There's something nerve wracking: connecting a disk that's been dependable and good for so long; the system reports "unformatted disk found".

It has recovered; I'm in progress

This evening's trifecta:

* Dishes have been completed
* Conversation with friends including topics of mental well-being and trauma
* Plans for other adventures are now being processed

There have been worse evenings.

Recipes online went from being a set of ingredients and instructions, to now being at least a page and a half of narration about how the author came to the recipe and what it means to them and how they describe the taste and flavour.

The only redemption: the hyperlink at the top; < jump to recipe >

A third of the planet away, a lack of response with several attempts suggests that I am no longer an acceptable contactable human; swiping the delete option on my phone's world clock to remove that location — it was always on the horizon — but remains an unwelcome turn of events.

The past 72 hours has yielded at least three conversations among people on the topic of failures and hurt by current and/or recent ex-partners; it's staggering to hear what people endure in these bondings and how much is explained away.

I spend an amount of time (x) trying to plan the attire of the day: activities, weather, social contact and the like all being factored. I see another chap whose satorial choices I'm envious of: my brain is immediately wondering if his time is greater or less than X.

I think being tall is helpful.

• Open Twitter.
• See some tankie shit.
• See some nazi shit.
• See videos of people getting hurt.
• Read how Elon used his burner account to comment "great father" on his own post.
• Chuckle.
• More nazi shit.
• Read Elon's comment again.
• Chuckle.
• An airplane crashed somewhere.
• Close Twitter.

Recent discussions with colleagues have resurfaced the subject of EAP service (the employer offers) — for a brief moment I'm thrown back to the early 2000s where this was also a topic of discussion — I'm hopeful that experiences with the service do vary.

A surprise call from a friend who I met through another friend years and years ago has been a delight to punctuate the end of the evening.

Whilst it's been a sporadic and not very regular series of catch ups over the years: feeling safety, understanding and commiseration is always beautiful.

The local hair-barber-establishment seems to be notably busy when I'm trying to get in - I used to think that was just an internal thought — today the barber confirms this along with the apology whilst I waited for over an hour and spent time reflecting: not entirely usefully.

Though it may take multiple pots and a fry pan, and about 1 and 1/2 hours — a homemade chicken laksa is pretty damn good.

It's getting to that time of the year

For those of you who have access to BBC iPlayer, I highly recommend:

Doctor Who (2005–2022), Series 5: 10. Vincent and the Doctor: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00spgsf via @bbciplayer

One of the finest pieces of TV writing I've seen in quite some time.

A nice visit to the National Gallery to see Vincent Van Gogh's Poets and Lovers.

Whilst fictional, I do have a genuine appreciation for Richard Curtis's writing on Doctor Who, the episode titled Vincent and the Doctor - it genuinely changed the way a lot of people think about Vincent for the better