Y12 D219

 I had, for me, a really bad dream in my final sleep stage. I had another one earlier which was pretty awful too. Let's start with the first one; I was trapped in a building on fire. Yeah. I was also trying to figure out how to get me and my stuff out. The second one involved X2 and some weird shit. I can't wrap my head around all of it, but between both of those, apparently I have some issues. Fuck dreams.

Last day of the year. So? Nothing is going to change tomorrow. There won't magically be 500 million vials of vaccine available. The spoiled baby will still be in charge for 19 days. I will be more excited on Feb 1 when there's a chance things might be looking positive. Until then, fuck NYE. Just another Thursday.

Played video games. Made stew. Went to bed.

Y12 D218

 My tinnitus is so prevalent these days in my left ear that when it's not going, it's weird. Like right now it's silent in my head. Not used to it. It's quiet, too quiet. 

I'm getting used to this nice sleeping in thing. It's already 7am. Not like I have anything to do today mind you, but next week is coming fast and I have to be back up early. Can't get too spoiled this week. I'm off, my coworker is off, and our boss is off this week. I have been checking email once or twice a day, but so far nothing. Of course now that I said that...

I have completed the sous vide trifecta. I did my salmon last night. 30 minutes at 122 degrees. Very tasty. This is how restaurants get so many plates out looking exactly the same. They have a giant version of this where they just throw in the entrée, let it cook and finish in pan. Things like salmon can be cooked in advance then flash warmed in a pan. If more people realized this they would complain less at restaurants because the shit is already cooked. "Oh mine isn't cooked right". Bitch it's cooked exactly the same as the 20 other portions that came out of the kitchen tonight. 

Watched tv, read, played video games. Some day if I ever retire, that's going to be the daily entry at least 4-5 times a week. No complaints.

The year is almost over. So?

Y12 D217

 Been up for a little while. Had to deal with a couple of things. First one of the filters wasn't going and it was due to a tube not being at the right angle. Not enough pressure for it to suck the water up and out. Fixed. Then I had some bills to pay. No stress there because I had already factored them into my calculations on Friday as I knew they'd be coming. Done and done. 

Not much excitement yesterday. To be honest, no excitement at all. Cleaned the kitchen, played some video games, watched some tv, read a little. No drama, no nothing. Made philly cheesesteaks for dinner. We used the air fryer setting on the new toaster oven. Ooh. Ah. Meh. Didn't notice any difference. Sorry, not that excited about the air fryer portion. That was all B's desire. It made fries. Whoop-dee-doo. 

Got my last package from the kid. A book from a London bookstore which is why it took so long to arrive. Neat. It's from an author who has written quite a bit of the Doctor. I think today I might start it.

Same plans for today - in other words, nothing.

Y12 D216

Ah, the week between Christmas and New Year. When you're full of cheese and have no clue what day of the week it is. 

Y'all want to see what a perfectly cooked steak looks like? Well, here you go:

129.2 degrees F for 1 hour. 1 minute sear for finish. I love my Joule. (I spelled it wrong yesterday. Oops.) I'm so happy and excited with this thing. Brings me joy in an uncertain time. B for once was absolutely thrilled with a steak I made her. Depending on the cut, the cook, etc. she sometimes isn't always excited to eat a slab of meat. The best part was the cut and cost. Sous vide can make even a moderate cut of meat come out well. When I told her that these steaks were like $5 each she was amazed. Frankly so was I. They truly did come out good for the cost.

So Nashville, eh? Suicide? Hmm. I think he knew something about what was going on in that AT&T building. That's pretty elaborate for "suicide". Just sayin'. 

In addition to making the world's best steak, I got a lot accomplished yesterday. Was up early to hit the grocery store. For once I only had to go to one store. I managed to get everything I needed. Miracle. I also managed to order my new UPS online and gets same day delivery. It arrived around 3pm yesterday. Happy with it so far. I ended up putting it closer to my desk than the old one. It's more powerful but a bit smaller. I think because it uses dual batteries instead of one big honking one.

