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One Month update
Jan. 9th, 2024 06:02 pmYeah, it's been awhile huh? So here's a bit of why.
For one, I've been consistently tired. The dry weather has been messing with my sleep and it's been keeping me pretty tired. Today is probably the best sleep I've had for awhile in fact which is how I got the energy to even post this.
Christmas was its usual share of frustrations over obligation. I think Michelle's mother liked the gift I got her for secret Santa (I made a gift basket and then felt bad about how generic that felt so also made a popup card for her). It included a guest from Portugal whom I met before: the youngest of Michelle's great aunts who was rebuilding her home after a fire and was a really crafty person. I genuinely wish someone would help her build an Etsy account since she makes these wonderful painted curtains.
Somewhere along the way, Michelle's cold bacteria became a cold virus and wouldn't you know it, one day I'm just waking up and my body is upending its entire contents so... yup! I've been clearing that out of my system for awhile now and that's been a major source of my current frustration.
Aside from that was a kind of cat and mouse game of trying to figure out a good thing to get Michelle and finding ways to avoid her finding out. At one point I got her a heavy wearable blanket until she started shivering from the cold and I gave it to her saying that I'd rather it was used when she needed it than held back some surprise. To get around that, I also bought her this Jigglypuff pajama thing (kigurumi I think it's called) that isn't exactly great quality but I saw she wanted when we visited a Japanese mall and realized it was 100 dollars.
She's debt free now, thank god.
I'm probably going to be paying an annoying amount of debt though as I found out I adjusted my state deductions properly but not federal. SIGH. One silver lining: I can afford paying the difference. I just hope it doesn't lead to an audit since this is the third year in a row this happened since well the two of us have been prepping for new jobs all the time. It's been a state of flux for us, that much is certain.
We spent our honeymoon in Burlington. It was nice until the heater did this rattle that fired off whenever it turned off and it was 20 degrees in the place, so I got as much sleep as you would expect someone that made technicolor phlegm would sleep (that is, not very at all). Two days of effort and we gave up, asked if they could look at it, ended up getting an upgrade to a suite instead where I slept better.
I think Burlington's as pretty as it always has been but there's definitely a bigger homeless presence. I found out that VT is now the state with the biggest unhoused problem next to CA, which I guess was bound to happen when housing prices keeps going up, jobs refuse to go up, and houses even had to go because for some reason VT thought the F35 was enough of a great idea to demolish an entire neighbhorhood of houses.
I love the state but we've always had problems trying to figure out how to get a house there. Now that we're earning more we probably could buy a place but it isn't going to be a great home. Housing prices are approaching Boston levels which has made things difficult. Still, we were treated to seeing people gather together to demand a ceasefire to Gaza. Sigh, it's still a cool place to live if you can afford it.
I've had jury duty which is as painful as you'd expect. Even the clerk who is assigning people couldn't spin it and basically told us we needed to do it the same way a mother tells their kid to eat their flavorless overcooked vegetables. A mother couldn't be excused to pick up her kid. At least two people begged to speak to the judge because they couldn't afford to take time off. All the depression of the DMV and you're stuck in a room being miserable with everyone else for five more days.
Well except for me, because I was selected. Yay. I've been leaving endless emails to both of my jobs updating them on my status so that everyone knows I'm not procrastinating from work. At least I'm still being paid no matter what unlike those other people. I just hope they enjoy hearing someone coughing up a storm every other moment from the tail end of this infection.
So all that and a nasty storm which is delaying jury duty even more.
I took some photos of the rat puppet with their many hats too. I need to remind myself to upload them. For people interested (all one of you) it'll come. I promise or else I'll feel really guilty about it.
For one, I've been consistently tired. The dry weather has been messing with my sleep and it's been keeping me pretty tired. Today is probably the best sleep I've had for awhile in fact which is how I got the energy to even post this.
Christmas was its usual share of frustrations over obligation. I think Michelle's mother liked the gift I got her for secret Santa (I made a gift basket and then felt bad about how generic that felt so also made a popup card for her). It included a guest from Portugal whom I met before: the youngest of Michelle's great aunts who was rebuilding her home after a fire and was a really crafty person. I genuinely wish someone would help her build an Etsy account since she makes these wonderful painted curtains.
Somewhere along the way, Michelle's cold bacteria became a cold virus and wouldn't you know it, one day I'm just waking up and my body is upending its entire contents so... yup! I've been clearing that out of my system for awhile now and that's been a major source of my current frustration.
Aside from that was a kind of cat and mouse game of trying to figure out a good thing to get Michelle and finding ways to avoid her finding out. At one point I got her a heavy wearable blanket until she started shivering from the cold and I gave it to her saying that I'd rather it was used when she needed it than held back some surprise. To get around that, I also bought her this Jigglypuff pajama thing (kigurumi I think it's called) that isn't exactly great quality but I saw she wanted when we visited a Japanese mall and realized it was 100 dollars.
She's debt free now, thank god.
I'm probably going to be paying an annoying amount of debt though as I found out I adjusted my state deductions properly but not federal. SIGH. One silver lining: I can afford paying the difference. I just hope it doesn't lead to an audit since this is the third year in a row this happened since well the two of us have been prepping for new jobs all the time. It's been a state of flux for us, that much is certain.
We spent our honeymoon in Burlington. It was nice until the heater did this rattle that fired off whenever it turned off and it was 20 degrees in the place, so I got as much sleep as you would expect someone that made technicolor phlegm would sleep (that is, not very at all). Two days of effort and we gave up, asked if they could look at it, ended up getting an upgrade to a suite instead where I slept better.
I think Burlington's as pretty as it always has been but there's definitely a bigger homeless presence. I found out that VT is now the state with the biggest unhoused problem next to CA, which I guess was bound to happen when housing prices keeps going up, jobs refuse to go up, and houses even had to go because for some reason VT thought the F35 was enough of a great idea to demolish an entire neighbhorhood of houses.
I love the state but we've always had problems trying to figure out how to get a house there. Now that we're earning more we probably could buy a place but it isn't going to be a great home. Housing prices are approaching Boston levels which has made things difficult. Still, we were treated to seeing people gather together to demand a ceasefire to Gaza. Sigh, it's still a cool place to live if you can afford it.
I've had jury duty which is as painful as you'd expect. Even the clerk who is assigning people couldn't spin it and basically told us we needed to do it the same way a mother tells their kid to eat their flavorless overcooked vegetables. A mother couldn't be excused to pick up her kid. At least two people begged to speak to the judge because they couldn't afford to take time off. All the depression of the DMV and you're stuck in a room being miserable with everyone else for five more days.
Well except for me, because I was selected. Yay. I've been leaving endless emails to both of my jobs updating them on my status so that everyone knows I'm not procrastinating from work. At least I'm still being paid no matter what unlike those other people. I just hope they enjoy hearing someone coughing up a storm every other moment from the tail end of this infection.
So all that and a nasty storm which is delaying jury duty even more.
I took some photos of the rat puppet with their many hats too. I need to remind myself to upload them. For people interested (all one of you) it'll come. I promise or else I'll feel really guilty about it.
