3 Positive Things Part 7

[gooblax]

1. Half-cleaned some of my apartment ready for my parents to visit tomorrow. It's going to be a tight call getting the rest to a barely acceptable standard tonight when I also need to get dinner ingredients for the meal I'm intending to make when they get here.
2. Safe ride to work today.
3. Put on a warm hoodie because it might help me feel warm as well as maybe being a little bit emotionally soothing.

Bonus: (almost forgot the main positive I was going to write!) I replied to my body corp manager to say that I'd rather not have the meeting in my apartment this year unless we can't find another venue, rather than just saying yes because she asked.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Well done especially on the bonus point!

 

[gooblax]

1. My colleague told me he liked my hoodie, because it's bright red and he's been too nervous to wear his red jumper in the office, but seeing mine he's going to try wearing his. I did start bringing it to the office as a 'conspicuous exposure therapy' thing so that's pretty cool.
2. I tried to tidy up a bit more for my parents, and at least cleared space for them in the spare bedroom. Even if I get in some minor trouble for not cleaning the floor or dusting things, or the balconies, or doing a good job cleaning the bathroom, etc. etc. at least I made an attempt which is better than doing nothing.
3. Told my parents that I'd probably already bought the same cycling sunglasses that they'd bought me and I'd also bought them some as a gift, and we laughed about the fact that now we've probably got 6 pairs of the same type of sunglasses to share between us. They're going to bring their ones anyway and we can all pick what colours we like. I was thinking of trying to cover it up, even though I'd bought them months ago and they were going to be a surprise when my parents visited, and they'd only just bought them last week. So this is a better outcome than trying to pretend I didn't buy any to avoid inconveniencing anyone.

 

[gooblax]

Bonus: I sent a text to mum asking how it was going. Her second sentence was telling me she had to dust the table

 

[gooblax]

1. Although there's a new COVID case in Sydney with a whole long list of contact tracing venues dating back to the start of the month, my parents are very unlikely to have gone to those locations because it's the other side of the city. I told them to check the list.
2. I had some sad "quit therapy" thoughts but they're not too compelling to continue thinking about at the moment.
3. Most of the bike ride to work was warm until I got to the low level fog.

 

[gooblax]

1. Finally made a decision on private hospital cover (which I have to get to avoid being taxed for not having it before the July 1st following my 31st birthday deadline), and had to phone them to find out what discount I could get through my employer. Only a 3% discount but free telephone anxiety exposure therapy.
2. I wrote out what I was going to say on the phone but didn't have as much anxiety as I would've had about it as in the past.
3. Started playing a new game on Nintendo Switch, since I'd already chickened out on going suit shopping. I'll try again tomorrow.

 

[Daniel E.]

1. In-state staycation to Tuscon went well. My favorite parts were the humid tropical forests in Biosphere 2 and seeing an Apollo spacesuit of Buzz Aldrin (which was at the Arizona History Museum and looked primitive by today's standards).

2. My mother did a great job watching the dogs and cats. She also helped me get rid of stuff. We donated over 3 car fulls of stuff to Goodwill.

3. Ready for getting 15 baby guineafowl (keets) next week in the mail. Guineafowl are heat tolerant since they are originally from Africa.

BONUS: Got rain for the first time in months.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Beware, though, of fowl play if the police find out.

 

[Daniel E.]

Yes, that would put me in a fowl mood

 

[gooblax]

1. I was seriously struggling trying to work from home this morning (first day of the current lockdown), but received some good news about my task being approved which definitely improved my mood. We might just be able to sneak it in for an on time milestone if all the stars align today/tomorrow for other people's workloads to get it done.
2. Trying not to be too hard on myself for finding it really hard to work from home. I might see if I'm allowed to go in to the office tomorrow though, to mitigate the issue.
3. While deciding what to make for lunch, I came across two tiny ends of a bread loaf that my parents thoughtfully left in the freezer for me. They were preposterously small and I can't imagine what they were thinking when they put them back in the freezer after using the regular-sized slices. So to perpetuate the ridiculousness, I made them into a miniature sized version of what I ultimately decided to make for lunch. Was it worth the extra-small chopping to get proportionally sized toppings? For the taste, nutritional value and sustenance, no. But for the truly impractical amusement factor, yes.

