Lose a Fatty

Status: Last night's popcorn was a bad idea. But alive! Mood: I'm not as ugly, sad as you. (Not really. I miss all your faces unless you're my ex.) Snacks: There's a piece of cake downstairs with my name on it. This week's theme is apparently angst. Yesterday, I felt pretty low. Today, I actually feel much better (what is with these pandemic mood swings???). I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm going to be home for quite a while yet, and today I realized I felt better because: I got up at a reasonable time and didn't feel guilty that I rolled out of bed and into my desk chair, which means that I Ate breakfast, ergo I was hungry for lunch at a normal time, so Dinner wasn't a trial, it was necessary and I didn't mind cooking it. Routine, apparently, is the name of the game. So I've got two goals for May and they're to move my expanding body 30 minutes a day, employing my out-of-office message to inform colleagues I'm taki

Status: Full of popcorn, still kicking Mood: It's 1 a.m. and I'm posting to my blog? What do you think? Snacks: The aforementioned popcorn and ubiquitous cheez crackers. Quick update: Lots of feels this week for lots of reasons. Seven weeks is a long time to be alone. Working in isolation makes me feel like I'm not doing enough or doing everything wrong. Shopping in masks is disorienting and scary. Feeling more isolated and lonely than usual. So here's "Waving Through a Window" from Evan Hanson with my scary hair, glasses and pajamas. I am nothing if not authentically me. Hope someone is waving back at you.

Status: I just live in this room now. But indeed, I live! Mood: It's the end of the world as we know it and I'm sort of whatever about it at this point. Snacks: A few cheese crackers and some chickpea chip things that were surprisingly good. I haven't made another cake because I will just start eating it for breakfast. Everyone is doing the best they can to weather this history we're living through (and which, as my sister noted, would be better skipped and read about later). For me, the weekends are so much easier. I save my housework for them. I read. I do projects. This past weekend, I even I stood a safe distance from my sister and chatted with her as she performed the essential task of bringing me eggs from her lovely chickens. (Hello chickens!) I am super lucky to have a job, let alone one that can be done remotely. But it does get lonely. While I used to be bubbly in the sense that I was outgoing, now I'm bubbly in the sense that I'm alone in this b

Status: Dreaming of hammocks and sunny days. Oh, and alive. Yay! Mood: Why can't dishes wash themselves? Snacks: Oooh! I just remembered I have one piece of cake left. Woohoo! Today would have been Spring Carnival at CMU, which is basically the one time each year CMU students have fun. While I was super involved in Carnival my sophomore and junior years, it wasn't until my senior year that I really cut loose and enjoyed myself. At that point, I had about one month left on campus, my GPA was solidly above 3.5 and I assumed no one was going to throw me out or take away my scholarship money. Unlike this weekend, the weather was gorgeous -- in the 80s and sunny. I went to a party! I went to Buggy! We wondered around Oakland and Shadyside like normal people. It was great! So my heart goes out to this year's CMU seniors, in particular, who busted ass for almost four years only to lose their month or so of fun. (Although I feel like the campus culture has changed and ther

Status: Sick and tired of cooking dinner. But alive. Mood: Eh. You know, fine, I guess. Snacks: Well, I'm out of oatmeal cream pies now. Maybe that's a blessing. Today I put on a nice shirt and sweater -- after I showered! -- because I'm tired of looking like crap every day. That was my big excitement. Also, I can't figure out how to get my phone where I need it for optimal recording so this video is vertical again. Sigh. Amazon won't ship a tripod until May, because I guess it's not "essential." What do you know, AMAZON? Huh? Anyway, Tuesdays are going to be throwbacks to my youth. Today, "Gloria" by Laura Branigan. I have the album! I loved this song so much when I was like six years old that my grandma and pap also bought me the 45. Yes, the 45. (We weren't allowed to play good records on the upstairs record player, so the 45 allowed me to play it while I did whatever six-year-old Susie did -- probably read and sing and do puz

Status: Alive, but my eyes are hot. What does that mean? Mood: I didn't start this fire. Snacks: I still firmly believe that cake for breakfast isn't a snack. Why hello! Welcome back to Susie's Pandemic Log and Solo Karaoke! I took a bit of a long break, didn't I? No post on Friday or all weekend. I was blissfully away from technology (minus my phone) for most of that time and, frankly, felt like reading instead of writing. So that's what I did. I also tried to organize my family into an Easter Zoom call and that, well. That needs some work. We'll get there someday. Finally, I pulled weeds in my yard without my gardening gloves and I look like I was in a knife fight. I've been thinking about my "rang-ed" episode from last Monday's karaoke and I wonder if that was supposed to be "ranged" (in the sense of " to sail or pass along," as my friends at Merriam-Webster define it). But if you listen to the song, it's cle

