My Final Blog Post Of 2024 Is Another Reminder Of Why My Fucking Mother Has Ruined My Life

I was going to neatly tie up 2024 into a bow (well, as well as I can), but My Fucking Mother fucking had to send this shit off the rails with her goddamn anxieties again.

She bugs the fuck out of me while they're here, but it appears as though she bothers me even more when she's in Vegas.  I think that's due to expectations: Since they are so far away from me, I presume that we would talk less.  And I think we do; for example, even though I thought we would talk Christmas Day, we didn't, probably because we talked Christmas Eve.  And that's A-OK with me.

But when she texts me saying she needs help ... goddamn, the thing she needs help with is such a huge energy drain.  It literally takes hours to deal with her issue.  And it's an issue only she believes is an issue.  But I have to help her because that bitch acts so fucking helpless.

She texted me at work yesterday/Monday afternoon: "Need help!"  I get home and call her.  She tells me these real estate forms need to be filled out.  The government wants them, and she's scared as hell that, like, the FBI will arrest her if we don't do it before the end of the year ... even though the stuff she said told her that actually said she had a couple more weeks.  These forms are in English, of course, so she immediately ran to me, only to switch up her tone and just fuckin' saddle me with all this bullshit I need to deal with with an urgency only she has.  So fucking typical of her and her goddamn "issues."

These forms the government wants filled out I didn't even know existed until today.  And I had to waste two motherfucking hours with My Fucking Mother to do them online.  Worse than that, I screwed up one of the forms, and I'm not sure the website on which I did these forms took up the corrected information.  So I think I have to follow up today, some time after work, to see if some AI chatbot can let me know if the "government" has the correct information.  And who knows how long I'll have to fucking waste on that.  It's New Year's Eve, for fuck's sake.  I'm supposed to mark the death of the old year and say hello to the new one.  I don't want to spend it dealing with goddamn forms.

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This year was bad because I lost my uncle.  I feel bad because I hadn't contacted him much before he died.  I think the last communication I had with him was wishing him a (Western) New Year via text.  He was gone within two months.  He didn't want anyone to talk to him in his decrepit state.  I don't care; I wanted to at least say goodbye to him and tell him I love him.  And I'll be honest (if I haven't stated this here in WAF already): I'm mad at him for not talking to me before he went.

Come to think of it, 2024 brought more signs my body is breaking down.  I saw someone for my knees after work yesterday/Monday.  She said it's probably arthritis, which everyone my age is going through.  Use exercises to get manage it.  I think I heard that before when my physical therapist told me to exercise my back.  I was given a referral for physical therapy for my knees, and there's a chance it's the same person who I met with five years ago.  I don't think the guy likes me, though, so I don't think I'll take up the referral.

Gaining weight, too.  I know I should eat better, but I'm still holding onto the delusion that I can eat what I want and not get too fat.  That's not happening, but I'm not changing my diet.  Oh, and I'm still dealing with trying to do my desk job with bifocals on.  Had a lot of trouble seeing with my eyeglasses in 2024.  My eyes got so strained looking at my computer screen that it began to hurt.  I even take them off and see my screen through blurry eyes.  It beats getting a headache.

Everything else, I guess, is the same, including dealing with My Fucking Mother.  Every fake emergency she makes me deal with reminds me that I got my anxious state of mind from her.  She has grafted every part of her insecurities onto me, and I cannot and will not forgive her for that.

Happy New Year!!!

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

Note: This is the final Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey of the Year.  With the coming of a New Year, I adjust the release of the WMNSS to encompass the rest of the previous Year (which, for 2024, is December 30 and 31) and the first seven calendar Days of the current Year, then publish it on the Day of the Week January 8 falls on, which, for 2025, is Wednesdays.  I hope I will have the time to do these on a weeknight.

#0: Vikings (Last Week: 0).  They hype over this club, despite racking up Win after Win so far in 2024, is reaching its peak right now, I think.  It helps tremendously that they have shown they can beat good teams, and what happened Sunday can be proof that maybe, just maybe, this Vikings squad is different.

