Everything That Could Go Wrong Did

 "When you lose touch with your inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world." (Eckhart Tolle)

 

Hello my lovely friends!  

    How are you all doing on this lazy Sunday? Yesterday felt like a script written by the universe specifically to torment me. If there was a day for everything to go wrong, that was it. You know about the Twilight Zone marathon I host on Twitter – and yes, I'm sticking with that name! Our usual routine involves nominating and voting on a monthly theme, then gathering on the last Saturday to stream 11 episodes and chat. But yesterday? The wheels didn't just come off; they were actively sabotaged. Absolutely everything that could have gone wrong did.

 

    Starting at 2 PM EST, noon my time, meant my morning routine was already in full swing. As always, I set up my command center: both bedroom computers on, one for the main event, the other for everything else. I'd been up since 8:30 AM, showered and in the kitchen by 9:30 AM, aiming to get dinner prep out of the way. Tostadas were on the menu, requiring a pot of beans to cook on the stove. While the beans simmered, I prepped the fixings – chopping vegetables and grating cheese. With dinner well in hand, it was finally time for breakfast.

 

     Since my mom was still sleeping, I got her breakfast ready to the best of my ability. Then I made mine: a bagel with cream cheese and coffee. After that, I checked the time – only about 20 minutes until it started. I decided to eat my bagel and coffee in my room. Mom woke up and I checked if the breakfast was okay, which it was. She asked where I'd watch, and I said my bedroom, like always. However, she had things to do upstairs, leaving the downstairs TV open. Since I was making a pot of beans, I could watch there instead.

 

     The problems started here. The show I normally stream free on Prime was gone, now requiring a Paramount+ subscription – something I wasn't willing to pay for. My next thought was PlutoTV, which I knew carried it with ads, but that simply wouldn't load for me. Already five minutes late and frustrated, I'd been trying to fix the TV issue while working on my laptop. I decided to try an older laptop with some free streaming sites I knew, but then the internet itself became the obstacle. Now an episode behind, I finally got the show to play, only to be plagued by constant buffering and freezing, making it impossible to actually watch.

 

    By the third episode, the situation had devolved into a chaotic mess. I was relegated to listening on my laptop, simultaneously attempting to keep up with online comments and a television stream that was relentlessly buffering. I think this is where the sheer absurdity took over; everything was going wrong, and all I could do was laugh at the technological disaster unfolding before me. Relief finally arrived two hours into the marathon when I discovered PlutoTV through my cable apps, and it actually worked. At that point, the accumulated frustration had me feeling the intense, almost destructive urge to take aim at the TV, the laptops, and the computers. 

    By that time, my frustration had completely vanished; all I wanted was for the marathon to end. Still, I did get to watch the last two and a half hours with everyone, which was just pure craziness.

 

    Switching gears to something more solemn, we watched the recorded Pope’s funeral last night. It was an amazing and deeply moving experience to witness. As Catholics, we found ourselves naturally participating in the service along with those on screen.

 

So, how's your weekend going? 

 

 Thank you so much for stopping by! Hope your morning/afternoon/evening is extra cozy and delightful. Until our paths cross again!