1. Sigh, Let's Do the Time Warp Again

I don't know about anyone else? But regardless of what I do? I'm always thrown sideways by the time change. It's dark out - and I keep thinking it's 6:58 or almost 7pm, when in reality it's only 5:58 pm and almost 6. (I really wish they'd stop doing time change back and forth.

It just occurred to me that maybe this is the inspiration behind the song (or not as the case may be? I don't really want to know either way, and regardless - I posted it on FB too, so an annoying relative will most likely tell me) - Time Warp.

2. Watched the Associate Minister's last hurrah - so to speak - or her last sermon. The church really needs to acquire a Director of Religious Education who isn't interested in becoming a minister - this is the second one they've lost to the Minister path. There's clearly something about Religious Education that calls people to become Unitarian Minister's? That and yoga.

I didn't go in person - for various reasons - I had ambivalent feelings about the Minister in question, and my church isn't the most accessible on the planet? ( Read more... ) And I wasn't exactly close to the Assoc Minister, actually I'm kind of relieved she's leaving? And I can't say I didn't agree with her sentiment that letting go of this congregation and moving on to one out on Long Island, (the Assoc Ministers always go out to Long Island for some reason - the last one went to Huntington, this one to Shelter Rock), was a good idea for all involved? The church really needed to jettison the prior leadership - the music is fine, they can keep that, but the management of the church needed to be reconfigured.

Have you ever met people that you feel you are supposed to click with or should click with - and just don't no matter what you do? Or that you do sort of like, but sense that they don't really like or understand or see you - and wish you'd go away?

That's the energy I always kind of felt from the Associate Minister? I'm learning the best approach in these situations is to - back away and give that person plenty of space. It happens to me online as well. So it's not relegated to in-person interactions.

Also I'm irritable folks. ( Read more... )

I don't know if any of that made sense. Perhaps it did? Perhaps it didn't?

3. Television

* I've given up on Outlander. It's not my cup of coco. I don't like it and there are too many other shows to watch instead.

* I finished Rainmaker S1 finally - this is on Netflix. It's a legal procedural. And among the better ones. There are a lot of twists and turns.
It's more serialized than most - and far more character centric. It's based on the book by John Grisham, except instead of a big Insurance firm being the bad guy, it's a law firm. So a blending of The Firm and Rainmaker, I think? It has a lot of Grisham's legal tropes in it. ( Read more... )
Anyhow, recommend, the above doesn't really have any spoilers, or only vague ones.

* Watched two more Angel episodes from S1, She and I've Got You Under My Skin

A. "She" is the episode with the comedic dancing from Angel and Wes, and manages to get across both characters personalities with it. Also the humor of the writers - I think they were going for Seinfield's comedic bit with Elaine and the dancing? Hollywood writers like to make fun of how people dance for some reason? ( Read more... )

[I was going to skip it - glad I didn't - you kind of need to see it, to understand the Wes/Angel and Cordy dynamic. Also, it has great character moments. I think I kind of skipped over it the first two or three times I'd watched the series. I've not watched or rewatched since roughly 2005 or thereabouts. I think the only season I've rewatched since then was S5.]

B. In I've Got You Under the Skin - the writers pull an interesting twist, actually two twists. It's another episode written by Jeannine Renshaw - who was also responsible for co-writing I Will Always Remember You, and Parting Gifts. She's known for writing for The Cleaning Lady, In the Dark, and Grey's Anatomy, among others. The episode comments heavily on The Exorcist, and kind of makes fun of it - even has the name of the priest being the same name as the director of the Exorcist, and dead. It also furthers the bond between Wes and Angel. The writers are working over-time to develop Wes and Angel's bond to equal Doyle and Angel's. ( spoilers and length )

* Watched Jurassic World: Rebirth on Peacock - this is the latest Jurassic World flick. I have a weakness for these movies and have seen all of them. I saw roughly three of them in theaters. My favorites are 1, 3, and 5, or all the ones with Sam Neil and Laura Dern in them. Film 4 wasn't bad, and slightly better than film 2. But this film is horrible. ( Read more... )

Skippable.

