And We're Off! ("Boston" trip, part 2/?)

At the rate I'm going, I'm going to finish talking about this May trip by September, but who cares? Not I. (Part 1 here.)

I hit no snags getting to the airport, and had planned out carrying my bags downstairs over the previous couple of days, so I didn't have to kill myself that morning. Checked my bag (yeah, yeah, I know), flight wasn't delayed, and other than the irritation of being forced to gate-check my roller bag (I was one of the last three passengers before the groups that had already been told to check theirs, but we got to the plane door and were stopped), things went smoothly.

Up in the air!

There were two reasons that I was pissed about gate-checking the bag. 

• First was that I didn't pack it intending to be checked, so I worried that things would be damaged, as well as the nightmare idea that it would be lost, with all my "I don't want to check this" items. (Happily, neither of these ended up happening.)
• The second was that it would go the baggage claim with all the checked bags, meaning I had to carry my "Why is this so heavy" personal item all the way. At least I was already going to be going there, but my shoulders were not a fan of this plan.

But after a considerable wait at baggage (seriously, I didn't rush there, and it was still half an hour before I had both bags), I finally had all my luggage and could go find the shuttle to the rental car center (at Logan, it isn't in the terminal, it's nearby). Where I then waited in line another half hour, because of course.

When it was my turn, the woman and I talked about the level of car I chose (compact SUV, Kia Soul or similar [I really was hoping for that, as it would be familiar]) and how they were more likely to give me something bigger, which I didn't want. She asked if I would rather have a sedan, I said yes, and she sent me off to the far-off spot that should have a Toyota Camry. 

Which it did, but it also had two people getting into it, so after confirming that they also had been assigned the same car (sigh, that's some system they have), I got to haul all my stuff back to the counter and wait for her to finish with her current customer before getting back to me. This time the car was a VW Jetta, and it was waiting by the door, so I was able to give it a good once-over before getting in and figuring out all the controls (I've never driven a VW before).

Unfortunately, all these delays had added up to me leaving the airport in rush hour, which my 1:42 arrival time was supposed to avoid. I took a screenshot of the GPS while in stopped traffic:

Look at all that red. No good way to go. But all things come to an end! I got there at last, got settled, and had a good dinner at a favorite restaurant with the friend I was seeing the most.

Note: I had to come up with ways to refer to my friends without using their names. I can't use initials, as somehow there are four names that start with J and three that start with M. 

So Friend 1 (F1) and I had dinner, it was good to start catching up, and then I kind of crashed out. As one will after a long busy day.

On Thursday, I had a bit of A Moment with the car while on my way to a grocery store. Reminder that my car is a 2019, so I know technology has leapt ahead since then. This one let me Bluetooth my phone in, which my own car does do, but it doesn't integrate as much as this one did. I could use the display screen for my map directions, and it showed Audible for me to keep listening to my audiobook, which was great. (I'm currently listening to a book that's 31 and a half hours, so it's slow going to get through, though excellent.) 

Less great, however, is what it did to me as I was making a turn to go around the back streets to the store. I'm turning, the book is playing, and suddenly this Voice loudly says something like, "Hi, this is your gemini assistant to help you navigate!"

Understandably, I think, I half-yelled What the Fuck! Like, where did that come from, you know? And then the damned thing said that if I was frustrated, it could help me.

-_-

What.

I am not proud of my reaction in the moment (though, hey, I didn't actually drive off the road), but I can tell you that in that situation, either "Shut up!" or "Turn off!" or "Stop!" will turned the cursed thing off.

Ahem.

Annnnyway. I stopped in at the grocery store to pick up a few things (so I didn't have to pack them), and was perplexed to notice this. Liquid Death water? Seriously.

Aww, look, Coke and my Bruins! In some sense, Massachusetts will always be my home. 

Thursday afternoon, I was off to see Friend 2 and her daughter (F2 and F2D). It was strikingly green by their house.

It wasn't the only time I could see F2, but F2D got an internship and was heading out that weekend, so it was my only chance to see her (she's in college, and such a great kid, I love her.) We had a nice time, the three of us, sitting around and petting the cat (this is balloon cat's house) and catching up.

After F2D left to go watch her brother in a play, F2 and I kept chatting until her husband got home. I adore her husband as well, and was delighted to go out to dinner with both of them. And amused that I had to drive, as their kids had both the family cars out. We had a good dinner, though the ... unusual musical act that started while we were there did drown out remaining conversation. But it turned out not to be the last time I saw them, so no regrets there.

On Friday, I left F1 hard at work and took myself out for coffee.

This is a coffee shop I remembered fondly from living in the area (it's in Stoneham, specifically), and I was glad to see it was still there. Delicious drink.

Charming place.

I was meeting yet another friend, Friend 3, in Melrose, where once upon a time we both lived. Melrose is north of Boston, and it's a cute place. Have to say that I miss the architecture.

