It’s been a few weeks since I’ve had the opportunity to go hiking. Getting outside to enjoy Mother Nature resets all the relays in my brain. Not only is there a lot going on in the country, there’s a lot going on in my personal world, and taking a few moments to process it all makes it all that much more manageable.
Today’s hike was strenuous. It was good to see my husband waiting for me when I got back to the trailhead. We both had big smiles on our faces.
We walked through Neshaminy Mall today. It’s been cold this weekend and we’ve been doing mall walks to get some steps.
When I first visited this area in the late 1990s this mall was thriving with busy anchor stores, a recent addition, and more. Today the mall seemed about 60% empty. And it wasn’t heated.
I’m happy we wore our coats.
Earl and I are on United flight 5531, en route to O’Hare in Chicago. From there we will fly to Philadelphia. This is so we can attend the memorial service of my (step)mother-in-law.
While the reason for our trip is rather somber, I am looking forward to the trip simply because it’s a change of pace. Our master bathroom has been under reconstruction since the beginning of the year, the news has been overwhelming, and I feel like I’m in my post holiday rut. I’m actively trying to get out of that rut and avoid it as much as possible but I’m also a realist.
I was excited to see the promise of some storms. It ended up being a little wind and a bit of rain, which we desperately need. We’re behind on desert rain levels.
Lucky and Jinx enjoyed the storm clouds with me.
I’m looking at old blog posts, because that’s something I do once in a while. This has prompted me to revisit one of my favorite songs of all time. From 1996, here’s BT with “Remember”. The video version doesn’t do the entire track justice, look it up from the album “ESCM” as well.
As I peruse through my old blog entries, this selfie that I had completely forgotten about popped up. This is me 10 years ago, and honestly, it’s when I probably felt the best about myself.
It’s interesting to be able to read my own musings from a decade or two ago and then realize that it’s all right here, in the blog, and other people can read it as well. My thoughts are so much the same in most ways but different in other ways.
It’s a shame that most of the musings from the vast majority of people on the Internet will be lost to corporate greediness faster than you can say “but her emails”. And all in less than 280 characters, no less.
I’m sitting in the local Starbucks enjoying a pour over coffee while doing some writing. There are several people working on their computers here in Starbucks. This location is fairly new and is our favorite Starbucks in the area.
I always find it interesting that folks come to Starbucks to sit and work on their computer while wearing headphones or earbuds. Unsurprisingly, I’m exactly the opposite in this regard and I find that Starbucks (or something similar) is one of the few places I can write or work without either being in complete silence or wearing my earbuds playing lyric-free music and/or binaural beats.
I’m here to enjoy people watching just as much as writing in an environment outside the home.
I could be sitting outside, as there’s a covered patio area adjacent to the parking lot and drive thru lane. It was added after this Starbucks was built and it really feels like an afterthought, but they’ve made it work. There’s a bike rack and everything.
Not a lot of people walk around this part of Tucson. After all, for much of Tucson, if it’s not in a strip mall or similarly fashioned shopping center, it’s not in Tucson.
Earl frequents this Starbucks much more than I do, what with him being retired and all. He tells me they have completed rotated the staff at this location from another location and the folks here don’t have the same vibe as the original gang when the store opened. I get that. They seem a bit more harried than the folks that opened this spot.
Still, I’m enjoying the experience.
A few months ago I started bringing along Lucky and Jinx on my afternoon walks. They enjoy the exercise and reading the “news” on the area landscaping and driveways. They’re fun to watch as we make our way around the neighborhood.
They’ve now started parking themselves outside of my office door starting around 2:45 PM in hopes that I’ll come out in a hoodie, put a couple of dog biscuits in my pocket, and then saddle them up for a afternoon stroll.
It’s a good time for everyone involved.
I made an impromptu cat bed in my office for Truman. We have construction going on upstairs; we’re getting our bathroom remodeled at the moment. Truman has been spending most of his daylight hours with me as I work from home.
I’m really tired of hearing about Elon Musk. I’m really, really tired of Mark Zuckerberg and his “thoughts” on masculinity. I’m even tired of Tim Cook and his exuberance for and donations to Mango Mushwad.
I’ve had enough, and this idiotic presidency unsurpassed travesty has even kicked into gear yet.
I don’t know if anyone else is tired of all that’s transpiring in “the greatest country in the world”, but I could use a really long nap.
Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.
Weird? Eccentric!
