Pen-Elayne on the Web

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!

Happy Umpteen Glorification of Warriors Day

2026-05-25T21:00:35.071-04:00

As you can tell, I have no great love for holidays honoring warriors, of which we have way too many in this warmongering country. I'd love to see some balance, maybe consolidate Memorial Day and Veterans Day and Armed Forces Day and such into one big We Need to Remember that War is Bad Day, and have a few more holidays for heroes like firefighters and nurses and teachers. But that's just me. I have nothing against individuals who choose to fight, my starter husband was in the Navy for years and I do have a number of friends who served. But I'm 68 years old and I don't think I'll ever be convinced that killing people or being cannon fodder is a good thing. Peace and love, out...

Sand-Day Will Never Be the Same

2026-05-24T20:52:00.000-04:00

As expected, not a quiet day at home at all. Different workers came by to do something to the downstairs apartment which featured what sounded like a siren and whirring thing all day. They were here until at least 6:30! We think they were probably sanding the floorboards, but it just didn't end, and we got in zero late-morning and afternoon naps. We are two cranky old folks at this point.

Not a Quiet Weekend

2026-05-23T20:50:00.000-04:00

The workman came in downstairs around 8 AM and by 11 we knew we had to get out of there, so we went to ShopRite, then our sushi lunch in the same strip mall, then because ShopRite was out of milk we had to swing by Stop & Shop for some supplemental groceries. In truth this could be so much worse, but we don't get a weekend respite when we'd like to take afternoon naps and such. He says he won't be in tomorrow but, knowing our landlord, there's probably something else planned then. At least things haven't been that bad outside with the screechy childers and Hot Tub Hector and who knows what else...

No Escape

2026-05-22T21:21:00.000-04:00

For some folks this might be a nice, relaxing long weekend. Not for us. I keep trying to find the bright side: the landlord could be hiring five guys to work on the downstairs flat instead of one or two, the noise comes in bursts of bone-shaking power tools instead of being constant, and at least the worker seems pleasant enough. Robin got him to promise to warn us next time he fiddles with the (of course unlabeled) fuse box, as he turned off our electricity for a few seconds and we had to wait another couple minutes for the router and all our electronics to reboot. Fortunately, my work laptop seems to have failsafes, so I didn't lose any of what I was doing, and I'd already made my personal-finances call of the day (this time to the holder of my pension plan from my first long-term job, who needed my divorce decree from 1998 before they could go ahead with my payments, as the beneficiary's SSN didn't match and OMG is this what getting older and having lived is like) and Robin had done his scanning (including said decree so I could upload it) before that happened, and no further elec-trickery interruptions were forthcoming. But the 9-6 noise still builds up, so we escape where we can, and today I took a bit of time off from a slow work day to pick up some prescriptions. Tomorrow, who knows? Maybe we'll luck out and get some quiet during a long weekend. Somehow I doubt it.

So Iterative

2026-05-21T21:05:00.000-04:00

Hoorah, the heat broke at last! Unfortunately it rained a lot more in New York than anyone expected. I only got caught in a few drizzles, and I had a hoodie so it was fine... and of course we need the rain. It's the time of year when folks start to plan long weekends and go on vacations so things got a bit quieter, and I had to occupy myself somehow as I was in the office and couldn't just go into another room and watch TV for awhile, so I took some self-study courses, most of which seem to be about iterations of AI now. So, so iterative. Naturally the subway and bus were both hella crowded on the way home, but I managed a seat on both and wasn't thoroughly exhausted by the time Robin picked me up at the terminus and schlepped my backpack for me the block or so back to our home. Gearing up for more noise for the next few days as the landlord's hires are still banging and drilling away at the downstairs apartment...

Will No One Rid Me of This Meddlesome Heat

2026-05-19T20:07:00.000-04:00

While my morning commute was fine (better than fine, actually; I made a new commuting friend who's British and needed help figuring out how to get to her destination), I decided to move as little as possible as our office's floor-to-ceiling windows tend to let in heat despite the more or less comfy AC. I actually made a lot of forward movement in my work tasks, so I guess things must be slowing down despite it being an inspection week (everyone seemed to need me yesterday but not so much today), and I was able to beat as much heat as possible on the homeward commute going through the air-conditioned Moynihan train station and Penn Station. The problem seemed to be that my legs weren't working, so the two-avenue slog was difficult. Add to that subway delays (caused by system issues, probably also heat-related) and the elevator being out where I exit in my neighborhood, meaning I had to walk VERY SLOWLY (as is my current wont) down THREE flights of stairs, and I was out for the count by the time I walked up the two flights of stairs in the house to get to our apartment. I just want to sleep now, hoping for more manageable stuff tomorrow when I work from home. I hear the heat will finally break on Thursday, so I'm just laying low until then.

Big Bills

2026-05-18T20:54:06.823-04:00

As we have no idea at this point when we'll be buying a new car, I decided to renew my registration and insurance now, as Robin had looked up that it's easy enough to transfer both to a new vehicle. Now that those payments are out of the way (and OMG the auto insurance bill has jumped!) I can once again concentrate on work, which will also keep my mind occupied during this mini heat wave. I had notions of coming in today for the start of another inspection week, but I've been up since 4:30 AM and was in no shape to travel, even though my head now feels a lot clearer. So I took care of all the inspection issues (one from the PCAOB team and umpteen from the engagement liaison) and even made headway with the meeting scheduling I've been doing. All in all a decent work-from-home day. Now I just have to gear up for the searing heat tomorrow.

