Yesterday I felt pretty unproductive, which is something I’ve really been grappling with since leaving my job. I’m still working on balancing the resting and healing process with my internal drive to get shit done. So that’s a little of what I want to do here: record what I actually got done.
We are supposed to go trout fishing next week, which I’m looking forward to. Right now the forecast isn’t looking great, but even if it gets rained out, we can stay in the cabin and play cards and board games. But hopefully it doesn’t rain the whole time, and we will get to fish at least a little bit. In a hopeful spirit, I de-spidered the waders, which had been hanging in the garage since the last time we went trout fishing. (I’m not sure when that was exactly, but it was before COVID, so more than two years.)
There was one spider on the outside of Kalen’s waders. My waders had two outside and one inside. But the spiders have been eradicated with the help of the garden hose. Who knows, maybe the spiders were already dead. I’m lying to myself. If they were dead, their legs would have been all curled up. These bastards were alive.
I am not a fan of spiders, generally speaking. I understand the role they play in the ecosystem, and I know they’re really “good guys,” but they creep me out. So removing spiders was a big job for me. If I were a smoker, I’d imagine I’d need a cigarette to calm down after such a job. But I’m not a smoker, so I took Pippin for a walk instead.
We live in an interesting neighborhood. It’s an unusual mix of socioeconomic backgrounds where a given block can contain both a $400k historic mansion and a $10k hovel. There are some really grand sights and some that are definitely less so. Let’s just say I’m glad the dog I’m walking is a Big Guy who would definitely protect me if need be, but thankfully that need has never arisen, and even the most unsettled people we meet don’t try to involve us in their business.
There’s also a lot of literal trash in the neighborhood. There are a variety of reasons for this, but none of them are very interesting. Some of the trash we find, however, can be pretty interesting. Most of it isn’t. Most of the trash is drinks. A remarkable number of people purchase large drinks from convenience stores and then abandon the drinks, still 80% full, on the sidewalk. There are also tiny liquor bottles everywhere.
One time, I found a coloring page, though, that was mostly colored and had been rained on. It was a beautiful rainbow of mingled colors, folded over so that all I could see was an intricate pattern and the letters “ucker” in loopy cursive. It was excellent.
I found more treasure today. Several pages from a book with a ridiculous title.
Of course, I picked it up and brought it home. I was hoping it would be trashy sci-fi that I could laugh and laugh at, but it looks like it’s actually a children’s book. Still a great title, though.
Pippin and I were home for about 15 minutes before the gray skies really let loose and I’m glad we walked when we did. Otherwise Dr. Rancid may have been lost to the downpour.