Pen-Elayne on the Web

Silly Site o' the Day

2026-07-10T20:02:00.000-04:00

We continue to enjoy the World Cup as the quarter finals start to wrap up, but I'm not sure I'd go to this sort of lengths even if I had this person's immense talents:

Via Laughing Squid.

The Perils of Speaking Too Soon

2026-07-09T20:10:00.000-04:00

I honestly thought the reupholstering of my orthotics had taken care of the hallux soreness. Even bragged about how I could walk again to my coworkers today. Alas, lots of walking and standing about (especially the latter) during the World Cup watch at the office (where we were treated to tasty food from our San Antonio branch as they'd lost the basketball bet, and of course everyone shows up for food so the queue was pretty long) did enough damage that the blister was back by the time I got home. So my conclusion is that it was me staying off the foot last week and not really going anywhere that contributed to the healing. Not doable going forward, alas, especially with an upcoming vacation after Labor Day. Ah well, I'll make do the way I've been making do for the last 18+ months, I suppose. It's not debilitating, just painful, so I'll be careful. For now, I'll just rest.

A Day Without World Cup

2026-07-08T20:41:37.143-04:00

I had the opportunity yesterday to watch the Egypt-Argentina match either in my office or out on Manhattan West Plaza, but after the first half I was kind of falling asleep so opted to go back to my workstation instead. Fortunately we recorded the playback on our home DVR last night, and I finally watched that this morning. And yeah, I can see where the corrupt FIFA (but I repeat myself) seems to have greatly favored Argentina, especially on that brilliant disallowed goal, but unlike the overturned American red card it's not like you can prove anything was amiss. So it was fun to hear the incident alluded to by our footie-loving mayor this morning, and I think going forward I'm going to record all the remaining games, or at least tomorrow's as that will be taking place as I get ready to leave the office for my homeward commute. Meanwhile, the NY baseball teams are either winning or losing, and both could really use an All Star Game break.

Learning to Walk

2026-07-07T20:33:00.000-04:00

Today was the acid test for whether the newly-upholstered orthotics have really made the difference in my no longer having foot pain, as it involved a bit of walking during my commute. So far so good, the bump on my left hallux may take a little time to fully heal (as is the case for diabetics) but it doesn't appear anything is pushing it into the shoe any more. And I can walk a lot faster without pain and without limping, provided I reteach myself how to do that. I keep expecting, pardon the pun, the other shoe to drop, and it hasn't happened yet, so I just have to retrain my body how to walk normally without a limp and hope the rest of me gets properly aligned again. It's been bad for at least a year and a half, so the sudden absence of pain is delightful.

Easing In

2026-07-06T20:59:00.000-04:00

I was right, I didn't sleep well at all last night, maybe 3-4 hours at most, and it took its toll today. Thank goodness it was a work-from-home day! I'd also been tossing and turning over work stuff which came to fruition today when I could least handle it, but it's out of my hands now and moved up the chain of command so I think I'll sleep well tonight. Especially as the US men look to be going down in World Cup defeat. Serves our country right for having the grifter in chief get involved.

Footies

2026-07-05T22:57:00.000-04:00

The heat continues to dissipate, so for the first time in almost a week (not counting when I had to move my car) we went out today to do our grocery shopping. And my left hallux no longer hurt! Whatever the shoe place did when they reupholstered my orthotics, it worked like a charm. So happy I can now make plans to actually walk when we're in England! Might have been nice to get some sleep this evening, as I have work in the morning, but too many idiots decided they had to shoot off more fireworks despite the torrential rains this evening, and besides, England beat Mexico in a World Cup game for the ages, so we had to stay up for that. I suspect I'll be something of a zombie tomorrow.

The Paradox of Intolerance

2026-07-04T22:35:32.376-04:00

For mysterious reasons, I've spent much of this July 4 thinking about the Nazis in Skokie and the paradox of tolerance. As I age I have less and less patience for bigotry and hatred and bullying, and wonder more and more what can be done to curb it, stop it before it starts, and punish it to the full extent of the law. But I do despair, especially when I look around and see warmongering glorified (the tall ships were lovely and the flybys awe-inspiring to an extent, but they're all symbols of war when you get right down to it) and cheating rewarded, even when the media doesn't call it out. I mean, the World Cup commentators looked like they were itching to discuss how much Paraguay cheated and were repeatedly rewarded for it whilst France was punished for their reactions to being punched and kicked and such, but they couldn't bring themselves to use the "C" word at all, cowed as much as our political media not using the "L" word to describe the everyday utterances of those in power. And my goodness, when will we stop idolizing billionaires as if their gains are not mostly ill-gotten? But even amidst the despair there is hope. We have a lovely mayor and tons of lovely citizens who deeply care about making this country better, the TV fireworks were pretty (and we even saw some local bursts out our front window), I got to watch bits of 1776 and Yankee Doodle Dandy again, and once this awful animal-frightening noise is over I look forward to the heat wave finally dissipating.

