the here and now

It hardly counts, but is that... is that... snow??

I headed out to the gym this morning, and bits of snow were sort of just spitting at me. It's been doing that for about 3 hours now, and this is the current grand total of  accumulation around the uninviting dog run.

"JANUARY 8TH!", another gym goer exclaimed to me as I prepared for the bike ride back home.

I looked up from my preparations to see a young guy standing there, "FINALLY!"

Our mild winter so far has been on many people's minds, so this parking lot exultation was actually not weird.

So far, it's been a good week to get back into the swing of things after the holiday break. I opened with Boss on Monday after the testing center had been closed for a week and a half. Sheesh, it was like Y2K happened, but 26 years late. Seemed like every computer platform needed CPR to get going, but we were eventually back in business.

It was nice to be back and to catch up with the coworkers. Assistant Boss Blossom was out again for the first three days. Looks like she made it in today. I've mentioned her abysmal attendance, which has been a problem since she started. We feel she's taking advantage of Boss's friendly demeanor with all the time off she takes, but that's between the two of them.

Meanwhile, Sarge wants a full-time position after Mrs. Sarge was replaced by AI and laid off from her full-time job. Sarge would be great as Assistant Boss, and I know he'd snatch it up if it was open. But there's no opening because that's Blossom's job - that she is so often absent from. 

I honestly feel that, if this were a private sector workplace, that switch would've been made a while ago. In fact, I think all of us at work know that... except for maybe Blossom. 

ANYWAY, just venting. I'm off today and trying to be productive. I have already completed two books for the year, shooting to read 26 as I mentioned. My goodreads incentive graphic...

Ahead of the pace! I will say that the two books I read were not great, but at least I finished them. The book I'm reading now, I find pretty engaging: [The Listeners]. It's my fave book of 2026. So far - so not saying a whole lot at this point.

wintering

Back to work tomorrow after a 2-week hiatus. Part of me is chomping to get back to being a somewhat productive member of society, another part of me is thinking, "y'know? I could get used to this".

At least it will be an easy transition since tutoring won't get going for about another month, I just have my teeny schedule in testing. The new person can't start this week as originally planned, so I got two extra shifts until she starts next week.

The weather has been so mild here. Magnum and I went for a longish bicycle ride today. We were just going to ride for coffee, which we did. It was so nice out, we decided to take the long way home, which we did. It was SO nice out, I talked him into taking a longer long way home. Surely, this won't last.

So we have warmth, no snow. It did get cold enough last week for the ponds to freeze over. I got this pic of my goose neighbors waiting for the morning thaw out.

Speaking of enjoying the outdoors, a woman was hiking nearby on New Years day and ended up getting [killed by a mountain lion]. So tragic, and it's terrifying to think what her last moments were like.

Stay safe, please!

out with the old

I went to the gym this morning, not because it's New Year's Day, but because it's Thursday, and Thursday is typically a gym day for me. There were a handful of seemingly non-hungover patrons there as well. Just another Thursday morning gym sesh.

I was snoozing at midnight last night, but was awakened by revelrous popping of, hopefully, fireworks. On my bike ride to the gym, I rode through a hefty dose of confetti in one section of the neighborhood.

2025 - I fed some ducks

I took a look into my 2025 blog archives and found nothing very earthshattering, which is often a good thing. But it feels rather mundane, I took no trips out of state. For an entire year. No wonder I feel restless.

Will have to change that for 2026.

Speaking of escaping, one goal I had for 2025 was to "read more". I didn't specify a number or a genre, and I'm happy with how that worked out. My Goodreads wrap tells me I read 25 books. Recognize any?

So while I didn't plan to read 25 books, it feels like a nice coincidence. On that note, I'll set my reading goal to 26 books for 2026.

In addition to these 25, I probably had 10 or so DNFs as I have NO qualms about chucking a book to the DNF pile if it's not doing it for me. I also don't include non-fiction books here, because I typically read only parts of those - parts I was interested in - before returning them to the library.

On that note, all of these books were from the library - either physical books, audio books, or Kindle. Three cheers for libraries!

