Tag: ODDS and ENDS

  • ODDS and ENDS: My Nose, My Teams, and My Goodness

    (Out you pixies go!)

    So, something has happened to my nose of late. My right nostril is completely clogged up, and won’t budge. I don’t feel sick, so I don’t think it’s a cold, but I am totally congested. I went out and bought a couple of different nasal sprays, which do work like magic and open things up, but a few hours later, everything closes up again. I thought it was the heat being on in the building and the really dry air. I turned the shower on and steamed up the bathroom, and that seemed to work, yet again it only gave temporary relief. This is very disconcerting, as I feel out of breath all the time; like I am slowly being suffocated. There’s no punchline here as I think I am slowly dying.

    Since Maddison got injured, Tottenham has been playing awful. They lost three in a row, and then had a glimmer of a match when the eeked out a draw in Man City. But yesterday, Hotspur lost again, and I have this awful feeling that the season is slipping away. I’m trying not to be dramatic as there is a lot of football left to be played in the season, but I don’t think I am alone when I say that I really need Spurs to finish in the top four and get back in the Champions League. Now the Dallas Cowboys seem to be doing better. They finally beat a team with a winning record! And Sunday, they will play the Eagles in Dallas, and we’ll see how good the Cowboys really are. It’s a good sports weekend.

    The year is almost over. I think I might need to start putting my “Best Of…” lists together.

  • ODDS and ENDS: But I Thought It Was Funny, Spotify for the Win, and My Beard

    (I think I want to live the sporting life.)

    Okay, so maybe me and the wife drank a bottle of cheap white wine last night, and maybe we tried to do some online shopping while I was watching the Cowboy game. And maybe we found a semi inappropriate plush cat on Amazon. And maybe I did text out a picture of that plush cat to a friend who I thought would find it extremely hilarious. Look, when me and the wife saw that cat, we laugh/cried for like ten minutes. My friend didn’t find it as funny. Sure, they found it funny, just not that funny. It’s a giant plush cat, with giant plush balls! Just read the reviews! The people who bought this cat are also in awe that a cat of this form exists in the world. C’mon People!

    Seems like everyone is showing off their Spotify Wrapped year in review. I am surprised that my Wrapped does not contain The Beatles in my Top 5. They have always claimed a spot on the list, but not this year. I’m not sharing my list, that’s personal, but I will answer that Peach Pit was my big winner. And when this time of year comes around, I do have to tip my cap and admire the marketing team at Spotify for coming up with this little data stunt. I mean, you get everyone to humble-brag about what the listen to; it dominates the news cycle for a day or two because it’s a fluff story, but it always seems like we need a fluff story; most importantly, it’s easily shared on social media. Bravo, Spotify marketing team, bravo! I hope whomever came up with this idea got promoted and earned a cushy job teaching a class on online marketing at an Ivy League school.

    It’s that time of year when I grow a beard. For the record, my wife and kid hate that I do this, and what they object to is that my face, understandably, becomes course and scratchy. See, there is no logic to why I do this, but the last time I shaved was on Thanksgiving, and then I just grow a beard through New Year’s. Being that it’s a New Year, I’ll shave the beard, but leave a moustache. (And the wife and kid REALLY hate when I have a moustache.) Now, I’ll keep the moustache until the Super Bowl. Why? No reason. Just something to do. The point here is to be back to being clean shaven by Valentine’s Day, because I’m not stupid.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Thanksgiving is Sneaking Up, I am the Old Man Yelling at a Cloud, and 12,000 Steps

    (This jacket will outlive me…)

    I wrote about receiving our BBQ smoked turkey yesterday, and it still smells amazing in our freezer. Looking at the calendar, we don’t have much time left until Thanksgiving. I still have one batch of chicken stock to make, and then I need to knock out some mushroom and turkey stock next week. This weekend, we will start formalizing the menu as well as making the first round of shopping for non-perishable food. Every family has their “holiday,” you know, the big one that gets all the attention. Most people it’s Christmas, but in our house, it’s Thanksgiving. Everyone likes to eat, but we do love the prep and the cooking. From the breakfast, to the nosh-y lunch, to the final meal at dinner time; it’s a production. And then the day after, we make the turkey stew out of the leftovers, as well as some savory pies. We try to make Thanksgiving as relaxed as possible, and not stressful. We hang around in our pajamas, we have a few drinks, watch some football, do some dishes, and enjoy a day together.

