Awesome weekend at Arisia and other places with plumtreeblossom. Much seeing of old friends I don’t get to see very often. Car mishegas — my car is currently in the shop having the muffler reattached. Loved plumtreeblossom and joyeous’ performance in this year’s Red Shift.

Completely aside from all the fun things going on in the vicinity, I find just being in a hotel relaxing and refreshing. plumtreeblossom and I are thinking of doing occasional little mini-vacations close to home, where we don’t really go anywhere special, but find a hotel in the general Eastern Massachusetts area and have a night or two in a room that somebody else cleans, with a really soft bed and a big bathtub and no piles of stuff that needs to get done nearby.

Kind of tired by the end of the workday. Need to pack for Arisia. Take T home. Stop on way to have dinner. Arrive in Quincy Center. Walk home from T station.

Where car?

Oh. Drove to T station in morning. Left car at T station.

Maybe now is time to walk back to T station.

The disturbing thing is that this is not the first time I’ve done that.

I’ve had a wonderfully social last few days.

On Wednesday a bunch of us hung out with surrealestate to celebrate her birthday. It was a delightful gathering in honour of a delightful person! plumtreeblossom and I had a great time.

plumtreeblossom and I went back to her place afterwards, so I got to wake up next to my sweetie and have coffee with her. On my way in to work Thursday I got Grigori Yefimovich¹ inspected.

Thursday after work I met cathijosephine, and drove with her to xmelancholia’s, where we caught up for a while, cathijosephine gave xmelancholia some excellent socks, and I got to play with big huge wonderful friendly dogs (a mastiff and a German shepherd). Yay for doggie time! And yay for seeing xmelancholia; it had been too long.

Friday docorion had arranged to get group-rate tickets to see Handel’s Messiah performed by the Handel and Haydn Society at Symphony Hall (very near where I work). My typical inability to get anywhere on time was in evidence, but in a somewhat unusual fashion: I somehow managed to get there an hour early. Anyway, I crashed docorion’s dinner nearby and at the correct time, we were all back at Symphony and plumtreeblossom and the rest of the group congregated successfully. The concert was delightful, although I felt a little odd at something so liturgical. I had never been inside Symphony Hall before, and I loved checking out the décor. I’d have loved to see what the original paint job looked like (there was very elaborate moulding and detail work, but it had all been repainted in a neutral colour). I think we all had a great time. Thanks, docorion!

Saturday plumtreeblossom and I got together with dan4th and dabunny at their place and ordered in Thai food and had a lovely time. Along the way, I learned probably three or four little facts about hockey, which at least doubles what I know about the game.

This morning (Sunday morning, although I guess technically I mean “yesterday morning” at this point), plumtreeblossom and I had a yummy and relaxed brunch at The Burren, and then I came home and resumed work on my plumbing.

My life is good!

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¹ My car.

So, I’ve had a lovely last week-and-some, involving all five elements (Water, Fire, Earth, Air, and of course Quintessence). plumtreeblossom and I have had some wonderful dates, including a trip to Waterfire in Providence with the wonderful lilbjorn and his partner and some friends, and my first (but not last) visit to Fire + Ice. (Waterfire was beautiful and romantic; Fire + Ice was yummy.) I got to get together with cathijosephine for the last in a series of free classical concerts outside by the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade. (I’m thinking that counts as Earth, Air, and since we were next to the river, more Water.) The concert included an excellent version of Beethoven’s Pastorale symphony, Handel’s Water Music, Respighi’s The Birds, and an interesting composition for orchestra and recorded whale song. And plumtreeblossom and I had a fabulous time at sunspiral and roozle’s always-awesome End of Summer party, where I discovered that somebody I work with plays guitar and piano. And I got to see merinslips and E. and elusiveat.

So I’d like to write a lot more about that, but what I’m going to write about instead is last night. My car has still been making funny noises when I turn the steering wheel since I took it in (for that and the brakes) a couple months ago. I called the garage up a few days ago and the person I spoke to said it almost certainly wasn’t anything to worry about since the mechanics wouldn’t have given it back to me without saying anything if it was a problem, but just to be sure I should bring it back for them to look at. Yesterday during the day that just wasn’t an errand I really felt like doing, and I almost skipped it. But I didn’t, sadly. I was delayed by Fenway game traffic near work, so I barely got there in time (they close at 7). The lot was very crowded, but I found a place to leave the car (blocking one of their gates, but that’s not a problem since they’re used to playing automotive Tetris) and filled out the paperwork, and they were nice enough to drive me to Davis so I didn’t have to walk the half hour to Porter.

As I was walking toward the taquería where I was meeting elusiveat, it occurred to me that I remembered thinking about giving them my car key, I even remembered taking it out of my pocket before having to put it back in so I could fill out paperwork, but I didn’t remember actually giving them my car key. Which was indeed in my pocket. And my car was blocking their access to many of the other cars they needed to work on. Oy. I called them, and the recommendation was to put the key in a tupperware container (which I didn’t have anywhere nearer than Quincy) and throw it over the fence and hope it lands near the office. So unfortunately I was a bit distracted while I was having dinner with elusiveat because I was worried about the key situation. (Sorry, elusiveat!) Had a lovely time catching up with her anyway. Then I discovered that the closest thing I could find to a tupperware container in Davis Square at that hour was a baby bottle. Took the T to Porter Square, and walked what turned out to be 35 minutes one way to the garage (talking a bit on the phone with plumtreeblossom on the way), tossed the key with its note in the baby bottle across the fence, and SCORE! it landed right by the office door, did not fall in a ditch, did not roll under a car, and did not break any windows! As I SMSed plumtreeblossom, I should join the NBA.

