3/21 And then, out of nowhere, there’s a depression. I’ve slept badly for quite a few nights.

3/20 Not a good day for J, but she gave me a mailbox, made of wood, with a flag that can be raised, and each day, until our wedding, I’m supposed to get mail from her.

3/19 The engagement with the customer went well, but I don’t feel I’ve convinced the detractor of anything, nor did I tell the advocate anything they didn’t agree with already.

3/18 I will need to do my American driving test some time in the next two years, but driving around in Newburgh to find spots for parking practice is the diciest of endeavours. Within barely a block there are houses so wrecked that you don’t dare park in front of them, and any house even barely above that sports a camera clearly visible on the porch, so you don’t dare park in front of that either. This car is too proud, this car is too shady, this car is too nice, and this one too pimped to serve as a maneouvering buddy. And in front of homes is the only place you can even try parallel parking. Every building that is not a home is an island in the usual ocean of parking asphalt that never runs out.

3/17 Drove to Newburgh and upon coming home, we found many of the smart switches in various states of disarray.

3/16 Bright and blue day outside. I will soon have to clean the windows to get rid of the thick layer of rain stains, looking forward to the view they will provide then. Brunch at Dagon. Later, practice. An increased feeling of all of it coming together, how the rate at which I acquire new skills is accelerating. Also, the sheer multitude of things one might turn one’s attention to. Later, gym. Later, played the new Magic Fallout decks J had bought frantically at release. So happy with the game mechanics, so happy I could follow just about everything that happens in a Commander game from start to finish.

3/15 Almost no sleep at all. I put off the customer’s problem for two days, inexplicably for myself, and wasted every possible opportunity to deal with it until I solved it in the shower half an hour before the meeting.

3/14 First time I went to a customer onsite in a long long time. I’m losing touch with the subway, otherwise how would I be so surprised by episodes such as this. Homeless guy says “Enjoy your time on the world wide web.” (Everybody is looking at their phones.) He continues: “I uuuuse paypal.” He repeats that often, and he repeats it with disdain, as if the fact that he’s adjusted to a cashless world makes the fact that no one gives him anything that much more reprehensible.

3/13 Moon near Jupiter.

3/12 When he played Rainworld with me for a few minutes after he’d done it with J, he said: “You’re laughing so much less!” He laughed himself when he said that, but I also heard perplexity and some disappointment in it. I was struggling to understand the mechanics, how to move, and which button on the handle did what. I also had to squint my eyes to see everything on the wall screen. I’m slow and clumsy with games, and was therefore quite proud today when I managed to setup Rainworld by myself on a cloud PC and went through the tutorial, successfully, which helped me to understand the handle much better. Posted a screenshot in our chat.