Happy new year!

Sorry, I wrote that and then was drawn away to mince onions, which means I have now retreated to the safety of the computer away from sulphurous compounds that irritate eyes and nose.  The last thing on my list of things to do while off is to back up the computers, so I'm backing up the desktop and blogging on the laptop.

I have been off since Friday and I've mostly either run some errands or relaxed, visited friends, etc.  Last night was a very quiet New Year's Eve.  We visited a friend who got us all Subway sandwiches, and then I hung out with the cats and watched the ball drop and YKWIA spoke on the phone with a friend in the Chicago area.

The following new year's resolutions are on track:

1. Reducing soda intake.  I drink way too much diet soda.  I'm going to limit it and try to transition to some coffee.  I did drink one today, but considering on the weekends I've been drinking two 2-litres and some days at work I have five out of the machine, I definitely need to work on this, both from a health standpoint and money one.  So I'm going to try to limit it to one a day, then taper off to coffee, and then taper that further over time.
2. Blogging!  No more waiting two weeks or a month between posts.  Granted I was sick a good portion of last month, but my blogging was pathetic.  I'd like this blog to flourish, and it really hasn't been of late.
3. Watching my blood sugar better--testing, taking medicine, and not eating so much out of the snack machines.  I did take all my medicine correctly earlier, but this will really get tested at work.

Today I have:

1. Done my friend's laundry.
2. Done all the dishes.
3. Made bread (in progress).
4. Backed up the computers (in progress).
5. Gone to Kroger (three times), once for sweetener, once for bread yeast, and now I'm going for a zucchini.
6. Bought a MegaMillions ticket.
7. Ordered a game for a friend who gave me his Amazon gift cards to do so (he doesn't have a computer, but he does have an Xbox One S, and I checked to make sure this Xbox 360 game, which is older, should work).

Well, I think I'm going to get wrangled further into cooking, as I've been interrupted about four times just writing this post.  But hopefully 2019 will be a better year all around and I'll have more to say about it than 2018.  I'm going to go now; I'll try to write later.

I'm pooped, and it isn't even game time

Today I've:

1. Laundered my bedding and clothes
2. Changed out the spring and winter clothes, put spring clothes away, packed up the winter ones, and prepared to take them to storage
3. Swept and mopped the floors
4. Cleaned the bathroom
5. Taken out the trash and recyclables
6. Cleaned the cat boxes
7. Started a loaf of bread

Yesterday I cleaned a very dirty shelf with magazines and did YKWIA's laundry, and that was enough to make my back hurt quite a bit, so I laid down for awhile while he helped a friend out at his house who is battling cancer.  They called me to go get Subway and we all ate and visited, then we got home about 8:30 pm.  I think we were both done in by midnight (he's been over several days in a row and took the bus out Friday, getting lost on the walk over there, and probably walked four miles back and forth until he found it), and we .were up by 7:30 am.  I have no real reason to be as tired as I've felt lately.  I've done some housework and of course, I worked at the medical centre, but still, I'm just tired all the time.  I've been up doing my stuff and listening to shows he's watching (he finished the 'Almost Human' DVDs and we watched a couple of episodes of 'Up the Women'.  I unplugged my tablet, which has been on the charger for two days and really needed to be unplugged and just turned off.  He's got a lot of documents to transfer to it and we're going to see if there's enough room once I cleaned my stuff off of the microSD card.  There's not much on it, now, just some basic applications and one from Adobe for reading PDFs and one for reading Word files.  That should suffice for him.  I haven't used my old tablet for some time.  I'm not sure it'll have the processing speed he'll need, but it's worth a try since neither of us can afford a newer tablet or laptop right now.

Today I'm looking forward to the game.  I'm kind of grungy and should go ahead and take a shower, but I'm just not up to it.  I'd like to lie down for awhile, but the bed hasn't been made yet.   I just feel a mess today. 

My strawberry plant that Brenda gave me is back outside after being brought in for a frost advisory last night, and it has two ripe strawberries and one that is turning on it.  I have lost three smallish African violets recently, including the two pink ones in the bathroom and a purple one in the bedroom.  I'm not sure what happened; they got puny and I tried to save them, but it was a no go.  On the other hand, one of the orchids has grown a new leaf and I have two that are getting ready to re-bloom.  Maybe orchids are more my thing, although I've had no problem with violets before.  The window seat in YKWIA's room is lush with shamrocks, an umbrella tree I just repotted, dumb cane, and philodendrons.  They love that window:

So overall, the plants are doing well.  Also, the orchid at work is putting out new shoots and buds.  I separated the stems out to give them more room:

It's the same colour as part of my mousepad, my pen holder, and my water cup, so it's coordinated to the checkout bay. :)  What can I say, I like it when things match.

Okay, I'm going to go check on the last of the laundry.  I realised I started the bread while still running the dryer (the bread machine is on the washer, as that's a good place for it usually when I'm not washing, as it has a tendency to 'walk' as it mixes, which is apparently supposed to happen, according to the manual.  But the vibration isn't good for rising bread.  I don't want to mess up this loaf.  I'm experimenting with all-purpose rather than bread flour, as I'm low on the other.  But the other day I forgot to put the yeast in until 30 minutes into the cycle.  While it was edible and looked fine, it was chewier than usual.  I can't believe I did that.  I was washing dishes and remembered suddenly, doing what I could to fix things.  It wasn't bad, but not ideal.  Hopefully, this one will come out fine; I definitely put all the ingredients in. :)

A happy outcome to a news story, for a change

Blind man struck by subway says dog 'saved my life'

and even better...

