The Ridiculous, the Profound, and the Tacky in Trichotomy

Kind of back to work

Starting from April, we had to physically go back to work for 3 days a week, but I took last week off, and took one day off the week before that, so I have spent a total of 2 days at the office since the beginning of the return-to-office policy.

It feels dumb, considering only one of my immediate teammate is based here. But it does feel useful to be able to overhear conversations or peek over their shoulders to know what they are up to. Not sure if it’s worth 2 hours of commuting time each day for.

On the first day I went back, I had my wallet out at the lunch line. That is how unfamiliar I am with office life now.

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Musicians for Ukraine

Last weekend our amateur musician group had a regular recital. According to the scheduling tool it was slightly under capacity at first, so I signed up for a slot, but the week before the concert, the organiser decided to call up our Ukranian soprano to perform in it, and to donate proceeds of the concert to a non-profit based in Germany that is sending vans-ful of humanitarian supplies to Ukraine. In hindsight it was an obvious and obviously right thing to do, but I’m glad he has that idea.

I have sent donations, with New Hip Company’s matching grants, to humanitarian organisations in Poland and Romania to help refugees there, but it’s disheartening that there isn’t a way to send help into Ukraine. So I was happy to hear about this German non-profit (I’m suspecting the soprano must know someone there).

Anyway, the concert was well-attended; I played Samuel Taylor-Coolerigdge’s Deep River and an arrangement of Estrellita, which were not technically challenging but well-received.

After the concert we went out to dinner with Wise Young Friend and family - they just came back from a week-long vacation to France, so we traded stories.

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The Land of Luuuuuve

This past week we went on our long-awaited week-long getaway, to an adults-only Poconos resort.

It is the off season now, so the place was not crowded at all (I would say, one fifth to one tenth capacity), so we felt like we had the place all to ourselves. On the flip side, some of the facilities were not open: it wasn’t summer yet so the marina wasn’t open and the spa was closed due to broken pipes.

Still it was in the Poconos so it was easy to find hiking trails; we hiked around a lake (Hidden Lake) one day and along the Delaware river the next. So there were things to do. The resort itself also has an indoor pool where we were the only ones there and we could try our dance lifts with La Professeure lifting me. We also spent a fair bit of time in the recreation room because there was billiards, mini golf, table tennis, archery, bowling, and assorted arcade games. So it was a fun, low-key time away.

The resort was very tacky - think over-the-top 80s decor: circular bed with the curved headboard made of mirrors; a heart-shaped jacuzzi with LED-lined mirror wall and mood lighting. And heart-shaped signs all over the property. I think it tries to be a wedding/engagement destination. We learned that in some rooms there were giant champagne-glass shaped hot tubs that you can climb into via a second-floor living space. There were so many mirrors - I hadn’t seen so much of my arse since I moved out of my midtown east apartment. Importantly, after 10 years, it still retains its shape.

It was a nice few days off the grid; even though La Professeure would still check e-mails for about an hour a day. That was nice because I could then watch the UEFA Champions League games then.

All that made for just the right amount of busyness, to make the vacation a relaxing one.

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Last updated April 16, 2022