"Luther" > the thought of "Tiger King"

I'm annoyed at my technology right now, as it is keeping me from watching more "Luther," and I wanted to finish the second season tonight. As it is, now I'm stuck flipping my channels and finding stuff I wouldn't mind having on in the background.
Brian and I had tentatively planned an early-morning trip to Target tomorrow, but I'm honestly doubting that will happen at this point. It's almost bedtime and he's asleep, and I hate to plan things for tomorrow morning this late at night. I do want paper goods though, so there's that motivation.
Announcement: I am not watching "Tiger King." I'm nervous about it, actually, because I'm not interested in seeing behavior that may be abusive of the tigers, as stuff like that bothers me a whole lot. Meghan says that there is stuff kinda borderline in regards to that, but also that the whole thing is a huge train wreck, which I've heard from like everyone in all my circles. I'm just not in the mood for train wrecks right now, so I'll put a pin in "Tiger King" and save it for a while longer.

I need paper towels, Kleenex and napkins

I'm going to stop keeping track of days in Social Distancing, because this is going to last way longer than any of us thought it would. That's super scary. Our governor here just today declared that Arizona would be "stay-at-home," but that's at least a week or two too late, and no doubt people are going to die because of his inaction/late action. Also, his definition of "essential businesses" is insanely generous, and it encompasses pretty much everything, or could be finagled to cover any business, if the owner wanted it to.
Having said that, I still can't remote in to my work computer, so I'll probably still be going in to my office. There are only three of us in there at any given time right now, and we're very distant from each other, so I feel like it's relatively safe there.
We had a weekend that included a lot of line waiting on Saturday, and a lot of bad television on Sunday. Do NOT watch "Marvel Inhumans." It's terrible. I wanted to stop the show 20 minutes into the first episode, but Brian was convinced it would get better, but it didn't, and we were tortured for eight episodes of terrible comic book television.
I did check out the due date for the library book that I have, and it's been changed to May 1. Also we found out that Sydney won't be going back to school this semester. So, a lot is going on, right?

And she cleans up messes better than her dad

Social Distancing, Day Eleven:
Sydney has decided that she is going to teach herself how to make and bake stuff during this isolation period. Last week, she taught herself how to make a grilled cheese sandwich, and a couple days ago, she baked her first batch of blueberry muffins.
Today, she made herself a list of the food stuffs she wants to try making/baking over the next several weeks. True to her genetics, most items are sweet treats to be baked. Brownies, cake and jello are just a few of the items she listed. I expect that her learning how to make sweet stuff is going to play havoc with me wanting to not eat sweet stuff.
I did talk her out of making beignets though, since I don't want her dealing with boiling oil, nor do I want to clean up boiling oil, or take her to the hospital with boiling oil burns, or put out flames of boiling oil, or really anything at all related to her and boiling oil. That was my only veto, I think. The muffins adventure was fun. I'm excited to see what she'll be doing next.

Entertain me, else I will leave you

Social Distancing, Day Ten:
Currently watching "Luther," starring Idris Elba. I'm on the fifth episode of the first season, and while I am enjoying it, I also find myself kinda internally complaining about a couple things. (I am removing the Idris eye candy aspect of this show from the equation here.)
First, all the Luther and Zoe emotional baggage has got to go. I am so over it. Yes, shows are more interesting when there's a bit of backstory for the main character, but this whole drama is distracting. Why are the detectives always dealing with terribly painful personal lives?
Also, they like to talk a lot about sexual stuff being the catalyst behind most everything all the bad guys do. Sexual perversion isn't always the reason, they do vary by evils, but it's always a consideration, and they refer to it as "sex stuff," or something of the like, and that sounds weird to my ears.
I don't know what I expected, but since "Sherlock" was more nuanced, the violence and gore of this show was naively surprising to me. I'm still watching it, of course, and will have only one more episode of this season after this one. A lot is riding on the season finale of this show, as to whether I watch any more. I am fickle.

UPDATE: I'm at the end of the fifth episode and I guess I don't have to worry about one of those things up there anymore, do I? Yikes. I didn't see that coming.