And I was glad to see this welcoming crosswalk!

We had a really good afternoon! We met for lunch, had a good time shopping, and then got coffee and sat knitting and catching up for a while. It was so nice to see her.

Friday night was a quiet night in with Friend 1, eating leftovers, and getting ready to go away over Saturday night. More to come!

There's Not Winning the Lottery....

And then there's whatever you call this.

The winning numbers from the other night's Powerball:

And our ticket:

Fate laughs.

The Earth Moved! I'm All Shook Up

I promise that I am going to write more about my trip (before I forget every detail), but today I have to tell you very important news. Did you hear that there was an earthquake off Cuba today?

I can tell you that there was, and it was at 2 eastern time, because I felt it. Here! In southwest Florida! And it was, pardon my French, fucking freaky. 

I was sitting in my office chair and realized that it felt like it was vibrating slightly. Then I noticed the lamp was shaking. And the closet doors were vibrating. And the ceiling fan, which was not on, was shaking.

It probably wasn't two minutes, but that is a really long time to wonder if it's an earthquake or if your building is about to collapse.

This is actually the second time I have felt an earthquake, but this time was longer and, well, not violent, but more noticeable

To me, anyway. Mom didn't notice. She was walking from her room out to the lanai, and then sat down in one of the chairs that, while it isn't a rocking chair, kind of bounces, so it all blended together for her. But it took a while for me to feel normal again.

Pets That I Met ("Boston" trip, part 1/?)

First note: I'm calling this the Boston trip because...that's what I call visiting the area. The only time I actually spent in the city of Boston was at the airport, or going to/from the airport. I spent all the time in various suburbs and into western Mass, but yeah, Boston it is.

Second note: This trip recap is in no particular order. I just wanted to be clear that there is no plan!

Note for part 1 specifically: The pets in question were mostly cats, just one dog. I think of cats and dogs the way I think of speaking French and Spanish. I studied French, and while I'm not a fluent speaker at all*, it is familiar to me in a way that Spanish, for all its similarities, is not. I "speak" French, not Spanish. Similarly, I "speak" cat, not dog. I know that my friends who are dog lovers feel about them the way I do about cats, but it isn't that way for me.

*One of my great language achievements was telling a Paris cab driver where I wanted to go and having him understand me. I also apologized for not having closer to correct change, and he understood me. This happened when I was a college student, so it's a long time ago, but I still flush with pride to think of it.

On to the pets! First house, two cats, one fluffy (ragdoll) and the other not so much.

Floof:

There were birthday balloons in the house (not for the cat's birthday), and she liked to walk with them.

Second, not-so-floof:

After stretching out in the sun, she did an army-crawl move forward.

Floof loaf.

Tabby stripes.

Classic box.

Second house, dog. The only photo I got was of her making friends. We got cozy.

Third house, two cats, both floofy. The counter inspector:

And the floor friend.

And that was it! I was definitely feeling cat-deprived by the time I got home. Newman gifted me with zoomies shortly after greeting me when I walked in.

Then he gave me these poses.

AKA "go ahead, caller, I'm listening."

Such a good boy.

The Usual, After a Trip

• I'm home.
• I'm exhausted.
• It was a great trip!
• I have many stories to tell and photos to share!
• But I'm exhausted. And back to work. And doing the stairs until sometime in July, when the elevator should be fixed. (That last one is not the usual.)
• Newman is happy I'm back.

Anyway, much more to come. Until then: Happy Pride!

Slow Morning; Going Old-School for Travel

On work days, my alarm goes off at 6:30, to give this not-a-morning-person time to get up and get moving.

This morning at quarter of five, someone (ahem, the cat) decided to pat me on the arm to get my attention. Unfortunately for me, his claws needed trimming*, and it felt like a fine-gauge needle that hit a nerve in my arm**. The JOLT had me go from 1% awake to flailing and cursing in no time, while he sat there innocently, all puzzled by me. I stayed in bed for a while longer, but never fell back asleep, so I am a zombie today.
*Yeah, that got done today, thank you, ow.
**There was a dot of dried blood on my arm when I looked, so he really did get me.

Meanwhile, back to packing. I got a lot of organizing done over the weekend. My packing list is broken down by what goes in the checked bag, what in the carryon to access on the plane, and what in the carryon but not to access on the plane. I had already started gathering things together last week, but over the weekend, I began to sort out the actual bags and get things where they belong. The packing isn't quite finished, but I'm in a good place.

Side note: Yes, I'm checking a bag. I don't want to live out of a carryon for 10 days, that's not who I am. I know it can be done, like Elisabeth and her family going to Europe for four months with only carry-on bags. Bravo, but not for me.

