Tuesday, April 27 2021

Dear Journal,

Good morning, readers. My internet friends. Consumers of written text. Welcome to Tuesday. This morning my motivation feels like a tiny, delicate fire, and I need to protect it from the wind and the rain so it doesn't go out. More coffee - stat!

It's a beautiful day today. We have reason to celebrate, too. Marissa informed me that Miles has officially outgrown his plastic baby tub. He had his first real bath yesterday.

"Rodney was miserable," laughed Marissa. "He had to sit with Miles in an inch of lukewarm water. He was shivering."

Hearing the news made me pump my fist in celebration, because it meant that we can finally dispose of the plastic baby tub we were keeping around for Miles. Bulky. Unwieldy. Constantly damp and pooling with water. Tripping on it, kicking it every day. That friggen plastic baby tub was the thorn in the side of our one bathroom house, and I was looking forward to the day we'd finally get to fling that monstrosity into the trash. Somehow that doesn't feel like justice. For how much room it took up in our bathroom, that big plastic tub deserves to be thrown into Mount Doom. It should be shot into the sun. I'd like to see it melted down in the searing hot hands of Moloch.

I don't really have that much resentment for the plastic tub. I just got carried away with the bit. It worked just fine - Marissa and I just regularly bemoaned how difficult it was to store in our tiny bathroom. It marks the end of an era, that's for sure.

Sip. So how did you Tuesday go? My day started off at a normal pace. I laid out my plan for the day, attended some meetings, then I made a quick drive to Alex and Cassie's place with Rodney to drop off a batch of apple sauce. As I climbed back into the car, my phone started to explode with slack messages. There was a work emergency called.

From that point on, I was pretty much shackled to my work computer. I sat on a zoom call all day with a small tiger team. The work day was a blur.

Meanwhile, I missed lots of action happening in the real world. Minnie explored the exotic land they call Home Depot. She was nervous, but she put on a brave face, and she didn't even tremble.

Marissa brought me up a leftover calzone while I worked. Down in the dining room, Rodney got to enjoy one of her signature silly creations. Can you guess what it is?

"Is it... a shrimp?" I asked.

"No," said Marissa. "Rodney thought it was a butterfly. It's a t-rex - not my best."

The work day flew by. Before I knew it, the sun went down and I was working into the evening. The smell of barbecue pork wafted through the house. I took a short break to wolf down a plate of dinner. My phone chirped.

"I have a meeting," I said quietly.

"Another?" sighed Marissa.

"Australia just woke up," I said. "Don't worry, we're handing things off to them, I think this is the last one for the day."

It was a hectic work day, but Marissa did me a huge solid. She finished my chores for the night. I signed off my last Zoom meeting and flopped onto the couch, feeling the sudden euphoria of having nothing to do.

Before turning in for the night, I rode the exercise bike. I noticed a DM from a friend who told me they'd be visiting Madison and wanted some restaurant recommendations. Fair warning, if you ever ask me a free form question like that, expect a very lengthy reply. I tend to go a little overboard with written responses (shocker, I know).

• Novanta Pizzeria - Great underrated brick oven pizza place. Very authentic toppings and this amazing pillowy, chewy crust. The University Ave. location is newer so it's not very busy, and they have cozy outdoor seating right along the road.
• Fromagination - A little cheese shop on the square. They hire people that are really serious about cheese, so if you want to dive deep, that's the place to do it. They have some excellent sandwiches. Their "Signature" used to be my lunch staple when I went into the office. They don't have much seating - it's more of a grab-and-go kind of place.
• Ian's Pizza - New York style pizza. The kind they serve you on a paper plate dripping with grease, and with enough practice you can learn to just fold the whole slice in half and eat it while you're walking. There's a location on the square with outdoor seating, and there's also a new location they stuck in the middle of a revamped steel mill on the East side of town. The pizzas have all kinds of silly toppings too. Do I regret that one time I indulged in the Thanksgiving Lovers pizza? Sure, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
• Ale Asylum - One of Madison's staple breweries. They have easy parking and a large outdoor patio. It's a cool building in a very open location. The food my not be life-changing, but most people just go there for a "liquid lunch". They are most known for their "Hopalicious" pale ale.
• Monty's Blue Plate - Great breakfast place. They do a nice job mixing old school diner food with vegetarian and vegan friendly options. It's always crazy buzy, but if you get there early enough or try it off peak hours, you can get a prime outdoor spot on Atwood. Atwood is a great street for walking around too.
• Graze - this is probably the most tasteful dining experience you can get in Madison, and it's in a beautiful glass building directly across from the capitol building too. Classy, but not stuffy. The menu is different every time we visit, but it's always so good. It's our go-to date night place, but they make a mean brunch too. Make sure you call ahead and make a reservation, otherwise you might not get in.
• The Malthouse - No food here. Just a regular, cozy bar, and they've been in the neighborhood since before the Civil War. The original name for it was the "Union House" because it was a place for Union Soldiers to drink and stay before shipping out. They have a lot of interesting curated beer, but other spirits too. From your outdoor picnic table seat, throw a rock over the building and you will probably hit our house.

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great day, everyone.