Move-In Day

2026-07-03T19:25:00.000-04:00

Today our downstairs neighbor's moving van officially arrived with the rest of their stuff. Pablo asked if we could move our car, not optimal on a 99-degree day, but we obliged and found street parking about a block away. Even so, that trip and the one to retrieve our car when the van had gone pretty much knocked us out. I keep forgetting I'm an Old (something us Olds do forget), and the heat affects me more each year. That's why I don't much care about coworkers asking me what I did during my week off while they travel to beaches or foreign lands. I didn't want to go anywhere in this kind of weather even when I was younger and not as affected! September is soon enough for our overseas vacay. Now I must go take care of my latest heat rash...

We Have the Power

2026-07-02T22:49:00.000-04:00

We knew it was coming.We'd been warned that Con Edison was treating faulty equipment in this heat wave and there'd be brownouts to avert an even greater blackout situation, but until two hours ago we weren't affected. Then at the height of the evening heat, all the power went out. Thank goodness I'd showered not long before, and we have three battery-operated fans and four LED lamps. Even so, it didn't take long for the apartment to heat up during the last two hours. It's not like I could do anything besides sleep, or at least lie down and try to forget how uncomfortable I was. The electricity just came back on, and now we're waiting for the place to cool down again. I've said it before, I don't take any creature comforts for granted, and I'm very grateful it was only a 2-hour blip!

Forward Into the Past

2026-07-01T21:48:06.285-04:00

White Rabbits, and the heat wave begins. Although I decided to make an English breakfast (lots of different breakfast meets plus eggs plus caramelized onions) I knew I'd be taking it easy the rest of the day. But I'd promised a work colleague that I'd send her a photo of all the old gum wrapper chains I'd made during my childhood and even into my young adult years, so I had to get out the five tin containers in which I've kept them lo these many decades, and while I was at it I dragged out the three or so jars of buttons I've kept for nearly that long. I even tried my hand at lengthening a couple chains with some wrappers still in the tins and, hey, I've still got it. I'm not crafty but by golly I can still chain gum wrappers! Anyway, Robin and I will devise a photo shoot tomorrow in the hopes that someone may want to give these sentimental treasures a good home. Meanwhile, more World Cup (England won, hoorah, USA winning at the moment but down to 10 men) and sending out of laundry (since put away!) and just not trying to move around too much in this heat. The living room blinds and shades are drawn closed until at least Saturday. Ugh...

Seeping In

2026-06-30T21:22:07.371-04:00

We're starting to discover how extreme heat, even the onset of same, affects older people. Because, you know, we're Olds. I have various stomach and muscle ailments, Robin has been having trouble focusing, and we're not even going to try doing any more housework for the rest of the week. The living room blinds are drawn against the afternoon sun, I'm getting through my analog reading, and we're in a holding pattern watching the World Cup and baseball. Our downstairs neighbor Pablo volunteered to help us throw out our very old air conditioner, but we're not taking him up on his offer until the heat wave subsides. I'm just glad the kitchen trash is out. Whatever limited mail we get can wait until maybe Sunday; I'm content to have finally received notice that my $300/month pension from my first job will start coming in Any little bit helps!

Floor, Bored

2026-06-29T21:14:00.000-04:00

Before the extreme heat descends upon the NYC area, I decided to get some minimal house cleaning done (the only kind of house cleaning I actually do), and scrubbed the microwave clean-er (it's a quarter century old, there's only so much I can do) as well as wet Swiffering the bathroom and kitchen floors. The latter will still need extensive mopping but, as I say, cleanER as opposed to clean, and that will have to do. Tomorrow we venture out to pick up my reupholstered orthotics and grab some sushi at our favorite place, and then we hunker down for the rest of the week. Meanwhile, the downstairs family continues to wait for their furniture to arrive, but they're so lovely and quiet and nice I'm still thrilled with them!

