That's What She Said

In case you haven't heard, this week has been a pile of loony shite! Last week ended quite nicely with the snowfall. I took some pleasant walks around the neighborhood. The ice and widespread power outages changed everything. Mine went out for about 24 hours, but there were a lot of Portland folks who were without for days longer. The electricity died at my job so the stock was heavily affected, and once we opened again we were slammed. Trees are down all over town, and because it's Portland the trees are huge so even if it's a fallen branch it's a big fat one.

I haven't a whole lot else to say except that I don't understand how I live alone and use an entire dinner service worth of crockery to feed myself over a couple of days. 

I've been browsing Buzzfeed for just about everything: news, gossip, how-to's, etc. They have tons of "articles" that are really lists of products titled something like "30 Items You Didn't Know Would Make You Feel Like a Baller LOL" and a lot of these are for storage/sorting containers. I'm seriously anti-spending when it comes to organizing but I like glancing over the lists. Maybe it makes me feel superior? But I found this funny thing when I searched "organizing".

I've been reading Haruki Murakami's 1Q84. The length is intimidating (over 1100 pages) but I'm already over 400 pages in and while it's not an easy read it balances intensity with nonchalance, no wasted details. There's a particular passage that I just read where the spare language subtly deepens the weirdness. This novel, like everything else I've read by Murakami, defies any classification. A fucking plus.

The Corn Dogs of the Ocean

Thursdays are my Fridays, so if you're reading this I've been moving between the sofa and the kitchen since I got home. I have an open container of salsa on my right and my sketchbook and phone to my left. I work in the grocery industry so I was on my feet all day today and most of yesterday. I talk about the weather at this job more than I ever thought I would, especially today because of the imminent snow storms. I have to repeat everything I say at least once because of the masks we all wear and the background noise in the store where I work. I like my job, but when my week is done I am so tired and haven't even realized it until I'm home. I just want to eat and scribble and watch TV. 

I'm in the middle of watching The Haunting of Bly Manor on Netflix. It's a limited series that is a creative retelling of Henry James' classic 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw. The original work leaves a lot to the imagination, which is partly why it is such a great psychological thriller. The Netflix adaptation in particular gives more background to the characters. Mike Flanagan created this show as well as The Haunting of Hill House so it's going to be dark, dark, dark, and brilliant. He invited Henry Thomas back for another role in this program, which makes it extra special!

OK, so my latest exploit has been a lucky encounter on the Buy Nothing group page that I belong to on Facebook. Someone offered to collect used up batteries and light bulbs to donate to Ridwell for recycling, and as it happened I was collecting many, many of these for a future recycle plan that never happened.

My understanding of how the Ridwell program works is that you subscribe to a monthly collection and they give you a box in which to place your items. I just had to bring my crap to the porch of the person I met via Facebook. No fees necessary!!! 

I just wish I had taken before-and-after photos of the kitchen drawer where I kept the batteries for years. It was filled with all kinds of strange items. I cleared it out and organized it, but I wouldn't have if I hadn't had the opportunity to donate!

I'll leave you with a random thought I had this morning after I showed up for work: deep fried shrimp are the corndogs of the ocean. I had that thought as I walked down the frozen foods aisle. You're welcome.