Feeling smart this morning

Posted on November 30, 2020 by A Dreamer

I remembered to make my pitcher of cold brew yesterday and it’s rainy and yucky and gross this morning. It is nice to not have to go out in it for my caffeine fix.

Unfortunately, this is weather will probably torpedo any plans I had to get in a quick walk at lunch. (Had a three day streak going there, and I’ll admit, yes, yes, it did feel pretty good.) But I also realized upon opening the fridge this morning that we need more milk (a lot of boxed mashed potatoes have been made in the past 5 days) so that would have done it in anyway.

Never did get logged on to the work laptop yesterday, so who knows what the day will bring! When I logged off on Wednesday, I don’t recall thinking “next week will suck”, so it probably won’t be too terrible, whatever is on tap.

Moderna is going for emergency use authorization for its vaccine, YAY! I know it’s going to be a while before I’ll be able to get it (and I am not even sure how to get it, to be brutally honest) – but I feel…lighter? Just better in general knowing its going to be out there and folks will be getting it – every person getting those shots is one person who not only can’t get it – but can’t spread it. That right there will help.

Though no one asked me (they never do) – here’s my distribution list:
– Health care workers
– First responders
– Locations with outbreak risk: Long term care centers, Prisons & jails (yes), meat processing plants. (But execs at those plants that killed people? Last in fucking line.)
– Essential workers in constant contact with the public – grocery store workers would be my first sub-group there.
– At-risk groups – immunocompromised and elderly come to mind first – I am sure I am not thinking of other specific at-risk groups, but they go here.
– Teachers, students, everyone at day care centers
– The rest of us

So yeah, I’m in that last group, and that’s OK. Everyone who can get the vaccine before me lessens my risk of getting it. (Not that I’m going to change my precautions until 2 weeks after that second jab, and even then, I’m wondering if I can go back and get an antibody test to make sure I had an immune response, cause that’s how I roll these days.) Zero idea even where I’d be able to get it as I don’t have a GP. Health department? Local pharmacy like with flu shots? Urgent care center?

I know it will all be sorted soon enough, BUT I WANT TO PLAN NOW!! While most of my post-vaccine plans involve eating indoors (SO MUCH EATING) – there are so many little dumb things I am looking forward to. Getting my hair done. Reading a book at my bar. Spending more than 15 minutes in a shop. (Target, I’m looking at you.) Oh, and hugging people. I miss that quite a lot.

Let’s just do our level best to get through the winter. We can do it. We really can – it will suck, but my god we can do it and it will be worth it.

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Well, that long weekend flew by

Posted on November 29, 2020 by A Dreamer

As much as I love my job, I could use a couple more days off. As it is, I’m going to have to log on this afternoon just to make sure I have a handle on what this coming week is going to bring. Sure, I could wait until tomorrow, but I’d rather hit the sack tonight having a mental plan of what needs to be done rather than logging on in the morning and going, “Oh fuck me.”

We’re still plowing through the leftovers here, and I have yet to make anything proper, LOL. It’s just been “grab a hunk o’ turkey and chow down.” It’s been the ultimate grab & go food the past couple days. I do love me some lazy food these days. If you have a lazy food that’s working for you – well done, you do what you need to do, cause eating is important and everything is hard right now.

I walked again yesterday! No idea how far, since three apps on my phone gave me three different distances! Apparently I need music & Pokemon to keep my mind off the rest of the world. Which kinda pisses me off, because I used to be able to exercise in silence and didn’t end angrier than when I started. But, at least I’ve identified the problem and hopefully will be able to translate that into getting out of the house a little more. Plus, Pokemon! (Yes, I am 48 years old.)

Shot of Eevee Pokemon in the woods
Eevee in the woods!

And walking yesterday, I saw this ridiculously awesome decoration – reminds me of an Allie Brosh illustration:

Big silly dog Christmas decoration
Celebrate ALL THE THINGS!

One slightly distressing bit of the walks, even with music and games – lots of folks not masked up… I mean, you don’t have to wear it the whole time, but just have it around your neck and whip it up when you see folks – who wants to walk through someone’s potentially virus laden slipstream?

And in pandemic related tics that aren’t going away…I have a couple winter-themed masks now. And one with dogs all over it.

Screenshot of three masks, one red buffalo plaid, one black and beige plaid, and one with dog illustrations all over
Safety, but make it seasonal!

