What's up with you?

[vremya]

I wish I was a tea person, but it just doesn't do it for me.

[specious_reasons]

Tea works OK for me, and it does hit different. It also seems to be less effective, but that may also be the blend I'm using.

I think, unfortunately, that the one instance of getting a really irritated stomach has made me more sensitive to the acids in the coffee. It doesn't help that I'm almost always drinking coffee on an empty stomach. I have mitigated this at home by making lattes, but I'm also planning on descaling my coffee maker and being consistent about using freshly ground beans.

I'll be really, really disappointed if I can't order coffee "black, like my men" ever again.

[JoeP]

Tea is life

[Pan Narrans]

[Miss Shelby]

I was moving boxes in our shed and dropped one on my foot. It wasn’t a big deal it hurt but nothing major. Not long after that same day I was lifting hand weights, a five pound and a two pound together when the five pound slipped as I was lifting it up in front. It dropped on my left foot breaking 3 of my toes. I’m now in a boot on light duty. Which is driving me insane because I’m used to 10 grand steps a day at work only. And it hurts like a fucking bitch.

[Miss Shelby]

I was moving boxes in our shed and dropped one on my foot. It wasn’t a big deal it hurt but nothing major. Not long after that same day I was lifting hand weights, a five pound and a two pound together when the five pound slipped as I was lifting it up in front. It dropped on my left foot breaking 3 of my toes. I’m now in a boot on light duty. Which is driving me insane because I’m used to 10 grand steps a day at work only. And it hurts like a fucking bitch.

[specious_reasons]

Rather than get nosebleed seats, when I learned the Boulet Brothers were coming back to Seattle, I booked main floor seats and just hoping everyone can go.

[vremya]

I got new glasses after wearing my last pair for at least 5 years. Seeing clearly is pretty damn cool.

And all hail Zenni - $100 for bifocals

[specious_reasons]

Mrs. Reasons is listening to music, and I hear "Titanium" come on. This makes me want to rewatch M3gan.

[Ensign Steve]

This morning I learned all about the exquisite pain of having an eyelash trapped between my eye and my contact lens. Fun way to start my day.

[Ari]

I think I may be indirrectly feeding the ground rodents through the crows. The front lawns have quite a bit of gopher activity and while it may just be normal for this time of year I do wonder if the crows have been stashing the full almonds in the lawn for future keeping.

Now that they know I give food, I've been doing it more direct, tossing it to them and only giving them a few extra. When the ravens see, they often bully the crows out of the way so I've taken to giving them two small amounts instead of one big one in hopes everyone gets a snack instead of one bully getting a ton to cache.

While the ravens just snap the almonds apart the crows seem to need to sit them on a hard surface and peck them so I've been snapping them for the crows in hopes they're the right size to quickly down instead of store away.

[specious_reasons]

Mount Baker made a surprise visit — we could see it out of the office window. If only we had such clear weather on Monday.

[specious_reasons]

While my mother was alive, I would sometimes get calls from random hospital numbers or doctors offices. Now, I don't have any known reason for randos to call me. After years of getting calls from random headhunters and spammy services, I have decided to turn back on the "Silence Unknown Callers" setting.

[Sock Puppet]

I handle it like These Kids Today - just never answer the damned phone (unless it's one of the rare people I actually want to talk to).

[vremya]

It goes to voicemail if I don't recognize the number.

I have the same phone number as someone with a string of unpaid bills and I keep calls for her. It's kind of amusing - I can track when her debts get sold to another collector

[vremya]

It goes to voicemail if I don't recognize the number.

I have the same phone number as someone with a string of unpaid bills and I keep calls for her. It's kind of amusing - I can track when her debts get sold to another collector

[LarsMac]

I leave my phone on silent, and it is set to vibrate when I get a message.

Friends usually just text.

[specious_reasons]

Most people text - but some activities, like dealing with an accountant or lawyer are best done on the phone when email is insufficient. Still, those people would be in my contacts, or they'd leave a message and get added as a contact soon enough.

[fragment]

Had a bit of a family crisis that really tipped my shaky emotional balance, so I haven't visited here for a bit. Might feel up to dropping by occasionally again...

[LarsMac]

We were caught up in a fairly major Storm last night that was kicking up minor Tornadoes with hail.

The RV had the bedroom Fan/Vent cover, and covers for Bath vent and skylight smashed in.
Gathered all the bedding and cushions and spread them out on the garage apron, to dry some and spent a couple hours on the roof trying to salvage the skylight cover and reassemble a fan system.
So far, so good.

I sit down on the porch to have a Cuppa Joe, and a big ass raindrop splashed the cup. I look up and what'y'know! More rain rolling in. So, now, all the bedding and cushions and comforters are in the daughter's garage hangin over all her tools n'shit. tryna stay out of the new rain.

And the Weather service is talkin maybe new hail storms could be blowing in.

[Ari]

My uncle on the east coast flew out for a multi-class reunion so I took a few day trip to Oroville to visit him, my Mom, Aunt and assorted cousins. Got to see everyone, went up to Lake Oroville to visit my drinking water. The mile long earthen damn is also pretty amazing. Made part of the trip on Amtrak which was quite pretty, I could easily see justifying half the $27 ticket price as 'sight seeing' as the train goes along the suisun bay and in the fields. Overall a good trip.

