A Day Like All Days

Out and about

2020-07-19T07:08:15Z

There are some signs that life as we know it has settled into a new normal despite the pandemic. This week I finished my "staycation" which was pretty much the same as it's always been except without the worries of work to add to the stress.

On Tuesday I took my long-awaited lung function test, which was conducted by a pleasant fellow named Dave who is from New York. We chatted a bit about snow (he went to Syracuse University) and the current situation with the virus back east. Afterwards I followed up with my pulmonologist. He said I do not have asthma and should stop using my inhalers. My problem is with obstruction in my throat, which I figure could be swelling, excess mucus, or a side effect of being fat (as Dave told me after the test). I see an ear, nose, and throat doctor this coming Friday to find out more.

Wednesday through Friday was back to the usual grind at work. Thursday night I finished my recording of "Deck the Hall" for out virtual choir holiday program and felt much better about it than my previous effort on "Veni Veni Emmanuel" - mostly because I could catch my breath.

Today was my shopping day. First stop was Franz Bakery Outlet (we jokingly refer to it as "Hans and Franz" after the fitness instructors on Saturday Night Live) for bread and bagels. They no longer stock the sugar-free wafers Gary likes, but I did find some at my next stop at Fred Meyer, where a young dude was handing out masks at the front door, and a very cute full-grown cub ushered people to the checkstands. Next stop was Lovers' Package for some lube, where the cashier liked my mask.

The main objective of the trip was Costco, as we were running out of several things we buy in bulk. On my way in I exchanged greetings with Terry, the biker dude with the long white beard done up in electrician's tape. I kept crossing paths with a hot little dude, probably approaching thirty but only as tall as perhaps a 10-year-old, with furry, muscular arms and legs. I also saw a huge bear with an outline of a bear on his T-shirt, as well as a really skinny Asian dude with an impressive floral full-sleeve tattoo on his right arm. Also, the young lady who checked my receipt at the exit has nice ink on both arms and both legs, with the Space Needle prominent on one calf.

After loading the car I sat in the Costco Lot and ordered lunch online from Buffalo Wild Wings. Gary wanted a grilled chicken wrap and I had my new usual trio of Parmesan garlic, Nashville hot, and Thai curry boneless wings. After picking these up and being served an extra helping of veggies, I headed home to unload all the groceries and sit down to lunch.

After all of the walking I was feeling a bit sore so I lay down for an hour's nap around 6:15 PM. When i got up I was still sore, but felt much better after guzzling iced tea. We had a late, light dinner of soup and salad (and a sandwich for Gary, who hadn't eaten quite as much for lunch). Gary was falling asleep in front of the TV so I suggested he head for bed, which I'll probably do myself shortly after I finish this post.

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Cincinnati Christmas, Day 5

2019-02-02T17:36:14Z

SATURDAY

Woke up a little early, around quarter to seven, to use the bathroom. I took my medicine but decided to go back to bed while Gary got his shower. Once he was done, I showered quickly and noticed my back hurt while I was in there. We headed downstairs for breakfast and I noticed a cute ginger-blond bear in a hoodie, jogging pants and sandals.

Afterwards we returned to the room and decided not to do the Music Hall tour because of my aching back. Instead, we drove to the Banks garage and caught the streetcar to Findlay Market. As we boarded we were immediately asked to show our tickets to the somewhat bearish fare enforcement officer. After a few pictures we hopped back on the streetcar to Washington Park opposite Music Hall. Gary walked over to the dog park and a medium-sized dog started playing with him. We got some pictures of Memorial Hall and Music Hall before my battery died. When we got back to the streetcar station, a nice-looking young dude with a dark, trim beard asked if the streetcar was free this week. We said no and he bought tickets for himself and the lady with the Hudy Delight ball cap. Once we were on board I spotted a cute daddycub playing with his small son opposite us.

The bearded dude and Hudy Delight lady left the streetcar at the same stop with us, and when we got lunch at the Jefferson Social they were seated at the bar. We'd eaten there once before when we were in town for Labor Day weekend. The bartender had a long, thick, blondish beard. I had a burrito bowl and Gary had a burger, and we split an order of churros. Outside, a homeless man with a thick brown beard re-adjusted his wardrobe against the cold, adding a blue hoodie from his backpack between his red plaid shirt and outer jacket. We drove back to the hotel without incident.