So, big exciting plans for the day – get phone charged up to full, go catch some Pokemons (with doggie mask,) eat, check on work stuff, and then be lazy. Oh and get the load of kitchen towels out of the washer and into the dryer.

You have a good and relaxing rest of the weekend.

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Oh, well, that was pretty pleasant

Posted on November 27, 2020 by A Dreamer

OK, so for what, near 9 months now we’ve heard “get out for a walk it will do you good” – not really bad advice even when not in a pandemic, but it was a strategy that just failed me repeatedly. Instead of clearing my head, I just found that I had uninterrupted time to think and then be even more pissed off about the world at hand.

But today, a gave it another whirl…not so much for the exercise/mental health aspect as the “I really need to hit some Pokestops for drops and there are 4 (yes FOUR) at the neighborhood pool” which is a not too far walk away from here. Also need to walk 20K over time with my Eevee to evolve it for a challenge. (And not doing my Friday/Saturday night strolls home from the bar, I am not getting those K’s in AT ALL these days.)

Fired up the One Hit Wonders playlist on Spotify and well, starting with “I’m Too Sexy” was very good. Bopped my way down to the pool, spun a bunch of stops, dropped a Pokemon in a gym, and generally had a very nice half hour.

Not sure if it’s just that I stepped out with a mission of sorts and music, or just that I’m feeling better about the world as a whole, but I may do it again tomorrow.

Yep, I’m 48 years old and it’s a little phone based game that is getting my ass moving. I have always been a bit on and off with Pokemon Go, I fired it back up again this fall and saw all the neat remote features they added knowing that folks weren’t getting out and about as much – should have popped it open in March… But even with the remote features, still no floating Pokestops, and those eggs won’t hatch themselves, so, guess I gotta walk, LOL.

And now I’m having a refreshing, healthy glass of grapefruit juice. A fizzy grapefruit juice. OK, it’s a mimosa – gotta finish the champagne I opened yesterday, and it’s not like I’m driving anywhere.

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Happy Leftovers Day!

Posted on November 27, 2020 by A Dreamer

I hope you had a nice, calm, safe day yesterday. Our normal tiny Thanksgiving was great – only minor hitch was realizing about halfway through roasting was that I’d not moved the oven rack down a spot – easily fixed but a “oh shit” moment, LOL.

I have to show off the turkey:

A golden brown roasted turkey breast in a roasting pan
So juicy!

Brining turkey is the best thing ever and I am so glad I found out about it…15 years ago now. It’s so, SO juicy! Haven’t mastered crispy skin, but that’s OK. My carving skills have also GREATLY improved since I realized a few years back that there were probably some YouTube videos on the process.

Another thing I realized yesterday – I usually carve half of the breast immediately, we eat, then I do the rest once its cooled off a little. (But soon enough that we’re not risking food poisoning.) But I was always stymied in getting that last bit of meat off the bones. Light bulb moment: Once I had the big slabs cut off, just dig in and rip off the remaining chunks with my hands. (Washed hands, of course.) Because it had cooled a little bit, I wasn’t burning my fingers or anything, and I had that sucker cleared down to the bone in no time at all.

Now, we have a weekend of recipes from every corner of the universe of “what to do with that leftover turkey!” Confession: I have never “made” anything with the leftover turkey. I usually find myself grabbing a chunk out of the fridge every time I pass by and, poof, it’s gone. If I’m feeling really ambitious, I put it on a plate and heat it up with some gravy. My brother gets fancy and makes sandwiches.

Earlier this year, I had to replace my old meat thermometer and the new Polder “deluxe” one was an excellent investment. Not only does it have presets for meat types – it gives you a heads up when you’re 10 degrees away from the final temperature – I LOVE THAT FEATURE! It’s under $30 and well worth it, even if you only use it a couple times a year for turkey and pork.

Even Lily got a little plate with a tiny bit of turkey and mashed potatoes. I had put it on her counter, but she was not interested in moving off her spot on the couch, so I brought it over to her – I looked away and looked back – clean plate and she was happily licking her chops. Hell, that may have made me as happy as my brother declaring that dinner was amazing.

Headshot of Lily, a black and orange tortoiseshell cat, snoozing on the sofa
Mmmm, turkey

Enjoy those leftovers.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on November 26, 2020 by A Dreamer

I love Thanksgiving, and I wish it didn’t have such garbage origins. But, it’s nice to have a day of food and family and taking stock and being thankful, and acknowledging that we can do better than how it all started.

