case of the grumps

Five for Friday
by

Five for Friday

It’s the final Friday in September and I have a few things on my mind. Also, this post has a TON of parentheticals, just FYI.

Heads Up: Changes Afoot

Here’s what happened. Last fall, I had a little blogging existential crisis, to which you all responded with love and kindness as is your beautiful tendency. (I love you.) Then I had a chat with my husband about this here bloggy hobby. Then I bought a domain name in preparation for transitioning to a new blog. Then I sat on the new blog for FIVE MONTHS my god, you’d think the domain name would be “expertprocrastinator.com” because I am A True Expert in Not Doing Things in a Timely Manner. (What happened was I got overwhelmed, set it aside, kept setting aside, then couldn’t stop.) Then, this week, I finally took some time to migrate seventeen years of blog posts and comments to the new blog and figure out how to do things, like “add posts” and “muck about with CSS in ways that are sure to be disastrous.” And now I am finally nearly ready (“ready”) to shift you to the new space.

At first, I was all about starting fresh! New blog theme, new layout, blah blah. But a) I found it almost impossible to deal with a new blog theme/layout because I am no longer quite as agile with technology as I once was; b) the available WordPress themes seem to work best with photo heavy content, and I am not nor will I ever be a fantastic photographer; and c) even though the whole thing probably (hopefully?) won’t feel like a huge change to you, it felt, to me, like a new URL plus a new look was asking you to digest quite a lot.

All that said, my current blog theme has long been defunct. I was able to install a similar but not identical theme, so things will look a little different. Also, I am so poorly versed in web design that things are Quite Wrinkly; with lots of help from Google and much trial and error, I hope to iron out the worst wrinkles in time.

Starting next week sometime (I think? but also see above for a reminder about my True Expertise) (and also, do most people just institute the change rather than interminably dragging it out????) (I, if you have not already intuited this fact, am not good with change), I am going to try to redirect this site to the new one. I think the transition should be unobtrusive on your end… HOWEVER, you will need to update the URL in your feed reader and I also think you may need to resubscribe to emails if that’s how you access new posts. I’m sorry; if I can find a way to migrate the email list without you having to do anything, I will, but I haven’t looked into it yet. I know, I know; I’ve only had five entire months to look into it.

You can go check it out now, if you like, or add the new URL to your blog roll/feed reader: suzannedaybyday.com Please keep in mind that you may feel a bit like you’ve arrived at a wedding reception an hour early: piles of unironed tablecloths on the tables, half-filled vases surrounded by leaves and stem trimmings, boxes of candlesticks and centerpieces overflowing on every surface, people in decidedly NOT party attire running around. Hopefully it will all get sorted out, but it may take until the last minute.

Negroni Week

My husband informed me that it’s Negroni Week! I did not know that was a thing, but I’m on board for any week in which I can try a fun cocktail. The Negroni is a recent favorite of my husband’s. He ordered one during our trip to Canada that he said is the best Negroni he’s ever tasted. He thinks the difference lies in the vermouth; the brand, according to the restaurant website, is Carpano Antica. The other ingredients are gin, Campari, an orange, and ice. We have gin in our cupboards; gin is the Liquor of Choice in this household, as in my husband’s household of origin. I strongly recommended getting Bombay Sapphire, as that is the gin the restaurant uses. But my husband says that Tanqueray (which we already have) is more versatile a gin than Bombay. Not to mention, the prevailing advice seems to be that Negroni’s benefit from a strong, London dry gin (like Tanqueray). We’ll see. We did need to get a bottle of Campari, which I understand to be a bitter liqueur that tastes of orange peels. (Ew?) (I don’t think it’s intended to be taken on its own, but still.) We also needed an orange, and my husband ordered these fun ice cube molds. (We got the spheres, because we are boring. If you are a dog lover or, like, a Yale grad, perhaps you should get the bulldogs???)

The Negroni recipe is stupid simple: 1:1:1, ice, orange peel. But I might try Noble Pig’s version, which eases up on the bitterness quite a bit.

AI Encounter

A few months ago, I am pretty sure I spoke to an AI agent on the phone. This has happened a couple times since, but I never know know. Yesterday, I got a call from our HVAC company. The caller said their (its?) name was Shawn, and told me I was due for an air conditioner check. The checkup would be completely free since it’s covered as part of my annual membership. “I just got a brand new air conditioner,” I told Shawn. “Do I really need a check up?” (I am 90% sure that I already had this conversation with someone, by the way.) Yes, Shawn assured me, I did need a checkup, even on a new air conditioner; it was good to assess how the new unit had been performing in the months since we’d had it installed, and, not to worry, the cost was covered under my membership. “Okay,” I said, not entirely convinced, but whatever; that argument made sense. “Don’t I have a furnace inspection coming up?” My thought was to try to combine the two inspections if possible. You sure do, said Shawn. You have a furnace, water heater, and air conditioner check scheduled for next week, in fact. I blinked a couple of times, waiting for Shawn to hear the words that had just been uttered. Shawn did not catch up. “So… the air conditioner inspection is part of the appointment that I have already scheduled?” Yes indeed, Shawn told me. And asked if I needed anything else, as though I had been the one to initiate this completely pointless call.

