State of me, kind of...
Oct. 27th, 2022 09:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatI was going to take tomorrow or Monday as a personal day - but I ended up with negotiation teams meetings being scheduled by project management on both days. Damn them.
Oh well, I can always take next Friday or Veterans Day. Or the middle of the week for that matter.
I have 10 vacation days and one personal day remaining. I'm trying to take the vacation days around election day (we get it off) and Thanksgiving. Also throw the personal day in there somewhere, with 7 days at Christmas.
I informed BB and BYT that I have non-refundable tickets to see my widowed mother for Xmas, it's only 7 days - at the very end of the month.
Mother informed me that my brother isn't available for Thanksgiving - he's going to Rhode Island to visit his friend who has a beach house up there.
No surprise - that's the reason I was procrastinating asking - because I had a feeling that was the case. Mother queried about Hudson - apparently its walkable, and there are nice B&B's and Wales and I could rent a car up there, and tool around.
I don't know if I want to do it for Thanksgiving though. Too many idiots on the road. I prefer not to travel on that holiday.
**
Wales wants to see the movie TAR this weekend. I don't know, I'm on the fence. I'd have to wear a mask during it, and I'm tired of wearing masks.
But I also miss going to movies in movie theaters. You focus more on the movie in a movie theater - it's easier to get immersed, also there's a cool energy/connection with the audience that just isn't present at home. OTOH, with the advent of cell phones - movie audiences have become increasingly annoying.
***
Laundry was eventful. When I went down to put my laundry in the dryer - the basement smelled like burnt rice - until I got to the laundry room and ended up in a coughing fit. It was smokey. The Basement Apartment had clearly burnt their dinner. (There's a Bengali family that lives there who doesn't speak much if any English, and has five generations all in one small apartment. I'm serious they brought their entire family over and into that apartment. )
I coughed for about five minutes, until I gave up and put on my mask (which helped greatly - they are actually useful for . Then I had to wait for 20 minutes to put my wet clothes in the dryer. Since there was only one available - for the sheets. The other two were taken by a man (who I think is Chinese) with a thick (I think Chinese) accent, and his daughter. (I've worked with a lot of folks from Asia over the years, and am getting pretty good at figuring out accent and area, but am far from infallible.) (He came down 30 minutes later.) The wet clothes didn't smell of smoke - neither the ones I put in the dryer, nor the ones I hung up to air dry. But what I was wearing did. I warned him that it was smokey in the basement, but had mostly dissipated.
The difficulty with my work right now - along with the commute - is there often isn't much patience, time, or energy left over for other things, like doing laundry.
I miss the days when I didn't have to do it that often - but alas, I am going through menopause/peri-menopause, and hello hot flashes and sweats.
I sweat through my clothes - so they leave my body and are in the hamper.
And I have to do them more frequently as a result.
Apartment complexes in huge cities are interesting and require patience and tolerance for others. There's a lot of shared spaces. I share the elevators, the recycling in the basement, storage, laundry, mail area, stairs, halls, front stoop, street, and lobby with other people. Weirdly for such a big building with so many units, I rarely see people. I don't see them that often, and if I do, it's not always the same ones. I rarely see the same people doing laundry for example.
And it's a diverse building, everyone lives here. I see everyone. So when I say people are pretty much alike regardless - I'm speaking from experience.
**
The commute was aggravating. On the train from Jamaica to Atlantic Avenue Terminal - which is about thirty minutes, I have to get up and walk down the aisle to the exit, and stand at the exit ten minutes before the train gets into the station. If I don't do this - I will end up standing in a line to get off the train, and risk missing my subway connection, and getting home a half-hour to an hour later. It's best to be first off if I can hack it - since most people amble off trains, usually playing with their cell phone while they go. And getting up the steps and out, will take forever. Anyhow, today - I ran into an electric mo-pad or motorcycle. It was being charged, and taking up half the exit section. I asked the guy if he could unplug it and move it to one side. He did. And then he proceeded to flip on and off the headlights from white to red and back again.
I told this to mother over the phone.
Mother: a motorcyle?
Me: Yes.
Mother: On the train?
Me: Yes. Although more like an electric mo-pad, but about the same size as a motorcycle, so yes, an electric charged motorcycle.
Mother: How? They allow that?
ME: Scooters, electric scooters, bikes of all shapes and sizes...it is an obstacle we have to deal with on public transportation.
Honestly, if you want to ride a bike or scooter of any sort? You shouldn't be allowed to bring it on trains or ride on sidewalks. Take your chances with the cars on the highway. If they kill you? Good riddance. Park it in a parking lot or side street like people do with their cars.
***
Mother also advised that she had a friend who had to sober up a US President once - and had to take him into her home to do it. We were talking about alcoholism. Mother figured out it had to be Clinton - since it took place on Hilton Head, and he was the only one who visited the island frequently. We were talking about Matthew Perry and got on the topic.
Mathew Perry apparently said something derogatory in his memoir about Keanu Reeves, and people on Twitter were attacking him for it. He's not the only actor whose not a fan of Keanu - Jeff Daniels thinks the man is an idiot.
I'm not a fan of Keanu Reeves - the appeal of that actor is lost on me. Actually, I don't get the appeal of several popular actors: Keanu Reeves, Ben Stiller, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Johnny Depp.
***
And they apparently are doing a 14th Doctor and a 15th Doctor. I've not seen it yet, but I've been spoiled by Twitter. Thank you, Twitter. You are very good at spoilers. Not much else. But definitely good at spoilers.
