Chasing Pepys

Of late I've been thinking a bit more about Samuel Pepys, the 17th century British member of Parliament most famous now for his diary, which he maintained for a paltry 10 years. I am of course moving up towards 20 before too long. Pepys is estimated to have written a million words or so in that time period, which is pretty respectable. I reckon the Grouse is somewhere in that ballpark right about now.

Pepys's diary wins plaudits for its depiction of London society during the Restoration period, and I must confess that the blog is often fairly wanting in that regard, and particularly since the onset of COVID, when all too much of our lives has been driven back into our homes, or at least mine has.

In the early years of the blog, 2004-2009, when I was commuting to New York and flying to client sites more, I had more opportunity to observe things in the world, and I recall some great posts from back then. More recently I am largely bound to my desk, the car, and the eternal battle against the infernal Z on the clay of the Farm.

I'm in New York now. Natalie and I just went to H Mart and to Trader Joe's to stock up on some goodies she will take back with her to Juneau. At H Mart I examined the baked goods in the curious Korean French cafe at the front of all of them but resisted the temptation to splurge. Natalie and I both marveled at the wondrous stacks of huge bags of rice at the front of the store and the fluffy white goodness they bespoke. As we were going into Trader Joe's some bitch in an Audi SUV was accelerating in the parking lot as she approached where we were about to cross, so I walked out into the lane and looked her directly in the eye to get her to slow the fuck down and respect pedestrians. She waved her hand as if she were letting us through, when I in fact was making her slow down. She was just in denial.