100 Teabags

I want to repurpose this blog. I quickly fell out of it because well, I didn’t feel like I had much to say. I just journaled a bit and then stopped. It was also probably due to the slight difficulty in drinking tea and writing something but eh. Anyway.

I’m going to start to playing some solo RPGs on here. I thought that would be a way more interesting idea for everyone involved. Everyone involved being me. 

The first one I’m going to try out is Ironsworn. It takes place in an unforgiving land. I’ll start out with the character creation and land creation for my next tea bag. Entries will probably be way more prose than just a journal for this. 

No picture today because I misplaced it. It’s gone. Don’t know where it went.

I’m currently drinking this cup in my room I’m supposed to be cleaning while not really cleaning it. I have an empty bookshelf and non empty shelves that I’m just a little too short for. I haven’t put anything anywhere or finished getting rid of stuff or dusting but I,know what I’m doing with my skull. I had the idea for creating a costume box for it and my friend said I should put it on an altar of some sort. I wasn’t going to make the box an altar but then I found the perfect box so now. My skull will sit upon its right ful place, probably in a silly hat.

My dad is going to work from home next week. We are all very curious as to how this will work. His company should be sending him equipment later in the week so everyone will be out of his control room by Friday. He usually has a bank of like four monitors and a board to talk to everyone. I’m just. I really want to know what’s happening there.

I’m glad he’s able to do that. Going into the city and just being around people stresses him out. He’s also got some health things he worries about. Not sure if he has it but uh. I just want him not to stress out. It really wears on him.

No picture due to a shortage of pixels.

I don’t know what prompted me to think about this but here we go.

In college, in my first semester physics lab, I had a TA. He was interesting. I don’t think he really cared that I missed my first lab (I realized halfway through that I had it. Then on the way there, I found $40 and just went back to my dorm. I then lost twenty of those dollars but oh well.) For some reason we got close very quickly. He was only a few years older and a recent grad. But also. I was not single. But also also. I would not have done anything if I were available.

Anyway, we started chatting over Facebook soon after. I stopped talking to him when I expressed a desire to work out more and he expresssed a desire to be there while I worked out in a slightly flirty way I just wasn’t into. Also he was my TA. He also became friends with my lab partner who I’m still friends with. I kind of avoided him after that when I saw him.

Another thing is that he shared with me some poetry and it was bad. It wasn’t Vogon poetry though full of belaboured metaphors and terrible imagery. It was just. Hard to call poetry. It was like a collection of sounds. Like he was claiming a Jackson Pollack clearly showed a woman sitting at a table. Anyway, it was so bad he inspired a story about a guy who wrote poetry. Except his poetry was actually summons for various creatures in a world of magic but very little spell creators. Maybe I should continue that. I really liked the first part I wrote.

No picture again today on account of the vapors.

So I started listening to The Old Gods of Appalachia podcast which is a horror podcast set in Virginia. It’s very good so far and very much a horror pod. The most I’ve forayed into horror has been the Magnus Archives so this is great. It just makes me want to create. I just want to write something. I’ve had tons of ideas for various mediums but truly making something exist is difficult. I used to write a lot more but I also used to read a lot more and was a lot less critical of myself. It would help that I wrote during classes instead of paying attention. And it’s not that this quarantine is like “oh you’re stuck inside so you have to write the next great American novel or else.” Considering I’ve felt this way for the past two years (or at least the past few months because I was laid off in like January,) it ain’t the quarantine doing that. Honestly, my want to create comes out of maybe possibly having an audience. People want something new to read or listen to or see. Hell, I’m just looking for new things myself and having a story to lose myself in creating would be fantastic.

Also I should finish cleaning my room. I’m making progress!

No picture today because I don’t really feel like it. It’s not a new mug.

So I did clean my room a little bit. Everything is off the top rows of my bookshelf. The bottom shelf is mostly shoes so that’s not too bad. Man is my room dusty. Like clings to your lungs, makes you sneeze dusty. I’d say my goal for today is to get through the shoes and dust the bookshelf. And also deal with the top of my dresser which have developed such dusty tendrils that I fear they will choke me in my sleep. I think this is doable. Also I managed to go an hour and a half without seeing anything about the virus.

