Store clerk: "I need to come up with a good name for my mermaid skeleton".
Me: "That's easy. "Ariel" with a B…. "Bariel" (pronounced "burial")
I start the day on a positive note. I slept reasonably well. I will give it a seven or eight out of 10. It had a good beat I could dance to. I did take the gabapentin, and yes, I do fear developing a dependency. It's just what I do. I also got up, and out of bed around 6:30 AM, riches part of the routine, I want to return to more consistently. But it wasn't simply about doing so out of commitment. It was about going to work. Even when there is no office to go into :-). Our company is doing biannual account reviews wherein we gather with the business development and executive teams to review the various clients and accounts to give updates on sales history, forecasts, and business needs. Those were online during the passed Covid years, and now they're doing it again in person. I suppose there is a strong value in being in person, but I still bristle at the idea of the expense of accommodations and travel and food and everything that goes along with such an event. One funny thing is it will be at the former Sofitel hotel in Redwood Shores right by our old building. A place I walked by repeatedly and went into on more than one occasion, including former account reviews! It is a nicely appointed hotel. I felt a little curmudgeonly in that I have no interest in hanging out after 2 PM over the next three days. I don't want to deal with traffic and must get home to the dogs. That's a big change for me. In my earlier years, I would be more inclined to stay into the evening to meet up with colleagues and friends and do things together, but that's not where my head is. I might use Wednesday night with some of my coworkers because dinner is already scheduled, and I could squeeze some additional time in beforehand and after. Back to driving to work… How quickly things returned to the days of congestion on my route to work. I slightly regret having discarded Carl Poole. I could use him right now. But I am simply attempting to accept the nature of the circumstances and that I will be in traffic crawling at a 5 to 10-mile-an-hour pace throughout much of my trip into the meetings. It's only two days. And Wednesday will not be spent driving into work but calling into meetings. And each evening, I will retreat early to avoid traffic and get home. Maybe. We'll see about Thursday. And hey, it gives me a chance to continue listening to "good night, LA. " My latest audiobook on audible. A book about the music industry of the 70s. Something I've been mentally revisiting as I listen to albums from that era. And it's also been a nice break from the more serious and introspective content related to death, dying, relationships and quality of life. Jennifer and I briefly discussed with Tommy last night about his interest in joining his swim team. I think he is inherently and naturally physically optimized (height, strength, body weight) for this sport and has a natural ability to excel. A swim team may be something that gets him further opportunities regarding College. It's $200 a month, but I'm OK with that. But I worry about him taking on further obligations when he doesn't seem to be fully engaged and invested in the level of effort the work requires to get the grade points he needs for Berkeley. I told him as much, but as it tends to go, our exchanges can sometimes be tense, so I prefaced it with the statement that it was not meant to be argumentative; it was meant to express concern and point out possible risks in adding to his already full plate. we had a big conflict yesterday because of the way he left the bathroom after apparently getting sick from something he ate. I also have issues with the fact that he's not respecting the effort I put into cleaning up the garage so far, including organizing the tools that are again being left out and about. I told him again that if he wants to use our home in our items, he needs to respect them and put them back so they will always be where I expect to find them when I need them. Just like it works for him when he needs something. and I left it at that. It appears that brief comments without emotion are the only way to manage and handle the tense dynamic. I don't accept full responsibility for any of this. I blame a lot of it on his mom and how she represented me to them throughout their lives, including the time of our separation and divorce. I chatted with Lauren a bit last night, and it was good to hear that she and her roommate seem to be finding a better harmony in their rapport. She indicated that the roommate was interested in doing some things with her. Hopefully, that will happen, and they might become friends. It would make a living in a small jail cell-sized room easier for both of them. I decided that since Lauren's away and getting her meals funded through the trust/my matching, Tommy should have the same even though he's living at home, as he eats out on his dime more than he eats our food, and it's fair and reasonable given how he's focused on grades and school over income. I retroactively reimbursed him and set up a weekly allotment through year-end. Jen and I ran to GOBM to get some stuff I'll need for the week ahead [keto/PSMF stuff], and she made a new batch of dog food, so there's some until she returns. I'm grateful to have her doing that work for them; knowing what they eat means a lot to me. Lucky's vet visit today confirmed an eye infection, but Lauren and my efforts with interim dog-saline helped make it a lot better than it would have had we not taken any action for a few days. It's good that she caught that and that we responded appropriately. I put some of the 1960-61 vinyl on tonight and really enjoyed doing so. I did some further research on how to remove and replace the turntable, and if I can find the time this weekend, I'll try the alternate one out. I'm a bit hesitant to risk messing up what's working in case I cause more problems than I do improvements. Also, the garage really should be my sole focus. Hopefully, I'll have that level of discipline. Last note - my mom indicated that she heard from David unexpectedly and that he'll be at her house tomorrow with Julia. I have commitments already, but I'm hoping he'll be around for a day or two and I can find time to see him. I suspect Tommy would like to, too. I'll let him know in the morning.