Back at the room, we found the housekeeper hadn't been in to clean up, but I needed to charge my phone and Gary needed to sleep, so we put out the Do Not Disturb sign. We got up about 6 and left for Dad's, arriving at 6:45. We sat with Dad and watched the end of the Cotton Bowl. On the way out, we crossed paths with one of the nurses, who took one look at us in our leather jackets and said, "I wouldn't want to mess with you guys!" We all chuckled at that. We hopped in the car and headed for another Frisch's Big Boy location for dinner. At the table next to us, one of the ladies mentioned that she had been driving school buses for 41 years and had no intention of retiring anytime soon.

When we got back to the hotel we had a slightly awkward conversation with the desk clerk before returning to the room and turning on the Orange Bowl. I was feeling a little queasy and ended up running to sit on the toilet before calling it a night.

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Cincinnati Christmas, Day 3

2019-02-02T17:28:01Z

THURSDAY

We got a late start and missed the hotel breakfast, so we stopped by Frisch's Big Boy for their breakfast bar. From there we headed down to Union Terminal to visit the museums underneath the rotunda which is shaped like an old Art Deco radio set. The line for tickets was rather long, spiraling around the box office in a semicircle. At one point I noticed a black bear about our size with dreadlocks and wearing a sweatshirt with the logo of Bogart's, a live-music bar in Clifton. I suggested to Gary he just might be a bouncer there. We were served by a cute cubbish dude with a trim black beard and a nice smile; Gary noticed the rainbow pin he was wearing.

We descended the escalator to the mezzanine level to visit the Holiday Junction display, then continued down a long ramp to the Duke Energy model railroad display, which used to be in the lobby of the CG&E building when I was a kid. Also on the lower level was a reproduction of the Cincinnati Public Landing from the 1800s, complete with the Gibson print shop, a beer hall, a stand at the 5th Street Market, a boarding house, and a photographer's studio among others. The highlight of the exhibit was the Queen of the West, a steam paddlewheel riverboat model with simulated cargo. From there we returned to the mezzanine level to view the Lego model train exhibit before following a cute cublet in a construction hi-vis vest up the escalator to the rotunda level and making our exit.

The next stop was Dad's apartment, where we were surprised to find Colleen and Sheila had assembled his new reading lamp and table. We chatted for a bit while an occupational therapist checked to see if Dad could manage to wheel himself to the dining room. He did well walking the chair with his feet to the bottom of the ramp, but not so well navigating up and down the ramp itself. Colleen took care of testing his blood sugar and administering his insulin, then we all accompanied him to the dining room. On the way, an older dude thought Gary looked like his brother, but when Gary told him he's from Brooklyn, he said his brother is from Kansas City. We said our goodbyes at the dinner table and went our separate ways.

Gary and I returned to the room to charge phones and decide where to go for dinner. We ended up going to Golden Corral since we'd missed lunch and were pretty hungry. There was a cute ginger cub in a feathered cowboy hat with a lady companion. After dinner we went shopping at Meijer for drinks and snacks, and noticed the wind had gotten much stronger while we were eating. We checked out with a tall bear whose height and voice reminded me of Joe Dietl from Where the Bears Are; he had a nice gingerish beard though.

When we arrived at our room we watched axe throwing on ESPN, featuring rather a lot of cute bears and cubs (the runner-up, David Cycon from the Philly location of Bury the Hatchet, is particularly cute), then switched to hockey (the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Flyers 6-5 in overtime; Carter Hart was not in net). After that it was news and bed.

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Cincinnati Christmas, Day 0-1

2019-02-02T17:20:50Z

CHRISTMAS EVE and CHRISTMAS DAY

We took the usual route to the airport, starting with the Everett Transit 8, Sound Transit 512, and Link light rail. The trip was unremarkable except for how few people were on the train. There was essentially no line at security so we went through in less than 10 minutes.

