Pen-Elayne on the Web

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.

The New Neighbors

2026-06-15T20:20:57.991-04:00

Pablo and Raquel (plus Raquel Jr.) seem lovely, and Pablo is a big comics fan! He was thrilled to see Robin's studio, and Rob gave him a Supergirl compendium which pleased him so much he gave Rob a big hug in return. He's very effusive! I think I'm going to love our new downstairs neighbors! They're coming back from their current location in two weeks to actually move in, so I assume all the renovations are finished and it's just a matter of waiting for them to take up residence. Work was pretty quiet today so I was able to take things slowly and relax, watch some World Cup, and prep for tomorrow.

Brief Holding Pattern

2026-06-14T20:11:00.000-04:00

Today was pretty much a do-nothing day, but a nice quiet one. I'm fairly sure they're about done with the downstairs renovation, and now it's just a matter of waiting for our new neighbors. I caught up on the local paper and finally filed not only my personal finances but the myriad estate papers (we're far from over the distributions but we're actually getting to the point where things are becoming manageable). Oh, and of course lots of footie, and even some baseball. All set for tomorrow if I can get some sleep!

Productive!

2026-06-13T20:44:09.866-04:00

Alas, my circadian clock is still a bit out of whack, as this was the third day running where I got up at 4 AM. While I went back to bed around 6:30 I don't think I slept much before Robin and I both got up, although thanks to the new temporary normal quiet I did get an afternoon nap. I don't take any of this for granted! Shopping done early (landlord had to move his van so we could park in the spot he's allowed us to use), two World Cup games watched (the first admittedly with my eyes closed, having given up switching channels between that and the two NY baseball games), getting ready for another one or two now, and financial stuff printed and organized in prep for entering and filing tomorrow. And now I've exhausted myself just typing all that!

Quiet Reigns!

2026-06-12T20:20:00.000-04:00

OMG, much needed afternoon nap and everything! It appears the construction downstairs is finally over, a few heavy appliances are now in place, and now begins the wait for the landlord to start showing the place to potential tenants and possibly even buyers. Whatever happens, I think we can wait things out until I retire. I caught up on lots of work stuff and even personal financial stuff, making a couple phone calls regarding my pension from my first job as well as Mom's inheritance stuff. And I got to watch the World Cup games with Robin from the comfort of my recliner, rather than at work by myself even though there were a number of coworkers there (none of whom even brought team jerseys as I did). The only minor drawback was when the home office AC noise kicked in and made it hard to hear folks over the phone, but considering how hot it is outside I'll take it. I also informed the folks I support of my upcoming plans for England in September, so maybe this weekend we'll actually book the flights and hotel. And of course I'll catch up more on personal finances. In between World Cup and baseball games, of course. A nice full quiet weekend at home beating the heat!

World Cupery

2026-06-11T20:37:00.981-04:00

Today my firm sponsored a watch party in our dining lounge for the opening game of the World Cup. I wound up only making it for the second half due to a meeting, but I'm pleased to say that, by the time I got up to that room, I had very little work on which I needed to catch up. Almost every quarterly meeting for all three of "my" big clients are now done, important as two of those clients have multi-week inspections coming up and I now need to concentrate on that. I really need some time off, and I'll be getting some: next week I have some medical stuff to take care of, plus Friday is Juneteenth and a firm holiday; the last week of June/first week of July is our annual Summer Shutdown (no plans other than getting my orthotics reupholstered since I won't be going anywhere else); then in September we're hoping to go back to Merrie Olde to begin scouting possible retirement areas. In the meantime, we have to deal with World Cup Madness in the NY/NJ area as the MetLife Stadium is home to a lot of the games. Oh, and I did have fun watching the footie, except folks were encouraged to wear team kits and I was the only one who brought one (England of course). Oh, and also, they cut away to ads while the game was still going on! Bet they won't do that with the Oo-Ess-Ey game tomorrow...

Wrung Out

2026-06-10T20:27:00.000-04:00

Despite working from home on a fairly quiet day (I really think, nay hope, that the downstairs construction is winding down) and actually putting away most of the laundry, I still feel buried under my workload. I know this too shall pass, but it's been like this all week so far, and the older I get the less able I am to rebound. Maybe I'll catch up with my inbox tomorrow in the Manhattan office; for today I've done all I'm capable of doing.

One Day After, One Day Before

2026-06-09T20:34:00.000-04:00

Crazy day at work, but it could have been far worse; yesterday and tomorrow constitute the NBA playoffs, whereon the area around Madison Square Garden (a block away from our offices) is cordoned off and majorly secured and it's all such a mess. So I kept busy, much more so than I'd expected, just grateful I can work from home tomorrow. If I sleep well I hope to take care of some financial things in the morning, but that's all dependent on my circadian rhythm. Robin and I will be turning the mattress tomorrow while the laundry is being done, so maybe the "hard" side will help with my IT band issues.

