too drunk to drive
Dec. 24th, 2023 10:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_siobhan
I am so bad at this.
December 2023
6 – Put on Your Own Shoes Day: How old were you when you learned to put on your own shoes? How about when you learned to tie your own shoelaces?
7 – Cotton Candy Day: Do you like cotton candy? (Also known as Fairy Floss.)
8 – Lost and Found Day: Have you ever lost something important to you and thought you would never get it back, but then you found it or someone returned it to you?
9 – Christmas Card Day: Do you send Christmas/holiday cards? How many do you send? Do you receive many cards?
10 – World Choral Day: Have you ever sung in a choir?
11 – Stretching Day: How flexible are you? Do you do any stretching or flexibility exercises regularly?
12 – Gingerbread House Day: Have you ever made a gingerbread house? How did it turn out?
13 – Day of the Horse: Have you ever been horseback riding? Have you read any of the classic horse books, e.g. Black Beauty, the Misty of Chincoteague books, the Black Stallion books, the Silver Brumby books? Are you a fan of any horse-related sports, e.g. racing or show jumping?
14 – Roast Chestnuts Day: Have you ever made or eaten roast chestnuts?
15 – Cat Herders' Day: Have you ever had to do anything where it felt like you were trying to herd cats?
16 – Chocolate-Covered Anything Day: Is there anything that would not be improved by being covered in chocolate? What is your favourite chocolate-covered food?
17 – Wright Brothers Day: How do you feel about plane travel?
6 – I have no idea. Maybe kindergarten? 7 – I don't. I find it cloying. 8 – I lose things all the time. My house is full of lost things right now. Occasionally I'll pull some sheets out of a drawer and a t-shirt I haven't been able to find for months will drop out. 9 – I'm not actually into Christmas cards. No shade on people who like them, I just never got the point. 10 – Nope. 11 – I am the opposite of flexible. I was doing short yoga stretches in the summer but then winter came and I stopped because it's hard to stretch when you can't stop shivering. (And being bundled up got in the way.) But now I HAVE A FURNACE again so I plan to pick it back up. (Probably after the holiday craziness.) 12 – Nope. 13 – I was a horse-crazy kid so yes, I did try riding when I was young and read all the typical horse books. Then I got old enough to get into sex & drugs & punk rock and the horses couldn't compete. 14 – You know, I haven't. I'd be curious to try them. 15 – Every day of my life, my friends. Every day of my life. 16 – Chocolate-covered almonds, for sure. 17 – It's so boring. I don't find flying scary I just hate all the waiting and sitting around. And I'm sure they have hired engineers specifically to figure out how to make airplanes seats impossibly uncomfortable.
18 – International Migrants Day: International Migrants Day emphasizes the protection of migrants’ human rights. The day also recognizes the contributions and efforts of migrants around the world. Has anyone in your family ever migrated from one country to another? What would your country be like without migrants?
I'm part of the massive Irish diaspora, so yeah my family has migrants in it. Canada, the USA, and New Zealand are the countries I know about. I have family members in England and Germany as well. My parents moved to Canada when I was three and I lost my accent when I started public school.
A few years ago BC & I went to Grosse Isle, Quebec to see the placard that lists all the Irish immigrants who died in quarantine so she could find her great-great-*mumble*-great-grandfather's name. Hundreds of thousands of Irish entered North America through that port. The population of Canada[1] at the time was under two million. All these people bitching about immigrants now are just weak-sauce.
[1] I'm assuming indigenous people were not considered "Canadian" at the time and so are not included in this number.
***
The Good: Elderly Gentleman Cat was weighed by the vet this past week and is starting to regain some mass on the new chicken regime. Fuzzy bastard eats better than I do.
The Bad: Only now he associates the microwave with chicken so he runs over and starts shrieking at me every time I'm near it. And since the microwave sits under the shelf we use in lieu of a kitchen counter I can't even make a coffee without him getting under my feet and yelling like a ban sidhe announcing my imminent departure.
The Ugly: In the 20+ years I have lived with the housemate I have not yet managed to convince them not to pick up dirty towels from the floor and hang them back up. This led to me wiping my hands on a towel yesterday and getting a fist-full of stale cat food. I made the exact same noise as my cat.
