Lump
/I haven’t felt like writing in a while; most of the time aside from work, I just stretch out in bed and occasionally (OK, more often than that) fall asleep. I think Autumn considers me another cat.
Read MoreI haven’t felt like writing in a while; most of the time aside from work, I just stretch out in bed and occasionally (OK, more often than that) fall asleep. I think Autumn considers me another cat.
Read MoreI want to make it clear where I stand so I’m just going to put this up front:
Black lives matter.
Read MoreI’m running out of things to write about, so I decided this is going to be my last update under the “Social Distancing Diaries” title, and will only update whenever I feel particularly moved to do so.
Read MoreI made it outside on a nice day for a change; I had to pick up a few groceries this evening, and it was actually pretty warm. I even did a few chores around the house in the meantime. Not all of them, though; that would still require me to be a little more focused than I actually am these days.
Read MoreI'm feeling tired this evening. I had to make a run for a few groceries and cat treats, and I just want to lay in bed and do very little for the rest of the night.
Read MoreI was feeling pretty scattered and drained on Thursday and Friday. Part of it was everything that was going on here and in the world, part of it was the cumulative effect of several nights where I just couldn’t fall asleep quickly, even with the CPAP machine.
Read MoreI’m sitting at my laptop on a Wednesday night after taking a nap that lasted a little longer than it should have. I had a dream involving a trip to Winnipeg (which was much bigger and nicer than I remembered), watching an SNL episode that was completely different than the real thing, and trying to escape from a house where I inadvertently crashed a party. Fun times.
Read MoreBefore we begin, I don’t really have the words to say anything about the tragedy that just happened in Nova Scotia other than that it was awful.
Read MoreIt’s hard to know what to write here these days. There really isn’t a whole lot distinguishing one day from another aside from whether I have to work or not, or days where I run errands.
Read MoreI posted a question on my different social media pages to check in with people on my friends lists the other day, and a few people who responded asked how I was doing. I find it a little easier and more convenient to write it all here and just share the link everywhere.
Read MoreJohn Prine died yesterday. I knew he was ill with COVID-19 and that it was pretty bad, but the news was still a blow.
Read MoreMy birthday went well, all things considered. A lot of people took the time to send greetings over Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, I spoke with my family on the phone for a little bit, I ordered dinner in from Swiss Chalet, and had the cheesecake I bought on Wednesday.
Read MoreMy birthday is tomorrow; I turn 38. I remember reading something when I was a kid about something next occurring in 2020 and thinking that was a long way away, and expecting my life to be more or less what a typical child’s version of their adult self would be
Read MoreI’m about 10 days into this whole self-isolation thing; I went to work the morning of the 18th just to get some settings on my work computer adjusted to allow me to work from home, and aside from a handful of supply runs to the grocery store, I’ve been inside since.
Read MoreI hope everyone reading this is doing alright. I know this self-isolation hasn’t been too big an adjustment from my regular lifestyle, but I see a lot of my friends are going a little bit shack-wacky and feeling lonely, disconnected and anxious. If you’re reading this and feeling this way, your feelings are valid and I see you.
Read MoreIt’s the first Saturday since I started working from home. So far, it hasn’t been too much of an adjustment; I tended to hide in my cubicle in the office, though occasionally I would venture out to the kitchen or to the pod where a few of my colleagues would station. It’s not particularly lonely either, though for the time being, I’m choosing to step back my social media usage. As I said before, this blog is where I’m doing my main reaching out, so if people want find out how I’m doing, keep checking this space.
Read MoreI was originally going to post an update next week, but it looks like I’m going to be stuck in the apartment for the most part until further notice. I was getting pretty overwhelmed by my Facebook and Twitter feeds, especially since the algorithms have been prioritizing content related to the pandemic, so for the time being I’m limiting my time on them (I deleted both from my phone) and am going to post on here every few days just so people don’t worry about me.
Read MoreI’ve been feeling creatively blocked for a little while, so this is just going to be another quick check in about my recent whereabouts and so forth.
