Cellar Scribblings

[brianr]

It must be more than 50 years since I ate any licorice so I have no idea if it is different in Australia. Except it was always black in my memory.

[serious crayons]

What we do now, is we save up all the money we would've spent on then for various holidays (birthdays, mother's day, father's day, anniversary) and then give it to them in one lump sum on Christmas.  Then, between the three sons, they have a nice chunk of cash that they use any way they want, usually on a few weekend trips away to the Jersey Shore or a casino, the money will take care of their hotel stay, all their meals and drinks, and their 'fun' money.

That sounds both smart and generous. At this point I prefer to give and receive gifts of experiences or consumable products. I am gradually downsizing as well, so sometimes I give tsotchkes that no longer spark joy for me but are still nice enough that someone else might enjoy them. For example, some years ago a friend gave me a little ceramic inkwell with the word "Write" on it in calligraphy. I had it for years and liked it -- had it near my desk in my office (just for decor, not use). But I felt I could let it go when a friend graduated with an MFA in creative writing. Itt old her it used to belong to Emily Dickinson but she said the bar code on the bottom would indicate otherwise. When giving gifts, I like to give something that's convenient but more imaginative than the bottle of wine that is standard among many of my friends.

Re licorice: I'd never heard of Australian, but cutting it into smaller slices is smart. I don't love stretching and biting off a piece of Twizzler. Either way, the only kind I like is red.

[brianr]

Way back in 1967, I was in the 2nd year of teaching and had just gone on a school trip to New Zealand and fallen in love with the country. My parents had put me through university. They paid my fees the first year as well as kept me. In later years I was able to work for 3 months in a well paying job so paid my fees the 2nd year and got  a scholarship the 3rd and 4th years but they still fed me and, of course, Mum cooked and washed etc.
Anyway, I wanted them to see NZ so on Mothers Day (May) I gave them a card  telling them I had paid for flights and tours in December and that would cover both their birthdays, Fathers Day (September) and Christmas. It was my Fathers only ever flight and trip overseas as he died in 1974. Mum did take some trips with my sister, mainly Asia and Pacific but once to Europe as she lived until 2006.

[CellarDweller]

Hiya BetterMost friends.

I hope that everyone is doing well.

We had an email communication at work, basically saying that they have no real plan yet for use to return to the office, and for now it's still WFH.   I've been working on some special projects and now I have to compile some reports, and I couldn't do them on my laptop, so I made a decision today.

I went to my office today, after hours.  I arrived there at 5:30, put on my mask, and went inside.  No one was there, so I packed up my full-sized keyboard, my two monitors, and my mouse, and took them home with me.   Initially we were told not to do this, so I left my stuff there, but it is too difficult and too slow going using just the laptop keyboard and screen.

Hopefully, now I'll be able to process stuff more quickly.

Nothing going on for Memorial Day weekend, just relaxing.

[CellarDweller]

Hiya BetterMost friends.

I hope that everyone is doing well.


The last time I posted here, I talked about going to my office and getting my equipment from my desk, so that I could work faster, and I have no regrets at all. 

I've been able to tear through some things with this set-up and it feels like I'm accomplishing stuff now.

Memorial Day weekend was nice.  I met with a friend on Sunday to have a "social distance lunch".  She sat on her porch and had lunch, and I pulled up with a folding chair and tray table, and unpacked my lunch, and we sat about 10 feet away from each other, and just caught up.  It was nice.

Monday I went to my family's place, and dad grilled some burgers and hot dogs.

This week has been good at the 'office'.  Things have been going smoothly, and I've managed to get some work on special projects done.

Today two items that I ordered came in the mail.  I ordered two salad containers to keep pre-made salads fresh, and an Aquaman statue for my Super Friends collection arrived.

What's new and exciting with you all?

[Penthesilea]

Hiya BetterMost friends.

I hope that everyone is doing well.


I met with a friend on Sunday to have a "social distance lunch".  She sat on her porch and had lunch, and I pulled up with a folding chair and tray table, and unpacked my lunch, and we sat about 10 feet away from each other, and just caught up.  It was nice.

That IS nice.

and an Aquaman statue

And here I was, wondering what the hell an aquarium statue was.... or since when you have an aquarium… or…
The rest of the sentence made it clear however

What's new and exciting with you all?

Not much. Since I'm a higher risk person regarding Corona, my boss still lets me stay at home. There are more children now in daycare, but still a tiny fraction from normal, so she doesn't need all of us. I do have to work from home however, learning new stuff, reading textbooks, etc. Fine with me.

The time for our family vacation gets closer, and in a few weeks the decision is due as to whether we will be able to travel or not. We still hope for a Go, but hope gets thinner

[Jeff Wrangler]

The time for our family vacation gets closer, and in a few weeks the decision is due as to whether we will be able to travel or not. We still hope for a Go, but hope gets thinner

 

[CellarDweller]

Hiya BetterMost friends.

I hope that everyone is doing well.

Another weekend is here!

I have a sense of accomplishment regarding work.  I've been able to work on projects that allowed small businesses get the money they needed during the pandemic. 

I'm working on a new project now, that is KYC related (Know Your Customer).  It's related to all the businesses that got the PPP loans, and updating their information on our systems.   Since this is something that I do on a regular basis, I'm very secure with the process.

I'm avoiding the news, but I do know what is going on in the US now.   I'm seeing a lot of people who are posting about what happened to George Floyd and all the protests and riots taking place.  I really haven't posted about it, because I feel like I'm not in a position to.

Do I agree with what happened to George Floyd?  Absolutely not, and this type of thing goes on all the time.  It's just that this time, it happened to be filmed.  The US is a racist country, and I don't deny that.  My heart goes out to the Floyd family at this difficult time, and it's only being made more difficult because of the riots.

That being said, as a member of the gay community, we have had our own experiences with the police, and done our own share of rioting as well.  You can only push people so far before they snap.  I have taken part in protests, but never in riots, and I'm fortunate that I've never had to.

Lastly, my younger brother is a police officer.  I know he would never condone what was done to George Floyd.  I've met a number of the guys on his force, and they all seem like decent people.  That's why I feel like I can't really say anything, because I don't want my brother to think that I side against him.  At the same time, I feel like that if I don't say how I feel about this matter, then my silence condones it.

The time for our family vacation gets closer, and in a few weeks the decision is due as to whether we will be able to travel or not. We still hope for a Go, but hope gets thinner

Fingers crossed for your family vacation.  Where do you hope to go?

[Penthesilea]

Fingers crossed for your family vacation.  Where do you hope to go?

Scotland!

[CellarDweller]

Hiya BetterMost friends.

I hope that everyone is doing well, and happy hump day!




Work has been going well, and lately I've been able to get all my projects done on time, and sign off at my usual time, so that's good.

Last night we had some thunder and lightning, which I enjoyed.  It's doing the same thing now. 

No plans this weekend, except maybe some cleaning around the apartment.

Scotland!

Oh, nice!   I hope you are able to go on the trip!!!