So Happy New Year! Magnum suggested we go geocaching today. Okay. Haven't been geocaching in forever. Our goal is to add 10 to our "found" list. Seek and maybe find.

ex encounters, nice hands, pain

Magnum and I were out at a coffee shop this morning. I noticed a couple of women walking in, and did a brief glance up. There was a nanosecond of eye contact recognition before I quickly looked away. One of them was none other than my ex. 

Yeah, my ex hair stylist. 

Several months ago, I mentioned here about [a weird haircut experience]. It was weird enough that I'd  decided not to go back and to find a different salon, even though I'd been going only to this same stylist for over two years. I've since found another stylist - great location, easy going atmosphere, very reasonably priced - and all is well in my hair world. 

I figured the ex wouldn't really notice my absence. She has a fairly large clientele, and all I ever got were cuts. No dye jobs, no other treatments. Get in, get out, every coupla months. But in that nanosecond of eye contact at the coffee shop, I feel quite sure she recognized me and probably thought, "Hey, that's what's-her-face", and then realized "She hasn't been in for quite a while". 

Had I still been going to her for cuts, I would surely have stopped and chatted a bit this morning, asked about her holidays, the family, etc. As it was, I continued whatever I was talking about with Magnum. The ex was wearing eyeglasses, which she didn't wear at the salon. I still recognized her, but could easily feign a Clark Kent phenomenon going on. Silly, I know. But it felt good to skedaddle outta there before things got awkward, ha!

In other news, I continue to celebrate Boxing Day by cleaning out a few unwanted items. Soon, I'll have enough for a thrift store drop-off. And I took down our sparse Christmas decorations yesterday.

We watched a couple of movies this weekend. [Watching the Detectives] is just goofy and quirky, starring Cillian Murphy and Lucy Liu.

Is it a romcom? I guess it's a romcom. 

We've been watching [Peaky Blinders] and are on the final (6th) season. So it was fun and interesting to see Cillian Murphy as someone SO So so different from Tommy Shelby!

Same great hands, though. Ever noticed what nice hands Cillian Murphy has? Well... I digress.

The other movie was [A Real Pain], both in title and in watching it. Okay, it's gotten favorable reviews, but it didn't do much for either of us. 

Only about an hour and a half lost, though.

Now, we're in the lull week between Christmas and New Years. The college is closed. I will stay out of trouble. Maybe I'll schedule a hair appointment.

not a shrimp

Happy Boxing Day.

I went out this morning for a pleasant little jog-around. We have had a very mild December, really only one decent snowstorm among many warm, sunny days. I'm enjoying the nice weather, but at the same time fretting about the lack of moisture (and revenue for the ski resorts).

As I was out and about, I realize I've always appreciated the day AFTER Christmas, even as a kid.  Yes, I did also make a big deal about presents on Christmas morning as a kid, the big countdown to the day, having trouble sleeping the night before... but the day after feels a little like a calm after the storm, a day of appreciation. Now more pronounced in my old lady days.

There were others out this morning, walking together, walking pooches, running. I sensed maybe some new dog harnesses, new outwear, new fitness trackers. And I remembered that's the hopeful fun of Christmas gifts - appreciated things rather than unwanted, wasteful things - not the [deadweight loss of Christmas]. 

Ours was low-key, as per usual, and enjoyable. Meego and Wolfgang came over. We ate, we walked the dogs, we played some cards, we talked with Chaco on speaker phone, we passed the phone around with calls to my in-laws. No big exchange of things, but enjoyment of company.

One of my goals for this past year was to read more books as opposed to doom scrolling the internet. I'm happy with how I did with that and plan to continue. Now, a new goal is to get back into routine sketching. I fell off that habit a while back, and I've got sketchbooks, pens, pencils collecting dust. 

So I figured I'd start today with a warm-up to break up my inner rust and cobwebs. Some everyday mundane item to get the ball rolling.

But then I said, nah. 

[King Prawn Pepe] it is.

... not even a mouse

Christmas Eve. We've made it passed the winter solstice, the days are getting longer. Feel it??

We had our white elephant swap holiday party on Monday at work. We're a relatively small group - 8 staffers in total - and one had already skipped town for the holidays. So 7 of us plus one toddler got together for the rip roaring time. 