The End in Sight?

2026-06-08T18:32:00.000-04:00

The noise has been minimal downstairs, so with any luck they're in the home stretch. Now we just have to hope that whoever rents the apartment downstairs is quiet enough to make the next few years bearable...

Falling off the Sleep Cycle

2026-06-07T21:30:16.801-04:00

Yikes, I was up around 3 AM, then back down around 4:30, then back up around 6, then down for the absolute count until the downstairs banging began around 8. After all, it's the weekend, why expect to rest? So I watched baseball (both NY teams won), tackled the linen closet and the vanity drawers, caught up on finances, put things in their new places with two shopping bags full of castoff t-shirts waiting to be donated, the trash has been taken out, even our couch is now reclaimed. Oh, and I made my first pitcher of iced tea of the season. As presumed, the Greek salad will wait until tomorrow, but I do feel quite the sense of accomplishment. Now if only I could sleep through the night without waking up in the wee smalls! Maybe watching the entire Tony Awards will help.

Vanity Thy Name Is...

2026-06-06T18:39:00.000-04:00

I took a look this morning at the little cups holding my pills and said "I should really get new ones." I have a whole bag of the tiny things in... well, somewhere in either the medical shelf of the linen closet or one of my vanity drawers and... wait, why is this stuff all over the place? These vanity drawers need a cleanout! The perfect task to distract myself from the downstairs construction. The two left drawers were full of t-shirts from my comic convention days to my Firesign collection to other novelties, and the two right drawers had lots of electronics (Robin's department, and he disposed of them the way they should be) and OMG so many unused needles from when I was doing the Ozempic before I switched to Mounjaro and they just had to go because-- HOW many tubes of Parodontax toothpaste do I have again? And what do I have on that shelf in the linen closet that can go into the now-empty vanity drawers? So yeah, the t's are on the couch and I'll tackle the lot tomorrow, because today was early food shopping before it got too hot. I also have notions of making a Greek salad, but that may wait until Monday because I'm more in organizational mode than food prep mode...

Bang Bang Bang Went the Folly

2026-06-05T20:25:00.000-04:00

Back to the noise of the downstairs construction as I tried to work. I'd put on leggings to feel more comfy in the heat, and of course Robin drew the blinds to keep out some of it, but I had to venture downstairs to ask that the workman please keep down his music while I tried to work as well. For some reason the thumping of the beat bothers me more than hammering and sanding and such. He was done around 5 PM today which meant no afternoon nap, but I'm starting to get used to the New Temporary Normal and not expecting to rest unless I have earbuds in. We've decided to put off looking for a new car until all the dust literally settles (our current vehicle is covered in it), and we're not going anywhere this weekend anyway due to the heat. So we'll make the best of things!

Feeling/Not Feeling Hot

2026-06-04T21:46:00.000-04:00

Nice to be back to a regular commuter after Tuesday's debacle. My morning express bus driver was pretty amused that I knew about the surprise safety check at the Yonkers depot which completely scuttled the morning bus I take, forcing me to go via local bus/subway/hobbling two days ago, but hey, I pride myself in staying informed. I pretty much stayed put in my workstation for much of the day, as I wasn't feeling that well anyway between the aches and pains and lack of proper sleep and I didn't want to wander in the heating-up weather. I have to remember to take ibuprofen tonight to avoid further pain...

I'm Getting Too Old For This Riggs

2026-06-03T20:38:00.000-04:00

That extra walking yesterday really did me in. I had so much foot and calf pain overnight that I didn't sleep very well. Thank goodness I was able to work from home today, and even take a bit of time off as a breather because the construction noise downstairs was fairly quiet. It really only gets loud when he decides to blast his music from a different room than the one in which he's working, which he didn't do today. My poor hallux is still pretty hurting, so I don't know how well I'll manage tomorrow. At least I won't have to worry about a jacket or anything, just have to remember to stick a mask in my pocket because summertime in NY means very crowded public transit!

Commutation

2026-06-02T21:20:00.000-04:00

What a way to celebrate my half-birthday! Yeah, I know, at my age I shouldn't be commemorating that anyway, but OMG the express bus wasn't running this morning, as the depot decided to do a safety check which apparently took offline all the buses that run to the West Side of Manhattan. Undeterred, I realized I needed to do some extra walking today, so I got the local bus to the subway to Penn where I hobbled a couple avenues and still got to the office about 10 minutes earlier than I usually do, but without the relaxation and space the express bus affords me. And of course with extra wear and tear, which showed up as soon as I hit the bed earlier this evening. Oh man, my left IT band and foot are really killing me. Let's hope I can get some sleep!