A Fair For All, and No Fare to Anybody

2026-05-17T20:33:00.000-04:00

I tried to warn myself not to get too cocky about being over this illness, particularly as Robin is still in its grips, but my body wanted to move and, more importantly, I wanted to go to our local block party as there was a good chance the lobster food truck would be there. It was hot, and it was not. Glad I wore a hat, but with all the walking I was very glad it was a fairly short trip and I was home again within an hour. It's supposed to be even worse tomorrow and hotter still on Tuesday (when I can no longer postpone going into the city), so I'll just have to power through and be outside as little as possible. Which is, of course, not at all tomorrow.

Empty Vehicle

2026-05-16T22:37:05.572-04:00

While Robin's been pretty felled this last couple days by the illness that snagged me earlier in the week, I felt well enough today to venture down then up our two flights of stairs twice carrying things we've accumulated in the car's trunk, glove box, and center console over much of the last 22 years. I was a bit winded after each trip, but recovered in fairly short order. I really think this stupid head cold thingie is behind me now, and hope that Robin follows suit tomorrow as he wasn't up to food shopping today (hence my decision re the car). We stayed in, tried to ignore screechy children and Hot Tub Hector (different houses, because of how our house is situated we have about a dozen backyards facing us on all four sides) by watching the FA Cup, golf, the Preakness, and the Yankees v Mets. Hey, New York won! Actually, I kept switching between the Subway Series and the Banana Ball game, but enjoyed both; I'm one of that rare breed who roots for both my home baseball teams. Even managed to do some cooking, as we'd run out of fridge dinners so I boiled some buccatini for dinner because I'm fancy that way.

Coming Out the Other Side

2026-05-15T21:56:00.000-04:00

Not a bathroom reference, fortunately. My head was still a bit foggy this morning, but I didn't use any Nyquil last night and was able to breathe okay for the most part today. I'm never so happy health-wise as when I can quit the nasal spray and nose drops, having been somewhat addicted to them earlier in my life (and I maintain to this day that addiction led to my atrial fibrillation episode but I can't prove it medically). With any luck I can actually get some errands done this weekend, although now it appears Robin's picked up the illness so I think that's put paid to car shopping since we're trying Paramus NJ as our next stop. At least I made good headway at work and got everyone's expense reports and timesheets in by the mid-month deadline. Can't wait until my head clears totally!

Lentil Lady Down and Out

2026-05-14T19:27:00.000-04:00

First off, no regrets. I'm glad I went into the office today to help out with the US Hunger Project, filling bags of food for hungry New Yorkers, especially when I was informed that only about 25% of those who'd signed up actually showed. I was assigned in an assembly line to fill the bags with lentils. Still, after 45 minutes with a hairnet and gloves and a mask (so that nobody else catches this lurgy) and repetitive scoop-and-fill motion, I had to excuse myself. I was going to head home right away but it was easier to sit still at my workstation, get some work done, then leave at lunchtime to spend the rest of the day working from home. I timed things well, there was a smoke condition in the East River tunnel and things were just beginning to escalate at Penn Station, so I made it to the subway platform before the major craziness (thank goodness subways weren't affected at any rate). My head has been gradually clearing just enough for me to think straight and get my work done, but I still feel sluggish. Let's see what tomorrow brings!

Still Ugh-y

2026-05-13T18:04:00.000-04:00

I realized I have to go back into Manhattan tomorrow as (1) I promised to help with another Community Impact Day (Week) activity and (2) I left my backpack in my temporary locker which expires tomorrow. Ah well, I'm grateful that this illness is literally all in my head, and other parts don't seem to be affected (could be so much worse, like a persistent cough or body aches), so I can maneuver around okay, I just can't really concentrate because, you know, that takes a clear head. Fortunately I have a lot of goodwill built up among the folks I support, so they're very understanding, and I'm taking an hour or two here and there as PTO to rest up. We'll see what tomorrow brings!

Impacted

2026-05-12T21:02:00.002-04:00

Well, I did schlep into Manhattan this morning and did a few Community Impact Day activities with my work colleagues, which is usually fun except I kept needing to sneeze and couldn't breathe very well, so I gave up around 3:15 and came home after pretty much working a full day anyway. Definitely staying put tomorrow, hoping to finally lick this illness. Ugh.

Felled

2026-05-11T20:57:00.007-04:00

I don't know whether it was the car dealership on Saturday (likely) or the food shopping afterwards where I went maskless, but I picked up some kind of bug and have come down with a nasty spring cold that's knocked me for a loop. Thank goodness I'm working from home, albeit much less efficiently than usual. I have to go in tomorrow to participate in our annual Community Impact Day, hope I can make it through without backsliding. I'm such an awful patient, I feel sorrier for Robin than for myself.

A Cold Coming On

2026-05-10T20:50:00.003-04:00

I think we picked up something yesterday, either at the dealership or the supermarket, and I was really not doing well today, so I just puttered around the house organizing things. All tote and shopping bags are now out of the car, and throughout the week we plan on emptying most of the rest of it in preparation for trading it in. Meanwhile I ordered arm rests for our recliners, which have become a bit threadbare and I think are contributing to my IT band issues the way I sit in the chair. Oh, and new Apple Watch bands, did I mention that? Got me at least a dozen that aren't metal so no more catching them on things. The construction noise downstairs wasn't as bad as we'd feared, but the dozen houses facing us all seemed to be celebrating Mother's Day very loudly. My first Mother's Day without Mom just feels kind of numb.