Dinner at the Seattle Tap Room was nice; I had a burger and fries, Gary had a turkey sandwich, and we each had an Angry Orchard Rosé. The cider is made from naturally red-fleshed apples and is somewhat sweeter than their usual variety. Our waiter, a kinda cute young otter-pup with a scraggly beard, suggested we might like a shot of liquor with our cider, but I declined based on past experience with Angry Balls (a shot of Fireball cinnamon whiskey in a pint of cider). After tasting the cider I thought it would be ruined by the whiskey, which opinion was shared by a couple of our friends from the Fireplace Bears on Facebook. We made our way to our gate nearby, and while our phones were charging, I picked up cough drops, a soda and a copy of Rolling Stone. As we waited, a particular young dude caught my eye as he was taking off a heavy outer shirt revealing a black T-shirt stretched out over his broad shoulders. He spent some time trying to stow the other shirt among the bags at his feet. I thought it curious that he was standing in front of the ladies' room; obviously he was waiting for someone.

Because I'd spent some miles on upgraded seats, we got to board just after first class and VIPs. The chief flight attendant was a tall young bear, with a thick but trim beard, named Amir. All the flight attendants seemed to know the two young dudes, one seated opposite me and the other in front of him, on the aisle. Amir in particular was very friendly with them. We were delayed briefly after pulling back from the gate but took off without incident. I got a little sleep on the flight with the help of the relaxing music channel. When we landed we had to wait a few minutes for paramedics to check on someone in the far back of the plane before we could disembark; it was the mother of a family whose father was a tall strapping dude. It took me a little longer than I wanted to collect my things and leave the plane, but I managed.

Rather than taking the train, we ended up walking through the tunnel from concourse A to concourse C via the people mover, and noticed a rain forest scene in the first tunnel and an Atlanta history exhibit in the second. We had breakfast croissant sandwiches at Atlanta Bread, and then walked to the end of the concourse to our gate for the second leg of the flight to Cincy. A military dude in civilian clothes (guessing by his backpack and the ink on his arms), his wife and their cat sat opposite us. Down the row from them was a huge balding bear with a long, thick beard in a gradient from dark brown at the roots to platinum blond at the tip, in a black Carhartt jacket with hi-vis stripes, jeans and boots.

On the flight we sat in front of a couple guys who were apparently off-duty pilots, since our very bearish co-pilot came back to chat with them. Also, a couple rows in front of Gary sat a cute young bear with a trim beard and a thick neck, wearing a Nike ball cap in black and white. I slept most of the hour-long flight. Our flight path took us just west of the College of Mt. St. Joseph just before landing.

We made our way through the airport to baggage claim and on to the Hertz lot via shuttle bus. Of the full-sized cars on offer, I first tried a Nissan Altima but had trouble finding the controls for the trunk and the tilt steering wheel, so I decided to skip that vehicle and pick up a Ford Escape which is a small SUV like our VUE.

From the airport we drove directly to Erin and J's for the family Christmas party, because it was closer to the airport and Colleen and Rab were already en route with Dad, the gifts and most of the food. Of course, Colleen forgot to inform Erin and J we were coming, so it came as a bit of a surprise when we arrived and J answered the doorbell. Our family tradition has been to have Italian food for Christmas dinner: spaghetti with meatballs and sausage in red sauce, lasagna and garlic bread. This started 39 years ago when we weren't sure when Colleen's firstborn would arrive (as it happened, Steve was born late on Christmas Day, minutes before midnight) and so an elaborate turkey with all the trimmings was out of the question. Eventually Colleen, Rab, and Dad arrived and we loaded the gifts and food into the house. Soon after, Matt and Tristan arrived and we had a really nice conversation with Tristan over dinner. Afterwards we tried a new form of Stealing Santa that involved rolling dice and passing wrapped gifts around without opening them, but that didn't work out, so we went back to the traditional Stealing Santa. Matt and Len got the waterproof Bluetooth speaker and FM radio combos we contributed, while Gary got a set of CorningWare and I got an Amazon Fire mini-tablet for reading e-books.

After a few rounds of goodbyes we headed to the hotel with a stop at Walgreens for some needed supplies. We settled in to watch Jeopardy! and Gary was fast asleep by the time the game was over. I stayed up briefly to finish my journal and follow "Gary's son" (LeBron James) as his Lakers squared off against Golden State (Warriors... come out to play-yay...). I fell asleep about nine.

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Office Commute

2017-08-06T16:53:21Z

[Editorial note: As I've been remiss in my posting, I'm just going to do highlights back-dated to when the events occurred.]