 The experience, short and not-particularly-awful-in-the-grand-scheme-of-things as it was, kind of boiled my beets. What a waste of time – mine, and that of whatever hapless technician Shawn was clearly going to book to do a superfluous inspection of my air conditioner.

I am left with two questions. One: Is it okay to ask if someone is an AI? I don’t think I could do it, actually; my fear of offending someone is too great. But also, shouldn’t an AI agent announce itself? That is not my second question, although maybe it should be. Two: Would it be wildly Karen-ish to contact my HVAC company and tell them I want them to stop using AI agents to contact me? Eh, probably it is wildly Karen-ish and I should ignore the impulse. Well, there you go. I answered my questions for myself. I’d still be interested in your thoughts, though.

Impulse Bulbs

The other day, I came across the bulbs display at Costco. I love flowers so very much and, before I knew it, two packages had made their way into my cart (giant allium and narcissus, $15 each bag). Now that I’ve broken the bulb seal, I want ALL the bulbs. I got too few, for sure, and I keep spotting little empty places in our yard where bulbs would look beautiful popping up in the spring.

Keep in mind that I have not yet planted the bulbs I already purchased. I should probably get on that. But I don’t know how. I mean. I could watch a YouTube video or look it up in a library book or online, so the knowing how is only a few keystrokes away. But maybe I need to buy some bulb planting tools in advance, just in case? Like this little guy? Ooooh… or there’s this tool that seems to do EVERYTHING; it even promises to help me plant the annuals I can never resist in the summer. It is a little bit pricy though, at least in comparison to the bulb planter. There’s also an attachment for my drill, and it’s under $10. If I had seen this one first, it might already be on the way to my house, but the other tools seem to remove the dirt from the hole, and this one does not.

My biggest problem with bulbs is that so many (all?) of them are toxic to cats. So I will be admiring any and all bulb blooms from my house, and not bringing them inside to enjoy in a vase. Maybe what I really need to do is plant some Gerbera daisies, which are one of the few non-toxic-to-cats flowers that I actually like.

Ask Me Anything

San mentioned that November is right around the corner, and with it, NaBloPoMo. I am planning to participate this year, while reserving full rights to drop out at any time. But I am a little bit concerned that I won’t be able to come up with enough topics to achieve the requisite number of posts. To that end, I am resurrecting my Ask Me Anything form. Please let me know if you have any burning questions I can address via post.

 

That’s all I’ve got for you today, Internet. What’s on your mind?

 

by

Weekend Breakdown

How was your weekend, Internet?

Here in the USofA, it was a holiday weekend. From a Companionship and Connection standpoint, it was a standout weekend. I am trying so very hard to hold onto the warm fuzzies I have from spending time with dear friends and beloved family members, but I will be honest: I am cranky.

Content Note: What follows is some whining from a highly privileged and wildly fortunate individual who really has nothing to complain about. I don’t blame you if you don’t have time for that, so I’ll see you on the flippity flop.

My husband got Friday off, which meant that instead of going into the office and seeing patients, he went upstairs to his home office and dealt with insurance companies and pathology reports and patient calls from home. Sure, he got to sleep in and wear shorts and a T-shirt and he didn’t have to commute. Still… That’s not really a day off.

Also, the WEATHER, my god. The weather has been my absolute least favorite, unless you count “active tornado” which is worse. It has been SO HOT and SO HUMID and I HATE IT.

Friday afternoon was miserable.

Thank goodness we have a brand new air conditioner and a pool!

Except that last week, my daughter’s room was hovering around 80F (26C) at night. The HVAC guy had warned me, after the installation, that our AC had been off for a full day, so the second floor of the house would take a couple of days to get back to temperature. But… 80 degrees after four days of waiting seemed reasonable enough. Also, we had two VIPs arriving that afternoon, and a third later that evening, and I did not want them to be sweaty and uncomfortable.  

Fortunately, the HVAC guy was working on Friday and came right over and very enthusiastically tested the velocity of our air output from each register and measured the temperature of the air coming out and checked all the connections and did a bunch of other things and by the end of his visit, things were cooling down.

AC accounted for, I went out to clean the pool. (Well, I didn’t clean it, I let the pool guy do it.) The previous owners thoughtfully installed an automatic pool cover, which has been wonderful. The pool stays fairly clean, the water doesn’t evaporate as much, we have fewer critters leaping to their deaths in the water. But it would not open. And it was SO HOT. Together with my husband, we coaxed it into opening about halfway, but then it refused to move any further. Listen, I know the VIPs would have been gracious about not being able to swim, I know this. And yet. Plus, my daughter was having a friend over and I much prefer having lots of outdoor options for kids to relying on a cooling-but-still-too-hot room and a bunch of tempting screens.

