Muggy

A bit hard to breathe this morning, but Robin swore to me that his weather apps indicated no rain in the forecast despite a flood watch in effect, so off I went without my raincoat. A bit of drizzle greeted me as I exited the local bus near my firm's office, but aside from having breathing difficulty I saw no real signs of rain. At lunchtime I noticed the ground at Manhattan West plaza was pretty wet, but I figured maybe I could still get away with dancing between the raindrops on the homeward commute. Alas, it was not to be, as I got caught in quite the deluge on 9th Avenue crossing to the Moynihan train hall and decided to stay underground until I got to my homeward-bound subway. By the time we hit the Bronx the rain had stopped, so it wasn't really that bad, but it started again when I was on the local bus so Robin met me at the terminus with my rain jacket. My feet are in a lot of pain right now so I've ruled out the socks I've been wearing and am once again assuming it's the new sneakers, and will put on my "old" pair again to shop on Saturday. This too shall pass!

Drenched

The day started out a bit difficult for me. My back's been bothering me all week, and I had to schlep an Amazon return in to Whole Foods this morning as I wouldn't get the chance at lunch. Turns out the pain I was feeling was more the weight of my laptop than the returned item. I continue to be in great shape at work, just waiting on both partners and client EAs to get back to me on scheduling things, and I'm taking so much self-study that I'm actually starting to remember a lot of the AI terminology, which scares me. Lunch was terrific, my colleague signed off on my and Robin's kurta outfits for the wedding reception, and the Indian food we had was nice but the restaurant not so much (very cramped and unprofessional, much more a takeout place). I'd packed my rain jacket for the afternoon deluge, left work a bit early before it started (only wind on 9th Ave and a little rain on 8th), and by the time I got to my neighborhood it was coming down in sheets. And it still is. Just a bit drenched to the bone! But warm and dry now, watching the Yankees win again, and getting ready for shuteye...

Ironic

Today was the first of what will undoubtedly be many giveaways as we start to downsize. My iron and ironing board are gone. Considering they haven't been used since we got the steamer, good riddance to what I'm sure is a fine home. I also finally filed away my financial stuff (i.e., from Mom's estate) in preparation for actually giving it a good perusal once it's no longer too hot to think. Now off to read comics, about the only thing I can manage.

Whose Sari Now?

We finished our grocery shopping before noon and, alas, the AC was out in our favorite sushi place so that was a short lunch as well. Made it home before the heat really started kicking in, and plan to go nowhere for the remainder of the weekend. So much for getting the ol' car inspected this weekend! Way too hot. But Robin did have to traverse the inside stairs a few times to pick up things in preparation for next month's two big do's, our vacation to England and (before that) my cousin's wedding celebration with his lovely Indian bride. Rob's got his outfit all set, his kurta looks magnificent. Mine has yet to arrive, and I'm very concerned due to the size equivalents, but if I have to I can wear Western dress and profusely apologize. As long as I can wear leggings under whatever outfit I finally choose. If there's one thing on which I've improved as I've gotten older, it's dressing appropriately for an occasion. As we don't go to many occasions, that makes it easier.

Sapped Again

I'm not as young as I used to be, and when the weather is dicey everything seems to move in slower motion, including me. I got through work today just fine, but had to collapse into a nap right afterwards. This heat wave is supposed to last through the weekend, and unfortunately I'm here for it, but I guess that's okay considering the alternative. I just need to pace myself, things are going to start happening pretty fast towards the end of the month, with the wedding celebration then England pretty much back to back.

The Heat is On, Again

Not the apartment heat, the outside version. Although it does seep into the apartment because we're not all that well insulated. Fortunately there was nowhere to go today and I was able to take lots of work breaks to do things like shopping for an upcoming wedding reception (the bride is Indian so we have been asked to dress appropriately; who's sari now?) and relaxing. So why don't I feel refreshed yet? Oh yeah, heat seeping in...

Strolling

Finally, a lovely day at work and quiet enough in the office that I could afford to take my behaving foot on a stroll to nearby Hudson Yards (so many little parklets there to sit!) and see the giant soccer ball (near the criminally overpriced FIFA 2026 store) and the Big Pink Bear hanging out by the Vessel. And I now know a better way to get there and back (involving cutting through the Whole Foods and the Hudson Yards mall) to save me a bit of walking. But I wanted to practice, because on Sunday our firm has its annual Family Day at the Bronx Zoo and I'm sure that will involve a fair bit of walking (although I'll have my walking stick with me). And then of course England will necessitate perambulation as well. I'm definitely getting there! Between the lunchtime sojourn and my homeward commute my foot does hurt a bit, but nothing like it has in the past year or so. And I miss getting around, so I'm pleased I can do it this well.