Parked at Everett Station south (B) lot for a change. A big youngish bear with a pointy dark goatee and matching crew cut, in Packers gear, jeans and beat-up work boots, was waiting at the stop on Broadway and 34th and having a coughing fit. He sat behind the turntable. On the 106 from Canyon Park I spotted a big brown bear.

On the way home on the 532, I sat across from a sleepy red cub in vintage Mariners cap and hoodie, jeans and sneakers. At one point the cap came off to reveal sleepy cub was almost if not completely bald. Sitting on the high bench in front of the turntable was a huge young bear with long brown hair and a shorter beard, in a grey T-shirt and workout shorts. He was idly playing with his hair, which was long enough to hide his nipples should that become necessary. On the back bench was an older bear with sugar-and-cinnamon hair and beard, the latter trimmed in an unusual style, like a reverse goatee, with sideburns and a mustache that flared out over his jawline but his chin was clean shaven.

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Exhuming the Pond

2017-05-29T06:27:37Z

This weekend gmjambear and I have been busy exhuming the pond in the backyard. The pond was constructed of a Rubbermaid 150-gallon stock tank, a length of drain pipe that goes we know not where, a whole lot of dirt (backfilled against the fence, which is why it all has to come out) and a retaining wall. We'd gotten most of the retaining wall removed over the year or so since we made the decision to replace the fence.

Yesterday we managed to get most of the remaining bricks from the base of the retaining wall moved, and the dried mud and gravel out of the tub itself. As we worked I noticed a tall and muscular young dude at the house behind us across the alley, who was wearing a pair of really tight, stretchy gray shorts and no shirt; and also a small poodle-mix dog (perhaps a cockapoo) who left us a present in the small patch of lawn between the temporary fence and the alley.

After sifting a few wheelbarrow loads of dirt and rocks, we were done for the day and decided to have dinner at Buzz Inn on Evergreen. We saw a number of cute daddybears and their kids passing by our table as they left. Cue Gary: "aw, hell no." After dinner we finished up some laundry and surfed the net a bit before I decided to call it a night.

I woke up about quarter to six to find Gary had made an excursion downtown. When I came downstairs for breakfast around nine-thirty, I saw Gary was back, but had been up all night, so I gently encouraged him to get some sleep. After breakfast I picked up the present the dog had left, and while doing so had a nice chat with Eric, the young dude with the tight shorts, who had come to retrieve the dog (his name is Puddles) as he'd wandered into our yard. They are busy building a new back porch to go with the addition on their house.

After that I swept up the tub and sifted another wheelbarrow load of dirt, then went inside and caught up with Dad by phone. My sister Sheila's youngest son was scheduled to graduate from high school this afternoon, and my sister Colleen's youngest is preparing to move to Boston in the next month so she is managing separate parties for his friends, for our side of the family and for her husband's side. She had to work this evening so I guess I'll have to call her later tomorrow.

Once I got off the phone with Dad, I decided to pick up a few more buckets from Home Depot, grab lunch, and pick up some groceries at Costco. At Home Depot I asked a cute ginger otter if he knew of anyone who deals in bulk dirt, as we'll probably have 4 or 5 cubic yards left over when all is said and done. He suggested Craig's List because if people are desperate enough for fill dirt they'll come over and dig it up. Another possibility he suggested is the sand and gravel place a couple doors north on the same side of Highway 99. I ended up picking up three 5-gallon buckets and two 18-gallon plastic planter tubs with rope handles. I checked out beside a cute daddy bear with a wife and two girls. He had some nice ink on one arm.

Lunch was at Heaven Sent Chicken on 112th Street. I had the three-piece special with corn and an extra side of collard greens. As I ate I texted Gary to relay the results of the morning so he could read them when he got up, and he suggested I pick up some fruit at Costco as well: grapes, blackberries, and bananas. I was surprised he was awake. At Costco there were at least two cute daddybears shopping; one I kept crossing paths with was tall and dark, perhaps Native American or Hispanic, with elaborate, somewhat faded ink on both arms.

