saturday’s scattered thoughts & a meme

scattered thoughts

After the debacle of the previous night’s sleep (see here), I’d hope to have an extended period of restfulness. I was only semi successful. Instead of every couple of minutes (literally), the hubby managed to keep the shenanigans to 45- to 60-minute intervals. Not great, but better. Either way, I was up by 0615, a travesty for a Saturday morning. But I wanted a bath before we potentially lost water. Most of the time, it’s electricity that’s an issue, what with a substation nearby that has issues. For months, we’ve had rolling planned outages while they transfer power from one substation to another temporarily to perform maintenance. It isn’t our substation that’s the issue, but it’s been one of a few that have been taking the additional load from the bad one. Do I have any idea what I’m talking about? Nope, just parroting the messages we’ve been sent from our community office. Moving on, this time it is due to the installation of a new water tank. Our particular area isn’t within the main outage area, but we border it and were told that losing water from 0700 to 1000 was a possibility. It’s almost 0900 and so far so good.

Other things on the agenda today…

1. A New York Rangers game against the Seattle Kraken at 4… here’s hoping my Rangers fare better than they did against the Nashville Predators on Thursday. A miserable 4-1 loss during which I wondered if they’d forgotten they were supposed to be trying to win.
2. Drag Race Italy. Say what you want (but not to me if it’s negative), but I love me some Drag Race. My kid and I watch every franchise, every season, and I love every bit of it. I’ve been going to drag shows since the 80s. RuPaul may not always be the greatest human being, but he’s done so much good for a community of people who wouldn’t have had the visibility and opportunities without him, his influence, and these shows. Werk.
3. A trip to Azeroth. For the uniformed, World of Warcraft. Yes, I’m a nerd.
4. Smosh vids, specifically the Reddit one with Shayne Topp. It’s my usual Saturday lunch viewing with the aforementioned kid.
5. Reading. Because reading is like oxygen. I need it.

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1) Sugarland’s lead singer Jennifer Nettles describes a busy morning that begins with a cup of coffee. Do you start your day with a cup of joe?

Is there any other way to start it? Or live it? Or end it? Yes, yes, I do.

2) When she gets home from work, she sings that her house is dirty but says housework can wait until she has a glass of wine. Is there a particular chore on your “to-do” list that you keep putting off?

Vacuuming. For one thing, it kills my messed up back. For another, the sound destroys my head. Massive pain. So most of the time, I con a kid into doing it, and I escape outside with Loki, my shih tzu who is afraid of The Great Va-Kume. (It’s a bit, one of those probably no one else would get!) That being said, the con isn’t all that conny. I ask, and they rarely have a problem. We’re pretty well established in a we-have-each-others’-back routine.

3) The lyrics tell us happiness is something we can create. Do you agree?

To some extent. I also think that the idea that true happiness comes from within is BS. At least in part. I think some measure of happiness comes from without as well, in the experiences and people around us. Conversely, those same external measures can destroy happiness.

4) In the video of this week’s song, the members of Sugarland ride along in a vintage Cadillac. Are you one of those drivers who has a nickname for your car?

Meet Matilda. She’s a delight to drive to the beach along the North Shore with the top down. She’s my island beater, a 1990 Miata convertable. I love her, bumps and bruises and all. The guy next door is a car guy, though, and at some point he’s going to paint her. I haven’t decided what color. I’d love pink, personally.

5) The group hitches a ride in a red truck. The auto insurance industry tells us that Americans favor vehicles in the grayscale colors. Nearly 80% of cars on the road today are white, black, gray or silver. What color is your vehicle? 

I guess I answered this. However, the Flex my husband drives is black, so I guess he’s basic?!

6) Nettles achieved her dream of performing on Broadway when she took over the role of Roxy in Chicago. What’s your fantasy job?

A kept woman. No, kidding. I’m doing what I love, writing and editing.

7) She wrote a cookbook with her mom called Sweet, Savory and Simple. When it was originally published, it was spiral bound. That way, it could be laid flat on the counter as the cook tries one of the recipes. How many cookbooks do you own?

More than I need, since I’m not a huge fan of cooking. I have two vintage ones that were my mother’s, and most of the rest are themed. Some in my collection (they’re linked to Amazon):

8) In 2005, when “Something More” was topping the country charts, Paul McCartney won a People’s Choice Award for his concert tour. Do you have any plans to enjoy music performed live between now and the end of the year?

Probably not. Not a lot of big names come to Hawai’i. I saw Def Leppard five years ago here, though. That was FANTASTIC!

9) Random question: Who received the most recent compliment you gave?

My husband. I literally just told him he was beautiful. He agreed.

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three things… i want right now

1. I really want a big bowl of phở. Saito & Phở III in Mililani makes a delicous one, as does Cuu Long in Aeia.
2. Ube anything. One of the grocery stores in town makes a killer ube chantilly cake. Decadent!
3. A spicy tuna bowl from Uncle Bo’s. It’s local (raw) ahi tuna, avocado, and bacon on rice and served with nori sheets to roll around bites. So yummy!

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currently

1. reading:  
   • The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
   • The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
   • Storm Breaking by Mercedes Lackey
   • Freaky Witches by Amanda M. Lee
   • Pumpkin Spce and Not So Nice by Becky Monson
2. listening: Agent of Betrayal podcast: about Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent-turned-Soviet spy
3. writing: nothing today
4. loving: spooky season
5. making: wolpentinger from this book…

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