MeghanIsMe

The grocery order I just picked up included 500 grams of bacon that we ordered. It also included *2 kilograms more* bacon that I didn't realize was included as part of a promotion if you have a large enough order.

If not for Covid, I would invite people over for a bacon party. (So, so tired of Covid.) As it stands, I guess Miriam and I will eat a lot of bacon before it hits its April best-by date.

I'm so frustrated by a broken vacuum hose.

I bought the whole vacuum for $20 on Kijiji. The hose got clogged and I tore it trying to get the clog out. I don't see any replacement options for less than $75, and for that I can get another whole vacuum from Kijiji. What really bothers me is just the waste of throwing out an entire functioning vacuum body. I could disassemble it for parts, but I really don't see having a use for that kind of motor in the future and there isn't a whole lot else to it.

The strangest part is, the clog was a balled up sock. Just a sock. I tried pushing it out with a broom handle it was jammed in there solid. I couldn't actually *see* the item because it was just past the bend in the handle. So I ordered some security Torx bits to disassemble it. That let me see just barely see it and I thought it must be a sock wrapped up around something. Now that the bend from the handle wasn't there, I tried to push it out again with a broom handle from the other side, but I pushed so hard it tore the hose apart. And when I looked at the item, it was just a single sock.

I can't comprehend how it could have been stuck in there so tightly.

I've never had a front-loading laundry machine before and the one here does not do a great job of getting pet (and human) hair off and away from clothing. Is there a trick to it? Does the machine need a cleaning?

I will write a general update soon, and maybe include a few pictures. I've been playing a lot of Guild Wars with Danae and being anxious, but I've gotten some interesting things done and had some frustrations while trying to do them. For instance, I keep thinking there must be somewhere to buy a plunger that's closer than the Praxis 3 kilometers away, but if there is I don't know how to find it.

We had former housemate Nathan and a friend of his foster daughter over for board games on Sunday evening. During a game of Betrayal at House on the Hill, a spooky knock sounded at our door! It turned out to be something far scarier than a cursed ring or some mysterious fog; it was the building engineer telling us that our condo was leaking onto our downstairs neighbor's ceiling.

I spent a while poking at it yesterday and am pretty sure it's a leak in the hose attached to the sprayer. I took the bad one to the local Ace, but it is a Hansgrohe and has dumb proprietary parts. (They make it "easier" to replace by having a quick-connect!) So we had to order one online to the tune of about $50.

It should be here tomorrow for me to install. In the meantime, I've left the end of the sprayer hose coming out from the undersink cabinet and sitting in the sink so we can still turn on the faucet and get water.

A number of unrelated things have given me thought about time management lately. I want to devote time to the people in my life I care about (including me!) and the things in my life that matter to me. I get easily distracted by other stuff after work, so I'm going to experiment with deliberate planning of activities. I also talked to Danae about making plans with each other to ensure we both feel like we're prioritizing each other and other concerns in ways acceptable to both of us. Communication is pretty great.

We discussed time specifically in the context of me dating. Because Danae has a lot more experience with poly issues than I do, and because it hasn't really applied to us very much for a long time, I've kind of assumed that its rather easier for her than it actually is. She's socially isolated, and deeply stressed and anxious about her dissertation and job search. I'm a very large part of her support structure right now, and that's very important to me. It also makes me uncomfortable to talk about time in a way that feels like either of us have a claim on the other's time. More Than Two succinctly described the way I feel about allocation of time; that it is a gift, not an entitlement. It's really scary for me to ask for something that feels very important to me and risk being told no, and that's what time as a choice and gift means: the possibility of rejection. I believe that, while it would be fairly easy for someone who knows me to exploit my weaknesses of personality to manipulate my choices, Danae is not someone who would do that. I believe I'll be able to weigh the wants and needs of people I care about and give my time to them in ways that are not equal, but are fair. As long as there's enough communication happening for me to have the necessary knowledge to do so.

I'll have to figure out a good way to manage time commitment to housework too; that bears some thought. I've often done that on weekends, but if my weekends become busier I may have to spread that out. This Friday, I'm driving out to visit Erik. He's never seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind so I'm bringing that. We might do some sewing or something to. I'm staying there for the night and getting back home some time Saturday.

Yesterday, I played Divinity: Original Sin 2 with Danae. Today, I'm going to focus on my radio kit. The amplifier is done and the AM detector stage is next. To get all my equipment connected, I'm using a prototyping breadboard. I create a test signal with my signal generator and run it through a pot to attenuate it. The wiper output from the pot goes to one rail on the prototyping board and the ground of the generator goes to another rail. Then I can use hookup wires and alligator clips to get everything else connected to it; my frequency counter, my scope, and the radio kit itself. It works decently well.

Today is the first time I'll be working in the archives here at work after my desk shift and I'm excited about that. I might be cataloging the contents of some institutional time capsules.

I was just now cleaning some stuff out of my purse and looking for my Chapstick when I found a mini chocolate bar. I don't even remember putting that in there. Thanks, past me!

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My new storage bins have some missing drawers and it seems to me that replacement ones should be printable. I have calipers and a ruler, but no CAD knowledge. I expect I could figure it out so that'll be a project for some point in the future, but I'll be occupied with other stuff for a while. But it'll be nice to have all the drawers there, eventually.

After one of my two free-cycled wooden bookcases collapsed, I contacted a Craigslist seller with several metal shelving racks at $15 per unit. She turned out to be a really nifty person to talk to. Her husband and father had both been techy folks. One had a Ph.D. in biological math and the other designed control systems for furnaces. As well as the shelving units, I bought eight or ten multi-drawer parts pins, many stuffed with various electronic components (as well as random screws and thing I'll have to toss). Just as cool, I mentioned when I first visited that I was looking for slide rules. On my return trip, she'd found two of them for me, including a 20" K&E with a magnifying cursor. Of course, I bought those too. I now own five slide rules by five different companies.

It's been long enough since I did a bunch of cleaning that I had to look around for the container of laundry quarters that I put in a 'more reasonable place' last time I cleaned.

This weekend, and even the last couple days of the week, were strange for me. I felt just disoriented and 'off' enough to not get much of anything done except going to work. But yesterday Tim was visiting and he and Miriam and I all had sushi with good people, then he and I played through the most recent game from the maker of Undertale. Things were good that way at least.

I ended up angsting about bikes and money and lack of motivation to be productive until I fell asleep on the floor next to Seregil's bed. Maybe that's what I needed because I woke up comparatively clear-headed and decided to go to the store to buy a pump so I can really start my day.

Turned out the store closed at five, ten minutes before I woke up.

So I'll do that tomorrow. I'm going to hang my wet laundry and do dishes while I poke at Factorio occasionally. I also just paid my parking ticket (go me!) and may clean the trap out in the bathroom sink so it drains properly again.