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It’s New Year’s Eve, and I don’t have much to write…

I just wrote a post for the travel blog that I was going to put on this blog… but then I realized that the content fits better with that blog than this one. The travel blog needs a little love, because most weeks I only update it a couple of times, rather than every day, like I do this blog. So I moved the original post that I was working on for this blog to that blog, and now I’m sitting here wondering what interesting things I might write today.

I see this New Year’s Eve writer’s block thing is kind of a chronic problem, as last year I did a “cross post”. That means I put the same content on both blogs, which I do on occasion. Not everyone who reads this blog reads that one, and vice versa. I’m hoping that in 2023, I can get the travel blog up a bit in hits, so I don’t reach cash out status for my ad revenue after I’m dead. As I pointed out in yesterday’s post, I don’t make big bucks writing these things. 😉

I could probably do a cross post this year, too, and this year’s post is more interesting than last year’s was. Or, at least I think it is. But I’ve got nothing better to do than write this stuff today… Otherwise, maybe I’d play Sims 4, which I don’t do very often anymore, even though I keep buying all the content. Or I’d read more of Jamie Lynn Spears’ book and cringe. She’s definitely no Paulina Porizkova, or even Matthew Perry, in the memoir writing department.

I see that last year, like this year, I’ve been doing chores today. I don’t know what it is about New Year’s Eve that makes me want to do household chores. Last year, I finally managed to get rid of the horrible chalky limescale in our bathrooms. Citric acid works wonders, not just for descaling the taps and the backs of the toilets, but it’s also great for cleaning the coffee maker. I notice that last year, I also hauled my ass up on the stepladder and knocked the scales off the shower head. I think I’ll do that today, too, as it needs to be done. Getting rid of the chalky limescale makes for a nicer showering experience, as there’s nothing to block the jets or cause the water to spray awkwardly.

I guess I do this cleaning because it feels like I should do it for a fresh start. Tomorrow is the beginning of a brand new year. It will bring with it the usual challenges, victories, and disappointments. I usually start the new year with some optimism, even though January and February are, weather wise, the most depressing times of the year, in my opinion. Up here in Hessen, it stays pretty wet and cloudy, and sometimes it gets cold. I would mind it less if we got more snow here, although even snow can get tiresome after it hangs around for weeks and gets all saturated with dog pee and frozen poop. I try to keep the poop cleaned up, but it gets buried, and then it gets all mashed up with the soil.

One thing I do look forward to this year is the prospect of more travel. Hopefully, we’ll go to more interesting places. Fingers are crossed, anyway. Maybe I’ll even take a trip “home” to the United States and see my mom, who hasn’t seen me since 2015. There are some places I haven’t yet been to that I would like to visit… and of course, I would love to go back to Armenia, just so I can show Bill where I used to live, half a lifetime ago.

I see from last year’s post that I hoped for a better year in 2022. Personally, I think I got that, but that’s just me. We did find out that our beloved Arran has lymphoma, but this year, for the FIRST time ever, we were able to do something about it. I know we will lose Arran eventually, but man, it’s such a good feeling to be able to do something, for once, when one of our boys gets cancer. It’s been a learning experience for us, and those of my friends who have been following our experiences.

I have no doubt whatsoever that if we hadn’t done chemo, Arran would be long gone by now. But right now, he’s downstairs snuggling with his favorite person, Mr. Bill. I know that some critics would say that chemo only delays the inevitable, and that the cancer will probably come back with a vengeance… but the alternative would have been that we would have lost him weeks ago. What’s the difference between treating cancer and treating a disease like diabetes? If it can be treated, isn’t too expensive, and isn’t too traumatic, why not? But, I also know that in the United States, this would have been a harder decision to make, because healthcare for people and pets is so goddamned expensive! And it really shouldn’t be. Affordable healthcare should be a right, at least for human beings. Living in Germany has taught me that Americans have gotten this policy so wrong. I hope the onerous high cost of healthcare for Americans can be rectified someday before I’m dead.

I also see that last year, I mentioned my guitar skills. Well, this year, they are better than they were a year ago. I still don’t play super well, but I did manage to post a few songs on YouTube with me on guitar. I’m still a much better singer than guitar player, but in 2019, I couldn’t play guitar at all. So that’s a good thing… I try to practice most days every week, although I do usually take off the weekends, unless I get inspired.

This year, I finally got brave and sang on camera on my YouTube videos, which I never did before. I get very camera shy, and I don’t like putting on makeup or getting dressed. I also don’t want to read rude comments from haters. I have to admit, though, people have been very kind. I get more engagement when I sing on camera, even though I’m not as beautiful as some of the places we’ve visited. And I’ve tried some songs I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, too. I’m hoping for more of that in the new year. Even if no one pays attention to my channel, I do enjoy the process of making the videos. Or, at least making the musical part. I often find myself wishing I’d started when I was much younger than I was. Ah well. Maybe someday, I’ll be reincarnated and get the chance for a do over… except maybe the new me won’t have a knack for music. Maybe I’ll be a soccer player, instead. 😉

My latest… it’s a good song for the New Year. Cheers!

