Things and Stuff

Life is still chugging along in its crazy, maddening, and somewhat weird way. Labor day has now come and gone and there’s definitely a hint of fall in the air. Love it!

Speaking of Labor Day …

We kicked off the holiday weekend by meeting up with the local gay group at one of our local breweries. This is a pretty new group and it’s been fun to get to know some gay men (and women!) that actually live in Waynesville.

That Saturday, we attended the last of the summer “gays only” pool parties that we have been getting invited to over in Asheville. The weather was supposed to be dodgy, but it ended up being a super nice day.

The pool before being tainted by all the homos …
Pool Party!

We went to a “guys only” cookout the next day and that was pretty nice as well … even though we got stuck inside the whole time because the weather did end up being super dodgy that day.

So, all in all, it was a pretty gay Labor Day weekend!

In non-gay news …

I have finally started going through records that I have been given over the past several years and have been trying to salvage the ones that are not too beat up. Since I don’t have a fancy (or non-fancy) record cleaner, I will wash mine in the sink with a little soap and water. That can sometimes help tremendously if all you are dealing with is fingerprints or mold (or both) on the vinyl. And it’s always amusing the see them drying in the dish drainer.
Savin' Records

And finally … here is Chip being cute as fuck.

Things and Stuff

Fundamentals

So, the other day a post popped up in my Facebook feed touting a design contest for Buncombe County (the next county over) and their “I Voted” stickers for the upcoming election in November.

“Must say ‘I voted.’ … the rest is up to you … deadline September 2 … designs voted on September 7-22 …  winner announced September 22.”

Excellent! So, I got to work and banged out a design that I was pretty happy with, only to REALLY read the instructions after the fact.

“WHO: Any young person, ages 13-18 that is a resident of Buncombe County is eligible to participate.”

Dammit. I am neither ages 13-18 nor a resident of Buncombe County.

[Insert facepalm emoji here.]

Reading. It’s fundamental.

Wasted Energy

Fundamentals

The Motions

Hey all.

I am indeed still alive. June and July turned into quite the shitshow with having COVID and just dealing with the general crappiness of life right now. I guess I could go into lots of detail, but I don’t want to right now. Suffice it to say, I have been dealing with my usual feeling of inadequacy, unattractiveness, inability to be more assertive, the general stress of life and relationships, and a situation where I was lied to by a friend about a something I still harbor a lot of hard feelings about.

So, for the time being, I am going through the motions by putting on a smile and acting like everything is okay.

Anyhoo … I am still alive. I just need to get back in the posting rhythm!

The Motions

Fifth Wave

Remember when I said, “It’s hard not to feel like the universe has it in for you when shit like this happens?”

This happened last weekend just in time to fuck over my first 3-day weekend of the year.
COVID!

Yep. That’s a positive COVID test. I have been honestly surprised at the number of people who had no idea what this was. Maybe my friend circle doesn’t have the need to test themselves as much as David and I do? Who knows.

I guess I should count myself lucky that I made it into Year Three before getting it. But, it has really sucked even with being vaccinated and double boosted. I woke up sick last Saturday and it’s taken until today for me to feel halfway human again. I know, I know. I should count my blessings since so many people haven’t seen the other side of catching COVID.

But, this week, I feel like wallowing in self-pity because nothing ever seems to work out right anymore. This makes the second time this year that days off from work have been fucked over by illness. I also found out that expressing hurt feelings can fuck you over because nobody listens or wants to take the time to actually talk to you about what’s going on before they dismiss you as a complainer or someone with ill intent.

Okay. That is enough vague whining. It’s time I snuggle back down into the black hole of COVID isolation.

Fifth Wave

*Drools!*

A new David Cronenberg film? Yes, please!

*Drools!*

Hey. Hi. Hello.

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Not much has been going on here other than my standard “work, eat, sleep, be depressed” routine. I have not had much energy about posting here (shocker!) because day in and day out seems to be the same ole, same ole.

I did actually have a vacation scheduled last month … to a gay campground in Florida! But, guess who got sick with strep the day before we were supposed to fly down. You guessed it. I ended up home sick and missed the vacation while David got to go. It’s hard not to feel like the universe has it in for you when shit like this happens.

During REI’s member discount sale, I did finally pull the trigger on a new sleeping pad for my backpacking adventure. You can see in the pictures that the new pad packs much, much smaller than the Thermarest that I have been carrying for 20+ years. Over the past three years, I have managed to replace all my old gear. The only thing I want now is a more compact camp stove (and maybe a lightweight camp chair) and I will be fully set!

And … I am stupid excited to finally have acquired a copy of Austra‘s debut album, Feel it Break, on vinyl. I have been looking for a copy of this for quite a while. Whoo!

And, yeah. Sunrise in the mountains never gets old …
Sunrise

In movie news … Robert Eggers’ The Northman opens next week and I can’t fucking wait!

Hey. Hi. Hello.

Stockholm-ed

How fucked in the head must you be to feel like quitting a job you didn’t particularly like anymore (and that you feel undervalued your time and talent while you worked there and now allows your work to be bastardized by your replacement) was probably the biggest mistake you ever made in your life?

Jesus. I need therapy.

Stockholm-ed

FWP [Monday Edition]

Criterion is shipping out a replacement disc for the Citizen Kane 4K and standard Blu-ray sets due to an encode issue. I got a shipping notification on January 7 and this is what the tracking still says 17 days later.

USPS Sucks

I am not sure if this is a Criterion issue or a USPS issue … but this frustrates me endlessly. And, yes … I know this is totally a privileged, first-world problem thing.

Meanwhile … the sunrise (as seen from the Walmart parking lot) yesterday morning was quite pretty.

Sunrise 01-23-22

FWP [Monday Edition]

Mid-Winter Blahs

Yeah. I am officially stuck with a case of the mid-winter blahs. The weather has been too cold to get out and do anything outdoorsy and I am tired of being stuck inside. The weekly Saturday Firepit sessions with Shortlegs and Co. are currently on hold because the weather has been too cold, rainy, or snowy for us to gather. It’s my sanity break for the week and I miss it terribly. C’mon, spring!

Speaking of snow … we ended up getting about 9″ last Sunday! It’s about time we got some of the fringe benefits of winter.
Snow 2022
Snow 2022

A few weeks ago, I finally bit the bullet and upgraded my trusty iPhone X to a spankingly new iPhone 13 Pro. I am now in debt on the damn thing for 2-12 years! Sheesh. It’s almost like having a car payment. I initially had buyer’s remorse but eventually got over that. The camera alone was worth the upgrade. *drools*
iPhone 13

I was reshelving some movies last week and made a fun discovery. I managed to buy TWO copies of the Criterion Collection edition of Alan J. Pakula‘s The Parallax View. I had bought a copy at the B&N Sale in November but had (apparently) forgotten that fact. When I rewatched Klute one day, I thought about how I needed a copy of The Parallax View for my collection and ordered a copy off Amazon. Talk about feeling stupid when I realized what had happened. Hopefully, this isn’t a sign that senility is setting in.
Dumbassery

We did get out earlier this week and caught the new Scream film. I really dug it! It had chills and thrills and even made me cry at one point. Out of all the horror franchises out there, I think the Scream franchise is my favorite one. Get thee to the theater to see it!
Scream 2020

Work has been horrifyingly slow the past few weeks. I hope in the long term it doesn’t mean that I am about to be unemployed. In the short term what it means is that the workdays feel long and the work weeks feel even longer. Ugh.

And, finally … There’s lots of good music on the way this spring with new albums from Ghost, Midlake, and Daniel Rossen (of Grizzly Bear fame) on the horizon.

Mid-Winter Blahs