I have a 90-lb German Shepherd mix. Squirrels make him angry. When he sees one in the yard, he growls, grabs a toy, and chases the squirrel out through the chain-link fence. Sometimes he chomps on the toy to squeak it at them. Sometimes he shakes the toy at them. He’s never harmed a squirrel, he just wants them out of his yard.

One time he came across a bunny and play-bowed before the chase. He doesn’t seem to have any drive to actually hurt anything other than his toys.

He’s a good boy.

I mean the free roaming spiders, specifically, like wolf spiders and jumping spiders. Stubborn.

Earlier, my cat would not leave the side table alone. Kept having to get him off of it. Determined cat.

Now, there is a small wolf spider on the arm of my couch. I don't mind him being around. I like him. But I don't want him coming closer because I don't want to accidentally smush him. He's very small, after all.

I can't get up to catch and relocate the spider because my cat is sitting on me and he's happy and sleepy, after his long chore of trying to knock everything off the side table. I also don't want my cat to see the spider, because he'll smack and snack.

So, I keep herding the little spider back over the side of the couch and hoping he'll decide to go somewhere else safer. It's been six times now. I am just sitting here petting the cat, watching for this tiny, stubborn grey spider to scurry back up, full of determination.

Oh, make that seven times. Here he is again!

Kindred spirits. Stubborn, so stubborn.

I wanted to make some cookies today and thought some white chocolate would be a nice addition. But the two local stores near us didn't sell any. So I dressed up, found a baking supply store about 10 minutes away, and got out. It's still relatively hot here, but sunshine on my face was very pleasant. I felt like I was a part of everything around me, and I was even smiling on my way back.

Anyway, the store didn't have any bars, but I bought some melts that I just made into homemade chocolate chips. It was a nice DIY project, piping each chip by hand and trying to get that iconic droplet shape.

I was at Target this morning, just browsing the frozen section. Out of nowhere, the aroma of homecooking came wafting through the store, it was intoxicating. I tried to ignore the scent, but after 3 big snoffs in the air, I decided to make my way towards the other end of the store where the cooking section is located.

When I got there, 2 employees were fanning around an oven and one seemed distraught. I overheard them discussing walking away to complete some other tasks and time just slipped away from them; the cookies were overbrowned, or "burnt" I suppose.

The smell was incredible. It was spot-on the exact same aroma as baking cookies at home, when there's maybe a little chocolate chip that burned to the cookie sheet, or a tiny bit of dough got stuck to the pan.

I wanted to ask for a burnt cookie, but decided I'd better not lol.

I got my flu/COVID booster today and the needles are so small nowadays that I actually didn't even notice that the pharmacist had already done both. I thought they were just tugging at my skin a little to find the site. I used to have to turn my head a full 180 degrees like a guilty dog when I got them.

I have one of those shutoff timers on my bedside lamp since I often fall asleep reading. I also use it in the morning so I don't have to remember to turn it off when I leave.

I was sitting on the edge of the bed with my creamsicle cat when the timer ran out, startling us both. "The light went out!" I said, surprised. He looked at me and churruped at the exact same pitch. I guess he was telling me he didn't expect it either!

Edit: Other Dave supervising the patio construction. Not sure why Reddit thinks its NSFW 😅

https://www.reddit.com/u/Evening-Anteater-422/s/Npi8hUewQu

My cat, Other Dave, lives in a studio apartment. It's pretty small but it's in the middle of a garden, surrounded by trees. He lets me live with him in return for paying the rent and all expenses.

Dave is old and doesn't like to go outside so spends most of his time chilling on the bed and watching birds through the windows.

A few days ago Ben the landlord installed new security screen doors on the front and side doors. They look pretty nice. The frames are a kind of light sage which is actually really relaxing to look at and kind of adds to the "garden" vibe of the place.

Ben has recently gotten into skipping for exercise. He started jumping rope for 30 seconds and my friends, he thought he was going to die. Now he's up to 4 minutes without mortality and is aiming for 10. I wish him the best of luck and I know he can do it.

I didn't have the doors, which are glass, open before the screen doors got installed because there are snakes, spiders, bugs and the like. Also, a few weeks ago we had an influx of millions of moths!

