Corner of Bourbon & Division

I got up early today and got all the recycling to the curb! It helps when it's all in one spot, let me tell you. The previous failures were all mostly (only mostly) due to the fact that I still had recycling in various rooms in the house. Since the massive clean-up during my week off, I had everything in the garage, so all I had to do was drag it down my driveway, much like last week with the plastic/glass recycling and the garbage. In short, setting myself up for success tends to result in my being successful, who knew?

Less successful has been my resolution to try running again this week. My original plan was to go Tuesday, and then again tomorrow, and Tuesday didn't happen. I awoke feeling super drained and really fucking cold, and I ended up just dropping Peggy off at daycare and going back to bed for a while to get more sleep and try to warm up. I spent the whole day feeling cold, which tells me I was overtired, because usually the only times I'm cold in that bone-deep, can't-get-warm kind of way is when I'm overtired or coming down with something. Since I am pretty confident I'm not sick, it means I need more sleep in my life. After my weekend of going to bed late, it all kind of makes sense.

Tomorrow the plan is to get up early and take Peggy for a romp in the fields in the morning before daycare, then get on with my work day, and then try my first run in the evening. It's either that or I forgo taking Peggy to the fields and try a run on my own (I can't run with her yet, she has way more stamina and energy than I do, among other issues) and just take her directly to daycare afterward. That might be my best bet, and I can take her for a run in the fields on Friday instead, since she'll get plenty of exercise and socialisation at daycare anyway. I just have to get myself into bed at a decent enough hour that I won't have all the regrets when my alarm clock goes off. Or, rather, I have to arm myself with the knowledge that it WILL feel as if I'm dying right at that moment, but getting up early never killed anyone (except maybe under very freakish circumstances which don't apply in my circumstances) and I will prevail. I have my Zombies, Run! app all lined up, and I'm lookiing forward to unlocking new episodes eventually.

In pandemic news, Ontario is locking down even harder now. Their "emergency brake" from before (aka "Well we tried precisely nothing and now we're out of ideas, so we'll just keep everything open while saying it's locked down") had no measurable effect, shockingly enough, so now we're back to lockdown levels comparable to last March and April, which is what we should have had to begin with. Our illustrious Premier has also announced that essential workers won't be receiving their first vaccines until May or June now instead of April, so yippee for that, I guess. At this rate I'll be very surprised if I'm able to get vaccinated before September, which is a bit of a depressing thought. I was hoping I'd be able to see my parents in person this summer without having to self-isolate for two weeks, but apparently that may not be in the cards.

*sigh*

Nothing for it but to carry on for now. I'll continue with my precautions, do what I gotta do, and eventually we'll come out the other side of this.

I know you're probably all tired of reading that I'm tired, but here we are.

It was a good day. I am working on deciding ahead of time what sort of feelings I want to experience during the day, and the neat thing about cognitive bias is that it does actually work to a certain extent. I wasn't truly put to the test, of course, because nothing much happened, but it was still nice.

I got to work and found 200+ emails in my inbox after my five days off, but I actually got them all sorted, and am left right now with 28 "action items" on my to-do list, which isn't bad at all. I have a lot of work to do this week, but having such a productive and accomplished week off has kind of lit a fire under me and I am excited to dive back into things.

I think I mentioned that I was scheduled to help out Dylan and sarahcarrotte get their new truck, and that's what I did. We picked up the truck, and then sarahcarrotte and I drove to get Peggy from PetSmart where I left her this morning for a thorough grooming followed by an afternoon of daycare shenanigans. Peggy is so soft right now, her fur is delicious to pet, and of course she was thrilled to see two of her favourite humans again.

Unfortunately, she also broke into the chicken coop when we arrived at the farm, and tried to brutally murder one of the chickens that got loose. I was able to grab the chicken before she killed it, and it didn't appear badly injured. It received first aid for where Peggy's teeth scratched it, and I am really hoping it doesn't die of shock overnight. If it does, that means I will be 2 for 2 for chicken murdering dogs, and will have indirectly caused the death of four chickens. *sigh* I'm thinking that I may work on exposure training with her this summer so she can get used to the chickens without immediately resorting to mass slaughter.