Cleaned the bathrooms, did some laundry. Played some video games. We watched some more Goliath. Good show. B decided to continue to power watch it. I will get to it in my own time. Too heavy for me to power through right now. 

A whole week of doing nothing. Going to Home Depot tomorrow I think to buy some paint. I want to paint the laundry room cabinets. Need a big thing of white paint to do it. Lofty goals.

Y12 D215

 First time in a while I have been up to an alarm. Why? The fucking grocery store. How sad is that. It's Sunday, it's 4:30am, and I am up to go to a store because I am afraid of being around crazy people. What a life.

I used my Jules for the first time yesterday and made perfect sous vide eggs. They were wonderful. 194 degrees, 8 minutes. Tonight I am going to do steaks for 1 hour at 131 degrees. Cooking and science! Woo!

Cleaned up all the remnants of Christmas. Much easier this year given the minimal amount of decorations we put out. Took me about 20 minutes. Took me longer to deal with all the cardboard boxes for recycling. But it's done.

We reorganized the kitchen and put all the new pots and pans away too. Setup the new toaster oven. A productive day overall was had.

I have to go to best buy today. After 5 years of dedicated service, my UPS battery has died. I looked into a replacement battery and no one around here has one in stock. It may be easier to just replace the unit for now, then order a new battery later to use it in other parts of the house. Today's project after the grocery store.

That's about it. Oh wait, let's talk about Nashville. WTF is up with that? Think about it for a while. This was some Leverage level shit. B and I think it was a distraction for another heist or to test police response. It definitely wasn't a cheeto supporter because then the RV would have been covered in Obama is from Kenya stickers. No, this was next level. They didn't want anyone hurt, they gave ample warning, the blast was limited. Since no one was hurt, I don't feel bad finding it fascinating. I am curious to see how it plays out.

Okay. Store time. In the snow. On a Sunday. My life.

Y12 D214

 And now it's Saturday. Yesterday was just very surreal. I am sure I'm not the only one experiencing that this year. Well, one of the smart people experiencing that feeling. The idiots still all got together with their families yesterday and spread diseases. 

I got some good gifts. B got me a sous vide stick and cookbook which I have been wanting for a long while. I got some nice clothes, we got our new pots and pans, and I got a bunch of pops. B was happy with all her stuff too. She was super excited when she opened the Barbie. I told you all about that, right? '95 Songbird Barbie? Anyway, she was happy.

Honestly the best part of yesterday was dinner. FINALLY found a GOOD Chinese place. We bought dinner for us and B's grandparents and brought it to them. It was very touching to me that we're the only two people they trust enough to de-mask and spend two hours with right now. This is the grandparents where grandma is on dialysis and has medical issues. They have to be ULTRA careful about germs. You walk in and they have an industrial medical grade air purifier in the living room given to them by their medical folks. This isn't a sharper image piece of junk. Nope, this is something that came from a hospital. Yet, they let us in and spent two hours with us eating and socializing. I needed that badly. Seems like they did too. 

We came home, watched Charlie Brown since we didn't watch it Thursday and called it a day. 

Today we are going to tear apart the kitchen and put the new cookware away. That will be a project for sure.

Y12 D213

 Yay. It's Christmas.

It snowed. A decent amount too.

Notice the lack of excitement. 

Yesterday I was trying to fake it to make it but it really didn't work. Being stuck at home, no decorations, no people, it just didn't feel right. Plus B's having a hard time because we're at the one year anniversary of her cousin's suicide. It's been lingering on her brain all week and just taking away from things for her. 

So yeah. How about, it's Friday?

Y12 D212

Today I am up early. Oh well. Not tired or anything either. I'm just awake and done sleeping. Such is life. 19 hours until Christmas. I know I have been meh up to this point, but we're 19 hours away and yes, there is excitement in my heart to open presents. Leave me be. 

And I just got paid. Score. Now of course that means I get to spend the morning doing bills, but hey, paycheck a day early is nothing to complain about. 

Finished God's Basement last night. Wonderful little game. Very fun, very thought provoking. Definitely worth checking out. That was my big accomplishment. That and some laundry. Didn't really do much of anything else.

