February 4, 2018
Slept in! Until 7:40, which means our dog didn’t decide to wake us up at 5. That will make the day a little easier.
Did the morning process: let dog out, let her in, fed her, brewed some tea, started reading papers. Also put on CNN but they were talking about nonsense—the Nunes Memo—so turned it off. Sick of that and tired of watching our country circle the drain.
It’s been a slovenly morning. Ended up putting a soccer game on around 9 and reading (and eating). It’s 10:20 now and I’m still watching the soccer and reading through newspapers online. A mix of stuff: politics, sports, general news (an Amtrak crash), etc. I also spent about 20 minutes with Google maps trying to figure out the point of origin for the River Thames. Even now, ten minutes later, I can’t remember how I got onto that. I think I was looking on the map at London to figure out where Crystal Palace Football Club plays its games. One thing led to another from there. The soccer game is entertaining, so I’m still watching.
Ended up watching whole game—entertaining. Then I turned to working on a somewhat involved work email. It took about twenty minutes to compose. I also made a phone call about some family business and took care of a couple of other short work emails. Now trying to figure out what to do next. Exercise? More work? I spent yesterday on household chores (save for an hour-long workout) so now I’m feeling like I should get some work-work done. But at the same time I don’t really want to work—it’s the weekend. I feel this way on weekends quite often—I think I should get more work done but am annoyed that I can’t just shut that down until Monday. Some of that thinking stems from the sense that I could be more productive during the regular work week. On the other hand, I don’t have something so pressing that I need to be working overtime to get it done. Ok, some exercise then! After that I can do a little reading for work.
Did the exercise—45 min on bike while watching more soccer, followed by stretching, core exercises. Then I made and ate lunch, and watched some basketball while eating. Lunch was salad with some leftover chicken. I figure I can eat healthy now and then indulge later while watching football. After eating, I showered and shaved, then returned to the last bit of basketball. As the basketball wound down I worked on some family finances. I recently paid a hefty college tuition bill for one of the kids so we have to watch our expenses, especially in the short term. Even as I worry about that, I remind myself that we’re fortunate we can handle the costs. Then I began reading and editing essays for my daughter’s application for an internship, which she had just sent, finishing after the game ended. They were good essays—a bit too wordy, but good ideas. It’s a competitive internship so I don’t know if she has a shot but she is at least doing a good job on the application, which is what I most want to see from her. Her essay touched on the current political situation, the contemplation of which leaves me a bit depressed. I shift between thinking I’m watching the American Republic unravel and that we’re just experiencing a bad period but one from which we will recover. Right now, the first interpretation seems more convincing.
Took the dog for a walk around 4—bitter wind and a few flurries but it was still good to get outside for 30 minutes or so. Cleaned up some sticks and other stuff from the yard too. This was the first time I’d left the house all day, and the last I expect. Woke me up a little bit so I came back in and did some work on a project for work. Dull, mechanical stuff but good to get a little bit done. I did that for an hour and then did some reading for work.
That took me to kickoff of the Super Bowl, which I will watch with some misgivings. Like a lot of people, I’m less interested in football than I once was, but I will watch. The sport, and especially the NFL, seems to be growing progressively dumber, with over-the-top patriotism, militarism, and exploitation of the players. I read two articles this week that made me think about how I view football. The first is by the wife of a former player who detailed her husband’s physical and mental decline—a dismal story. The second was a report on members of the 1972-73 Washington Redskins (we can discuss the racist nickname another time). It interviewed 6-8 players from that team, all approaching age 70 or older. These where my childhood heroes—all of them on a poster I had on my bedroom wall as a kid. They all had physical issues and most mentioned memory troubles. But they all said they would play again (except the one player in an assisted living facility who had dementia, who couldn’t say anything). So, I don’t know. The games are entertaining and the players are adults who should understand the risks. I’ll watch the game, at least to start, and use it as an excuse to eat a big chili dinner.
My wife made chili, which I served and ate for dinner at halftime. Began channel surfing during Super Bowl halftime. Ended up first watching Mary Beard discuss classics on BBC America, then some skiing in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, a place I’ve visited. Ended up missing first drive of second half—New England scored. I find Super Bowl halftime boring. Some of the ads are fun though. Back to game. (Dishes piling up in kitchen, will have to clean after game.)
Super Bowl over. Good game—as entertaining as the ads. Spent some time on twitter, etc. while watching but mostly followed the game. Didn’t have a strong rooting interest here but found the game enjoyable, despite the baggage football brings with it.
The final action of the day was a kitchen clean up. I listened to a few minutes of a book on tape as I did that, which made the process almost enjoyable. As usual, I’m reading a book for pleasure before going to sleep, but the book is an electronic version and it’s on an ipad that needs some charging. So, I browsed online for a new pair of running shoes and a new pair of hiking boots. My once-waterproof boots are disintegrating so I am need of a replacement pair. Will consult my wife before buying, since she usually has smart advice about getting a good deal. Now I will put the dog out for a few minutes, pour myself a glass of water and head to bed. It’s 11:25.