my cereal with a butter knife (sharper tools would likely have led to discomfort at this point). Ugh! My body was resisting use and wanted to return to the soft bed and continue with a vampire Monday (raising only when the sun set). But soon coffee had dispelled some of the would-be petrification, and I stripped the bed, started Monday’s laundry (Friday and Monday are my usual days for this), and managed to start the blog.
Of course, I checked out all my transactions and balances using Quicken. I have a few minor, strange items from the trip, but nothing of high value, and most are now marked as ‘Coffee.’ I watch for repeated small amounts, because if I were stealing money, that is how I would do it. But nothing like that is showing.
I am always reminded of Sherlock Holmes when I think about crime, “The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton.” Sherlock talking to Watson about their caper:
“Well, well, my dear fellow, be it so. We have shared the same room for some years, and it would be amusing if we ended by sharing the same cell. You know, Watson, I don’t mind confessing to you that I have always had an idea that I would have made a highly efficient criminal. This is the chance of my lifetime in that direction. See here!” He took a neat little leather case out of a drawer, and opening it he exhibited a number of shining instruments. “This is a first-class, up-to-date burgling kit, with nickel-plated jemmy, diamond-tipped glass-cutter, adaptable keys, and every modern improvement which the march of civilization demands. Here, too, is my dark lantern. Everything is in order. Have you a pair of silent shoes?”
A distant aside: Sherlock Holmes is now fully in the public domain. I even have a text copy of the complete canon. These stories have always been favorites, and my latest AI story in 2600 Magazine features Sherlock Holmes and Watson. Having the text lets me check if certain words and phrases exist in the canon when I try to imitate Doyle’s characters. My physical, fully annotated hard copy version is full of notes. You can find the above story for free online, recommended, and one of their funnest (and shortest) stories I think.
I continued to drag through the day, having to will myself to move. I managed to talk to Deborha here and there and text often, a moment when my blood turned from molasses to normal. With the blog finally done (Sunday was a busy day), I managed to shower, add all the creams to my process, and all that. The laundry is done, some on hangers, but much of it is a pile on a rug, but clean and ready to use. I will get it folded and put away when I am not animated, but alive and moving, again. Maybe Tuesday!
My new shirt (don’t ask how much) from Disney.
The mail includes a gift from California. I saw in the USPS email that Highway 405 had sent me a letter. Yes, I used the express lane on Highway 405 without a transponder or an account, though I was under the impression (delusion?) that EVs were excluded. Nope. Pay! And because I had no account and no transponder to enjoy the pleasures of this highway, 405, that was another $25+ for failing to comply, and 405 mailed me a bill. I was bemused as I had checked the Caltrans and other websites to avoid the problem, but it did not dawn on me that 405 was a separate entity and that I would soon be fated to experience 405expresslanes.com. I paid my nearly $27 for the $1.80 toll on the website (before it doubled), wished 405 well, and hoped this special transportation entity could use my cash to pay for a better warning sign: “Don’t go ‘Express’ here, Oregonians!”
I boarded Air VW the Gray and headed to lunch. I selected Happy Panda off 185th for lunch, which serves Americanized Chinese-style food but still has a decent lunch special. They also serve hot tea and hot-and-sour soup with lunch (egg drop is the other option), and I chat with the server. We talk, her name escaping me today, about my trips and the options for Disney and Universal. The other server and she later were talking about RN vs. LPN, and I suggested to them, they did not mind me being included in the discussion, that my sister and Mom Wild were well served by getting an RN. I also suggested that a Nurse Practitioner is the next option. I suggested that RN provide more options, and that gig work might be a better choice in the future economy, which seems headed toward more gig work options.
The prices are higher, but the portion size is ridiculously huge, and I asked for extra veggies for Cashew Chicken, requesting more water chestnuts and bamboo (and less celery). It was perfect (for what it is). I read my book and now feel better with some food in me.
I next headed to Trader Joe’s off of 185th and filled my cart with many excellent items, including many frozen ones. Deborah lightened the work by calling and walking me through the store to find excellent pre-made protein pancakes (they were delicious this Tuesday morning—Deborah even sent me a picture to help find them), not frozen. I filled my cart with the components for meals I envisioned making in the next few weeks and added some goodies. I did resist the cheese spreads and wine. I left with three bags and then rolled my cart to almost the end of the parking lot. I then, once the bags were in the cargo hold, took my cart and another one from a stranger and walked them across the parking lot. Trying to work the animation off and return to the living.
Next, I went to Whole Foods, which is an Amazon entity and something I try to avoid, but this local one has excellent, fresh, high-quality meats at reasonable prices that last. Too many times have I had to toss meats from other grocery stores or had my purchases seem more like investment options than food. There, I matched Trader Joe’s cost, but with one bag (three from Joe’s). I also went with a whole chicken (raw) that is about the same cost as a cooked one at Costco, but I had not made a chicken in a long time, and I felt it was a good idea. I will also make some chicken soup with it for fun. Though Joan S is right, the Winco ones taste better (for about the same $).
Deborah suggested, and I agreed, that we could watch a show together, so I headed home, unloaded, and put everything away. I had bought some cold cuts for a muffuletta-style sandwich (with regular bread) as I had the olive/veggie spread. I got tired again, the molasses filling my blood again, and took a nap instead of watching with Deborah. We later said good night. It is excellent to start and end our days together.
I made my sandwich with good-quality cold cuts from Trader Joe’s, a slice of cheese, and olive-veggie spread. It was wonderful, but the fresh warm muffuletta bread would have been better (Deborah told me the bread gives the sandwich the name, after muffin, not the olive-veggie spread). I looked up the recipe and will consider it. I watched a show, napped again, read, watched more, and napped again.
Deborah, after being in bed, reminded me that a gift had been delivered. A book, The Humans by Matt Haig, which she recommends. I was thrilled to get a book.
I had it with the tiredness, went for a walk, and felt much better. I think the days of driving had turned me more undead than alive. The movement helped, and so did doing the usual tasks of dishes, making the bed, and checking on my Kickstarter projects (trying to resist more). I soon was reading in bed.
The day passed quickly, too quickly, and I felt better by the end. Less undead and more alive. Sadly, I drank lots of water to help me through the day and enjoyed returning to the same water about every hour throughout the night!
Thanks for reading.
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 