Memorial Weekend

It's been a crazy couple of weeks. The kids are officially on summer break, the house has had half a dozen projects to wrap, and work has ramped in an unexpected way. This weekend is supposed to be about rest for me, a couple days to catch up on R&R, maybe binge on TV.

Instead, we replaced a screen in a screendoor, mounted two televisions (office and a bedroom), finished assembling the monitor arm for my desk, and spent 5 brutal hours shopping for a loveseat before finding what would work in the space we have. Here we are, two out of three days into the weekend gone, and I'm both physically fried and a little bit mentally blank.

I've got several projects in my head that I want to work on, but right now, I suspect they're going to have to go on the backburner for a bit longer. For the sake of keeping myself honest, though, I'll at least throw them on a list to remind me later.

• Modify the Pixelbook case to support tablet mode (see customer review comment )
• Start writing our D&D stories (having just started a new campaign)
• Work on Splunk articles here
• Progress on a work-related side project I'm hoping to opensource (details later if I can)
• Read any (and all) of the piles of books and comics stacking up:
• Comics:
  • American Gods by Neil Gaiman, P Craig Russell, & Scott Hampton
  • Cover by Brian Michael Bendis & David Mack
  • Firefly from Boom! Studios
• Books:
  • His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman (a personal re-read)
  • Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
  • Radicalized by Cory Doctorow

On a more personal note, I've been considering starting a new fitness routine, but I'm feeling some serious hesitation. The biggest concern is that this is another moneygrab with no real value; I have specific limitations I'm trying to work within, and while this says that it's accommodating to that, all the sample videos and details I've found look like just another exercise program. And since all the cost is up front, if it doesn't work, I'm just out some cash for no real gain.

My alternative is to just force myself into my own known routines - stretches, cardio, better eating, more consistent sleep schedule. I have the tools, worked hard to get the knowledge to do this over the last couple years. The question is, does the structure of the program add enough value and new information to justify the money? Or is it just another template to provide more of the same stuff I already know? The most annoying part is that I won't know for sure unless I give in and spend the money.

Meanwhile, I'm watching my husband dig in on a 4K HDR playthrough of Horizon: Zero Dawn, one of my favorite games. The added 5.1.2 surround sound we've installed, plus the 65" TV, has been an absolutely beautiful improvement to a game I adored on my own playthrough. I'm hoping I get to live the journey through his playthrough, rather vicariously, as I read or craft or otherwise ride along, as we often do.