* My copy of the 1st and 2nd seasons of "The Good Place" arrived yesterday (Again: it weirds me out a little that USPS will deliver Amazon stuff on Sundays; I hope that means that it's helping the USPS meet their financial needs)
I watched not quite half of the first season. A couple of vague thoughts:
- Right now Chidi (the professor) is my favorite character but given that I know this is a series known for twists, that might change. (Though seeing the season 3 premier, and how he had meltdowns over having to make decisions, that only makes me more sympathetic because I admit at times I'm there, where I worry too much about "what's the most ethical thing to do" rather than "what's easiest for me" or "what do I, personally, want")
- Am going to have to take it in smaller doses though because even though it's more upbeat than many things on television, it's still....not quite cartoons. It's a little heavier.
- Confession: I ordered a copy of Will Durant's famous History of Philosophy book so I could brush up a little. I know v. little about philosophy and maybe this is a hole in my knowledge I need to fix. (And Durant is probably easier to read than Kant; I joked on Twitter that "This will end with me wanting to read Kant, won't it?")
- I joked about having a little "thing" for Older Ted Danson but I think that's partly because his character dresses v. nattily, and I am a total sucker for a guy in a suit these days, because I tend to be surrounded by guys who dress very casually, and while that's certainly their prerogative....well, gentlemen? If you were going out on a date and wanted to low-level impress me, you'd at least be in a shirt with a collar and maybe even a tie.
(I kind of hyperventilated a bit - in the good way - when someone I know showed up for something in a kilt and a nice suit jacket, even though I also know he, as they say "bats for the other team")
(And I am v. glad the trend of "Big Johnson" t-shirts died. That was a gross trend and I would be the opposite of impressed if a guy showed up to pick me up for a date in one of those)
- The whole "points system" proposed for getting to The Good Place makes me twitch. (Yes, I know about the big spoiler that happens later on, but still). I could see becoming as paralyzed as Chidi was if I thought "how is this going to impact my Afterlife Points" with everything I did.
- I don't exactly *like* Tahani but I admit her competitiveness - the fact that she feels overlooked and unnoticed and as a result becomes obsessed with status - is something I can sympathize with, because I feel at times overlooked or like "I need to do something good so people will notice me" and always that issue with me tying my "worth" to "what I can do for other people" and I know I shouldn't do that but old habits are hard to break.
So yeah. I guess the show is making me think, which is probably a good thing.
***
October 1st, but no fall in sight for us - briefly last week I went back to wearing hose but I'm bare-legged again today as the highs this week are supposed to be in the mid to upper 80s and I am kind of done with it. I am ready to be able to burrito up in a blanket and not get too hot. I am ready for things like hot soup to seem appealing again.
Lots of people gearing up for Halloween. As I said: not a big holiday for me, just because I'm me, but it makes me happy to see people online enjoying it so much. (I did put up my fall wreath the other day, and maybe I make some time this week to pull out a few of the other decorations I have)
I'm thinking this year of going back to getting a little candy (something I can use the leftovers of, like Hershey bars) and being reading in case I get trick or treaters. It's a Wednesday night, so I don't know how many I'd get, but I'd still have it in case.
(And I can't do an elaborate costume because that Wednesday is a field lab. Boo. Maybe I wear my pumpkin hat if it's cool enough then, though. Or maybe I try to quick find a Halloween themed t-shirt I like? I often wear t-shirts and khakis for fieldwear as skirts don't really work as well. If I could find one with a cute black cat on it that would be good. Or I think I still have my "advice from a bat" t-shirt somewhere....)
***
I didn't sleep well last night for some reason. Had a bad dream which I mercifully don't remember other than that it was bad and I woke up from it and luckily it was early enough I had several more hours to sleep. (Often when I have a bad dream, it's *right* before I have to get up for the day and it colors my whole day).
Right now I don't feel too bad, and I just have one more class today (and then some grading, and if I can make myself, writing an exam for NEXT week). And I have Bell Choir tonight but that's good in itself, it de-tracks my mind from stuff that's worrying me because it's something different and because of the sheer level of concentration required.
There is a "shared governance forum" this afternoon right after my office hours. I feel like I should go, but I also don't want to go. (Though then again, if I go: there might be more concrete news about the rumored pay increases we will be getting). And yes, maybe this is how Chidi Anagonye is my "Good Place" patronus; he made some comment about how moral behavior is often doing things you know are right but don't want to do...
I will say I had a thought about (gestures at everything in the wider world right now): I can't do much to change it, given where I am and my position in life. I can vote and I can pray. I'm already doing the second and I definitely plan to do the first. Other than that, other than trying in whatever way I can to be a "good person" (by my moral definitions, which I frankly think are pretty solid) and things like donating money to disaster-relief efforts, there's not a lot I can do to change things. And maybe part of being okay with that is not paying as much attention to what's going on that I can't change.
****
Am close to done with the second sleeve on Augusta, which means that then I get to weave in ends, block, sew up, and do the front bands on it, and then it's done. Not sure what to start next but it needs to be a simple, carry-able thing for invigilating. Maybe make the "cabled tank top" (American translation: pullover vest) from the Folk Vests book? I know I have some dark brown tweedy yarn I've had for that for a couple years.
Or maybe get out the orangish "Oxblood" color yarn and start the Harvest cardigan? That one would certainly be simple enough for invigilating.
Or maybe I take some time either this evening after bell choir or tomorrow afternoon (my one afternoon "off" this week) and dig around in my stash and pattern library and see what I've forgotten about. I have many many projects ahead and really do need to work down the stash.
****
My dad is slated to come home from rehab today. He's not *perfect* in the sense of restored mobility, but the insurance appeals ran out and anyway, he's getting heartily sick of the place (both literally and figuratively: there seems to be something in some of the food that disagrees with him, and he's been having my mom bring some supplemental things for him over).
I hope the trip home goes well. He's supposed to have a PT person come into the house one or two days a week so hopefully he keeps up his strength and mobility.
I also hope he's up for talking on the phone tonight; it's been over a month since I spoke to him. (And at one point I thought that last time I spoke to him might BE the last time.)
****
My niece's gift arrived in good time (on the day UPS told me it would) and my brother says they've placed it on a closet shelf: she knows she's not supposed to open it yet but he says she does go and stand and LOOK at it because apparently she's happy to think of having a gift to unwrap.
(Little kids are funny but I also admit I am still somewhat the same way with Christmas or birthday gifts. And man, I miss that "infinite possibilities" feeling of kid-gifts, where you could imagine it being anything. Oh, I don't miss the occasional disappointments where you got clothes instead of a toy, or a book you already had, but I miss that feeling of wonder)
I hope she likes it (it's a big kit - in a briefcase-like case - full of various craft supplies like chenille stems and beads and ribbon and felt and stuff like that. Most little kids like making things, and apparently it also comes with some possible ideas for things as well)
At one point she expressed a desire to learn to knit and if I ever get to spend more than a little time with her, it might be time to teach her - I think I'd start with either a scarf for one of her stuffed toys (limited amount of knitting required on that; a real scarf takes too long) or one of those cotton dishcloths, and as a second project, a hat.
Or maybe teach her to crochet first, I don't know. I learned to crochet first and I think I found it easier to learn than knitting. (Yarn crochet: I am still not that good at thread crochet). There's a lot you can do with that, too: you can make all kinds of cool hats, and you can make some fun scarves with some of the fancy stitches, and if you use lighter weight yarn you can make whole garments. And of course, amigurumi.
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