Happy, happy little bee

Social Distancing, Day Nine:
I spent some time hanging out in my backyard this afternoon, and I'm so excited to say that my orange tree is *humming* with bee activity. Last year, I worried that my orange blossoms would get no bees, and I even wondered if there was some kind of CraigsList for bees to let them know that this tree was here. This year, I have no such concerns. Bees, bees everywhere. I love just watching them fly around and buzz buzz with their happiness. Also, the tree smells absolutely amazing.
I'd never had an orange tree in my immediate vicinity before we moved into this house, and I have to tell you, it's fantastic. The tree itself is a very pretty little tree, but for those three weeks or so when the blossoms are opening and bloomed, and the bees are happy, it is my favorite tree in the whole world.
I know I very rarely use my own pics with my posts, but this one I actually did take on my tree the other day.

Always read the ingredients ... ALWAYS

Social Distancing, Day Eight:
I have been betrayed. In my own home. Betrayal, you guys.
Brian bought one of those green smoothie drinks at the grocery store the other day. He decided to drink it tonight, and asked me to taste it first. Typically, these random drinks taste more like apple juice than anything else. This time though, it tasted of something far more nefarious.
Banana. It had banana in it.
Of course, I accused Brian of this duplicity. He intentionally gave me juice with banana in it, which is, decidedly, an act of extreme treachery and aggression.
Oh sure, you may say, maybe he really didn't know that there was banana in the shake. Okay, so maybe he didn't. But also, he didn't check the shake to be sure that there WASN'T banana in it. Again! Dishonesty!
After he tasted it he told me that he didn't taste the banana, and that it was almost entirely apple juice flavor. I beg to differ, and told him so. Isn't it funny how when there's a taste you don't like ...  er, hate, you can pick it out of everything? He doesn't get to give me anything to blind taste-test ever again, that's for sure.
BETRAYAL.

It's been a week; how are you doing?

Social Distancing, Day Seven:
We made it to a Costco today, you guys, and it was, despite all reports, a pleasant shopping experience. There were only three people in line ahead of us to get in, and if you weren't looking for disinfecting things or paper products, there was plenty of stuff to buy. We got food, of course, and that's all we needed, but all the food we wanted was there. And that seems to be the anomaly here. So many places don't have the food people are looking for, and that's just wrong. What the hell is going on here? People need to not be hoarding food.
There's a vodka and gin distillery near me that has shifted to making hand sanitizer for the masses, and they're selling it fo $1.50 an ounce. I do not have much hand sanitizer, so Brian and I went to the place to pick some up. There was a line, and of course, this is after we bought our Costco food, so we couldn't leave it sitting in the car for any length of time, so we bailed. We'll head back again later this week.
I did get the windows in my bedroom cleaned though, and after years of my dog pounding on them and barking at them, they are finally devoid of dog spit residue. Which sounds gross, and looked gross, but you know, it's dog stuff that dog people have to deal with. Anyway, my windows are clean now.
Once again, I am soliciting prayers for my fuchsia, in the hopes that this one will survive the summer. I'm going to repot it and am prepared to bring it inside before the weather gets too warm, so I have high hopes for this particular plant. I love fuchsias, and watching last year's die was a personal heartbreak for me, so I'm determined to get this dude inside and happy before the Arizona summer decimates it.
I still haven't gotten the link I need to use my work computer remotely, so I guess I have to go into the office tomorrow morning. I'll get in and get out as quickly as I can, and hopefully leave for the day with the option of working from home. Also, Sydney starts her online classroom tomorrow, and Brian's schedule has been reduced to two days a week. Life is so weird right now.

Sherlock Holmes > Spenser His-Last-Name

Social Distancing, Day Six:
What's interesting about this whole social distancing thing is the amount of time there is to get random projects done around the house because there is really nothing else to do. Today, I cleaned out the deck box on the patio, and threw away a bunch of stuff and reorganized the rest of the stuff. I did a little bit of weeding in the yard, and did some general clean-up. The weeding and clean-up? Normal. The box reorganization? Result of the isolation.
We also had our first necessity-based take-out experience, at Oregano's, of course. I've decided that I don't quite like getting my sausage sandwich as take-out, because the bun gets soggy by the time I eat it, and that makes it kinda gross. But it'll taste better tomorrow after the microwave reheat makes the whole thing kinda soggy.
I've watched a bit more "Sherlock," and that's a good show! I just started the third season. I have been told that this and the next season get to be not-as-great, and I already can see some aesthetic changes, but I'm in it for the long haul. Three more episodes of this season, and three episodes of the fourth season, and then, it's time for "Luther." I just checked and there are four seasons of 'Luther" on Amazon Prime.
Also, Brian and I watched "Spenser Confidential" on Netflix this afternoon. What's my takeaway from that one? Winston Duke is a big dude! Of course, most everyone is big compared to Mark Wahlberg, but still, he's a big guy. And the movie was pretty good. Of course, because we've all seen these kinds of movies a thousand times, I knew the partner was dirty, but the whole thing came together okay. And the movie ends with a total opening for a sequel, which would be an okay television series (again), but I doubt they'll have that many movies up their sleeves.