Then it was another 35min walk back to Porter Square for the train ride home. (Oh, did I mention that “due to switching problems at JFK/UMass, we are running with delays between JFK/UMass and Alewife”?)

An hour and a ten minutes’ extra walk is actually a really good thing, but maybe not when you’re not expecting it and you’d really rather be at home doing a little bit of cleaning and climbing into bed. I had other plans for that hour and ten minutes.

By the way, I really, really like my garage: ABJ Automotive in Somerville. They’re totally worth walking an hour for.

I just twisted my ankle pretty badly. It’s not hurting as much now that I have a bag of frozen corn on it (I don’t have any ice), but it was “I can’t put any weight on this” hopping around painful for several minutes. My housemates pointed out to me that I had left the car windows open in the rain, and I stepped wrong off the steps on my way out to close them.

(The car, by the way, is having brake problems, and I don’t feel like I should drive it except to the shop now. Poor timing, since I’m not sure I’ll be able to walk to the T station tomorrow morning.)

I’m sure I’ll be fine in a few days, but I’m a bit concerned about how I’m going to get around the next few days. Maybe I’ll be lucky and feel mostly better tomorrow.

Thanks and love to the wonderful plumtreeblossom, who called me when she heard what had happened and gave me advice (passing along stuff she’d picked up in the School of Literal Hard Knocks herself).

Wish I had a cane — I’ve got a walking stick, but it’s for hiking and has a point on the end and is not so good indoors.

I’ve got lots of happy userpics, because that’s when I take pictures. I need some unhappy ones. This is not the fun kind of pain.

I forgot to mention last night that I have fallen in lust with sionnagh’s car. It’s a 2000 Honda Insight hybrid (a two-seater), it’s comfy (for me, but probably not for zzbottom or docorion), it drives great, and it seems to get around 53mpg. I want one. Evidently 2006 was the last model year they made them, but I couldn’t afford a new one anyway. Not that I can afford a used one, either, but the next time I can spend that kind of money on a used car, which will be, I dunno, maybe 2049, when I will be 82, I’m definitely getting one.

Then of course I’ll need to get a pickup truck to help people move and for camping trips and big grocery runs. The Insight is wee. (And sexy, like certain other wee things of my acquaintance.)

So, this morning it was pretty nice. As I was getting ready to leave the house, I realized I’d left my coat in the car last night, and vaguely considered not taking it and either wearing just my sweater, or my sweater and a light jacket. I was running late enough, though, that I went ahead and took not only the coat, but the entire car, leaving it parked on the top floor of the parking garage at the Quincy Center T station.

Then I had a reasonably productive day at work, followed by a brief check-in at Diesel (including a nice chat with dietrich), followed by a pleasant if admittedly slightly chilly walk to Something Something to pick something up, followed by a quick dinner in Davis (by myself, unless you count Terry), since I’d been ravenous before I left work, followed by a pleasant T ride to Quincy, followed by—

Um.

Isn’t my key supposed to go in the lock on the car further than this?

Yes, I’m quite sure it’s supposed to go in further than this. I believe it’s supposed to turn, too. And the door is supposed to open, and welcome me into the car AND OUT OF THIS INSANE FUCKING FREEZING WINDY COLD! I’m completely certain that’s what’s supposed to happen.

That’s not what’s happening.

If the lock on the other side weren’t already broken¹, I could try that door.

So, I can walk home and hope that when the sun comes out tomorrow morning the lock warms up enough for me to get in. [If I had taken the time to check the weather forecast I would have been less optimistic.] Oh! Or I could walk home, and walk to the automotive supply store in the morning and get some of that de-icer you can spray in your locks when they freeze, and see if that works! Yes, that’s a good idea. Too bad there’s no place open now, because I’ll be agitated until I get this resolved. Like, for instance, maybe a convenience store would have it.

Well, there’s actually a convenience store in the T station, and they didn’t have what I was looking for (de-icer for locks), but they did have de-icer for windows, and I figured if it melted ice it was worth a try. Said try, of course, involved wiggling my key in and out of the lock while spraying this stuff at the slot. (I needed the key both to hold the slot open and to help convey the de-icer into the lock, since this stuff didn’t come with the little tube that gets it into the lock. I suspect that’s the major distinction between this product and the kind sold for locks.) And I did this for a long time, in the freezing wind, with the de-icer stuff splashing onto my hands and being blown into my face, occasionally taking breaks to put my hands in my pockets to thaw. And I was just about ready to give up, when the key finally slipped all the way into the lock! Joy! Delight! Success! Er, Progress! The key did not turn, but at least something was happening, which confirmed me in my stubborn determination not to hurry home to a warm bed, but to keep standing there on the windy roof alternately muttering entreaties and threats to the lock under my breath. Actually, I didn’t mutter entreaties and threats to the lock under my breath, but it sounds very dramatic, so I certainly would have if I’d thought of it at the time. Anyway, it might have worked.

