February 2022 Update: May You Live in Interesting Times

[kylaraingress]

Well, lots of world politics happening in February. But this update isn't to tell you about stuff you've already heard about on the world stage, but to give you an update for what's been happening with the LA Suttons. More under the cut.

On the work front, we've both been having some issues – both bad and good. For me, my boss still had an on-site week long training the week of the 7th. It was frustrating as fuck, especially as he was not listening to any of my suggestions that would make the training go by smoother. We ended up having a talk on that Thursday, and I got a raise (? I know!) but the other person from work that was there made a comment that made me wonder if there had been a potential of me being fired.

On Kate's side, I can't say too much due to privacy concerns, but the Center has been suffering from a lot of the same issues many customer service-centric places have been getting over the pandemic. There was a situation involving locking down the center, and another situation that gave Kate a bit of a scare. On the plus side, her work as a union steward led to getting some back pay and a raise. Add in the money we got as a tax refund, and we are getting a portable dishwasher and finally getting a wall mount for our TV.

On the health front, I had a telehealth call that went okay. Need some age-appropriate tests. On Kate's side, she had a doctor's appointment where they insisted she take a pregnancy test (for those of you who don't know, Kate is trans). Surprise: she's not pregnant <g>. (Still thinking 'Stevearino' would make a great name!) And also for those who don't know, we're both proudly childfree by choice. We're okay with kids when they're someone else's, but have no desire to have any of our own (outside of 'furbabies').

Speaking of pets, on President's Day, since Kate and I both had it off, we headed over to Annenberg Pet Space for their President's Day event. We almost got a doggo, but ended up deciding no, as we didn't think it'd get along with Neko. And the math nerd and person who had 22 as a lucky number (because it's two twos) had fun with 2's Day.

Only other big news is that my truck had a flat tire, and I had to get it changed (as well as the spare). I got an oil change while I was at it. We had to switch mechanics, because the place we'd been using since we moved to LA changed owners and wasn't doing minor stuff any more. Kate also got artwork: the four stretching paintings from the Haunted Mansion. She's a huge fan of the ride, and she was quick to hang them on our wall.

Media I've Been Consuming:

As always, media has been helping distract me from the trauma of the real world.

On television, I've continued my watching of The Librarians and am almost done with it. I don't love it like I do Leverage, but it's fun. I am finding it hilarious that the main thing I don't like about it is Noah Wyle's character, and he was the one I was concerned about regarding Leverage: Redemption.

We also gave Murderville a try. I liked it enough, but feel labeling it as improv seems a little disingenuous. I've always been taught that improv is all about 'yes, and', while this seems more about throwing the celebrity guest star off. Also – Ken Jeong is a horrible improv person, IMHO.

Kate wanted to catch Peacemaker, so we watched that. It's not that I wasn't interested, it's just I'm getting a little burned out on the whole 'antihero' superhero vibe.

The final TV is a bit of a fangirl moment for me. One of my friends from one of the start ups I worked at a few years ago mentioned she had a writing credit on an episode of Dollface. I've known this for a while, but finally got around to catching up on the series and really enjoying it. I may write up a review of it.

Because I had to go into work for a week, I managed to get some podcasts in. I basically finished The Hilarious World of Depression, and look forward to starting the replacement Depresh Mode.

In movies, we finally caught up on a number of movies that has been on our list. I quite enjoyed Crazy Rich Asians, but wasn't overly impressed with Nightmare Alley. And we finally sat down and watched "Harold, they're lesbians" Carol.

While I liked The King's Man, I felt it wasn't a Kingsman movie, if that makes sense. And as I posted on Facebook, we finally got around to Ghostbusters: Afterlife and I didn't love it, but I enjoyed it enough. Yes, it was a bit of a nostalgia trap, but what movie nowadays ISN'T? And the girl playing Phoebe was excellent.

Summary

February wasn't much better of a month, although a bit one. I'm starting to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, and am hoping it's not the equally proverbial oncoming train.

Hope things are going well for anyone reading this. Feel free to comment with your latest updates.