Friday’s Theme Music

Boom, Friday. Feels like just yesterday was Thursday.

Today is February 18, 2022. Sunrise moved forward a few minutes more to 7:03 AM and sunset slipped back to 5:47 PM. Temperatures sometimes feel like spring and fall. We rarely feel like winter this year. Today we’ll hit the sixties F again, though it is clear and chilly this morning. Hovering now at 53, they say it feels like 41. I agree, although, when you’re in that sun, its impact is superfine. It’s a blinding sun. No clouds in its way today.

Out walking yesterday, my mind channeled “Kansas City”, a song that I learned as a child. Its beat always worked for a good walking song, and I’ve long used it for that purpose, along with “The Wanderer” by Dion, and “I’m Walking” by Fats Domino. The list has always grown, with later additions being “I Gotta Feeling” by The Black Eyed Peas, “I Will Walk 500 Miles” by The Proclaimers, and “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man. Although I’m familiar with several versions of “Kansas City”, I went with this one just because of the number of rockers on stage. (Funny, but they’re mostly Brits playing this American song.) Hope you enjoy it. It’s not the version generally heard in my head; I’ve never found that cover and don’t know who does it. I will continue my search, though.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax and boosters when you can. Locally, we’re moving toward moving mask restrictions. Cases are way down; our zip codes shows 82 percent of us are vaccinated, and deaths are declining. It’ll be a cross-your-fingers, hold-your-breath period, though. Other variants remain out there, and a new one could always develop.

Now, going to the kitchen, to the kitchen here I come, got some hot fresh coffee there, and I’m gonna get me some. Cheers

February 18, 2022 5

February 17, 2022 0

February 17, 2022 1

Thursday’s Theme Music

Today is Thursday, February 17, 2022. A few sketchy cloud islands keep the sky from achieving a perfect blue. A robust sun brought the light and heat at 7:05 AM. Temperatures have climbed quickly. It’s 46 F now and we expect a high of 61 F before the Earth’s spin steals the sun from our sector at 5:46 PM.

I’m feeling a little off today. Not sick or anything. Just behind on my routines. Explanation:

I have a young ginger cat. We’ll call him Trouble, which is not his real name, but I want to protect his privacy. After going out at two AM and coming back in at two twenty (it was a cold night, about 29 F), At 5:42 AM, Trouble woke me again with his song of his need to leave again, to be wild and free, outside. I let him out and used the bathroom. While in there, the sick cat asked for food. “Okay, I’ll feed you, baby,” I said. I had a can open for him, got him the food, and settled back into bed.

Or tried. Tucker, the house’s Prime Floof, had taken over my spot and was purring like a revving motocycle. I tried shifting him, but cats can multiply their body weight by over one thousand percent at will, and I couldn’t budge him. I had to reconfigure myself and my space.

That was when Trouble came knocking to come back in.

I let Trouble in. He proceeded to tell off sick cat. I provided sick cat with another helping of food. 6:15. Back to bed. A few minutes later, sick cat began beating his water bowl and complaining. I got up to address his issue. Water bowl was empty. But I’d just filled it last night —

“Yeah, whatever,” reality said, “it’s empty now.” I refilled the water bowl. Went back to bed.

Trouble arrived. Could I please let him out, OMG, it’s so important that I let him out now.

AAARGH.

I let Trouble out and lectured him about what he was doing to me. Returned to bed. Drifted to sleep reflecting on remembered dreams.

Guess who came knocking to come back in?

It was now eight. I’m usually up by now but I felt exhausted. I began exercising, which will usually stir up enough blood movement to reach the point that I can get to the kitchen, make coffee, and resuscitate my heart. “More sleep,” my body whispered with seductive tones. “You got it,” my brain replied, because he’s such a pushover.

Back to bed I went and did not get up until ten AM.

When I saw the time, my brain shrieked, “Ten AM! OMG. I’m in bed so late.” My body replied. “So? You don’t work. You have no employment. What difference does it make?”

“I still have things to do,” I reply with royal indignation, “like drink coffee, for example.”

“And feed cats,” sick cat said.

I have a song, “Uprising” by Muse in the morning mental music stream. I did it as a theme song not long ago and don’t want to repeat it today. That forced me to find another song. Nothing was coming to mind. The neurons finally started circulating “Cradle Of Love” by Billy Idol (1990). “Why?” I asked the neurons. “Because we like it,” they said, then went on with petulance, “Why not?”

Right. Why not.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax and boosters when you’re able. Here’s the music. I’m crawling into the kitchen for some coffee. Cheers

February 17, 2022 3

A Computer Dream

In my twenties, I was working in a computer center. Pretty low-level lights, and warm. The computers were red, about seven feet tall and four feet wide, with black and silver fronts thick with instrumentation. I had a clipboard and was going about, busy checking readouts.

