Gramminess is Next To Sleepiness

White Rabbits! Rumor has it we may see temperatures above freezing soon. In the meantime I'm drinking way too much hot tea, although it's helping me stay hydrated with this new diabetes med, and I decided to make popcorn this evening whilst watching the Grammy Awards. Looks like a lot of the rock and roll categories went unaired in favor of pop, pop, and K-pop. But it was fun to watch, and the last time we'll see it on network TV as it's going to Disney+ next year which sucketh but it's the way of the world. And I have tons of popcorn left as I've given up and am going to bed now that the wind has died down a bit.

Goodbye To Filthy January

I hate January. It's my least favorite month. Both of Rob's parents succumbed during that month, and my mom didn't miss it by much. But mostly I don't want to go out in this foot-deep snow and frigid cold, especially with no storage at the office which means I need to schlep my backpack (always a joy on the subways) and deal with excessive wind at Manhattan West. But I'm steeling myself, and today was a good start. The car exited the driveway with only a slight hesitation, and the battery is working well. The only issue seems to be one of the belts which may have gotten damp enough to create a whining noise, but I'll take it as I do plan on taking the car in for an oil change once it gets a bit less cold. In the meantime, we have replenished our food stores, and the supermarket wasn't nearly as crowded as it was last Saturday, although folks were definitely scrambling for parking spots since the far end of the lot was still covered in snow piles. I hear the NYC DOT has suspended alternate side parking through Tuesday to continue their plowing activities, which are definitely needed considering what I saw on the streets today. All in all, I'm pleased we're no longer confined by the snow (only the temperature!), and I got all my usual Saturday stuff done today. Not a bad way to end a horrid month.

Snowbound Day I Stopped Counting

And it's not just the snow, it's the temperature. Looks like we won't get another round this weekend, as the expected nor'ester has moved off the coast, but it's still going to be hella cold. So not only am I hoping to get the car out of the driveway tomorrow (our grocery list is a mile long at this point), but I'm crossing all appropriate digits that the battery works! Meanwhile, I'm fairly bound and determined to get into the office next week; considering three days since I didn't come in at all this week, but we'll see. I mean, it's still going to be fairly frigid. I'm now going to betake myself into the bedroom with the space heater on.

Snowbound Silly Site o' the Day

It appears we should be able to move the car by Saturday. I got a bit stuck and didn't fully enter the part of the driveway from where I can take off, but there have been enough SUVs and school buses going back and forth that it should be more or less flattened out in a couple of days. Now the trick is actually walking the length of it next week to get to work. I'm still hearing horror stories from colleagues about snow piles at bus stops and intersections that are nearly impossible to navigate, but there's nothing to do about that but hope. In the meantime, we can all dream of fall foliage (via Laughing Squid).

Snowbound Silly Site o' the Day

Robin went outside and did some shoveling around our car and salted the steps; tomorrow I "help" him by trying to actually move the car out of its parking spot and onto our U-shaped driveway to see if we can actually get out of here on Saturday to go grocery shopping. In the meantime I'm staying put for the time being. You'll forgive me if I hope for higher temps and maybe a bit of rain (via BoingBoing)...

Snowbound Day 3 of ?

Oh my, a very long day on the job, but I'm finally getting the hang of my new assignments and I was part of the group presenting at our monthly team meeting which went very well. I logged off with only four emails in my inbox, all labeled "need more info," and my folks all know I won't be in all week, so the new goal becomes whether we can clear our car and get it out of the somewhat-salted-now driveway on Saturday to go grocery shopping before the next promised/threatened storm. I don't even want to think about things, I just want to ingest more warm beverages and keep my head down.

Snowbound Day 2 of ?

Yeah, we're not getting out of here any time soon. Working from home all week, which is fine as my setup is very comfortable, but I could stand it being a bit warmer throughout the house. We're supplementing the radiator perimeter heat with space heaters where necessary. The driveway leading to the main sidewalk (no other way to get out) was salted before the storm but not plowed afterwards, and we keep hearing noises through the closed curtains of cars getting stuck. Together with the awful temps it's not a good day to be anywhere. Can I sleep now?

How Much is Too Much?

Various sources are saying we've gotten around a foot of snow here in New York City today, but from my window (and granted, it's hard to gauge because I'm looking down from two flights up) it looks more like half a foot. Regardless, it's currently sleeting and I'm not planning on going out again at least until Wednesday, if then. The sub-freezing temps will linger and at my age I'd rather not get sick, so I may opt to ask my supervisor for an exception so I can work from home this coming week. I'll probably play it by ear and see how I feel and follow how navigable the driveway to the main sidewalk becomes between now and then. At least I have proper cleats if I do decided to be all foolish. For now I'm just playing my online games and watching footie, both English and American, from the safety of my living room.

The Grey Binder and the Accordion File

No way were we going out today in this cold, and since I tend not to do well with enforced inactivity I decided this was the day to tackle my semi-annual filing of all my and Robin's medical papers. It's about 75% prescription receipts, which I guess I don't need to keep but I do anyway (at least going back to the beginning of last year), and took remarkably less time than I'd budgeted. While I was in organizing mode, I filed away the paperwork concerning Mom's estate, death certificates and the like in a grey ring binder that holds the listing of all their assets as of whenever they both gave it to me so I'm sure it's about a quarter century out of date. Everything gets out of date if one lives long enough, I suppose. But I'm still  here and determined to stay at least through this next storm...

Brain Freeze

As expected, we got our shopping done at lunchtime (the crowds at the supermarket were madness!) and I was able to pick up my starter doses of Mounjaro, which I'll be self-injecting every week commencing tomorrow. I admit to a little trepidation, as I really don't want to lose my appetite all that much, but I do need some help with portion control so maybe it'll all work out. As it was I took about 90 minutes of PTO time and all my work is just fine. But I'm not thinking about any of that now. I'm just preparing for the bitter cold, then tons of snow, then lots and lots of cold again. I'm back to watching The Weather Channel again, at least for the duration. Big plans for the weekend including filing my medical records, which I always let sit too long...