I finally got multifocal contact lenses, too… which I had been needing for ages. I still don’t have bifocal glasses, but I think those are coming, if I don’t have surgery. Next year might be the year I’ll finally visit a doctor… German or otherwise. I haven’t seen one for medical reasons since 2010. That could change in 2023. We’ll see. I am getting old, after all. My body doesn’t seem to recover as quickly as it used to. German healthcare isn’t expensive, so I don’t even have that as an excuse. It’s just that– well– thanks to a terrible Air Force doctor from my younger days, I am a bit phobic of doctors. The older I get, the less I think it matters… except I know Bill would miss me if I weren’t around to make him laugh.

Maybe in 2023, I’ll try something else on YouTube. Maybe I’ll v-log. But again, I hate being on camera, and I like to write more than I like to speak. I also like to watch other v-loggers. If I become one myself, I’ll have less time to watch people like Beau of the Fifth Column, Farron Balanced, or even Trevor Coult, with whom I often disagree politically, but I find hilarious, thanks to his thick Northern Irish accent. I also think I’d go a bit nuts trying to make videos where I speak, because I would invariably mess up, which would mean do-overs, which take a lot of time. I’m kind of a perfectionist, too, so that would be a problem. I suspect my channel will mostly stick to music. At least I don’t attract as many rude comments when I make music. 😉 Perhaps this year, I’ll finally write an original song and sing it on YouTube. That would be something different. A year from now, maybe I’ll be writing about that. Who knows?

Well, it’s time to wrap this up… It’s about 1:45 PM and time for lunch… the very last one of 2022. So, I will now close, and wish you all a safe, happy, and prosperous New Year. Let’s cut this cake and take this year home… so I can take down the fucking Christmas decorations. 😉

See you tomorrow!

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complaints

I hate it when this happens…

Sometime last night, I scratched my left cornea. Consequently, I have to wear my glasses today. My eye hurts and is watering, which makes my nose run. I feel tired and a little depressed, like I just want to go back to bed and sleep until my eye heals. It hurts to do anything that requires me to use my eyes, like typing this post. Consequently, today’s fresh content will probably be kind of skimpy. That’s also why there were so many reposts today. I hope someone will find the book reviews interesting.

My glasses need to be upgraded, since my left eye is a little bit weaker than it was when I got my prescription in 2017. I look like crap today. My hair is a mess and my eye is all irritated. I may not manage to walk the dogs today, even though we all could use the exercise.

I need to go to the eye doctor. I really would like to go and make an appointment for LASIK surgery, so I can ditch glasses and contact lenses. I also need to go to the dentist. We do have an appointment for that in late August. My car needs to go to the mechanic, so the top will go down (it’s a convertible). For some reason, the top won’t open all the way. It might be because Bill had to change the battery and shorted out something. I think we have an appointment for that, too. It’ll be good to catch up on the chores that were routine before the pandemic began last year.

Bill and I enjoyed celebrating his birthday last night… although I can’t say it was unlike any other night at our house. We listened to music and drank wine with dinner. We watched the dogs play and talked. It wasn’t a bad way to spend the evening, but it also wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Bill’s birthdays tend to get a lot less fanfare than mine get. But I hope we can plan a long weekend somewhere soon, and maybe celebrate a little bit more.

COVID-19 still makes things suck. I read an article this morning about how four vaccinated people working in the California Capitol building tested positive, causing the mask mandates to be reinstated. I didn’t read that the people who tested positive and were vaccinated were symptomatic, but they did contract COVID-19. I think it’s inevitable that most of us are going to eventually get COVID. The vaccines will make the disease less severe. There will be fewer deaths and hospitalizations. But, like the common cold, I think COVID is here to stay. Hopefully, it will eventually become much less dangerous and this fucking face mask culture will go away. I am so over it. I hate the masks, but I also hate that the whole thing has become so politicized. Case in point, check out the screenshot below.

I will admit, this was initially my fear, too. But I have noticed that a lot of people really hate the masks. I doubt this will become a permanent law, if COVID-19 is made less deadly. I hate that conservative people are blaming the restrictions on “liberals”.
More from these mental giants.

I just want to go back to living a normal lifestyle. Although, I guess in fairness, my lifestyle isn’t all that normal even when there isn’t a pandemic. Anyway, I was thinking maybe I might explore some more music today, but I feel kind of shitty because of my eye. It hurts less when I close my eyes… so maybe that’s what I’ll do. But I can tell Noyzi won’t like that. I hear him whining for a walk as I type this.

I don’t really feel like putting on clothes and walking the dogs… I just want to crawl back into bed. WAHHHH.

On another note, I did watch this hilarious ad by George Clooney for a contest he’s running (the video is no longer available, so I deleted it). Seriously, it’s worth watching, even if I could drive to Lake Como if I wanted to. In fact, we have driven there. It’s an experience for those who don’t mind aggressive Italians who tailgate.

I like George Clooney. He seems like a normal guy with an extraordinary life. I would enter his contest, as long as I don’t have to watch his episodes of The Facts of Life. That was not a career highlight for him.

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