Won't You Be My Neighbor

2026-06-28T20:55:00.000-04:00

The family downstairs seems to have begun moving in, although the folks coming and going don't seem to be the same ones we met earlier this month. Robin calls them "the advance guard," and assumes they're mainly there to install air conditioning and other necessities since we have yet to see a moving van either. They do seem to do it during the evenings though, which tends to be disruptive to a 9 PM bedtime or even, in some cases, an afternoon nap. Ah well, the noise isn't that excessive (I'm just hyper-sensitive) and it's not like I have to deal with getting up early this coming week so I presume my circadian rhythm will right itself eventually. In the meantime, only one World Cup game today, the first of the "gang of 32" lose-and-you're-out round. Mets won their first game under their new interim manager, Yanks seem to be winning but Boston has won the first three already and who knows what's going on with New York baseball?

Footie Foodie!

2026-06-27T20:42:00.000-04:00

With the heat wave coming later this week, we decided to get our food shopping and my orthotic refurbishing out of the way today. I don't anticipate leaving the house any time in the next few days that would normally require the orthotics in my sneakers, so this was the best opportunity to get it done before I'll really need nice inserts for all that England walking in September. And it's nice to have a stocked fridge leading up to the 4th, again because we might not feel like going out much before that due to the heat. I started catching up on financial things, speaking with my brother about how to fill out my paperwork for the last of Mom's estate IRAs (it's all going to require sending out via FedEx from the office next week, but at least I know how to get everything ready for that) and organizing my receipts. And then it was on to World Cup watching, an activity I plan to do the most in the coming week.

Sports Rapports

2026-06-26T22:09:13.719-04:00

I woke up to the news that the US did not win all three group stage games in the World Cup, which delighted me because I've found the Neanderthalish "oo-ess-eh" chant repulsive since its debut at the 1980 Olympics, and I think the fans and media needed taking down a peg or two. Who didn't need taking down? Carlos Mendoza, the victim of Steve Cohen's bad decisions to sell or give away the heart of the Mets during the off-season resulting in a lousy, injury-prone team with no cohesion. And as with all corporations, the folks at the top who bear ultimate responsibility for the debacle remain in their jobs and the managers or below get the axe. Mendoza's undoubtedly rich and will be sought after by another team, but I mean, really. So the Mets lost again. And the Yankees lost. And Uruguay just lost to Spain in the World Cup group stage and will be going home, just as well considering their dirty play towards the end of that game. Anything going on besides sports? Well, I've logged off work until July 6, although I will be peeping in next week to do a few things like 14-day advance seat bookings and grabbing weekly reports, but for the most part I'm now on a firm-mandated vacation week! And boy howdy do I need it.

The Last Manhattan Day for Awhile

2026-06-25T21:19:00.000-04:00

As none of my medical practitioners have called me back regarding some low-level stuff (a rash here, a cyst there, pretty soon you're talking real money) I have no actual plans for next week beyond taking in my orthotics to be refurbished, which means I'll have a couple days when I really don't want to walk around, so I'm spending the week relaxing and catching up on estate stuff and other financial matters. But mostly relaxing! Today was my last in-office day until July 7, so I made the most of it and got lots of stuff out of the way in preparation for a shortened day tomorrow. Even the commute was easy... well, except for the very crowded subway on the way home, wherein I was squeezed in my seat from both sides until we were well into the Bronx. But all's well now, I have a lovely time ahead of me watching the World Cup and playing my online games and planning some house straightening (that microwave definitely needs a good scrub)...

Put It in The Books

2026-06-24T20:00:00.000-04:00

Well, now we've done it. We're headed to England for reals in September. I expected the sticker shock from the airfare, but was not prepared for same from the car service. Robin did a bit of searching and other services cost more or less the same, given fuel prices and tolls and such, so I'm leaving things the way they are. The hotel had a few hidden costs as well, but we really haven't had a proper vacay (certainly not to England) since before COVID, and after all what have I saved up for, besides retirement? If I think of the airfare as less than a month's rent it somehow makes me feel better. But what really relieves the stress is knowing it's all been done, and we can now start planning!

Working Through It

2026-06-23T21:16:53.515-04:00

A somewhat icky damp day but a good one in terms of forward movement at work. I met with all three partners I support who actually have designated offices at our HQ, two of whom I hadn't been able to chat with in way too long. The rash is still extant so I've written to my doc for advice and started on hydrocortisone and finger-crossing. And tomorrow, we book the flights, come hell or high water!

A Rash Decision

2026-06-22T21:04:00.000-04:00

Well, I tried to book our flights with our firm's travel agency, but they only do personal bookings on Tuesdays through Thursdays so I'll try again the day after tomorrow when I'm working from home again. In the meantime I got through my workday very productively, but freaked out after showering as I seem to have developed a bit of allergic contact dermatitis. Trying various ointments and such to cure it, but I'm sure it'll flare up again tomorrow when I go into The City. And if it doesn't improve by the end of the week, I have all next week off so I can do a telehealth visit or maybe even see my primary doc when Robin goes in next week for his annual physical. I'd just be happy at this point to have it stop itching.

