Happy New Year!

I awoke at about the usual time, partly because I stayed up to midnight East Coast time and live in Seattle, but mostly because my cats are creatures of habit, especially when it comes to being fed.

My intent for the day was to make plans and preparations for the coming year, but I mostly hung out with myself and occasionally friends on the internet. I walked 8500 steps, and not the 10,000 planned, because when I passed one of the RVs parked on (Barton I think?) there was a woman inside telling a man to get off her; when I asked if she was ok she said he would not go away. He came to the doorway and would not let her leave so I called the cops and waited until they arrived. I did not take more direct action since he was not striking her but when he did grab her shirt to keep her leaving I considered it; however it turned out for the best that the cops handled it since it was clear neither of them was in their right mind. Eventually she got out the back window and ran off, not wanting to wait for the cops even though the guy was in no position to harm her once she was outside. The police said I had done the right thing but since there was no victim around they most likely could do nothing; often people in a situation like this do not want to interact with police. There was nothing more to do so I just moved on.

I feel a renewed gratitude for being indoors and warm in this weather. I thought about the situation a bit and while I could have been more this or more that, ultimately nothing I did differently would have lead to a better outcome for anybody, so it is best just to accept it as a life experience and not ruminate.

Betsys suggested backgammon and I won the 1st 2 games; I guess all that time playing the app on my phone so long ago taught me something. Ed beat me once in Don't Stop because - as so often happens - I stopped too soon to lock in my winnings. These are both lessons.

The thing I did today that may last the longest is converting the blue wall in the Blue Room into my studio. I had been worrying all about green screens and the Green Room and the many problems setting that up for January 27, and the simple solution had been there all along!