Day 1411

Saturday, November 26, 2016

We picked up Alice's Instant Pot pressure cooker this morning, bought bread and stew ingredients, then came home and made our first bread from Alice's breadmaker.  We went to Stonestown Mall while the bread baked and looked at a few of the deals out there.  I bought some socks at the Gap and that was it.  We came home and prepared ingredients for the beef stew we put together.  Dinner was delicious!  We watched a handful of travel programs in the evening.  A very relaxing, leisurely day.

Day 1410

Friday, November 25, 2016

All Black Friday shopping was done from the comfort of Alice's living room.  The only thing Alice wants this year is a second extra-large drying rack for her laundry.  Alice loves her laundry.  I'll also get her the wireless airbuds when they come out.  It was a quiet, leisurely day that didn't really begin until until 4:30 when Alice, Austin and I left for Alice's sister's house for their annual Thanksgiving meal. It was another evening of non-stop eating.  I was pretty good until the lemon bars came out.  Then I was bad.  We played two rounds of Wits & Wagers, then called it a night around 10:30.  I love gatherings at Alice's family.  They're so easy and so much fun.

Day 1409

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Woke up at 6 to begin cooking.  My job was pies so I started with sweet potatoes as an ingredient for my pumpkin pies.  I made candied yams, using one cup per pie.  I bought pie crusts at Trader Joe's.  I got the pumpkin pie recipe from The Science of Good Cooking book, which I followed with fingers crossed that they'd turn out all right.

I finished baking around noon.  I also made a tray or two of appetizers, so I was set by the time Alice came over.  She brought shrimp that we boiled and put in a bowl, then drove over to Richard and Lisa's.

It was just the Young family minus Ari and me and Alice, small and wonderful.  Tray and Soph stayed in their pajamas all day.  We played games, had dinner, drank wine and cocktails, ate pumpkin pie which was pretty good (excellent recipe).  We called it a night at 10.  I cleaned up my place before heading to SF.  Traffic was thick crossing the Bay Bridge, but was smooth and easy once I reached Fell Street. What a festive, happy, fun-filled day!

Day 1408

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Quiet day at work.  We had Super Duper Burgers at lunch.  I was planning to make pies tonight, but after dinner I simply watched the final episode of Black Mirror and went to bed.  I enjoy the Black Mirror stories.  They're like modern-day Twilight Zone episodes with a futuristic, sometimes social-media context.  They're trippy and clever and interesting.  I found the storytelling particularly compelling and imaginative in the final episode.  I really enjoyed it.  I may watch all the episodes again. 

Day 1407

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

I shopped for pie ingredients after work and tidied up a bit before heading to bed.  Another quiet day.  I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving.

Day 1406

Monday, November 21, 2016

Work was quiet, allowing me time to look for recipes for Thanksgiving.  I came home and organized my finances and watched a little of the Monday Night Football game while enjoying the lentil soup I made yesterday.  So good.  The Raiders won...they're 8-2 this season.

Day 1405

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Spent the day at home transferring files (including iTunes) from my old computer to my new computer.  Also made lentil soup, which was so good. Went to Trader Joe's and bought ingredients for pumpkin pie. 

Day 1404

Saturday, November 19, 2016

We made a stew with a pressure cooker Alice had downstairs for a few years.  There's nothing like good eating to ease the mind of troubles.  I used to be so optimism about the future, but now I'm not so sure.  I will never understand that vote ever.  Best not to think about it.  I still haven't watched any news, though on YouTube I've watched election night reaction shot snippets, which are interesting.  Everyone was surprised.  Everyone.  It's unreal.

Day 1403

Friday, November 18, 2016

Worked on a PowerPoint project at work, then went out to dinner at Kathy and Jereme's with Alice and Patrick and Soran.  It was an enjoyable evening. 

Day 1402

Thursday, November 17, 2016

I'm changing things up, watching this on YouTube:

Day 1401

Wednesday, November 17, 2016

Sore as hell from last night's racquetball matches.  So glad I don't have to play again tomorrow.  That would be ugly.  Shifting gears, outlining my to-do list for revisions, which I haven't been working on this month.  Now that the days are shorter and it's dark when I leave work, it's easier to stay at home and get things done.  I went to bed early tonight, around 9.  I was beat.

