Well, it’s been a while! I survived covid, obviously. Managed to get the two-part Moderna vaccine. I also got my flu shot in… December? I got it, anyway. Back in the vaccine saddle.

Other things that happened: the warehouse I work for was sold to another company. I still work there. Moved the 401K over to their setup because I still owe the loan I took out to get the downpayment for this apartment, which, yes, I still live in. Just signed another lease. I guess I’m stuck in Virginia for another year. I can’t wait until the 401K matures. I plan to use that to move back to Miami. In the meantime I’m trying to reconcile myself to living here for a while longer. My down the street neighbor friend has moved to another neighborhood and their own house now. I finally got to meet their new cat the other day, she took to me. I rather envy their house, it’s a cute little cottage built maybe in the 1930s. Sometimes I think it would be nice to own a small house, but then I think of all the stuff I’d have to take care of myself. On the other hand, getting the handyman the landlord here uses to do stuff isn’t easy. They finally fixed the bathroom sink faucet, after several months of the hot water having to be turned off.

I have plans for my place. Get it cleaned out and sorted. I’m tired of living like I’m in a warehouse of old junk.

To celebrate surviving and getting my vaccine, I bought myself a refurbished iMac. (Not typing this on it, I’m using the Chromebook because I’m sitting on the couch.) I thought of getting a new Windows computer but I’m sick of Windows. I wanted something pretty.

I’ve been having to work nights for the past few weeks. The night dock clerk quit, then one of the day ones. It’s not bad, only I think I’m just too old to do this night thing any more. I also need to get back to walking. And I need to do something about this cough. I’ve been coughing since, well, almost ever since I moved here. I don’t think the air up here is particularly clean. And it’s spring, so pollen is everywhere. My allergies got so bad in the autumn it felt like someone put a spike in my nose, and I got a prescription for steroid nose spray. It helps a little, but the post-nasal drip has been pretty bad. It probably doesn’t help that this old place is so dusty. The climate here is also much drier than I’m used to. I need to move back near the ocean. Maybe if I could spend a few days by the beach, my nasal passages would clear.

I’ve become depressed over the past few years. I’m not sure why, but my enjoyment of this place just drained away. I should be happy–I have a job that pays more than I’ve ever made before, a car, my own place, friends, two cats. But I just feel blah. I’m going to try to blog more, about anything and everything, like I used to. I’ve looked around, but blogging has gotten so commercial, and all sites are set up to sell something. But I think Twitter is one of the reasons I’ve felt so empties out and drab. I waste all my words on there. It’s the same when I used to follow rightwing websites. It’s nothing but the same thing over and over. I’m afraid the thing that drives me most is hatred of being bored and stuck in the same old mental routine. I like doing the same *thing* to a certain extent–I like having my coffee in the morning, and stuff like that. But it’s mental sameness I can’t stand. Everyone just seems to pick a way of thinking and they just go around and around in the same tiny pond. I hate it.

Of course, I also want to do the right thing. Those rightwing blogs revealed themselves years ago as hives of not just frozen thinking (I don’t know what else to call it) but bigotry of all kinds. But they’re not the only ones. It’s not limited to one ideology, the mindset I’m thinking about.

OK, this disjointed rambling has gone on long enough. I will hit publish, though I probably shouldn’t.

andrea Uncategorized