Status: Body composition at roughly 50 percent cheese crackers. Mood: Contemplative. Perhaps I should invest in shirts that aren't pink or black. Snacks: Say it with me: oatmeeeeeal creaaaaam piiiiiiiie. Hello readers and watchers! After a brief hiatus I am back today and queuing up "Build Me Up Buttercup." I love this song, but singing it with the lyrics in front of me twice has made me realize this dude has a LOT of codependency issues. And that lady he's waiting for? She's a real bitch, I think. She doesn't sound like a nice person. He could do better. Listen, dude from the Foundations: YOU CAN DO BETTER! Things here in Solitary Susieland continue as usual. I have moved from a mostly Julia Child television diet to one interspersed with episodes of "Antiques Roadshow." I can't seem to cry over the state of the world, missing my family or being scared about the future (thanks antidepressants!), but I CAN be brought to tears by a man who

Status: Alive. Not as sleepy as yesterday. Wheee! Down to three rolls of TP. Should I be concerned? Mood: Going a wee bit stir crazy. Snacks: OK, fine. I had an oatmeal cream pie. Readers, this daily karaoke journey is fraught with peril. I made multiple attempts to capture today's recording. On the first try, my sound didn't work. On the second, my camera fell and landed in my cleavage. On the third, I warbled too much. But still I persisted, and finally got this version of "Part of Your World" (with some ad-libbed alternate lyrics) before I pulled out my quarantine hair. It's week four for remote work here, and it can be a real challenge. I find that I'm great at accomplishing task-based to-dos, but have a helluva time thinking about big-picture or strategy issues. I thought this would get easier over time, but it doesn't seem like it is. I'm sure I'm not the only one in this boat, but it's hard to know since I really am literally the

Status: Sleepy, but fine. Alive and all that jazz. Mood: If there was a problem, yo, I'll solve it. But maybe tomorrow. Snacks: Not a one! It's a Monday miracle! Readers, I am super tired today. I don't know why, but at least one day a week I feel like a limp noodle. Today is that day. Nothing is newly wrong or anything. I'm just beat. What better way to perk up than with some Vanilla Ice? (Wait, is that a euphemism for cocaine? Because I don't mean cocaine. I mean the artist. Also, this song's numerous gun references made me really uncomfortable.)

Status: I got the beat. Mood: Not too shabby considering the world is a dumpster fire. Snacks: I had some chips with my meatloaf sandwich. I am, after all, only human. I think we all know that I'm probably a ham, but this Susie's Karaoke Alone (which I think I should rename Susie's Solo Karaoke) video thing really brings it out in me. Part of me wishes I were a more sedate human person, who doesn't think making a video of herself singing is hilarious. But clearly that's not me. Ah well. Maybe I'll be shy and quiet in my next life. Today wasn't too bad! I talked to my neighbor out of my window for quite a while, exercised a bit, sang some karaoke, did some work (for any co-workers who might be reading this), ate some lunch. That sounds like the schedule of a senior citizen. Tomorrow, for some excitement, I may mobile order an iced coffee from Dunkin' and GET IN MY CAR to drive and pick it up. What a notion! Today's karaoke goes out to Drew,

Status: Still breathing. Whoop! Mood: Thankful for Zoloft. Snacks: None yet, but that won't last long. OK, apparently nothing makes me quite as happy as singing in my guest room alone. Well, at least during times when I can't hang out with people in real life and subject them to my vocal skills. Today: Air Supply. Man, I love these guys. Melodrama! Passion! Weird bridges! They're the best for singalongs. Also, I hit a clunker and cracked myself up. You get to see it, because I'm keeping it real here at Susie's Karaoke Alone. PS: Can someone help me figure out how to get a horizontal aspect using only a coffee mug and Kleenex box as props?

Status: Alive, maybe a little loony. Mood: Better than yesterday. Snacks: NONE! Because I've gained five pounds since this all started. No foolin' (PUN INTENDED!), this working remotely thing isn't as easy as I thought it would be initially. I miss a lot of things: other humans (until I actually interact with other humans again, then I don't miss them because some of them are assholes), brownies I don't have to bake myself, buying things when I need them instead of thinking a month ahead. Yesterday I got really down about some of the day's goings on, and it was super frustrating to just have to sit here and be sad alone. And angry alone. And alone and alone and alone. So today I sang some ABBA and recorded it. You're welcome. Do I go flat? YES. Do I warble? YES? But do I accurately capture the drama of the words? I SURE DO. Will this become a daily treat? Perhaps! Please enjoy as I humiliate myself for your entertainment.