Journal Entry - September 22, 2021 - Wednesday - Autumnal Equinox
It's been a while since I've written in this journal, last entry was three months ago I see. I'm going to need to get a new one soon, as this one only has a few pages left. A lot has happened in these past three months. I can't go back three months, so I'll start with last week. Last week was rough at work, Mike called me a liar for no reason with my boss and his boss on cc. He didn't actually call me one, but he implied it. This guy is always wrong, forgets things, can barely keep up with his work and he tried to say I gave him wrong information. He's above me so I have to deal with his b.s. I usually do too, but this time was too far. He's also known for being an arsehole, so it's not as though it was surprising. He's been in his job for too long and doesn't seem happy. That's not my problem, but when he drags me into his mysery it's no fun. I responded to the email and told him I never said what he said I said and I was short and curt, I thought it was done professionally. Probably not what I should have done, but I was mad. With these type of guys, sometimes you have to give it back to them a bit or they'll walk all over you.
My boss who is pretty cool, as cool as bosses can be, said there were two outcomes to this, he's either going to ask for me to be removed from his business or he's going to have a newfound respect for me. As it turned out, Mike let the whole thing go, just as I knew he would. He was in the wrong and I've put up with his rants countless times, a little nudge back from me wasn't going to hurt him, he's a tough personality. I ended up getting another email from him later in the day where he made a joke, so I knew we were cool again. Yesterday he even called me, to talk about something on his business, he made another joke and it was actually a little funny, so it made me laugh and we laughed together - so we're back to being BFF.
It's always one thing after another in life. I would like for the "in-between" times to last longer. The day after that drama with Mike, the remnants of Hurricane Ida came for a visit. As I watched Ida make her moves up north, I thought she would die out as she was on land, as that's what usually happens with Hurricanes. Ida traveled through Louisiana and all the way up North to the Plains and made a right turn into the tri-state area. I thought it would just be a bad storm, wrong. Ida was the fifth largest hurricane every known to man kind and she was anything but died out by the time she arrived. Climate change has created monster hurricanes, each one stronger than the other and Ida was able to hold more water than hurricanes have in the past due to global warming. When she hit, it was like a gigantic bucket of water was dumped onto New York, New Jersey and Connecticut in one swoop, called a flash flood by meteorologists.
The basement then proceeded to fill up, this was just before a tornado warning was issued saying we had ten minutes to get to safety, in the basement. It didn't hit us, but did hit ground around us. After the tornado, it was on. The rain came down so hard like I've never seen it before, we instantly had a lake on the street. We tried getting rid of the water with buckets, throwing it out the mudroom door. It kind of worked, but the water kept coming. Our "finished" basement no longer exists. The water ruined everything and we lost furniture, computer equipment and appliances. As if it couldn't get any worse, it did, it was part sewer water, UGH. Others had it worse, homes flooded all the way to the roof. People living in basement apartments died, as the water came rushing in too fast for them to escape. Given what everyone else went through, losing material things, being inconvenienced, dealing with a massive clean up and throw out effort, we feel lucky, we still have our lives. What a way to end the summer.
I did manage to carve out some time for myself and find some zen. Amidst the chaos, I took a break and headed to the veranda and painted. I stayed out there for hours and created some Positive Energy (and a shower), which was much needed.
It was my girl Frannie's birthday this month too and I took her for dinner at LaContenta. It's owned and operated by my friend @alexbarlencia, known for his amazing cocktailing skills. The food is amazing and is located in the heart of the village. It was Mexican food all the way with a fun, lively atmosphere, perfect for my dinner with Frances. I've known her for so long, we first started working together when I moved up to New York many moons ago. We met while working at the headquarter office for wine and spirit company, Moet Hennessy and stayed in the industry for ages after that. Needless to say we had a blast back then and took full advantage of the brands we represented, good times! Frannie and I continue to enjoy each other's company to this day and she's one of my favorites. Our dinner was the night before 9/11, as we walked around after dinner, the memorial lights were up and brought us right back to that horrible day. I watched the towers burn that day from my apartment and saw the first tower fall on my way in to work, the smell of the fumes is something I can smell to this day.
Goodbye Summer, see you next year my beautiful friend...