Ensign Steve
California Sober

Introduced this term to my cousin and her husband, who grow their own but are otherwise sober, so assuming they remember this will have spread to the forests of Portola.

[LarsMac]

Well, stepdaughter is mad at me, now.
She has been keeping Chickens and we enjoy the steady supply of Eggs.
Recently she complained that the Rooster has been becoming rather aggressive.
I never gave it much thought. She complains a lot about stuff, but on the occasion that I actually did something about it, she seldom appreciated it. She had a really bad marriage some years back, to a very abusive person, whom I actually offered on a few occasions to shoot, but she declined. But, that's another story.

Well, she mentioned wanting to off the Rooster a few times, and I never yet offered to take him out.
She mentioned the rooster to neighbor across the street the other day.
This morning, he showed up at the door with his grandson, a high school senior, and when I answered the door, he says, "Does daughter still want that rooster shot?"
Umm, I go back in and ask, "Yes." she says, "Why?"
"Well, John from across the road has grandson along, and thinks the kid can take out your bird."
So, off they go to the henhouse, The kid has this little .22 plinker, and they are discussing the best way to do the deed.

They are going to pop him right there in the chicken enclosure. I suggested that might be a tad unnerving for the Hens, to pop him right there in front of them. Of course it might let them know who's the boss, too.

Well, apparently, I've complicated the situation, and now the kid is not sure he can off the Bird with all his girls watching.

It's been an hour, now.
No pops or bangs, the rooster is still crowing, and no sign of the the neighbor or his boy.
The daughter came in the house with a hand full of fresh eggs, and I said, "How's it going?"
She put the eggs in a bowl, and walked back out without saying a word.

Will the Cock crow another day, or is his number up?
Time will tell.

[LarsMac]

For whom the Cock Crows, Part 2.

Well, the deed is done. Poor ol' Ralphie has met his fate.
The kid picked his spot, and fired. Ralphie went own.
Then Ralphie got up, flopped around a bit, and went down.
(I wasn't watching. Just repeating the story I got.)

So, Daughter defeathers the poor guy and then brings him into the kitchen and begins disassembly.
I mentioned that from what I remember, you're supposed to hang the critter for a while and then process it over a day or two maybe even three. I remember Grandma would have a bird done in on Thursday for a Sunday Dinner. (Usually Gramps would off its head, and the victim would hang in the barn or the cooler for a day.)
This guy was in the crock pot an hour after he was dispatched. I said, that's gonna be one tough bird.
To her credit, if she gets conflicting information, she will go out on the Web, and try to find out for herself.
She looked it up.
What'd'ya know? I was right.

So, we're having Pizza tonight.

[michio]

3:00 A.M. insomnia thoughts.

I blinked and my son has been with us 6 months now. I know the other parents reading this are smirking and thinking, "Just wait until you blink and he's out in the world doing his own thing and being his own person."

When people talk about the difficulties of becoming a new parent, it seems like a lot of it is couched in terms of the logistics and financial strain, which is true of course. But something my wife and I both experienced was suddenly feeling like completely different people and the existential anxieties that come with that.

This put a strain on our relationship because the dynamic between us suddenly changed in a significant way, on top of a new 24/7 stressor. It seems like there's an acceptance stage that has to happen with both people when having a child in order to keep the relationship stable. There's a death of the old relationship and a start of a new one. Both people have to move on from the old relationship and embrace the new one. Failure to do this can certainly split people apart who previously sincerely loved each other.

I can easily see how some people are living a life that isn't conducive to being a good parent, or a parent at all, and unwilling to give up their old life, this leads to them splitting up or being an absent or abusive parent.

Both of us have been having mood swings for a variety of reasons. Lately we've been hot and cold with each other and are constantly apologizing to each other about our behavior.

Our friends and family like to talk about our seemingly perfect relationship, but I can assure you, it isn't. We've had our ups and downs over the years, and this has been a challenge for us so far.

My friend and I were talking about how aging is very non-linear. Not just in rate of change, but we have different ages and maturities depending on the specific situation we're in or aspect of our life that we're talking about. Aging feels like chapters in a book to me. We remain a specific age, which could last for years, in a specific dimension or collection of dimensions in our life. Then something significant happens, and it's time for a birthday cake.

Around month 2 to 3 of being a parent was when it started to sink in that I am actually a parent now, and that's when I suddenly felt way older.

Non-linearity.

In the past I've read discussions online from people where someone would be like, "Any other 30, 40, 50 year olds out there look in the mirror and still see a 20 year old?" For me, honestly no. I can't relate. I think in my mid-20s I felt like an 18 year old, but when I look in the mirror, I see a 30-something year old looking back. Even being half-asian, and therefore looking a bit young for my age, I don't see a 20 year old looking back. If I see an old picture of myself, I see a total stranger in that picture. That guy doesn't exist anymore and good riddance. I used to be a 4chan nazi incel. Let's not revive that guy.

By the way, when I see other parents in public now that have more than 1 kid, I'm like, "How the hell do you do it? Respect. Also why would you do that to yourself holy shit bro." haha

Let's try to sleep again, good night.

[JoeP]

Yes.