Day 1400

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Still processing everything.  Our club quarter-final and semi-final matches were held tonight.  The big match was between Ron -- the #1 seed -- and Tyrone -- the #8 seed.  Ron had improved so much in the past year and has played a few Stockton tournaments to great success.  He's slowly becoming an open player.  Had he beat Tyrone, he would have played Steve in the semis. He spent all his time focusing on Steve, forgetting that Tyrone in playoff mode was a far more difficult player than T in regular season mode.  T was ready to ambush Ron in their match, and that's exactly what happened.  It went down to the wire, with T beating Ron 15-12, 9-15, 11-8.  It was a fierce battle that lasted nearly two hours.  I had two matches to play, so I didn't get out of the club until a little before 10.  I beat George in two games, then lost to Kirk in a tie-breaker 15-12, 12-15, 8-11.  It was a good match.  Kirk gets everything.  I came home around 10:15, called Alice, then went right to bed.

Day 1399

Monday, November 14, 2016

One week later and I'm still processing...listening to explanations, blame, crowing, protesting, all of it...the winners control the narrative and it's a brutal narrative to take in....much of it I can't watch....I just can't watch what's happening right now....I hope everything works out in the end -- I guess that's all we can hope for -- but I have grave concerns for the future. We'll find out soon enough what change really looks like. Nothing's normal anymore.

Day 1398

Sunday, November 13, 2016

A day of reading, reflection, still processing the election.  We went to Clement St. for groceries and met Alice's parents there.  We ate croissants.  We came back and had a nice dinner.  Quiet, peaceful day.

Day 1397

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Alice and I did things that made us happy today.  We went out for coffee and Arimendi, drove around the city, went to Costco, watched the first episode of The Crown, watched the first episode of season 3 of Black Mirror, watch an episode of Anthony Bourdan's Parts Unknown.  I spoke with Kevin, Jill, and Gwen today.  I read one or two articles but not many.  I'm still in absorption mode.  I'm still processing.  Everyone's willing to give Trump a chance and that's the right thing to do, but he is who he is.  He doesn't automatically change, and everything Obama did will be gone, or almost everything.  That's what winning entitles him to do.  We'll see the degree of his vindictiveness and we'll see what he's like when he's angry.  Talking with Jill was revealing.  She loathes Hillary Clinton.  The degree of hate for her knows no bounds to the pound that so many thousands, millions, voted for the boorish con clown.  I reread all the Michael Moore articles that predicted this outcome.  They were so much clearer than they were back in August when it didn't seem possible that Trump could single-handedly pull of this election...with the help of Scott Baio.

November 10, 2016

Life continues. 

Day 1396

Friday, November 13, 2016

Still in disbelief.  Work was work.  Alice and I went out to dinner with Howard and Leslie at Mijori.  Howard was very concerned throughout the election that Hillary wouldn't win, and true enough, he was beside himself with anger toward the Democratic party for choosing her over Bernie.  I had to listen to an earful because I've always been a big Hillary supporter.  I'm still stunned she lost, stunned we have to endure so much negativity and misery for the next few years.  Dinner was fine...we ordered sashimi and a couple of rolls.  We went to Fenton's afterward, then we drove back to SF for the weekend. 

Day 1395

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Work has been a morgue.  I'm still in shock that this country has so profoundly jumped the shark.  It's such a disgrace.  It's so unimaginable.  I haven't watched any news and can't see myself watching again.  I'm so disheartened.  And embarrassed.  The unthinkable has happened.  What a shock to the system.

Day 1394

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Day 1393

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

It ended up being such a painful day, but it started out so promising and fun.  I had coffee with Beth at the Starbuck's near my work and she showed me pictures on her Facebook page of all the Hillary voters taking their "nasty" picture.  It was cute.  Then the horror began after work when I turned on the TV at 6 before the Youngs and Alice arrived.  The numbers were much closer than I wanted them to be, and in many cases Trump was ahead in key swing states.  It was surreal.  I prepared food and got things ready as Lisa and the kids arrived.  Then Richard arrived.  Then Rossana.  Alice came a little later.  By 7 the numbers hadn't changed and by 8 it was clear that the nightmare scenario wasn't changing.  I wanted to leave.  I wanted to turn off the television and pretend the madness wasn't happening.  How could that con win?  How could America do this?  I wanted to go to Alice's and leave my guests here to watch the election returns.  I'd seen enough.  Instead, the Youngs left shortly after Florida and Wisconsin were called.  PA also appeared doomed.  Once the guests were gone, I turned off the TV.  I knew.  Alice knew.  I had a horrible night's sleep.  All that election coverage for this?  All those moments from June until now for this result?  It made no sense.  Are there really that many insane, incompetent voters in this country?  I get that people don't like Hillary, but this guy?  This con?  This disgrace?  Really?  America will pay for this one day.  It will pay dearly.  Now I can't watch the news anymore.  Ever.

