La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
My mobile phone rang briefly at 10 Tuesday night. The Kid Brother’s name appeared on the screen for a split second. We used to video chat on WhatsApp at 11 until he accidentally deleted WhatsApp from his phone. Since then, I’ve been calling his landline. I immediately tried reaching The Kid Brother but WhatsApp was still not working. So, I phoned him at home. When he finally picked up, I said “hi” and he said, “Wait a minute. I got scores for you,” and he was gone. I figured his bowling league must have started up again and I was right. He gave me the scores and then he said, “Hey! What are you calling now for?” I said, “You called me first.” “Oh, yeah, dat’s right,” he acknowledged. “I was just tryin’ it. It still doesn’t work. But talkin’ now is OK.” I explained that it wouldn’t work until he got help with putting WhatsApp back on his phone. He said, “Don’t worry. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.” The Kid Brother is fine.
When I worked at UC San Diego, I had a very nice office and, for some strange reason, I decorated with Edvard Munch’s The Scream (Skrik) as the theme. I had a 4-ft-tall inflatable Scream and a pillow on a visitor’s chair that screamed when squeezed. I had Scream coffee cups and pencil holders, one I picked up at the Munch Museum in Oslo. One of my staff took her first pottery class and made me a Scream mug. And then, our office manager got in touch with someone at the Munch Museum and somehow got them to send her a scan of one of the original paintings for me. I know she told them it was for the director of Publications at the university (me) but I don’t think they knew what it was being used for (just me). I found it when cleaning out my office. I should frame it.
Speaking of themes, I do New York Times puzzles most days. The latest one I find completely stress-free is called Strands, a find-the-hidden-words puzzle based on specific themes. Two puzzles this past week were created just for me. The first was about the rooms of a house and included the word FOYER (remember follé?) and the next theme was Moving Day.
Speaking of moving day. We gave our sofa to the portero in our building. He took it away today. Isabel came close to crying. But then she got out the vacuum cleaner. When she left today, there were tears.
Dudo and Moose hid in San Geraldo’s office until everyone left. They were both sound asleep when I got out of bed this morning. I stood on the terrace taking photos of the sunrise. When I turned to come back inside, both cats were at my feet. At the moment, no one is demanding my attention.
Mi teléfono móvil sonó brevemente a las 22:00 del martes. El nombre del Hermanito apareció en la pantalla durante una fracción de segundo. Solíamos chatear por video en WhatsApp a las 23:00 hasta que borró accidentalmente WhatsApp de su móvil. Desde entonces, he estado llamando a su teléfono fijo. Inmediatamente intenté comunicarme con El Hermanito, pero WhatsApp seguía sin funcionar. Entonces, lo llamé a casa. Cuando finalmente cogió el teléfono, le dije “hola” y él dijo: “Espera un minuto. Tengo los resultados para ti”, y se fue. Supuse que su liga de bolos debía haber comenzado de nuevo y tenía razón. Me dio los resultados y luego dijo: “¡Oye! ¿Para qué llamas ahora?” Dije: “Me llamaste primero”. “Oh, sí, es cierto”, reconoció. “Solo lo estaba probando. Sigue sin funcionar. Pero hablar ahora está bien”. Le expliqué que no va a funcionar hasta que recibiera ayuda para volver a poner WhatsApp en su móvil. Dijo: “No te preocupes. No te preocupes. Yo me encargaré de ello.” El Hermanito está bien.
Cuando trabajaba en la Universidad de California en San Diego, tenía una oficina muy bonita y, por alguna extraña razón, decoré con El grito (Skrik) de Munch como tema. Tenía un Scream inflable de 122 cm de alto y una almohada en una silla de visitas que gritaba cuando se apretaba. Tenía tazas de café y porta lápices de Scream, uno que recogí en el Museo Munch en Oslo. Una de mis empleadas tomó su primera clase de cerámica y me hizo una taza de Scream. Y luego, nuestra gerente de oficina se puso en contacto con alguien del Museo Munch y de alguna manera logró que le enviaran un escaneo de una de las pinturas originales para mí. Sé que les dijo que era para el director de Publicaciones de la universidad (yo), pero no creo que supieran para qué se estaba utilizando (sólo yo). Lo encontré cuando estaba limpiando mi oficina. Debería enmarcarlo.
Hablando de temas, hago rompecabezas del New York Times casi todos los días. El último que encuentro completamente libre de estrés se llama Strands, un rompecabezas de encontrar las palabras ocultas basado en temas específicos. Dos rompecabezas de la semana pasada fueron creados solo para mí. El primero trataba sobre las habitaciones de una casa e incluía la palabra FOYER (¿recuerdan follé?) y el siguiente tema era el día de la mudanza.
Hablando del día de la mudanza. Le dimos nuestro sofá al portero de nuestro edificio. Se lo llevó hoy. Isabel estuvo a punto de llorar. Pero luego sacó la aspiradora.