Donations allow blind man to keep the dog that saved him

Williams fainted at the 125th Street platform in Manhattan on Tuesday, and as he tumbled forward, Orlando landed in the tracks alongside him. Orlando tried to rouse Williams, who was unconscious. They lay there as the train passed above them.

Both survived. But because Orlando is slated to retire in January, and Williams' insurance won't pay for a non-working dog, they would have had to part ways. Now, thanks to several anonymous donations to Guiding Eyes for the Blind, all of Orlando's expenses will be covered.

"Orlando is my best buddy, he’s my pal," said Williams at an emotional press conference at St. Luke's Hospital where he was being treated for minor injuries. "He’s taken me on the trains, the buses – everywhere I need to go ... He’s a very gentle gentleman."

Troubling

Subway Owners Arrested After Human Trafficking Investigation

Court record: Lexington couple forced undocumented Indian nationals to work in Subway restaurants

This is very disturbing. I'd hate to think that unconsciously I was supporting this by eating there, although none of the ones I frequent were named as belonging to this couple--I've eaten once at the East Main store. Still, it underscores that human trafficking is a huge problem that can be found in unexpected places, and it should be stamped out as thoroughly as possible. No one should ever have to call another person 'my owner'.

Unbelievable, yet apparently true

Woman Accused of Hate-Crime Murder in Subway Push

The woman, Erica Menendez of the Bronx, will be charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime, according to a person in the Queens district attorney’s office. When Ms. Menendez was taken into custody by police early Saturday morning, she made comments implicating herself in the crime when questioned by detectives, according to Paul J. Browne, the chief spokesman for the Police Department.

A law enforcement official said that Ms. Menendez had “told the cops it was an act against Muslims,” and cited the Sept. 11 attacks. The victim, Sunando Sen, was born in India and, according to a roommate, was raised Hindu.

Again?

Man Is Pushed to His Death Under Train in Queens

Earlier this month a man was pushed in front of a subway train in New York City and made headlines for a widely-circulated picture of him right before his doom. Now it's happened again--just over a couple of hours ago. This time, a woman mumbling to herself pushed a man into the path of a train; witnesses said the victim did not appear to notice her. The man has not yet been identified, and police are searching for a woman matching the description of the assailant.

What do you think?

New York Post publishes grim photo of man about to die on subway tracks

A grim New York Post cover photo showing the final moments of a Queens man who authorities say was pushed onto subway tracks has sparked outrage among readers.

New York Post freelance photographer R. Umar Abbasi photographed 58-year-old Ki Suk Han as he struggled yesterday to escape an oncoming train after being pushed onto the tracks by an unidentified man at the Times Square Station.

New York Police Department footage captured the argument that Han had with his assailant before being shoved onto the tracks.

The Post photograph was accompanied by the two headlines "Pushed on the subway track, this man is about to die," and "Doomed."

The criticism on Twitter was aimed at Abbasi, who was at the station while on assignment for an unrelated project, and at the Post for publishing the photograph. Critics asked why Abbasi did not do more to save Han.

Abbasi said he fired the flash to try to alert the train driver. A lot of people are questioning the fine line between chronicling desperate situations as they occur and helping those in such dire straits. This article mentions that this situation has been likened to the Kitty Genovese story in 1964, where a woman from Queens was murdered and although the initial characterisation of apathetic witnesses in that case has been re-analysed, it remains a compelling case of what people do, or rather don't do, in situations like this.

I recognise that everyone is not cut out to be a hero, to do something to risk their own life to save another. I don't know how many people were really within reach to try to save him. It probably would have taken more than one person to help pull him up. But it's sad that no one at least tried to actually do so, and then the New York Post took advantage of the photo with its lurid headlines to sell papers in a bid worthy of the lowest of tabloids.

That poor man and his family. I hope they find the person who did this and charge him with murder. Unfortunately, it sounds like it may have been someone who was mentally ill.

UPDATE: Police Question Man in Subway Push

I can't sleep

Probably the most important news in the world at the moment is about the dual explosions in the Moscow subway system about an hour and forty-five minutes ago. Right now, though, details are sketchy, so here's an odd story for all of you fellow insomniacs:

How the stimulating smell of wasabi can save lives as a smoke alarm for the deaf

Another reason I don't want to ride on a subway

I don't like the idea of cramped spaces underground where you hurtle forward on trains. I don't even like tunnels, and something like the Chunnel is right out. But then there's the wackos on the subway, too.

Police: Man fatally stabbed over subway seat: Passenger killed in front of horrified riders in Manhattan, authorities say

I am far too provincial to survive in a city the size of New York. The only comparable place I've visited was Los Angeles, and I didn't care for it at all. Lexington is just right. As of 2000, there were 260,512 in the city (although it's grown substantially since then, so it should be interesting to see what 2010 brings). I can immediately find countryside within the county line, with horse and cattle farms nearby, but it also has a robust arts community. It's within a reasonable drive of Louisville and Cincinnati for big-name concerts and other activities, too. Although it certainly doesn't have the heterogeneity and cultural opportunities of New York, it's a nice place to live.

Now granted, something like this could have happened on a city bus, I suppose. Still, there's something about being trapped underground with a crazy guy with a knife that just creeps me out. Your commute should not involve dying over a seat.