* Welcome to Derry - this was on HBO. It's a prequel to IT. And I can't tell if it's a satire of Stephen King horror films and books or supposed to be taken seriously? It's a bit over the top? Even the credits are over the top and tongue in cheek. It's screaming satire or parody to me? And it's not real subtle about it. Reminds me a little bit of Fallout in that respect. ( Read more... )

***

Off to bed, have to get up early for eye doctor's appointment tomorrow.

1. Now, I've got an X-ray scheduled for next Tuesday along with the doctor's appt. They went ahead and scheduled it for me. Nice of them. Means getting there earlier - but that's okay. Hopefully, it's nothing but a sciatic nerve and arthritis. Friday, Monday, and Tuesday are doctors visits - oh well at least they are all in the same location. I wish it was closer to the subway stations, but it could be worse. Ten blocks isn't that bad. (Ten-Fifteen minute walk, with sciatica and a bad knee - it may actually be a twenty minute walk, I should give myself more time to get there.). I could take a car service - but I've neither the patience or the funds for it. Also they stress me out.

I'm collecting doctors again. Appear to have slight hoarseness tonight - thinking allergies? Also, hoping I've managed to avoid digestive issues by having tuna fish on gluten free sourdough deli toast, with small salad, cucumber, celery and carrot sticks. Did have a greek yogurt bar and chocolate for desert.

2. I really wish the fund-raising charity folks would stop sending me stuff? ( the stuff I've acquired from fund-raising folks ) (I figure if I put this out there into the Universe, they will?)

3. FB neighborhood page shot out a link regarding those pesky proposals on the ballot, which I shared with my brother. [Those ballot proposals took my cubicle mate by surprise, along with a bunch of others.] Now, we know how we're voting on those vague as mud ballot proposals. (Yes, I'm voting - it's a major election for NYC City - because of the mayoral race. The race is between Cuomo, Sliwa, and Zohran Mamadani. After losing the Democratic primary, Cuomo is running as an Independent, and Sliwa is running as a Republican (he was the only candidate running for Republican). The conservative newspapers are trying to get him to pull out - which of course he won't.
Oh, the drama.

4. Lots of torrential rain fall today. (Outside of Super being unable to turn off bedroom radiator today - I wasn't affected.) So, southeastern Brooklyn had flooding in various spots. They posted a ton of photos on FB of the various spots that had been flooded around Ditmas and Flatbush in Brooklyn. Kesington for the most part was fine - when I got home - mainly because they had fixed the gutters.

Flooding in NYC, West Chester, Long Island, and New Jersey

Flooding in BedStuy

Bedstuy Brooklyn Flooding

Post on Ditmas Neighborhood Page: "Cortelyou Road is flooded. If your car is parked near Tribeca Pediatrics you should move your car. The water is rising and is almost to the top a sedan's tires.

Never mind. Someone just cleared the drain. It's all good."

It really is just a gutter problem.

ME: Are we still on for the radiator valve switch off?
Super: We had flooding in 3 building basements.
Me: Okay, not today then. Maybe next week?
Super: Okay, thanks.

I hope the basement apartment is okay. Although, honestly, you'd have to be desperate or nuts to live in a basement apartment in NYC.

***

Eh, I'll catch up on memage tomorrow.

Have a photo instead.

I didn't go out at all today - even though it was for the most part, clear blue skies, and in the mid-fifties. Combination of a sinus headache verging on a migraine, and my right knee. I've put a knee compression sleeve on it, to provide support, and I'm icing it.

Commuting is becoming difficult, because Transit failed in making its subway stations fully accessible to anyone with mobility issues. The R train is the worst line in this regard. I thought the G line was bad, but the R is worse. Install ramps, not steps. RAMPS. Transit and I are going to have words on this issue, soon.