The turkey breast is in the brine – sugar, salt, peppercorns, and a whole damn bulb of garlic. It will then be covered in garlic herb rub for the roasting. We like garlic around here.

Cheesy ranch bacon dip is chilling in the fridge. Cheese and salami and crackers and jams will be out in a bit.

I’ve flipped over to the Macy’s parade, cause Santa will be on shortly, and wow, this is creepy. If you ever wondered what a parade in an apocalypse would look like, this is it. Props to Santa for his enthusiasm despite not having an audience.

But, even with a disturbing parade and everything else that this year has brought, there are things to be thankful for.

I’ve avoided the fucking plague. My brother and I still get along. I have a job that I like that lets me stay safe. I have food and a roof over my head. 45 is one his way out. We have vaccines on the way. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and I’m pretty sure it’s not an oncoming train.

I hope you have a nice day with good food and you can safely connect with your loved ones and make plans for an epic gathering next year.

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Happy Drinksgiving!

Posted on November 25, 2020 by A Dreamer

I will admit, it will be weird to not roll up to the bar tonight and see who has come back into town and/or is already sick of their family, LOL.

But, it should be a relatively relaxed day overall, and they’re kicking us out early, woohoo!

The one thing that needed to be done today got finished yesterday. When I told the devs that we would need to move the other bug to the next release because there would be not enough time to test, the reaction was, “Oh, thank god!”

The project I’m working on with the client DB that I broke last week (seems to be OK enough to keep going, LOL) is still ongoing and SLOW AS FUCK. It’s a lot of “copy table A to table B” type stuff and there is so much data in the system that each one takes what feels like forever.

We do officially have EVERYTHING for tomorrow. Did a speed run through the market this morning for milk, Coke, champagne, juice, and wine. (I don’t know when I declared Thanksgiving a mimosa holiday, but I’m glad I did.) And…there might be two more tiny pies of the chocolate pecan variety. (They’re adorable! And why don’t they have pumpkin??!?)

Welp, gotta go do the thing for the money. Have a great day!

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Wait, what’s that I feel?

Posted on November 24, 2020 by A Dreamer

Could it be a wee bit of relaxation? A tiny bit of optimism?

45’s campaign is 1-35 in court.

GSA Emily has finally done her fucking job. (And what a weird ass letter. I’m not OK with the death threats, but why is that in the letter?)

The messaging coming out of the Biden nominees is a consistent and coherent, “Glad to be on the team, look forward to doing my job competently and ethically.” Refreshing.

Mar-A-Lago is getting some renovations so 45 can be in violation of zoning laws in Palm Beach come January 20th.

We’ve got 3 vaccines out there that look really good, and the transition team will have the resources to start working on the logistics of distribution. (Though I expect we’ll hear stories about zero cooperation from the current admin, but fuck it, the team should be able to legally start talking w/the vaccine companies and governors and just go forward.)

And I keep reading about R’s in Georgia saying they’ll write in 45 in the Senate runoff… You do you, boo.

Things are just looking a little brighter today.

Will we still have a TON of work to do to undo the damage of the last 4 years? Of course. But are we one concrete step closer to showing that ass the door once and for all?

YES.

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Did I say potentially quiet week?

Posted on November 23, 2020 by A Dreamer

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Today’s maybe/maybe not 8:30 meeting is now 9AM tomorrow, which is fine, but it also means that there won’t be enough time to test any changes the dev checks in as a result of the meeting, so this bug needs to be pushed back, or handed off to someone who is working Thursday, because I am not. (Well, even if the meeting was today, there wouldn’t really be enough time.)

Also need to let this dev know that any time he needs to meet w/just me, I am more than happy to do it at 9AM his time/9PM my time. (There is a third person on this particular meeting, but just me, fuck yes, I can leave my laptop on for a few extra hours and hop on. They do it all the time for us.)

And that also make me realize – I need to hop on tonight and grab him and tell him about moving that bug. I can’t officially make the change – but he can let the person who does make the “official” decision know and do so at the *start* of their Tuesday vs. their Wednesday if I waited until the morning.

