The state of me

It's been a while since I did a proper post. Of course there hasn't been much to write about, given the circumstances. I'm getting by, doing okay, for the most part. Except for when I'm not. I miss my mom. I miss my dad. I miss Granrodeo. I miss traveling. I miss going out to eat, or for a cup of coffee. I miss living a full life...

I should be, and am, grateful that I'm healthy (aside from some extra kilos that found their way to me -- damn adipose!), employed and comfortably situated. I'm glad for videos chats and socially distanced picnics. But I am bitter about not being able to fling myself into a Granrodeo tour to forget everything for a while.

As cases have slowed down to a trickle here in Fukuoka, I've begun emerging from my shell. I've met friends a couple of times, and ventured out last weekend for shopping and lunch. Tomorrow I will be treated for an early birthday tea. I am in the office 2-3 times a week as needed. But I'm not ready yet to really go anywhere yet, despite wanting to, desperately.

Sitting still makes me itch. I was rarely in Fukuoka for more than a couple of weekends in a row, and even when here, I was usually out. I turned that energy to decorating my apartment, baking and watching far too much TV. I've caved and started using Uber Eats, so I do have a bunch of new restaurants to write up, though I doubt I will meet my New Year's resolution of 52 new ones. And for some reason, Uber has been telling me there's no couriers in the area all day, despite no torrential rain today.

I'm still dealing with my dad's estate. Part of it is on hold until such time as U.S. consulates start doing notarial services again, so not much I can do there. And getting the antiques sold is being hampered by the virus. But today I signed the paperwork to accept an offer on the house. I hope the sale will be finalized within three weeks or so, at which point I can close out a few other items on my to-do list. That will be a huge weight off my shoulders, to say the least.

Getting my hair cut on Friday, which it desperately needs (we shan't discuss the bangs I gave myself a few weeks back). But as I don't plan to get anywhere near a nail salon for the forseeable future, have been doing my own. I'm not very good at it, but hopefully I'll get better. 

I've become hooked on British panel comedy TV shows. First, I plowed through QI and Would I Lie to You?, since my parents introduced me to those. I wish I could talk about the shows and comedians with them... I've moved on to Jimmy Carr-hosted shows:  The Big Fat Quiz, 8 Out of 10 Cats, and 8 Out of 10 Cats Countdown. These will take me a long time to get through. I also watched all of the short Was It Something I Said?, hosted by David Mitchell. I've had Nevermind the Buzzcocks recommended to me, and since I now adore Noel Fielding, will get to it before too long.

Speaking of David Mitchell, I binged all 9 seasons of Peep Show, which is hilarious in a very, very cringe-worthy way. I never never suffered so much second hand embarrassment watching a TV show, but it was worth it. I should move on to Lee Mack's Not Going Out, which I've seen a couple of (and apparently now own a whole season of, since my parents had the DVDs).

33

Caught up on seasons on 16-22 of South Park. Always crude, and mostly enterta3ining. Watched all of Nailed It, which is silly fun. The Good Life was absolutely marvelous -- sweet, funny, and irreverent all at once. Bull was generally good, though knowing of Weatherly's behaviour on set makes it uncertain I'll watch season 4. I had started Preacher eons ago, and finally watched the last 3.5 seasons. I think they did a great job getting the blasphemous joy in this show. All I remember of reaching Preacher was hating the ending so much I sold the books. I didn't hate this ending, so that's an improvement.

Been watching a lot of Amazon Prime and Netflix originals. Electric Dreams was good. The Man in the High Tower wasted an interesting premise and promising start. The Haunting of Hill House gave me the emotional ending I viscerally needed, but that didn't gel with the horrors preceding it. Black Mirror is okay, but not great. I'll see if I get back to it. Ripper Street didn't hold my attention enough to get back to it. One season left of Orphan Black, which I'm largely enjoying  (Helena and Crystal are awesome). Watched all of Picard, but was underwhelmed. Watched seasons 2-3 of Stranger Things, which were okay, but not as fun as the original. Locke & Key I liked very much, and want more.

I've seen a handful of movies, mostly misses. This does not include Knives Out, which I watched on the plane back to Georgia. Tons of fun, especially Chris Evans and Daniel Craig. Almost watched it again on the way back. Watched Midsomar and Hereditary on one day. I didn't find either particularly scary (I'm weird that way), and preferred Midsomar, which was, at least, quite lovely, and more coherent. Last night I watched Under the Silver Lake, which was frankly boring. It screamed "I am clever, see my homages, get distracted from the meandering plot by bare breasts!" I felt like rewatching Mulholland Drive and LA Confidential after. Today I watched The Hateful Eight, which, Tarentino-esque violence aside, was entertaining. It also means Django Unchained is probably next for me.

Also have watched way too many YouTube videos. WatchMojo is my main vice, and my current source of movie recommendations.

Til next time~9