As has been their wont this season, they raced out against Green Bay to a 17-Point lead.  The Vikes allowed the Packers to come back -- after all, that's what happens when Sam Darnold throws an inauspicious Interception that gives momentum to a good team, which is what Green Bay really is.  But credit Kevin O'Connell for both racing his men out to a big lead and then, when it mattered the most, scheming up plays to get First Downs to finally run out the clock.  He called two play fake/bootlegs, the second of which got Cam Akers open, and Darnold had just enough on the ball for Akers to come back to the ball and grab it for the final First Down they needed to salt away a two-Point victory.

And so it all comes down to this: The Vikings, riding a nine-Game winning streak, goes into Detroit to play the Lions for Game 272, aka The Final Game Of The 2024 NFL Season.  Winner takes the NFC North, the #1 Seed in the conference, and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.  Loser settles for the #5 Seed and will most likely play on the road through the postseason.

The fanbase, and dare I say the state, is hyped for this one.  We're shoving our pessimism to the side for once.  The Vikings are good, real good.  And the Lions, as good as they are, are a bang-up team.  The oddsmakers before the Year began set the Over/Under for Vikes Wins at 6.5.  This has been an incredible season -- and by God, it might not yet be over.

#-1: Wild (Last Week: -4).  Started off on the wrong foot, getting blitzed at Winnipeg on Saturday, 5-0, extending their losing streak to three.  They promptly ended that on Monday, however, nipping Chicago at the X, 4-3.  They then came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat The Bastard North Stars in Dallas Friday in Overtime, 3-2, before coming home last/Sunday night and losing to Ottawa, 3-1.

A 2-2 screening Week doesn't usually mean placing second in the WMNSS.  But considering the caliber of opponents the two college teams played, the state the Timberwolves are still in, and relying on my general rule that a Win (and a Loss, for that matter) over The Team That Was Stolen From Us weighs more than any other Game, I'm going to put them here.  No, they're five Points off the NHL's best teams (the aforementioned Bastard Thrashers and Team Privilege, The [Las] Vegas Golden Knights), and they're still a majorly hurting unit.  But they got through this Week OK.

Host Nashville, start 2025 at Washington and Carolina, then host a resurgent St. Louis outfit at home on Tuesday.

#-2: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -1).  Saturday afternoon's 90-54 rout of Penn St. is a good way to wash away the bad taste of their conference schedule-opening humiliation at Nebraska back on the 8th.  But there will be steps up in competition, specifically a visit to Wisconsin New Year's Eve afternoon and home tilt vs. Illinois Sunday.  Let's see how good this club really is.

#-3: Timberwolves (Last Week: -3).  OK, so hear me out.  They are currently riding a three-Game winning streak with victories at Dallas (on Christmas Day), at Houston (by one) and over San Antonio (by two) at home.  Chris Finch is starting to play around with lineup combinations, and he may be hitting on some that involve benching Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels and Julius Randle at times.  He may be onto something, if this current winning streak is any indication.  Still, the Wolves began the screening Week losing by 13 in Atlanta, and they are still in a Play-In spot (eighth) as of press time.  So overall, maybe I overreacted a tad last Week, but they certainly aren't the juggernaut they were last season.  Also, Anthony Edwards is popping off a lot for someone who needs to take the leader/face of the franchise mantle now that KAT is gone.

Extremely busy Week (with the WMNSS adjustment) that, strangely, encompasses the last of seven straight Matches where they alternate between playing on the road and home.  They're at The Bastard Seattle SuperSonics New Year's Eve Night, then host Boston, then visit Detroit, and then host The Bastard Buffalo Braves/San Diego Clippers and go to The Bastard Charlotte Hornets on a back-to-back.

