Entry 581: Socks

I bought some socks today and it was an extremely irritating experience. For some reason, socks, the seemingly simplest item of clothing, are very difficult for me to shop for. There are a few reasons for this.

The first is that just about everything is becoming difficult to shop for at big-box stores where is likeliest to find socks. They are so low on inventory and nobody is ever around to help you. They've been hit hard by online competition and Covid and it shows. It's a self-perpetuating downfall: The fewer customers they get, the more they cut, and the more they cut, the fewer customers get. Going into a big-box store now is like going into a really bad art museum--there's nothing really there but a massive amount of open space, a few roaming patrons, and one security guard in the corner with an earpiece who doesn't talk.

Another big problem I have shopping for socks is that I can almost never find my size. Almost every pack of men's socks you find in the store has shoe-size range 6-12. I usually wear between an 11 and a 12, so you would think, based on the range, that most socks would fit me. But you would be wrong. I have yet to find a sock that can actually accommodate the seven sizes they claim to accommodate. Every time I buy socks in this range, and I've done it a few times, thinking maybe it's different for different brands, they are too small -- not way too small but too small nevertheless. So, then I have to do that thing where you wear them anyway, because you bought an eight pack, and you tell yourself it's fine, but your feet are actually quite uncomfortable, so eventually you have to give in and put them in a donation box because life is too short to wear socks that are too small. I hate that. Never again will I be duped by the 6-12 range.

Lastly, finding the style I want can be a problem. This was especially frustrating today, as I just wanted plain white ankle socks. That's it--nondescript white socks that stop at your ankles. I didn't want those super low-cut liners that make it look like you aren't wearing socks at all; I didn't want those "ankle" socks that resemble baby booties and actually come up to your lower calves; I didn't want them in black; and I didn't want a visible Nike swoosh or any other corporate logo. (I haven't worked out the terms of my endorsement deal yet.) I went to three -- yes, three -- stores today trying to find socks like this in shoe-size 10-13. I couldn't do it. The best I could do are ones that say PUMA across the top. They didn't have just plain white.

And this is why Amazon is taking over the world. 

I mean, I definitely don't like seeing the demise of the big-box store, but it's hard to pass up a 15-second search and a swipe of a button, when the alternative is a multi-stop excursion that takes up my entire lunch break and still leaves me with something other than what I really wanted.

In other news, S is visiting a friend for the weekend, so I have the boys to myself. Naturally, I get two invitations to do things that I have to turn down. Some neighborhood dads are getting together for beers tonight and my friend R asked me if I want to go to the DC United game tomorrow. Weeks -- nay, months -- go by without me doing anything social that doesn't involve my family. I'm almost always free, and then when I'm not, this happens. It's like rain on your wedding day.

Until next time...

 

Entry 580: Back to Life, Back to Reality

Trivia question: Who sings that song that goes Back to life, back to reality...

Answer: I believe they were called Soul 2 Soul. Let me me check on that... Yep, I got it. Well, I stylized it wrong -- it's Soul II Soul -- but close enough. It's a good tune. It also has that hook However do you want me, however do you need me...

Anyway, we had a blitz weekend in New York, New York, this last one, no kids, but now it's back to life, back to reality. And that's probably a good thing. I pretty much hit my alcohol quota for the month in two days. We stayed with S's childhood friend N, and that dude loves to paint the town red (being a recent divorcee surely adds some fuel to that fire). So, it was a boozy (excellent) dinner on Friday evening, another one on Saturday, and then a visit to the club as a nightcap. At least we balanced things out with a museum trip for some culture and a whole lot of walking for exercise (about 35,000 steps combined on Saturday and Sunday according my health app).

We took the train up on Friday evening, marking the first time I had ever taken a train to NYC. It's pretty expensive on the weekend (like $150 a ticket), but it's so much nicer than taking the bus and much less a hassle than driving or flying. We watched this movie called Promising Young Woman, which I was not into at all for the first hour or so (it didn't help that we were doing that thing where you each get one headphone), but then there's a little twist, and I found it really compelling after that. Thumbs up overall.

N happens to live like a quarter mile from Penn Station, so it was super easy to get to his place. This is good because we were running late for our dinner reservation. (Train was delayed a bit.) I literally went straight to his bathroom without even taking off my shoes because I wanted to get a quick shower in. (I'm a night showerer all the way.) We hustled to the restaurant, and, of course, it took them a half-hour to get our table together after we arrived. At least we could enjoy some delicious $20 cocktails at the bar while we waited. And the food was so worth it -- tapas. We ordered two dishes too many though. We could have done without the morels, and we barely touched the octopus.

