Monday?

The sleep was full and thick. It was a delight to be safely ensconced in my own bed again. I wasn’t gone very long but my mind knew. I must have slept worse than I thought on the road because it was a noticeably deep sleep when I returned. Breakfast was some home cooked breakfast samidges and a coffee. I’ve been back on the regular stuff for nearly a month it would seem. I’ll have to break its hold again. I got into work with some hesitation. Weekly call was the first major function and then I worked down my bloated inbox to the critical elements. I wasn’t feeling it partway through the morning but forced myself to focus. Lunch was a can of butter chicken soup and a call to the Chef. We caught up some after the weekend before it was time to get back to work. Around three I took a minute to look up when the McDonalds Spicy McChicken sandwich challenge ended. It ended today. I hustled out to the truck to go get some before it was defaulted to an unattainable challenge for me. I arrived too late. The scotch bonnet and ghost pepper sandwiches were sold out. I returned home with a consoling McFlurry. The iced cream energized me into the last leg of the day. Maybe it was more of a celebratory thing since my company got some exciting news about an EU trait stack approval that we’d been awaiting patiently for over a year. I also wasn’t completely thwarted in my quest for spice as I had picked up this tolerable hot sauce during the adventure to St Albert’s. I was able to add it to my collection. There was a last minute, late day conference call about the approval and I went from that to some Microsoft Solitaire Collection and then into some YouTube. I fell asleep around half nine during a video for the ten year anniversary of the ending of the League. That video was a few years old so I guess it’s been awhile.

Home Stretch

There was some disappointment in the night. I wasn’t able to get a fulfilling rest after such an undertaking the night before. That resulted in sleeping late which destroyed any hopes of some early morning fishing. The Beer Guy had sent me a pin of his honey hole knowing I’d be in the area with a rod. An opportunity missed but not the only chance I’d passed on. I’d prioritized there work ahead of fun. Otherwise I’d have gotten into some rivers and creeks along the way previously on the trip. My fear of trespassing also plays a role here. We started this day like the others, with McBreakfast. I should mention I was again driven by paranoia of being late to be in the truck with a warm engine at the agreed upon departure time. We set off through some unbelievable scenery to get to the first site of the day. It was a strange drive. I felt a bit loopy for most of it. Not ideal when you’re the lead vehicle. The most concerning aspect of it was that my vision was slightly blurry. I could still see fine but things weren’t as sharp. Instead of being able to read signs from a few hundred feet away I had to be right on it. Luckily the GPS was running fine. I only had a small test to walk when we got there and was able to get through almost half the beans too. I had to stop and focus on the stakes to read them and my mind was starting to spin out of control. I did some rapid blinking and tried to get some tears going to clean things out. After some of this I could feel something in there and my vision was sharpening. By the time we got to our next stop I was back to 92% of normal.

We made a stop at St Albert’s Cheese and I did some shopping. I wanted a smoked cheese for myself and decided while in there to get some things for Dutchie. Her birthday is next up and I was in the vicinity. She also enjoys charcuterie so I got some cheese, chocolates and sauces to aid her in that field. A taste of her life before kids. We took care of the next site in short order and parted ways. In the end, we shaved two days off the scheduled trip with our strategy and my expedited note taking. Limiting myself to ten words helped. So did taking numerical ratings for most things rather than using words. I dropped in at Admiral Bonesaw and Dutchie’s palatial estate to drop the gift, meet their daughters and steal some Wi-Fi. Unlike Brack, I had one more stop to make on the way back and needed to download maps and an entry list. Coming from Quebec I made sure to keep well away from their family and stayed outside. It was a short visit, less than fifteen minutes and I was off. I actually caught and passed a rack before Kingston. He had stopped for food quickly. The maps I had didn’t outline things well on my phone and I discovered later that the notes I took at this last place were on the wrong plots and were useless. It was half seven by the time I pulled up to the Harbour. Lunch/dinner happened at Port Hope when I stopped to get fuel. Unpacking happened quickly and unexpectedly before passing out around 9pm.