#-4: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -2).  Finished their non-con crushing Morgan St. at The Barn, 90-68.  Great that they can do that, but through two contests versus Big Ten foes they have not looked like they stand a chance.  They now are in B1G play for the rest of the Year, and finishing up a four-Game homestand, this Week versus Purdue and Ohio St.  Let me say that I am, uh, not optimistic they can stay on the floor with other squad.

I Should Not Check My Oil Ever Because I Can't Tell

So about a week or two ago I checked the oil level on my parents' minivan.  It wasn't drastically low, but it was low enough that at some point I would out some oil into the car -- not a whole lot, but enough to where I think it would make it a difference.

At some point earlier this week (or was it late last week?), when the weather was relatively warm, I put in, oh, a quarter to a third of a quart of oil -- enough, like I said, to make a difference, but not so much that it would ruin the engine (since Father put in oil less than a month ago).  Then, before I left the library (where, to update my last blog post, I spent about 90 minutes total), I checked the oil level again.  Frankly, if the level rose, I couldn't tell.  If the dots on the dipstick are only measuring a quart of oil (at least according to the websites I have read), there should have been an appreciable difference.  But if I go by the dipstick, it's as if I didn't put it any oil at all.

I remember once when my old car, the Lexus, was nearly empty of oil, and I was warned by the mechanic about it.  So I became obsessed with making sure oil was in the car ... to the point where I was told by another mechanic when I brought my car in that there was too much.  The van is working fine, so I think I am putting in too much oil.  In fact, I think I'm overthinking all this.  Maybe I shouldn't fool myself into thinking I need to add oil, because by the looks of it, what the hell do I friggin' know whether it needs it?

Haven't Been In A Library For This Long In A Long Time

I was kind of grumbling in my last blog post that I have a lot of stuff I have to do here in the library, where I am typing this.  But you know, at least I am feeling productive.  Well, kind of.  The dental claim health form I will have to upload at home because I don't remember my login information.  And I am debating whether or not it even makes sense to send this letter to the company of the make of my car in the hopes it'll give me some financial compensation.

I will be here for an hour pretty soon, and I don't remember the last time I have been in a library for that long.  But you know, it ain't that bad here.  The couple to my left right now is being kind of loud, but they're debating something, so it's not as bad as the people who are just sitting in front of a computer talking loudly into their cellphones.  Also, I am recalling a bunch of skeets on Bluesky extolling the virtues of libraries, and how you should sign up for a library card even if you have no plans to use it.  Yes, libraries are good, even vital places for the community.  They should be preserved, celebrated, and funded.

I should go back to work.

Should Be My Free Day. But It Won't Be

I should be able to sleep in today/Saturday.  But dammit, Mother wants me to really, really deposit these checks at the bank in the morning.  Then, come to think of it, it is time to type up that letter regarding needed to change the timing chain at the library.  And then, while I'm there, I might as well print out those real estate renewal certifications for my parents.  And really, I should finally fill out that dental claim form for the check-up I got a couple months ago.

And that's not counting buying groceries at Target and some alcohol at Total Wine.  And I should put some gas in the car.  And I wanted to exercise too, but considering all the other stuff I have to do, I no longer think I have the time.

I have to cram all of this in today/Saturday because I am working the Vikings Game tomorrow/Sunday.  It's a big one -- vs. the Packers, and both teams are good, and the broadcast is going national.  I am kind of nervous over this.  But, since the kickoff time got shifted from noon to 3, I get to come in three hours later.  In fact, I should be able to sleep in and get to the production truck well on time.  Ironically, it's today/Saturday, a day where I don't have work, where I nonetheless have to wake up early.  And that's why I am kind of in a tizzy right now.  And I should go to bed now.

It's Her Last Day Today, And I Am Going To Miss Her Like Hell

My co-worker ... well, she's more like a mentor because I continue to this day to ask her questions along the lines of, "How do you do this?" -- well, today/Friday is her last day.  I haven't quite confronted and dealt with it, partly because these forms from this recently-closed-down lab have been kicking my ass ever since she put in her two weeks' retirement notice (I did the maximum ten hours yesterday/Thursday, and I was lucky I got everything done within that time), but also partly because I really, really don't know how to do my job when I'm in The Third Department without her.