An alarm went off. Reaching up, I hit a large, square black button at the top of the machine before me. Almost instantly, I realized I’d made a mistake: that was the off switch for the entire computer center. I pressed the button again, thinking that if I was fast enough, it wouldn’t go off.

Another alarm began sounding. A female voice said that the system was shutting down. Groaning and cursing emerged from all over. My supervisor, a female a few inches shorter than me, came over. I told her that I’d accidently pressed the off button. She was all smiles. “It happens.”

“I can turn it back on,” I offered.

“No,” she answered. “We’ll just call it a day.”

As everyone packed up and left, I went back to the broad, flat expanse of my desk. Binders of fanfold paper were stacked on my right. It was my plan to go through them. A male co-worker came by and mentioned that he needed to find someone to sweep up the computer center “because the cleaning crew was coming in”. I said I’d do it. Finding the broom, I went through, sweeping piles of paper coffee cups and sheets together. As I did, I mused, weird to clean for the cleaning crew.

The dream ended.

February 17, 2022 0

Bossfl’f

Bossfl’f (floofinition) – Animal slang for the alpha or lead member of a group.

In use: “All the house cats and dogs knew the female in the house was the bossfl’f, so they mostly ignored what the man and children said, unless a treat was offered.”

February 16, 2022 0

February 16, 2022 0

Wednesday’s Theme Music

Tattered clouds hang over us, letting us glimpse blue sky and sunshine through the rips and tears. Today is Wednesday, I remind myself after a moment, the mid-week for anyone concerned, February 16, 2022. Happy birthday to someone, somewhere. And happy anniversary to someone out there. Congratulations to your new job or promotion, to someone else — well done! For those of you mourning a loss, I feel you, and words loss traction, going nowhere, as I try to express my condolences.

The sun came around the mountains at 7:06 AM and will turn away at 5:45 PM. Feels chilly today, endured and welcomed, because it’s closer to normal and averages. It’s 41 F now — feels like 35 — close to the forecasted high of 47 F. The clouds are fragmenting into large white ships on a calm blue sea.

Today’s music arrived in mental music stream during a walk yesterday afternoon. It was about 4:30 PM. I was thinking, it’s chilly. No sunshine glowed where I walked on the valley’s southern side. Clouds and sun conspired to create a narrow golden band on the valley’s opposite side. I thought about how nice it would be to be over in that sunshine. From there, the neurons said, “Out in the sunshine. The sun is mine.” With that, Soundgarden was playing “Burden in My Hand” from 1996. I share it with you. See if it jogs your memory, where you can say, “Oh, yeah, I remember being with so-and-so and this song played.” Or something like that. That’s always music’s magic for me. With this song, I remember being with John in a club, drinking a beer and singing the song with him, and smiling. He was getting ready to retire, and it was a sweet night. His girlfriend was the DJ.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax and boosters when you can. Here is the song. Time to refill the coffee cup. Cheers

February 16, 2022 0

Another Work Dream

Yes, it was another work dream, but it incorporated several twists.

To begin, I’d started a new position. A young guy, I was pleased and excited to be there. They showed me my station – ‘in the basement’. Although it was down in the lower level, it had plenty of light and my workstation was huge. Featuring an enormous semi-circle for a desk, I had a large modern monitor, new laptops, and wireless mouse. When I sat in the plush black office chair, I was enormously pleased. I was ready to go to work.

SW came to me. SW was an office manager in my RL. She came by and apologized to me for not offering me better accommodations. I laughed, replying, “Are you kidding? This is a great setup, better than my last one.” Nevertheless, she insisted that she planned to get me a better location, and she was working on it. That, to me, was a twist — an apology for what I saw as a wonderful opportunity.

Meanwhile, another young employee came by, a pale female with short dark hair. She’d been sent to take me around and personally teach me everything. The way she intoned it was loaded with sexual innuendo, instantly triggering wariness in me. The young woman was in a long-sleeved red and black top, and what seemed to be a very short skirt, and was attractive. We went about the office complex together. She stayed in my space, and I would shy back, as she introduced me to people and showed me the meeting rooms, office equipment, and files. The complex was a great, modern space. Everyone I met seemed happy and acted professional. It was all inclusive as far as race, the sexes, and ethnicity. I was pleased to be part of this enterprise.

We were soon the last ones there. SW came by to ask if we were okay locking up the place for the day. No problem, we assured her. I then struggled to remember the PIN to let me in to go back down to my office. I was stunned that I couldn’t think of it. But I realized, I could just walk around the receptionist’s space and go to it. It was strange; why was a PIN even needed when it was so easily circumvented?

My personal guide asked me if I had plans for the night. I told her that I didn’t, but maybe my wife did. She kept suggesting we could have dinner together or go have a few drinks, and I kept mentioning my wife. She finally said, “Well, I should put my pants back.” Then she stood up and started pulling on black pants.

I was aghast. “You’ve been going around in your underwear?” Yes, she answered, it’s no big deal.

The dream ended.