JUN 18

2026

Thursday: didn't exactly stay up late while reading last night, but John woke us up a couple of times with his singing in the hallway. I think he just likes the sound of his own voice; he already gets plenty of stimulation and play. I bend over backwards for that cat. Perhaps unsurprising, then, that I didn't get out of bed until 8:45. Wasn't happy about it, though.

As productive as yesterday's shift had been, today went even better. Got new groups, worked them all, and managed to get through four of the old terminated groups for our current project. Still felt pretty stressed about the amount of research I was having to do in terms of protected commission and cancelled reservations not reflecting on invoices, so I gave into my desires to pick up a chicken platter from Broad Street. (This was an inevitability; I hadn't secured enough lunch supplies for every workday this week, but I could have stretched things if I'd been a little more committed.) Caught a little bit of Pat and Woolie's second "Get into FFXIV" stream on my second break.

The real reason I felt guilty about getting lunch out was because tonight's plan included eating dinner at the bar for Amy's birthday celebration. Julie didn't feel up to going, thanks to the heat and her exhaustion; she wanted to just lie on the sofa with John and nap. She forced herself to get ready anyway, reasoning she'd feel better once we were there. I put on some shorts and a collared shirt, and since this was going to be a bit of a walk, I put on the tennis shoes we bought on our first trip out here. We hadn't gone three blocks before I rolled my foot again. What is this, four times in four years? This wasn't as bad as some of the others, but it's embarrassing because as Philadelphia sidewalks go, this one was actually half-decent. I just can't be trusted to look anywhere other than the ground, I guess.

When we got up to New Wave Cafe, Amy was once again posted right by the entrance with her retinue, just as Julie had feared. We were able to stay pretty comfortable against the wall, though, and we spent some time catching up with her and her issues with her bike. While I'd seen Joe at prior events, this was the first time we were able to talk, and we spent a while discussing the changes to Detroit, his career as a photographer, and our experiences in Kansas. We soon took the table we'd sat at last year so we could eat dinner. This time around, I ordered a cider and a turkey sandwich, while Julie had the nachos. My sandwich was great, but both of our portions were too big, so we'll probably split an order if we're here again next year. I forget the name of the guy who came over afterwards, but he and Julie talked for a while about the World Cup and related subjects; I chimed in when appropriate. As we started to make our way out, we ended up talking with Amy at the bar, who kept encouraging us not to get old and lamenting what babies we both were. Since I was there, she also decided to reminisce about her time playing Hearthstone, World of Warcraft, and this old strategy game, Pharaoh, which I hadn't heard about. It was dark enough when we left that the air felt comfortable, and the walk back along the Avenue felt nostalgic. Treated the cats once we got home, posted this update, and went to bed.

2025

Wednesday: day two at the courthouse, about which more later. It was exceptionally warm and humid. When I got home, we elected not to go to the gym, since we'll be doing so much walking tomorrow evening. I put the crab cakes in the oven to heat them up, and we had leftover fish stew for dinner. (I'm not much of a fan of either, but it's fine.) Played some Hearthstone to try to finish a new event while watching random videos on youtube before posting this update. Julie just poked her head into the office to remind me that I started laundry, so I should go take care of that.

2024

Tuesday: today was my first day of my new half calls/half projects shift schedule. Julie made her bucatini-and-oil pasta for dinner, but we decided to pursue our own interests in the evening. She spent her time watching more Enterprise, but I took a break from FFXIV and Animal Well videos to continue an Ace Attorney playlist I recently found. Once I finished eating, I gathered up the litter, trash, and recycling. I treated the cats, and as Julie went to bed, I started putting my MMO affairs in order. Early access for Dawntrail starts in less than two weeks, so I'm cleaning out my quest log and inventory for both FFXIV and WoW, which will have its own expansion in about two months.

2023

Sunday: it's nice to have a weekend day with no real plans to speak of. For lunch, Julie tried a new approach to grilled cheese sandwiches, and we had the last of the kale soup to go with it. I recommended we head to the gym afterwards, as it's been months since we last went together, and that was a pleasant enough diversion; I dove into B.J. Best's And Then You Come to a House Not Unlike the Previous One. Once we got back and cleaned up, I used the food processor to speed up the potato slicing, and I used the wrong processor blade to slice the onion, so half the pieces were too big, while the other half were reduced to stringy pulp. The dish still came out as great as ever, though we should probably cut the shopping list in half next time, as we'll be having leftover scalloped potatoes all week. (Admittedly, that was kind of what I hoped would happen.) After dinner, we picked up where we'd left off in Leverage, and I worked on my IF projects. I'm pretty excited with the progress I've been making, especially where extensions are concerned.