She's been at this company forever.  She knows everything.  That's why I always felt good when asking her a question about what to do because she's seen everything before.  That's a hell of a lot of institutional knowledge that's walking out the door.  (Also, her co-worker was the guy who I think got fired in the summer.  Those were the two full-timers manning The Third Department, and they spent decades with the company.  Now they're both gone.)  Also, she was funny, and I could talk to her about my frustrations with the job and the company.  She was the ideal co-worker, and someone I could look up to.  Yes, I'm glad she could leave when she wants to.  But dammit, I will miss the hell out of her.  Because the job back there won't be the same without her.  And really, I will not be as good of a worker without her.  Believe it.

Ate Too Much Again, Dammit; Boxing Day Thoughts (Oh, Well)

One of my self-traditions for Christmas is making pasta for myself.  I do it even though it's a pain-in-the-ass; from start of preparation to finally taking a bite, it took me two hours.  I'm glad I did it -- sort of.

But I usually make two portions for myself whenever I make it.  I did not do it this time.  I think, although I do not remember, that at this time last night I looked up, "How much pasta for a 24 oz. can of spaghetti sauce" (no use to save the sauce; I'll just use whatever I couldn't eat for leftovers) and the Google AI said a pound.  The oldest pasta we have in the pantry is this box of mostaccioli.  It is a pound.  And I used half of it.  Then, when I dumped all the pasta into the sauce (I see on the Internet that you should mix the pasta with the sauce and have it as once instead of doing the pasta and then adding the sauce at the dining table), it looked like it was going to use all the pasta.

I don't think reheated pasta will taste good, so I looked at the pan and thought the mostaccioli was big enough for me to eat it all.  And the first big bowl was fine.  The second ... well, on the second bowl I added leftover cheese, but I think it's been around long enough that it started to smell, and it might be that -- or it might not -- that closed my stomach.  It took a while near the bottom of the bowl, but I got through it.  But dammit, I am still feeling it right now.  I have eaten nothing else (although I have made myself two cocktails, the first time I've done that since my parents left) and I'm still full.  I must've ate over 2,000 calories for Christmas.

I don't know what did wrong, exactly.  I think the type of past threw me off.  I think I should've just eyeballed a quarter of the box to use, but I couldn't think of any way of measuring that because the see-through window on the box only covered the bottom half.  I didn't think till afterward that I could've tipped it on the side, looked at sideways through the top of the box, and used my hand to measure out a quarter of it.  But I also think I'm just out of practice since my parents went to Vegas later than they usually do.  I want to think that if they had left around Labor Day, I would have remembered what I should measure out to eat just enough for today and then have enough sauce for a second helping some time later.  Oh, well.

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Got some laundry done.  But I was going to work on organizing my stuff, and I didn't.  I am going to blame two things: Getting up at 11 (although I'm not complaining), and the quintuple-header of NBA Games on ABC/Channel 5.  I really, really thought that it was just the middle three Games (including the Timberwolves holding on to defeat the Mavericks in Dallas) on free TV.  Someone dropped the ball in advertising that all five Games were going to be on over-the-air.  And so I watched instead of going downstairs.  Oh, well.

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I think Christmas music has its season.  I am unstinting in believing that one shouldn't hear it until Black Friday.  And, Christmas music makes no sense once Christmas is over, which it now is.  I mean, it's not Christmas anymore, right?  So why listen to it?

