Feeling Blue but Happy for the Green

Monday

This morning I realised that my response to urgent events is a rise in anxiety and stress. I think I have always experienced this, but I don’t think I ever consciously acknowledged it. What prompted my thoughts on this?

Yesterday May 17, I received an email from a junior accountant at the firm that taxes that I had to file a state business tax payment and file an extension electronically by May 17. When I attempted to do it on the state website, I got an error that my business registration was not found. My anxiety immediately increased, and panic set.

Unless I have a preset method for handling things, I like time to understand the issue at hand, research and review my options before deciding.

It turns out that the junior account was in error. The tax isn't due until 2021.

Tuesday

Now that I have full-time employment again, I have not had much time to spend with Alphie during the day. I have noticed that he jumps onto my desk more often than usual and makes what sounds like a furtive meow before he plops down on my keyboard.

Wednesday

I'm settling into the new gig reasonably well, but I went from zero to nine projects in two weeks, and I have been heads down reading pages of documentation and attending peer review meetings. I'm exhausted at the end of the day.

I'm settling into the new gig reasonably well, but I went from zero to nine projects in two weeks, and I have been heads down reading pages of documentation and attending peer review meetings. I'm exhausted at the end of the day.

This morning I realised that I had forgotten to order the whole bean from Rockaffe. I enjoy the process of making fresh coffee in the Chemex each morning, and Bhavna has come to see as her in-house barista. She gets upset when I don't make morning coffee. Fortunately, Vitality, the owner of Rockaffe, also owns Buy the Cup, a coffee shot in Rocky Hill.

Before Bhavna awoke, I popped in to get us each a take-out cuppa. I grabbed my Minolta XD-11, attached the MD Rokkor-X 45mmF2 lens and loaded a roll of Vision 250D.

After I put the coffee in the car, I drove to Crescent Avenu and photographed some homes. Then I went to the Rocky Hill section of the D&R Canal and walked around on the wooded mound near the parking lot. The air was cool and crisp. I felt refreshed and made a mental note to persuade Bhavna to do an evening picnic on the grass. Or at least, if the early morning is conducive next week, grab a bacon egg and cheese bagel sandwich and a coffee from Buy the Cup and ti out on the grass by myself. Zen.

Thursday

While working remotely from home during the last three years, I have been very comfortable using my iMac and its 27" Bluetooth Apple Magic Mouse, Bluetooth Apple Keyboard, and Harmon/Kardon Bluetooth headphones with a built-in microphone and noise cancellation. The previous client used Citrix based VDI technology which means they never had to worry about shipping an asset. Since the virtual desktops are hosted on a remote server on their infrastructure, the host device's operating system that is accessing the VDI is of no consequence.

The new client does not use VDI. When I received the Windows laptop in the mail, I was disappointed. Bluetooth was disabled. I could not use my Apple Magic Mouse, Bluetooth Keyboard and headphones. I bought a Microsoft Mouse and had to use my Grado open-air audio headphones. I purchased an external microphone to prevent the laptops internal microphone from picking up the sound of my mouse movements. With the kind of work I do, working off a tiny laptop screen is like being forced to work inside a small cardboard box. I had to buy a 27" monitor and find space to put it. I'm not too fond of all of it, but I like the paycheck.

Friday

This work week was busy. Very busy. I feel like I have worked the equivalent of two weeks in one. I went from having one project to 10. Somehow I will keep up. Somehow.

I ordered a 4pk of Up to Bat, a light-bodied Belgian style wheat ale from Old Hights Brewing in Hightstown is a borough in Mercer County, New Jersey. My buddy, Ed, lives just a few minutes from the brewery. I didn't have to twist his arm to meet me at the brewery for a few pints.

I had a great time. I wanted to try the outdoor space for a while, but Old Hights opened during the pandemic, and last year, I did not feel comfortable doing more than "take out".

Saturday

Today was all about beer. Tavour dropped off my shipment and I drove the two hours round trip to Colts Neck to pick up my order from Source Brewing. Time to drink.

Sunday

Bhavna returned from Oberlin last night. It's a balmy 30ºC outside, and today could be excellent weather for a trip down the shore, but we fear the beaches may be too crowded. We're both vaccinated, but neither of us enjoys being in large groups of people. We're staying indoors.

Using a few tweaks in Lightroom, then applying a template, new sky, and the Composition ^AI in Luminar AI, I reworked an image I made nine years ago. I like the result, which I think also works well for this week Len's Artist Challenge for Blue and Green.

I tweaked most of the images in this post in Luminar AI after some initial post-processing in Adobe Lightroom.