I got up enough initiative yesterday to get out of the house and take a walk. What inspired me? I’m almost out of coffee. Without coffee it isn’t living, it’s merely existing. I walked over to Marie’s Coffee on Arthur Ave, the best coffee in the Bronx. It’s one of those things I consider special and spontaneously rave about. Now that I know exactly where it is it seems much closer than it did my first few times there, when I had to follow Google maps. It’s 1.9 miles from home, not bad at all. I now count as a regular customer, Antoinette, the owner, knows me. Most importantly she knows that I like to chat. The coffee and management are so good that I’m a loyal customer. The coffee is so good and so reasonably priced, $8/lbs, that I’d be loyal if she were the Coffee Nazi. I then decided to combine errands and hopped the BX9 to take me to Aldi. I had no sweets in the house and that’s not acceptable. I was also out of milk; I had to drink my coffee black yesterday. That’s where having great coffee makes the biggest difference.
When I got home I called a friend I haven’t spoken to in ages and had a great conversation. I have been slacking off in calling friends. First I made an easy call, to a friend on my regular rotation, but she wasn’t home. Then after seeing a Facebook post I got up the nerve to make the second call. I always feel better when I call, I don’t have phone anxiety, but my initiation anxiety gets in the way. There’s also an element of social anxiety, part of me fears that the person I call doesn’t really want to talk to me. I know that’s irrational. I’m writing about it because I’m not the only one that feels that way. You might feel that way. If you do, remember the feeling is real, but it’s still irrational. I am so happy that I made the call.
I had a weird early morning. I awoke from uneasy dreams while it was still dark and checked the time. If I wake up between six and seven I post the WFUV Question of the Day on the Facebook group then go back to sleep. My alarm is set for eight. As I go to sleep at one I don’t want to fully wake up before then. I don’t even open my eyes to check the time. I say, “Hey Google! What time is it?” and my phone tells me. This morning it was about 5:15 so I went right back to sleep. I woke up a bit later and felt it must be six then realized, “It’s Saturday, there’s no QotD,” and went back to sleep. Then my alarm went off at eight, the alarm named QotD. Only then did I realize that it was Friday and that my vague memory of having therapy the day before was wrong. I’m not quite sentient until I’ve had my coffee.
I just heard on the news that they found that three times as many children in New York City Public Housing were exposed to lead as was previously thought. This comes from lead paint on the walls. No amount of lead is considered safe. I cause brain damage in children and leads to a lifetime of lower earnings and increased propensity for crime. Lead poisoning is also preventable, a relatively small investment could by the government could clean it up, but it never gets done. I have never written my elected officials about this. That’s wrong of me. If Biden is elected, as seems likely, I will write him, my senators, and my congressman. Here’s what the CDC says about it, Health Effects of Lead Exposure. Read it. It’s short.
Now I have to make my breakfast, so I’ll be finished before therapy.
Wise Madness 