Happy Friday, friends! I had a very good adulting week, including having an electrician in to upgrade some old outlets. That will likely be the beginning of a very beautiful and expensive friendship, because if there is any one thing in this house that needs work and probably an overhaul, it’s the wiring. I also received some fabric swatches to help us purchase a sofa to replace our beloved (yet very worn and saggy) red sofa.

I’m writing this while watching the NJ Devils home opener. It’s been an age since I watched hockey and I missed having a sport. If I may rant geriatrically: figuring out if I can watch a non-local sporting event is so difficult. The first website I visited told me that the game was supposed to be on ESPN+, which we have thanks to a Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ bundle. I logged into the channel, but there was no game. I went back to Google and tried again. The second website said the game would be on NBCSN. That sounded odd, and was odd, because all that’s on NBCSN tonight is car auctions, followed by Curling Night in America. Wrong ice-based sport. Finally, I found that it might be aired on the NHL Network, which somehow I have on my cable plan. My fingers were crossed until the last minute that it wouldn’t be blacked out.

More geriatric epiphanies. The captain of the NJ Devils is 22 years old and the youngest captain in the NHL. Oof.

Time for the Friday 5! This week’s theme is We Learned More From a Three-Minute Record, Baby, which is from a Bruce Springsteen song. Do you know I’m the only NJ native who doesn’t like Springsteen? It’s a fact.

1. Who needs you?
   My alma mater, who keeps sending me fundraising requests. Probably because I keep donating. I attended on a scholarship, so I always wanted to be able to donate to my college, and I’m proud to be in a place where I can. I mean, I’m never going to have a building named after me, but I do what I can. (I thought this link was going to be to More Than Words Can Say)
   
2. Who runs to you?
   My dog Murphy gives the absolute best greetings ever. He’s healing up from the ACL injury so if I’m out WM will let him upstairs so that he can greet me when I come in. Murphy has the biggest feelings of any dog I’ve shared my home with. (I guessed this link.)
   
3. Who forgets you?
   It is my hope that anyone whom I’ve hurt through the years has forgotten about me and my transgression. (Guessed the song, not the version.)
   
4. Who keeps you hangin’ on?
   The summery weather. I know it’s not fantastic, but it was 80 degrees today and I ended up at the beach. On October 15th! I know November will be here soon enough with its cold sheets of rain, so this summer weather is giving me life. (There is no other option to this song.)
   
5. Who’s watching you?
   I’m not sure, and that’s the weird part of putting yourself out on The Internet. I have this blog, and accounts on Instagram, Twitter (don’t find me there, I’m mean), Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok. My stats are certainly not setting the world on fire, yet every day people watch me as I share words and pictures about the mundane little life that I live. This was a dithery non-answer.
   
   Alexa is listening to me though. Every. Word. (Guessed the song, but really, it’s a much better option than Sting’s Every Breath You Take.)

Weekend plans include: troubleshooting some windows. I was supposed to do that last week but forgot. Studying. Ordering a sofa. I’d love to go out and get some wings. Whatever your plans are, I hope they’re great!

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