Delightfully delicious doughnut delivery

Social Distancing, Day Four:
My dedication to social distancing is a real hit and miss, for sure. Today, a miss ... kinda.
I made the family accompany me to Lowe's for some things. Yes, yes, leave the child at home, but come on, it was the first time she was outside the house in four days, I think. She does, absolutely, need to get outside for fresh air. And for that, she had to visit Lowe's. We needed a new tank of propane, and I needed some pot soil since I'll be spending time in my backyard gardens this weekend.
But I also discovered something amazing tonight. I got an email from Krispy Kreme in regards to their shutting down their interior seating, and in that email was a line about pick-up or delivery. DELIVERY. Holy crap, you guys, if you live within a 10-mile radius of a Krispy Kreme, doughnuts can be delivered to your door. This is a fantastic development. One that you have to pay an additional $4.99 for, but it's pretty wonderful nonetheless. Just the fact that Krispy Kreme can be delivered is a stunning example of some wonderful things going on in this world despite all the horrible things going on in this world.
We watched "Star Trek Beyond" this afternoon, and Sydney has decided that she prefers the second of the Chris Pine-helmed Star Trek movies. She enjoyed all three, but thinks the second is the better, and I can't say I entirely disagree, but I really love all three as a group and couldn't possibly pick a favorite, but I still like the first one the best. Chris Pine is so dreamy.
Currently, and perhaps this is a Cumberbatch thing adjacent to yesterday's movie, I have started watching the BBC series, "Sherlock." I've had it in my Netflix queue for quite a while, and I decided that tonight is the night to start it. For whatever reason, I decided that the 90-something minutes to watch "Dracula" was too much time, but the 90-something minutes to watch "Sherlock" is a fine investment. I'm digging my selection, though. And Martin Freeman is cool, too.

Benedict Cumberbatch > Ricardo Mantalban

Social Distancing, Day Three:
I did it right today, you guys. All I did was go to work, visit a drive-through for lunch, and come home. My day in three trips.
Sydney and I watched "Star Trek Into Darkness" today, and she enjoyed that one, too. We'll watch the third one tomorrow, but now I'm tasked with finding our next set of movies for her to see. For sure we'll watch "Jumanji: The Next Level" at some point this week, but I'm wondering where her motion picture education needs to go next.
All the St. Patrick's Day decorations are put away tonight, and I'm pleased to have a normal house for a couple weeks until Easter comes along. But I'm feeling a little stir crazy, so I did some cleaning up and cleaning out stuff in my closet. I expect that I'll have a lot of random tasks finished by the end of this quarantine.

I failed again at staying away from places

Social Distancing, Day Two:
I had to pick up a prescription at Target this afternoon, and bought a couple other things while there. Apparently, there are people waiting for the store to open at 8 every morning, and they rush in and grab all the disinfectant products that are restocked during the night. They get all the paper products that are shelved every night, too. I do not want to be one of those people, but I'm going to need paper towels and napkins soon.
The Scottsdale libraries are still open, and I visited one to return one book that was due tomorrow, and pick up one book that was only being held for me until tomorrow. It was creepy how empty and quiet the library was, and I'm glad that it's still open, though I expect they'll all be closing soon.
We had a coworker birthday party at the office today, and everyone enjoyed ice cream cone cupcakes. Unfortunately, the cupcakes included cream cheese frosting, which I do not like, but I soldiered through and ate one anyway. I should have passed, because if I had, I would have only eaten one cupcake today, as I had one of our rainbow cupcakes this afternoon. Two cupcakes in one day is excessive in this time of crisis.
Still no schoolwork for Sydney, but I did have her sit and watch a movie with me this afternoon: "Star Trek (2009)." I believe the Chris Pine "Star Trek" movies to be superior to all others, so I was excited to have her see this one. You guys, she liked it! So many movies I sit her down to watch don't do anything for her, but she liked this one. And she's looking forward to seeing the second one with me tomorrow.
And then Brian wanted to visit Safeway and see what the empty shelves looked like. So we did that.

