Where to start? Oh, I got it.

The wind needs to call the fuck down!

There was a day where the temperature was 40 F, but the wind chill brought it down to 17 F.  I didn’t realize how bad that would be, so I still went out to the park for 20 minutes.  It didn’t go well even with gloves, hat, and a jacket.  My hands were numb by the time I was done with Pokemon and back in my car.  I would have gone home earlier, but an accident after I got to the park resulted in my way home being blocked.  Had to wait for the cops to create a path before I decided to waste gas in traffic.  I’m glad this weekend is better for when I go out in the afternoon, but I won’t be staying any longer than I have to.  Finish the Pokemon research, get the shinies I want, and scamper back home.

Progress was made in terms of writing.  Not only getting a bunch of February posts set up, but with Darwin & the Demon Game.  I got halfway through chapter 15, which I’ll definitely finish today.  That leaves 2 more chapters and I might be able to finish 16 tomorrow.  I’m sneaking in a few pages on the nights I don’t have my son, so it’s still feasible that I’ll finish the hand edits before holiday break.  That means I’ll be typing things in during the break and printing out the last of the finished books in time for 2025.  If things go well, I’ll be able to start writing Darwin & the Joy Path by the summer or even Memorial Day.

Mentally, I had a rough go of the week.  Had body temp issue Monday night, so I woke up groggy and off.  This led to a general feeling of not wishing I existed.  Posted about it on Facebook and found that people had their own definitions of this.  I made it clear that it wasn’t me saying I wish I was dead or in a rut.  I was simply emotionally exhausted from things and wished to ‘not exist’ for a bit to recover.  This doesn’t make a lot of sense because it’s not a coherent, clear thought.  Maybe it’s just like wanting my psyche to get defragged like those old computers, but with me not aware of things.  I’ve gotten a little better since then.  Still drained and plan on using this weekend to edit until the Pokemon events that run from 2-5.  That time gives me the morning and evening, which usually allows for most of a chapter.  Not sure how that will go when I start writing things that are fresh, but we’ll see.

Now, the highlight of my week was rather silly.  So, I try to order some snacks from a place in Oswego, NY called SNAX Enterprises LLC.  They get various chips, cookies, sodas, and candy from other countries.  Shipping/handling is pricey since it’s food, but I really enjoy what I get.  Anyway, I made an order for stuff while on my lunch break.  Later on, I went on Instagram and saw they posted a video where they were showing an order being put together.  I watched it thinking it was funny how all of those things were what I ordered a few hours ago . . . Then, the guy said ‘Thank you, Charles’.  It’s such a silly thing, but that really made my day and gave me the boost I needed for a crazy Friday.

I’m still working on holiday presents too.  Got a secret Santa gift and two more things for my son to get.  It’s rough spending this money when I had to spend around $1,100 on the new laptop and had car repairs before that.  The snacks were a purchase I was holding off on, but figured I should get myself something that wasn’t a necessity.  It’s rough spending money on things when you aren’t making as much as you used to.  I know there’s the ‘live within your means’ crowd, but that gets difficult when you find that you can’t get anything fun.  All food needs to be on sale, any entertainment things go to my son, and I have to suffer a pang of guilt whenever I spend money on myself.  Heck, I spent 5 minutes debating on if I should buy a bag of pretzels to use as snacks this week.  That can’t be psychologically healthy.

With all of that in mind, I’m going to stop after the final 3 presents if I even get 2 more for my son.  I’ve already picked up 5, which includes the $40 worth of Pokecoins.  Maybe just one more and going to see a movie that comes out during the break will be it.  I mean, I really only have one more item in mind that I know he could use.  Anybody else have trouble with present shopping?  Stupid question there.

This coming week is going to be similar to the previous one.  There are appointments every day, except Wednesday because my son has his Winter Concert.  The weather is to be cold and rainy, so not much outdoor time unless we hit the mall.  Plan on doing that Tuesday evening.  I’ll get some editing done since 4 of the 5 appointments are for my son, so I end up in the waiting room.  Can get 1-2 pages done at least in that time unless I’m called into the session.  This means I have a better shot of finishing Darwin & the Demon Game before the break.  I’ll probably take some evenings to post more for February since I have 12 days to cover.  Guess it will be a busy week.

Goals?

1. Get to chapter 17 of Darwin & the Demon Game at least.
2. Finish holiday shopping.  (Edit: Actually just did this when I checked two things and saw they were already at less than 10 in stock.)
3. Help son study for two tests when he is here.
4. Play Pokemon Go when I need to relax and weather permits.
5. Do a few February posts if possible.
6. Watch more ‘Arcane’.
7. Have fun at work where we celebrate one student’s birthday and end the week with a field trip.  Try very hard to not let fatigue and one of the many diseases going around knock me out for a day.
8. Food shopping.
9. Sleep soundly