Brain currently booting in Safe Mode

Usually, one reckons a week going from Sunday to Saturday, or even Monday to Sunday. Mine is going from Tuesday last week to today. And it's been a week, I tell you what.

On Tuesday, we all got double-jabbed for fluVID after the kiddo got home from school. Not unusual, but it's good that it's done and I can now relax a little bit regarding whatever respiratory silliness that's going around.

Wednesday morning started with a message from one of the jobs I had applied to, asking if was available to interview by phone the next day. Why yes, yes I was available, thanks for asking. That squared away, I took it easy for the rest of the day because my arm was aching like someone had used it for bare-knuckle boxing practice. I also decided that today was the day to make the switch from Windows to Linux for so many reasons. So many.

The phone interview on Thursday was... meh. It wasn't stellar, wasn't horrid, just there. There was a bit of an accent barrier, and Beans was chewing on my toes because he could. It was exceedingly distracting and I was certain that would be the end of that. (This is fine, because whilst I am looking, I'm also realistic enough to know that a sixteen year gap is a LOT for most companies to take the risk.)

Friday, a call came in from the company, asking me to come in on Monday for an in-person interview. I'm flummoxed, but agree as one of us needs to work if we want to continue our lifestyle of paying rent and eating food whilst living paycheque-to-paycheque.

At it as also Hallowe'en and D was uninterested in going out and scoring candy, I made cheeseburgers for dinner, and we had waffles and a thematically appropriate ice cream for dessert. We deemed Declan old enough and watched The Thing as we ate. When that was over, I showed them the Honest Trailer of the same. All-in-all, it was a good evening.

Saturday, I gamed with my D&D group. We were online due to circumstances outside of our control. This is where I discovered that while the switch between operating systems was fairly painless in most respects, Discord was being a little brat and needed a lot of finessing. We limped along with substandard play until after lunch. My kid, who had made the switch months ago, told me what he did to make Discord behave. I did the same during the lunch break and voila! Success without college. The rest of the game continued as it usual did.

Yesterday was quiet. The only thing of note was a fit-check on my good clothes, in case I needed to make an emergency purchase. I have not needed event appropriate clothes in over a decade, so I was delighted to discover that they fit well-enough to be serviceable. I also read a charming romance that made me cry. It even started with a meet-cute over body bags. It's lovely and warm with an animator and a mortician figuring out how they fit together for their HEA.

Today.

Today, for the first time in almost two decades, I had an honest-to-goodness grown-up job interview. Yes, I was nervous, but I don't think I made too much of an ass of myself. One of the interviewers was impressed that not only was "First Contact Resolution" on my resume, but I also know what it means. I think I made a good impression? I have a lot of tech experience/expertise, and I'm used to monotonous work, so who the fuck knows? I certainly do not. I lost the ability to tell if it went well forever ago. :P

Instead of stressing, I came home and baked a cake, which seemed a better use of my time.

This week has been a bit of a whirlwind and I'm tired. I'm going to go check on my dinner and get ready to eat, complete with gingerbread for dessert.

Some things:

- Declan came home with his most recent math test, and got 100%. Can I mention how incredibly fucking proud I am of him? Because I am.

- Bored of my usual Christmas decorations and having zero monies, I went through my stash of beading supplies and got creative. Then, when I was setting up the tree, I went through my fabric stash to find something to cover the red clay pot I use as a stand and the burlap around the bottom of the tree. Free is my favourite price and the result is endearing.



- I was pilling the cat this morning and fumbled the capsule. Into his mouth. I thought it had gone somewhere when I noticed him swallowing it down. Score one for me today.

My apartment is decorated, my kid is home today (blended learning day, which is a mix of synchronous and asynchronous learning), and I am *le tired*. I have things to do (the laundry waits for no one) and maybe some baking later, and that's enough for today.

My kid came home from school today soaked and carrying his shoes (they go to and from the school in his bag), his coat askew, his backpack gaping open.

