TWITL – week seventeen – warming up

The weather is getting warmer and I’m not ready for it. It’s only April and we’ve already hit the upper 80s. It doesn’t really help that we’re basically stuck at home and can’t go out to hang out. Alas.

the pattern
the latest pattern

We’re supposed to wear masks when out in public. I wore mine at work when I visited the other building and it was a bit warm for it. I’m glad I haven’t gone anywhere that requires me wearing a mask for a prolonged amount of time.

I had my first Zoom meeting for work. It was nice “seeing” everyone and touching base. Even though the students aren’t attending school physically, we all still have our work to do, whether it’s from work or home.

I also had a Zoom meeting with my sister and cousins. It was lovely chatting with them and catching up with them. We’re trying to make it a weekly thing, which is really nice. We try to keep the chats within the forty or so minutes and I think next time I might write some stuff out as an “agenda” for myself. We shall see!

Tyler Rich
Tyler doing his thing

The things that keep me sane in this utterly weird time include:

  • Having a routine… I wake up at around the same time every day (0630 hrs on Tues/Thurs and 0700 on Mon/Wed/Fri) and I think it’s keeping me even-keeled in many respects. The office days are easier to fall into routine. The work at home days require a bit more effort but I’m finding I’m doing it well enough…
  • Simon Kassianides’ daily poetry readings… I look forward to his posts because 1) poetry and 2) it’s Simon reading poetry. His readings are seriously a bright spot to my day…
  • Writing a poem everyday… I write a poem every day, screenshot it, then post to my IG story. Since my writing has been taking a break, it’s good for me to keep up my creativity in some fashion so poetry it is…
  • Hello Fresh meals… We’ve been doing those Hello Fresh meal kits and I’ve actually been having fun with it. I’ve never spent so much time in the kitchen! We do the meals together, which is definitely a good thing because I’d be lost and frustrated if I had to do it all alone. Our oven busted earlier in the week but it was fixed on Friday, thank goodness! My tummy definitely appreciates the “real” food as opposed to the fast food, so that’s definitely a good thing…
Jack in Alfie Wickers mode
Jack in Alfie Wickers mode

TV things, bullet style:

  • Strike Back – We’re finally catching up on the last season and it’s been pretty good so far. I will always have a very special place in my heart for the Scott & Stonebridge years but this last crew did such a great job of creating new stories and compelling characters. I will always recommend it…
  • Tokyo Vampire Hotel – We started watching this Amazon Prime show the other day and it’s weird and intriguing. There are subtitles, so we have to be in a particular mood to watch the show. Still, it’s super interesting…
  • Westworld – I’m digging this season a lot. The plot lines are tighter and easier to follow though I wouldn’t mind a twist later. Such a well done with a surprising amount of heart at its core…
Simon
Simon

And one of the poems I wrote this past week…

you say you’ve always known
the whispers of my heart 
like a book to read at leisure
but you only skimmed some parts
you never read each line
you thought you knew the gist
but it was just the surface
there was so much that you missed
I suppose I could reveal
the threads between the lines
share all my hopes and dreams
but will that make you mine?