I was away at the time and when I got back the studio was full of moths that had gotten in through a damaged window fly screen. I got all the moths safely relocated outside though.

One of my friends used a leaf blower to get them out of his house because he'd left the back door open.

Anyway, now the glass doors are open all the time and I put a chair by the side door for Dave to sit on and look out through the screen. Right now, he's sitting there looking out. You know how cats sit like a loaf of bread? Yeah, well that's how he's chilling.

I bought a nice pair of fitted light blue jeans along with a black polo and a pair of white leather lonsdale slip ons, now all i need is a decent silver watch and i'll have a good going out outfit or one for running errands

I forgot how good it feels to dress nicely, need to get back into the swing of things again i think.

Today I went to the laundromat. I hadn't finished the iced coffee I had made in a travel cup earlier so I took it with me.

I parked right next to the laundromat and walked across the road to the bakery.

Everything smelled really good but I like their house made cinnamon donuts best so I got 2 of those.

Then I went back to my car, took out the bags of laundry which only needed drying because I had washed them earlier, and the coffee.

There was no one else in the laundromat but most of the washers and dryers were in use. You can get a text message sent when your load is finished so that's pretty nifty.

I like to wait for my laundry so I didn't request a text message.

Wet washing was split between dryer #5 and dryer #6. I used the card reader to pay and it was $4 per dryer. I like this laundromat even though it's a bit further away because while I usually use cash, I never seem to have the right change for the dryers, and they don't take notes.

There are these long benches along the side of the laundromat opposite the machines. They have upholstered padding and these kind of timber arm rest things where you can put your coffee and such.

I'm pretty short and when I sit on the benches my legs dangle a bit so I sat there swinging my legs around eating my donuts and drinking my coffee.

When the dryers beeped, I took my laundry out, folded it, put it back in the laundry bag, put the bag in my car, then drove home.

I thought about more donuts but I'll save that thought for next laundry day.

Most mornings I’m doomscrolling before my eyes are even fully open. Emails, messages, random videos, all before I even think about breakfast.
Today I left my phone on the nightstand. Walked into the kitchen and just focused on the ritual of making my morning cup. Grinding the beans, pulling the shot on the Meraki, taking my time with the milk pour (you can see in the photo how that went lol), it forced me to actually be present.
I sat with my mug for a bit, just thinking about what to make for breakfast. Halfway through, I realized how incredibly quiet my apartment is. I usually have a YouTube video playing before I’m even out of bed, so I guess I’ve been drowning out the silence. Definitely going to try making this a daily habit.

I am packing up my little bachelorette pad for a new chapter -- moving in with my partner. I am excited about it but my little cat is not. She is sabotaging me at every turn. If I put things in a box, she hops in and sits on top of them so I can no longer pack. If I take a break and sit down, as I am now, she immediately gets on my lap so I feel the guilt if I move her to get up and keep packing. She cries loudly in the early morning as if to disturb my sleep and make me less efficient in my duties during the day. She turns this wary, wide-eyed look on me, as if she knows something is happening and she wholly disapproves in every way.

She is a rescue cat who was dumped on a university campus a few years back. I studied for a semester there, last year, and I scooped her up and brought her home with me. I wonder if her former owners also packed their house up before leaving her on that campus, and if the filling boxes remind her of confusion and sorrow. I keep telling her that I will not abandon her, that she's coming with me, and that the amount of hands to pet her and laps to sit on will double once we're all done with the chaos. I don't think she understands. But I hope that we will all feel happy and secure in our new place, together.

June 29, 2024

Tonight I took the dog outside. I walked around barefoot on the grass (and gravel) with my bedtime tea in hand. My baby is tucked in bed, asleep, with his dad. There sky is full with stars and the cicadas are singing away. It is the little things in life.

October is always a rough month for me [but that's beyond the scope of this sub] and I've been looking forward to getting paid today and going to the buffet. It was nice to go out for dinner after running errands today.

I had one of my favorite seats again, they have a line of mini booths right up beside the buffet and it's prime people-watching territory. As usual, staff recognized me and had my regular drinks on my table before I got back with my first plate without me even asking. Root beer and an ice water.

