No Bueno

In an effort to bring my weight down and regulate my diet, I've been cooking more and eating at home rather than buying fast food or food from other restaurants. But, occasionally, I don't feel like cooking or I want something other than what I have in my refrigerator, so I'll go out to eat. Today was one of those days. I ordered a meal from a restaurant and picked it up. It was lousy. Half a rack of sub-par ribs, inedible asparagus, and an overcooked sweet potato. What a disappointment. I should have just made a sandwich at home and saved myself $30. The last time I got tacos, they were disappointing too. What happened to good food? Is every business suffering and cutting costs by downgrading their food these days? I can't recall the last time I had a really good meal from a restaurant (fast food or otherwise). It's either no bueno or just okay. Rarely good, but never great. 

I understand that a lot of restaurants are suffering because they've had to raise prices and customers aren't showing up the way they used to, but the quality of the food they're serving has really gone in the shitter lately. I'd be willing to pay for a meal that was good, but paying for a meal that's a disappointment just makes me want to stay home. At least when I cook, I know what I'm getting. 

Clarity

A few weeks ago, I watched a clip from the movie Office Space on YouTube and found myself laughing because the film still holds up today for those of us who do office work. I enjoyed this movie when I saw it initially more than 20 years ago, and I still enjoy it now, 20+ years later. 

I had a meeting yesterday with my manager and others from my day job and it left me feeling really annoyed with everyone involved (myself included), but it also left me with clarity. Sometimes you need a signal or a kick in the ass to make you see things you've either  been blind to or ignored for too long. I woke up this morning still feeling annoyed about that meeting, but also knowing that it's time to make some changes in my life this year. I should have actually made changes last year, but I didn't because I was too worried about Donny T's return to the White House and figured I'd better keep the status quo and see how things shake out. Well, things ain't shaking out too well and it's time to start making some moves no matter what's up with Donny T and the Funky Bunch, Part Deux. Now, I'll do what I have to in order to keep my eyes on the prize and move my life forward. Change is hard 9and it's even harder when you're older), but sometimes it's necessary and fear shouldn't keep me or anyone from doing what you feel is best for you and your life. 

Bye, Bye, Bye

This week, I finally said "bye" to my Netflix subscription, and not a day too soon. I'd been contemplating canceling the service because, far too frequently, I would log onto Netflix, see what shows and movies were offered, and log back out without having watched anything. I was a Netflix subscriber since the days when they sent DVDs in the mail, but no more! I gave it up because I just wasn't happy with what they were offering: shows I wasn't interested in and many movies I didn't want to sit through. The last thing I was really interested in watching on Netflix was Squid Game and I even struggled to get through the final season of that show. 

In other news, Donny T has given the boot to his janky AG, Pam Bondi. Good, but we all know she'll just be replaced by another bootlicker. The same goes for Kristi Noem who got the boot a few weeks ago. One sycophant replaced by another. I doubt either Bondi or Noem will realize they sold their souls to the devil and got nothing in return except humiliation and a kick in the ass out the door. Bye, Felicias.

Too Much TV

I am really making an effort to scale back my television viewing habits each evening during the week because it's out of control. I watch far too much TV after my day job ends and I'm trying to devote an hour (at least) each evening to reading. (I need to be writing also, but that's not happening at the moment, unfortunately.) The sad thing is a lot of the stuff I'm watching at night is crap like reruns of  shows like The People's Court and Hot Bench. I could surely be spending my time doing something else. 

In addition to carving out some reading time during the week, I also made the decision this month to cancel my Netflix subscription. I've been with Netflix for years, back when they used to send DVDs in the mail to you. (Yes, I'm that old.) I've stuck with Netflix for a long time, but I'm ready to give them the boot now for one main reason: I don't care for the bulk of the stuff they're offering right now. Rarely do I find anything I really want to watch on Netflix anymore. The last thing I watched and was interested in was Squid Game. I finished the series and largely enjoyed it. But, after that, nothing. I watched the first episode of the Vladimir series (because I read the book that it's based on) and haven't gone back to finish it. I'm just not interested. I did finish the book, but found it a little disappointing also. Still, I was interested in watching the series. A huge part of my problem with Vladimir is the casting. Rachel Weitz and Leo Woodall are both horribly miscast in this. (Were no Americans available?) Lately, just about every time I turn to Netflix, I end up flipping through the choices of shows and movies and leaving the streamer having watched nothing.

One bright spot in my TV viewing these days has been with HBO/Max, particulary with The Pitt. That show is great for me right now. This week's episode really wound me up for a variety of reasons, but I was glad to finally see the showdown between Santos and Langdon. As annoying as Santos is on the show, the was on point with her criticism of Langdon's behavior when she read him the riot act this week. One opinion I've read in the recaps, etc. for The Pitt (and this season, in particular) is how men and women are treated in the workplace. I don't work in the medical field, but I know all too well how women are often dismissed and unfairly criticized in the workplace (usually by men). It's sad. I had a male manager tell me once that my problems weren't "real" problems. Really? Would he have said that to another man? I doubt it! That kind of stuff grinds my gears, but The Pitt is doing an excellent job of exposing that kind of behavior this season and I'm loving every minute of it. Maybe I'll bump my cheap HBO/Max subscription up to one that allows me to cut the commercials after I drop Netflix.