Tomorrow is another round of the "I told you so" game, because I need to get up early to take out the truly breathtaking amount of recycling I generated last week. I need to not procrastinate at all, because if I don't get it all out to the curb I won't be able to actually access the garage, which is my next organisation project after the kitchen.

I hope I can maintain my current level of motivation for things. I usually get a burst of energy at this time of year as the days get longer and warmer (although it didn't happen last year, probably due to COVID), so we shall see how long it lasts. With any luck, it will persist into the summer months.

On that note, it is time for bed. I can barely keep my eyes open as it is.

 Every part of me huuuuuuuurts. Okay, not every part of me. It's mostly my feet and my lower back and my legs to a lesser extent. All those muscles have seized up and haaaaaate me.

I did get up on time. I correctly predicted that anxiety would force me out of bed in time to get stuff done, and it did and I did! I cleared out a bunch of garbage/recycling in order to make sure there was a clear space to work in, and although Peggy freaked out and spent a good 30 minutes shrieking at the top of her lungs every time I went by to the garage or the basement, I got everything I wanted to done.

The professional organisers arrived at 09:30, and we had a super productive day! We cleared out so. much. stuff. I got rid of about 90% of my old paperwork, and donated 6 boxes of books (with more to come tomorrow). Unfortunately they complained to their boss that there was too much cat hair in the rooms we were working in (fair enough, as those rooms have been so cluttered for years that I couldn't get in there with a vacuum cleaner), and one of them isn't coming back tomorrow because she claimed she wasn't feeling well as a result. I *did* make a point of telling the lady in charge a month ago that I had multiple pets and that I needed to de-clutter rooms that hadn't been touched in years, and she assured me that no one had allergies or phobias, but I guess that only goes so far. She did say she'll refund me the part of my fee that covers the second person tomorrow, so that's something, at least.

The brightest part of the day was KK spontaneously volunteering to come over to help me build my new computer desk. Not only that, but when I left to fetch Peggy from daycare she actually put together my small bookcase for me too! I am incredibly thankful, because while I could have managed the bookcase just fine, the desk was more complex and would likely have taken me several hours when I was already very tired and very sore. She has the same kind of desk (mine has blue accents and hers is all black), so she remembered how to put it all together, which was quite helpful.

I picked up a rotisserie chicken and made baby potatoes, asparagus, and Caesar salad (from a kit, I was too tired for anything else) for dinner, and both of us hadn't eaten in a very long time, and it was goddamned delicious. As KK said, it hit spots we didn't even know needed hitting. We had meringata for dessert, and hung out and chatted and played with the dogs, and generally had a nice, chill time before she went home around 9:30. We're both really looking forward to moving in together, and it's starting to feel like reality now, which is pretty exciting.

Now it's time to faceplant into my bed. KK actually gave me one of those chair pillows for my bed so I can read/be on my laptop, so that's where I am already, but the important part is the faceplanting. I have more stuff that I want to do before the (solitary) organiser comes tomorrow so as to maximise her time here (more vacuuming, for one thing), so getting more sleep seems like a really good plan right now.

I am so tired.

I know it's tired to complain about being tired, but whatever, this is my journal I can write what I want. ;)

Work has been completely bonkers, although right now the blockades and protests in support of the Wet'suwet'en have stopped, so we haven't had to do any work related to that for a couple of days now. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, is starting to take off here in Canada.

Right now, we're at a tipping point. The virus is contagious enough that, unchecked, the number of infected people doubles every week or so. We had two cases at the end of January, and now there are 299 confirmed cases (with a lot more still awaiting testing). There was a similar progression in Italy, but because measures weren't taken in stride, they currently have somewhere in the neighbourhood of 14,000 cases, and their medical system is cracking under the strain. The rest of the world is struggling with this to varying degrees, and while Italy is the worst hit so far, it's looking like the US is going to be a hell of a shitshow.

