So, my 2021 started on a high point - both literally and figuratively: for my birthday, I dined at Top of the World, the revolving restaurant at the Strat. I’ve wanted to do it for ages and a generous birthday gift in the form of one of those gift credit card thingies facilitated it. I timed it perfectly – just as the sun was setting. I was alone, of course, and even with the gift card I couldn’t afford to eat or drink too much (two cocktails, an appetizer and a side came to $90 with tip), but it was a great start to an… average year.
I “worked” from home for the
first six months of the year. The first thing I did upon our return on July 1
was customize my outgoing email signature to include the following quotation,
from George Bernard Shaw:
"The
only person who behaved sensibly was my tailor
- he took my measure anew every time he saw me; the rest went on
with their old measurements.”
Less than 24 hours after
returning, more than one co-worker was treating me like shit. Oh well.
What else? Oh, yeah: I am
still playing Words With Friends, but the bloom is certainly off compared to
last year. I have taken to cheating quite a lot but not with real friends and
not with people whose profile pics do not annoy me. What I mean is, when
playing the chick with the MAGA frame on her pic, I pull out my cheat sheets – “Two-letter
words”, “All 47 Q words without U”, “Words that start with X,” etc., etc. Or go
on to a website named “Words With Friends Cheat”, and, well, cheat. This
applies also to anyone whose pic features dogs or cats. Actually, pretty much
any animal - I once scored 69 points with “quinsy” (noun; acute inflammation of the tonsils and the surrounding tissue)
against a guy whose profile pic featured an iguana (I love animals so much I
want hundreds of them). I also cheat against any female player whose pic
features a hot person of the contradictory gender (“picot”; 57 points; noun; a small embroidered loop). And pretty,
skinny chicks too (“aerobe”; 71 points; noun;
an organism, such as a bacterium, requiring free oxygen to live) because I
am sure they have gotten the colonoscopy their doctor wants them to get because
they have someone to drive them to, and pick them up from, the appointment.
I got the two vaccines and
the booster. Had no side effects from the first shot; a slight headache
occurred after the second; the injection site for the booster still had a rash
and a bruise three months later (it’s gone now).
I placed a bet on a horse
running in the Kentucky Derby and won $16. The horse’s name did not come to me
in a dream like
previously, but rather from a tip from a client at work who shares the same
name as the horse (Charlie, if I am remembering correctly).
Got three pedicures. A low
number because my local Payless closed down so I didn’t have any new cute
toe-baring sandals to wear this summer.
Another zero-movie year.
And this post about C-TGs certainly hit the mark: I received not a single one for
either Xmas or my birthday. On the downside, however, one of my British friends
who was one of the worst offenders in the C-TG giving department did not send
me any gifts. Guess I must have really upset him with that post.
Or he could be dead. I don’t
mean to be facetious, but after what happened with Kim,
and add Covid and my advanced age to the mix, one never knows these days. But death
also hit a dear friend of mine, PLL. Her husband Vic passed away in the summer.
I tend to hold quite a cynical
attitude towards death in the sense that when someone dies I still remember
their faults. It seems that most people’s memories falter upon the death of
someone. Not me. But Vic is the one rare exception to that rule – every tear
shed for him, every heartfelt message left for this man, every tribute, was
thoroughly deserved. He was one of the nicest, kindest people I have ever met.
He was moral and intelligent and funny; he loved animals and he was an
extremely talented photographer; but it was in his relationship with PLL that
he excelled. Oh, how he adored her and never let her forget it. I could fill up
pages detailing the sweet gestures he made to her. But here for once I don’t
mind saying that I am a little angry with him. Because, on those rare occasions
when I do want a partner and not a chauffeur, I think of Vic and how he treated
PLL and it makes me angry because wow, did he ever set the bar so flipping
high. I do not know if any man could ever compare. And I do compare them to
him. I miss you, Postman Vic, but thanks for those amazing ISS sightings! You
can read more about Vic on PLL’s blog: thewidowspeek.blogspot.com
I spent $166.64 at Target; $188.46
at the Post Office; and $352.24 at the dollar store. That latter number is
significantly higher than normal for two reasons: my two nearest branches both
closed down and so I did a lot of stocking up; and it is where I buy my banana-flavored
Laffy Taffy. I am obsessed with it. Who knew ambrosia existed on earth and came
in yellow-wrapped packets of pure joy.
Put 985 miles on my car.
Lost 11.8 pounds. Have not
checked, but I suspect I may have gained a significant amount of that back over
the Xmas/New Year/Birthday celebrations, because I hit it pretty hard.
And I hope you all get a
chance to hit it hard too. Just be
careful.
Happy new year.
