Her head felt like elephants
were doing the merengue on her cerebellum
I have one of those mesh systems that is supposed to help spread your wifi more thoroughly around the house. We used to rely on it a lot, but then my friend Sheri’s husband came over and helped us with the whatever-it’s called where the wifi actually plugs into the computers & televisions. Ethernet? Wow, can you tell I have a job in tech?
Right, so I wanted to expand the mesh system to the shop where the cables won’t reach (or maybe they will? There is a nest of them dangling off the back of the house but I don’t know what they are). I have a television out there in the workout area and I’d love to be able to actually use it so I can follow Yoga with Adrienne on something bigger than my phone screen (my poor middle-aged eyes). I ordered a few more of the same mesh box things we already have and hooked them up using the app on my phone.
This jacked up the wifi everywhere and I have no idea how to fix it. None of my kids care because their important things are plugged into the cord thing. They care! They aren’t monsters! But they don’t know how to fix the mesh boxes either. Wow, I’m an amazing story teller today. Are you riveted? (Stay tuned, I have a gripping explanation for why I am sort of dumb right now).
Anyway, I know I can call my friend’s husband for more internet help, but I also did this really great thing where I gave myself a mild concussion (see! gripping!) so I’m supposed to minimize my screen usage (I’ve turned down the brightness to write this and am also wearing sunglasses and a headache ice pack thing). Also, I’m not supposed to be working out until my brain feels better, so working Youtube in the shop can wait.
How did you get a concussion, you are asking! I have answers:
A few weeks ago, I was moving things around in my office (partly for this ill-fated expand-the-wifi project) and unhooked the wire basket thing under my desk that corrals all the unsightly computer wires. It hung there, annoyingly, until Sunday night when I finally scootched under the desk to hook up a new power strip and shove all the wires back into their basket-y prison.
Whilst thus engaged, I had my head turned, wrestling with one end of the basket & the screw that attaches it to the underside of the desk. I was already saying many shits and damns when the heavy, black brick that exists for some inexplicable reason in the middle of my work laptop cord slid off the basket, swung toward me with extra centripetal force, and brained me in the skull right behind my right ear.
I saw stars. Cried. Said some bad words, then cried some more. With that horrible creeping sensation that I sometimes get when I accidentally touch a hot pan and slowly realize the burn is not a mere inconvenience, but one that is going to keep me up during the night and possibly need wound debridement from my exasperated family doctor who would like to wrap me in bubble wrap, I could tell this was more than a regular uncoordinated person injury, of which I am very familiar.
I called for my oldest, who is someone I do not talk to about worries or concerns unless serious with a capital S because he is (often) going to immediately trauma-leap to a “I KNEW YOU HAD SOMETHING TERMINAL HOW LONG DO YOU HAVE TO LIVE” flavor of reaction.
But he was very helpful in this situation and shone flashlights in my eyes and (calmly!) said things like, “Oh wow, I’ve never seen pupils dilate unevenly before,” and “I’ll drive you to the hospital.”
The good news is I do not have a brain bleed! The bad news is I am mildly concussed and there’s not a whole lot that can be done other than delegating some work tasks and delicately lying about with cold compresses awkwardly draped behind one ear.
I have a goose egg the size of Texas, some very pretty bruising that goes up into my hairline, and an extremely obnoxious headache. My friends have assured me that I do not sound any dumber but I feel dumber and am irritated when I cannot immediately find the word I want.
I typed up this link list before I concussed myself, unless you think it’s a dumb list, then I totally typed it up after. It is somewhat watch heavy.
Are you following our Idaho boy Benny? I binge-watched his new show, Overcompensating and though we are continuing to honor the long-standing tradition of 30-somethings playing college kids, I really enjoyed myself. It’s got content warnings & college gross-out humor yes, but so much heart I cried (episode 5, y’all 😭). I found Benny’s Youtube channel during the pandemic and want a prize for following him before he was famous. 🏆
For a more age-appropriate movie recommendation, I enjoyed the remake of The Four Seasons with Tina Fey and Steve Carrell. I’m planning on watching the original next weekend with Alan Alda and Carol Burnett.
My youngest and I watched Grave of Fireflies (Studio Ghibli). We knew it was going to be sad, but were completely unprepared for just HOW wrecked we were afterward. Me legit sobbing is not unusual, my sixteen year old legit sobbing? A much more rare occurrence. We literally had to hold onto each other at the end while we cried and then we could not stop talking about this movie for two weeks. It is an anti-war movie and I highly recommend, but bring a box of tissues. Also, once you get to the end, rewind and rewatch the beginning again. 😭😭😭
The second season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives dropped and I am 10000% here for it. A couple of co-workers and I virtually watch it together and then discuss on Microsoft Teams because we are just that professional. For me, it’s part therapy, part (manufactured) schadenfreude.
I do still read. 😬 A lot! And am currently tackling Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell a hefty book that has been on my TBR for a long time. Perusing an anniversary edition with a forward by Victoria Schwab gave me the nudge I needed to finally dive in. It has magic and fairies and alternative history and yet somehow feels like Jane Austen could have written it. I’m watching the TV series (aff link) as I go, but not watching ahead of where I’m reading. So far the TV series is fantastic!
I fell for one of those ‘boujee things on Amazon’ clickbait lists and bought this jumpsuit (aff link). It’s so comfortable and cute.
I also fell for some TikTok hype (and by TikTok hype, I mean the variety that gets shared on Instagram four months later) and bought one of these pilates boards (aff link). I’ve done a few of these workouts and am liking it so far.
A co-worker recommended this portable external monitor (aff link) for working outside or traveling. At home, I have a couple of large monitors and really miss them when I’m on the road. On a recent trip to Park City*, having this little guy really helped me stay productive. It took a minute to figure out how to turn the brightness up all the way and switch the sound from its speakers back to my laptop, but I highly recommend.
* On that Park City trip, I walked around and looked at some art galleries. I loved the displays by artist Taylor Smith. Smith completely covers the canvas in floppy disks (not the truly floppy ones from my childhood, but the hard little squares from… what, high school in the 90s into the aughts? Smith then paints the floppy disks, leaving some exposed. It was so fun to read the stickers and handwriting.
Title & subtitle, “Her head felt like elephants were doing the merengue on her cerebellum,” from Move the Sun by Susan Fanetti.