Don't You Believe It!

Like a lot of folks, I was amused by the recent video of the McDonald's CEO looking like he was about to barf while taking a rather small bite out of a new burger, the Big Arch. This guy claims to enjoy McDonald's food, but his face and body languge tell a different story. I'm loving it? Not really! If you're the CEO of a fast food burger business and you don't want to eat your own "product," there's a problem! I'm a firm believer in standing behind the business you work for. Sure, we all need a paycheck or some kind of money coming in to survive, but I, personally, wouldn't work for a business whose products I didn't believe in or didn't like. For example, I hate pickles, so you wouldn't see me working for a pickle company. If the McDonald's CEO can't stomach the food of McDonald's, then maybe he needs to find himself another job. Don't push your food on me if you can't stand to eat it yourself! Not that I expect the CEO to love everything on the menu, but he needs to stand behind the product he sells. Don't tell me to spend my dollars at McDonald's when you secretly hate the food. The same goes for people, especially these tech giants with ivy league degrees, who tell young people they don't need to go to college. Don't you believe it! These folks are hypocrites. Do as I say, not as I do, right? Whatever.

My father retired from Ford Motor Company and he was and still is a firm believer in supporting the company he worked for by buying Ford cars. (He did drive an AMC Gremlin briefly in the 1970s, but only because he couldn't afford the Ford model of car that he wanted at the time.) To this day, my father drives Ford vehicles. Yes, he gets a discount as a retiree (as he did when he was working), but it's still important to him to support the company that employed him for over 30 years and I see nothing wrong with that. 

In other, totally non-related news, I am really enjoying The Pitt on HBO Max. I watched the first season and I'm all in on the second season now. I wish Drs. Robby and Abbott would hook up (hell, maybe they already have), but I'm sure that pairing will only happen in my dreams. 

Murder in Glitterball City

Back in June of 2022, my sister and I had a brief stay in Louisville, Kentucky and I enjoyed that visit. While I was there, I stopped by the visitor's center and picked up a book titled A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City: Murder, Secrets, and Scandal in Old Louisville written by local author David Domine. The book focused on the true murder of a man whose body was found buried in the basement of a gay couple's home in Old Louisville. I was not familiar with the case before I read the book and found it both sad and interesting. I recently stumbled on a documentary on HBO based on the book called Murder in Glitterball City and just finished watching it last night. I love a good true crime documentary, but this one really had me shaking my head. Even though I had read Domine's book about the case, seeing the actual people involved and watching parts of the trials of the suspects in the documentary really made me angry. The couple both pointed fingers at each other about who was responsible for the murder of the guy in their basement. I think both of those dudes were guilty of murder. Only one is currently serving life in prison while the other is walking free after getting lesser charges and a shorter sentence. Neither guy seemed particularly upset about the man who was killed and they both lived for six months in a house with a dead body buried in the basement. Who does that? Some people are truly evil. 

What I learned from reading the book, seeing the documentary, and during my visit back in 2022 that, coincidentially, was during Pride week is that Louisville has a thriving gay community. That surprised me but, again, I really didn't know much about the city (and still don't) even though I set two of my recent short stories, Ray's Friend and Not Sweet Enough, there. But I plan to return to Louisville someday to see more of the city. It's definitely a place I'm interested in knowing more about.

Freezing February

Janky January has turned into Freezing February in these parts. (Actually, January was pretty cold at the end of the month too!) This winter in Chicagoland is proving to be more severe than expected. Given that the past few years have yielded pretty mild winters around here, this year is payback, I guess. My car wouldn't start a couple of weeks ago and I had to call AAA to get a jump. The driver told me I didn't need a new battery...yet. My father encouraged me to start my car every day even if I didn't drive it just to warm it up and get the juices flowing. Yeah. Okay. I work from home on my day job and there are days when I don't even leave my home. Running my car is an afterthought. 

I had a brief trip to Florida last week for my day job. It was warm there until it wasn't! Temps dropped during my visit. When I got to town on a Sunday, it was warm. I saw people wearing shorts and tank tops. By Monday night while I was out, the chill had set in and when I left on Wednesday, high temps were in the 50s (and that's cold for Florida). Florida is an interestin place that I'm okay visiting on occasion, but not the kind of place I'd like to live. Yes, it normally has nice weather and no state personal income taxes, but it also has a lot of critters, a lousy governor, and a political climate that doesn't agree with me. I have family members who moved there and love it. More power to them, but it's just not for me. The more I think about where I'm going to spend my remaining years (either after I retire or before then), I often come to the conclusion that I want to live somewhere that has a change of seasons. Yes, freezing through February isn't great, but it's the price you pay to live somewhere that's agreeable in other ways.