Good Morning:
:: It's been a while. Hi.
:: I don't have a reason for my semi-retirement or why I've been away. If I had to give one it would be I stopped caring as much about a lot of things since my Mom died, my Wildcat fandom included. Hence, I didn't feel the need to keep up with all things UK all the time.
:: The loss of W&W/NJT and the reaction within this thread brought me new perspective. There is a real sense of place. Recounting the relationships, trips, tailgates, who met who and now we're all dads hit home.
:: Those of you who haven't muted me on Twitter yet probably welcomed my absence. Rest assured, I'm not bringing any of that. I'll follow the old rule (Politics Thread -----------------> This Way). Besides, I'm married with a 9 year old, I've hit my abuse quota.
:: So, to catch everyone up...
- Lost my Mom to cancer in 2018
- About a year later my wife spent seven days in the hospital with pneumonia. Creating a hard spot on her lungs and a permanent place in the "high risk" category.
- Pulled a Clark Griswold and broke my leg last Christmas. I had a choice of falling to my death with the ladder or jumping off and taking my chances landing on my feet. I chose option B and ended up with a pilon fracture in my left tibia and a titanium ankle. I was immobile from December to March, just in time for COVID.
- My sister died in a car accident in Arkansas four days after I broke my leg. My portion of her ashes are still in my house since COVID forced me to cancel our local service.
- I found all the weight I lost years ago, so if you had me gaining it all back in the pool, you win. My fitness routine and diet went away just like my zeal for UK after Mom passed. Throw in three months of lying on a hospital bed in your living room and the pounds add quickly. I've started walking every once in a while. It's easy to over do it now with the ankle, but I've dropped 12lbs since May, so that's something.
- There is good news. Since my ankle is shot and my wife has chronically bad knees second floor bedrooms and basement laundry no longer seemed like good ideas. We moved to a great house with a ranch on a basement floor plan in July. Not only is everything on the first floor the place is a huge upgrade; hardwood floors, gas kitchen, flatter yard with space to grow a veggie garden, finished basement with plenty of bourbon bottle space. We accepted an offer on the old place. Once the dust settles and the smoke clears we'll have a little money in the bank and our only debt will be the cars and mortgage.
- I still work for the same company even though my role has completely changed. I'm not really sure how I did it, but I somehow managed to get promoted during COVID. I guess the three month head start on working remotely from home paid off.
:: Thanks in advance for allowing me to vent. I've been inspired by the conversations and community over the last couple of days.
:: And now...the takes...
:: Some of you know what I do, so you might say this PSA is all about self preservation...and you'd be right. Order takeout from your local independents directly. Avoid the delivery apps if possible. Ordering through Door Dash et al does little to nothing for your local indie guy/gal save burning through to-go ware that is increasingly hard to get. If you can make it work please do it. One of my favorite things about this thread is a good snack down. We've already lost about 30% of our choices due to COVID and the rest are barely hanging.
:: Screw the bars and restaurants not following the rules and effing it up for everyone else. These jackasses are putting an entire industry and thousands of jobs in jeopardy.
:: All that said, the Animal Style Burrito from Bazaar Eatery is fairly outstanding. It will take you two days to eat that behemoth, but you'll be happy.
:: Also, not to get all political but Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich...underrated, flavorful, and you don't have to pick a side.
:: You know what's annoying (other than reading my drivel)? Having seven six figure salaries from your largest client looking at you on a Teams meeting and telling you what they can't do and what categories are going to be unavailable for the next 12-24 weeks.
:: Pro tip...get used to cheese pizza or veggie toppings. You all probably read about pepperoni already, but all meat toppings are getting harder to come by. The spike in pizza delivery is very similar to the windfall for those in the liquor business. They can't keep product in the store.
:: RE: School; Being parents of a high maintenance kid on the autism spectrum prepared us a little. When school was normal one of our workdays had to end early and finding qualified help to watch him during the summer was getting harder and more expensive. One of us was bagging our day to look after him all the time. We are wary of full on NTI at the beginning of fourth grade as opposed to the end of last year, but the folks at his public school will have our backs. They have been amazing for our son's entire school career. We are pretty lucky to have his team.
:: I truly hope that the private schools are right and school can open as normal. All of the college campuses I call on are opening with in person classes. I hope they're right. My kid hasn't played with another kid since March and my business relies on a K-12 and C&U base line.
:: You know what made me feel old? Pulling weeds last weekend. Good Gawd. A shock to pretty much every joint and ligament in my body. I was absolutely dead. I don't know how landscapers do it.
:: My wife bought an above ground pool in early in the spring (before they got up to a bazillionty dollars) because she was getting ahead of pools being closed. I was skeptical. I finally got to set it up after we moved and nothing has made my son happier. He's in it twice a day. I'm OK taking the "L" on this one.
:: Underrated Dad "job"...skimming the pool in the evening. Absolutely back breaking work standing in the water with the skimmer in one hand and a cold beer in the other.
:: Oakleys, rolled bats, and mashing dads...nice to see some things never change.
:: I'm so sorry for your loss Bernie. I'm with you. I grew up in a single parent home with my mom and sister. They're both gone. It's a surreal feeling.
:: RE: COVID Fear...it's unavoidable in my life at the moment. All three of the women left in my life (Wife, Aunt, Grandmother) are all high risk either due to age or ailments. I read everything I can to be as open minded about this as possible. Reality in my world doesn't match up with what is presented. I write it up to every situation being unique. This is a long way to say we stay home...a lot.