Working Saturday

Another early morning start and another McBreakfast. I seem to have fallen back into my hotel routine for mornings, which is pretty close to my home routine come to think of it. I was in the truck with the engine running ahead of the planned departure time anyways. We struck off for the first site with ambitions of getting three done and shaving time off the total trip. This day was just going to be Brack and I. We landed at the location mid morning and fell into our divide and conquer process. I ripped through corn and he handled beans. Both agreeing to take an appropriate amount of notes and impressions. He was done ahead of me so joined me at the end. The tests I had to cover were larger and more numerous to begin with and I’m the culprit of taking more notes that I should. From here we went to a Tim Horton’s for lunch for the speed of it more than anything else. That, and it became the only option. At the second site we ran into JJ Belz and chatted with him. He was busy and we were in the zone so we repeated the morning’s efforts. It was three by the time we got it covered. Both the sites so far had been very sandy soils and some drought stress was obvious, making for some interesting notes. Before leaving, I flew the drone and took some video for him. At one point, I had to drop it down quick to avoid a small plane. In reality it wasn’t close at all and I was much lower but I got myself worried. I got some excellent imagery nonetheless.

We struck off for the last site of the day, a bonus that was slated for Monday. There was only one small corn set so I got to walk a bunch of the beans myself. Nice to change gears like that. It was getting on in the day by the time we finished there.

It was definitely beer time by the time we had travelled to a new town and checked in to a new hotel. We didn’t bother booking a room in advance and instead walked up. This acceleration of the schedule meant that we were going to miss the annual dinner at Hotel Plaza de Valleyfield. It might have been the last chance ever since next year we’re hoping to book rooms in the Flotel across the street.

For dinner we went to the same place we tried last year but it was not operational during COVID. We had to settle for the old style diner in front of it. We opted for the patio because it was a lovely evening. The chair was not as sturdy as I prefer and it took time for me to trust that I wouldn’t destroy it. There wasn’t anything on the menu that was particularly exciting to me. I was somewhat fixated on the fried curd poutine. Brack was equally focused on the pulled pork poutine. Having had zero poutine in Quebec we figured we’d have some in a French part of Ontario. And it was definitely a French first community. He couldn’t shake the idea of fried curds and order his pulled pork poutine with a side of the curds with the plan to dump them on top. I pulled an audible instead of pork and ended up with the same meal.

The food was surprisingly fantastic considering the chair and the service we’d gotten to that point. We moved to a second beer from that place we’d enjoyed the previous fall and tucked in to the deceivingly large mountain of food. Great value to go along with the great taste, a frequently more rare combination. I started to speed up my shovelling partway in as I realize that I was getting full. I’d sprinkled a handful of the fried curds on but they didn’t do much, they were the downside of the order. I hustled to clean my plate before my stomach sounded the alarm, feeling a bit like I was in an eating competition like BeardMeetsFood. I got it all into me, Brack tapped out. Later, I wish I’d done the same. It was a struggle to tip back the last of my red ale before paying the tab and waddling back to the hotel. He had to pee and I was filled beyond capacity so it was a strange walk back.

Upon arriving I doffed my running shoes and made this grisly discovery, or disco-very, depending on your upbringing. Turns out the aeration that Nike built into their shoes along with the craftsmanship of my copper bottom socks can work in concert to permit sandy loam dirt to sift through to one’s feet. I debated whether to let nature take its course and go to bed or to wash my piggies before slipping between the sheets. My momma raised me right so despite some distress from my full condition I washed up before bed. I’ll have to transition back to boots for future sand sites. Sleep came after fooling on my phone for an hour or so and was plenty fitful. Eventually my body got things sorted out and I was able to sleep a bit deeper.

Eastern Leg

Early start to the day again. This time a quarter hour ahead of six. We got “picked up” at the hotel and journeyed East. We had four stops on the way and with the driving distance considered it was shaping to be a full day. Breakfast was Tim Horton’s purchased along the route. The ordering process was pretty rough. We made good time through the sites with our agreed upon divide and conquer strategy. The first site had early corn material and a good jag of soybean candidates. We were able to get across three sites before we felt the pang of empty bellies. There wasn’t a lot of wind so I was able to fly my drone and get a couple photos for the local guys.

We went to a fairly unique lunch spot. It was just a McDonalds but the double drive thru was guarded by dinosaurs. The ordering wasn’t smoother than breakfast but at least the scenery was fantastic. Or something you see everyday to be certain. I ordered the habanero McChicken sandwich, the lightest in spice of the trio of spicy McChicken sandwiches currently being offered. I’d love to take the challenge and take on all three in succession. After having the weakest of the three my confidence was admittedly shaken slightly as I found it to be pleasantly spicy. This left me to wonder how intense the elevated spice options would be. Maybe I’ll take it on and find out.