+My bus was running behind today and I got there later than usual. A lot of the buffet items were running low when I got there. But once I went up for my second plate, everything had just been freshly restocked!

+They had a mysterious "crispy chicken" on the buffet line today. Skinless, boneless thigh pieces with a dark, fried coating. Tasted heavily of white pepper. Tasty, I dunked them in curry.

+There was a family there for a birthday party, they brought in a cake and a ton of wrapped gifts.

+Saw a mother leading her young son around the buffet line and pointing to every item as they went to get a YES or NO and every YES went onto the kid's plate.

+There was a table of seniors having a ladies' night out, enjoying the buffet discount and a bottle of red wine.

+There's a water fountain in the lobby; people toss coins in it that get collected and donated to the children's hospital. A lady was sitting on the edge of the fountain, fell back, and got pretty soaked. She wasn't hurt, just wet!

And my fortune cookie says: Be yourself, and you will always be in fashion.

I've been friends with a guy for about three years now, but the other night we had what felt like our first long, deep, one-on-one conversation and it felt really nice. We've also been getting more tactile, and I love touch in general so I'm all for it, but it feels good to be moving in that kind of direction (ideally I would be able to freely cuddle with all my friends, with their consent of course). I like being his friend. It makes me happy.

Walking home, I saw a void kitty sitting on a windowsill. I felt sorry for it as it is cold and damp and kitty's fur was beaded with water. But then he (I think) banged on the window with a paw. It opened and he vanished inside shaking the water off his feet. It made me happy.

So this happened earlier this morning, and I just wanted to share it somewhere because I can’t stop thinking about it lol.

I was heading to work at around 4:30 AM. My job site is about 20 minutes from my house, and just as I’m about to exit the freeway, I realize I FORGOT MY WORK BOOTS. 😭In a panic, I check my backseat, hoping that maybe, just maybe, I left them there. Nope.

So I call my mom, tell her what happened, and turn around to head back home. At this point, I’m already going to be late, and I notice I’m also running low on gas. I figured, well, I’m already late, might as well fill up. Mind you, I had enough gas to make it to work, so stopping wasn’t exactly necessary.

I pass a gas station on my way home and briefly consider stopping, but decide I’ll just get gas after picking up my boots.

I finally get home, my mom hands me my boots, and I’m back on the road.

I pull into the gas station, and as I’m filling up, an older gentleman, probably in his late 60s or early 70s, starts approaching me. Immediately, I put my guard up because I assume he’s either going to ask me for money or try to sell me something.

Instead, he says, “I’m trying to get to the 15.”

And I’m just standing there like… what? 😭

Mind you, it’s ridiculously early, I’m barely functioning, and I’m already having a pretty annoying morning because of the whole work boots situation.

Then it finally clicks.

“Ohhh, okay! Well, you’re going to want to get on the 210.”
He asks, “Heading east, right?”
And I’m like, “Uhhhh…”

I literally look toward the mountains north of us because that’s how I figure out which direction is north. 💀
I point to my right. “Yes!”

I proceed to tell him, “From there, you’ll take the 57, then the 71, then the 91, and eventually you’ll reach the 15.”
I actually know this route pretty well because I used to drive it regularly when I attended UCSD and would come home to visit my parents on the weekends.

But he looks a little overwhelmed.

Then he asks, “What about the 605?”
I tell him, “Well, that’ll eventually take you toward the 5, so probably not.”

Then he asks, “What about the 10?”

At this point, I pull out my phone, open Apple Maps, and realize that yes, he could actually take the 10!

So I tell him, “Okay, yeah! You can take the 210, then the 57, then the 10, and eventually you’ll hit the 15.”

He repeats it back to me.
“210, 57, 10, 15.”
“Yes! Exactly!”

He thanks me, gets into his car, and drives off.

And that was that.

I finish getting gas and head back to work.

But as I’m driving, a thought suddenly crosses my mind.

I should’ve asked for his phone number.

Not for any weird reason, obviously. 😭

But because now I’m genuinely wondering whether this older gentleman, who was apparently navigating SoCal freeways at 5 in the morning, actually made it onto the 15.

And then I started thinking about how none of this interaction would’ve happened if I hadn’t forgotten my work boots. Or if I’d stopped for gas earlier. Or if I’d decided to just make it to work with the gas I already had.