After I got home and got the groceries put away, Gary and I watched part of the Memorial Cup (Canadian Hockey League) final between the Erie Otters and the host team, the Windsor Spitfires; then we started in on the sifting and sorting. Toward the end we traced the PVC drain pipe to an elbow in the middle of the back lawn well outside the perimeter of the retaining wall, and decided we should dig no further but rather get a plumber to trace the pipe so we don't ruin the lawn unnecessarily. Then I fixed dinner: bratwurst boiled in beer (a local microbrew called Scuttlebutt) and finished off under the broiler (unfortunately, we have construction debris piled up too close to the outdoor gas grill to use it at the moment), and fresh coleslaw. After dinner we sort of vegetated in front of the TV until Gary decided he'd better get to bed and catch up on sleep.

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Giants, Bears, and the Scorpion (Oh, My!)

2017-05-14T16:18:08Z

I didn't need to be in the office until 8 AM so I left a bit later for the bus than I usually do, and found the parking lot at South Everett freeway station was full. So I drove to Ash Way and managed to find a spot in the back relatively close to where I usually park. The ride in was uneventful. At the office I saw Seshu, both Matts from Cricket (the tall bearded one and his shorter, bald manager, who sound much alike), Veronica (who had an interesting proposal for me which unfortunately I don't think we'll be able to pursue), and Mike the Republican from my old days as an SA. Outside the office there was a big bucket truck parked close to the building to trim the trees.

Having gotten an early start, and guessing (rightly) that gmjambear would be downtown, I wrapped up about 3:30 intending to catch the 522 downtown. Having missed it by a minute or so, I caught the 535 northbound to Lynnwood to connect with the 512 there. At Canyon Park a dude who can only be described as a giant (at least 6' 7" and 400 lbs, but with no facial fur) boarded and sat on the back bench. The artic bus was fairly full but no one was standing. There were a lot of Asian kids on the bus, of high school or college age. As we crossed I-5 I noticed the northbound lanes slammed with traffic. The kid sitting across from me looked like he has potential to be a panda bear in about 10 years. He left at Alderwood (my phone's predictive typing suggested Aldershot, which is a stop on the train from Rochester to Toronto, so I found that amusing) and the giant came and sat in his place.

On the 512 I sat across from John, a chorus member who commutes from the U district to Lynnwood; he was on our bus the previous Thursday as well. At Mountlake Terrace a tall bear with long curly brown hair, in a throwback Mariners jersey with Ken Griffey Jr.'s name and number on the back, grey shorts and flip-flops boarded and sat on the turntable on the opposite side of the bus. A young dude sitting just forward of John had a long red beard and a severe haircut. By the time we hit the bulk of traffic at Northgate, I saw John nodding off; obviously it had been a long day. Downtown traffic was awful, more so than usual but not the worst I've seen. As we crossed Seventh Avenue on Stewart, we had to run circles around a #7 bus sprawled across the intersection; it was a tight fit, and I thought surely we'd snap off a rear-view mirror or something. We also had to wait at least three light cycles before we could make the left turn onto Fifth. Once we arrived at the stop at Westlake I ducked into the mall and through the lower food court, meeting Gary at the top of the steps by Wells Fargo. Someone had scrawled graffiti on the entrance doors to the bank in what looked like blue greasepaint.

We went in to BWW and were seated toward the back of the bar area. I checked the menu and noticed they were offering two different sauces in the Sauce Lab, without dates specifying when each would be available (normally they have one flavor at a time), so I asked the waiter and he said both were available. The one had a bit of a kick to it, but the other, the Scorpion with Myers' Rum in it, was on a whole new level. It wasn't all heat though; like the Mango Habañero I often order, there's a lot of flavor in it. I noticed a bit late that the new sauce came with a warning sticker not to touch your eyes, and to wash with plenty of water afterwards. ;) Still, I managed to finish the meal with vision intact and no upset stomach. And it was good.

The ride home was uneventful. We got out at Ash Way and I drove Gary to pick up his car at the far side of Everett Station.

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Finger me, finger me fondly...

2017-04-29T19:58:27Z

[Meta: Haven't posted in a while and have a lot to cover. Rather than wait for the backlog, I think it best to resume posting and backdate as I go.]

( Medical/scatalogical humor, viewer discretion advised... )

When I got home I walked around the yard to get pictures of the tulips out front, and the cherry blossoms on Mom's tree and the camellias out back.

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