kestrel

kestrel
2020-08-07 06:39:34 (UTC)

Brief Personal Notes

Two brief personal notes I want to record for posterity.

Today marks the last day of work for me, for a week. I looked back, and it seems like I've not had vacation since this past December: the week round Christmas and New Year's. The main reason things worked out like this is the emergence of the pandemic. There were two significant results that affected me personally:
- I had to stick around town to create and then facilitate online training sessions.
- My planned sabbatical for May was canceled for the above, plus I didn't want to risk being sick and turning into a burden to everyone during my sabbatical.

So I have no significant plans next week. It will likely be a true "staycation." Monday, I do expect to visit the nearby relatives: my twin nephews have bicycles in sore need of a tune-up, apparently. On my visit to the office yesterday I grabbed my bicycle tools and I'll be headed out to see if I can improve their machines' condition somewhat.

Maybe I'll connect with a few board game design friends of mine for some online games. Maybe I'll cross paths with a few friends of mine to do some walks with their pets outdoors. Beyond that, there is nothing notable on my agenda. I leap right back into the training schedule the Monday I return, so I suppose the main vacation priority of mine will be sleep...!

My next planned vacation will be in November. I intend to rent a condo on the shore for some more seclusion, bicycle riding, pancakes (hopefully), metal-detecting, geocaching, and just smelling the sea air with my feet in the sand. The place will have a second bedroom so I can have a guest, should anyone else be interested in a day or so down there the week of Thanksgiving. I put the call out to friends just in case any of them have nothing to do that week.
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It had been close to 10 years since I've sat through a televised interview with a politician. But I did sit through the entire interview between Johnathan Swan and the current President. This was an endurance challenge for me. The interview was 37 minutes long, and I had to take two brief breaks to walk around a bit, clear the air. There were moments so discordant, so nearly-incomprehensible, that I needed to stand up and walk away for just a moment.

This was an edited 37 minutes of interview. How long did the interviewer have to endure hearing that bloated sack of nothing prattle on about how he beat Hillary years ago, repeated use of the word, "fantastic," and the phrase, "believe me,"...? Unpleasant, borderline-intolerable person. Evidence is mounting in my mind that they guy is being propped up (medically, at least) by the 1% as some sort of fall guy who can block any legislation coming through that might protect the worker, might protect the environment, and might skim off the top of corporate profits. "Just a few more years, buddy... Keep at it, stay strong just a few more years! We got a couple more business deals waiting in the wings. Just please hold on for a few more years! Here - have some amphetamines..."




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