We continued on to the final location for the day and I reviewed another corn trial. The material looked strong here. I got a photo taken in my full corn walking regalia. Well almost, I generally wear boots but since it was the end of the day and my feet hurt I continued with my safety crocs. From this location we made our way to the hotel and Brack and I crossed the street to enjoy some food and libations at Le Cage. They appeared much less concerned with 2m spacing when seating is at the bar as their signage would have suggested. Interestingly, no one seated at the bar left in the 150 minutes we patronized the place. We deigned to sample a number of their local beer offerings. Our lovely server didn’t speak a word of English and my rusty French was called into service. There was only one mix up when she accidentally gave us the same beer for a second time, meaning we had to have an extra. I had Notre Club and sampled some ailes de poulet as well. I had to make an audible and direct her not to give us les neuf-un-un and to instead provide le sel avec poivre. Pretty dramatic swing there. We hustled back to the hotel with extremely full bladders. Sleep came soon after.

Quebec Customer Event

The first full day of my trip and the day of my customer event must have been enough excitement to get me up early. Way too early. But in a twist of fate, I left too late. I was playing on my phone, covering off my daily routine and also getting some of the tools ready for the day at hand. Because there are no breakfast buffets anymore, a tragic loss in the midst of the virus, I had to stop for a McBreakfast. The ordering was much more complicated than back home where I am essentially a professional at ordering breakfast. I was able to cobble together enough of my French to make it happen and continually agreed to any further statement that included the word bacon. They could have charged me six times the price and I wouldn’t have noticed. Something I was scared of happening in the moment, more that I’d ordered six meals. I got to the site ahead of everyone and got the lay of the land. In a normal year I’d have come a day sooner and done this and taken all my own notes to be freed up to chat and gab more with customers. As it was I was going to be as much on the clock as they were. This meant that I would be noticeably less engaged with them than in year past. Singular because this is but my second round. The engagement I did have was with an earpiece in my ear participating in another day of my Quarterly Licensing meeting which ran from ten in the morning until six in the evening with only three stoppages. As the morning progressed and the rain finally filtered off I started to chat some more with customers. We had some good conversation and questions. A few folks were fast and gone in a couple of hours. Others were really taking their time and getting strong notes on everything. Around half noon I headed to the building to enjoy a serious ribeye steak, part of the special lunch the local MDR put on for Brack and I. There were some salads as well. It was pretty fantastic. The last couple of people working through their notes stopped off to say goodbye and thank us for the opportunity. When only one remained I headed to the field to continue my own evaluation of products. I had to stop after only a couple of hours to power up my devices. The power bank that I had brought to keep my afloat was non-functional. It was just ahead of this that I had a fall. I’ll provide some minor detail. There was a deep ditch to cross to get between crops. I started to descend the bank and realized partway down that there was a lot more water in the bottom than I bargained for. I would have to leap about three feet to the other bank with no guarantee of solid footing. I decied after a few seconds of frozen deliberation to ascend and walk around. In those few precious seconds of hesitation my feet slid out from under me down the bank towards the water. I didn’t get wet but it was enough to make a minor grass stain on my right knee. The real damage was that I had finally adjusted the cord on the power bank to the point that it was working and I had been holding things perfectly still to allow the flow of the stored power into my phone. The jolt of crashing down on my chest was enough to disrupt said flow and make for some frustration. I decided then that I would be shopping for a new power bank. I got across to the other side and sitting in my truck for forty minutes I gave my hastily prepared update to the group still on the phone, recall that the meeting was still going on Mountain time. I probably couldn’t have given a less engaging update if I tried. I hoped that providing more insight into what it is that I do and some of the wins that I’ve found this year would make things easier for the rest of the team but more likely it was just of interest to me. Part of why I did it was to let them know that I’d made changes to a communal tool so they wouldn’t be surprised later. It was lame. I kept going on notes until nearly dark at which time I gathered up the flags that were set out in the morning and returned them to the building. I couldn’t get in so I put them where they’d get noticed. I had artfully arranged against the door but felt that the wind would have knocked them over anyways so didn’t bother with my display. I hustled back to the hotel, met up with Brack and we had a quiet meal at the lobby restaurant again and we both decided to head to our rooms early. Sleep came quickly afterwards.

