By The River
Oct. 16th, 2023 09:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jakebeMy time during R.'s trip didn't turn out the way I had planned, but it was a very good time regardless. I generally assume that I won't be doing much socialization when he's out of town, but that's proving to be a faulty one -- I ended up doing stuff with folks every day he was gone.
On Thursday I invited a couple new friends over for dinner and a movie. One of them, who we'll call E. today, recommended a musical from an independent troupe called Starkid. They put on original musicals every year; recently it's been a series of interconnected horror-comedies set in a place called Hatchetfield. The first one, "The Man Who Doesn't Like Musicals", is a really funny alien-invasion tale where one man's hatred of musical theatre turns out to be humanity's last hope. I didn't have high hopes for this, to be honest, but it turned out to be a real hoot! If you like musical theatre, there are worse ways to spend two hours!
Friday was pretty rough; I got such little sleep on Thursday night that I was brain-dead all day. Even still, I had it together enough to watch an episode of Twin Peaks and The Great Pottery Throwdown with K. Saturday, E. came over again while I made a pot of beans and rice, with my first ever iron skillet cornbread! I'm happy with the way it turned out, though I do think I'll make some substitutions the next time. Butter instead of vegetable oil for the cornbread, maybe -- after the initial burst of flavor, there's nothing on the backend. I think a nice buttery finish would work well there.
And on Sunday, I walked around Mountain View as part of Pokemon GO Community Day. I caught a metric ton of Grindurrs and ended up with at least two three-star versions for each evolution! I also managed to progress a few other challenges while hanging out with four friends there. It was a nice, chill afternoon, and a great way to bond with these folks I haven't seen in a while.
And K. kept me going to the gym the whole time. There was only one time I would have petitioned skipping, but I'm grateful that he kept me honest and active. I'm still sore all over, but hitting the gym with him was...somehow...a lot more chill. We both tend to favor lower weights for better form, and try our best to keep up a good cadence between sets. Things aren't that much more complicated with R., but he tends to go notably slower and that ends up extending our gym time quite a bit.
While I was able to bond with folks, I didn't fold the laundry or get any writing done. I didn't prep for the next D&D game; I didn't reorganize the kitchen. But to be honest, I'm not sure I would have anyway if I spent the last several days by myself. Knowing that I'd be going to the gym or having company over encouraged me to be a lot more active than I would have been otherwise, so that's a net positive. I wouldn't have beans and rice and cornbread for lunch today if he hadn't come over.
One of the things I've been working on is the choice paralysis that comes when I'm left to my own devices. I could actually kill an entire hour trying to find the right thing to watch because nothing sounds very good. I caught myself with this behavior over the weekend a few times, and I've been asking myself in those situations "What do you *really* want?" I think it shakes me out of the paralysis stupor and encourages me to think about the things that are actually attractive. It's early days, but I think this might be a good practice overall.
I'm noticing how much my natural inclinations lead to...sub-optimal outcomes more and more. If it were up to me I would have spent the last six days or so entirely within the apartment -- but I don't know if that would have made it any easier to do the things I've been wanting to do. At least doing so much with friends pulls me out of myself enough that I think a bit more deeply about actions and activity, not just sitting and consuming.
On Thursday I invited a couple new friends over for dinner and a movie. One of them, who we'll call E. today, recommended a musical from an independent troupe called Starkid. They put on original musicals every year; recently it's been a series of interconnected horror-comedies set in a place called Hatchetfield. The first one, "The Man Who Doesn't Like Musicals", is a really funny alien-invasion tale where one man's hatred of musical theatre turns out to be humanity's last hope. I didn't have high hopes for this, to be honest, but it turned out to be a real hoot! If you like musical theatre, there are worse ways to spend two hours!
Friday was pretty rough; I got such little sleep on Thursday night that I was brain-dead all day. Even still, I had it together enough to watch an episode of Twin Peaks and The Great Pottery Throwdown with K. Saturday, E. came over again while I made a pot of beans and rice, with my first ever iron skillet cornbread! I'm happy with the way it turned out, though I do think I'll make some substitutions the next time. Butter instead of vegetable oil for the cornbread, maybe -- after the initial burst of flavor, there's nothing on the backend. I think a nice buttery finish would work well there.
And on Sunday, I walked around Mountain View as part of Pokemon GO Community Day. I caught a metric ton of Grindurrs and ended up with at least two three-star versions for each evolution! I also managed to progress a few other challenges while hanging out with four friends there. It was a nice, chill afternoon, and a great way to bond with these folks I haven't seen in a while.
And K. kept me going to the gym the whole time. There was only one time I would have petitioned skipping, but I'm grateful that he kept me honest and active. I'm still sore all over, but hitting the gym with him was...somehow...a lot more chill. We both tend to favor lower weights for better form, and try our best to keep up a good cadence between sets. Things aren't that much more complicated with R., but he tends to go notably slower and that ends up extending our gym time quite a bit.
While I was able to bond with folks, I didn't fold the laundry or get any writing done. I didn't prep for the next D&D game; I didn't reorganize the kitchen. But to be honest, I'm not sure I would have anyway if I spent the last several days by myself. Knowing that I'd be going to the gym or having company over encouraged me to be a lot more active than I would have been otherwise, so that's a net positive. I wouldn't have beans and rice and cornbread for lunch today if he hadn't come over.
One of the things I've been working on is the choice paralysis that comes when I'm left to my own devices. I could actually kill an entire hour trying to find the right thing to watch because nothing sounds very good. I caught myself with this behavior over the weekend a few times, and I've been asking myself in those situations "What do you *really* want?" I think it shakes me out of the paralysis stupor and encourages me to think about the things that are actually attractive. It's early days, but I think this might be a good practice overall.
I'm noticing how much my natural inclinations lead to...sub-optimal outcomes more and more. If it were up to me I would have spent the last six days or so entirely within the apartment -- but I don't know if that would have made it any easier to do the things I've been wanting to do. At least doing so much with friends pulls me out of myself enough that I think a bit more deeply about actions and activity, not just sitting and consuming.
