Take a Picture

So here I am on a rainy Sunday afternoon. It’s a cold rain, but not cold enough to be ice or snow, which is just as well – a wintry day spent indoors is doubly enjoyable if it’s a true Snow Day, and since it’s a long holiday weekend I’m already off work tomorrow. I’m glad you came out in this weather; pull up a chair and I’ll pour some drinks and we’ll talk about the week

This week was as normal a week as might be expected; as I think I said last time, this week was the first week of the spring semester, which meant coming in early a few days. There was the inevitable rush of students and there were times our team felt overwhelmed but we made it through. The promise of a long weekend was particularly motivating.

On Friday I decided to bring in some treats for my teammates (in the form of a protein shake for one and a chocolate bar with almonds for another) and took myself to Dunkin before work.

That was when I discovered two favorites are no longer being carried:

• blueberry cake is available only at select stores and appears to be phasing out (some stores have glazed blueberry, but not mine)
• lemon filled has been discontinued entirely

And while my third-favorite (Boston Creme/Cream) is still available, without blueberry or lemon, what’s even the point of going to Dunkin?

I was so frustrated I forgot to take a picture of my donuts . . .

I suppose they do have the best drive-through sweet tea . . .

Friday also saw me make a questionable decision to turn on email notifications on my phone, and since I do not regularly check my email or clear out the junk, there were several moments of terror where I had over 50,000 “unread” emails (according to the number on my phone).

And I was so focused on fingering out how to clear out that awful number that I forgot to take a screenshot!

But speaking of complaints and frustrations, I have another. This is a small complaint, minuscule even, but I much preferred it when Science Friday had one large weekly podcast instead of multiple shorter episodes spread throughout the week. From what I know the show is still broadcast as a two-hour program, so why have they broken it up for the podcast?

It doesn’t make sense.

On Saturday, I went grocery shopping and thrifting. This week’s thrift finds were DVDs of the first three Indiana Jones movies and a vintage deluxe edition of Scrabble. The board is in good shape and all the tiles are present; two of the wooden racks are missing but if that’s the only real “damage” . . .

Saturday afternoon I ended a streak: after 996 days, I got a haircut. Here’s what I looked like before:

I didn’t do anything too drastic – I got it trimmed and layered and thinned in places so that it looks even and intentional and not wild and untamed.

The stylist even suggested a solution for what might be going on at the back of my head where hair has refused to grow long (it grows but then breaks off short and looks like a bad haircut or even like someone burned it. I can assure you it is not burned).

It still might not grow back like the rest, but maybe at least that part of my head will be healthier.

And then Saturday evening Krystal and I went out with some friends to celebrate her birthday. I think this is the first time we’ve celebrated her birthday with a night out with friends. We ended up in a nifty room behind a door disguised as a bookcase and enjoyed drinks and food as live music was piped in via a speaker. We talked and chatted and laughed and took Polaroid pictures and had a grand time.

For the curious, here were the drinks:

• Drama Queen – End of Days Luna Bloom Gin, Chambord, St-Germain,
  Lemon, Prosecco, Lavender
• Hidden Pipe Coffee Porter (Raleigh Brewing Company)
• Just a Phase – Hackney Vodka, Pumpkin Spice, Condensed Milk, Kahlua, Cold Brew

I had to get the last one if only because I was wearing my MCR shirt!

I enjoyed vegetable stuffed mushrooms and apple cobbler while Krystal had a kind of pumpkin ravioli and creme brûlée. – which came with a sparkler for her birthday!

This morning I’ve been cleaning the kitchen and putting together a plan for supper. I’m thinking cube steaks in the crock pot.

How are you doing? What have you been up to?