Diary, April 4, 2022
Awake around 7. Stiff, more than usual, probably from the first bout of yardwork yesterday. I remind myself that getting older means stretching more so my body doesn’t feel like congealed over night the day after any kind of non-standard physical activity. It’s only gonna get worse.
Make my way downstairs, put tea on, start emptying the dishwasher. Even that feels like a physical challenge at the moment, but it helps me loosen up. Still not awake, so I pour boiling water into an empty cup—forgot to add the tea bag.
Add the tea bag, bring the tea into the family room, and settle into a soft chair. Put the tv news on—not my best habit but I need to wake up and that helps. The tea and relaxation start to work and after about 15 minutes, I’m actually awake. Open up some emails for work, sign off on the biweekly timesheets for staff, and look over my calendar and plan the day. (I try to make a point of not looking ahead to Monday work over the weekend if I can help it.). It’s diary day! (I already knew this, obviously.) Happily, I have zero scheduled meetings—a rarity these days—which means I can get some work done.
After 30 minutes of minor work tasks, I make toast with jam, a bowl of fruit and another tea. Eat that, browsing newspapers and twitter on my iPad. Hold an internal debate about whether to make lunch. Don’t want to but should (money-saving) and decide to do it. Suddenly remember that I accidentally left the lawnmower outside overnight—not great since it rained. It was out of sight alongside the house, so I didn’t notice when wrapping up yesterday. Run out and grab it and put it in the garage.
Get dressed—warmly since its wet and cool—ah, spring in the Midwest—and pack a bag of gym clothes for a lunchtime workout. Load the car and realize I forgot my reading glasses—run back in to get them. Forgetting again, which leads to an interior discussion: is it mental decline from aging or am I just scatterbrained?
Drive in (ten minutes), then stop in the department to sort out a minor, mildly annoying administrative matter. I have to wait for T, so it takes longer than I’d like. It’s approaching 10 when I get to my office. I realize I left my gym bag in the car—further debate about mental decline—and head to the office, arriving near 10.
Settle in to work. Not the most efficient start to the day. Spend an hour on a proposal then work on grading a set of essays. They’re okay, neither great nor awful. That gets me to lunchtime—around 12:15.
Head to gym, change, run on track with music on my headphones. I lose track of the lap count—once again, forgetful. To make sure I get enough of a workout, I run a few additional laps. When done and in the locker room, I ask a friend who began his workout at the same time and he started at 12:30, so I definitely went a little longer, probably an extra half mile. Since I’m behind, I hustle through the shower and head back to my office, get there around 1:20.
Eat, doing emails, then get back to more grading, revisit the proposal draft from the morning. Midway through the afternoon I get a text from S about a new job offer she’s gotten. Great news, I send congrats. She works in theatre—an area that has been decimated by the pandemic—so I’m especially pleased she’s gotten an opportunity for the first time in a while. Then M texts with an update on her travel plans. I expect to cross paths with her in Washington, DC in a few weeks, which will be nice. Back to the proposal, until almost 5, then prep for a class I’ll teach tomorrow. Got up from the desk around 5:45—stiff again! It’s about a 5-minute walk to the car, which feels good as I loosen up. I’ve got to remember to get up and move around more instead of sitting for long stretches.
Drive home. B out, so I walk around the block to keep loosening up. Listen to a podcast interview with the writer Michael Lewis as I do. He’s always interesting and his portrait of our moment is more than a little unsettling.
Back home, I changed into sweats, pour a beer, grab a handful of nuts, and put feet up on the back porch. The raw morning gave way to a decent afternoon and evening (that changeable Midwest weather at work), so it feels good with the porch windows open. I check my phone—over 13,000 steps today—pretty good. I need to drop a few pounds so I’m trying to make sure I move around enough most days. Some online surfing and newspaper reading for a bit. B. arrives home, asks me to cook fish, which I do. She makes a side: orzo salad. Fish is good; I manage not to overcook it for once. A healthy meal after a somewhat gluttonous weekend. I clean the kitchen—even though I think B ought to. We have a brief tetchy exchange. Whatever.
Sit down in family room where B is watching Benjamin Franklin documentary on PBS. Interesting—it’s the part about how he investigates lightning with a kite and a key. Didn’t fully appreciate what a big deal that was.
Time for the NCAA final. Switch from Ben Franklin to basketball and watch that, starting at 9:20. B watches too despite her limited interest in this, or almost any, sport. Good game! Kansas strong, then North Carolina strong, then Kansas comes back. Ending is close. Chit chat about the game as we watch. A good, absorbing diversion at the end of the day.
Head to bed after teeth brushing, eye drops, etc. It’s nearly midnight. Read a few pages of Scottish crime novel (Laidlaw by William McIlvaney) and drift off.