Eastern Mosey

The day started early and anxious. I had packed most of my bags and piled most of my stuff into specific piles the previous evening as you know and all that was left in the morning was to load up the truck and get in the right mindset to travel a long distance. This was accomplished but with a nagging feeling that I forgot something or there was a chore undone. I even watered all the plants in the house again to make sure they’d have enough juice to last until I returned. That resulted in again spilling some water on the counter. I was feeling a bit loopy and a bit shaky for some reason and started to worry as I headed out. I got a McBreakfast for the road and started to head East with literally the entire day to arrive at my destination. I had to make a few phone calls in the ahead of a ten o’clock conference call so I was one the phone for a long time. I even had to jump off the all day conference call to another call then jump back on. I was past the Smoke before things got to that point so I was able to duck on and off the highway easily to accomodate such moves. Around midday I’d made it to the Thousand Island Parkway visitor centre and decided to pull over for a few moments to get my lunch out. I brought some of the leftover Shake and Bake chicken breasts and pizza buns with a redneck ice pack, all the ice from my ice maker in the freezer wrapped up in three individually tied grocery bags. The setup worked well all the way around. The lunch was tasty and filling and was kept cold. I took that short break to answer some questions and text messages.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/thousand-islands-travel-guide%3famp=true

It was the mid-morning break for my Mountain timezone compatriots. I went a little further before I needed to stop again this time to fill one tank and drain another. It was close to four bells when I arrived at my hotel in Quebec. I headed up to my room to finish the last couple hours of my call and start to clean up my emails from the day and to advance as many issues as I could. I always prefer the ball to be in someone else’s court and not my own. I don’t want people to have to wait for me. When the call was over and I’d addressed the piled up notifications on my phone I sauntered down to the hotel bar/restaurant to meet up with some of my customers and colleagues who were in town for my tour. We had a few drinks and some food before I paid off the reasonable tab. I don’t think many expected that but since they were in the area for my tour event I felt it was a suitable move. Plus, it’s been months since I got to use my corporate card. I was able to get back to my room just after ten bells and was asleep within the hour, exhausted from the long day on the road.

Strange Afternoon

The night was filled to the brim with restful sleep. I was t possible for it to get anymore full. I can’t explain why. My morning routine happened in a quick fastidious fashion the. I was able to partake of my now customary morning meal. Now time for dallying, I was at my desk ready to rock right on time and rock I did. I got swept up in a manic energy that had me covering off multiple things at once. I had my task to do which was a complicated spreadsheet that someone built for a one time use not for me to untangle years later. I don’t even know who built it. Then every hour or so there would a request of varying urgency that suddenly popped up and I dealt with that too. I ended up taking lunch close to two bells last noon. It was a hastily consumed bowl of soup and a bowl of jello. That goopy mess I created. I was back in the saddle again within twenty minutes and that jello sat horribly the entire time. I’m not sure what happened when I went to eat but it was pure death after I got back. My manager called me to chat for the first time ever. Other than that, there wasn’t much else to worry about. I got after some other items and then it was six in the evening. I hustled down to make a round of shake and bake chicken. I was in the mode to clean out the fridge before my pending adventure. I ate two breasts by hacking them up and rolling them together with some cheese and HOT sauce in a wrap. Spectacular flavour no matter what Sassy girl says about Kraft singles. I spent the rest of the night packing my bags and getting everything gathered together for my early departure time.

Kitchen Wins & Losses

With fear, shame and guilt on my conscious I started into my Monday. I did get the benefit of a thick sleep though, filled with many, many vivid dreams. The most memorable was one where I cut my own hair. I guess I am more worried about getting a haircut than I thought. I wasn’t worried about breakfast though, with a full groce at my back I put together my usual fare. Breakfast bullets and a large coffee. My weekly Monday morning meeting was dominated by issues that were far from my realm. I had made a growing list of short term tasks and went about crossing them off. All the while trying to make progress on my big one. I determined that I’m going to have to beg the aid of some others more versed in this area. But some are jaded by past battles. It will end being delicate if I can find an amiable solution. More likely frustrations will resurface. Cryptic? I know, it’s intentional. I flitted among productively until lunch. My actual meal was jerked chicken soup from Campbell’s Chunky with a pizza bun but the real story is the jello. If you’re a follower then you’ve seen me post about trying this mold in the past. Well, I gave up today. They don’t quite look alike do they?

