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Shobhit went to the 37th District Democrats party last night, which he was clearly hoping I would go with him to just as I had the 43rd District Democrats party on Saturday—but, I had Book Club last night, and I could not miss it. It already had to get postponed a full month due in large part to my stated availability.
Apparently Deena said about a month ago that she'd make it on this date, but yesterday she was nowhere to be seen. Kara moved on from PCC in September, for some reason declining to let any of us know where she was going, so she won't be joining us anymore. And even though apparently there are some other people who read our book choices along with the rest of us but have yet to actually join for meetups, that left only Mel, Steven and myself last night.
The book we discussed was
The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede, which had been my recommendation after I heard a passing reference to it on a podcast—everyone was very enthusiastically interested in it, and even last night Mel said she thought this was one of the best books we've read for Book Club. I agree, I really loved it.
I also finished it all the way back
on November 15, easily by far the earliest before a meetup that I've finished one of our books. I'm usually far from finished by the time we have to meet again, but this time I've already read another book besides, and am even already into my next book after
that.
It had been so long since I finished this book that I had done the smart thing (which I've done with other Book Club titles) and written a bunch of notes in my Notes app so I would remember what I wanted to discuss when we met up again. We talked pretty extensively, both about the book and about all of our respective experiences on that day, September 11, 2001. It's a very different experience now, having that memory pushed back a bit more by the far more wide-reaching collective trauma of covid-19 scares and lockdowns and radical shifts in our very way of living.
We also talked a bit about movies. I keep telling everyone I can that they need to see
May December on Netflix.
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We all met at Cafe Cosmos over on 1st Avenue between Eagle and Broad Streets, just a few blocks from our office, so we all walked over there together. Steve was very generous and said, "First round's on me!" We never had more than one round, though, and while both Steve and Mel had a beer, I just had a hot chocolate.
When we all left, at around 6:30 or so, Mel turned back in the direction of the office (perhaps having driven to work), but Steve was headed downtown to catch the Light Rail, and I was headed that way too so we walked together. The "Lights & Delights" display at Westlake Park came up in conversation (I brought it up), and he was interested in checking it out real quick before he went down into Westlake Station. I accompanied him, spending just a few short minutes there. He took a couple of pictures.
I might have taken a bus the rest of the way up the hill, but none was coming soon so I just walked the rest of the way. My phone says I took 9,835 steps yesterday. Just shy of 10,000. Dammit!
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I'm working from home today, for the first time since I did it the week after recovering from covid in the spring of last year, so I wouldn't have to wear a mask all day. This time, it's just because I needed to be home to pick up Shobhit from his hand surgery for tendonitis.
I lost some work time otherwise this morning, because I took the car and drove all the way to the office and back, having discovered this morning that there was a dongle I forgot, plugged into my laptop docking station, without which my wireless keyboard and mouse are useless. Technically I could still use the touch pad and keyboard on my laptop, but I would have been far less productive if I had to rely only on that. I deal with numbers all day and really need the 10-key section of the wireless keyboard. But, it took me about 15 minutes to get there and about 15 minutes to get back.
I'd have saved that money had I remembered the dongle when I gathered all my latoptop and accessories before heading to Book Club last night, but I didn't. I also very nearly left my backpack, containing my work computer, at Cafe Cosmos—Steve and I were half a block away from it when I realized it. I nearly had a panic attack, but thank god it was still there.
I then had to go get Shobhit shortly after I got back home. I got a call from Virginia Mason while I was still driving back, letting me know the surgery went well and that I could get a call in about twenty minutes with details about his discharge and what he needs to be concerned with over the next few weeks—he gets the brace off on the 26th.
It was closer to half an hour later when I got the call, with stuff on paperwork also sent home with him (whew) largely read aloud to me over the phone. No alcohol or making major life decisions in the next 24 hours, no getting the brace wet until it's taken off in two weeks, etc. Shobhit had started texting me shortly before the second call came, and when I asked how he was doing he just responded, "Groggy." Right now he's in the living room binge watching
True Blood while I work from home today.
I'll just pack my laptop and all the other shit that goes with it back into my backpack tonight, to take back to the office tomorrow. And hopefully I won't have to work from home again for a long time. This isn't my favorite.
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[posted 12:30 pm]