This is a weird kind of apocalypse. Our leaders have failed us. What is interesting is that unlike a climate apocalypse, our personal choices matter. While large corporations are making some bad decisions, it’s the people who are shaming them. We aren’t people. We are vectors. We can spread the disease. This has gotten ominous and I’m not sure there was a point. But to wrap it up, it’s interesting how this type of apocalypse differs so much from climate change in that the people are the problem as opposed to industrial practices being the problem.

Teabag 6

My goal today is to go as long as I can without hearing or seeing anything about the Blue Jay including anything about quarantine. I have my fancy blue watch at the ready to time stuff out. I’m hoping I can keep myself busy from actually cleaning my room like I keep saying.

Before I go into my own personal news quarantine, I’m listening to the reply all call in show on twitch. It’s the two guys from the ReplayAll podcast just calling people who’ve emailed them. I like their style and they keep the humor while also being empathetic. This is weighing hard on everyone and it’s interesting to hear other’s perspectives. Also, one of their latest episodes is like one of their best. It’s about a guy who remembers a song and has trouble finding it. It goes through so many twists and turns but is ultimately satisfying. They have a few like that.

Will this just turn into Grace Recommends Stuff? Because honestly. I don’t mind. This is my journal for thought and my thought is that I need to distract myself. Anyway. Punch up the jam is fun. It’s two comedians (or three/four when Demi was there and guests were also there) discuss a song in detail and then (most of the time) rewrite that song based on their discussion (or not with live shows.) I tend to just listen to people I like because the host/s have pretty good chemistry with their guests.

Teabag 5

Another cup, another pun. This one is fatali-tea. And I have written some copy for when I actually make this a tea.

Rappuchini’s daughter. The name Gwenwyn. Chocolate if you’re a dog. This tea. What do all of these have in common? Well, as warrior poet Bell Biv DeVoe wrote, “That girl is poison.” This tea starts with a rooibos base, just a good fine red tea to build upon. Added to that are a few apple seeds and dried apple, nutmeg, anise, and some other spices. Of course, these aren’t entirely able to kill you so in addition to these, there’s just a little something extra. Arsenic (which won’t affect flavor at all.)

God I did way too much research for that paragraph. Anyway, my favorite thing I found when researching was an article in Mother Jones about poison where my favorite line was “ there’s not one redeeming thing you can say about lead.” So to explain every single thing in that paragraph, Rappuchini’s Daughter is a short story about a girl who has spent so much time in her weird father’s poison garden that she becomes poison herself. Gwenwyn is a Welsh word for poison and I honestly don’t know or care if it’s a name. It’s also a very good Welsh rock song that I like. Chocolate is poisonous to dogs but that doesn’t stop my dog from getting into my sweets. And this tea is this tea. Bell Biv DeVoe, warrior poet, sang the song “Poison” wherein he states “That girl is poison.” 

Rooibos is one of those base teas with more woody flavors I’d say. Other people would have more accurate words. Apple seeds don’t actually contain anything poisonous on their own but when ingested, it does create cyanide. And cyanide is bad. Raw nutmeg can be toxic in larger doses as can star anise. There are a lot more poisonous foods but I wanted to go with something palatable because I don’t want my tea tasting like bitter root vegetables (so nightshades are just out.)

I know way too much about poison now. I’m probably on a list somewhere. 

Teabag 4

Trefoils and tea are truly the height of luxury. And super not a breakfast.

Today is a dreary, rainy, snowy, cold day and I’m fine with that. My dog is less fine with that but he’s gotten better since we got him. Now it’s only severe thunderstorm weather he truly hates. He’s hiding under our table right now. It’s got a blanket under it so he can just have his little home. I don’t think he’s feeling the effects of the quarantine. I don’t think much is different honestly. My mom is home a little more. I’m still always home. Dad is still going to work (though that could change. We don’t know.)

Dad is still going to work. He thinks he has the symptoms though it could also be anxiety surrounding having the symptoms. Sucks that there’s a huge overlap. He’s considered essential personal and has a CDC note to prove it. I really don’t remember if I’ve mentioned this all before but that is my cross to bear. If I repeat myself, I guess I’ll have to stop this entire project right now. No going back. Anyway he’s still going to work. Today, he got an email saying someone who had been in his control room last week had tested positive. I was also in this control room last week though I had no contact with this person and have shown no symptoms. I can’t wait for this to all end. It’s tiring.

