1) I cooked ramen noodles for the first time last week. My cellmates were laughing at me because I had never cooked them before. I answered that my wife was a good cook and we usually ate all kinds of different meals – but never had ramen. Even when I was in college, I tended to cook some meat with baked potatoes or pasta or just ate fruit for a snack.
2) I bought a watch with an alarm about 3 weeks ago. I was complaining last week that the alarm doesn’t work and I got ripped off. My cellmates said that it goes off every morning – I just don’t hear it. Even when I am awake, I would be hard-pressed to hear the tone on this watch. Sounds like I have to get something better for an alarm clock – not that I am not already up at about 5:00 am each day anyways.
3) My first morning after my first night in prison, I got out of bed and made my bed. Given that I had a cellmate as a US Air Force veteran, this immediately got me points in his eyes and word spread that I was a serious guy. I think that was one of the best things I ever did. I now see that over time, my other cellmates (except one) that previously did not make their beds, now make it every morning. Most of them usually just played video games, but now they see me read everyday and now they are reading more than before. I was helping one cellmate with his GED course and now the others pitch in to help him. I don’t know if I can take credit for all of this, but I like to think I have had a small, but positive, impact on some of the guys with whom I live.
4) Three weeks ago, I got asked to come down to a 2-man room to help them with a WSJ crossword. I had not completed a crossword puzzle in probably two decades, maybe three. The first day, I was relatively inept and clunky at it. Last night, I helped with my third one and it went much better. Amazing to see the change in just a couple of weeks. It is a nice brain-teaser and I am glad I am doing it.
5) I started reading Moby Dick last weekend and it was a bit of a hard slog. One guy told me that the book was originally written with each chapter posted in either a daily newspaper or weekly magazine (no way to verify whether this is true or now). He recommended just reading 1-2 chapters and then putting the book down for a day or two before picking it up and doing the same thing all over again. That has made all the difference in reading this book. It is now more understandable and easier to read.
6) Unicor is a government owned industry that is based in federal prisons all over the US – making clothes for prisoners, parts for the Army and furniture for the government. I got here on 1/3/25 but was unable to get a job until I went through Admissions & Orientation, which I did last Wednesday. I now start my job in the Unicor Customer Service department first thing this morning. I am looking forward to it as I am sure it will help the days go faster. Not sure yet what I am going to do with my 35 cents per hour though.
7) I was doing the crossword puzzle last night down the hall when I heard the fire alarm go off for the first time. As it turned out, my cellmate was making some kind of pressed burritos/fajitas using an iron to do it (a fairly common practice) but the iron does not have a thermostat. As a result, you regulate the temperature by continuously plugging it in and unplugging it. My cellmate was borrowing the iron and did not know this and overheated his food, causing a great deal of smoke and ultimately the fire alarm.
8) I am now up to 80 push-ups and 80 sit-ups per day. I don’t do the pull-ups because it is too hard to go to the Rec Room/gym when you never know whether it will be open each day and if it is, what time it will be open. The push-ups and sit-ups can be done on my time in my cell, so it just makes more sense to do that – at least until we can go outside sometime later this Spring/Summer.
