Seasons Change and So Do I

We had planned on a sushi lunch in the Scarsdale strip mall that also houses a Super ShopRite, so we could stock up on some different Stuporbowl snackies than we usually get, but the temps dropped precipitously this morning after about a half inch of powder and we decided to play it safer and stick to the pharmacy and the nearby Stop & Shop in Yonkers. I'd been worried much of the night: will the 22-year-old car start in this cold? will I be able to leave the driveway with everything turning icy? can I even drive with my hand battered? how bad will the wind be? can we deal with the cold going to and from the car? All my fears were allayed in short order, we got all our shopping done, we were back home around noon and we spent the afternoon Olympic- and thermometer-watching. I think it's down to around 4 degrees Fahrenheit now and dropping, with the wind making everything feel much worse, but I have no further plans to go out until at least Wednesday. Let's hope this helps my hand and knee heal more quickly!

Olympic Distraction

Being caught up on most job stuff, I had time to rest and recuperate from yesterday's spill by watching the opening ceremonies of the Whatever-Number-It-Is Winter Olympiad. As usual the US coverage of the ceremony was dreadful, with numerous ads and Oo-Ess-Eh worship tainting what appeared to be a very lovely evening in Milan and Cortina. As usual, some sports were already underway and we caught a number of those; I tend to be partial to the ice skating, where the team competition got underway with said Oo-Ess-Eh in relatively deserved first place. I mean, I don't fault the athletes, I fault the jingoism, which will probably be unbearable in the summer of '28 when the games are currently scheduled to be in Los Angeles. Still, it was a nice distraction from the hand and knee pain, which I suspect I'll have for awhile, particularly with the coming colder snap...

Spill that Girl, Dig the Whine

So yeah. I fell again today.  Haven't had a fall since the COVID years when I banged my knee descending our outside stairs and went a'tumbling. Today's mishap came as I exited the bodega with my morning bagel, nary a block from our offices. I tend not to look down as I cross a Manhattan street, and that neglect came back to bite me as I half-stepped into a pothole and went down somewhat hard. Mostly it seems to have been the side of my right hand and, yep, the same area of the knee. The hand hurts far worse, and I've been wearing my thumb-wrist brace which seems to help. What probably helped the most was icing it at work for the better part of an hour, in between actually doing work. I couldn't keep it up, I left right after lunch to the nearest CityMD urgent care center, where the doc said nothing appeared broken, but getting an x-ray wouldn't be a bad idea (that venue doesn't have x-ray techs onsite, so that will be another trip if I decide to do it tomorrow), and wrapped me in a splint that prevented me from even touching anything with my right hand. That was a fun commute home! Where I will be staying for the foreseeable.

Ladies Who Lunch

Despite today's cold, I met my comics industry friend Allison for a lovely lunch. Allison is a Jersey girl who now lives in Atlanta with her husband Adam, a fairly famous comic book artist. In fact, she's a pretty damn good artist herself, as well as a dog person. I mean, a Best In Show-type dog person, with English sheepdogs that enter agility and show contests like the Westminster one at MSG this week (in which she nd her dog Ginny participated). What a delightful lunch! She's so knowledgeable about so many things, and I can't remember the last time I had such an interesting and wide-ranging conversation. Afterwards we checked out Russ & Daughters, which opened a branch right near my office that I never knew about! Now that I'm making a bit more money I can see a few R&D splurges in my life. And part of me is ready to have an actual social life again. Um, when the weather warms up, of course.

Back in the New York Groove

First day back in the office since The Great Snowstorm of Aught Twenty-Six. Most of the bus stops and streets around businesses are as cleared as they could be, but up here in the Boogie Down it's still tricky going. I didn't need cleats or boots but I did require Robin's steady hand to get past the worst of the driveway snow and ice. On the way back home I stopped into The World's Greatest Post Office Open 24/7/365 to mail some checks and bills and pick up a roll of Forever stamps. TIL that stamps are now up to 78 cents per. Someday the weather will be more conducive to melting the snow and allowing me to exit the post office and cross the street to Penn Station without shivering; this is not that day.

Prognostication Schmognostication

Seriously, what century is this? I'm actually glad the whole Gobbler's Knob thing has just turned into an excuse for a midwinter party and everything is now tongue in cheek. I'm less happy that the Inner Circle is all white men, but it's not like going to this event is ever going to be on my bucket list. Last day working from home until Friday, as I gear up to get through the slushy snow and ice in the driveway (with Robin's help) for the next three days to go into Manhattan. We watched a bit of the Westminster dog show, and saw my friend Allison and her dog Ginny who, alas, didn't make the cut. I'm hoping Allison and I can get together for lunch later in the week, weather permitting; I don't do well in this cold! Of which, I'm told by a rodent and an actual meteorological calendar, we'll have for six more weeks.

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).