I did the long method. I’m not a quickset guy. I made one batch then tried to add the second on top once it was firm enough. That may have been my undoing. I may never know. But now I have two huge bowls of soggier than appropriate grape jello and a bad attitude. I give up on jello, it’s never worked right for me. Maybe I’ll have some slurps of it at supper. The rest of the afternoon was as productive as the morning. Knocking off small things and making sure nothing got missed. I even took the opportunity to recognize two co-workers with You Make My Life better awards. My big issue started to catch fire a bit towards the end of the day and as usual most action game around six bells. When people are done their calls and looking at emails. I bailed at six and hustled to the kitchen, excited to try something new. I called my US bound sister for tips before I started. Chicken wings in the air fryer. I was excited for the potential. I’d picked up a few pounds off the discounted meat rack on Saturday and wanted to get it cooked up this week before leaving for my tour. I got them cooked just perfect, following direction from my birthday gift cookbook from the same sister. She’s the family expert on the appliance. The wings came out magical. I tossed half in Hotel Oscar Tango sauce and the other half in Sweet Baby Ray’s sweet and spicy sauce. It was like I was at a restaurant, I was thoroughly impressed again by this new toy. I crush the tiny wings in two batches. Felt like about two pounds of wings. I wish I’d stopped at one. The second batch I added a hint of garlic powder and a liberal sprinkle of Parmesan cheese to the HOT sauce bowl to try for some Spicy Gar Par wings. Didn’t quiet hit that target but was mighty delicious. Highly recommend this method of cooking for wings.

Because of the late dinner and the relatively long cook time, I found that I was facing a short evening. I decided to catch up on some Musings and YouTube videos. New videos drop Mondays for some of the channels I follow.

Repeat Sunday

Slow start after nice, restful sleep. After lazing about, revelling in my cocoon of comfort, I decided to shower and dress. I wanted to be ready for my morning mission. Today it was decided that I would try and improve upon my previous Sunday’s breakfast experience. I made a few subtle tweaks. This time I drained the bacon grease. I cooked the bacon to extra crispy then after drying and letting it cool I crumbled it into the scramble portion. I also added a sprinkle of shredded cheese into the scramble and went heavier with it during the wrapping process. My wrapping skills definitely improved as I figured out how to fold the sides in to reduce leakage. The end result was magnificent. Even better than the previous week. I paired it with the blueberry lemonade in an actual juice glass, which likely made all the difference. Stunning flavours and easy to make. You gotta try it.

Following this filling and devastatingly tasty repast, I descended down into my lair. That was around ten in the morning. I spent some time working on some laundry, playing some NHL20 and enjoying some Netflix. Before I could blink it was already up to four in the afternoon. It was alarming how fast the time flew by. I crawled out of my hole long enough to put away the folded laundry and snatch a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos from the cupboard and a cold Pepsi from the fridge before slinking back downstairs. It was 10:30pm when I re-emerged. I had intended to pause my selfish enjoyment of a Sunday and fire up my work computer to draft a half dozen emails in the afternoon but in lieu, fearfully huddled in the dark and gloom instead. I’m not proud of it, quite the opposite in fact. Upon ascending to my chambers I fell asleep immediately despite the shame and guilt I’ve been feeling over this unresolved work thing. The temperature looked right for another excellent sleep.

Three Births

Sleep ended abruptly at 5:15am today. Not for any specific reason, that is just when my brain decided it wanted to start the party. I did feel some stress, shame and guilt lingering from the work but tried to shut it out as best I could. Today was going to be a day off. I really got popping by finally going to groce after procrastinating for a full week. The good didn’t happen without the bad though, I preceded the shop with a McBreakfast. I learned in grade ten intro to business class that you should never shop on an empty stomach. Saved me thousands of dollars over the time from then until now.

After the food was safely stowed, I made the call to Admiral Bonesaw, one of three people I knew celebrating a birthday this day. As it happened, GRP happened to be visiting him. Another of the birthday people. So that got two birds stoned at once. I’d already got GRP in the group chat at 12:23am so I was covered but a nice surprise to chat with those two lads. GRP’s twin sister was the third. I did not phone her. It’s been several years since we’ve really known each other. Instead I sent all three one of my customary birthday snaps. Only the best know what I’m talking about.

Since I was in a bit of a groove I decided to clean two of my four toilets and affiliated bathrooms. Then I cleaned up my mostly dead plants in the front. Only the fern and the hosta remain now. The bleeding heart might not come back, a victim of the drought. I also took some time to sweep off the steps and walls near the door. There are still some cobwebs hanging around. I guess the summer has passed me by and again I didn’t hire anyone to wash the outside of my house, another broken dream. As the afternoon wore on, I found myself eating part of a bag of Ruffles chips and listening to my audiobook. Next was a round of computing and some light games. When I had tired of that it was beginning to be evening and some food was prepared. I made a box of Stouffer’s Bistro meatball and mozzarella. A tasty treat when paired with blueberry lemonade. Some Command & Conquer amused me through the evening and then it was more audiobook in the dark until time to sleep. Not the most productive day but kept moving things forward.

