Lots To Be Grateful About

So this Friday of work-at-home week1 is unusual only because of the fact that it's clear that we're ALL working from home. No clearer evidence as when one walks outside and sees almost no one on Sawtelle Blvd on a Friday where there is usually a line of cars trying to get on the 405. And mind you I'm only out because I wanted to get a sausage Mcmuffin simply to break up the monotony of making my own eggs for breakfast. That's one thing to be thankful for is that at least SOME places are still open. You can still count on McDonald's and Starbucks drive-thru both a block from my apartment. Another thing to be thankful for is that it IS payday today and I did get paid. There has already been an uptick in anxiety in the general population because it is clear that the economy is going to take a huge hit for this. And people all over, those making less at my company, Lisa's staff just for examples are clearly worried about what would happen if they couldn't come in to work and get paid. This is a prospect that is looking like it is going on for at LEAST the end of next month. As I said, I'm grateful that I am getting paid and that I actually have more than enough to last many months without even dipping into emergency funds. And you know what? I'm actually grateful to be working from home, in my shorts and without taking a shower today. Ok that last part I should have done anyway it's just that it sort of slipped my mind. Today's pic that I posted is actually similar to the one yesterday with one notable exception. No Johnnie around. He's with Lisa at Dr Aalam's while she is with her dad getting an extraction. I don't know how he's going to be able to do homework if he's there but hey, it's Lisa's turn today and I respect that. Especially after I've had him the last 3 days. It's going to be real interesting now that she's not working either how we're going to work things out with the joint custody. For now the game plan is not to piss her off LOL LOL. Anyway I did manage to get things done on THIS Friday, actually more than I would usually get done if I were in the office. I got another virtual platform tested with my team [8x8] and it actually turned out pretty good. And so by the time I had lunch, that is to say trying to finish off all the leftover stuff from last week that I didn't eat, I felt like I had accomplished plenty for the day. It's funny that the one thing I'm not doing when I'm working from home IS catching up on this journal. I would for sure do that had I been at the office. Funny how that works out isn't it?

By 5 PM I had actually gotten 6000 steps in already too. That came from taking frequent breaks and walking around the perimeter of my apartment. This isn't so bad. I'm grateful that I still get to have exercise and that I've been able to keep up on my steps goal. And while I'm in that grateful space, I also noticed that my resting heart rate is down to 67 today. It hadn't been that low in a very long time, certainly not in a year I don't think and I"m very grateful for that as a marker of even better health. And it's been in the 60s for a week now. What have I not done all week? Drive! Hmmm... And so with that I wound up the first week of remote work which was relatively quiet and relatively pain-free. I can't really see what's actually going on because I'm not in the front lines but then again that was the point wasn't it? To stay functional without a physical presence? With the shopping at Trader JOe's that I was able to do a couple of days ago I actually got to have an Asian meal with noodles and shaved beef yakitori sauce style and I threw in the old bok choy that had been around my fridge for a couple of weeks though it was still good and voila: I had a pretty good dinner I hadn't had. Better yet I had already downloaded a couple of movies which was still in theaters and I had at least those choices for my viewing pleasure this evening to chill. And what did I end up watching? The Letter for the King... a Netflix series about a young teenage boy trying to be a knight who ends up getting caught up in a life-or-death quest to save a kingdom. A boy-becomes-hero tale to be sure. I don't know what attracts me to these kinds of stories. Other than there ARE always lessons Yoda-style a la Star Ward Episone 10 the Empire Strikes Back. Maybe THAT is the attraction. There was a scene where young Tiuri was being t aught to sword fight and he had a much heavier sword. The metaphor was that the heavysword was his dark self. All his emotional burdens and perceived inadequacies that he needed to stop fighting against and instead embrace. And when he did that he was able to wield it and control it and use it to his advantage. Hmmm. And I got a life lesson today to boot. Grateful for that too. Fortunately this series wasn't all that long. Only a few episodes so I didn't have to binge watch until the wee hours of the morning like I did last week. I got to bed and to sleep much earlier. Remote work week 1 done and done :)