Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog #80: Dream-Life Hangover, Phantom Oil Change, Supermarket Happiness, etc.

1. Anytime I get a taste of my dream job as a content creator, or filmmaker, or author, it’s a good thing. This past weekend, getting to see my old classmate’s one-man show inspired me. Speaking to him after I made sure to tell him that I use him as an inspiration for continuing my journey. It leaves me motivated to work on whatever my next project is. However, as soon as I walk into my day job after experiencing that motivation, I feel empty. I feel like I have failed. When I have my ‘days off’ to work on my other passions, I think, ‘this is the time I’ll get that big break.’ When it doesn’t happen and I have to go back to my typical work day, I feel like someone let the air out of my balloon. It’s almost like a dream-life hangover. Maybe one day it won’t be a dream anymore.

From after the show.

2. Several years ago, I bought software to convert VHS tapes to digital. I have more than 65 hours of old tapes I recorded during high school, and I am trying to get them all digitized before the VHS tapes eventually break. I have Elgato Video Capture. It has always worked fine. I hadn’t used it in a year or so when I plugged the cables in. For some reason, the software wasn’t on my laptop anymore. No worries, I downloaded the necessary software and drivers to do the job. Or so I thought. It turned out there were certain functions I needed to turn off on my laptop to get the software to work. However, once those were turned off, my laptop said it was dangerous and I needed to turn those functions back on. It was like an ice cream headache. In the end, I needed to delete the drivers for Elgato. Easier said than done. I spent a few hours researching just how in the hell to get them off my laptop. I was reading that if all else failed, I’d need to contact Elgato and get a new CD-ROM of the software. Not bad right? Well unfortunately, my laptop doesn’t have a CD drive, so yay. It was like a comedy skit where I just wanted to vacuum my car, but somehow managed to set it on fire instead.

3. Okay, I have reached the ‘I’m ready for fall’ portion of the summer. When it’s nearly 100 degrees and humid, that’s enough for me. Several years ago, when I was young(er) and crazy, I looked forward to running in all sorts of bad weather. Too hot? Let’s go. Too cold? I have layers. Hurricane or Tropical Storm? Sunglasses block the blowing sand. Blizzard? I can hide in a house under construction. That last one is 100% real. Anyway, this week’s heat and humidity took me out of my desire to do any run or walk. I chose to hide inside in the air conditioning. Hey, at least I am doing some sort of work, like this blog entry. Wake me when Labor Day is here. Sorry, not sorry.

4. There is an age-old line about New England that goes something like this: If you don’t like the weather, just wait a few minutes. That is how it went this week. I just mentioned it being close to 100 degrees early in the week. Only a few days later, we had rain with highs in the mid-60s. Honestly, if I had to choose between the two, I’m taking the rainy 65-degree day over the sunny, humid 97-degree day. I will say that my idea of perfect weather is partly cloudy, low humidity, and temperatures in the low 70s, but that’s just me.

The weather is always changing in New England.

5. After 2 months and 4 pretty bad injuries, I was finally able to start going back to the gym. I managed to injure my lower back twice, sprain my ankle, and nearly break both hands. The only thing I was able to really do over the past 2 months was go for walks and eat my feelings of being depressed. My first workout was good but man, did I feel my regression. I was so tired and sore almost immediately. Now my joke is how long is it going to be before I injure something else? I’ll take sore muscles. That’s way better than some sort of foolish calamity that leaves me unable to work out for another 2 months.

6. I am now at the age where waking up at 8am is considered sleeping too late. If you had told me 10 years ago that I’d be used to waking up by 7am on most days, including days off, I’d have said something must have gone wrong. I’m not going to start setting an alarm on days off, though. Years ago, the idea of waking up at 5am to hit the gym before work was a definite no-go. Now I am starting to think that within a few years I’ll be naturally getting up at that time. I still won’t want to go to the gym, though, I’ll just surf the net before sunrise.