Stay Calm and Slog On

A stress strangled slumber was ended pre-maturely by a stubbornness induced cold bedroom. I’ve decided to abstain from initializing the heat function of my furnace for some time in a bid to control my escalating hydro bill. There will be a downside to this. Hopefully I don’t get a cold, in a COVID world that is problematic. Layering until temperatures rebound is the plan. Once up and finished the morning routine I slipped out for McBreakfast. I need to start thinkOmg about stopping this needless exposure risk. My city is collecting cases again. We currently have the most we’ve had since the height of the first wave. Work started with a productive call and moved to working on a stressful task. Low progress made. The afternoon was dominated by a three hour call. That call sets off a number of smaller tasks now. Let’s not worry about work today though, I’ve spent more than enough energy on that already. I’ve already covered part of the afternoon but lunch deserves a mention. I’ve talked several times about Knorr sidekicks and mentioned that I prefer the chicken due to the simplicity of ingredient requirements. I branched our at some point during the summer and brought home the milk requiring creamy alfredo product. I had the means so I took the plunge and exacerbated the specialness of the moment by dining outside. It was a beautiful experience. I left my phone in my pocket (outside of the photo taking) to further enjoy it. One of those fleeting moments of enjoyment that generally slip by unchecked. I worked an extra hour to reconfigure a spreadsheet to be more visually appealing to share with a customer. My happy place. Dinner was pogos. The last of them, chugged in a disturbing fashion. I called the Beer Guy ahead of his dinner to share some non-critical information. Next I sat down to finish the Eastern Conference Finals on NHL20. Now I can win the Cup over the weekend. I settled into my bed early and sleep came around ten bells, exactly as I planned.

Funked Up

I wasn’t able to find my sleep last night until after the calendar flipped. Well assuming your calendar is a daily calendar. Maybe one of those Far Side calendars. It sucked. I think I was too warm and my guts were gurgling. At least I could see what was the issue. I woke up late thankfully. I didn’t have a very full morning and was invited to a customer’s event and decided to stop by. I grabbed a McBreakfast on the way there and spent most of the morning near other people. Not too close but outside in the sun near other humans. It seemed pretty foreign. I got back ahead of noon and got contacted by IT and worked with them on fixing my last, lingering IT issue. There was some back and forth and I started looking for more help on the issue. I got a call from a colleague and tried to help get his own IT issues sorted. The rest of the day was calls including four in ten minutes at five. I got them all returned and finished work at half six. Then I called the Big T and he had some gripes and we had some good discussions. You’re probably wondering what was for lunch. So was I. I didn’t take the time to have a lunch and made a mistake at dinner. I ended up ordering the exact same meal as the night before and it was not better. I’m worried for the remainder of my night. I fired up YouTube on the living room TV and spent the evening on the floor like the old days. Felt like a really short evening.

Chef Day

Today is the Chef’s birthday and also my aunt's birthday. I contacted them both to give them my well wishes. It took two attempts to get the Chef on the line. I definitely woke him up and I don’t regret it. Sooner he is up, the longer he gets to enjoy his big day. I happened to have started good and early and ended up with an early McBreakfast. A move that enabled me to skip groceries again. Not sure if that is ideal or not. Instead of living my life, I started work early. Work went well. Lunch was a Mr Noodle three way. Two chicken and spicy chicken. What a treat! The afternoon went fairly slowly. Towards the end I took the chance to watch a training video that was taped the previous week to get caught up. It was over an hour and got me through to the end of the day. I was planning to go to the Chef’s place to drop off something of a gift while he was out for dinner but started to feel down so stayed in, order chicken bites and a quesadilla and played some NHL20. After winning my playoff round I retired early listening to my Outlander audiobook. Things were getting exciting in the story so I plan to do that until sleep shows up.

Turbulent Tuesday

The day started well before the sun and after tossing and turning for an hour I climbed out of bed and onto the toilet where all my problems were flushed away. I felt magnificent as I dressed in sweatpants and an old shirt. First weekday of the pandemic that I was lazy enough to sport sweats. I broke my fast in the usual way not long after. Bullets. Work had a perfectly timed start too. I spent the first hour cleaning up items from previous day. Next I handled a training that had been assigned through the night and participated in the Farm Show. Until today, I’d had no involvement at all in the preparation for the show, kind of nice. I was able to sit in on a couple virtual sessions. The show is entirely digital this year, despite most companies preparing their show plots as usual. Just when I was about to kick into a new project, IT reached out finally. I’ve been waiting for weeks if not months for support. The fix took over three hours but it got fixed. I had to change my password a number of times and fool around with some other settings but everything works now. Some apps on my phone aren’t going anymore but can’t win them all. It feels odd to use my desktop programs as it has been so long. It has been since July 7 that it hasn’t worked right. Hopefully it is much better going ahead. I attended another session, fielded some calls and cleaned up another couple of items before quittin’ time. Wouldn’t you know it, the one day I wear sweats is the day someone calls to have a drink. My predecessor from my current role called and is staying in town tonight, wants to meet for a beer. That meant I’d skip dinner, shower and put on some jeans for the first time since May. I even squeezed my boots on.

