The last two weeks or so have been really busy work-wise, and this morning has me up early to go into the office to facilitate a meeting that is designed to get to some fairly important outcomes. Long story short, the time I’ve been spending working on and thinking about achieving these outcomes leaves me feeling like work is tipping the scales in my work-life balance equation. It’s not a problem per se, but it has re-reminded me how sensitive the scales are, how easily they can tip, and how mindful (and vigilant!) we have to be to bring the balance back…and so I share this tidbit with you as a cautionary tale moving forward. We all know once the things tip too far we tend to tolerate sub-optimal conditions longer than we should, undermining well being…and now that we know better we can’t forget!
My reading situation
I think it’s a combination of this imbalance and the early darkness that has resulted in my reading situation being best described as “abysmal.” I’m staying on top of my dailies to both ground me and motivate me. I’m chipping away at my business/ professional development read (It’s the Manager). But fun reading has ground to a halt. I haven’t found anything that’s sucked me in. And while “no time” is a lame explanation on one hand (because I do have time) on the other hand it’s (kind of) valid in that I don’t have quality available brain time. Which is another reason I need to focus on restoring balance…to help me find actual time and brainspace for the things I enjoy but have fallen off of a bit. No excuses. I’ve been choosing more brainless stuff in my down time. Scrolling, half-reading articles, watching HGTV…I guess the silver lining is my acute self-awareness of what’s (not) happening…and maybe there’s something to be said for mindful mindlessness?
What’s cooking?
Lots going on in the kitchen, with The Big Bar Pizza Experiment continuing. If you’re from around here (the South Shore of MA) you know what South Shore bar pizza is, and you also probably now that the best around is at Lynwood in Randolph. My sister in Michigan loves it…and the pizza in Michigan sucks…so when I saw some recipes and tips circulating on social media about how to get in on the action at home I sent the info to her, in case she needed another pandemic project. (She didn’t, but she’s a nut who can’t say no to a challenge.) Since she seemed intrigued if not interested, I hopped on Amazon straightaway and sent her two of the recommended pans…and a monster was born. Fast forward 6 months…sis was loving it and kept asking what was holding me back, so there I was on Amazon, buying pans for myself. I need to experiment a bit but so far my first half dozen pizzas off the line have been solid. (Whatever you do, just don’t call them pies.)
Tasty, tasty stuff.
I also cranked out another winner of a delicious dish in the Instant Pot courtesy of NY Times Cooking, Honey Chipotle Chicken Tacos. So good. Do not underestimate the taste sensation powered by the pickled onions! Also, I used chicken breasts because chicken thighs kind of make me gag. Seriously what is up with all the chicken thigh recipes? And which word is worse: “breasts” or “thighs”? Anyway, I highly recommend this one. And if chicken thighs are your jam, go for it as the recipe is written.
What I’m washing it down with
I’ve been enjoying some tasty brews after a little bit of an IPA break. I went into the office last Friday…and it was the first time that I had been back in the office on a day that Widowmaker was open AND back to doing pours so I just *had* to stop in on the way home. Are they ever pushing some fine beer through the tap lines these days. The downside is that they only have full pours currently—gone are the flights and the half pours. But nevertheless the two full pours I had were so amazing that I brought a four-pack of each home. And when I cracked them on Sunday to accompany my football watching, I was not disappointed. If you live nearby and like a nice NEIPA, I highly recommend getting some Planet of the Vapes and Gigantium (both DIPAs) while you can.
The beer at Barrel House Z has been better-than-usual of late, and I particularly enjoyed the Festbier while sitting outside in their beer garden with friends on an unseasonably warm Saturday recently…a mini Oktoberfest in Weymouth. And Trillium never disappoints—their Apple Cider Daily Serving (fruited Berliner Weisse) is like drinking Fall from a can, in the most enjoyable possible way.
Music to my ears
I heard recently that Carole King was the first to be inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame twice, once as a songwriter and once as a singer. I haven’t been able to verify if that’s true but it’s kind of neither here nor there. Carole King rocks! So I’ve been listening to the Tapestry album a good bit lately (and take an occasional spin with her classic from the movie A League of Their Own, “Now and Forever”) which brings back such great memories of 66 Jaffrey Street, my aunt and uncle’s old place, where we’d sleep over and listen to music (albums and 8 tracks) and they’d let us take records home to borrow…Crosby, Stills & Nash…Seals and Crofts…Blood Sweat & Tears…The Doors…I think my love of music was born in that living room.
I also went on an unexpected audio journey on Spotify, triggered by my oldest nephew. He texted my mom that he was listening to “Ooh la la” by Faces and that it reminded him of her and Pappy…and my mom happily shared his message. Next day I decided to play the song in an attempt to transport myself back to those happy days (the ones when my dad was still living…f-ck you cancer) and sure enough, a few notes in and I had an ear-to-ear grin on my face. But what happened next was even more awesome…the songs that Spotify served up were an eclectic mix of happy and angsty and time travel, and almost all songs that I enjoy but probably wouldn’t have picked on my own. I’m down with Spotify spying on me and throwing a little AI into the mix if it fills my heart with happy beats (see what I did there?). And I love the part about my nephew texting my mom—music is a universal connector…across socio-economic divides…across generations…across planes of existence. That’s pretty f-cking cool. And you know when it comes to music, one of my besties might never have even become so much as a fringe friend if it weren’t for The Smiths. So I’ll always love music for that. (You know who you are. Love you long time.)
In other music news, I love the Elton John/Dua Lipa collaboration so I was really excited for his new album, The Lockdown Sessions…until I listened to it. “Cold Heart” is by far the best track. I also listened to the new single by ABBA, their first attempt at making music in something like 40 years. Let’s just say it’s no “Waterloo” and leave it at that.
TV habits
My viewing habits are as abysmal as my reading habits. The “to watch” list grows, yet I somehow manage to stay on top of Survivor and The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. I know—I need some discipline. I know. It’s all work’s fault. Screwing up my balance and all. (Note to self—get a hold of yourself.) But before I switch topics let’s talk Jeopardy! I think Mayim’s crushing it as host, I had fun watching Matt set records, and I warmed up (a little) to Jonathan…but now I’m glad it’s kind of normalized, returning champion-wise, with winners every day or few days vs weeks. Well until last night when Tyler also because a 5-time champion.
Anything else?
Yeah. Kind of. I’ve been thinking a lot. About what I want to be when I grow up. About the election results filtering in, and how it reflects continued (growing?) division/polarization….and how that scares me. About time passages…my mom left yesterday for FL for a month, and while I’m happy that she’ll be in warm weather with a bit more daylight and surrounded by family and friends, I’ll still miss her and our weekly dinners. And speaking of daylight then there’s the upcoming end to daylight savings time…which for someone with self-diagnosed seasonal affective disorder is a real body blow. Though the extra hour of sleep is a silver lining. So there’s that.
Cheers to silver linings.
Thanks for being here. I appreciate it at least as much as the last time I typed it, but quite probably more. Have a great rest of the week, and I’ll see you next Thursday, brimming with thoughts (hopefully).
Need to look into the pizza pans! Yummm Lynwood!! So one trivia question I actually know, thanks to my wife - Stevie Nicks was actually the first female inducted into the RRHOF back in 2019. Not that Carole is any less amazing. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/stevie-nicks-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-2019-814259/