Day 1392

Monday, November 7, 2016

Racquetball, work, election night eve preparations.  Finally, we'll see what happens tomorrow night.  Can't wait!

Day 1391

Sunday, November 6, 2016

We started our day making a big blueberry pancake in a cast iron skillet.  It was so good.  We watched election coverage, election You Tubes, the morning shows and relaxed at home.  For lunch, we went out for Korean BBQ on Balboa.  It was so good.  We spent the rest of the afternoon watching cooking shows.

Day 1390

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Make no mistake, Tuesday's general election is about repudiating the very worst of our fears and frustrations as portrayed by this cult of personality, Donald J. Trump. This demagogue's campaign is as American as a KGB detention cell or Siberian gulag. Mexicans and Muslims are this orange Hitler's gypsies and Jews. He is everything America is not. For the past 18 months, DJT has offered his diehard supporters nothing but fear, hate, and endless hyperbole masked as facts. That's what evil gene Machiavellian types do. This is beyond red versus blue. This is a vote against fascism. If you don't think so, you don't read enough history.

America stands for things. I hope on Tuesday we the people stand for a complete and total repudiation of Mussolini-style demagoguery, cult of personality, authoritarian rule and the insane idea that this thin-skinned, vindictive con-man can all by himself save us from doom. He cannot and will not, but if he's elected, he will absolutely deliver it, doom with a capital D, "this I can tell you."
I'm voting for Hillary on Tuesday, warts and all. My eyes are wide open to her frustrating equivocations, occasional bad judgment, and lack of candor, but she's a hard worker, does her homework, and believes in democracy and America's institutions.

But MORE than a vote for Hillary, I'm voting AGAINST fascism, demagoguery, racism, sexism, idiocy, buffoonery, lack of preparation, chaos, and cult of personality on Tuesday. That kind of ideological mentality might exist in North Korea or Russia (two police states that fully endorse Donald J. Trump), but such leadership has no place in the United States of America. I'm hopeful Americans will reject this utterly repelling candidate on Tuesday.

Day 1389

Friday, November 4, 2016

Here's where things ended up on the AA league after last night's final session:

The quarter- and semi-finals are next Thursday night.  Ron plays T, Kirk plays Ramon, I play George, and Glenn plays Steve.  I think I have the easiest draw, but George has been getting better and stronger, and he's much quicker than I am.  We play a best of three match, after which I play the winner of Kirk/Ramon if I beat George.  That's a lot of racquetball for this old-school veteran, but I'd love to meet in the finals!  I'll need to practice next week, something I have little time for these days.

Alice and I went to the Westfield Mall next to Bloomingdales for lunch today.  That was nice!  After lunch, work was super busy.  I stayed until 5:30 and got home at 6:15.  I'm here tonight, catching up on everything, email, this, laundry, the works.

Day 1388

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Work was quiet today, allowing me time to learn a few PowerPoint features and Best Authority.  Our final league session was tonight.  I won a few games and lost a few.  I'll tally up the totals tomorrow morning.  The election is almost over, thank goodness.  I just hope the only reasonable candidate wins. 

Day 1387

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

I hit the snooze one too many times and missed racquetball this morning.  Work was fine but busy.  I came home and made dinner, then went to bed early.  I think I'm still a little tired from Halloween.

Day 1386

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

I woke up sore, foggy, in need of major sleep but got up anyway.  During the commute into the city I saw this just before the 880 on-ramp off 7th St. in West Oakland:

Yup.

Day 1385

Monday, October 31, 2016

I left work a little early and changed into my tux for Halloween night.  This year's theme was a radio broadcast of The Spider and the Fly, a story Richard and I whipped up that turned out to be a lot of fun.  The special effect broke during two performances, but other than that it was another great evening of thrills, screams, and lots of candy.  The cast was small but reliable and awesome!  This is my 23rd Halloween with Richard...that's something!

Me and my makeup artist, Sophie!

In performance

On set

Halloween Cast 2016