***
Had an argument with my dad's wife about Xmas plans - she wanted to go to her favourite tea-room on Tuesday. The place is tiny. It seats maybe 12 people max in a single row of tables and since most of their business is take-out, there is a constant stream of unmasked people standing directly behind your chair the entire time you eat. We did it last year based on her promise that we would be seated "well away from people" and I swore I wasn't doing it again.
We have Covid, influenza, RSV, walking pneumonia, and strep making the rounds right now, I have asthma, my dad has COPD and SHE'S NOT FUCKING VACCINATED, Jesus Fucking Christ.
My sister stepped in and said she would be happy to cook in their kitchen, so we're doing that instead. Sister gave me the jobs of bringing desert and feeding her enough wine to get her through the evening without smacking anybody.
***
There is a great deal of thumping and banging going on somewhere outside my house and... fireworks? Is that a new Xmas thing?
***
Tomorrow is dinner with the lovely and talented and most excellent cook BC. There will be turkey. I have been informed there might even be leftover turkey. Leftover turkey is pretty much my favourite food ever and I will not be sharing it with the cat.
[Edited to fix the typos I never seem to be able to see before I hit "enter".]
December 2023
6 – Put on Your Own Shoes Day: How old were you when you learned to put on your own shoes? How about when you learned to tie your own shoelaces?
7 – Cotton Candy Day: Do you like cotton candy? (Also known as Fairy Floss.)
8 – Lost and Found Day: Have you ever lost something important to you and thought you would never get it back, but then you found it or someone returned it to you?
9 – Christmas Card Day: Do you send Christmas/holiday cards? How many do you send? Do you receive many cards?
10 – World Choral Day: Have you ever sung in a choir?
11 – Stretching Day: How flexible are you? Do you do any stretching or flexibility exercises regularly?
12 – Gingerbread House Day: Have you ever made a gingerbread house? How did it turn out?
13 – Day of the Horse: Have you ever been horseback riding? Have you read any of the classic horse books, e.g. Black Beauty, the Misty of Chincoteague books, the Black Stallion books, the Silver Brumby books? Are you a fan of any horse-related sports, e.g. racing or show jumping?
14 – Roast Chestnuts Day: Have you ever made or eaten roast chestnuts?
15 – Cat Herders' Day: Have you ever had to do anything where it felt like you were trying to herd cats?
16 – Chocolate-Covered Anything Day: Is there anything that would not be improved by being covered in chocolate? What is your favourite chocolate-covered food?
17 – Wright Brothers Day: How do you feel about plane travel?
6 – I have no idea. Maybe kindergarten? 7 – I don't. I find it cloying. 8 – I lose things all the time. My house is full of lost things right now. Occasionally I'll pull some sheets out of a drawer and a t-shirt I haven't been able to find for months will drop out. 9 – I'm not actually into Christmas cards. No shade on people who like them, I just never got the point. 10 – Nope. 11 – I am the opposite of flexible. I was doing short yoga stretches in the summer but then winter came and I stopped because it's hard to stretch when you can't stop shivering. (And being bundled up got in the way.) But now I HAVE A FURNACE again so I plan to pick it back up. (Probably after the holiday craziness.) 12 – Nope. 13 – I was a horse-crazy kid so yes, I did try riding when I was young and read all the typical horse books. Then I got old enough to get into sex & drugs & punk rock and the horses couldn't compete. 14 – You know, I haven't. I'd be curious to try them. 15 – Every day of my life, my friends. Every day of my life. 16 – Chocolate-covered almonds, for sure. 17 – It's so boring. I don't find flying scary I just hate all the waiting and sitting around. And I'm sure they have hired engineers specifically to figure out how to make airplanes seats impossibly uncomfortable.
18 – International Migrants Day: International Migrants Day emphasizes the protection of migrants’ human rights. The day also recognizes the contributions and efforts of migrants around the world. Has anyone in your family ever migrated from one country to another? What would your country be like without migrants?
I'm part of the massive Irish diaspora, so yeah my family has migrants in it. Canada, the USA, and New Zealand are the countries I know about. I have family members in England and Germany as well. My parents moved to Canada when I was three and I lost my accent when I started public school.
A few years ago BC & I went to Grosse Isle, Quebec to see the placard that lists all the Irish immigrants who died in quarantine so she could find her great-great-*mumble*-great-grandfather's name. Hundreds of thousands of Irish entered North America through that port. The population of Canada[1] at the time was under two million. All these people bitching about immigrants now are just weak-sauce.