The next day my friend DK came down from his place in Hartford. We grew up together and both ended up on the East Coast but just far enough away that it's impractical to get together too often. It was great to see him. The four of us (DK, N, S, and me) went to MOMA and perused the museum for several hours. We also ate lunch on their rooftop cafe, which is lovely. I don't really "get" art (does anybody?), but I still enjoy walking through the exhibits. I started playing a little game with myself where I'd see how many artists' names I recognized just from crossword puzzles -- MIRO, DIX, ERNST, PIET, WYETH, etc.

After MOMA, we went to some district where there are a lot of boutiques. (I can't remember the name of it; I have a terrible sense of direction and never pay attention to my surroundings.) S went shopping and the three or us went to a cafe/bar, where we had drinks and met DK's brother-in-law J. We had a few more drinks and then DK and J went to see a show (My Morning Jacket, I believe) in Queens. S returned from her spending spree, and we went back to N's to watch Ted Lasso before dinner. (We only watched the first episode, so I can't speak to whether or not it's actually worthy of its hype.)

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, on the way back to N's, we got gelato. It was possibly the best part of the entire trip. I got two scoops -- coffee and eggnog. I was most excited for the coffee, but the eggnog turned out to be the real winner.

Two of N's other friends met us for dinner, and we stuffed ourselves to the gills with paella and sangria. It was a long leisurely dinner (we were at a Spanish place, after all), and then afterwards we went to a gay club. In retrospect, it was a curious choice given that N was the only gay man among us, but he was kinda like our leader for night, so, when in Rome...

The club was packed, and while I was there I had my first Oh shit, that's right, Covid! moment of the weekend. We were always outside or masked before, so I kinda forgot about it. But the good thing about NYC is that you have to show proof of vaccination to get into most places (such as this club). To me, that's sufficient. As best I can tell, it's not that different than being in a club during flu season, and that's a risk most people are willing to accept personally, and one we are willing to accept as a society. I mean, it might even be safer than being in a club during flu season, since not many people, particular young people, get a flu shot.

DK and J met us in the club after their show, which was kinda funny, because we are all straight family men at a (very) gay club. But it was fun. I don't think they were there too long, but I was already many drinks into the night, so my sense of time could be warped. I do know the four of us left together (N and his other friends stayed), and then they split off, and S and I walked backed to N's apartment.

The next day N, S, and I went to brunch (alcohol-free for me), and we walked around a bunch more, including a jaunt through this old elevated railway track called The High Line. It was opening day of the NFL season (which used to a personal holiday for me), so I was periodically checking my phone to see how the Seahawks were doing. (They won if you were wondering.) I don't really like doing that because I hate how much everybody looks at their phone now, and I don't want to add to the antisocial mania. But I also have to feed my addiction for NFL football. At least I was with my wife and friend and not watching it alone in a sports bar, which is what I might have done a few years ago. So, it's getting better.

In addition to look at my phone, I also spent a good amount of time looking for the cleanest public toilet I could find. My guts were gurgling something fierce. I settled on a chichi looking hotel (just walk in and pretend like you belong), which was a good choice, as it had some fine facilities. I can't say I enjoyed my stay, but at least I got things settled before the train ride back.

It was an uneventful ride. S slept almost the entire way, and I watched Hell or High Water, which also gets a thumbs up from me.

We finally got home around 9:30 Sunday evening, and then Monday morning I woke up to take the kids to school -- back to life, back to reality.

Until next time...

Entry 579: New York, New York Bound

Probably a short entry today, as we are headed to New York, New York anon. It's a weekend without kids; the first one in a very long time. After our Covid-related misadventures in North Carolina last month, I'm a bit apprehensive about traveling right now, but we have to live our lives. We simply cannot shut down and shut in like we did last year. It's not feasible. It's unhealthy from the standpoint of societal functions (the economy, schools, religious/social groups, etc.), and it's unhealthy from a personal standpoint. We learned a lot about the mental effects of being mostly isolated for an extended period of time, and what we learned is that it isn't good.