Cupcakes can cure this whole f*cking thing

Social Distancing, Day One:

I had to go to the grocery store this afternoon. We needed milk, eggs, Vitamin C, waffles and a 15-count chocolate cupcake rainbow. We stayed as far away from other people as we could, but still, it was a grocery store. I used a disinfectant wipe on the cart, but still, people were abundant. And it just couldn't be helped. So that was my only foray into the general public.

I did go to work, as did all my coworkers, and with such a small office, we were able to have a quick meeting to be reassured of our security in the company. I wasn't sure how nervous I was until I heard that we were all safe, and I was physically relieved and relaxed after hearing that.

Brian's work gave no such assurances though, and the company has instead chosen to shut down hygiene and close offices one day every week for the next few weeks. Not exactly a boost of confidence, but at least they're not shutting down entirely.

Sydney did absolutely nothing in regards to school, which shouldn't surprise any of you. I didn't have any time to find her any geometry worksheets or social studies and English study guides, though she does know that she owes me a book report by Friday afternoon. I wish I had some work packets or something for her. That is definitely on my to-do list for tomorrow.

My dad shopped at Target, my mom ran some errands and went to an appointment, so both my older-than-65, immuno-compromised parents did exactly what they wanted to do today and gave the governor of California the middle finger. It's all fun and games until either one gets sick and I lose my shit with worry.

We watched the last two week's episodes of "LEGO Masters" tonight, and it's not right how stressed out we get watching that show. It is very enjoyable though, and you all should watch it.

Better shape than I thought, but still

It's been a while; I have not forsaken thee.
In fact, I was out in California last week, and just got home today, amidst all this craziness. I'm totally exhausted, and my brain is going a thousand miles an hour. For all of you that have had the last couple days to prepare for social distancing, I have been away, and am just now able to inventory all my household staples and whatnot. Don't be jealous; I have 27 rolls of toilet paper in my storage cabinet. I also have a bit of surplus hand sanitizer, and two packages of disinfectant wipes. I have four rolls of paper towels, which is perhaps my only item at risk.
Tomorrow, I am off to my local Target and grocery store to see what I can find so far as foodstuffs. I need milk, eggs, frozen waffles and whatever else I come across. I am way behind the curve on this, but again, I was in California, and now I'm home. I'm hoping that something has maybe been stocked and I can grab some stuff. Also, I should probably get a couple large bags of pizza rolls.

Skeeter Eaters do not eat skeets

I've been reading at night, you guys, and that typically distracts me away from the blog, so that's that. I'm posting this on a Monday morning, before I head out to work, and that's a weird feeling, but also okay.
Sydney and I drive out to California tomorrow afternoon, and I am beyond excited to be there for a few days. I've got plans for almost every day, which is always awesome. I'm not as far along in my packing as I usually am at this point, but really, I think I'll be able to pull it all together this afternoon. I need to make a list fo stuff for Sydney to pile today while I'm at work.
ANYWAY, this is a crane fly. They are all over the place right now, as it seems to be crane fly season. I have no idea how these little monsters are getting in my house, but alas, they seem to be everywhere. When we lived in Houston, my friend Marlo told me that they were called "skeeter eaters," because apparently, they eat mosquitos. That is not at all accurate, by the way, but you can't explain Texas sometimes. Also, because it is nonsensical, we now call them that, too. Sydney is afraid of them though, and that made for an interesting last few days because she'd holler for someone to come kill one whenever she sees them.

And it shall be called Bert

I am composing this to the dulcet sounds of some random country music singer performing at WestWorld tonight. He's been rocking out for over an hour already, and will probably be done soon. Isn't there some kind of noise ordinance about concerts playing later than 10 p.m.? At any rate, there's a nice breeze blowing in through my window, and the music isn't terribly offensive, so that's all I've got going on right now.

The big thing that needed to be done was done today, and it went relatively smoothly. I still spent 45 minutes in the DMV, but the car is titled in my name, the registration is paid through 2021, and I've got my license plate on it. So all in all, it was a successful afternoon. I have no other reason to visit the DMV for a while now, and that's a super good thing.

Mom and I were discussing the car tonight, and how it really needed a name to ingratiate itself with me, and since it has a Mary Poppins sticker on it, I have decided that its name will be Bert. No gender either, just Bert. Bert the awesome chimney sweep, and it will be fine. Yes. Yes, I like that. Bert.