[1] I'm assuming indigenous people were not considered "Canadian" at the time and so are not included in this number.
***
The Good: Elderly Gentleman Cat was weighed by the vet this past week and is starting to regain some mass on the new chicken regime. Fuzzy bastard eats better than I do.
The Bad: Only now he associates the microwave with chicken so he runs over and starts shrieking at me every time I'm near it. And since the microwave sits under the shelf we use in lieu of a kitchen counter I can't even make a coffee without him getting under my feet and yelling like a ban sidhe announcing my imminent departure.
The Ugly: In the 20+ years I have lived with the housemate I have not yet managed to convince them not to pick up dirty towels from the floor and hang them back up. This led to me wiping my hands on a towel yesterday and getting a fist-full of stale cat food. I made the exact same noise as my cat.
***
Had an argument with my dad's wife about Xmas plans - she wanted to go to her favourite tea-room on Tuesday. The place is tiny. It seats maybe 12 people max in a single row of tables and since most of their business is take-out, there is a constant stream of unmasked people standing directly behind your chair the entire time you eat. We did it last year based on her promise that we would be seated "well away from people" and I swore I wasn't doing it again.
We have Covid, influenza, RSV, walking pneumonia, and strep making the rounds right now, I have asthma, my dad has COPD and SHE'S NOT FUCKING VACCINATED, Jesus Fucking Christ.
My sister stepped in and said she would be happy to cook in their kitchen, so we're doing that instead. Sister gave me the jobs of bringing desert and feeding her enough wine to get her through the evening without smacking anybody.
***
There is a great deal of thumping and banging going on somewhere outside my house and... fireworks? Is that a new Xmas thing?
***
Tomorrow is dinner with the lovely and talented and most excellent cook BC. There will be turkey. I have been informed there might even be leftover turkey. Leftover turkey is pretty much my favourite food ever and I will not be sharing it with the cat.
[Edited to fix the typos I never seem to be able to see before I hit "enter".]
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-25 05:57 am (UTC)And if anyone thinks I’m being excessive, go cry to someone who wasn’t put into a wheelchair this year by a Covid infection that I did my damndest to avoid. I have to deal with the fact that my kids might lose me early because Covid has put me at lasting and significantly increased risk for blood clots (it’s been seven months and my blood is still over-clotting, with no signs of trending back in a safer direction). I’ve seen too many people die from Covid, even post-vaccination. (I’ve had five vaccinations and still had to be hospitalized.) I’ve seen too many friends (and sometimes their children) go from healthy to bedridden from Long Covid. I am fucking done with people who choose to be on Team Plague. If their actions only affected them then that would be fine, but they don’t.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-26 10:28 am (UTC)I hope things improve.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-26 02:58 pm (UTC)But I’m a cancer researcher as my job, and I spend too much of my life with statistics to get away from the reality that while I may become a 1-in-4, the chances are much higher of me being a 3-in-4. And we don’t really have good research about how subsequent infections will increase the risk, so all I can do is try my best to avoid a second one, and continue to watch the developments on a nasal/tracheal vaccine that prevents infection and hope that it comes out soon enough.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-25 08:54 pm (UTC)Would a hamper/basket in the kitchen specifically for that, help at all? I ended up getting a cheap metal "tub" tin from the thrift to do that in the kitchen, and it sits on the counter near the sink.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-25 09:17 pm (UTC)There is a milk crate sitting on the edge of the coffee table where they eat their meals specifically for dirty dishes and yet they still somehow manage to never get their used dishes into it, so although the hamper idea is a good one I suspect it wouldn't help.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-25 09:03 pm (UTC)Yesterday D dried off a mason jar lid with a towel that had raw egg on it, and I'm like tell me you never had to work in food service without telling me you never had to work in food service.
Hahaha, the chicken regime. Glad Mr. Cat is doing better. Enjoy your turkey!
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-26 10:27 am (UTC)Cats, right?
I have not yet managed to convince them not to pick up dirty towels from the floor
I have never, ever, lived with anyone who did this: parental home, sharehouses, other, so WTF?
Sister gave me the jobs of bringing desert and feeding her enough wine to get her through the evening without smacking anybody.
You got the good job. And your sister seems like a good egg.
What's the deal with leftover turkey? We never grew up with it, so it's a mystery to me.