So, at this point, I think we need to do our best to strike an imperfect, ever-changing balance between doing what we want and being safe. Concerning a trip to NYC, S and I are both vaccinated and we also both tested positive to Covid within the past month, so our levels of immunity should be sky high. We are staying with a friend who is vaccinated, and we will be outdoors and/or masked almost the entire time we are in public. Also, NYC has guidelines in place, and we've been instructed to bring our vaccination cards because you can't get into most places without one. That seems to me to be about as good as we are going to get for now.

In fact, I'm more worried about an October trip we have to visit S's parents in Florida than our NYC trip this weekend. But we will cross that bridge when we come to it. (A lot of family dynamics and feelings are in play.) I'm hoping somehow things magically (or scientifically) get better by then, even though that is totally unrealistic. We are in the midst of a Covid downswing, however. Cases have been dropping slowly, but steadily the past few weeks. Whether or not this is a blip or finally the beginning of the end (whatever that means) nobody really knows. I've heard smart, knowledgeable health professionals argue both sides of the coin. I find the "beginning of the end" argument slightly more convincing (the rationale being that the Delta variant is going to run out of easy targets at some point), but only slightly. And of course there are psychological factors in play, so I'm not going to get my hopes up just yet.

Okay, that's all I have time for right now. Until next time...

Entry 578: It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel, Well, Not Fine, Per Se, But Not Super Depressed)

The world is pretty much shite right now, isn't it? Abortion bans, a clusterfuck in Afghanistan, fires and floods and climate change, and a global pandemic that's been hanging over our heads the past year-and-a-half like a body-ache-inducing raincloud and doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. That we all live our lives without crawling under our bedcovers and never coming out is legitimately surprising.

Me, I take a philosophical approach to keep up my spirits. There has never been a point in human spacetime that has been anything close to ideal. By comparison, living in much of the world now, in 2021, is pretty much as good as it gets. And even if it weren't -- what are you going to do? You only get one life (probably), and it's going to be over relatively soon. How much of that you do want to spend in despair?

Also, I think chanced into good brain-wiring so I don't get depressed. That's a good way to keep your spirits up too--luck. I'm definitely not immune to negative feelings -- I get annoyed easily, I worry myself to sleep (or not to sleep, I should say) far too often, and I feel glum sometimes, of course -- but I don't have those omnipresent feelings of worthlessness and sadness that I hear sufferers of depression describe. Regardless of what the exterior factors are in my life, I'm usually happy -- or at least not unhappy. That's probably a better way to put it. I spend the vast majority of my life in neutral. But neutral is not bad. You can live a satisfying and meaningful life in neutral.

 Anyway, enough waxing philosophical. A few bullet points and then that's a post.

• I bought a bicycle today. I debated getting a really nice one, as I've been tinkering with the idea of getting more into cycling (it's a good old man activity), but I decided on a significantly less expensive option. For now, I mostly need something to tool around the neighborhood with the kids, and there is no reason to drop a couple thou on that.
  
  
• Lil' S1 got a new bike also, and I think Lil' S2 is next. He already has a bike, but it's Lil' S1's old bike, and it's kinda beat up, so I think S's parents are going to buy him a new one when they come to visit next week. The boys have gotten really into riding bikes. It's cool, but we don't live on the best street for it. Our house is on a hill, and traffic isn't heavy, but it's not nothing either. I get worried (I'm a worrier, remember) about them around cars. But at some point you have to let them go out and play on their own and hope for the best, right? I mean, it's ridiculous how overprotective parents are today (myself included) compared to what parents were like when I was a kid.
  
  
• I'm apparently going to have a small stake in a healthcare tech company very soon. A friend who's a doctor is working on a scheduling/routing service to homecare patients. He asked me to join to help them with the math behind improving efficiency. It's right up my alley, so I happily agreed. I don't have a big stake (between 5%-10%), but there's virtually no risk for me, and the time commitment is not very burdensome. I look at it like a lottery ticket. Maybe it will go nowhere, but maybe I'll be cashing in down the road. I do believe in the idea and the people involved, so that's good.
  
  
• My computer battery broke, and my old laptop (on which I'm typing this) is very buggy and clunky, so instead of Scrabble and crossword puzzles, I've been doing a lot more reading the past week. I finished up John McWhorter's Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever. It took me a while to get into it -- I set it down for a month or so a quarter way into it -- but once I did I really liked it. Now I'm reading Carole Hooven's Testosterone: The Story of the Hormone that Dominates and Divides Us. It's phenomenal so far. The title might not scream "can't-put-it-down-page-turner" but that's what it is.

Until next time...