Something I'm packing for on the plane is these:

• At the top, the dongle that allows the headphones to work with my phone, which doesn't have a jack; I thought about looking into ones that would bluetooth in, but you know what, this is easier, for me, right now. 
• To the left, the headphones themselves. When I was sorting through my messy drawer-full-of-cords (you know what I mean), I found I had multiple sets of headphones.

I used each of them to check the sound on my audiobook on my phone, and the best by far are the oldest ones, the Realistic brand that folds down. The others are doubtless airline-freebie ones, and not meant to be long-lasting, but still. According to Wikipedia, Radio Shack stopped branding Realistic items in 1994, so these things are OLD. But still going strong! And of course they don't fall out of my ears, as the others have been known to do when I make crazy moves like turning my head. I'm not sure if I have usual ear shapes, but I have trouble with such things, which is one of the reasons that I have never gone to wireless ones. When one of those falls out, it's gone! (I mean, I know, not 100%, but I'm not coordinated, I would be fumbling them at the best of times, and if they drop on the floor of the plane? Say goodbye. Ew.)

Anyway, the final item, on the right, is a wee little old-school MP3 player. Do I need to gather the kids around to explain what that is? I loaded a bunch of songs on it, so I can listen to music without apps and ads and all that modern technology. I will probably be multi-tasking on the plane, either knitting and listening to an audiobook, or reading and listening to music. 

One more headphone note: I got an email from JetBlue today with the subject "What to expect on your flight to Boston" and guess what? They're not going to be trying to push more junk headphones on me.

Not a problem for me!

Of Weather

I'm sure I have written before that on my trips up north, it is amazing how often my visits coincide with cooler/colder-than-normal temperatures (as well as snow in winter, in years when "it barely snowed all last winter!"). This happens a lot. So much so that it makes me think of the Rain God in the Douglas Adams book:

They should pay me to go places that want a break from the heat. Or pay me to stay away from places that don't.

What I'm getting at is, of course the current forecast for the start of my trip looks like this:

Seriously, look at the drop from Wednesday to Thursday. It's like the weather is saying, whoops, she's here! Drop! 

This is my surprised face. 

Now, am I still going to have a fun trip? Absolutely! But I have to pack accordingly. And here in Florida, we're at a point in the weather where if the temps and humidity are low enough to turn off the air conditioning and open the windows, it is a pleasant experience, but not something that's happening often. 

For instance, here's the weather from when I just walked up the stairs, carrying a bunch of stuff:

So it's a bit of a mind twist to have to think about sleeves and layers and closed shoes. 

Not Even On Purpose

I already showed you the new suitcase that I bought recently, but then I brought it upstairs this week (literally up the stairs, grrr) as well as my carry-on bag, and, well. This wasn't even done on purpose, but.

It's a set! How about that.

As for me, I am hanging on, here in the land of the elevator-less. 

• I am listing items for my trips downstairs like a general making a battle plan: what to take down; what to go out for, as long as I'm down; what to carry back up. Yesterday, I was carrying up a backpack full of things (groceries and travel stuff like packing cubes), the carry-on full of (lighter) things, and pizza.
• I have put two chairs on landings along the way (at the 3rd floor and then between 4 and 5) so that I can rest on the way up. 
• I am very carefully rationing what needs to come up--like, yes, I want Coke upstairs, but carrying two cans at a time is easier than carrying a 12-pack along with everything else.
• I am, amusingly, more rigorous about waste, in small ways. I mean, if I have leftover milk in the cereal bowl, I put a smidge more cereal in to finish it off, where before I might have let a sip or two go down the drain. I carried that milk up five flights, I'm not pouring it out!

This weekend, I'm going to organize my packing; I don't need to finish the packing, but I don't want to wait until Tuesday night and stress myself out by thinking of things I wish I had gotten.

This morning at work, I put a reminder in the chat that while I will be working on Monday and Tuesday, after that I am out through the end of the month. And let me tell you, that felt good.

How I'm Doing

Oh, I'm fine! Ha ha!

Yeah, about that. 

Last Wednesday, I was two weeks out from my upcoming trip, planning all the details of the various friends and groups I want to see, and also thinking about getting things ready for my brother coming to keep mom company, while simultaneously thinking about day-to-day stuff. I had a lot of balls in the air.

Then the elevator broke.

Suddenly there are twice as many balls and there's gale-force wind and the balls are going everywhere.

Recap: We live on the sixth floor. Every grocery needs to be carried up, all trash needs to be carried down.

Initial estimate was "a month or two."

Next communication said "about 30 days."

Then on Saturday, as I was driving to meet friends for lunch, I glanced at my phone at a red light to see if anyone was running late, I saw an update email from the condo board president with the subject ELEVATOR and pulled off the road to park and read it.

10 weeks.

That is mid-July, people. Yesterday afternoon when I did the stairs, this was the weather:

Do you know how much worse it will be in two months? Yikes.

Let's think happy cat thoughts instead. It's been a while since I put up cat pictures, isn't it?