Let the Stormy Clouds Chase

Robin was kind enough to pack my corporate-labeled rain jacket into my backpack this morning but, as it turned out, despite the sky darkening and thunder rumbling mid-afternoon, I didn't need it at all for my commute in either direction. I must have danced between the raindrops, as every above-ground surface showed signs of it Having Rained Heavily, but even though I cut out a tad early to avoid any tornadic activity (hey, there were warnings) I encountered exactly zero problems. Well, except for two different straphangers banging into my knee on their way out the subway doors. I can deal with subways, but just barely. Work was a lot easier to deal with, even did a bit of self-study when my normal workload was wrapped up. With so many partners involved in inspections (met with four of them today) or out of town, I can hurry up and wait all I want but requests don't necessarily appear. Not a complaint, this is what summer should be about. Still, I'm about pooped now, the Mets certainly aren't keeping me awake, and the week isn't half over yet...

Cirdacian What?

Ugh, I've been up since around 4:30 AM, very uncomfortable and too warm in bed, even with the AC on. Fortunately we were finally able to give the ACs a rest during the morning, it's been either too hot or too humid to turn them off, but they were back in business by early afternoon. Such is summer! A nice easy day at work, as most of my partners were either busy with inspections or out of town, so that made for a nice change and I was very grateful considering my lack of sleep. Robin and I both dozed for a bit before putting on the ACs and then again after dinner this evening, so I'm feeling almost human now and ready for whatever comes up at the office tomorrow. But first, perhaps a bit more sleep?

A Game for the Ages?

England has moved up in the FIFA world rankings with today's defeat of France in a truly bizarre and memorable World Cup third-place game. They were up 4-0 at halftime, and it was clear to most thinking people that France had no real intention of playing. I mean, I wore an "I Love England Football" t-shirt today, i know they're good, but they're normally not "beat France" good. AI claims "France's lack of effort or intensity in their games stems from two main issues: tactical frustration in their World Cup exit to Spain and morale issues," but considering FIFA's longstanding corruption I believe money changing hands must also have been involved somehow. Alas, we'll never know. At least I can take some comfort in believing that Tadej Pogačar won this stage of the Tour de France fair and square, he's phenomenal and so pleasant to watch! Mets lost today, of course, and the Yankees game has been postponed until tomorrow as the weather is really nasty. It started raining about when we exited the supermarket so we got a tad wet when bringing up the groceries, but driving conditions weren't dangerous until a bit later and now... well, I wouldn't want to go out in this mess. Maybe it'll finally cleanse the air quality. In other unsurprising news, we continue to organize for our England trip, and Robin's been amazing at frothing heavy cream so it almost got to the consistency of proper English cream so I could enjoy it with my strawberries, as well as sorting my iPad charger as the one I'd been using suddenly stopped working. All I've done is consolidate some more shopping bags as the ones we've been using are starting to fray, file away the Mom's estate paperwork, apply a solution on which to hang my Apple watch bands so I can sort through them the way I do my earrings, and of course buy more watch bands as I don't have any real vibrant ones (or blue ones that resemble KPMG's corporate colors and I want one of those for our Family Day at the Bronx Zoo in two weeks). Nothing much really.

Choking Hazard

I can't remember being this masked up out of doors since 2023, when Mom was still living in Bayville and we wore masks in the car driving down to New Jersey to see her. Today it was all public transit and walking, but even crossing Ninth Avenue to the Moynihan train station was difficult. The office was nicely hermetically sealed, however, and I'm fairly well caught up with job work. Maybe things will get better tomorrow, when I don't have to leave the house anyway.

Quality of Life

The air quality rose to dangerous levels today due to the Canadian wildfires wafting down to cover much of the northern US. Thank goodness I work from home on most Wednesdays so I didn't have to go out anywhere, although I believe some of the bad air did come through to our apartment. Certainly it affected us both physically, because we're Olds. Something else that came through our apartment was our downstairs neighbor with his daughter - huge comic book fans, and the daughter is an illustrator. She was positively drooling over Robin's work, and they showed us photos from the various cosplays they've done at comic conventions. Made me long for my "previous" life before it got too unwieldy to travel and Friends of Lulu's mission was more or less accomplished and Robin wasn't really having that much fun any more (hey, those cons are work for him). But it's wonderful to have "fans" living in the same house as us! Not coming through today was England; I honestly didn't expect them to win the semi-finals against friggin' Argentina, but I also didn't expect things to get so nasty. Ah well, I get to see them battle France for third place in the Hundred Hours War on Saturday, sans England shirt as that's finally in the laundry.

The Calm Before

No baseball (Home Run Derby doesn't count, particularly as they've changed the rules again and none of it really matters anyway), no footie, weather is decent enough to have had the windows open for a few hours this morning but we're back to AC... I feel like I'm in a holding pattern again. I got nothin'. Work is well in hand, took a couple hours PTO as I felt positively drugged, but nothing much to watch...