Why?

Zippers.

Zipper malfunctions all the way down.

First, I fixed his bag. I tried to do it the easy way (ripping the seam at the bottom of the relevant side, pulling out the ends of the zipper tape, replacing the slider, stitching it closed), and soon discovered that the zipper slider was starting to disintegrate. Since the main pocket has two sliders and the other looked okay, I pulled that one off and closed it up and considered it good enough for now. I might need to replace the zipper in the future, but I have a number that I've pulled from my old packs over the years, so that's not going to be an issue.

His coat, though. UGH. I had already fixed it, so no shit, there I was, fixing it AGAIN. Except my fix wasn't going to work, because the slider broke into two pieces and that was that. Had this happened last week, I would have put off the work until tomorrow, when there's daylight and it's easier to see what the fuck I'm doing. BUT, it's cold and the weather is going to get colder and damn it.

I had two zipper candidates in my stash: a gray one that was the perfect length and a black one that was about 5cm shorter than the zipper in the coat. Not egregious by any stretch of the imagination, and not the first time I've put in a zipper that was a bit short. The winner? The black zipper. Why? It wasn't a two-way separable (you know, two sliders so you can unzip it from the bottom to access the inside of the garment without undoing the zipper), which was the commercial zipper put in when it was made and it has caused nothing but headaches.

So.

I fixed his coat, because that's the cheaper/easier option for me. My hand, though, it fucking hates me (I think I'm developing arthritis at the base of my thumb on my right hand - good times), because I made it pinch and hold and pin and do all of that other fine motor control necessary for sewing. It's one of the reasons I've made myself some tea, so I can wrap my hand around the mug and use the heat to ease some of the ache. (The other reason is I just want a cup of tea.)

Is it the best zipper replacement I've ever done? Oh hell no. Replacing zippers is one of the things that I do not enjoy doing. I do it because people pay me to fix their winter coats and sometimes it's necessary. I'm always happy when it's done, though, so there is that. And yeah, not my best work but that's okay. For an emergency replacement that would not wait for a day or two? It's good enough and most people won't even notice that the stitching is wonky in places or that the zipper isn't quite the right length. It will outlast the kid's use of the coat, which suits me fine.

I have a teenager living in the house. Yesterday, we had his party in the park (as is usual AND was at his request). The weather was pretty much perfect, although the wasps were frightful. Holy hells, there were a LOT. I made a very effective wasp trap from a discarded water bottle (that yes, I pulled from the trash can - I have no shame) and it made a difference.

The party was well-attended, and he had a good time. He also got a new scooter from his aunt and uncle, an adult upgrade to the one he was using. It has a weight rating of 100kg. He should be able to use it for a good long while, which is awesome.

Today, I have no plans outside of thoroughly cleaning the litter boxes. It's gotten to the point that they smell like they need scooping right after they've been scooped. It's pretty friggen gnarly and as much as I don't want to haul them down to the laundry room to apply soap and water, I need to. At least I have gloves.

Sick. Again.

It started last night, and while I feel okayish now, it's only going to get worse from here. More than a little annoyed that I have to move the vascular surgeon appointment I finally got, but I doubt very much they are going to want to see me when I'm feeling like this. And yes, I'm salty about it, but for good reason, since I started this process a YEAR AGO and being a responsible adult sucks.

Also, my kid is coughing a lot this morning, so whatever he had over the weekend has possibly come back in full force. Going to send him, unless something happens between now and he has to leave. At least he has winter boots now.

I kept the kid home yesterday because he was rather sneezy. About ninety minutes later, he yarked, so good call on my part. Today, he's even sneezier and I seem to be coming down with it, too. I did test myself for COVID and it came back negative. No idea if I have enough antibodies or nah to trigger the reaction or if I even have the plague, but I do intend to test the kid either before he goes to bed tomorrow night OR Monday morning to double check.