7. My car is up over 150K miles, so keeping up on the basic maintenance is very important. My goal is for it to get to at least 250K. This week, it was time for an oil change. I usually go to Jiffy Lube since it’s quick and convenient. I mean, they do try to upsell you on a lot of stuff, but that’s kind of par for the course. This time was interesting. Everything seemed to be going well until one of the crew told me they couldn’t get my oil filter off. They said they tried a few ways, but it was rounded and nothing could get it off. What? Is that a thing? They told me I’d need to go to the dealership and they could change it. The irony is that the last few times I’ve gotten my oil changed, it’s been at the same Jiffy Lube. Getting the oil filter off has never been a problem. So what changed this time? I have no idea, but they ended up changing the oil and doing a few other things and not charging me. That was nice. Unfortunately, this means I have to do another trip for routine maintenance, and a dealership at that. You can smell the attempted upselling from a mile away.

8. I don’t know why, but one of my favorite things is shopping in supermarkets that I don’t typically go to. I mean locations that are out of my normal routine. It’s like I go to a Shaw’s or Stop & Shop, and all of them are varying shades of the same color. Still, somehow it’s new and exciting. It’s even more so when I go on road trips. You get me off of Cape Cod and have me stop at a Big Y, Hannaford, Publix, Giant Food, Aldi, or Wegmans? Oh man, it’s like I’ve won the lottery. I have gone to those places on vacations and maybe (definitely) have kept plastic bags with the logos. I even have an insulated Big Y bag that I bought. It is currently holding extra copies of my books.

9. After having a shaved head for about 14 years, it is still weird to me that I have a full head of hair. In fact, my hair is currently probably as long as it’s been, maybe ever. I can spike it up pretty high when it’s wet. The funniest thing is that if it’s not spiked perfectly, I get the hair at the front of my head, right where my hairline and forehead meet, falling forward. It literally looks like I have bangs like my sisters did in high school. I do plan on getting it trimmed down at my next haircut though. Not because of the bangs but the hair will tickle my forehead, which makes me think I have a bug on me, especially at night. Oh well, I know loads of guys around my age that would kill for the ‘problem’ of having too much hair so I should be grateful.

10. We’re now about 3 weeks out from my vacation, and I’ve got to tell you I’m not feeling any sort of road trip. I haven’t booked any hotels yet, and I’m kind of glad. I am looking forward to the time off, but I can’t tell if I am burned out or not. I work full-time and then work almost full-time on my content, such as this blog. It can feel like I am on a treadmill with working. Maybe as I get closer to the actual vacation, I will get excited and make plans to go, at least do one overnight stay, but who knows? Originally, I had plans for three overnights up in Maine and New Hampshire but honestly, as we get closer to the dates, just the thought of driving over four hours has made me lose interest. It is definitely a fake problem to have. Oh no, I have a paid vacation but don’t know what I want to do with the time. I don’t expect any tears shed for my predicament.

Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog: #47 - Holiday Photo Trips, Laptop Blue Screens, My Nana's TV, etc

1. One of my recent favorite holiday traditions is snapping photos and videos of a little boat in Allen Harbor in Harwich, MA. I found it maybe 5 years ago by accident. My only issue until this year was that the boat was in an area where if I parked in front of it I had to jump down almost 5 feet to the dock below to be eye-to-eye with it. This year it was moved down where I could easily step my old bones down. Granted I could just walk down the dock to where the elevation was lower, but hey I’m in photo mode. Also, photos of this boat are guaranteed to blow up on social media, and I’m all about the clicks and likes.

2. My final author event of 2024 was one of my best ever. Speaking at the Hyannis Yacht Club was amazing. Very fancy, and very friendly, and all of the people who came out to see my presentation gave it rave reviews. The woman who organized it said the people loved it. I could tell by the number of books I sold. To top it off I got sent home with some choice selections from the lunch buffet. I was busting with happiness when I left, and then busting with food later on.

It was a fun and classy book event.

