Short Stories

The bloggity post also known as Drafts Languishing in the Ether

 Today is an unscheduled, non-work day for me.  The database is being updated so I have nothing to do.  Why am I sitting at the computer, you might have just asked.  Because: habit. I am a creature of habit, who needs routine to function properly in society. Although I did sleep in, so that was nice. But now I'm sitting here with my coffee and croissant, trying to figure out what I'm going to do today.  I will deal with unfinished bloggity posts, that's what I'll do.

The start of school - colloquially called Start Up - has begun for me.  I had a lot of work to do for about a week, a tiny break, then a lot of work, and now another tiny break.  Next week will be back to "normal" with a regular schedule.  However, I still have a lessened caseload for right now.  I'm happy about that as I transition from working in an office to officially working from home AND zippy twist: going paperless.  Usually I would have two huge stacks of forms to process - tandemly - and now it's all online.  I think I like it.   I'm very happy about the smaller carbon footprint.

It's raining, finally.  It rained off and on over the past few days but it was more just enough to make everything damp versus RAIN. We have had a warm and dry summer so this is very welcome.  It also makes it feel like Fall and I'm ambivalent about that right now.  I do kind of want to go stand in it though.  The last time I did and my little mossy PNW heart grew two sizes.

I started the photo project again.  I find it funny that Kevin is already over it.  Stand in line, buddy. To be fair, it's spread across the coffee table and floor since Saturday night.  I have kind of lost my way by stopping in frustration those months ago. I had it in my head that I was starting a new album, once I sorted those photos again. Upon doing that, I discovered that I was wrong.  So, learn from my alphabet brain caused mistake: finish the project.

Oh, and here's a thing.  Kevin's mom had some photos that were 5x7 and panoramic sized. She had a dollar store kind of photo album that I tried to put everything in but there were too many.  And panoramic photos are cool but what do you do with them.  Anyway, I glanced at it again and had that horrible game of "She's dead, she's dead, he's dead..."  Almost everyone in the album is dead now.  YIKES.  I set it aside to talk to Kevin about because while I'm sure that she would like to see those photos, there's no way it doesn't make her sad.  Kevin had no idea what to do and just shrugged "You can ask her, I guess."  

The other day I took something over to her and brought that album.  I explained the above: that I don't have a proper album for them and that I'm sure she'd like to see the photos BUT "Pardon the bluntness, everyone in there is dead now."  I set it on the kitchen table and she left it there.  Last night Kevin mentioned that his mom told him "Surely said she didn't have room for this album but I think she just wanted me to have it." Oh my heart. I mean, c'mon.  So, I guess she was happy with her Dead People Album and we'll play along with her story.

Kevin's mom just commented on a unflattering to a certain political party meme that Kevin's childhood best friend posted.  All she said was "Not funny."  Kevin phoned to tell me, laughing like a kid whose sibling just got in trouble. (Because he did.)  Nothing like having your surrogate mom slap you down via social media.  Well, you might be thinking that it's a pretty benign comment.  It's WHO posted it that matters.  She doesn't comment usually and a quiet chastise is EVERYTHING.  Now we wait.  Does he apologize? unlikely.  Does he phone Kevin? maybe.  Learn not to post such things? unlikely.

In a quest to slightly less resent the question "What's For Dinner?"  I've tried to figure out new things to make.  One of Kevin's favorite is a breaded/baked fish, like fish sticks but a little more restaurant quality.  It is not my favorite.  It also requires the timing of having everything ready at once that I just don't possess. Then, allergic to mayonnaise/tartar sauce now.  So I finally figured out I could make what the kids used to call ChickenFish, but my version.  He can have his fish and I will have chicken strips.  The cooking time is approximately the same, etc.  And everyone is happy.  This is one of those things that one wonders that I didn't think of it sooner.

I have been listening to the Craig Ferguson Show on the youtube while I work.  I remain heartbroken some *cough* years later that he stopped doing the show.  I was more than a few episodes in when I realized I missed a giant opportunity:  When I named the roomba "Rosie" after the Jetsons, I missed the opportunity to name it Geoff Peterson and now I'm so mad at myself.

What else?  Oh, Lucy broke my nose. I KNOW, RIGHT.  We were at the coffee stand and she took a treat from one of the girls, spun around on my lap and WHAM, head-butted me.  I actually saw stars.  Both girls stopped what they were doing because I guess it made a sound.  Even Lucy was a little "wutjusthappened"   After a minute or two, I gathered myself up and continued on with my day.  I knew it had probably broken but there was nothing to be done.  It broke when I was seventeen so I remembered what that felt like and raised by wolves so I just dealt with it then too.

Sure enough, once I got home later that afternoon, my nose had bruised down one side.  I fully expected a black eye the next morning but I got "lucky" and didn't.  But it was sore and bruised for weeks. Perfect timing for mandated masking again.  At one point, I moved it around, tugged, and pulled until I heard a pop.  I assumed that I had reset it.  It rebruised so I figured that was progress.  Fast forward about a month and my chiropractor checked it and declared it set so well done me with my homegrown medical skills.

Hmmm, looking around. I think that's it right now.  First Days of School, Kevin's Mom, ChickenFish, Geoff Peterson, and Broken Nose.