Only watched "Great British Bake Off" episode 9, and proceeded to go to sleep during it. So had to rewind (which is close to impossible on Netflix - I swear Netflix has the worst interface). Then watched church service, which also put me to sleep. (I actually fell asleep during it.) I've not been sleeping well - due to the knee issue. Last night, I turned and somehow moved the left knee into a position - it really did not appreciate, and it woke me up. (Note to younger self - never ever run on a tread mill - and if you do, and your knees go out - hunt down an orthopedist to fix them?)

Then, after the service, I made lunch, and clocked into the congregational meeting live-streaming on Zoom. (Gotta love technology.) It was unexpectedly interesting and in some respects informative, in a positive way. ( Read more... )

After that, I tried to watch Murder in a Small Town on Hulu (it's a new Fox series, about a Police Chief and a Librarian, based on a series of books published in the 1980s. ( Read more... )

October Mememage

23. How do you dry your laundry? Indoors, outside or in a drier?

Indoors. (Outdoors is impossible where I live.) On a clothes drier hanger in my bedroom for clothing that can't be dried in a drier - and need to be laid flat, and in a drier for everything else. Occasionally, I send it out to be cleaned.

24. Do you own a calculator, or do you rely on your mental arithmetic skills?

Calculator. I can't do math in my head.

25. Have you ever had surgery?

Tonsils and wisdom teeth. Ages ago. Also a skin biopsy - it was negative. (Fingers crossed - that it never goes beyond that.)

26. Do you have a go-to ‘comfort’ novel you will return to again and again? Or do you prefer reading new fiction instead? Do you often reread books?

Yes - I have a go-to comfort novel(s). ( Read more... )

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale

Description per IMBD: "Follows Buffy Summers as she trains a new vampire slayer, to fight the forces of evil."

Pilot: "Nova, a 16-year-old bookworm, discovers she's a vampire Slayer in a rebuilt Sunnydale. During Vampire Weekend, a festival celebrating the town's dark past, vampires Jack and Shirley plan a ritual to raise a vampire army."

Only returning cast member listed from the previous series is Buffy.

Per Variety

( basically states what is stated above in less detail on plot and more on folks involved )

Spent most of my vacation attempting to quell various aches and pains, brought on by various factors, some known, some guessed at, some not?
( Read more... )

***

The UU Church has a Devotional Poetry Writing Group. I flirted with it. But I'm wary of anything regarding the writing and sharing of poetry. ( Read more... )

UU Church is also featuring a singer/song-writer for tomorrow's service, who is (apparently) popular? I hadn't heard of them before the Church newsletter told me about him - but I'm also not really into religious music? While I have, as you've no doubt figured out by now, widely diverse taste in music, there are few genres I rarely listen to? They are "traditional classical opera", "electronica" (depending on the electronica), "religious music", "gospel", "choral music", "rap" (depending on the rap), and heavy metal (depending on the heavy metal). So, as result, I hadn't come across this person, who I think is trans, and is creating queer religious music and going across the country with it.

Anyhow...I checked them out last night, and their song, entitled Ploushare Prayer by Spencer LaJoye.

Folks, they made me cry? It really moved me. I was surprised.
( Ploushare Prayer Video )
But not sure I can deal with the crowd that will converge on the church tomorrow to hear them play for free. I'll do it on Facebook or Zoom instead. No steps. Sleep in. And better acoustics, not to mention I can see more.

***

Pain and fear of large crowds kept me from participating in the No Kings Day. I hope it went well. More to the point? I hope it accomplishes something?

Ah, it's getting darker earlier now. Sunset was at 6:30. My heart goes out to my brother - whose heating and cooling system has failed him. He's tried to get it fixed multiple times. The first time, they came out, he paid them, they claimed that they fixed it. They didn't. They came out again, claimed to fix it, they didn't. Then they got bought by someone else. Who kept claiming they didn't get my brother's calls or emails, and came out, and then well up and disappeared. So he found a new company - and the whole system has to be replaced. He has a wood burning stove - but it's not going to heat the entire house, and his bedroom is one floor below it, and heat rises? And it gets cold up there? And my brother gets cold easily. [I'm so glad I rent. Let all of that be somebody else's problem. We've had hitting issues - but they tend to get resolved quickly - since there's about 100 people affected.)