We had a lovely charcuterie platter for dinner with meats and cheeses given to us by B's Dad. They may have blown it on the other gifts, but that one was right on. Of course, I have horrible heartburn today. Getting old, it's a trap.

No plans for today either. Finish another video game or two. Just ones where I am so close to the end that an hour or so will knock them out. I have at least three like that. Just get through the main story and move them into the finished folder. 

18 hours, 48 minutes.

Y12 D211

 First off, yes, B and I got over our argument. We both needed to cool down to understand what is was about the interaction that caused us both to go on the defensive so hard. We talked it through and figured it out. Things are better. But you want more juicy bits, so here's something for you all...

People shouldn't buy people gifts without asking them for a fucking list first. B's damn family did it again. Specifically her dad and stepmom. Last year they blew it with me, this year they just blew it. I know that's harsh to say and the ol' it's the thought bullshit, but nope. Their gift is now going to cost me time, annoyance, and aggravation. Why? Because for me they once more, bought fucking stupid slippers that don't fit and I don't like. But the kicker is their "big" gift to us? A fucking set of pots and pans. WTF? First off, do we look like kids who wouldn't be able to get our own? Second, oh gee, we DID buy ourselves a new set of professional grade, specific color, specific weight, size, and temper, 7x the cost of what you spent, pots and pans. They bought us some Walmart (seriously) Pioneer Woman bullshit pots and pans. Hey look, if that's your thing, great. But to buy someone like me who is really fucking picky about things something like without discussion? Fail. So now we have to return them and get the money back. Good times. Next year I am giving them a choice - here's a list or give us cash or don't give us anything. This is not a discussion. Waste my time. Ugh. Humans.

Bought a new heater for my office yesterday. I love the one my client sent me last year, but it also dries me out and gets annoying quick. It's forced air, so it heats the room really nice, but I can't take the air blowing on me. I got a radiator style. Downside is takes longer to heat the room, upside is it heats the room. Versus just blowing air in one spot. Got it on sale at Lowe's last night. Yes, I left the house. Scary AF to be honest. Then we went to B's dad's where we loaded up the dumb gifts (seriously people, if you don't want to buy something from a list, don't buy me anything. We will both be happier). Then we stopped at B's friend's place as he had a gift for "us". Really he had a gift for B, and he acknowledged that it was mostly for her, but I'm okay with it. I know he has limited funds and wanted to do the best he could. See? No complaints there because I would rather it be that way.

Speaking of funds, who's excited for their $600 slap in the face? Woo! I don't expect to get one this time based on the new rules, but just in general what a load of shit. Plus did you see how in the COVID bill is a 10 year prison sentence for pirating? For real. Go read it. Fuck this government. What a bunch of out of touch, old white people who need to die off. Then the orange one has said it will be "a reign of terror" for the next 30 days. Wow. Yet, I am still surrounded by people who support him. What is wrong with all of you? Begone you vile creatures. Not even human. Creatures. 

3 million total dead in 2020. 320,000 from COVID. A reign of terror for 30 days. Ah, and I think to myself, what a wonderful world...

Y12 D210

 B and I had a huge fight yesterday. After being in the house for 10 months it's not surprising. I'm sure we're not the only people who've just had it with each other after all this time. We still haven't resolved our issue. That's mostly my fault because I did what I do best - I shut down. The issue is she swears she told me something about the fish tank and instead of just accepting the possibility that she didn't tell me, she won't let go and accused me of gaslighting her because I kept saying she didn't tell me. I talk to literally ONE person on average each day. She talks to ten. I think I remember what I have been told or not. She can't keep straight who she has had conversations with about things. So yeah, I am very confident she didn't tell me what she thinks she did. I would have let it go if she hadn't started yelling at me about it and again, telling me I was gaslighting her. I'm not fucking gaslighting you, I'm saying that to the best of MY recollection you never told me this piece of information. Plus I am just pissed off at having to basically live my life in the dark. I have no lights down here that I can easily turn on or off. Add to that the simple fact that I spend most of my fucking life in a basement. Good times.

Yeah, I'm still angry.

So today should be a lot of fun.