The Noise Redoubled

2026-06-01T21:06:24.746-04:00

White Rabbits! As if to make up for yesterday's bucolic atmosphere, the peace was shattered around 8 AM and still has not let up fully, as one workman is drilling and banging as I type so that he can complete his job today, while either his radio or the next door neighbors' sound system is blasting. Not staying in here long, just checking in...

Blessed Quiet

2026-05-31T20:59:00.000-04:00

The workers weren't here today, and for the first time in a few weeks it was quiet downstairs. Not outside, mind you, but we don't expect that in the nice weather months anyway. It was so great to be able to think without straining, listen to the TV without the sound being turned up to an unreasonable volume, and just relax. I caught up on finances, spoke with my brother about Mom's estate, and even got in an afternoon nap. We're sure not to be as lucky tomorrow, but we're counting our blessings whilst they last.

A Little Tap

2026-05-30T21:35:00.000-04:00

Because the work downstairs throws me for such a loop, I find myself at less than 100% far more than I'd like. Such was the case when we shopped this morning. On the way back home I'd stopped at an intersection behind a car I was sure had gone before a light change a block away had started oncoming traffic. She had not, and because I was looking to the side (at the traffic) instead of ahead my car wound up tapping hers a bit at like 2mph. No injuries or even scuff marks at all on either vehicle, but I felt bad about not paying attention, that's totally not like me, and I've been sulking about it ever since. My conclusion is that my age is starting to catch up on me, but I'm too tired for eternal vigilance. I'm just not sure at this point what is going to give. Perhaps all will right itself post-renovation, but I'm just not sure at this point. Until then, I continue to rewatch Frozen II and remind myself that everything changes but you just need to keep doing the next right thing.

Early to Rise

2026-05-29T20:30:00.000-04:00

When I was living in my parents home, I trained myself to wake up earlier than they did (usually around 5-6 AM) so that I could deal with whatever was coming my way once Mom opened my did-not-lock bedroom door. I suppose that's where my morning-person habits (which have served me well during my working life) originated. The more things I can get done earlier in the day, the better off I seem to be. Now with the downstairs apartment renovations going on, it behooves me to get up before my alarm goes off (6 AM on the days when I work from home) and get stuff done before the noise distracts me. So today I did various personal financial things (which wound up continuing throughout the day talking to my family's financial advisors and DocuSigning papers) and straightening things around the house and even work prep before I actually logged on, changed my Windows password right away (with one day to spare!), and started my actual job stuff. The downside to doing things this way, of course, is that I usually find myself exhausted by the afternoon, and with all the renovation work I can't exactly nap until the workman leaves at around 6 PM. I keep reminding myself, this too shall pass. Hey, at least I got paid today!

Nice to be Needed

2026-05-28T20:29:00.000-04:00

But OMG, are there limits. I was at my Manhattan workstation with my phone open (while the laptop was still booting up) to grab an office for my partner precisely at 8 AM when the window opens, and another partner whom I don't support interrupted me to complain about the lack of air conditioning. Why me? Just because I sit in a visible spot? He doesn't know me as an exec assistant, and even so EAs have nothing to do with facilities. Heaven forfend these people actually try to reach out themselves and try to find out whom to contact! So of course my partner didn't get the office I'd tried to reserve for her, and I now had another issue to resolve that wasn't in my area (but which affected me because OMG it was quite warm in my area). It was kind of like that all day today. Lots of meetings in the afternoon interrupted by a former partner of mine needing a dozen documents notarized (again without going through proper channels), etc. etc. I was fairly exhausted by the time I got home (crowded subway/bus combo didn't help as the youngsters next to me fidgeted so much they kept bumping me), so happy to be home the next few days despite the workman's noise downstairs!

Silly Site o' the Day

2026-05-27T20:04:59.155-04:00

We're still mulling over whether to visit Merrie Olde this coming autumn (have lots of PTO time I need to use up), and here's one reason although they probably won't be anywhere near where we want to go: the K6 Project (via BoingBoing) which maps still-extant telephone boxes.

Silly Site o' the Day

2026-05-26T19:59:00.000-04:00

Back to work, beautiful day, lots of stuff done, yadda yadda. Looking forward to Manhattanhenge on Thursday, although I'll probably be home by the time it happens, but if you're not in Manhattan you can still download Hengefinder (via BoingBoing) and find your nearest one!