Silly Site o' the Day

2026-06-21T20:58:00.000-04:00

Oh, speaking of booking flights to England (which we haven't yet), have you seen this Apocalypse Early Warning System (via PZ Myers)? "In the event of an imminent nuclear apocalypse, we suspect that many people who have access to private jets will immediately take to the skies and escape city centers. This site tracks this indicator in real time. The current emergency level is reported on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being an indicator of a likely imminent apocalypse." Um, good to know?

Flights of Fancy

2026-06-20T20:49:00.000-04:00

We're finally getting ready to take a for-really vacation to England, our first in many years. Today we talked through various permutations in terms of flight classes and timing, and it appears it'll be at least a few thousand dollars but, hey, what else am I saving up for? We have a lot of fact-finding to do in terms of looking for a retirement bungalow, and I've made tentative plans to meet up with folks I've met through my job; I really want to see my firm's Canary Wharf office! It's all too exhausting to do right away, so I've put things off until at least tomorrow if not Monday, but it's a good start.

Quiet Accomplishments

2026-06-19T17:16:00.000-04:00

As planned, we did our pharmacy stop, food shopping, and sushi lunch today as I had expiring coupons for the fish (in so many ways I'm still my parents' daughter), I didn't have nearly enough sushi yesterday (I mean, who can ever?), and this way we're doing nothing tomorrow and Sunday except watching sports and perhaps some things I've recorded on the DVR. The American men's soccer team beat the Aussies handily, which did somewhat surprise me, but maybe the sport's finally catching on enough to home-grow some decent male players. Aside from some trash removal we're going nowhere for the rest of the long weekend, so I'm grateful and relieved. Now I just need to learn how to relax better.

Party in the NYC

2026-06-18T21:16:00.000-04:00

A very unusual day, which began when I got off the local bus and attempted to cross the street to the office. It was just about passable, but all traffic was snarled at that intersection because the New York Knicks were staying at a nearby hotel waiting to be feted downtown. So we had a watch party in the office and I was able to stand/lean for about an hour before giving up (but the orange and blue muffins, donuts, and bagels were a great touch, and I even got a free iced coffee) and doing some actual work (not much today as, once again, none of the folks I support were in). Then it was off to Whole Foods to pick up sushi for International Sushi Day, more TV watching in the lounge which was showing the World Cup games (actually donned my England jersey for that!), then home to try another Asian place because, you know, International Sushi Day. Rob and I will both do the sushi thing tomorrow at Kura, as that's when my coupons expire and if you have a 3-day weekend it's never a bad idea to get things out of the way on the first day. A lovely day of celebration before wrapping up the work week!

Fun With Medical Stuff Continued

2026-06-17T19:42:00.000-04:00

I logged off early today, not a problem as most of my folks are in our Florida training facility and the others aren't in the office anyway, and Robin and I headed down to the local hospital so I could get an MRI contrast done on my right hip area. During my bone density test, my endocrinologist had seen some abnormalities and wanted to make sure all was okay. I suspect what she saw was the result of my having fallen in the street, but fine, I had the time today. Good thing too, it was at least an hour wait after I checked in. While we were there Robin got his blood draw as he's seeing our primary care doc in a couple of weeks. My A1C results are in and my numbers are down; hoping the same for him! Anyway, once I got in there the contrast MRI took like ten minutes, another five or so waiting for the bus outside and we were home in plenty of time to relax and watch some footie. Back into Manhattan tomorrow!

The Good and the Bad

2026-06-16T22:17:00.000-04:00

My blood draw jab got done in seconds, I got a clean bill of dental health, and I had a nice surprise on the public transit front! I don't know if it's because of the lane closures due to the World Cup, but I was able to grab a limited-stop M2 at Rockefeller Center, take it two stops to 34th, and grab the crosstown bus which got me to the office a lot earlier than I'd feared. I had to bump a squatter from my seat, but otherwise everything went so well that I packed up early. Alas, I also saw the announcement that a lot of folks with whom I've been working closely will be let go, which saddens me greatly as they've not only helped me immensely but have become close work friends. So I had little incentive to stay until 5 PM during a time when most of the folks I support are in our Florida training center the rest of the week, and was able to take my time commuting home, where I flipped between baseball and footie for much of the evening.