personal

Sunny day

Today was the first fully sunny day I think we’ve had all week, since last Sunday actually. We had plenty of sun yesterday, but rain later in the day. I think today, for a change, we maybe didn’t have any rain at all. Inconceivable!

I spent the day as I do most Sundays, struggling through the New York Times crossword puzzle and free-writing with friends. I don’t usually like rebus crosswords — they often feel like a cheat that hurts my brain — and I can’t say I loved this one, but it at least was genuinely sort of clever. I still haven’t actually finished, despite doing a little cheating.

I hesitate to share the free-writing I did, since I don’t think it adds up to much of anything. We were distracted by the air show going on across the parking lot — we meet right near one of Long Island’s airports, and this was going on over the weekend — and I struggled with the prompts. Here’s the non-narrative I cobbled together:

“The real issue, if you want to know the truth,” says Furlough, “is the promiscuity of electrons. Test materials in the lab were exhibiting sporadic and unintentional electron conductivity, which we finally traced back to an unexpected surplus of hydrogen atoms in the surrounding atmosphere. The atoms were the discharge of an earlier experiment, which for reasons not yet determined, had failed to be removed during standard decom procedures, were missed during numerous sensor sweeps prior to the event, and which unfortunately bonded strongly with the zinc oxides Dr. Kendrick and his team were experimenting on. Despite the conductivity and potential dangers it represented, Dr. Kendrick continued on, citing in his log book, which we have since been able to recover, numerous deadlines and previous failures. This is not to suggest that Dr. Kendrick was himself at fault, or that any legal action is recommended; however, there is every indication that his actions, or rather his failure to cease the zinc oxide experimentation, led directly to the aforementioned event, namely the explosive destruction of Lab 17 and all its contents, Dr. Kendrick and his three technical assistants included.”

“Yes,” says Bellman, “that or the WWII airplane we all saw crash into the side of the friggin’ building!”

“Our data on that is still inconclusive. Given that no aircraft was recovered at the site, nor any wreckage beyond the equipment expected and signed out to Lab 17, it is our combined and considered belief that this ‘crash’ was in point of fact a mass hallucination brought about by elements as yet unknown.”

I told you, distracted by aircraft. How often do you see the Blue Angels flying in formation above Wal-Mart?

Anyway, that was my Sunday.

Satursomething or other

I gave the dog a bath today, with the garden hose and some pet shampoo, and that went about as well as you might imagine. He certainly didn’t seem to enjoy it, but it’s something I’ve been meaning to do all week. But haven’t been able to do because it rained all week. (It only rained a little, and later, today.)

Beyond that…well, it was a pretty uneventful day. I did a little grocery shopping, and I nodded off it the late afternoon after watching yet more Eureka. (I seem to be caught up to the episodes that have aired, so I guess I’ll get to watch the final season along with everyone else.) I’m feeling much better, although still somewhat fatigued and phlegmy.

This evening, I watched Metropolitan (well, after re-watching most of Panic and a good chunk of Out of Sight). It felt very familiar, to the point where I’m pretty sure I’ve actually seen it before. S’okay, it wasn’t bad.

How very Thursday

I think the dog has had quite enough of this, just we two bachelors hanging around the house. He’s especially antsy at night, occasionally jumping at noises — which, you know, makes me jump at noises — and looking at me almost accusingly, as if to say, “What did you do with them? They’d never have taken me to vet of all places.”

I had a doctor’s appointment myself today, for a follow-up chest x-ray I’d scheduled a week ago. My pneumonia hadn’t gone away completely at my last x-ray a month or so ago, so this was meant to be a formality for the all-clear. (Then again, the original x-ray was supposed to have been a formality.) And I got the all-clear, which is good…although I’m still feeling sick. Sore throat, cough, fever, chills, tired — all that fun stuff. I do feel better this evening than I did earlier today, so hopefully I’m on the mend.

Maybe I can salvage at least a decent long weekend out of these days off.

The dog, on the other hand, just wants his other people back.

I got chills, they’re multiplyin’

I took the dog to the vet this morning. If he understood the concept of blogging — and I have to assume that he doesn’t — he would no doubt have angrily suggested I did so only in order to have something to write about here. In fact, though, it was for his chronic ear infection, which needed seeing to.

But it’s true that otherwise no much happened. I am starting to think these allergies maybe aren’t, what with addition today of slight chills and a low-grade fever. I have a chest x-ray scheduled for tomorrow, which was meant to be a follow-up on the pneumonia in one lung that wouldn’t go away. So I guess I’ll at least learn if that’s a contributing factor, if it’s gotten worse instead of better.

Either way, a trip to my own doctor might be in order.

Do I know how to live it up over vacation or what?