Oh well, I can always take next Friday or Veterans Day. Or the middle of the week for that matter.
I have 10 vacation days and one personal day remaining. I'm trying to take the vacation days around election day (we get it off) and Thanksgiving. Also throw the personal day in there somewhere, with 7 days at Christmas.
I informed BB and BYT that I have non-refundable tickets to see my widowed mother for Xmas, it's only 7 days - at the very end of the month.
Mother informed me that my brother isn't available for Thanksgiving - he's going to Rhode Island to visit his friend who has a beach house up there.
No surprise - that's the reason I was procrastinating asking - because I had a feeling that was the case. Mother queried about Hudson - apparently its walkable, and there are nice B&B's and Wales and I could rent a car up there, and tool around.
I don't know if I want to do it for Thanksgiving though. Too many idiots on the road. I prefer not to travel on that holiday.
**
Wales wants to see the movie TAR this weekend. I don't know, I'm on the fence. I'd have to wear a mask during it, and I'm tired of wearing masks.
But I also miss going to movies in movie theaters. You focus more on the movie in a movie theater - it's easier to get immersed, also there's a cool energy/connection with the audience that just isn't present at home. OTOH, with the advent of cell phones - movie audiences have become increasingly annoying.
***
Laundry was eventful. When I went down to put my laundry in the dryer - the basement smelled like burnt rice - until I got to the laundry room and ended up in a coughing fit. It was smokey. The Basement Apartment had clearly burnt their dinner. (There's a Bengali family that lives there who doesn't speak much if any English, and has five generations all in one small apartment. I'm serious they brought their entire family over and into that apartment. )
I coughed for about five minutes, until I gave up and put on my mask (which helped greatly - they are actually useful for . Then I had to wait for 20 minutes to put my wet clothes in the dryer. Since there was only one available - for the sheets. The other two were taken by a man (who I think is Chinese) with a thick (I think Chinese) accent, and his daughter. (I've worked with a lot of folks from Asia over the years, and am getting pretty good at figuring out accent and area, but am far from infallible.) (He came down 30 minutes later.) The wet clothes didn't smell of smoke - neither the ones I put in the dryer, nor the ones I hung up to air dry. But what I was wearing did. I warned him that it was smokey in the basement, but had mostly dissipated.
The difficulty with my work right now - along with the commute - is there often isn't much patience, time, or energy left over for other things, like doing laundry.
I miss the days when I didn't have to do it that often - but alas, I am going through menopause/peri-menopause, and hello hot flashes and sweats.
I sweat through my clothes - so they leave my body and are in the hamper.
And I have to do them more frequently as a result.
Apartment complexes in huge cities are interesting and require patience and tolerance for others. There's a lot of shared spaces. I share the elevators, the recycling in the basement, storage, laundry, mail area, stairs, halls, front stoop, street, and lobby with other people. Weirdly for such a big building with so many units, I rarely see people. I don't see them that often, and if I do, it's not always the same ones. I rarely see the same people doing laundry for example.
And it's a diverse building, everyone lives here. I see everyone. So when I say people are pretty much alike regardless - I'm speaking from experience.
**
The commute was aggravating. On the train from Jamaica to Atlantic Avenue Terminal - which is about thirty minutes, I have to get up and walk down the aisle to the exit, and stand at the exit ten minutes before the train gets into the station. If I don't do this - I will end up standing in a line to get off the train, and risk missing my subway connection, and getting home a half-hour to an hour later. It's best to be first off if I can hack it - since most people amble off trains, usually playing with their cell phone while they go. And getting up the steps and out, will take forever. Anyhow, today - I ran into an electric mo-pad or motorcycle. It was being charged, and taking up half the exit section. I asked the guy if he could unplug it and move it to one side. He did. And then he proceeded to flip on and off the headlights from white to red and back again.
I told this to mother over the phone.
Mother: a motorcyle?
Me: Yes.
Mother: On the train?
Me: Yes. Although more like an electric mo-pad, but about the same size as a motorcycle, so yes, an electric charged motorcycle.
Mother: How? They allow that?
ME: Scooters, electric scooters, bikes of all shapes and sizes...it is an obstacle we have to deal with on public transportation.
Honestly, if you want to ride a bike or scooter of any sort? You shouldn't be allowed to bring it on trains or ride on sidewalks. Take your chances with the cars on the highway. If they kill you? Good riddance. Park it in a parking lot or side street like people do with their cars.
***
Mother also advised that she had a friend who had to sober up a US President once - and had to take him into her home to do it. We were talking about alcoholism. Mother figured out it had to be Clinton - since it took place on Hilton Head, and he was the only one who visited the island frequently. We were talking about Matthew Perry and got on the topic.
Mathew Perry apparently said something derogatory in his memoir about Keanu Reeves, and people on Twitter were attacking him for it. He's not the only actor whose not a fan of Keanu - Jeff Daniels thinks the man is an idiot.
I'm not a fan of Keanu Reeves - the appeal of that actor is lost on me. Actually, I don't get the appeal of several popular actors: Keanu Reeves, Ben Stiller, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Johnny Depp.
***
And they apparently are doing a 14th Doctor and a 15th Doctor. I've not seen it yet, but I've been spoiled by Twitter. Thank you, Twitter. You are very good at spoilers. Not much else. But definitely good at spoilers.
