Oct 2025 by the numbers

Zoom meetings not started on time because water started falling from the ceiling onto my desk: 1

Times I realized with horror that an email address for a project I manage wasn’t accessible by anyone: 1

Things that went wrong with a project at school, after the staff assistant quit for a new job: all of them

Nights I’ve had trouble sleeping due to that project: 6

Lizards Snowball wanted to show me, before eating them: 1

Bugs Snowball wanted to show me, before eating them: 1

Vaccine boosters: 1

New air fryers: 1

Plays: 3 (& Juliet; The Art of War; Eureka Day)

New comforters: 1

Student comedy shows attended: 1

Outpatient surgeries: 2

Allergy skin tests showing that I’m not “skin reactive” much anymore, after about 15 years of allergy shots: 1

Blue Octopi crocheted by my niece: 1

New recipes tried: 5 (Crispy Gnocchi with Sausage and Broccoli; Slow Cooker Harissa Chicken; Chocolate Rum Cake; One Pan Za’atar Chicken Bake; Ginger Chicken and Rice Soup with Zucchini)

Crocker Art Nights: 1

Books Finished: 4

Wine and food tasting events at the Mondavi Center: 1

Official taste tests for the Mondavi Center: 4

Times I spoke as part of California Free Thought Day: 3

Physical and mental health appointments, not including the ones mentioned above: 12

Movies: Hocus Pocus 2; House of Dynamite

Upper Division Comp Exam Scorings Facilitated: 1

Nights I got dressed up for a gala and then got hit on by a stranger in person for the first time in years, including sexism and unauthorized touching: 1

Times I posted something showing MAGA’s hypocrisy, but then hundreds of people on my side didn’t read it closely / didn’t know what “MAGA:” might mean before a statement (i.e., that I was quoting them) and yelled at me: 1

Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Marathons: 1

Days Celebrated: 11 (Random Acts of Poetry Day; Jiffy Mix Day; Halloween; Porridge Day; Taco Day; Angel Food Cake Day; Free Thought Day; No Bra Day, for breast cancer awareness; Liqueur Day; National Pasta Day; Cat Day)

Times someone said, “Please fuck my husband,” in all seriousness: 1

Wine openers displayed in my new collection so far, inspired by my favorite wine bar in Oxford: 5

Oxford Info Sessions Hosted: 1

Catch ups with friends: 6

Jimmy Carr comedy events cancelled: 1

Times I got to see my niece’s smile when she got a cake I baked and two books signed by an author she loves: 1

Vampire Balls: 1

Best selfies ever taken, after being inspired at the Vampire Ball: 1

Day of October when a new washer/dryer finally arrived, after the old one broke on 9/8: 16th

Times the drip pan, under the washer/dryer, which has not yet been replaced, revealed what looks like black mold: 1

Nightmares I had after someone helping a woman find out who her GI father is contacted me for help (since the woman is apparently related to me somehow) and then said that since the woman and I didn’t have any ancestors in common that my tree must be wrong, and so I dreamed that I found out my father was adopted, which was horrifying, not because I have a problem with adoption, but because it makes the last three years of work I’ve put into his side of the tree completely worthless: 1

New chez lounge scratching posts I got for Snowball, though she is the least interested in it: 1

Days late this wrap up is: 2