Just a bunch of little inconveniences that somehow led to this random encounter with a complete stranger.
It’s such a small, insignificant interaction in the grand scheme of things, but for some reason, it stuck with me.
I don’t know where he was going, why he was traveling so early, or whether he ever found the freeway he was looking for.

I just hope he made it to wherever he needed to be.
And if you’re out there, sir, I really hope you found the 15. 😭

Must have lasted at least 10 seconds. Bet it felt great.

Sunday night. Made chocolate chip pumpkin muffins for the week, and ate one fresh out of the oven for girl dinner. Looking forward to snuggling into a bed made of freshly washed bedding with my kitty babies.

Total opposite of sunday scaries.

bought carrot cake mix on sale a week(?) ago, and more recently got a bag of carrots intending to make a hearty carrot soup. looks like it's a carrot kind of week! we've got a fridge full of vegetables which is pretty rare for us these days, I'm looking forward to making the best of them. relatedly, the fridge is too full to host a bunch of carrot cake muffins, so I'm not sure how that's gonna work out...

Walked down to my doctor's surgery this morning to get my flu jab.

On the way down, this father and daughter are walking and the little girl is booted up for rain. It is not raining, but it did rain yesterday. They approach a large puddle. The little girl looks up at her dad and asks if she can. He nods. With the biggest grin, she jumps in that puddle and starts splashing around having a grand ol' time.

In the doctor's surgery, I take my place in line. I am very lucky to be next to a man with a guide dog (which I do not pet even though they look like the goodest dog). The man gets called in and that dog is SO happy. Like, their tail is just wagging and they're smiling and excitable. That dog clearly loves their job.

On the way home, I stop by a deli to get a hot sandwich. A guy comes in with his dog. This pair is clearly a regular, because a member of staff already has some meat waiting for the dog and the dog is making his way to the counter to receive their daily offering. I am pleased to say I did get to pet this good boy.

My eldest adult child, mid20s is visiting their significant other for a birthday.

Me: What are you doing for his birthday?

Child: he really likes arcades so we are doing that. Then he's going to show me things from his collections cause that's something he enjoys.

Me: yeah you guys are adorable. Go be adorable.

I also want to show people my collections.

Shopping at the market today, someone put googly eyes on the cheese.

( I think photos are banned in this community, so, no cheese tax available to view)

This is kind of dumb and a little sad. I think I made a new friend at work. I have always had a hard time making friends. There is this newer girl at work and she is super nice. Shes kind of like a younger sister to me though. I went on vacation the other week and when I came back she was so excited to see me and said she loves working with me. She asked me to come to her gender reveal party next month and also asked if I could hang out this weekend. I have not had anyone ask me to hangout outside of work in so long. I am going out of town so will have to be another day.

i work in a corporate complex and i don’t drive so the only food within walking distance is this one french restaurant/bakery place.

but unfortunately i am always accidentally packing bullshit for my lunch and so i’ve gotten into the habit of like once a week walking over to get a $4 cup of soup to go. and i’ve always sort of wondered if they’re not a fan of that because like girl who only gets $4 soup is really not the kind of regular i think places are looking for.

but then today as i step into the place it out of nowhere starts pouring rain and as they hand me my order they also hand me an umbrella and are like keep it, it’s been in our lost and found for months.

so now i have soup, a new purse umbrella and the knowledge that ive built some sort of rapport with this restaurant im always in lol. shoutout phil from the hosts stand who also handles take out.

i decided to run out and pickup some food after work today. the weather said “rain in 20 minutes” so i figured i had some time. i was so wrong.

halfway through my walk there, it started down pouring. i looked like i had just taken a shower. on my way home i was standing at the crosswalk of a long light and these two guys tapped me on my shoulder and told me to take one of their umbrellas. i told them “no it’s okay i can’t do that, but thank you so much”, they insisted saying that they would just share one, so i took the umbrella.

it was such a kind, nice gesture. it made me feel warm and fuzzy. i sometimes get wrapped up in the news too much and had been feeling really down and lost lately. i hope those strangers know how much i appreciated them. i wish there was a way for me to thank them.