****

Television

1. Weirdly I'm enjoying Angel the Series better now than I did way back when I first watched it in the late 1990s. If I was to hazard a guess - I think it would be lowered expectations, and no longer wanting Angel and Buffy to be together - or being disappointed that they aren't? I wasn't in the fandom until roughly 2002 - or midway through S6. ( Read more... ) At any rate - I'm enjoying Angel more now. Partly, because I like Angel, Wes, and Cordelia better now than I did twenty five years ago. I find them a bit more relatable and comforting. They are all a tad lost, and doing the best they can to make things work, while flailing miserably most of the time. The writers dig down into classic noir tropes.

And, I like how most of the writers veer away from the classical hero trope. For all the times, Angel succeeds, he also fails miserably. In the Scourge? The seventh or eighth episode, he attempts to sacrifice himself heroically - but his speeches to Doyle about why he sacrificed his humanity and a life with his one true love to pursue the cause, backfires on him in a huge way. ( Read more... )

Moving on to Parting Gifts - which I didn't like the first time I saw it, twenty five years ago, I do now. It's a great study in characters and contrasts. Also demonstrates how Wes, Cordy and Angel work slightly better than Doyle, Angel and Cordy did. For one thing - they get it across pretty quickly - that there are 0 romantic feelings between Angel/Cordy or Cordy/Wes. ( Read more... ). They also set up each character's skill sets. ( Read more... ) But mainly, within a short period of time - they set up the problem, the on-going villain (WRH law firm in the shadows), and the relationship dynamic between Angel, Cordy, Wes. And I realized while watching that I like all three, and all three actors in spite of myself?

I prefer watching this outside of a fandom superimposing its views onto me?
I can find it comforting and enjoyable on my own. Also, no longer caring who ends up with who, or romantic ships - makes the show more interesting?
I was never much into romantic relationships on television shows? I much prefer the platonic friendships - they are more interesting to watch, and less frustrating - particularly within the noir/horror genre.

2. The Diplomat S3 - this is fun. Want sparkling funny witty dialogue - this is it. Good actors. And excellent political satire. Also, even though the President in this series was responsible for an act of terrorism? I still prefer Allison Janey as President to the one we currently have. I'd rather live in the world of the Diplomat? Sad I know. But here we are. And, sigh, Rufus Sewell is hot. This show just makes me laugh. I'm not binging it this go around - I'm letting it last. Then I may rewatch from the beginning.

[I'm still watching Poker Face and Rain Maker on Peacock, just slowly.]

Off to get lunch soon, and then a massage at 3:15.

On the Buffy/Angel rewatch - I actually think what the writers did in the episodes Bachelor Party through Something Blue is rather clever? They managed to move Willow, Doyle, Buffy and Angel on from their first loves in an entertaining and convincing manner. Also from the metaphor - no longer are we doing the Beauty and the Beast metaphor, or the taming the wild beast in the man - or being abandoned by Daddy. We've moved on to the sick mother, or the dark mother imagery and providing women with greater agency in a relationship.

Tough to do, well. But they did it. I'm convinced by the end of Something Blue that both Willow and Buffy have to move on to someone else. And I've stopped shipping them with OZ (Willow) or Angel (Buffy) and have decided they are better off without them. Also done with the trope. Both OZ and Angel leave for more or less the same reason - they can't control the beast inside when they are around Willow and Buffy, so they have to leave. And they tend to weaken Willow and Buffy, and take away their agency. On the surface the relationships seemed great and really romantic, but in reality they were toxic to everyone involved. And, well didn't help either character grow or evolve. The writers had no choice but to somehow get this across - since Angel had moved onto his own series, and you can't have Angel and Buffy on separate shows and in a relationship. And well the actor playing OZ wanted to be written out. Doyle - was given a wife - to make him more appealing to Cordelia, and to parallel the character with Willow's situation. It doesn't quite work - but it does give him a back story, which was needed.

