Just like the pop culture podcast from NPR, I want to think about some things that are making me happy right now, in no particular order of importance. Well, except for the first one.
–My recent runs have been through the neighborhoods around my house (my house is not in a neighborhood, as one usually thinks of one, b/c it is on the main thoroughfare out of town. Ugh.). I have seen SO MANY Biden/Harris signs as I was running, and it makes me feel SO MUCH BETTER to see that there are people out there who aren’t crazy, racist, homophobic, or otherwise horrible MAGA people. That’s been my main source of sadness, I think, as I consider the last election and the past four years: that there are so many people who are racist and horrible in our country. My privilege showing its pasty white face again, I know, but I just couldn’t understand how so many people could be so bad.
–My recent runs have been with Straxi (all my runs now are with Straxi, now that I don’t belong to the Y) and I love that she chose the first house on the block with a Trump sign to shit in their yard. I laughed and laughed. It was awesome.
–My recent runs have not been sweatfests like they have been in the past – the weather has been nice (damp, but nice) and I can tell the difference in Straxi, too.
–Straxi still leaps up in the air when I ask her if she wants to go for a run. It’s awesome. With a running buddy who is that into our runs, how can I not go??
–I’ve slowly but surely been digging myself out of the hole of grading I let myself get into after Helen died. There’s a lot of work there to do, but I can get it done, I know. And it’s not as bad as it had begun to appear in my brain.
–My classes next semester – right now – seem to most likely be all online. This is, I believe, a very smart move on behalf of the schools. We are running straight into flu season, and between that and COVID, I would prefer never to be around people again.
–I tried out a weighted blanket to help with my restless legs, and it seems to really help – it also seems like it’s helping me sleep more deeply. I suppose I could keep up with that sort of thing via my nifty spiffy Garmin, but I’m just going to go with how I feel.
–And finally – I discovered that my favorite YouTuber did a play through of my favorite zombie game ever (Dead Island), and it made me want to play it again. I only have it for PS3, which would mean I would need to go back and put my PS3 together again and hook it all up with our TV and stereo (since the TV speaker is blown out). I just looked at Amazon and saw there was a copy of Dead Island for PS4 in our cart – I’m assuming this could be an early 25th anniversary present from someone. Also in the cart was a bike trainer, which I have been wanting to buy for a long time, but just haven’t pulled the trigger on.
Wow, I’ve been married a LONG time. Apparently the 25th anniversary isn’t silver anymore, it’s Amazon.