Week 27 thoughts…
The field near where I walk Simos.
In no particular order, here are some of the random thoughts I’ve had this week.
We’re in the midst of a renovation project here in our neighborhood. We have four buildings, 5 units each, and they were built in the mid-1970s. While they look fine, it’s time to update the plumbing, electrical, and bring the fiber optic wiring into the units. They are replacing all the radiators, as well, and with running all the new wiring and plumbing, EVERYTHING has to be packed up and put out of the way. I’m home alone for this, although I’m sure if I begged, Snork would fly back from Rome to help. I’ve been packing up boxes of stuff, and realizing that I’m probably just a well-organized hoarder, really. I have too much stuff. So a lot of it is going away. I’ve done four markets and sold as much as I’m willing to keep hauling around, so everything went to the Red Cross yesterday after the last market. Oh, but don’t worry, I’m already in the process of “restocking”! I may ‘hate’ this whole renovation thing, but I believe it is going to help me quite a bit on my “Swedish Death Cleaning” goal this year.
Unfortunately, my packing style is what you might call…chaotic. I’ll pack 2/3 of one bookcase, then go pack a few things out of the display cabinet, then go pack some kitchen stuff. I don’t put all that into one box, I’m not an animal, but it does mean that I have a half-dozen half-packed boxes around the place. And what do I do when I really need to be packing? I go out and garden. Or lay in the hammock and doomscroll. Or bake cookies. You know, the things that I just have to do…rather than pack.
We watched a movie last night, “Hail Mary”. It was really good, I was pleasantly surprised. While the plot did contain some rather gaping ‘improbables’, they weren’t enough to take me out of the story, and easy enough to suspend disbelief for the sake of the story. In the end, I was left with “the feels”. I felt good about the ending, I felt good about the adventure getting there, and it was a movie that I actually smiled, chuckled, cried a little, and was focused on, rather than it being the background to more doomscrolling or box-packing. I definitely think it should be an Academy nomination at the least, not because it was a blockbuster, but because it did all the things a movie is supposed to do: it engaged, entertained, didn’t make you feel like you lost two hours of your life, and it left you having felt something. That to me is the criteria for such a nomination. Just my thoughts.
I’ve been doing more 3D printing. Something about it is satisfying. I think, however, I need to get more in the weeds with the software(s) and learn better what all the settings mean and how to use them. I’ve been able to solve several small problems in the house. For example, you know how the bottom of the drawer is that thin piece of fiberboard and often comes out of the groove and sags? I was able to print some pieces that nail in and fix that problem! Also, I bought the XXL size roll of paper towels, and of course it doesn’t fit on the standard holder, so I printed one that would hold it. I’ve printed tons of organizers, and will be printing more. I do have some of those free-license little animals to sell at the markets, but I look at this more as a hobby, and I just have fun giving stuff out or making stuff for friends. It’s not all that expensive…not any more expensive than Lego was! At least this hobby has a useful component :)
And finally, all quiet on the job search front. I’ve lost track of how many CVs I’ve sent in, and how many auto-generated “thanks but no thanks” letters I’ve received back. I’m keeping a spreadsheet, although I admit that there are days that I’m too dejected to bother entering them in because I know they’re going to go nowhere. Still, I try to do it as often as I can. My unemployment starts in August, which will take some of the strain off, but still, I’d rather be working. I enjoyed what I did.
That’s all for now. I’ll try to write more during the week.
-Mummi