Sciatica is slightly better - but I've also not aggravated it too much this morning. At least the calves no longer hurt, and digestion is working better.

Started watching Rain Maker on Peacock, which stars in supporting roles, the actress who played the Evil Queen (in Once Upon a Time) as the bad ass lawyer that Rudy (the protagonist) ends up working for - "Bruiser", and John Slattery (Mad Men) as the head of the firm, that Rudy was fired from, and is fighting against. Slattery is inspired, since he doesn't come across as either a bully or evil, but likable - and that works actually.
And LP (who played the Evil Queen) is also cast against type, as the good guy rouge with the heart of gold lawyer. It's actually better than expected and based on John Grisham's novel of the same name. Grisham is an executive producer.

1. After much contemplation - I finally bit the bullet and booked a "Thai" massage for Friday.

My plans - such as they were - have kind of fallen through as a result of a combination of things - weather, sleep/exhaustion and mobility issues. Does anyone know how to heal tightened sore calve muscles? I've tried everything - yoga, stretching exercises, leg exercises, drinking lots of water, cutting back on antihistamines. Hopefully one will work. Also massage - to stretch out and re-align, because not sure how much of the pain is due to alignment. [I'm leaving calling the doctor again as a last resort - I already asked them for help, and they told me: 1) dehydration (drink more water, and limit the anithistamines) and 2) do exercises, and 3) lose weight.)

But that's okay, I'm doing other stuff - and at least I'm away from work and my body is hopefully healing - getting more sleep, and more exercise?

2. PSA: Ao3 finally posted something about how to protect yourself from scammers - probably because they'd gotten a barrage of complaints about them - if you've been posting fic, meta, any type of writing for more than a year, and have followers, on social media platforms - you've probably run across the scammers.

They pop up on live-journal and dream-width too, by the way. I've not really seen that many on WordPress or Facebook (mainly because my FB page is friends/family only and private). They are a nuisance.

3. Buffy S4 - continues to be good, and an improvement over previous seasons. The one flaw - is well - the Initiative Story-Arc, which basically just underlines how little the writers know about the military outside of watching cheesy 1960s science fiction serials. Oh well, at least they have Spike to poke fun at it - and he does.

Sunday's hippie Vampire Frat Boy: Don't drink that it's drugged.
Spike: Ugh. And you might be?
SHVFB: A rat like all the other lab rats. We're here to die. They starve us until we bite our own arm off, then feed us drugged blood ...
Spike: And they might be who exactly? The government, Nazis, a major cosmetics company?
Lab Rat: It was all fine until the slayer came in and broke up our group - we had a great thing going until she arrived.
Spike: the Slayer! I always wondered what would happen if she got some good funding behind her...

He clearly thinks more of the Slayer as a threat that well the government.

S4 Episode 7 - The Initiative - makes me wonder about the writers again.

Juliet Landau brings this up in her rewatch - so it's not just me, apparently. The writers seem to like to show the male characters in the worst light, and often emphasize their misogynistic and chauvinistic traits. ( Read more... )

It's a good episode for several stand out scenes: ( Read more... )

Pangs - I've less to say about, but I loved this episode. It has some of the best lines and banter in the entire series. Also the bantering debate between Willow, Giles, Xander, Spike, Buffy and Anya about the Native Americans and Thanksgiving is hilarious, and informative...and realistic. It reminds me of why I liked the later seasons - I really loved the addition of Anya and Spike - I liked those two characters (and actors) far better than Angel and Cordelia - they were less mopey? Whiny? And more witty. (It does depend on one's sense of humor? Angel's didn't work for me, Buffy's did.)

"And they say Romance is dead, or maybe we just wish it were?" - Buffy

"You made a Bear!" - Spike
"I didn't mean to." - Buffy
"Undo it! Undo it!" - Spike

"It's a sham, with yams. It's a yam sham!"
"You won't be able to jokingly rhyme your way out of this one!"

