Indoor Cat: 2nd Full Day

Um, Excuse Me...

This is the second full day I've spent as an "Indoor Cat." I napped during lunch, which sufficiently confused my cats (see the picture above) when I had to get back up and go back to work in my little station in the dining room.

I made a lot of progress on a long-term project today.  I also have drafts of several reports/lists that are in review for final submission.  I do believe that I am more productive at home than I am able to be when I'm in my office on Campus.

I'm a little stir-crazy now, at the end of the day.  This is clearly due to skipping lunchtime Zumba.  I will work out later today.

Be well, fellow Introverts...

Day 1.25 of Being an "Indoor Cat"

Governor Cuomo ordered those in State service who can work at home to work at home starting today.  I actually received medical release to work from home at 2PM on Monday.

My goal (as difficult as it will be) is to stay completely indoors as much as possible during this time.  That means no visiting stores, no picking up food, no outdoor time of any kind.

I'm finding it challenging to work ten feet away from my kitchen.  I have been known to stress-eat, and it's taking a lot of willpower to avoid eating All The Things.

Work itself is relatively unchanged from when I was in the office in person.  I do a lot with data comparisons and reporting--most if not all of this is available online (some things I have to Virtual Private Network in to get access to, but otherwise...no change).

I have started to do Zumba during lunch.  I still have a bunch of Zumba DVDs from my brief stint as an instructor a few years ago.

It is excellent to be Type-A in this situation.  My reliance on routines has kept me a bit saner with all of the strangeness and unpredictability of the current situation.

Be well, fellow Introverts.

Vira, Viruses, or Viri?

I've been negatively affected by the hype surrounding the very real issues of the COVID-19 pandemic.  This is to say that I fully realize that me freaking out is not a big problem in the grand scheme of things.  I am relatively healthy (damn these colds, but otherwise I'm good), my family members are (by and large) in safe-ish places, and we were able to find a nice bit of antibacterial soap over the last few days.  As long as I wash hands and follow general hygiene guidelines, I should be okay.

The issue here (for me, anyway...) is that I have been OCD for a long long long time.  So...my hands are chapped/bleeding from all the hand washing, and I haven't had hands this chapped since I was nine years old (the vintage of my OCD diagnosis).  This bothers me for a number of reasons.  It's uncomfortable, I'm going through a ton of band-aids and moisturizers, and the compulsive hand-washing behavior dredges up some of the less-than-savory parts of my mental health history.

I'm freaked out, but if a little trip down bad-memory lane is the worst thing I endure as a part of this pandemic, I should count my blessings.  So many people can say that they had interesting issues as children.  It is not the end of the world for me to feel awkward.

Perspective, perspective, perspective...

Be well, fellow Introverts.

The Search for Koji Suzuki

At quarter til nine this morning, I started a five-hour scavenger hunt for the original book "The Ring" by Koji Suzuki.  I had thought that "S:ES" was the entire Ring Trilogy since the e-book was titled "S:ES (Ring Trilogy)" but I was wrong.  I read the entire book "S:ES" and found out afterwards that this is one of the many sequels (trilogy, hmmm...maybe not a trilogy per se).

The author's style is simple on the surface, but wildly complex as you get to know each and every character in his stories.  He forges connections between stories in the expert way that a knitter casts off thread.

I started (as one might) at the Potsdam Public Library.  There was no copy to be borrowed, so I went downstairs to the Saturday Morning Book Sale.  Although I found treasures (always...awesome sale every Saturday), there was no Koji Suzuki to be had.

From there, I went to Thriftique.  Once again, many pretty books..but no Koji Suzuki.

I decided to try my luck in Massena.  I drove up to the Saint Lawrence Centre and walked the mall, looking for a book shop.  No luck.  I wound up browsing books across the complex at Ollie's.  There was no Koji Suzuki.

I drove back to Potsdam and visited the Clarkson Bookstore.  There was no Koji Suzuki.  I had the same luck at Best Friends thrift shop.

Finally, I visited the Birchbark Bookstore.  I love this bookstore, and of course I didn't leave empty-handed.  However, once again I had no luck locating Koji Suzuki.

After five hours of searching, I gave up and ordered the book on Amazon.  I am supremely disappointed that I wasn't able to purchase this from a brick and mortar book shop.  I am also disappointed in the book's lack of presence in the e-book market.

However, I will still read the book with relish when it arrives on Tuesday.

Be well, fellow Introverts.

