Drunken Owls and Other Delights

WHEW. I may have only worked four days this past week (and regular eight hour shifts at that), but by Saturday it felt like I'd been there for twice that. The day before Thanksgiving is always an insanely busy day for grocery stores, and this was no different -- in fact, I saw our numbers and we made over TWICE our usual sales, and I think it's also a new record for us. On Wednesday I worked noon to 8.30pm, which is pretty much peak sales time anyway, but it was constant with no let-up until that last hour. Just one customer after another after another after another, and most of them were spending upwards of $150 - $200 for big holiday spreads.

Suffice it to say, after I clocked out and got home, I climbed right into bed and fell asleep probably an hour later. That day was exhausting.

The remaining three days weren't nearly as chaotic, but they did have their moments. I spent a frazzled last hour of yesterday's shift trying to juggle multiple orders and finishing up the bookkeeping and only made it under the wire with the help of a coworker and manager jumping in to help. Still, I'm glad it's the weekend and I can sleep in!

I'm back down to only three working days this coming week, but I've decided I'm going to use that to my advantage instead of asking for more hours. A took the week off, so we both decided we're going to use our mutual days off to enjoy ourselves with little day trips around town. 


Of course, tomorrow is the first of December, which means it's time for my usual Year End Mixtape and Contemplation Blog Posts. We'll see where this takes me!

WHOOF. Five days in a row of 5.30am starts is exhausting, especially when it's also a week of random call-outs, holiday volume and corporate visits that may or may not happen. By yesterday I was running on fumes and kind of annoyed because we were also going to the opera to see The Monkey King. [For the record, I did soldier through and did enjoy it, but probably would have enjoyed it much more if I hadn't been so dang tired!] Thankfully I don't need to be in until Wednesday and can catch up on sleep!

It's also entering the cold season here in the Bay Area, which means that the days are a brisk upper 50s-low 60s but the evenings can get down to the 40s. We've turned on the heat in the house for the first time in ages, much to the dismay of the two cats who did not like the noise of the vent fan! We have central heating this time instead of older and crankier units or radiators, but it's a relatively new unit so it works a peach and very quickly at that! We are also very thankful that our windows are new as well, which means the heat doesn't leak terribly like it did at the old place.

As for writing...yeah, I've been pretty bad this week due to the Day Job stuff. I either haven't had time, or just enough time to move at a snail's pace. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up again this coming week, because the last thing I want to do is get even further behind. And I definitely do NOT want to succumb to the Don't Wannas when I really need to get this novel finished.


Hope everyone has a good week ahead!

Today was our shopping and errand day of course, so this time out we chose to head down to Daly City to the Total Wine to stock up on liquor, then head across the way to World Market...to officially start our Christmas shopping. This would of course include things for ourselves, such as a box of Quality Street chocolate, a box of mini mince pies, and new decorations, but we also found a few fun things for our friends as well. As probably mentioned last year, we've given up on having a tree considering we have two cats who are extremely interested in climbing them and/or knocking them over, so instead we go with various fun stand-up decorations like little wooden trees and knitted baubles. Easy to put up and take down, and easy to pack away when the season is over.

Speaking of which, I have not yet heard any holiday music at the day job. I'm sure I'll hear it soon enough, as they kind of sneak it in at some point in November, just a few Christmas tunes in amongst the regular playlist they haven't otherwise changed since I started there. Once Thanksgiving is over, then it'll be holiday music 24/7. Not that it's ever bothered me, to be honest, although I really do wish they'd switch it up now and again.

I've said this in the past, but one of the biggest things I'd noticed when we moved out here to California is how blessed bright it can get on a sunny day! I know it's partly because we're closer to the equator (sort of) but we're also on the coast so there's less particulate in the air (far less than woodsy/pollen-y New England, at any rate). We were walking around the botanical garden and the Inner Sunset earlier and I couldn't help but squint and shade my eyes half the time. Lovely day, however! We got a few miles' worth of walking in, and now we're lazing around the house with the windows open. And yes, I will say one more time that I am extremely happy that we now live in a place with better windows where we can pop them open without a) one of them popping out or sliding askew, or b) one of the cats escaping through it.

Sunday is of course chore day, so the laundry is going, I've paid off a few bills, and taken out the trash. Oh, and I've also bought tickets to The Nutcracker at SF Ballet, which we've been going to nearly every single year since we've moved here! I of course still need to get my daily words done, so I'll do that a little bit later.

Meanwhile, my work schedule this coming week is kind of weird in that I once again don't have that many hours, and what hours I do have are all on the back end of the week, so I have the next several days off. WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF, I TELL YOU. Well, one is to maybe get myself to a dentist as one of my fillings fell out (boo!) and I'm probably far past due for a cleaning. I could go to the one I used to go to, but I've chosen a closer office this time, and one that I think might assist in some of my other dental work I've been putting off for far too long. [Not to worry, I won't go into details. But I do have a health-based account that was set up with my Former Day Job that I've barely touched, so perhaps I can use some of it to soften the financial blow. We shall see.]