I have listened, to my heart's content, to Christmas music the last month or so.  But once it rolled past midnight, I can't bring myself to listen.  It's ... old.  And, well, inappropriate.  I listened to a lot of Christmas music on SiriusXM (may Buddha once again bless Holiday Pops, love that pop-up station), but I can't listen to the holiday channels on there now.  Yet I feel kind of ... uh, oogy listening to anything else on satellite radio now.  Don't know why.  Maybe I feel ... uh, blasphemous listening to SiriusXM and not listening to holiday music, even though I firmly believe no one should be listening to holiday music now that it's December 26.  So right now, I'm listening to my iTunes.  It seems as though I'm hiding and listening to the music I want to hear without anyone knowing.  Which I am.  Kinda; I'm sure Apple is tracking me.  Besides, I haven't listening to music through my iTunes in forever, and I think this is a great time to do so.

Oh, well.

Christmas Thoughts; Christmas Song Review

As anxious as I usually am, I have to be grateful for things when I encounter them.  This time around I am grateful for the weather.  It's not great, it could be better.  But with the exception of a couple peeks of sun yesterday/Tuesday/Christmas Eve, it has been cloudy, and you know, I do prefer cloudy to sunny days.  More important than that, the temperature lately has hovered around 32 degrees, and it has been above freezing during the day the past several days.

That, and the fact there has not been any snow since that storm we had, means that driving has been perfect and without incident.  My drive to the place I go to late Christmas Eve was completely normal, and you can't say that every winter.  But about the bar: Even though I think I get there around the time I usually get there, I missed the band that usually plays every Christmas Eve night.  Also, they closed at midnight, and I don't know if they did that last year, or the years before that.  It was still OK; I stayed only 75 minutes or so, and I was the last one to leave the bar (never thought I would ever do that), but I think that beats going stir crazy at home.  Still, I usually want to be in that bar when midnight rolls around.  If they close at midnight, that is impossible.  So ...

Oh, by the way, I left close to 5:30.  I missed Hooters, Southdale and Cheesecake Factory.  Oh well.

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OK, Christmas music time.  In my opinion, Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is The Most Popular Christmas Song In The United States Every Christmas.  (That it is the youngest song considered to be a Christmas standard is somewhat of a miracle -- a Christmas miracles, so to speak.)  But what is the second-most popular song?  You could make a case for Wham!'s "Last Christmas," which is the United Kingdom's #1 song for Christmas week for the second Christmas in a row (that is important over there, for some reason).  But here in the States, at least when it comes to the Billboard chart, I think it is Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree."

According to the song's Wiki, Johnny Marks, a guy who wrote two other Christmas standards, "A Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (nice), wrote "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree," and she wanted Lee to sing it even though she was 13.  The song, done way back in 1958, was made in rockabilly style, and the style is both perfect for the song and unique when it comes to Christmas standards.  I don't know of another Christmas rockabilly song, right?  And it swings, too!

Every Christmastime, Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" dominates the top of the Billboard Top 100.  But last year, miraculously, Lee managed to break through and reach #1.  She claimed the record for longest gap between #1 singles; she last reached the top spot October 24, 1960 with "I Want To Be Wanted," a little more than 63 years.  "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" set the record for longest time to reach #1 after its original release, about 65 years.  And Lee also became the oldest person to ever have a #1 song, beating 62-year-old Louis Armstrong (his "Hello, Dolly!" went to #1 in May 1964).  She was 78 when it reached the top spot in December 2023 ... and it stayed there for a second week ... and technically, Lee broke her own record because within that week, on December 11, 2023, she turned 79.

There finally was an official video made for "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree," released in November 2023.  You know, that might be the reason the song finally got to #1:

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Gotta Get This Off My Chest

So my day started with me spilling coffee on myself.  I was reaching out for both the cup and a danish I ordered through drive-thru, and I hit my hand holding the danish against the steering wheel, and either it hit my hand holding the coffee or I just jumped, and the damn thing spilled all over my hand and onto my jeans.

