Slave Labor Day 2025

On Thursday last week, a bout with minor food poisoning occurred at 1am. After much deliberation, only the Subway® meal would be the likely suspect. Odd, though, since the food was consumed at 3pm on Wednesday. Obviously, a sleepless night ensued.

Later that day, during the cardio workout at the gym, an SVT event transpired. The time was about 1:45pm. The heart palpitations continued sporadically through the cooldown and shower, during dinner at Subway®, and the bus ride back to Waikiki. A futile attempt was made to rehydrate with water throughout the ordeal, but to no avail.

Nevertheless, the late afternoon outing to the International Marketplace was not cancelled. A bottle of BodyArmor® Lyte sport drink was purchased at Target® after some deliberation. Upon consuming the elixir, the SVT event ground to a halt. Coincidence? Very strange.

Saturday morning, another SVT event occurred right after breakfast while in the Makai Market food court in Ala Moana Center. Breakfast included a banana and a Chobani® Greek yogurt from Target® to supplement the oatmeal and coffee from Starbucks®. This is usually the Sunday breakfast fare, by the way.

The palpitations commenced after only consuming one-third of the smallest-sized cup of coffee. Attempts to rehydrate with water failed. The ordeal continued during the bus ride to town. Then, a big-ass bottle of Power Ade® sport drink was purchased at the 7-Eleven® store close to the gym. Once again, the elixir mummified the palpitations.

On Sunday, the breakfast scenario was the repeat of Saturday. However, a bottle of BodyArmor® sport drink was also purchased at Target® as a safety precaution. And, a cup of water was requested along with coffee at Starbucks®. No SVT event transpired, thank Molech. A pint of Häagen-Dazs® coffee ice cream was procured at Target® later during the afternoon outing to celebrate. Baha! Ha! Ha! Haaa!

Slave Labor Day, another no-holiday holiday, signals the end of Summer. Sleep deprivation resulted from an extremely hot night, the hottest so far. The breakfast routine was the same as yesterday. The barista at Starbucks® provided a big-ass cup of water upon request. Did she know that the potent coffee requires extreme hydration countermeasures? Apparently.

Another SVT event occurred just as the cardio workout was commencing, so the latter was cancelled. The palpitations continued for over an hour, ceasing during the bus ride back to Waikiki. Even the emergency bottle of BodyArmour® sport drink had no effect. The decision was made to mummify coffee consumption, effective this week. Yet another restriction has been added to the geriatric life-style. Well, so much for Slave Labor Day.

Starbucks® coffee is apparently much stronger in caffeine than the coffee from the primary fast food joint. Nevertheless, the SVT events are triggered by dehydration and poor quality of sleep. Coffee only makes matters worse because it is a diuretic. So, the “bottom line” is whether to mummify coffee consumption, essentially the only remaining personal vice. Having to purchase sport drinks daily to combat the effects of caffeine is a ridiculous expense. And, cutting out coffee would save at least $80 in monthly expenditures.

Expenditures have increased significantly for at least two weeks now, primarily involving Target®. There is an offer for a free one-year Circle 360® membership by spending $200 within a certain timeframe. The membership offers free delivery of merchandise as one of the benefits. Yeah, a microwave oven would definitely be ordered.

The Notes Music Break posts featuring the Deep House Cat Show are all slated to be removed within a few days. Some of the earlier music video posts will also be deleted. Only the ones that coincided with the “super-duper corona” plan-demic will be retained.

The vast hurdy-gurdy video library (HGVL) on the LaCie® SSD is now officially archived with 273 choice selections. If there are any new worthy selections available, the latter may or may not be appended to the library. So, this will be the last mention of the HGVL in Notes.

Meanwhile, the “orange bad man” tariff regime has been good for …

… BRICS! The tariffs are only going to increase product and commodity prices in empire. The latest rumor is that coffee prices will increase significantly in empire. The tariffs have forced international producers to sell elsewhere. China is apparently on a coffee buying spree. Obviously, personal consumption of coffee would be forcibly mummified.

On a side note, a chance encounter with neighbor Ignacio occurred on Monday last week at the entrance to the “old folks home” in Waikiki. Unfortunately, there was no time chat. Ignacio briefly mentioned that he had been released from the hospital the week before. He underwent surgery, the type of which he did not specify. He was there for over a month. Ignacio is pretty resilient for an old guy.

On a somber note, there were two “keel over” events at the “old folks home” last week. One on Tuesday in the other building. And, the other on Wednesday in the building where the mausoleum is located. Yeah, they’re “dropping like flies” over here.

Addendum: A Contigo® Jackson stainless steel water bottle was purchased for $18 at Target® during a brief afternoon outing. Water is now the preferred beverage.