Tuesday 5: Shingles Hobbies

1. Want to know something fun, Fellow Adventurers? Not having shingles. Yours truly can’t wait to not have shingles.  Apparently shingles is the chicken pox virus that has lain dormant and hidden out in your body, waiting for the perfect time, when you're completely stressed out, to reemerge. It’s painful and adds an extra special something when I’m chasing four Little Explorers around while the International Man of Intrigue is out of the country.

2. Today, in the interest of trying to slow down a bit so I can kick this disease, I put on some TV in the middle of the morning, something I’m not usually inclined to do. I found that PBS on Roku had the Library of Congress Gershwin Awards honoring Willie Nelson. It was a great hour and a half of TV. I got a little misty eyed when Willie cried while Allison Kraus and Jamey Johnson did a duet of “Seven Spanish Angels.” 

3. Today is Arthur Dent’s birthday. Since we’re saving cake and presents for tomorrow when The International Man of Intrigue gets back, I figured we’d better mark the day somehow. I decided to do myself a favor and make it takeout from PDQ, complete with milkshakes for the kids. They were excited and I didn’t have to cook. Another little rest.

4. I’m also reading. I read some silly chick lit book and I’m in the middle of “Unbroken,” but it’s too serious for my current state of being. I checked out “The Paris Wife” from the library, but I’m thinking maybe something funny would be more called for as I try to relax a bit. Any suggestions?

5. On that note, the doctor prescribed me 800 mg of ibuprofen to be taken three times a day. It takes the edge off the pain for about an hour or so. It’s time for a dose and a short period of relief before bed! I'm also taking any and all suggestions for relaxing things to do while I recover. Aside from the pain, I don't feel exhausted or ill, so it's hard to think of just lying on the couch. Any ideas? Have a great week, Fellow Adventurers.

Tuesday 5: Sexism and Why We Can't Have Nice Things

1. From the “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” file, Arthur Dent threw a ball at the window that sits recessed a foot or so above our front door and managed to hit and knock down a piece of stained glass that was resting there. It fell all the way to the floor and broke. Any of you Fellow Adventurers know someone who does stained glass? I’m not sure I want to outlay the funds required to replace it at the moment, but it was one of my favorite things. 

2. Star Wars spoiler………….I have decided that Kylo Ren’s full real name is Ben Chewbacca Organa-Solo. It only makes sense.

3. Speaking of Star Wars, those of you I’m friends with on Facebook will know, I was at Target yesterday, and in an aisle full of Star Wars toys, there were ZERO Rey toys. Without rehashing that status, I will say that it was interesting to me to see the different reactions. The women generally agreed, some even pointing out that the Monopoly game doesn’t come with her as a game piece, while the men chalked it up to things like the Rey toys not being produced because there wasn't sufficient demand, or wondering if they were sold out. All these people are my friends, and I consider them all very good people, but I will say, it’s definitely indicative of the subtle undercurrent of sexism that runs through society as a whole. Without being incensed or ranting, the women took it as a matter of course that the female character, even though she is the main character of the movie, was left out. 

4. I’ve gone back to the paper planner for 2016, in addition to using my phone. So far, I already feel a bit more capable of keeping up on things than before, mainly because I can jot down things as I wander by instead of having my to-do lists, well, everywhere. 

5. From the geek side: If things like Star Wars, Star Trek, the X-Files, and Mystery Science Theater can come back and be awesome, can Joss Whedon PLEASE get The Scoobies back together for a revival of Buffy the Vampire Slayer?!?!