Anyhoo! Not going to stress too much these next few days and instead try to get some major writing work done!


Hope everyone has a good week ahead!

Day job drama notwithstanding, this was a surprisingly unstressful weekend for me. I can never tell with my Friday-Saturday schedule, because it can either be slow and uneventful, or it can be ridiculously busy and chaotic, and rarely in between. In this case, both days were the 'in between' which is sometimes just how I like it. It keeps me busy but not exhausted, and the eight hours go by quickly. And of course Sundays are my 'do all the errands' day so after our trip to the farmer's market I've started the laundry, emptied the trash and will most likely do the PC cleaning a little bit later. Oh, and I really should dust this desk, as I keep forgetting to do so!

I've got a thin work schedule this coming week as well, so that gives me a bit of time to continue catching up with the writing, which is a good thing. I am now at the point in Theadia where I need to write the 'WRITE THIS LATER' scenes, and I'm thinking that instead of doing yet another reread and picking up each one as I go, I'll just jump in and write a rough draft for each scene and/or chapter. I can get away with doing this mainly because when I made each 'write this later' note, I added a vaguely detailed paragraph or two of what story beats need to be hit there. I've done that plenty of times in the past and it's worked well, so I'm not too worried. [The step after that of course will be finishing the novel itself, which is going to need some planning and outlining.]

On the personal end of things, I'm glad to say that my limb aches and pains haven't resurfaced as of late, which is always a good thing. For a while I had this weird thing where I'd constantly twist my leg slightly which would pinch some nerves in the process, but that seems to have gone away for the moment -- it's happened maybe once in the last several weeks. I'm thinking starting tomorrow I should restart a stretching regimen, though. It's been a while and I really should get back into the habit. Yay for getting old and frail! Thankfully, though, I'm still quite agile and my occasional walks around the neighborhood to the corner store or wherever keep me moving. 

Hope everyone has a good week ahead!

Oh hi there! It's Sunday afternoon, which means it's time for my usual weekend errands of laundry and gardening (today was a community garden clean-up day, in which A and I spent some time picking up trash and also cleaning and reorganizing the sheds so they're less of a hot mess). We got home just in time for us to get our awaited IKEA delivery (a drying rack for A's knitting and a storage caddy for the laundry room).

It was also high time for the PC cleaning. I've been forgetting to run the cleaner software as of late, so said PC was quite happy that I gave it a very thorough once-over this time. It definitely needed it, especially since I've been doing a lot of file reorganization, Plex server updatery, and writing work! I also never turn it off (mainly because of the Plex so others can access my entertainment collection), but it's something that should be done now and again. What I'm delaying, however, is the latest Windows 11 update, because a) I really don't need it, and b) if I did update it, I'd then need to dig in and turn off the stupid AI crap that I definitely do not need nor want. It's not a critical update, so I'm going to avoid it for a long as I can. Or at least until I have the spoons to do the settings adjustments.

In reading news, I have been obsessed with the manga and anime The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity lately. It's firmly placed in Everything Is So Dramatic levels of teenage drama, but I appreciate that because the story precisely about dealing with that kind of stuff as a teen. It's very well written and each character has their own fleshed-out backstory and conflict to deal with. And it's also a really sweet love story as well. I highly recommend it.

In health news, I think I've FINALLY shaken this stupid cold/allergy, though I'm still getting stuffed up every now and again, including today. I'm just not continuously clogged as I was last week, however. Meanwhile, I have been feeling rather tired a lot lately, and whether that's due to Day Job Stress/Overwork or said congestion keeping me up at night, I'm not sure. Maybe both. I don't feel it's a major worry, but at the same time I am keeping an eye on it just in case it becomes one. Besides, I ain't as young and agile as I used to be!

In writing news...I'm just a few chapters shy of being caught up once more with the latest revision of Theadia. Which means I have two things to do staring soon: one, I need to go back and start writing the 'WRITE THIS LATER' gaps, and two, I need to actually, y'know, finish the dang novel itself! I've been working on this one for quite some time now, but I'm really excited about it as well, and that's always a good sign. I'm still roughly on schedule for "sometime next year" as its drop date. I might even look into commissioning a cover for this one! Heh.

And finally in Day Job news...well, let's just say there's still a lot of Hurry Up and Wait in regards to wanting a transfer. Right now there's a lot of Managerial Drama and Metrics Obsession going on which is taking precedence, as well as Holiday Season starting up. I'm a bit annoyed that I've been put on the backburner because of it all, but there's not too much else I can do except occasionally poke at the main players and remind them I'm still there and waiting. I'm also still a little annoyed about the lower hours, but I'll set that particular commentary aside for now.