Read MoreWriting is hard.
Writing is particularly hard when you’re lost in your own head. It’s hard to get much of anything done in that state, but to have to put a coherent string of words together is particularly challenging, especially when you purport to represent your inner self in your writing.
Read MorePersonal website of photographer and writer Bronwyn Douwsma.
I’m on the bus. It’s too early to be human and I haven’t had my coffee yet so I don’t really want to do much; maybe read or listen to music, things that help tune out the other people or the monotony of the commute. When I leave the suburbs, it's usually dark. I sometimes look out the windows, but more to see how far I’ve traveled than at anything interesting. By the time I arrive downtown, I can see the sun coming up over the harbour.
The year is winding down. I’m preparing to go to New Brunswick for my regular Christmas visit with the family; my travel arrangements up there have all been taken care of. I haven’t bothered with Christmas shopping yet; my cash flow was a little tight until my last paycheque came in, and my tolerance for the malls has dropped over the years. Everything costs too much money now.
“Midnight Express Special” sketches include “Sunrise Semester: Basic Photography”, “Mamorex Video Tape”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Promo: Tomorrow, Today, Tonight”, “Bill Needle’s Mailbag”, “Message From Guy: Midnight Express Special”, and “Midnight Express Special”.
“Cookery Crock” sketches include “Sunrise Semester: Disasters In The Home”, “Nasex Nasal Deodorant”, “Bill Needle’s Mailbag”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Promo: The Freddie De Cordova Show”, “Cookery Crock” and “Quincy: Cartoon Coroner”.
“Two-Way TV” sketches include “Sunrise Semester: Astrology”, “Promo: Monster Chiller Horror Theatre”, “Kanadian Korner”, “SCTV News”, “Comment with David Brinkley”, “Promo: Cruisin’ Gourmet”, “Two-Way TV”, “Bill Needle’s Mailbag”, “Promo: Crazy Crafts”, and “Sermonette: Rabbi Karlov”.
“Alpha Channel” sketches include “Gordon Lightfoot Sings Every Song Ever Written”, “Cooking With Marcello”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Crazy Crafts”, “Message From Guy: Alpha Channel”, “Promo: Alpha Channel”, “Bill Needle’s Mailbag”, and “Dialing For Dollars”.
“The Irwin Allen Show” sketches include “Men On Women”, “Message From Guy: Men On Women”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Cooking With Marcello”, “Promo: Taxi Driver”, “Bill Needle’s Mailbag”, “Message From Guy: The Irwin Allen Show”, and “The Irwin Allen Show”.
“Big Brother” sketches include “Got A Minute?”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Promo: Taxi Driver”, “Message From Guy: The New Year”, “Message From Prickley: The New Year”, “SCTV New Year’s Eve Party 1983”, “Komrade Kangaroo”, “Comrade Allen”, “Promo: Doublethink”, and “The Praise Big Brother Show”.
“Star Wars” sketches include “Sunrise Semester: Do-It-Yourself Advertising”, “Promo: Chick Monk: Roadie For The Defense”, “Kanadian Korner”, “SCTV News”, “Joni Mitchell’s For Dogs Only”, “Bill Needle’s Mailbag”, “SCTV Premiere: Star Wars”, and “Dialing For Dollars”.
“Hollywood Salutes Its Extras” sketches include “Message From Prickley: Extras”, “Mamorex Cassette Tape”, “Bill Needle’s Mailbag”, “Promo: Taxi Driver”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Howard’s Bristol Cream”, “Sneak Previews”, “Promo: Hawaii Five-Ho”, “Hollywood Salutes Its Extras”, and “Promo: White Man, Black Girl”.
There’s a podcast called The Loudest Girl In The World, hosted by Lauren Ober. The show concerns Ober’s autism diagnosis at 42, as well as her experience dealing with this information and opening up to others about it. When I listened to it last summer, I related pretty heavily to what she was talking about. I’ve also started to make peace with how my own brain works in the last few years. It’s been a rough road, though.