Move-In Day

Today our downstairs neighbor's moving van officially arrived with the rest of their stuff. Pablo asked if we could move our car, not optimal on a 99-degree day, but we obliged and found street parking about a block away. Even so, that trip and the one to retrieve our car when the van had gone pretty much knocked us out. I keep forgetting I'm an Old (something us Olds do forget), and the heat affects me more each year. That's why I don't much care about coworkers asking me what I did during my week off while they travel to beaches or foreign lands. I didn't want to go anywhere in this kind of weather even when I was younger and not as affected! September is soon enough for our overseas vacay. Now I must go take care of my latest heat rash...

We Have the Power

We knew it was coming.We'd been warned that Con Edison was treating faulty equipment in this heat wave and there'd be brownouts to avert an even greater blackout situation, but until two hours ago we weren't affected. Then at the height of the evening heat, all the power went out. Thank goodness I'd showered not long before, and we have three battery-operated fans and four LED lamps. Even so, it didn't take long for the apartment to heat up during the last two hours. It's not like I could do anything besides sleep, or at least lie down and try to forget how uncomfortable I was. The electricity just came back on, and now we're waiting for the place to cool down again. I've said it before, I don't take any creature comforts for granted, and I'm very grateful it was only a 2-hour blip!

Forward Into the Past

White Rabbits, and the heat wave begins. Although I decided to make an English breakfast (lots of different breakfast meets plus eggs plus caramelized onions) I knew I'd be taking it easy the rest of the day. But I'd promised a work colleague that I'd send her a photo of all the old gum wrapper chains I'd made during my childhood and even into my young adult years, so I had to get out the five tin containers in which I've kept them lo these many decades, and while I was at it I dragged out the three or so jars of buttons I've kept for nearly that long. I even tried my hand at lengthening a couple chains with some wrappers still in the tins and, hey, I've still got it. I'm not crafty but by golly I can still chain gum wrappers! Anyway, Robin and I will devise a photo shoot tomorrow in the hopes that someone may want to give these sentimental treasures a good home. Meanwhile, more World Cup (England won, hoorah, USA winning at the moment but down to 10 men) and sending out of laundry (since put away!) and just not trying to move around too much in this heat. The living room blinds and shades are drawn closed until at least Saturday. Ugh...

Seeping In

We're starting to discover how extreme heat, even the onset of same, affects older people. Because, you know, we're Olds. I have various stomach and muscle ailments, Robin has been having trouble focusing, and we're not even going to try doing any more housework for the rest of the week. The living room blinds are drawn against the afternoon sun, I'm getting through my analog reading, and we're in a holding pattern watching the World Cup and baseball. Our downstairs neighbor Pablo volunteered to help us throw out our very old air conditioner, but we're not taking him up on his offer until the heat wave subsides. I'm just glad the kitchen trash is out. Whatever limited mail we get can wait until maybe Sunday; I'm content to have finally received notice that my $300/month pension from my first job will start coming in Any little bit helps!

Floor, Bored

Before the extreme heat descends upon the NYC area, I decided to get some minimal house cleaning done (the only kind of house cleaning I actually do), and scrubbed the microwave clean-er (it's a quarter century old, there's only so much I can do) as well as wet Swiffering the bathroom and kitchen floors. The latter will still need extensive mopping but, as I say, cleanER as opposed to clean, and that will have to do. Tomorrow we venture out to pick up my reupholstered orthotics and grab some sushi at our favorite place, and then we hunker down for the rest of the week. Meanwhile, the downstairs family continues to wait for their furniture to arrive, but they're so lovely and quiet and nice I'm still thrilled with them!

Productive!

Alas, my circadian clock is still a bit out of whack, as this was the third day running where I got up at 4 AM. While I went back to bed around 6:30 I don't think I slept much before Robin and I both got up, although thanks to the new temporary normal quiet I did get an afternoon nap. I don't take any of this for granted! Shopping done early (landlord had to move his van so we could park in the spot he's allowed us to use), two World Cup games watched (the first admittedly with my eyes closed, having given up switching channels between that and the two NY baseball games), getting ready for another one or two now, and financial stuff printed and organized in prep for entering and filing tomorrow. And now I've exhausted myself just typing all that!

Quiet Reigns!

OMG, much needed afternoon nap and everything! It appears the construction downstairs is finally over, a few heavy appliances are now in place, and now begins the wait for the landlord to start showing the place to potential tenants and possibly even buyers. Whatever happens, I think we can wait things out until I retire. I caught up on lots of work stuff and even personal financial stuff, making a couple phone calls regarding my pension from my first job as well as Mom's inheritance stuff. And I got to watch the World Cup games with Robin from the comfort of my recliner, rather than at work by myself even though there were a number of coworkers there (none of whom even brought team jerseys as I did). The only minor drawback was when the home office AC noise kicked in and made it hard to hear folks over the phone, but considering how hot it is outside I'll take it. I also informed the folks I support of my upcoming plans for England in September, so maybe this weekend we'll actually book the flights and hotel. And of course I'll catch up more on personal finances. In between World Cup and baseball games, of course. A nice full quiet weekend at home beating the heat!