    Hey NBC/Universal! If I’m paying for Peacock so I can watch the Premier League, why is it that you keep showing matches on USA which I can’t watch through Peacock? And I know why you do this; You want me to go out and pay for USA, because it’s a marketing trick, and it clearly work because you keep doing it. But honestly… I want to see the market research that says that it is a good idea to antagonize your customers. I say all of this because I cannot watch Tottenham play live this weekend because I don’t have cable. And yes, I hate clouds, too.

    You know what I did yesterday? I walked 12,000+ steps. You know what else? My hips and knees really hurt this morning. I know that I am getting old, and things don’t work the way they used to; that’s just life. But I was a bit taken aback by how much they hurt. I run at the gym two to three times a week, and I’m trying to be more active. According to my phone, my daily average of steps this year is 8,000+ as compared to last year’s 6,500+ average. So, I’m moving more, which is good, right? Right, yeah, and the more you move, the more your body should get used to it… But, it really just makes me want to sit on the couch and drink coffee and read. Hey, self-care is just as important as exercise. Right? Yeah… I’m going with that.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Crypto Scam, Sick Kid, Reject Me Already, and Thanksgiving

    (Don’t flood it…)

    So, Sam Bankman-Fried is going to jail for a very long time. I’m sure you know this, but crypto is a scam. Or, if I’m being polite, it’s just a new form of gambling. And SBF gambled and got caught. From everything that I read about this guy, he was too smart for his own good. He struck me as the type of person who was, and knew he was, smarter than everyone else, and somehow thought he could use his intelligence to get himself out of this situation. In the end, he was a con-artist, and he coned a lot of people. Including some other very smart people. Also, I am aware that as soon as I post this, I will get inundated with a bunch of crypto bots trying to get me to buy crypto.

    And the kid is sick. We watched “Let’s Make a Deal” this morning together. That was sweet. She’s running a fever, and feels awful, but she gets the iPad all day, so it’s not all bad.

    And as of this minute, I have yet to be rejected by Taco Bell Quarterly. They are one of my favorite online lit journals, and I’m not saying that because I submitted a story to them. TBQ has an attitude not unlike a favorite underground punk band that is parts hilarious, offensive, and friendly all at the same time. Anyway, the other day TBQ announced that they were sending out rejection letters and… I’m waiting for my rejection letter. They did say it would take some time, as they have to send out 2,800+ rejections. Over on TBQ’s X/Twitter feed, writers who have received their rejections are editing and marking out their letters to create new messages of varying degrees of positive/negative statements. It’s been fun to watch. But still… Where’s my rejection letter?

    Now that Halloween is over, time to start prepping for Thanksgiving. For me, that means making chicken, turkey and mushroom stock ahead of time. As well as stock piling non-perishable food. I’m getting ahead this year, and watch how this will play out. I’m sure I’ll be writing about it often.

  • ODDS and ENDS: “Baking Show” is Good Again, Kid’s Cold, and the World Series

    (I wish I spent more time at the office…)

    I am a fan of The Great British Baking Show (or Great British Bake Off, if you will) and I have written about the show several times. I know I am not the first to write this, and I won’t be the last, but Baking Show is good again. At least three episodes in. There is always a chance it could go off the rails, but from what I have seen so far, the changes have been working. Because what I want, and I think most fans want as well, is to not think too hard about Baking Show. It’s there, it’s fun, entertaining, pleasant, and nice. And so far, that’s what has been delivered. I’m enjoying the show and not thinking too hard. Is it because of the new host, Alison? Maybe. Is it because they cast more engaging bakers? Possibly. Is it because the bake challenges are less gimmicky? Could be. What I do know is that after the kid goes to bed, the wife and I will get a drink, watch Baking Show, and not think about the difficulties of our week for about an hour. And for me, that’s when Baking Show is at its best. And I’m pulling for Saku to win.

    We are now back to the time of the year when the kid has been around other kids long enough at school that they are now trading colds. She got a cough as of last week, and it made its way to the wife. But I kept up my hand washing and cleaning, so I thought I was outta the woods. But kid colds are the most infections of all colds. I got the bug, but I’m still not 100% sure it is a full blown cold; stuffy nose, sinus drainage, side of the neck is sore… But other than that, I feel fine. But I didn’t go to the gym this week, you know, so not to get other people sick. It was the least I could do.

    The World Series starts tonight. Texas vs Arizona, and I won’t be watching. Nothing personal, it’s just that I don’t have anything invested in either team. Now, if it gets to a game 7, I’ll watch that. I do hate to miss a happening.