Potsdam Walk I

My walk today was a jaunt northbound and eastbound on May Rd (from May and Leroy).  I then took a left onto Pleasant Valley Rd, headed south, and then took a left back into town on Route 56.

The highs:  This walk has idyllic views of some beautiful countryside in Potsdam.  One can relax and enjoy the light scent of pine about half of the way on May Rd.  With the exception of Route 56, the road is relatively empty at around nine in the morning.  Only one passerby in a vehicle was particularly rude (honked at me just for walking at the side of the road…whatever).  There were a few other runners/walkers on May and Pleasant Valley roads.

The lows: Unfortunately, people seem litter-happy on the entirety of this route.  Here is a small selection of disturbing things I saw at the side of the road during my walk:  Grocery bags full of detritus and tied (no idea what’s in them and kind of scared to find out), a butter knife, a pile of long human hair, a single latex glove, several small items of clothing, and a random piece of metal pipe.

Rating this walk on a scale of 1 (bad) to 10 (awesome), I’d have to rate it at a 6.  It was good!  It would have been better if we took better care of our local roads in Potsdam.

Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes

Length: 9 miles

Difficulty: Middle to high—there are a few hills and it does get a little dull and significantly louder/hotter on Route 56.

Happy Anniversary!!!

Back in 1997, I met Romeyn Prescott while gaming with a group of youngsters (one of whom I was dating at the time).  We played StarCraft, WarCraft, and Diablo I, II, and III (including the LOD expansion pack).  Since I was seeing one of the youngsters at the time, I simply noted that Romeyn was wonderfully geeky and handsome and moved along.

Fast forward a few years, and we stayed in touch from time to time using AOL Instant Messenger. We became friends over the course of these small communications.  Still, Romeyn was married and not on my radar in that way (because, y'know...married).

Fast forward a few more years, and Romeyn happened to become single.  I was in the middle of a toxic relationship which I won't describe here.  Romeyn was on AOL Instant Messenger on and off, so we chatted now and again during this time.

When I moved back home to New York State in 2007, I was not ready to be a long term partner to anyone.  I knew that I wanted marriage, but I wasn't sure what that would look like yet. 

Fast forward another year, and Romeyn and I found each other during prolonged chats, during which he would joke that I should marry him.  He said that a lot.

We got together in July of 2008, after a message from me to him that was basically a treatise on me liking him.  His parents and mine were a little taken aback, because our lives had been so different prior to getting together.  We were (and are) nine and a half years apart.  I'm 41 now, and he's 50.

For our first date, he asked me to meet him at Camp.  I wasn't familiar with Camp at that time (a historically relevant building in Keeseville, built by Romeyn's ancestors).

We met a little ways from Camp after I got thoroughly lost trying to find it.  Romeyn met me near an apple orchard, holding a daisy (my favorite flower) in his hand.  The phrase "You had me at hello" applies here--he had me at that little gesture of a daisy before our first date.

I met Kyle (then 10) and Romeyn's parents (Colleen and Peter), and then we headed to dinner at Livingoods in Plattsburgh.  We walked past fireworks in Plattsburgh afterwards.  It was magical.

I stayed over at Camp that night, in my own room.  When I was taking a bath on the second floor the next day, I heard Romeyn whistling a tune from The Music Man.  Round two of "He had me at hello." A love of musicals (and at least a tolerance for opera) is a must for me, because otherwise I'd drive the person in question absolutely batty.

I have been so happy since that first date.  It's been almost eleven years.  I still remember the nervousness of meeting some of his family, and the anticipation that I would meet his older son sometime soon thereafter.  I remember the "High School" style notes and giggles.  I remember truly feeling accepted as I am. 

We got married ten years ago, and I still believe Romeyn is the best thing that ever has happened to me.

Through the years, he's been there for me in every way--so much so that it still boggles my mind.  He is the best human I've ever met, my true love, my friend, my husband.

Happy Anniversary, Romeyn!

How I React to Online (Anonymous) Threats

Some enterprising dude has been sending a few anonymous (but definitely serial, and from the same source) threats to one of my oldest email addresses.

The actual threat described is one I've heard a number of times during the course of my lifetime.  "I'll tell so and so about _____." My reaction:  Stop being melodramatic.  Don't assume that other people's opinions are any of my business.

Life is too short to worry that much about reputation.  We live in a digital society, and almost everything is connected to the internet.  I stand by my actions, including my mistakes.  No one is perfect. 

"Life is pain, your highness.  Anyone telling you otherwise is selling something." - Wesley (The Princess Bride)