The one good thing going for us in Canada is that we learned some hard lessons after the SARS outbreak in 2003. The federal and provincial governments put infrastructure in place to deal better with the next pandemic, as SARS disproportionately affected medical personnel and was just overall so poorly dealt with. So there is reason for optimism, at least here. Everything is shutting down: all schools and universities, all non-essential government workers have been sent home, and people are being encouraged to work from home as much as they can. Right now anyone returning from abroad is being asked to self-isolate for two weeks, anyone in contact with people who've been abroad, and anyone showing symptoms consistent with COVID-19. Anyone with a confirmed case must remain in quarantine for two weeks unless they can't manage their symptoms at home. 

My parents and I have agreed not to visit each other until the end of April, which is when her course of radiation treatments will be done. It's a bit of a bummer, but we're staying in touch by phone and by Skype, and we'll make do. It's not the longest we'll have gone without seeing each other in person--my parents went on trips to Europe that kept us apart for much longer.

In the meantime, people are panicking. It started in other countries like Australia and the US, but it quickly spread here. The panic is manifesting as stockpiling, and it reached an all-time high late last week. People have been buying ridiculous amounts of toilet paper and paper towel, even though they have been assured by both governments and the companies themselves that there is no problem with the supply chain. I think they heard the government tell them to prepare for two weeks at home, and just kind of lost their minds. No one needs hundreds of rolls of toilet paper for a two-week quarantine. The shelves in the stores are bare of non-perishables, canned foods, as well as any kind of disinfectant product, and all the bread products, potatoes and onions. It's kind of wild, I'm not going to lie.

Of course what this means is that the people who could afford to stockpile are fine, but all the people who live in financial precariousness/paycheque to paycheque now no longer have access to every day necessities. Shelters, food banks and soup kitchens are struggling, because many stores usually make donations every week and now can't because they've been stripped bare.

In short, we've got some challenges ahead of us. Schools are closed, but many parents still have to go to work and are struggling to find child care. The elderly and people with chronic medical conditions are the most vulnerable to the virus, and the most likely to be hospitalized and die if they get infected. We have people who are already isolated, people with mobility and other accessibility challengers, and more.

Inspired by something I saw on Twitter, I'm putting together a neighbourhood support network. I spent two hours or so yesterday going door to door to all my neighbours in my townhome complex in order to leave a flyer I made explaining the concept, and so far eight people (out of about 100 households) have expressed an interest in helping out. The idea is to identify vulnerable neighbours, to assess needs such as child care or basic food and supplies, and organize volunteers in order to meet those needs. I hope we won't end up needing the network all that much, but I am erring on the side of "better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it." I've also been compiling a list of information and resources for anyone who might need them.

It's my first time putting something like this together, so I'm sort of improvising and relying on a handful of resources from other people who've done it before. I'm hoping the other people who've expressed interest will be able to fill in any gaps I've left. We'll see how it goes, I guess! At least I'm getting to know my neighbours better. :)

Now it is time for me to go faceplant in my bed.

This is again, not the promised pet post. I may try to write that one on the plane. My first flight boards in about 20 minutes. I've spent the past couple of hours just sitting here at the airport in Moncton, not doing much of anything except futz around with Twitter. I should have spent it writing, or doing something useful with my time, but my brain just wouldn't cooperate.

It doesn't help that my neck and shoulder still hurt like the very devil, which is making even sitting rather uncomfortable. Luckily the Robaxacet is helping, making it uncomfortable rather than excruciating, and in just a moment I will break out the Aleve in order to get me through the next two flights and the rather long layover in Montreal.

In the meantime, I figure I'll start making a to-do list of everything I need to get done in the four and a half days I'll have at home before I go back to work.

• Stop by the office early Sunday morning to scan and send in the form to claim my expenses.


• Get a couple of new articles of summer clothing for work, mostly tops. I learned this week that my summer wardrobe has passed from being "gently used" to looking shabby enough that it won't pass muster for work. *sigh*


• Drive back to Montreal


• Call Réno Dépot about the fence installation. I am going to give them an earful about how rude their subcontractor was with me over the phone.


• Chase down the guy who's supposed to install the floor, since he's been AWOL for about 10 days now just on giving me an estimate for the job. I am not impressed.


• Check on the basement to see if it still smells of cat pee, and act accordingly.