So I worked on the lock for another ten minutes or so, with a couple breaks to shelter from the wind in a stairwell, and finally it turned! Joy! Delight! Progress! Success!

Needless to say, the Diesel engine needed some coaxing to start, but that I’m familiar with, and now I’m home and warm and my car is sitting in the driveway. Unlocked. I have no intention of locking it again until the spring, since clearly no good comes of locking my car.

Oh, did I mention that the person who broke into my car a couple weeks ago took a glove? I think it might be time to get a new pair.

But for now, my hands are nice and warm, and my bed will be nice and warm, too.

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¹ This has nothing to do with the burglary; the passenger-side lock hasn’t worked since docorion got the car before me, I believe. Certainly not since I’ve had it.

OK, I again should be asleep instead of posting, but this time I’m going to post. Quickly, though, with bed to follow.

• Wednesday and Friday: With a bunch of other people, saw off ragingamazon before her two-year adventure. (Well, “two-year adventure” is understating it. This is ragingamazon. Her whole life is an adventure.)
• Saturday night: Had a quick dinner in Davis with plumtreeblossom, followed by a very fun reading night, followed by other fun.
• Sunday morning: Went to a potluck brunch with plumtreeblossom, which involved catching up with all sorts of wonderful people I don’t see often enough, among them lilbjorn.
• Sunday evening: Went back to Body Worlds 2 at the Museum of Science, this time with chienne_folle. Really enjoyed it again. Afterwards got to catch up with chienne_folle over very good meatloaf (mine) and corn tamales (hers) at the Cheesecake Factory.
• Monday evening: Had cathijosephine over for a very unpretentious dinner.
• Today: Finally called an auto glass place to have my window replaced (reminds me, I need to get some stuff out of the car before they come over). Had dinner and a wonderful conversation with plumtreeblossom in Davis, and briefly dropped in on the Diesel social afterwards, although it was pretty quiet by that time.

In other news, I finished watching Catch 22. I had only watched it once before, as a child, in a Cinemascope print projected with an ordinary lens so everybody on the screen was noodle-thin, with one of the speakers torn so there was this hideous buzzing all the time. Oh, and the projector bulb burned out for about 10min at one point in the middle of the movie. (For all I know, the reels were shown out of order, too. This was Catch 22; how would I have known?) It made much more sense this time around.

Well, the good far outweighs the bad, but I’ll start with the bad because it’s more recent:

I had a lot of stuff to do over break at work, and I slept a lot for the first part of break, so I was at work late today (New Year's Day) to catch up. When I came out to my car, I discovered that somebody had broken in. They got my cache of parking-meter quarters. Unless they’re scattered somewhere in the car (which is quite possible; it was a mess), they also got my ~$70 Bluetooth GPS receiver, a somewhat prized possession. I am very relieved that they didn’t get into the trunk (not that that would have been easy) and get my CPAP machine, or my big weekend-away-from-home duffelbag. And I have little micro-cuts from sorting through things. (I’m guessing safety glass wasn’t as good in 1983 as it is now, or else that it degrades over time, because in addition to the safety-glass-style chunks, there was lots of tiny glass dust. And I was sorting through things to see what they’d taken.)

I’ll need to do a better search (and clean out the glass) in the light sometime. [Just as I was about to post this I thought to run out and check: They didn’t take my EZ-Pass, which would have let them put tolls on my credit card until I noticed and cancelled it.]

The good, though, was very good! Fabulous New Year’s Eve party with fabulous people, including a few from out of town I was expecting to see and one from out of town I was pleasantly surprised to see, wonderful New Year’s Day brunch (at which I discovered that bacon and cheddar waffles are really yummy!), and all of it spent with the lovely and delightful plumtreeblossom. It was a very good New Year’s Eve, and a good beginning to the new year.

May you all have love, snuggles, good old friends, good new friends, and all the bacon and cheddar waffles you want in the new year!

Last weekend I went camping with cathijosephine, darxus, and faerieschylde in southern New Hampshire. For some of the weekend I wasn’t in the best headspace, due to a confluence of stresses and a not-very-productive day at work on Friday. But I still had a very good time. We ate well. cathijosephine’s idea of camping involves sleeping, cooking on the campfire, and eating, and I am proud to be a part of that plan. Bacon, fried yams and potatoes with onions and garlic, bacon, sausages, bacon, pork, bacon, s’mores, and bacon. My kind of haute cuisine.

(I had an adventure with the car afterwards. When I was ready to leave, I discovered my battery was dead. I called faerieschylde, who came back to try to jump me, but unfortunately her car didn’t manage to start my Diesel engine. But the guy at the campsite next to mine successfully gave me a jump with her cables, so everything worked out, and faerieschylde and I ended up going out to get Mexican food together, which was a very nice air-conditioned coda to the weekend.)