The boots didn’t last long. Despite a cool evening outside, the house had warmed all afternoon to quite a temperature and I quickly doffed my boots and donned my flip flops. As it turns out we both had late lunches and decided to have an appetizer and a beer while we caught up. We also both had a dessert and a second beer. It was a delightful time. We closed down the restaurant, all the way to ten. It was straight to bed after that.

Mundane, eh

The day started like soooo many others. Same morning routine. Same breakfast. Same trudge to the home office. The difference is that I used the last of the eggs. And it is Farm Show week. The first year that I wasn’t around all for any of the planning, planting, maintenance, etc. And the show has gone virtual. Everybody gets a pass! That’s later in the week though. The morning featured the regular Monday meeting and time spent cleaning up last week and setting up things for the upcoming week. Lunch was just a can of soup while I was on the phone. I barely stopped to take down the last can of soup in the house. The afternoon was continuous short calls until the last hour which was spent scrambling to get a key file and details out to customers for my upcoming field tour in Manitoba. It all went by very quick. Dinner was accompanied by a cocktail to cap a very long workday. I hit double digits for the first time in a long time. The rationale I fed myself as an appetizer to a lovely four meat oven pizza meal was that I should be getting groceries in the morning before work so I could afford to use up some mix. It was a tasty meal overall. The rest of the evening was quite protracted and spent watching YouTube videos and fooling around on social media. Essentially mindless disengagement from reality. I was in bed early and hoping for a long sleep.

Slow Sunday

The day started off with a bang. Well, with a decent night’s rest at least. I decided that I’d postpone the weekly shop, electing to lounge instead. Using the horizontal time to scheme turned out to reap decadent rewards. I put a pair of chorizo sausages I’d been hoarding all week to good use. Being wildly inexperienced with such an exotic meat I started my pan with a few strips of bacon. This resulted in a very greasy pan. Once the sausage was browned off I drained the ocean of greasy and dumped in three scrambled eggs. What a fantastic plan! It cooked slowly over the reduced heat into a terrific scramble.

I applied this mixture to some waiting tortilla wraps and sprinkled some shredded cheese liberally over the top before purposefully rolling them up tight on both ends. I plunked one in the medium heated pan and put a small plate on it. Once I had a feeling it would be tastefully coloured I flipped it. This I repeated with the second wrap. What a treat can be had when you take the time and exert the effort.

This meal filled me up more than I would have imagined and the timing of it being slightly later in the morning removed the necessity of lunch. Well, that and another reason. Being that I was hoping to complete my on-going task of finishing The Ranch. I fastidiously picked up where I’d left off the previous night and indeed did not move until it was completed. When that moment came and I’d enjoyed the satisfying conclusion, it was time for a second meal. That meal was McCain’s crinkle cut fries prepared in the air fryer. A tasty treat for sure. The next part of my day was spent folding several day old clean laundry and cleaning a bathroom. When you have four the odds are good that a toilet needs to be cleaned. I thought about reading myself to sleep but instead I passed out listening to my audiobook around 9pm.

Flaturday

Another fairly weak sleep. Luckily it is the weekend, whatever that means nowadays. I skipped a traditional breakfast and instead put in an hour on my work computer. Then I switched over to my personal machine and got myself caught up on Microsoft Solitaire Collection. Eventually I’d had enough and went down to rassle up some grub. I settled on breakfast samidges, big surprise. After this I kept reducing my gravitational potential energy into the vowels of my home, to the lair. That was basically it for the day. I watched a Netflix documentary called The Social Dilemma. That was incredibly eye opening. It really shook me. I needed something lighter to refocus my mind so I decided to finish the Ranch. I was a couple parts in already but was determined to see it through before Monday. I plowed right into it. I know I stopped for dinner at some point but I’m not sure what I ate. Back home was the socially distant drive by sixtieth surprise birthday party for my aunt. Here are a couple photos that were sent to me.