A Google search informs me that this weekend is Rodeo Scottsdale at WestWorld, and that I am currently listening to Tony Martinez entertain the crowd. Sounds like it may be an interesting weekend for us locals.

Stuffy stuff stuff stuff

CAR STUFF: I'ver managed to check off a bunch of stuff on my random list for this week, and while that's a good thing, I think I still have a couple days and a couple tasks that need to be taken care of before I can relax. Obviously, I still need to get the title transferred for the car, and that'll be done tomorrow. The emissions testing went fine, as we all knew it would, and I believe that I have everything together for the title situation now. I need to Windex the inside of my windshield, too.
BOOK STUFF: My editor, Haley, is about done with the last of our edits, and I think it's getting to be time to send this little baby off to Lydia for illustrating. I'm pretty excited about this one; I think it's got legs.
SICK STUFF: Brian has a terrible cold and was home most of the day today and is staying home tomorrow, and he's confined to the living room and isn't allowed to touch us or get too close to us. I've reminded Sydney a couple times that getting too close to Dad is not permitted right now, and I'm pleased to see her adhering to that. He's got an upper respiratory infection, and an ear infection, and obviously, he could die at any moment with this drama.
DOG STUFF: My neighbor complained about Elliot's barking the other morning, and we've taken a couple steps to lessen Ell's stimuli during the day, in the form of no access to the window in my bedroom, and closed blinds in the downstairs window. I would say that it is working, but I don't know for sure, because I'm not home when she's alone and I don't know if she's barking or not. This is the dumbest thing. She's a good girl and I won't have anyone try to make me think different.
READING STUFF: One of the books I've been waiting months to read is finally in my possession, and I'm so eager to dig in some time tomorrow. I know it's been a while since I read anything, and it'll be weird to settle into a reading position, but I'm super ready for it. Sarah Maas is awesome.
WORD STUFF: Isn't it so fun that when you say a word enough times it starts to make no sense in your head and sounds weird for its context? Like, who created the word "stuff"? Why does "stuff" mean "stuff"? It's so bizarre sounding in my head right now!

I still wanna go to space

It's that time again! NASA is accepting applications for its astronaut program!
Should I apply this year? I haven't earned any Master's degrees or any kid of medical doctorate; nor have I learned to fly jets; nor have I finished two years of a Ph.D. program. Also, I need reading glasses. And I'm 47 years old, which is older than most all accepted applicants. We won't even get into the physical fitness requirements that I undoubtedly would never meet.
I'm a full 10 years older than I was the last time I entertained this career switch, when I was younger, faster, psychologically more sound, oh yeah, and with the same education level. I'd like to think that this will not dissuade me from fantasizing about my ultimate bucket list activity, but, well, delusion is not a fun thing. Nor is continual disappointment.
So, this is a fun fiction, my bone-deep desire to be an astronaut, but really, I'll just think and dream about it, and maybe write about it. Still, it was super cool to see the application announcement and to read through all the requirements, and to realize that, yet again, I still wasn't qualified. But wouldn't it be so fun? I mean, it could be book research!

Have I really not posted since Thursday?

Stuff has happened, people.
First and foremost, the Jetta has been sold, and the Tiguan is now in my garage. It all happened quickly on Saturday, and I'm sad, but it'll be an okay thing once I get used to the car. It's weird sitting up high in a car again, and it's weird not having a turbo engine. It's all weird, but I'll get used to it, of course. One less thing to be randomly overwhelmed by.
We had a great day of teambulding at work on Friday, and our activity was a scavenger hunt through Old Town Scottsdale. It was fun, but certainly exhausting. My steps activity: 9,390 steps, three flights and 4.7 miles walked. I am too old and out of shape to be walking AND RUNNING through town taking pictures of random shit for a contest. My team won.
Tomorrow I get a chance to catch up on my work stuff though, so that's good.
I've bagged up all the clothing donations; chosen an already read book to read again; put some money away for my fun weekends that are upcoming; and my finger has healed. So really, my overwhelming stuff is way less now.

As for March, I already have put up my St. Patrick's Day decorations, and am looking forward to finishing up with the donations and reading some new books.
BOOK STUFF: My new editor has finished her first read-through of the new book, and had some good suggestions and some that I'm not too sure about. But that's what she's there for. I asked some additional questions, and I'm eager to hear back from her. Once we're done there, I'll send it over to Lydia for illustrating. Progress is a real thing happening right now.