Saturday January 23
Felt normal today.
Worked on organizing Recovery Kitchen driver lists so I can create a spreadsheet that will track drivers and meals and produce reports. I'm dealing with multiple lists, including those handwritten in a loose-leaf notebook and pasted into email. Nightmare. It takes Pam six days to work out the next week's schedule, so she wants to turn it over to someone else. But no one can take this monster on without it being in some computerized form. It should be in a database or pivot table, neither of which I’m familiar with, but at least I can put this stuff into Excel columns and tables.
The Recovery Kitchen Valentine's Day dinner Eventbrite invitation is a go.
Ingrid, the girl Willie had hopes for texted him today and said she has decided on another guy she has been dating along with Willie. (She’s a psychiatric resident. How does she have the time?) Anyway that makes me sad.
The game Willie and I had been playing the last time he was here hasn’t been saved and we didn’t want to repeat it so I turned him on to the Mandelorian.
I made knockwurst for dinner and Michael and I danced to an old Fine Young Cannibal's song. I could only shuffle my feet and twitch but it was great to move to music with Michael and feel good. Very happy I’ll get four weeks between chemo sessions.
Watched a Nathan and a West Wing. Neville and Harris called during them so I phoned back. Both were happily drunk celebrating the transformation of their garage into a studio. They talked nonstop over each other, while I occasionally hammered my way into the conversation. Michael was dozing in the background. Zoe wants to buy a house down the street from them and move her mother Gladys into the apartment that’s attached to it. Harris and Neville and I all like the tribe idea, but I'd be hesitant to include Zoe and Gladys into mine.
Sunday January 24
Worked on Eventbrite and Recovery Lists. What a bear. But, good news! Ann called and said she had an appointed for the vaccine after calling the state hotline. I was only checking website links, figuring that any Covid hotline would ring into eternity. But mirable dictu, I called and a lovely woman gave me an appointment for the vaccine on February 24 at SUNY Albany! Yay. Confirmation 1971263. Michael and Dave, who dropped by shortly after, then called the same number, but they were booked. Apparently I called just when there was a cancellation. Dave asked the representative if there were any appointments available in New York City, since he and Janet still have an apartment there. The woman seemed puzzled and asked, “New York City? Is that near Johnsonville?” She was equally bewildered when he asked about Manhattan and the Bronx. Upstate is an entirely different universe.
Willie and I spatch-cocked a chicken, which was ok. Watched the last Nathan and a West Wing.
So excited about figuring ways to build the spreadsheet for Pam's complicated driver and dinner lists that I couldn't sleep. I've loved spreadsheets since the early 80s, when I started working with Lotus 1-2-3 and defined ranges and changed calculations with a sweep of light. It wasn't like math. It was like magic.
Monday January 25
Basically all I did today was to obsession the RK spreadsheet, which will provide the backbone for reports and information, but unfortunately only I will be able to read it. I was in Excel flow till six thirty so we had to order mediocre food from Wunderbar. Then watched Mandelorian for the second time with Willie, followed by the Fran Liebowitz-Martin Scorsese series, during which she reminisces about New York and he laughs at everything she says. I enjoyed her memories so much, because they reminded me of why I loved New York through five decades of radical changes. We then dosed with West Wing.
Tuesday January 26
Dealing with my frustration over my inability to convince Pam and Carole to give up some control so can I continue with my spreadsheet. They don't understand computing capabilities on this minor level. Actually they don’t understand computing at all. Pam, in fact, doesn’t even have a computer. She does everything on her IPhone. This doesn't stop them, however, from micromanaging. I have to remind myself of my years at SAM and Well-Connected, when I involved myself with every detail. It was Cindy who confronted me on this, forcing me to back off.
Snow at last! Hurray. It’s been so grim around here.
Made chocolate chip cookies for the first time since I was a kid, when the tollhouse recipe was the only option. They turned out great and we all ate too many. I made curried chicken for dinner.
Was still hot when Michael got home from the Greenport planning board meeting, where a guy who wanted approval for reducing three lots to two brought in his mask less six year old kid, explaining that he had to bring him because his wife had tested positive for Covid. The board should have sent him home. Everything is nerve wracking. Watched another terrific Fran Liebowitz, a Mandelorian, and a West Wing.
Wednesday January 27
Lots of RK work today. Two Zoom meetings: one on how to get grants and the other for transforming this crazy hodgepodge of a delivery meal system into a coherent spreadsheet system, which I’m not sure I can do. Another volunteer, who knows spreadsheets, has offered to help out. Pam is adamant about having one person do all the work on managing deliveries that she is been doing, but neither of us wants to take it all on. In addition to maintaining lists, she also has to talk to the drivers, make sure they don't get lost, and fine substitutes for those who can do deliveries that week. So I don’t know if I can do that. I have to get everything done by the end of the week and before I do my chemo infusion next week, so I have a hard deadline.
I made a meatloaf tonight. We watched Fran. Mando and West Wing
Thursday January 28
Very busy day. Spent the morning cleaning up the RK spreadsheet. Then went to Harris and Neville’s for lunch. Neville made her own inspiring pizza, a pasta with mushrooms, and salad. My weird and feeble contribution was a huge tin of anchovies that I bought online by mistake, some cheese, and the last six chocolate chip cookies. Fortunately Harris was very enthusiastic about the anchovies. Neville's friend Bobby was there, a sixty-year old eternal bachelor with a puppy-like enthusiasm for life in spite of a dysfunctional family and no long-term relationship or work. Their house gets better and better and the garage turned into studio will be terrific.
In the evening Michael and I zoomed a long CCDC meeting, feeling detached and not involved. At the end of the it Keith made a heartbreaking announcement that his daughter has just died of breast cancer. More deep loss in this terrible time.
Friday January 29
Worked all morning on various RK projects including a new mailer, an FB post, an article for Imby, and lists. Got tired of it all. We went to Relish for sandwiches and its last day. Dana has finally given up her restaurant dreams after going through all their variation: a high end one, a luncheonette, a food truck, and finally the half market half luncheonette that she is closing this week. I can’t imagine she’ll give up cooking. At some point I’ll need a dinner after my friends, Michael, and I are vaccinated to celebrate the end of something, and I'll ask her to cater.
I bought pizza dough, and inspired by Neville, tried making one tonight, I put artichokes and cauliflower on top and it tasted ok, but the crust was very thick and was more like a focaccia.
Called Lee and had a somewhat loony conversation with her. She rambled on about her anger with Jim and Tommy, with no indication of grief at all. I then talked to Tom, who is writing his memoirs, and totally disinterested in anything else.
Michael got a vaccine appointment the same time as mine! Yay
Watched Fran, Mandelorian and West Wing.
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