We actually gathered in the testing center while it was still open for the last hour and a half. There wasn't much business going on in there at that time on the Monday of Christmas week.

There was plenty of good food (no booze allowed on campus), and the swap was pretty fun, nothing outrageous. I don't get excited for presents, but I'd say I did pretty well with what I ended up with: two cat themed teacups, a cat themed bookmark, a sample of handcrafted soap, and a coupon for a local chocolate shop. Blossom revealed afterward that it was her contribution. 

I like the Japanese style cups, no handles. They hold maybe 4 or 5 ounces and go nicely with my teapot

I suspect that Party Girl was drunk or at least tipsy. She was acting rather weird, talking about stupid stuff and being more touchy-feely than usual. At one point, she got on the ground and tried to crawl into a large gift bag?  I don't hang out with her outside of work, though, so maybe that's just the way she is, but I still suspect some booze was involved. She's not secretive about her daily drinking habit.

So now the break has officially begun. Campus is closed until after New Year's.  Meanwhile, I'm trying to be productive and have something to justify my existence at the end of each day. We're staying here for the holidays this year. I've got my food fixings, so shouldn't have to be anywhere near a grocery store until after Christmas. 

Last night, while I was somewhere between asleep an awake, I sensed the cat doing his typical midnight zoomies. At some point later, I was awakened by what sort of sounded like rain drops or sleet spitting against our window. 

But when I became more awake, I realized it was the cat licking his chops. It was juicier sounding than his typical bathing. So I switched on the reading light to find the mighty hunter at the foot of the bed, digging in to the remains of a mouse. *GAG*

Magnum got up (better him than me), scooped the departed mouse into a bag, and that was the end of Napolion's Christmas feast. Apparently the zoomies I'd heard were not just a training sesh.

So today, I raise my cat teacup in honor of the mighty mouser, Napolion. 

cards and kitties

I had test center duty today with Kitty. Now, it's mid-afternoon, and I feel like just lazing about the house. It's grey and drizzly out, so good laze-about weather. Taking a cue from the cat.

Like me, Kitty is reducing her work hours in the testing center for this upcoming semester. Her daughter is now a toddler, and Kitty's parents are returning to their permanent home in another state after renting a place here for the past year to help with childcare. 

A week or so ago, Party Girl expressed her sadness about Kitty's situation. At first, it seemed to me that Party Girl was sad that Kitty had a daughter, and I thought that's not a sad thing. Kitty gushes over her daughter. 

But after clarification, Party Girl is sad for herself that Kitty is cutting her hours. She's not sad for Kitty, she's sad that Kitty won't be around as much

I too am sad not to work with Kitty as often as before, but was surprised about Party Girl's reaction. Despite her nickname - which she herself came up with - Party Girl is a very conscientious and thorough worker, dotting every I, crossing every T. She can be quite judgy of those who don't have her work ethic, even documenting transgressions for the bosses to sort through.

At first, Party Girl was quite judgy of Kitty because, truth be told, Kitty is the opposite of conscientious and thorough. Oh, and she'll probably show up about 10 minutes late for her shift. Every time.

But Kitty is just so dang likeable!

I mean, she's late 30's, laid back, doesn't seem particularly ambitious or goal driven. She has a bachelor's degree unrelated to the job, and I get the sense that she went to college for an experience/ adventure to enjoy, without a real end goal in mind. Now she's continuing to go wherever the flow takes her, in this case, with a toddler in tow.

Side note: we're pretty sure the daughter was a "surprise", the discovery of which prompted a shotgun wedding. In true Kitty fashion, all is seemingly going quite well. 

Today at work, I don't remember how the subject came up, but I mentioned that I'm familiarizing myself with tarot. I bought a deck a few weeks ago and have started to learn the cards. It's not the Woo Woo I'd thought it was, but a rather fun and interesting diversion.

"Oh yeah", acknowledged Kitty, "I took up reading tarot during the pandemic while living with my grandma. We got tired of doing jigsaw puzzles".

She went on to tell me she often does readings for her sisters and some friends. Apparently, they attribute high credibility to Kitty's readings, almost giving her "life coach" status, which feels a bit ironic to me.

But I have to admit, Kitty does always seem to land on her feet.