ecently I had a friend leave a message to complain that I wasn’t returning his calls in the evenings (usually we talk once a week, and those calls can run 90 minutes to two hours).
Really, since retirement and the C-19 plague, I’ve been more busier than ever. Every evening is packed. So lets see:
Monday: This is work night at the model train club. We normally meet on Wednesdays but the guys working on various projects like to meet on an off-night when there is more elbow room (of course, this is a per-plague sentiment, but we still meet). Masks required.
Tuesday: This is the night my sister and a couple of friends sit down for the weekly “Scurvy Dice” game. It’s a fun pirate game that we play over Facebook Groups with twice the designed number of players. It’s a huge gunpowder regatta of backstabbing and crew-killing. After the game finishes up, a good friend usually calls about 9:30 for a weekly update.
Wednesday: Train club night. Yes, this is the big night (now very sparsely attended, but I’ll take that as a good sign. Not only do we work on our projects but there is a lot of fun talking, besides. Masks required.
Thursday: My off night. This is the one night a week that I have nothing planned.
Friday: Cocoon Night – this is the night the wife and I order a pizza and walked a couple hours of binge crap on Netflix and Hulu. Hey, it’s a Raymond Family Tradition.
Saturday: This has become extended family night dinner. We all cook our meals and sit down at 6:30 to chat on Facebook Groups. Interesting that, before the plague, I talked to my mom maybe once a month. Now, mom and sister and the occasional niece will settle in for a few hours of weekly gab.
Sunday: I used to ref a role playing game in college – the campaign ran over fifteen years. Now, thirty years later and at the bequest of a couple of my old players, I’ve reestablished our game. Now our adventurers are kicking around our solar system, crashing spaceships, fighting in insurrections and generally looking out for the next NeoYuan. I forgot how much fun this sort of off-the-cuff storytelling can be.
Add to all this the large number of series we’re currently working through on the various streaming services: Better Call Saul. Avatar, the Last Airbender, Killing Eve, Mr. InBetween, The Umbrella Academe, Wanted, and Midnight Diner (to name a few). Also an anime or two every day (privately) over wine and almonds.
And then there is the new railroad I’m building, the game I’m writing, the short stories I’m working on, the bike rides, the walks, the books to read, the newsletter to publish and the blogs to write.
So, yes, maybe I haven’t gotten back to you in a day or so.
I’m kinda busy.