Monday, 17 September 2018
it was difficult to get up this morning for some reason. i was sleeping really well and dreaming interesting dreams.
nevertheless, i got up on time, got dressed, made breakfast out of some of a giant pumpkin pie we got yesterday, and made sure my son was up and ready for another day of high school. we’ve been watching episodes of Star Trek TOS in the mornings- both the live action show and the animated series from the ‘70s. we dropped cable a couple of weeks ago and watching Star Trek feels like comfort food. the motive is also to educate my son (and my wife, when she watches) on this classic series since they either hadn’t seen much of it or didn’t remember.
i dropped my son off at school around 7:15a so he didn’t not have to wait to ride the MITS bus and then came to work myself. i parked and rode my bike in from the parking lot as i always do. this morning, however, i rode in “with” the only other person i know of who rides their bike from the parking lot. he does it because of problems with his back or hips or legs or something. i do it out of convenience. it makes parking on campus bearable because wherever i end up after lunch, it’s only a couple of minutes by bike back to work.
this is where is always gets a bit titchy for me. i want to participate in this project but i know that writing out details of my work would give me away and i do wish to remain anonymous. i know, that’s not in the spirit of this endeavor but i guard my privacy fiercely. even though one could figure things out with what i’ve written already. so, suffice it to say, i spent the day at work doing work things. i will speak in generalities and vagaries and report significant kerfuffles and incidents in the same vein.
a very slow work day. decent monday though. no fires to put out, no reports due, just chugging along keeping afloat. i’m also using the software at work to create a vector graphic of some kanji so i can have some stickers printed and, on an unrelated note, i’m also figuring out birthday gifts for my kids. i’m locking in plans for my wife’s birthday at the the end of this week- mainly the cake. her gifts are a done deal but i’m needing to block out some time to get her cake made secretly.
i drove down to pick my wife up for our daily lunch routine. we have always done our best to meet each day for lunch and over the past 8 years, we’ve only missed a handful of lunches together. it’s important to spend time with the ones you love. we have a select few restaurants we cycle through when we haven’t brought our lunches from home and today the wheel landed on Subway. we’re not fans of this particular Subway because they have been slow and chatty and goofed up our orders and they do not have buffalo sauce. the other ones in town still do. we got “to go” and went to the park to sit outside. it wasn’t too too hot or humid and the sun was being held in check by lots of fluffy clouds with some blue sky poking through. we chatted like we do about work life and home life and what we’re planning to do this upcoming weekend and the following month and what’s for dinner and private matters.
i took her back to work then found my way to my own work to run through the last half of the day. nothing serious happened but i did have to staff a more centralized public desk for part of it, broadening my horizons, and sharpening my appetite for solitude.
an hour or so later, my son texted me that he was done with philosophy club so i left work a little early to go get him. when he got in the vehicle, i asked how it went meaning the club but he clarified: “the day or the philosophy club?” i said “both – but mostly the latter” and he described how they discussed the question of if we are still ourselves from 10 years ago. he also said that the members were sparse today, some of them having left early. hopefully, the club will settle into the core regulars before too long.
he has been really enjoying martial arts lately and wants profoundly to try Brazilian jiujitsu (aka BJJ). there happens to be a dojo near our house and, so, i drove right there to see if anyone was there to ask about training. there wasn’t but we did discover a cool consignment shop next door with eclectic furniture, clothing, and art pieces. we went home, i did some chores, and worked on a project for my dojo – a padded “predator” suit to allow full contact training. my wife came home and made dinner. usually, it’s me who makes dinner but she came home early and didn’t mind doing it for once.
we ate and chatted about the day and about disparate topics. we make it a point to sit down at the table together for meals without cell phones or other “toys.” i’ve never allowed toys at the table. the kids have grown up that way. being fully present at the table while we’re all sitting there is important.
after dinner, i took my son back down to the BJJ dojo. the doors were open, the lights were on, and people were there on the mat learning techniques. we watched for several minutes before the instructor left the mat to come talk with us. my son asked most of the questions, we got a pricing sheet, and we came home. he was crestfallen because the most open access to all lessons and times for training is right out of what we can afford. it’s not unreasonable pricing but it is beyond what we can comfortably lock into right now. there are way too many other costs coming up this fall (holiday season for us is compounded by almost ALL of our birthdays occurring during this period) and a trip to Yosemite next May that we’re planning and saving for. my mind is still working on how to make this happen for him but i just cannot see a way except to opt in at the cheapest level which means contracting for a year. it’s something to ponder and discuss more.
my wife was watching a show of hers on Netflix when we came home. we told her about the dojo and talked more about things then my son and i went into the other room and watched a couple of episodes of another Netflix show that my wife didn’t care about. i had a couple of Fat Tires (part of one with dinner) and she had a glass and a half of riesling. she was into her second glass when i spilled it. i brushed it putting away something on the counter. it was very sad and i had to do my best to keep the dog from lapping things up while i cleaned it. the animals make some fuss – especially the dog. he’s been with us now for about 4 months and is still acclimating to his new life. and so are our 3 cats. so, sometimes we have tiny dustups between them as they negotiate for rights to their living space. occasionally, they are more than dustups and we get barking, yelping, hissing, and chasing through the house. that night was no different.
finally, approaching 11p, it was bedtime. my son decided to take a shower before bed as he often does and my wife chided me for not spending more of the evening with her. i took my daily doses of blood pressure medicine and cholesterol medicine along with a couple of ibuprofen tablets to help me sleep. i have joint pain that does not allow me to rest during the night most of the time unless i take some kind of analgesic.
it was a fairly typical monday.