Dudo y Moose se escondieron en la oficina de San Geraldo hasta que todos se fueron. Ambos estaban profundamente dormidos cuando me levanté de la cama esta mañana. Me quedé en la terraza tomando fotos del amanecer. Cuando me di la vuelta para volver adentro, ambos gatos estaban a mis pies. En este momento, nadie reclama mi atención.
• “Sí, sí, bonito amanecer. ¿Dónde están los aperetivos?”
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
I have seen the T-Shirt, “When I say I will get it done, I will get it done, You don’t have to remind me every 6 months!” What size does Chuck wear? And OMG, it is starting to look like you are moving, the boys will cling tightly.
David:
That T-shirt would be hilarious (although he would NOT get the joke). The boys get curious and then settle in for another treat. So far, no problems.
Oh, that meow at the window; I’m dying.
And once pieces of furniture leave there’s really no turning back.
Lastly, I wonder what a shrink might say about your Scream motif?
Bob:
Yeah, the Scream Motif. And that was my favorite job. I was NOT meant to work.
That custom-made pottery Scream mug is AWESOME! A one-of-a-kind treasure!
Debra:
It IS a treasure. Sadly, the woman who made if for me died last year after a living with Alzheimer’s a very long time. She was the kindest, gentlest person I ever met.
Yep….you guys are moving alright!!
KB is on top of things…..way to go Chuck!
Jim:
KB and our circular conversations. He was at least in a good mood this week!
I work the NYT’s puzzles also. The other day when I did Strands and found foyer, I thought of you.
Anon:
I love being thought of!
Boud here. Getting so close now. The sofa is the Rubicon.
Boud:
That’s how I felt about the sofa!
¡Yo, también! I do Wordle, Mini-C, Connections, and Strands every morning, and I though of you when those words came up, just as did Anonymous, up there 😉 I also do Keyword, at the Washington Post. I am too chicken to do the real NY Times Crossword, though my sister does it!
It’s always great to get news of Chuck!
Judy C:
I do the NY Times Crossword most days. I used to do it religiously but I find myself not wanting to spend the time lately. If it doesn’t come easily, I set it aside. Sometimes I get back to it.
A pillow that screamed when squeezed sounds a fun toy, and you should frame that scan. I’d have been worried about you if your Scream obsession had been Scream from the slasher horror films rather than Munch’s Scream. Poor Isabel. It’s not too late for her to leave her husband.
Shirley:
I loved that pillow. Can’t remember where I bought it. I also had a Daffy Duck Scream coffee mug that I got at the Warner Bros. store. I wish I kept that. I HATE the Scream from the slasher films.
Excellent handmade scream mug made just for you.
I think you’re going to miss your sunrises over the ocean but there will be other visual delights, I’m sure. I think I might be saddest about not having Isabel any more.
Don’t worry about KB! He will take care of it! He sounds like me.
Ms.Moon
Ms. Moonsigh:
Yes, I’ll definitely miss the sea views but we had views of a historic plaza in Sevilla and were very happy with that. We’ll adjust. It was painful to say good-bye (for now) to Isabel. She is now a friend for life. KB will take care of it by waiting for me to visit in January. Argh!
Poor guys cats just can’t take change. Eventually they will adjust. I always found strands pretty easy and doable until last night, the one about beasts. I just couldn’t get the spangram. Perhaps my brain has gone numb.
That was Claudia I guess my brain has numbed coming through as anonymous
Claudia:
Something I like about Spangram is that when I get stuck I can just keep finding unrelated words and getting hints. Sometimes the brain doesn’t make the connections. The cats will adjust quickly. A few days of stress and they’ll settle in. However, can you come and take them up to Córdoba?
The only NYT puzzle I work is Wordle. I’ve heard Connections (?) is fun. But I’m obsessive about stuff like that and don’t need more games. I already do a simple crossword, the cryptoquote, and the sudoku from my local paper. (I actually print out those three) Then there’s Yahtzee and Words With Friends (scrabble) on my phone. *sigh*
Kelly:
I used to be obsessive about the daily crossword puzzle. Having so many options now has helped me kick back and not worry about what I get to or finish.
That video. The cat might make a good Edvard Munch painting.
Kirk:
Oh, these cats can let out a good Edvard Munch yowl.
Speaking of screaming, check your email, Scoot… I emailed you Broken Peach’s 2024 Halloween video. It mashes two of my favourites from the mid-70’s: Blondie and KISS. I thought the Peach’s “Tainted Love” video was great, but this one is even better!
Tundra Bunny:
I checked my email and didn’t find it. I wonder if it went into spam and I didn’t save it. I’ve seen Broken Peach Halloween 2022 which was unbelievably good (I’ve got it on again now) but I haven’t seen a newer one. They are brilliant!
I use a ‘Scream” mousepad at work.
Urspo:
Ah, yes how could I forgot I had a Scream mousepad!