• Take the dog to the vet on Wednesday morning for his eye surgery.


• Go to U-Haul and buy boxes so I can start getting my own stuff packed.


• Start sorting through my things and getting rid of all the things I don't need.


• Start packing up my things, probably starting with the books and miscellaneous stuff in the basement.


• Find a place in Montreal/the West Island (or hell, even Ottawa) which takes or recycles old electronics. I have random gizmos that don't work anymore coming out my ears, but I feel bad just throwing them out, especially my old, defunct laptop.


• Call/text back my real estate agent so we can review where things stand on the house.


• Get one more paving slab for the back yard. pdaughter was good enough to put the slabs down during my absence, but I'm apparently missing one, which isn't a big deal.


• Do laundry. All the laundry. /o\


• Make a new budget for the summer/fall


• See my parents Wednesday evening


• Walk the dog every day (except for Wednesday) so he won't go stir-crazy.


• Go to luvenditti's birthday party on Tuesday! (Yay outings!)

I'm honestly a little worried that I'm going to crash and burn really hard once I get back. I simply don't have time for that, so I'm not sure what to do to stave that off. I've been going non-stop for 13 days now, 11 of which were 12-hour night shifts and 2 of which were (are) travel days. If I get back early enough tonight, I'm hoping a good night's sleep will help.

Okay. Four minutes until boarding. Here I go!

Wait. Scratch that. Reverse it.

I am sorely tempted to drive back to Montreal tomorrow for the sole purpose of doing yard work for a few hours before coming back here for tomorrow's overtime shift. I don't think I'll succumb to the temptation, because it would be downright insane. It's just that the yard is really bugging me, and I only have a day and a half in Montreal this week before going back to work. The only full day in town I have is Wednesday, but half of that at least is going to be taken up with car repairs, and I have someone coming on Wednesday afternoon, which means that not only will the yard not get done, but it won't get done before the guy comes over, too. I am more than a little chagrined at the idea.

If I'm lucky, I'll be able to leave work early on Tuesday. The last time they allowed me to take my "break" at the end of my shift so I could go home early. If that happens, then I'll rush home as quickly as I can and try to take advantage of the daylight to make sure that the yard is at least completely clear of the last of the dog poop (the aforementioned corner that's covered in gravel).

( This week's to-do list, etc. )

Sorry for the spam, folks. This is just for my own records, since I have a lot to do this weekend. LJ also ate this post once and is making me re-write it, which does not make me a happy camper in the slightest. Anyway, I'm writing an unschedule for this weekend, to see if I can fit everything in.

( Unschedule, under the cut )

On Saturday I was invited by the wonderful luvenditti (who no longer has an LJ, alas) to accompany her and a few others to a screening of the Metropolitan Opera's staging of La Cenerentola (Rossini's adaptation of Cinderella). I haven't been to the opera in well over a decade, and the last time I went to the theatre was in 2011 with pdaughter to see the play that luvenditti was in (I'm sensing a pattern), so I was very excited to go.

( weekend and opera behind the cut. )

Last night my brain decided that I should stay up and Worry About All The Things™. So I was up until at least after 2:30, which was the last time I remember looking at the clock before falling asleep. The good side to that was that I was awake at midnight when Bean woke up screaming bloody murder because he had to go to the bathroom. He's been getting up almost every night now to pee, and that has resulted in dry diapers in the morning. So we're well on our way to having him be completely diaper-free at this rate. It's very exciting!

Bean was also up promptly at 6:20, and since he came into our room to ask his mother if he could watch television, that was loud enough to wake me as well (mostly because he started whining and then screaming when she said no), although I had set my alarm for 6:30. So I got up then too, much to Bean's befuddlement. He's not used to my getting up at the same time as him and Mama.

We got Bean fed, dressed and out the door on time (three tantrums, four instances of whining and fussing, and two instances of running away and giggling instead of doing what he was told, all in the space of an hour and fifteen minutes), and I set about trying to be productive for the rest of the day.