And, of course, with the kid home, my ability to get shit done has been squashed. I have gotten some sewing done, did some needed cleaning, and even read an entire book this week (Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir). Oh, and I've been writing, too, but that has slowed down some this week.

New glasses were ready Thursday and damn, do I love not having to fight my frames to see.

Today, I think there might be a nap in my future. Or not. Nothing strenuous, at any rate.

I'm fighting a serious case of the Don't Wannas. I don't wanna do the household laundry (one measly load). I don't wanna make cookies. DO NOT WANT.

So, no shit, there I was...

Laundry is done and needs folding/putting away. Cherry chocolate chip oatmeal cookies are baking in batches. I still need to make dinner, even though I really don't wanna.

Living with the wrong prescription continues and I'm done. I'm limited in what I can and cannot do without squinting. Using my laptop and writing? Fine. Reading? Sure. Hand sewing? Since I take my glasses off to do this anyway, this is always a yes.

Not being able to see clearly is turning into a giant ball of frustration that I can't do much about except wait. Okay, I can call the optician, but if he's waiting on an answer, then I'm still waiting. *grump*

I now have a twelve year old. His party was on Sunday and it went off without a hitch. Well, mostly without a hitch. The weather was fantastic, we found a spot in the shade, his friends came (this is important, as he has only *just* found his tribe), and the park wasn't stupidly busy (although parking was a Beast).

This was the very first birthday party I had been to in my entire life where someone lost a pair of underpants, though. Yes, it was my kid. And yes, he is potato. He was coming back from changing in the bathroom and they got dropped. Before we left, I sent him to walk back to the building to see if they were still there, but nope. So I went to go pee and, and as I was coming back, noticed something weird near the playground. Since I can't see for shit, I got closer.

And found his underpants.

The boy must have initially walked back a different way the first time, and didn't retrace his steps the second. We found them, that's what's important and my child? Is Potato. I love him, but oy.

So.

First Declan was sick.

Then I caught it a few days later.

Now Paul has come down with it.

Yay.

(On a better news front, Declan's over it, and I'm at the tail end of whatever this nonsense was. It was pretty short-lived, so that's something.)

Donuts:

Declan's been sick this week. Again. I tested him using a rapid test and it came back negative, but that doesn't mean much of anything. Wednesday, there was more life in a wet dishrag than there was in my kid. He's been bouncing back, but isn't anywhere near school-healthy as of yet. His appetite has somewhat returned, so that's a relief.

On Tuesday, we went out thrifting. Shocking no one, I bought yarn, BUT I also found a couple of things that I had been looking for first try. I found a new cotton blanket for our bed (ours was quite old and was starting to disintegrate) as well as a nice bedspread. Laundry happened, and the blanket went onto the bed, and the bedspread got a little adjusting into a new futon cover. My only complaint is that it is a crumb-magnet, but I suspect that it's also a naptrap and I'm okay with that trade off.

Pilling the cat is an ADVENTURE. I think I have to cut Sunny's claws again, since I'm starting to wear his protestations on my hand. It's getting easier, though slow going.

I made another blanket, all from thrifted yarn. It's hideous and I love it. It still needs finishing (ends woven in, blocked) and I will post pictures when that's done.

Compression socks still suck. They bunch in the same spot, the dip between my ankle and shin, and I am not impressed. *grumble*

I had a mammogram yesterday. I know it's important and all that and yes, I'm grateful that I can get the requisition, book an appointment and go, with no cost to myself. And yet. There is a certain amount of indignity and discomfort that goes with it. So no, I do not like them, but I like cancer even less, so there's that.

Periods suck. Can I be done with them now?

I'm still trying to make a dent in my physical TBR. It's slow going, but it's going. Reading hasn't been a thing for me lately, my head just isn't in it. Maybe today I will have some time to just sit and read and rest.

My life is pretty fucking boring. I need to get outside more, but it's so easy to stay in and hermit. Thanks inertia!