[Actually, it just occurred to me? Buffy and Spike hit it off - because they are both poets and sardonic quips. They like to make fun of things.]

Pangs is proof that Buffy succeeded because the writers could write dialogue. According to the Juliette Landau rewatch - when she interviewed Charles Martin Smith one of the Buffy directors - Whedon had a tendency to write pages of dialogue, no set direction, no camera direction, no action - just dialogue. And from what I've read - he was the go-to guy for good dialogue. And came from Roseanne - which had great comedic dialogue and one liners. Say what you will about Whedon - he was a good script writer. Might have been a horrific boss that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy - but he could churn out a good script, and tended to find other writers who could.

4. Finished another S1 episode of Poker Face- this is the Rian Johnson series that stars Natasha Lyon as a kind of Columbo style detective, in a stealth anthology series. The only on-going link in the series is Lyon's Charlie, who is a former card counter/gambling security checker on the run from the Mob (and any law enforcement associated with it). She takes odd jobs here and there, and cleverly solves mysteries along the way. The odd jobs range from sweeping up hair in a barber shop to assisting a special effects film director. She drives a ratty old 1970s era Cad, that looks like it was picked off the lot of Starsky and Hutch. And each episode features older rather famous actors (much as Columbo and Murder She Wrote did back in the day). The episode I just watched had Nick Nolte, Cherry Jones, and Luz Guzman.

Like all stealth anthology series - some episodes are better than others. It's not really binge material. I watch it sporadically. It does require some attention or focus though, and it has commercials - although they aren't intrusive.

If you like Rian Johnson (who is admittedly an acquired taste), Natasha Lyonn (also an acquired taste and the female version of Peter Falk), and Columbo/Alfred Hitchcock/Agatha Christie style mysteries - this is for you.

This episode was written and directed by Natasha Lyon. I'm impressed by Nolte who is still acting at 84, and doing a great job of it. (Nolte is another one of my actor crushes.)

I should have posted this previously? If you get this comment anywhere, it's fraudulent.

[Comment left on "Buffy vs. the Buffy Comic Writers" on September 13, 2025]

Hello shadowkat67,
Hope you’re doing well.
I just wrapped up reading your story, and I truly couldn’t put it down. The imagery you create with your words is so strong that I immediately pictured it as a comic or animation.
I’m Flossie, an artist working mainly with comics, manga, and illustrations. What I enjoy most is collaborating with writers to give their stories visual life.
If you’re curious, I’d be glad to share some samples and talk about turning your work into a comic.
You can find me at:
Discord: floessie_the_artist
Instagram: flossie_the_artist
Email: floessietheartist@gmail.com

Looking forward to your reply :)
Cheers,
Flossie

They've contacted a lot of writers on Ao3.

I blatantly ignored them, after having read about them commenting on another social media friend's fic at Ao3 several months prior - that friend had already reported them to Ao3.

Although I didn't really consider mine a fic - so much as a meta-commentary of the comics. So, I rolled my eyes.

I've gotten a lot of these solicitations over the years. Folks? Don't solicit people that you don't personally know on social media platforms for work. Just don't. We aren't going to pay you. We don't trust you. It's a social media platform, we're all using pseudonyms. Hullo?

Well, the Sketchers UNO Black Sneakers finally got delivered. That was a lot of stress and bother over a pair of sneakers. I'm not ordering that again. ( Read more... )

Also I turned my mattress, and made the bed up clean this morning. The heat came on around 9, so I had to turn on some fans. But it's off now, and the apartment is a comfortable 73-76 degrees. No A/C, no heat. One small fan, and the window fan in the bedroom which I reversed the air flow to the outdoors.

Sciatica is slightly better? Still hurts when I get up, and I got to walk for a bit. I'm definitely taking up chair and bed yoga again. I'm hunting a balance disc.