That whole thing aside, I have a *monster* test that also has to be done before I clock out on Wednesday – they said hold off cause we were waiting for some feedback…well, we never got that feedback and it’s “welp, guess we test it anyway!” and now I’m in a wee bit of a crunch. Ah well. I have to do 2 rounds of 9 sets of basically the same test – the first is always the biggest bitch, between setup and validating what the system is spitting out vs. my own calculations. 2-9 should zip through super quick – but getting through the first set…whew, that’s always so damn slow and always makes me think “I won’t get it done in time!”

But it’s all good, it will all get done somehow. I’ve just had a lovely turkey sandwich for lunch (no, I don’t know why I bought turkey cold cuts right before Thanksgiving either) and I’m going to go take a nice long hot shower to be all shiny for the second half of the day. (Yay, working remotely!)

LET’S DO THIS! :-D

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More good news

Posted on November 23, 2020 by A Dreamer

Oxford/Astra Zeneca vaccine – 70% effective, 90% when done as a two dose regimen.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel – just stay home and hang tight until we’re there.

The only big downside I see is the multiple dose requirements – how many folks won’t get the second dose, just…because? Or won’t be able to afford it? (I keep hearing “it will be free” – but you know how it goes in America.)

How precise does the timing of the second dose have to be? Or what happens when you go back for your second dose and someone fucked up and they don’t have them because the entire inventory was given as first doses?

We need Emily Murphy to sign the damn transition paperwork so Biden’s transition team can start *really* working on all this. Good news – she’ll be in Congress this week (today, I think) and Rep. Katie Porter will be questioning her. DRAG HER, CONGRESSWOMAN.

In non-Covid news, I do believe we finally have everything we need for Turkey Day! May have to run into the market for milk or Cokes or something, but all the important stuff has been acquired. Added an Australian sharp cheddar, and an Australian bacon-jalepeno cheddar to the cheese assortment, and for the tiny pies, they had chocolate chip cookie pies, so…yeah, got those! And ALL THE CRACKERS for ALL THE CHEESE.

No idea what the work week is going to bring…in theory it should be a quiet week, but who knows. I have Schrödinger’s meeting at 8:30 this morning – it is either scheduled or not scheduled, but neither state exists until I log onto my work laptop.

So, best go figure out WTF I’m doing work-wise the next three days.

Have a good and safe day.

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Whew, we have a turkey

Posted on November 22, 2020 by A Dreamer

Well, technically a bone in turkey breast, but WE HAVE IT!

The plan was hit Giant, Lidl, Safeway, Giant, Safeway, Giant, Safeway, Giant and cry if that didn’t work. (Last year, I think I had to go as far as Safeway #2.)

Giant didn’t have any, which I was ready for – it’s been years since they carried turkey breasts, but hope springs eternal, and they had some frozen ones earlier this week, but all under 6#.

On to Lidl, which just opened maybe a month ago – took over the old Shoppers space. Walked in, first chill case I saw had turkey breasts! And a 7.84# one to boot. Granted, it’s Jennie-O vs my beloved Shady Brook Farms, but hey, desperate times.

While fully acknowledging that they saved my ass and made it so I didn’t have to go all over creation – it was kinda disappointing, and I had been really looking forward to checking it out.

Somehow the space is smaller than Shoppers was and the stocks are low/sections are tiny. The turkeys were in an endcap chiller, and I thought, “OK, these are some of them with the rest of the inventory in a bigger space on a wall or somewhere” but realized, no, that was all they had in the store. 4 turkey breasts, and maybe 10 full sized turkeys.

And they’re making two mistakes that Shoppers did and had to eventually change – they stripped the flooring down to the concrete, and no matter how much you scrub that, it still looks filthy, and they don’t bag purchases.

But, they had what I needed, and I am grateful for that. I just don’t see it becoming a place I will shop on the regular.

And the ice maker is working again! I suspect that I am greatly underestimating the time it takes for it to make a batch – when I don’t need ice, it seems like it is dumping a batch every time I turn around. But when I do need ice…it appears to not be functioning at all. But overnight, it’s gone to town and we should be fully stocked on ice and then some by Thursday when I’ll need a fuckton for the brine.

So, I can relax for the rest of the day, YAY. I didn’t get that laundry done yesterday, so that is still on the list, but that’s easy.

FUCK: Just realized I was supposed to grab bread with the turkey… Well, I have one more errand I do have to run today, but that shop doesn’t open until noon, but it’s also next to a market, so that problem will solve itself.

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