My first stop was at the bank (though I did call to make an appointment to get my car tires changed, finally). I took the dog with me because he needed the exercise and because he was so excited when he saw me put on my running shoes to go to the bank that I didn't have the heart to tell him that I hadn't planned on taking him with me. So, happy dog was happy. I managed to straighten out the problem of the daycare check that the bank bounced, and was very pleased with the prompt, efficient service I received from the teller. They apologised (sort of), reversed all the charges and covered the fee the daycare will charge for a returned check, no muss, no fuss. If only all my problems were so easily solved.

I got home and cleaned the bathroom, and was about to start on the kitchen when pdaughter came back from school to wait for the Avon ladies to show up for their 14:30 meeting. As an aside, pdaughter is starting up her own Avon business again, so if anyone local wants the flyers for the current or future campaigns, by all means look us up! Avon has some really neat stuff, not just makeup and skin care products. You can look it up specifically on Facebook, where I encourage you to at least "like" her page, just in case. Father's Day is just around the corner, and there are all sorts of fun products and swag you can get for a very reasonable price!

Anyway, back to the exciting recounting of my day. :P I did a pretty thorough cleaning of the kitchen while we waited for the Avon ladies (they were well over an hour late due to traffic), including scrubbing down the cabinet under the kitchen sink, which had grown super scungy over the winter. We've been having trouble with ants for a few weeks, and I figured that cleaning things out down there certainly couldn't hurt. We have ant traps set up strategically, but we can't work out where they're coming from, cheeky little buggers. So right now we're mostly engaged in guerrilla warfare against the little formicidae foot soldiers. Ugh. If we knew where they were coming from we'd be able to put down corn starch and have done, but not dice. It's rather frustrating.

I headed out to do some last-minute grocery shopping before the Avon ladies arrived, but everyone was gone by the time I got home again. Despite getting caught in some pretty gnarly traffic I was still able to get dinner in the oven in a timely fashion. I don't think I've ever cleaned and chopped vegetables that fast in my whole life. I made chicken with roasted vegetables and made baked tomatoes as a side dish. Very paleo, I'm sure fearsclave would approve. ;)

Predictably, Bean's first reaction was: "But me not like that!" He demanded to have macaroni, then demanded "leftover pizza," and was upset when he was not presented with either of those options. I hadn't bothered giving him one of the baked tomatoes, figuring it would be met with shrieks of horror, but when he saw the one I'd given pdaughter he immediately insisted on having some, spurning the chicken, potatoes, carrots and green pepper already on his plate. After two small servings of tomato he then threw himself on the floor and wailed about being thirsty, and then whined and fussed and kicked at the nearest piece of furniture when he was instructed to eat a bit more before he'd be given more milk. It took some doing, but eventually we got him back into his chair, and after a bit more fussing he ate all his carrots, then tried the chicken and promptly finished that, and even managed a good number of his potatoes.

A pyrrhic victory, but one I'll take nonetheless.

Bean took a bath while I loaded the dishes into the dishwasher and put away the rest of dinner into Tupperware containers. We have enough for at least one other meal, which is nice. The food turned out delicious, if I do say so myself. The chicken was moist, the veggies crisp and savoury (though the carrots were a tad too crunchy for my liking—I'll try cutting them thinner the next time I make this dish).

Although he was wound tighter than a spring factory, Bean actually settled relatively quickly once he was properly in bed (there were a lot of false starts to that), and so we were actually able to start Game of Thrones at a decent hour, and now we're going crazy and watching CSI as well. Two TV shows in the same evening! Unheard of!

Tomorrow it's meant to rain, which will put a damper on my plans to do yard work. I may try to organise my paperwork instead, depending on the weather. I have been very bad about keeping my papers in any kind of semblance of order, and it's my newest May project, to get it all sorted out properly into my filing cabinet. That will definitely help when it comes time to sell the house/do my taxes/that sort of thing. If I have time I'm also going to head to Home Depot. I am determined to get the garden ship-shape this weekend and next weekend so that we can take advantage of it during the summer months.

And now, to finish CSI and pray that I'll actually be able to sleep tonight. Obviously when I mentioned almost wishing for insomnia the other day, I should have been more careful about what I wished for. :P