Fortunately, the pool service person was working Friday! He sent out his best guy, who managed to open the pool cover. But, he noted, it will not close. We’ll have to get a pool cover specialist to come address it. Can’t wait.

Saturday morning, my daughter notified us that there was something wrong with her ceiling. We trooped into her room (cooler, thank goodness) for a look. Hmm. A suspiciously leak-like circle surrounded a tiny crack in the plaster.

Yesterday, my husband was unloading the dishwasher while I was trying to write. He opened a cupboard to put something away, and the glass lid of a casserole dish leapt out at him and shattered into smithereens on the kitchen floor. It hit the counter on the way down, leaving plenty of smithereens all over that, as well. Thank goodness it didn’t land on his foot. But the poor guy had large hunks of glass ON his bare feet and said he wasn’t sure how or where to move.

Fortunately, after a three-stage cleanup, we got the glass taken care of with minimal bleeding.

Then I got my period for the second time in about twelve years (I take oral contraceptive pills to prevent that; it should not be happening.)

Then I got a notification from Costco that my contact lens order hadn’t gone through because my prescription was outdated.

Then my daughter notified us that her ceiling looked worse.

Then I discovered my cat had knocked a section of staples off my desk and batted them across the room. I don’t think he ate any of them – he doesn’t really EAT things, except food and plants – but I don’t know that he didn’t eat any of them. All the online resources I consulted said a) this is an emergency, call the vet immediately or b) this is not an emergency unless he shows XYZ symptoms, watch him carefully or c) give him food right away to help get the foreign object through his system or d) absolutely do NOT give him food because it could cause or worsen a blockage.

“I would never eat a staple.”

Of course I had nightmares all night, mainly about being pregnant and the baby not doing well. This morning, I noticed that the house felt warmer than it should be, and when I call for cooler temperatures, it doesn’t do anything right away (at all?). The ceiling crack is holding steady, but we are expecting more thunderstorms and more rain.

Today, of course, I have been making all the calls (and you know I love phone calls) (no): To my eye doctor, to update my prescription. To Costco, whose online platform allows me to cancel my previous order, but does not allow me to update or change my prescription. To the pool cover people. To the roofing contractor who is handling our as-yet-not-started roof replacement. Do I call the vet (the cat is behaving totally normally, including eating and producing waste as usual)? Do I call my primary about the spotting? Do I call the HVAC guy?

Yes, I acknowledge that I am very lucky that THESE are my biggest problems. I am grateful to have experts to call (if they would only call me back) and grateful to have the resources to address the issues.

I AM STILL CRANKY.

Okay, deep breaths. Let’s combat the crankiness with some reflection on the absolutely wonderful parts of the weekend.

  • My time with the VIPs was fabulous. It is so rare for me to find people I like and like spending time with, if that makes sense? Even with people whose company I really enjoy, I often end up feeling depleted of energy at the end of our time together, which is not a reflection on them, that’s just my introverted personality. But the VIPs were the opposite. They charged my social battery instead of draining it, and I was sad to say goodnight at the end of our time together, and I hope to see them again sometime soon.
  • Saturday was a quintessentially perfect summer day. My whole family slept in (with a brief wake-up for me at 5:30ish to feed and play with the cat, who slept in until 6:00!) and then spent the afternoon in the pool. It was hot enough that the pool felt wonderful and breezy enough that the heat was tolerable.
  • Fourth of July was pretty great. My family typically spends July Fourth in the basement, feeling crotchety toward our neighbors who set off fireworks. To be clear, this is our preferred way to observe Independence Day. But I asked a friend what she was doing for the holiday and she told me, and then asked what I was doing, and when I said nothing she either took pity on me or thought I was angling for an invitation to her event, because she invited my family to join hers. We had such a nice time! She is my friend for a reason, and she and her family are lovely and welcoming and it was actually kind of nice to celebrate the holiday instead of boycott it. The day’s promised thunderstorms never materialized, and the weather was less humid than it had been. The evening ended with a fireworks show that was the perfect amount of spectacular and the perfect length. I had forgotten the special kind of buoyant unity that fireworks can inspire. And by the time we got home, our neighbors had nearly finished their own fireworks show, so we only had to endure a few pops and booms.
  • The extreme heat may be ebbing. Not only is today supposed to hover around 77F (25C), but the weather forecast suggests that we are taking a turn toward the high 70s/mid 80s (24/30C), which sounds a hell of a lot more pleasant than last week.
  • My cat continues to be The Best Cat.
Here he is, glaring at me because I am Outside and he is Inside. He disagrees with my assessment that his triple-layer coat is incompatible with our current temperatures.

Okay, as per usual, being grateful has shifted my mood toward the positive. Thank you for reading. If you have any complaints, big or small, I am happy to listen!