Ironic

Today was the first of what will undoubtedly be many giveaways as we start to downsize. My iron and ironing board are gone. Considering they haven't been used since we got the steamer, good riddance to what I'm sure is a fine home. I also finally filed away my financial stuff (i.e., from Mom's estate) in preparation for actually giving it a good perusal once it's no longer too hot to think. Now off to read comics, about the only thing I can manage.

Whose Sari Now?

We finished our grocery shopping before noon and, alas, the AC was out in our favorite sushi place so that was a short lunch as well. Made it home before the heat really started kicking in, and plan to go nowhere for the remainder of the weekend. So much for getting the ol' car inspected this weekend! Way too hot. But Robin did have to traverse the inside stairs a few times to pick up things in preparation for next month's two big do's, our vacation to England and (before that) my cousin's wedding celebration with his lovely Indian bride. Rob's got his outfit all set, his kurta looks magnificent. Mine has yet to arrive, and I'm very concerned due to the size equivalents, but if I have to I can wear Western dress and profusely apologize. As long as I can wear leggings under whatever outfit I finally choose. If there's one thing on which I've improved as I've gotten older, it's dressing appropriately for an occasion. As we don't go to many occasions, that makes it easier.

Sapped Again

I'm not as young as I used to be, and when the weather is dicey everything seems to move in slower motion, including me. I got through work today just fine, but had to collapse into a nap right afterwards. This heat wave is supposed to last through the weekend, and unfortunately I'm here for it, but I guess that's okay considering the alternative. I just need to pace myself, things are going to start happening pretty fast towards the end of the month, with the wedding celebration then England pretty much back to back.

The Heat is On, Again

Not the apartment heat, the outside version. Although it does seep into the apartment because we're not all that well insulated. Fortunately there was nowhere to go today and I was able to take lots of work breaks to do things like shopping for an upcoming wedding reception (the bride is Indian so we have been asked to dress appropriately; who's sari now?) and relaxing. So why don't I feel refreshed yet? Oh yeah, heat seeping in...

Silly Site o' the Day

I'd rather not talk about my homeward commute on a crowded subway today, which exacerbated my various Old Person aches and pains to an uncomfortable extent, so I'm thinking about Merrie Olde since it's just about a month before our holiday there. I'm hoping to see some of the castles and such listed on this map (via BoingBoing), but we'll see how well I can walk.

I've Had It for the Week

Two Manhattan days in a row, two pretty miserable subway commutes home, and that's it for me. My left foot is in a lot of pain, very likely referred pain from calf muscles refusing to relax, so I'm limiting motion for at least the next couple of days as I work from home.

A Tempting Offer

Today was yet another call offering voluntary termination to a portion of my company's workforce. Since I qualify for the maximum I was sore tempted, but we're only given three weeks to decide and my personal finances are not nearly as organized as I want them to be. Besides, I'm still kind of addicted to 26 pay stubs per year, which would be cut down by almost half (only lasting for 8 months) if I were to retire at the end of this September. So I'm on the fence but leaning towards getting off exactly where I stand right now. Having nobody to consult besides Robin, I have to go with my (and his) gut, and my stomach started churning a bit too much at the thought of extremely imminent retirement. For now I'm going to wait and see if they board the merry-go-round again this time next year, at which point my head -- and stomach -- will undoubtedly be in a different place.

Much-Needed Quiet

As I type this the only music in the vicinity is coming from next door, which is only audible from the home office and should abate soon. I understand that some cultures are loud, I grew up in a noisy Jewish household, but loud and selfish, completely indifferent to and inconsiderate of those who live around you... well, that must be a 21st century artifact. Regardless, today was a good recovery day, provided I leave this room in the next five minutes or so before the unwanted music gets to me.

Wedding Out the Window

White Rabbits! And I thought this was going to be an especially lucky day, what with my usual weekend chores all done before 8 AM and the grocery shopping (and gas station) before noon and the lovely emotional nostalgia kick I got from the 1986 NY Mets reunion ceremony... but that all came to a crashing halt around six hours ago when extremely loud music started emanating from the Hot Tub House outside our Yonkers-facing windows (home office and bedroom). Apparently it wasn't a run-of-the-mill party, but a complete wedding party, all in white and enjoying music that must have been too loud for them, and was certainly too loud for a suburban-city enclave surrounded by neighbors. I'm usually not that passive aggressive any more but I called the cops as the speakers blasted it out well above the 60db allowed before 10 PM (and the 50db allowed after 10 PM). No idea if the gendarmes ever arrived, but I've spent much of the last six hours in a very shaky state, wearing earplugs as well as the new noise-cancelling headphones Robin purchased for our flights to and from England. Unfortunately we couldn't get the earphones to work with the bedroom TV, but they worked well enough with my iPhone that I was able to listen to (and thoroughly enjoy despite the circumstances) the new Paul McCartney album. But the wedding noise put paid to my plans to, you know, get a nap in which I couldn't do earlier in the afternoon because screechy children, or even take a much-needed shower which will now have to wait another day. The music is finally winding down now, although loud voices still prevail, so the earphones are off (tried in vain to doze with them on) and the earplugs are in until the madness abates entirely. I reckon I'll be a wreck tomorrow, when I do hope to get in at least one nap and definitely a shower, and am very grateful it's a Sunday as I'll need the extra day to recover.

Wrapping Up the Month

Weird day, I had dreams of my mother back when she was mobile (pre-COVID) but I knew she was gone so I kept wondering if I should ask her how she could be there when she was dead. Not the first time this has happened, but it was impetus enough to keep me up in the wee smalls as well as ta post-logoff visit to my uncle in his current assisted-living facility a short bus ride away. And my cousin showed up while we were there, so that was a nice bonus! While we were out I mailed some checks at the post office and we had some copies made of our mailbox key (alas, we'll have to return as, while they fit the lock, we couldn't turn them to open the mailbox). The heat took a lot out of me, and I've been hydrating like mad since we got home. I'm just happy July is over with.

Silly Site o' the Day

My feet are still hurting, nobody really needed me in the office, so since I've done my two mandated days today and tomorrow I get to keep working from home, which usually means I'm more productive than usual anyway. Of course, I do miss watching the water towers:

Via Laughing Squid.