I’ve been watching a lot of streams to pass the time. Hyper RPG, which runs an RPG show called Kollok 1991 (which I’m also currently watching) has been running long weekday streams and they’re nice to have in the background. The other streamers I love are Secret Sleepover Society, Julia and Jacob from Drawfee. They streamed Animal Crossing last night with the whole Drawfee crew. Their humor kind of falls under the Mcelroy pure-but-also-adult. Twenty-somethings that like each other humor. They’re consistent too. And just so positive and a delight. Love those guys. One day I will actually talk to them instead of awkwardly being near them. Or awkwardly taking a picture with them. I am an awkward individual. 

That’s all for that cup.

Teabag 3

If I have two cups in a day, the second one will have one of these little guys here. I like puns and can only draw like one thing. This one is Tranquili-tea. If it were a tea, it would probably be some sort of relaxing green tea. Lemon sencha probably. If it were a blend, it would be chamomile-y and lemon-y and other -y’s. I like tea and I overthink everything so yes, I’ve thought about the actual makeup of my punny teas. Just wait until we get to fatali-tea (spoiler alert: it’s a little bit poisonous.)

Since it’s what I’m watching now, I’m going to talk about sports, specifically the weird sports that ESPN has had to run instead of live sports. Well, technically this is live because it is virtual nascar. iRacing. And up next, is the European Tram Driver Competition. I’m so excited. Last night, we watched Australian Rules Football which is just rugby with more kicking. My very Irish uncle described it as “a bunch of cavemen.” And since Americans were starved for any sport, they went crazy over it. God I love it. I love weird sports. My favorite one that I’ve seen on TV was competitive tag. They set up these parkour-type courses and just one guy tries to tag the other. It’s just *chef’s kiss* and if they don’t play it soon, I’ll riot. Until then, I guess I have the tram driver competition to tide me over.

Teabag 2

I don’t feel like using dates for this. So I won’t!

This is my breakfast for today, some good good tea and a decent bagel with peanut butter. BJ’s actually had good bagels so that is something. Not quite the slightly crusty large ones I’m used to in my humble state of New Jersey but decent when toasted.

I’ve rethought callingthe coronavirus “The Raven” because ravens are delights. They’re so very smart. One even tortured Edgar Allen Poe. In fiction of course. In reality, he had a pet raven I guess he loved dearly and was tortured by living. Instead, I’ll be calling it the Blue Jay. Because nobody cares about jays.

Yesterday, I had to do some work at my civic center. My mom is a part of the historical society and the mayor is forcing them out of the civic center. He’s taking over the house that stands as the main exhibit of the society. And that’s very soon after they redid the inside. It looks wonderful inside (though one room gave me weird severe vertigo almost. Just the strange feeling that I need to leave. But just in that room.) so that was a fun three hours of moving stuff from creepy basements and a disgusting office into a storage unit. At least I got paid.

It didn’t happen while we were working, but soon after, Murphy gave the stay at home order. It’s definitely too late. So many people are already unknowingly infected with the Blue Jay that they spread it to those less capable of handling it. People want to maintain their own sense of independence but do not realize that this is a moment for unity. Time to make decisions that may not necessarily be for yourself. Though I’m lucky and can hole myself up at home.

Sometimes this doesn’t feel real but I just have to remind myself that no, this is real.

Teabag 1

So I opened a new box of Red Rose tea today. The box has 100 teabags in it. 100 cups of tea (I don’t reuse them though I suppose I can.) This gave me an idea. What if I used each cup as a way to journal even a little bit? For context, it’s March 20, 2020 and the world has gone insane. It’s a pandemic. Now the novel coronavirus COVID-19 has been called many things and there’s a sad lack of raven-related names. Covid, corvid. It’s right there. So in the future, I’d like to refer to it as the Raven or raven virus. I don’t know what day of quarantine/social distancing it is (everyone has a different number) so I won’t be keeping track of that. I may also post a few of my little tea puns I’ve made. We need a little levity.

Today I’m using my Decision 2020 mug which I got from work. Well, former work. It isn’t that I was laid off, just that my particular position is not needed. It’s fine. I’m fine. A lot of people have it worse and I’m glad my family is in a stable enough position. We’ll get through this.

My plan for today is to continue cleaning my room. It has been neglected for way way too long to a point where it sets off my allergies. So I’m Marie Kondo-ing it up. Going MK ultra on it. I’ve gotten through the clothes and now I just have to deal with the stuff.