Same old Friday

I talked about having a bunch of small jobs that get me by. One of them is at a non profit gallery where I'm a keyholder. I open some Fridays and most Saturdays. Sometimes I even close up.

There was a stretch a few months ago that I opened the gallery every Friday. It started to follow a comfortable pattern. Roll in at 10:45, open the gates, flip the lights on and open the main door at 11am. Then the community newspaper arrives at 11:20. The assistant arrives soon after.

Once that's done, things start getting a little "only in New York". I step out to chatter with the crossing guard, a funny, sparkling latina. Eventually, the dude we have dubbed "The horse guy" shows up with his majestic steed and carriage. We talk a few minutes, the horseman let's me feed his horse an apple. That used to be the highlight of my week.

Then I go back into the gallery and tackle some cleaning or sorting and answer the phone.

What work rituals do you find soothing?

Little Quirks, part one.

We all have the funny little things that make us human. Stuff other fellow people may find flat out odd that only make sense to ourselves. I call my odd foibles " Aryella Logic". Here are some of mine.

Chinese take out food:

I think the excessive amount of rice in a Chinese dish one orders is a conspiracy to have less meat in a meal. I feel the same way about French fries. I enjoy fries and rice in moderation, but the amounts restaurants give is absurd. I see it as filler, a culinary afterthought. To combat this, I order appetizers for dinner. I'll order spring rolls, dumplings and onion rings in order to avoid the scourge of rice mountain.

Two Beers and a Red Bull:

A lot of rock shows we go to are at Webster Hall. I get inebriated very easily, so I moderate my drinking. A night at Webster Hall usually consists of four bands, so I want to be awake, not wasted so I can fully enjoy the headlining act. I start the night with a beer. Beers are 2 for 15$. I have the second beer at the middle of the second act. I enjoy mild tipsiness during the third act. In the middle of the third band, I'll have my last drink of the night, a Red Bull. I'm now ready to mosh the headliner.

The running verbal list:

"Okay, I'm gonna empty the littermaid, write this grant letter, water my plants and prime the canvas"

I say every task I'm going to do right before I do them, wether anyone is around to hear me or not. And then I do the tasks in the exact order I stated them in. I know why I do this. I'm not telling people around I have work to complete, I'm telling myself what I'm doing out loud. After years of being a chronic procrastinator, saying my necessary tasks is like making a contract to myself. It sounds silly, but this is how things get done in my world.

What are your quirks?

Upcoming posts:
*The act of writing begets more writing.
*Rock show strategy and tactics for maximum enjoyment.
*The overkill laundry system, explained in full.

My new hobbies, part 1- Raising houseplants

My mom always adored houseplants. Growing up we had years old plants in pots that she tended to, some we had for so long, we had to rig up its vines throughout the living room. My mom is an avid plant whisperer.

I recently went to Home Depot to buy a very poundy massage showerhead. Waterpik makes a nice one. I couldn't help but enjoy looking at the abundant verdant riot by the front entrance. From the plant selection, I chose an itty little aloe vera in a two inch plastic pot. Then I had to repot her cause she was growing wider and sprouting off new growth like she was out of control.

What followed were three more plants. A small hardy plant I can't identify who's flowers look like little red stars, a purple and white Orchid that I feed ice cubes to twice a week, and a daffodil that, within a week of bringing him home, bloomed five flowers  (we are now at 10 three weeks in). Even N has gotten in on the act. He brought me home a spider plant in a coffee can that a tech from work raised. I repotted her in a grey clay pot more befitting of her lovely long leaves.

Once these plants get big enough, I'm going to start the experiments in rooting hormone to clone more baby plants for cheap.

Now to plan the back yard small crop container garden