Yesterday, Wed., Dec. 3, 2025
Sandy insists on sleeping on my desk today. She’s curled up beside my keyboard, so I’ve shifted things just enough to keep typing as she naps. She looks so peaceful, I can’t move her.
I have a doctor’s appointment later, so Alex and I will head down there this afternoon. Afterwards, we’re planning to pick up Kel from work, she’s getting off early today, at least I’m pretty sure.
I don’t have too much to write about at the moment. I’ve been coding all morning, and my mind keeps drifting back to cybersecurity. I’m even toying with the idea of writing out my own little curriculum or study plan. I’m not sure if that’s going overboard or just being proactive, but maybe it could help me stay focused and organized.
Oh, I found a website called TryHackMe that teaches cybersecurity through hands-on labs and guided lessons. It looks really beginner-friendly, which is exactly what I need right now. I think I’m going to try working through some of the rooms on there while I continue reading my security book. Using both together might help everything click more clearly, learning the concepts in the book and then actually practicing them in a real environment. It feels a little intimidating, but also exciting to have a new resource to learn from.
I usually rely on Grammarly to catch spelling and grammar mistakes, but today it seems convinced I’ve suddenly moved to Britain. Every time I type a word like organized or practicing, it insists that my spelling is wrong, even though I know perfectly well that the American spellings are correct.
It’s a bit frustrating when the tool that’s supposed to help ends up confusing things instead. What are you supposed to do when Grammarly decides you’re in a different region and starts giving you the wrong corrections?
I’m going to squeeze in a bit of cybersecurity reading before I have to head to my doctor’s appointment. Sandy is still curled up on my desk, completely unbothered by all my activity. You’d think the typing and constant mouse movement would annoy her, but she’s fast asleep, perfectly content to stay right beside me. Honestly, it’s kind of sweet and annoying having her there while I study.
Since I’m waiting to leave for my doctor’s appointment, I’m having a hard time focusing on my reading. My mind keeps wandering to the time, the drive, and everything I need to remember to mention once I’m there. It’s like I’m trying to read the same paragraph over and over, but none of it is sinking in. I’m just in that in-between space where I can’t fully settle into anything until the appointment is over.
I don’t think I’ll get much writing done after my appointment, especially since Alex and I still need to swing by and pick Kel up from work afterwards. Not that I wrote much today anyway, but that’s just how it goes sometimes. But I will leave this open and post it tonight. I might have stuff to add tonight.
Today, Thurs., Dec.4, 2025
I made it back late yesterday, but then we lost power twice during the night, so posting my journal just wasn’t going to happen.
Yesterday’s doctor appointment was surprisingly quick. I was only there for about half an hour. My right ear had been achy for a few days, but I didn’t think much of it. Turns out, not only did I still have the hearing aid dome stuck in my left ear, but I also have an ear infection in my right ear. So the doctor prescribed antibiotics for me to take.
After the appointment, Alex and I went to Kel’s work to pick her up, only to find out she wasn’t actually there. She was at a restaurant by the mall for her work Christmas party. Alex was not happy about the unexpected detour, but we drove over to the mall and picked her up. From there, we went to the college for a bit, and then Alex wanted to swing by Costco. All the while, a snowstorm was brewing back home. Tommy texted, telling us we needed to get home as soon as possible, but trying to get Alex to hurry was… not happening.
Inside Costco, we wandered around for a bit, and Alex got an ice cream sundae. When we got back to the car, he spotted someone with a Fallout collaboration soda and immediately decided he wanted one too, so back into Costco we went. After that, we headed to Jersey Mike’s because Kel had placed an order for her dad. We picked up the sandwich and finally started toward home.
We hit the snowstorm within five minutes of getting on the freeway. Alex was nervous driving in those conditions, so he got off the freeway and took Route. 66 instead. The snow was coming down hard, so I understood why Tommy had warned us. Eventually, we made it back into town and stopped at the store for dinner ingredients. We had chicken adobo last night. After that, we went to Walmart to pick up a grocery order Kel had placed for her dad. We planned to get my medicine too, but the snow was getting worse, and I think Kel just wanted to drop everything off at her dad’s house before the roads got any worse. She dropped Alex and me off at home and then headed straight over there.
About five minutes after I finished cooking dinner, the power went out. Well, almost finished. I had Brussels sprouts ready to steam in the microwave, but the power went out before I could make them. Tommy came home right after the outage, and we pulled out all the flashlight lanterns to light up the house. The power came back eventually, only to go out again a little while later. Kel got home during the second outage. Thankfully, the power returned once more before we went to bed and stayed on through the night.
This morning, the guy who was supposed to fix the pellet stove had to reschedule because of the snow. Tommy and Kel had a bit of a rough time getting the car out, but after de-icing it, they managed to get up the driveway hill without too much trouble. I’m not sure Alex will be able to get the truck out today. I’m not even sure he’s going to attempt going to work; he might just call in and say he’s snowed in. I haven’t checked the truck since early this morning, but maybe the sun has loosened the snow a bit. We still have a lot on the ground, so it’s definitely not melting away today.
Alex managed to get the truck out of the driveway. He did slide around a little, but eventually got the truck up the hill. The sun melted the snow off the truck, and the snow on the driveway isn’t that deep. He’s heading to Walmart now to pick up my medication and grab some trash bags; we ran out yesterday, of course, right when we needed them.
I’m really relieved the medicine will be ready soon. My ear has been bothering me, and even though I took some Tylenol to take the edge off the pain, it’ll be good to have something that actually treats the infection. Hopefully, it starts helping quickly so the ache eases up.
I’ve taken my medicine for the night. Since it’s every twelve hours, I’ll take my next dose in the morning when I wake up, around 5 a.m. That means tomorrow’s second dose will land right around dinnertime. At least the schedule is easy enough to follow.
Alex left for work a little while ago. He stopped by Walmart beforehand and came home with a whole assortment of junk food to get him through his shift. It’ll either keep him awake or give him a stomachache… maybe both.
Right now, I’m sipping some hot tea and studying a bit of cybersecurity while everything is still quiet. I think I’ll go ahead and post this now since it’s turning into a pretty long entry.