Then, just now -- and this really pisses me off even though I know this will sound ludicrous to you all -- I missed the very beginning of It's A Wonderful Life on NBC/Channel 11.  Like, the very, very beginning ... meaning the NBC buster introducing the first title of the actual movie.  What really pisses me off is that I really wanted to see the intro to the intro (probably the ding-dong-ding of the NBC jingle with the logo flashing on my TV, but I don't really know, because I missed it), and I set it up so that I had The Yule Log playing on Channel 5.2, but just at 7 I would flip it to Channel 11.1 to see the very, very start.  What I forgot was that I had mistakenly gone from 11.1 to Channel 5.1 because I fuckin' fat-fingered on the remote control.  I changed it to 5.2, but forgot that I was at 5.1, however, so when the commercial ended and I knew it was 7 o'clock, I flipped on the remote thinking I was going from 5.2 to 11.1 when in fact I went from 5.2 to 5.1.  I saw a commercial for Disney, and that made me think I was on ABC, and goddammit, I was, because I went to 5.1/ABC/Channel 5.  By the time I realized my mistake and hit the buttons for 11.1, I saw the Republic Pictures title card.  And I missed what I wanted to see.

And now writing all that makes me feel stupid for even caring about something so trivial.  But hey, this only comes around once a year.  Is Tivo still a thing?  Is there a device that allows me to rewind live TV?  If it's not Tivo, is it something else?  Because shit, man, I really could use that right now.

OK, stupid/weird rant over.

My Christmas Tradition Going By The Wayside (?)

One of the traditions I keep for myself is going occurs on Christmas Eve.  I go to the Mall Of America and eat lunch at Hooters, hopefully seeing that really cute blond who's been there for years.  I then go to Southdale, and I make sure I lap every single level of the mall.  Finally, I drop by The Cheesecake Factory attached to Southdale and get a few slices of cheesecake, one of which I eat the next day (Christmas Night), the others when I can.

I didn't do it last year.  Christmas Eve 2023 fell on a Sunday, and I was working a Vikings Game.  I could have fought traffic to at least get to The Cheesecake Factory, but ultimately I didn't think it was worth it.  Besides, I had already "broken" this tradition the year before because I was in Hawai'i taking a vacation with my family.  I don't quite remember if I was able to do all three things in 2021, and I think I did do all three things in 2020, even though we were still in the middle of the pandemic and there was no vaccine to at least guard me against COVID-19.  And beyond all that, the first "tradition" of going to Hooters isn't something I have steadfastly done every year since I started.

So I guess I am confessing that these aren't time-worn traditions that I would move heaven and earth to make sure I do.  And that is the blase attitude I have going into Christmas Eve today.  I'm not sure I can do any of the three "traditions."  In fact, I don't think I will.  I did not ask to take the day or even the afternoon off (like I did in 2020, at least according to my Franklin Planner).  And with this new crush of forms we're getting because another lab decided to shut down, things are going berserk in The Fourth Department, where I will be all week (besides tomorrow/Wednesday/Christmas Day, of course).  I remember years past where I was in The Main Department and things were so meager that we were dismissed really early.  Because of the confusion and dot-connecting we need to do with these new forms coming from this closed lab, I know we won't get to leave early.  In fact, there's a real good chance I'll be staying late, like I have ever since this lab shut down.  I know that The Cheesecake Factory will have different hours from Southdale, which will close at 5.  While I may have gone to get cheesecake and not walked around the mall in years past, I cannot imagine doing one without the other.  Then again, I considered doing it last year after the Vikings Game.  Once again, I'm admitting my "traditions" are pretty fungible.

Ah, to heck with it.  If by some miracle we get done by, say, noon, I'm doing everything.  If it gets to, like, 2 or 3, it's off to Southdale.  Any later and I don't know if trying makes any sense.  I'm guessing I won't be leaving work till way past then.  Nope, I might get some fast food and go home ... before leaving late in the evening to head off to the only place I know in the Twin Cities that is open late on Christmas Eve.  I have gone to this place to drink their scotch and whiskey for several years now, and even though I skipped this two years ago, I have committed to doing this moreso than the Hooters/Southdale/Cheesecake Factory roundelay.  Yeah, gotta admit that this is my Christmas tradition!