September 11

Breakfast was the usual today, nothing special. Another failed attempt at savouring coffee. Because of a lack of sleep or an abundance of waking up early, really early, I was done my morning routine and at my computer quite early. I’m into the longer hour period of the year after a fairly enjoyable summer. I toiled on a few calls to start the day and that seemed to zap the energy out of me. Combine that with the inherent tiredness of waking up at 4am and it was a struggle to make it to lunch. Summer hours are over so it was lunch my soup and wrap propelled me back to wakefulness. During lunch I got a call from a CRA scammer. Once again the police were after me and coming to my house to get me. This time I changed tact. I have a fake name, address and postal code ready for them usually but something he said off the top gave me a different angle. He indicated that he hadn’t initiated the interaction and needed my info. I argued that he didn’t know what I did or who I was so if I didn’t give him my info then he’d never find me. He was clearly flummoxed and set off his script. It only took a few minutes before he told me to see a doctor because my brain was broke. I got indignant and went full Karen on him but he hung up. I could mess with those lowlife scammers for hours. That call put me in a jovial mood. Because the universe loves balance, I got an email shortly after that brought me crashing back down to Earth. It is sensitive in nature but essentially a colleague I know a little was about to pass from COVID. It was pretty shocking news and really set me back. Luckily, the afternoon featured my favourite thing, formatting a file in Excel. I cleared a couple odd tasks at intervals to make sure I didn’t get too much of a good thing. That allowed me to tighten up an already decent inbox. Towards four bells I got a call that rebounded my spirits. That dredged on until nearly quittin’ time. I was able to finish my file and share it out before ordering some chicken bites. I accidentally submitted the order before adding anything else so accidental portion control. The evening was spent on YouTube and fooling around with Microsoft Solitaire Collection. I did a scant bit of reading before retiring for the evening. The day ended balanced and fairly unremarkable.

Field Trip

Finally able to get a more average level sleep, I hit the ground running. I was on the move early and had time to savour my coffee after the breakfast samidges. I also had time to prepare for me one on one meeting with my pseudo American boss. He’s full blown American, but I’m just a loose dotted line report to him. I brought him up to speed with the goings-on of our Canadian business and he shared additional background on all my discussion items. It was quite worthwhile. Next up was a Canada wife townhall meeting. I got a rare glimpse at the performance of our other business units, consumer health and pharma. Very interesting to see the other groups. I had to take an early lunch as I was off to my old research farm for the afternoon to check on a couple trials. I picked the day because another group were also doing some training there and I wanted to see some of my colleagues, from a safe distance of course. I kept out of their sessions and mostly did my own business but it was nice to say hello to many folks and to remind them I still exist. I was ready to leave but remembered I’d brought my drone so I hung around until only the last few remained and did a long flight. I took a number of photos and shared them with some of the team. I realized my 120m ceiling might be too low for great photos. I hung around after that and had a catch-up with my old assistant Gerbs. It was nice to catchup.

I got home later than planned and made a meal of an oven pizza to enjoy on the deck. I saw more nature than I’ve seen in a long time while out there and even enjoyed a couple of the beers that Cheese gave me a few days back. Free beer always tastes the best but in this case it was very smooth, just my style. As it was getting dark I retreated into the house to read until the sandman visited.

Wet and Wacky

The fun never ends. Another worthless sleep last night. During the preparation of the breakfast bullets I spilled a bunch more water on the floor. Either I’m increasingly irritable or the universe is wanting me to wash the floor more often. From a rushed breakfast I slipped into calls and steady work from the either bell of the day until the seventh. Another nugget of false information was unearthed during the day. This one I had made significant plans around for myself and customers. Now that is fairly screwed up. I’m feeling like I’m this world of constant flux, plans are becoming less relevant but valued more. That’s probably the tip of the iceberg of that theory but since I’m in no mood to expand upon it, we’ll chug onwards. When I eventually took a break to seek some peace and sustenance I consume the remainder of the pad thai leftovers. To accompany my dish I had my customary ice water. The ice was particularly frozen and old looking so I decided to loosen it. Good plan with my current run of luck. I used a wooden spoon and as I was working things loose, the fridge fired out some freshly made cubes onto the floor. The door was open! That’s not supposed to be able to happen, I checked! What is with water and the kitchen floor this week?! The afternoon was spent locked into work again. I had some marshmallows and water for dinner having lost the desire to function normally. I retired to my chambers at an early hour, choosing to shut the world out. Maybe tomorrow will hold more promise.