Riddle me this

Firstly, a riddle:

Hunk X has a pulley machine. It is very tall, but fits snugly between the joists in his basement gym. Hunk X would like to purchase a second pulley machine to place opposite the first, but the machine is 3 inches too tall to go under the joists and placing it between the joists would block the adjacent door. How does Hunk X get his second pulley machine installed?

The answer, right after this stream of consciousness gibberish.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and it's gonna be a weird one. COVID cases in the state are about 6 times the levels from a few weeks ago, and I'm shutting the doors and riding it out. As such, I won't be visiting family. No Steaksgiving this year. Not even heading out to grab some treats and good beer. I even passed on the turkeys that work hands out to employees, because I've got plenty of food here. I went all out and included a roast turkey and dressing meal this week from my meal delivery service, so I'll likely be heating that up for lunch and calling it a holiday. How festive. Weather should be nice anyway, so maybe I can get the yard wrapped up for winter and still have time to put up the Xmas tree. Something to feel like I'm connected to tradition somehow.

Mom sent over a nice little gift basket with a few local beers and some quality snacks, beef stick and good cheese and such, and it showed up as I was approaching the bar for front squats tonight. Nice little surprise. Definitely a smile amidst the onset of an isolated winter. I called to thank her afterwards and she's… getting a little conservative conspiratorial. Like, more so than before. I'm not sure what happened to her ability to process and whittle down information, but I'm glad we can still talk about it without turning into shouting matches. Oh well. Hopefully the downfall of Bigly Wiggly's political career will restore some normalcy to the information she's getting over the airwaves and that'll help her to make sense of everything that's happening in the world. Or at least come to some terms with it. Hopefully.

Dad is still dad. Responding to family group texts with what I assume are supposed to be jokes, but nobody can make any sense of them so the conversation just dies without any reaction. What a fucking mess. Dear Lord Jesusbuddahallahmoses, please don't let me become like that man. Amen.

Vally continuing to improve after her allergy shot. The red swollen eyelid is gone. I mean, it's still there it’s just not… yeah. Meanwhile I'm still not back. I did get the $1500 roofing quote today and authorized it, so hopefully fixing the moisture issues will cut off any mold and keep me from running into this again next summer. I still need the chimney work done and likely to have the basement door reframed to fix a slow seeping leak under that. I think the lesson I'm learning is that, even though I'm pretty capable of a lot of projects around the house, I shouldn't be messing with it when water entry is a potential risk of messing it up. If I never run into allergies like this again it'll be too soon.

Follow up appointment with the thyroid doc soon. Trying not to be nervous, but I've woken up a few nights thinking about it. Once the ultrasound comes back and hopefully shows no worrisome changes I'll feel much better. If that gets the all clear I think I'll be officially past the year+ of unknown health concerns. Good riddance.

Blue Eyes disappeared again. Because of course she did - that's what she does. Then 6-8 months later she comes back and strikes up conversation and flirts. Historically she's been very good at knowing just when to do it that it catches me at a time when I could use someone to talk to and so I just roll with it. This time I'm not so sure it'll go that way. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 4-5 times… I just hope she goes off and becomes hideous so I'm not tempted to cave again. Can I wish an extra 80lbs on someone? Force feed a shapely voodoo doll? EXPECTRO FATGROWNUM.

I'mma feel bad if she comes back enormous. But also… really powerful?

Four days of uninterrupted isolated Thanksgiving break ahead. Here's hoping for a relaxing, rejuvenating rest and not a stark reminder of how odd my social situations, and the world at large, are right now.

Also, ready for big brain riddle answer?

Hunk X can't cut into the joists overhead without severely weakening the structural stability of the living room floor above. Even Hunk X can't justify a collapsed floor for the sake of sweet fitness gear.

Hunk X could cut into the flooring to lower the second pulley machine, but he would still be an inch too high to fit under the joists.

Hunk X can not move the dumbbell rack and put the pulley machine in the neighboring joist gap because the rack would block the gym entrance.

With up, down, and left out of the question, Hunk X must go right. Remove the door, reframe the wall for a narrower door, drywall the new space, repaint, and retrim. He will then be able to fit the pulley machine between the joists without blocking the door.

I seriously, actually did all that. For a second pulley machine. I am nuts.

-M