The loaf ends:

The miniature lunch:

For scale, before cooking:

 

[Daniel E.]

BONUS: Postal worker called me at 6:20 AM to let me know the keets arrived and were ready for pickup. All healthy. They sent 2 extra (which is a standard practice) for a total of 17.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

They're tiny.

 

[Daniel E.]

Yeah, they will be three days old tomorrow at 5 am. They hatched on Monday morning and were mailed the same day. We weren't expecting them until tomorrow, but fortunately my older cat woke me up at 5 am, when I checked the tracking info.

I am so glad they arrived today since they were thirsty! But they were all very active and chirpy when I got them.

I read today that one of the largest companies mails about 2 million newborn chicks each year. The survival rate is reportedly about 99%, which is about the same even if they are not mailed.

 

[Daniel E.]

For scale, before cooking:

Not a lot of cheese either. Depression-era pizza

 

[gooblax]

Not a lot of cheese either. Depression-era pizza

Especially on the mini ones, because I had to take pieces of my grated cheese, slice them lengthwise and then cut those into smaller pieces... Which is a lot of effort for a joke played on myself.

 

[gooblax]

fortunately my older cat woke me up at 5 am, when I checked the tracking info.

Can always trust a cat to be on alert when it comes to birds arriving

 

[gooblax]

1. Positive: Post service says that my suit purchase is arriving today.
2. Negative: Due to the lockdown I'm working from home so I could've had it delivered to my address rather than to the parcel locker which is a bit inconvenient.
3. Positive: If I had got it delivered here, I'd be stressed out all day about having to answer the intercom for that brief interaction where the postie says "I've got a parcel for gooblax" and I say "thanks, I"ll be right down" and then I go down the stairs and wave to them as they walk away after putting the parcel by the door. How terrifying 🙄 So at least I've avoided that.
4. Negative: It's raining, and is meant to be raining for the next few days, so I'll get wet when I go to the parcel locker. Plus I don't know how well "collecting mail" stacks up as a reason to be outside during a lockdown, so I should probably ride my bike there since "exercise" is allowed. But that means riding at least with mud splashes even if I time it to avoid the rain.
5. Positive: It'll be a reason for me to get myself out of the apartment and do some proper exercise, even if it's not the most pleasant of activities.
6. Positive: Did a short pilates session following a youtube video yesterday and today before work.
7. Positive: My bf had assumed that because I was working from home, I would talk to him during my lunch break and straight after I'd finished work. Rather than resentfully going along with his expectation, I told him that spending the lunch break with him would not be good for me or my ability to get work done.

 

[Daniel E.]

Positive: My bf had assumed that because I was working from home, I would talk to him during my lunch break and straight after I'd finished work. Rather than resentfully going along with his expectation, I told him that spending the lunch break with him would not be good for me or my ability to get work done.

For me though, that would be a bad case of work-life balance. But that's partly because some jobs require less concentration than others. A lot of Fedex delivery drivers will talk on their hands-free cell phone while working (even though that is not the safest for driving).

I text from work with pride...no need to wait for a break

Even working part-time, I figure if the bosses can call/text/email me outside of work and/or underpay me, I can at least text during work...and briefly shop at Amazon I can't help but think of work anyway outside of "working hours," so it all balances out in theory.

 

[gooblax]

1. Seamstress/tailor can sort out my suit although I'll have to find a way to take some time off work next Wed morning. And she hasn't replied about the price yet.
2. I made myself email the student I'm meant to be mentoring because I haven't heard from her since our first and only meeting. I might be anxious about talking to her but she seems like a nice person and I do want to try to help her if I've got anything to offer.
3. Apparently someone wants to nominate me for an award thingy so I have to write up an application (typical), but I don't have much real work to do so at least I can use the time for that.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Apparently someone wants to nominate me for an award thingy so I have to write up an application (typical), but I don't have much real work to do so at least I can use the time for that.

That's not the first time, is it?

One might almost think that other people have a much more positive view of you than you do.