***

Made a pot of chili last night - using my mother's recipe, with some tweaks and from memory. ( Read more... )

Today - Had wild albacore tuna fish, celery, chopped onions and Helman's Mayo mixed together on seeded gluten free sourdough, toasted in George Foreman grill for lunch. It was a tasty lunch.

Breakfast was fried eggs, greens, and radishes. And some apple cinnamon almond flour muffins with walnuts.

Snack - green apple dipped in dark melted chocolate and walnut butter.

***

I indulged another actor crush today - and watch Cillian Murphy's latest film - Steve - which just popped up on Netflix. ( Read more... )

(My actor crushes are: ( Read more... )

Christian Bale and Cate Blanchette are in another flick that just dropped on Netflix - "Knight of Cups" - which I found today. I thought - oh, goody, then oh damn - Netflix. Netflix has the worst interface of all the streamers. It crashes. You can't find anything on it. It's almost impossible to fast forward, pause, or rewind. It has a tendency to keep going to the next episode without telling you. And it is often unavailable - while I have no issues with Hulu or Disney + or HBO. Prime is getting wonky too.

You will have to pry my streaming channels along with my books and Apple music account out of my cold dead hands. ( Read more... )

Memage

9. Did you ever have one of those ‘magic’ painting books where you used water on the paper to bring out the colours when you were small?

I asked my mother about it. She had one. But I didn't, nor did my brother. So maybe they weren't a thing in the 1970s? She also didn't bother with coloring books, paint by numbers oils, or any of that - preferring to encourage us to draw and paint our own things, finger paint, use paints, brushes, pencils, and blank paper.

My mother was a frustrated artist and art teacher, who had horrible teachers - who told her she wasn't any good. ( rant about evil culture vultures/arbiters of taste who deserve to choke on their tongues )

10. It’s World Porridge (oatmeal) Day! Are you a fan?

I am. But I don't think it likes me all that much? ( Read more... ) I eat eggs over greens instead - easier to digest. Or coconut yogurt and nuts.

11. Do you own/use a food processor or blender?

Yes, but I rarely use it. I am single. It's huge. And I don't process much. Food digests better when I don't?

The phrase..."they shoot horses, don't they" comes to mind, it's also the title of a film about people killing themselves participating in an insane dance marathon.

To the tune of ... Bad Day by REM...[BTW - there's one too many songs with the title "Bad Day" (and quite a few are NOT to my liking - I do not like David Powters) - it took me forever to find REM's because I forgot it was REM who did the song that I actually liked. I couldn't remember the title nor the band, just that it was about a Bad Day.]

I woke up early this morning with my alarm - after a restless night of bad dreams - only to discover that my right leg just wasn't functioning. It did not want to go to work this morning. At all. [Of course - I ignored it, and dragged it to work anyhow. Because it's better to walk off sciatica then to baby it, or so I'm told. Also, I didn't want to risk getting into trouble for trying to take a sick day prior to vacation. ]

It felt like someone was sticking hot needles in it from the hip to the toes. Frigging Sciatic Nerve - probably the result of constipation/digestive issues or sleeping wrong or throwing things out of alignment...ugh. Frak, Frak, Frak.

( Fighting the Sciatic Nerve All Day )

****

I checked email - only to discover that no, Fed-EX did not deliver the shoes. They ignored my message in the door. Took a picture of it, told me that no one was there, and they required a signature. So blatantly ignored the signed form. I called them, talked to them in person at the FedEX across the street, and even did virtual chat.

( I spent the day futilely fighting with FedEx and my sciatic nerve )

During the Teams Meeting today - I was distracted by sciatic nerve, back pain, and well the Fed Ex issue. So it was hard to focus on what they were talking about. And the meeting didn't go well, or I didn't feel it did? I probably wasn't the best judge.

Outside of that? I was bored out of my mind, and I hurt. So I ate three chocolate chip cookies (one left over from the day they gave me two free ones). I'm turning into the Cookie Monster. Must stop.

Off to make dinner, and maybe lunch? And watch more television. And try not to pray for someone to put me out of my misery.