3. People who know me and have come to my speaking events are shocked I am the same person they know. This comes down to me being far more introverted in my daily life. With my dreams of being a writer came the issue of having to learn to speak in public for events. It was not easy. My first few events back in 2014 consisted of me speaking into an open copy of the book I was presenting. I needed to craft a visual presentation to take eyes off of me. Plus a friend of mine at an event said I looked ‘bush league’ acting like a scared rabbit talking into my book. That influenced me too.

4. My event at the Hyannis Yacht Club was made even better by my cousin Dale being there. She and her husband, my cousin Richard, have always been special to me. As everyone grows older, and some start passing away, we see each other less and less. Last year I saw them both at a family event and she asked me to stay in touch. I did briefly via email but that didn’t last. So seeing her at this event was a thrill. It also helped to have family in the audience to put me at ease. As I just mentioned I am way more introverted than I appear at these events, so any sort of home-field advantage I’ll take.

5. One morning this week I woke up and turned my laptop on as I do every day. I was horrified to get the dreaded blue screen. It mentioned something not being installed or some other issue with an update. My heart was in my throat. I’ve had this happen several times before on old laptops. The worst incident was in the spring of 2020 when my hard drive basically cooked itself. I ended up losing well over 1,000 photos and videos from my amazing 6-day 2,100-mile road trip in November 2019. I turned the laptop off and back on and wouldn’t you know it everything was fine. Granted I’m now expecting another issue anytime now, but it’s almost like the computer gods wanted to remind me not to get too comfortable with my technology running smoothly.

6. As the holidays go along I start to realize just how many places on Cape Cod are a part of my annual photo trips. I start to get memories popping up on social media which remind me to visit these places. By my count, I have close to 10 places that likely will span several trips. It’s almost like an obligation now to get my fair share of holiday cheer. I don’t mind though. Any excuse to take night drives and get some really nice photos is alright with me.

7. When it comes to this year’s first shoot my luck was both good and bad. It was cold, hovering around freezing. It wasn’t very windy, even by the ocean, so that was good. However, a few of the spots I visited are typically lit up either with a spotlight or actual Christmas lights. This year two places were not lit up, at least not when I was there. I guess it could be worse, it gives me an excuse to go back again before the season ends to try to get more photos.

A festive scene on the Eastham town green.

8. Wandering through Stop & Shop one evening this week I passed by Marty the robot that glides along looking for messes for the staff to clean. If you walk near it the robot stops because it has a sensor so it doesn’t just plow into people. But it can be kind of slow and get in the way at times. Me? I just step around it because it’s not a big deal. This angry old man though felt the need to plow into it a couple of times with his shopping cart while badgering his wife. A. He’s a jerk and I feel bad for his wife. B. He looks exactly how you think he looks. 60-something, mustache, some garbage phrase on his shirt that needs a wash, and jeans that look like they’re going to blow away like dandelion spores.

9. I made a typical foolish card for some friends and family for Christmas. What I end up doing is creating a card and getting it printed through Walgreens. I do have an account with them but use it probably once a year. When I got ready to have this card printed I needed to sign in. Fine. Since I don’t use my Walgreens account much I needed to check my email to confirm. Sadly my Walgreens account uses my old AOL email. So I had to go sign in there for the first time in forever. When I went to sign in there because I never use my AOL account I then had to verify myself for that through my Gmail account. I did that and was actually expecting to have to verify my Gmail account next through my Subway account or something. Cards are ordered though and all is good.

10. Finally after having my Nana’s old giant CRT TV for 15 years since she died I decided it needed to go. I haven’t turned it on in many years. Basically, it’s been a huge paperweight on an antique stand that I remember her having since I was a kid. As far as I know, it still works. It even has the remote. When it came to carrying the TV down the stairs and out to the street I noticed that it felt far heavier than I remembered. I thought maybe I’m just older and weaker which was pretty depressing. Then I noticed I had the TV still hooked up to the cable wire which made it feel like a thousand pounds. The fact that I forgot to check that was more depressing. I left it out by the street with a ‘free’ sign on it. 

How I thought my move of my Nana's TV might end up.