In the meantime, Sunday also means Sunday dinner, and A is currently making beef stew which has the entire house smelling amazing right now.


Hope everyone has a good week!

Not much, really. I'm currently dealing with what's either a head cold or allergies that's been leaving me congested and tired. Which is bad timing, considering I have a few days off to do whatever I want or need! Bleh.

Sunday was a bit on the lazy side, as we didn't really do anything until almost noon when we went out for a walk, checked out the dahlia garden in GGP, then had quite a tasty lunch at the Velo Rouge Cafe on Arguello. We'd been meaning to go there for ages, and it was definitely worth it! Once back home, we ended up lazing around, and I got to finally watch the first three episodes of The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity, an anime whose manga version I've been obsessing over lately. 

Still, by the time I sat down at the desk, I was just too tired to get any work done or even write any blog posts. Bleh, I say! So yeah, that's why you're seeing this on Monday morning. I have very few plans today other than to rest up and catch up. Hopefully I'll be back up to speed soon!

On the non-Day-Job front, we spent most of today up in Petaluma, visiting the in-laws. A and I were getting rid of a smallish freezer (about the size of one of those dorm fridges you're not supposed to have in a dorm) that we figured they'd like to have so we made a day of it by visiting to drop it off and then go out to brunch. Said brunch was QUITE tasty at a family restaurant that looked to be quite the destination for the post-church crowd on Sundays. I ended up getting the chorizo hash which was extremely filling and very generous.

But that's not all! I had another reason to be up there, and that was to sell off three of the acoustic guitars I've had for the last several years that have been gathering more dust than play. [These are the guitars that were in front of the window at our old place, and when the cats saw birds out said window they would get all excited and their tails would hit the guitar necks, letting out an amusing twang.] I got about what I'd expected from the exchange, and this is a REALLY good guitar store that would fix them up and sell them off relatively quick. 

All in all it was a very nice and warm day, and the traffic was surprisingly not at all stressful. I was worried I'd be a bit exhausted but so far I'm not doing too bad. [That's another story entirely...I've been feeling exhausted for the last few weeks, most likely due to Work Stuff, to the point where maybe I should see a doctor. It's probably nothing, but it wouldn't hurt considering I'm getting old and not running on all cylinders like I used to.]

Anyhoo...I have a few days off this week, so I'm going to spend those days enjoying myself and getting things done.

It seems calling out on Monday was a good idea, because I was extremely burned out. I stayed at home and didn't do much of anything other than a bit of writing and reading, and by the afternoon I felt a lot better. I also had a good rethink about why I was feeling so exhausted, and I'm pretty sure it was day job related. There's been a few things happening that I was letting get to me in a rather unhealthy way and it just kind of all came to a head over the weekend. Long story short, I've decided I'm going to just stop getting angry about the consistent lack of assistance and the frequent assumption of managerial status from a certain coworker. I'm still annoyed that they've fucked with my pay and I'm hoping it will be rectified very soon, but I'm not going to ragequit or let it eat at me as much.

More to the point, I've decided that I need to reapproach the day job the same way I did during my years at Yankee Candle. The day job is the day job and I should only put in what I feel I want to put into it. My main focus should always be with the writing -- the day job is the day job, the writing is the career, after all. It's time to dial it back a little and rebalance my priorities here.

In other news, I've resurrected the longhand journal and the 750 Words sessions again, and the poetry/song writing might make a reappearance in the near future as well. Why? Well, because I want to, which is a fine enough reason. I'm sort of giving myself a trial run during these last few days of the month with the aim to be more consistent about them in October. We'll see how that pans out...

I have today off so this morning I headed over to Kaiser and got my combo flu and Covid shots. I figured I'd get it out of the way early this year so I don't need to worry about it! I've always had a bit of a bad habit of putting things off (not a terrible habit, just one that I've used more often than I'd like and mostly out of laziness and/or distraction), so lately I've been making sure I'm a bit more aware of it. 

Speaking of fixing habits, I'm still trying to get myself back into the daily writing thing -- I mean, other than working on my current revision projects. I really should go back to the journaling, at least. Doing that often got me into the mindset for writing each day, not to mention it being a bit of therapy to get my thoughts in order and lighten the mental or emotional burden.

Still, the only downside to wanting to do that is the near-inability to do that during work hours. I just do not have enough downtime, unless I take major steps to work on such things outside of the store. I mean, I'd really like to return to sketching out ideas during quiet moments on scratch paper, but there's more to it than just that -- I've also got to unf*ck my other terrible habit of Overthinking My Notes. I don't even remember where or when that started (I'm thinking it was at some point around the end of my time at the bank). And that's been a hard one to break.

Maybe what I need is a main focus. Decide on one specific project to work on and filter all my creative thoughts while I'm at work towards that one point.

Something to think about, anyway.