Rambling on a Monday

Hi, how’s it going? As expected, I didn’t want to get out of bed. I woke up a couple times during the night. It was pretty chilly in the house this morning so I had to turn on the heat. That got things warmed up and then I worked on getting food passed out and consumed. I do wish that I would have left my day off in place. Today would be a perfect day to just lounge around and take a muscle relaxer. Then I could zonk out with the kids.

Once I went through my morning tasks I got to sit on the couch and got in some time with Marv. Just like some people age gracefully the same applies to animals. Marv hasn’t been blessed with that. You can tell he is an old man. His sister on the other hand she looks the same and you can’t really tell her age. The only thing that really shows is when she walks, she is fine to jump in bed with me but she hates to jump on the couch. Marv realizes his limitations and while he wants to jump, he doesn’t even bother. I feel bad for him. Glad that they are both still around for me to spoil. The thing that will certainly create a problem, is when this whole stay at home thing is lifted and life goes back to normal. That will confuse the hell out of both of them.

As for that ban of things going back to normal based on what the chief said yesterday looks like it will be another month. However, he only extended social distancing. I look for the governor(s) to extend the stay at home orders. The one for my state will expire in a couple weeks and the one for the office expires mid-month in April. While I know everyone is eager to go back to life as we knew it, I hope we don’t jump the gun and go back too soon and cause this whole thing to morph and then have to stay in side again. I think that many people like myself are going stir crazy but we will get through this. In a strange way it feels sort of like a vacation at times and other times it feels like I am in jail, only minus the hunk for a roommate.

Tomorrow is pay day for me. I looked ahead and saw that my bonus is on my check, just when I need it most. I got Marv & Momma’s medical bills paid in full now. Plus paid my other bills zeroing out all of my credit card debt, which I pay in full monthly. It’s nice to actually have more than the usual bit I do left over.

Last night I had a burrito from the grocery store. They make them fresh and all you have to do is heat them up. I didn’t feel like making a pizza. Tonight, will be something from a cardboard box, just not sure what will tickle my fancy.

Grass man showed up this afternoon. He blew out all of the leaves from around the house and off of the deck. I wanted to do that yesterday with the deck but opted not to as I would probably rile up the neighbors. Now I can easily clean up and finish power washing the deck. Not sure when I will do that but hopefully before the leaves fall again!

Looking forward to what I hope is a quiet night as I am on-call. Going up in a bit to get a jump start on my evening or at least try to. Thanks for stopping by, talk with you all again soon.

Power Washing

Good Day, I hope that your doing well considering the circumstances. Today was supermarket shopping day. I went at 9a as I slept in and just took my time, I mean what’s the rush? Things seemed under control and there was plenty of people. I got what I needed and got out fast. I saw that milk was low so I ducked over there to grab what I needed. Finally, frozen pizzas are back in stock. I can have my Sausage & Pepperoni. I got two of those since they seem to be rare these days.

I came home and unloaded the groceries. I was tired but figured why not get started with the power washing. So that is what I did. I am truly amazed at how different things look now. I need to do the entire deck there is plenty of dirt and muck out there. Bye bye to the green mold and scum that was on the house. Truly a purchase that was worth every penny. I didn’t do any damage but found that my dryer vent needs to be replaced. Something small could crawl in there and that wouldn’t be good. I will take that task on next weekend, a visit to a brick and mortar store. I am eager to do the front of the house. I found a baseball on the side of the house. Not sure why someone was playing baseball on the side of the house but thankfully there are no windows over there.

I went to open one of the windows in the front and unknowingly unleashed an ant colony. I had to grab some spray and wipes to get them killed off. When I vacuumed later in the afternoon, I got more of them and believe they are gone now.

I spent more time outdoors today than I have in a very long time and it really felt good. I was away from everything electronic. Just me & nature. I can tell you that I won’t feel well in the morning. Lots of bending and stooping. Part of the hand rail of the deck that my partner designed, had fallen apart so I had to fix that, just needed a screw driver.

I came in and took care of vacuuming. I had to unplug the Febreze air fresheners that I bought the smell was a little overwhelming. I thought they were set on low but they were actually on medium. I got a small spaces air freshener for my bedroom in the same scent and it doesn’t have any adjustment, so I moved it to the hall closer to the litter box. I’m not big on fragrance and figured that Febreze would be a little different than every other air freshener but that’s not the case. They do smell good but I’ll bet you it’s nothing like the real Hawaii.

It’s nice to be able to put on short sleeves. I normally wash my shirts before I put them on but they have only been hanging in the closet and they were clean when I put them away so this year I am just grabbing and going.

I am so far behind on laundry in general but really just want to kick back and relax before tomorrow comes calling. I kind of wish that I had left my day off in place so I could escape for one additional day and that would give me the needed time to catch up on laundry. I know I can do laundry and work. I mean the machines do all of the work, thankfully. I couldn’t imagine having to hand wash clothes.

Got in some time with Marv and Gator. Looked through the email pile and in reviewing the obituaries found out that a relative died on Friday. He was 79 and I don’t know if it’s related to the COVID outbreak or if it was something else. Since I am not in communication with my brother I’ll probably never know, but that’s okay. There is no funeral the obituary said that a celebration of life would be held at a later date. Given the whole COVID thing I can only imagine that funerals are modified and that people in general aren’t welcome, let alone the family. That’s horrible I mean the funeral is for the living not for the dead.

Anyways on to my evening and surfing the web for a little bit. Then it will be time to figure out what is for dinner. I hate playing that game. I hope you had a great day and got a chance to get outside (provided the weather was nice in your part of the world) Take care.

Stir Crazy

Good Day Everyone!

I got some sleep in and had some wild dreams. Like I quit a job that I used to have as a teenager and COVID-19 was present in the dream, it was like my brain merged two things together. That wasn’t a fun dream but interesting.

I had junk for breakfast, junk for lunch and mixed in a nap and cuddle time with Insty. I gave Marv his fair share of attention while he was next to the recliner when I was there. I also noticed that ants have a small presence in my room along with a spider. So, you know that has to go. Tomorrow is vacuum day and I think I will be doing some additional cleaning in my room. Just to keep the 3 of us safe.

I got a shower which felt pretty good around 2:30p. Then got dressed and headed out. Post Office was the first stop. Not much mail but of course bills were there along with some government warnings about COVID-19 and a letter from my Mayor telling me the same thing the feds were telling me, like I didn’t already know. I guess maybe there are some people that truly do live under a rock and don’t know but I honestly don’t believe that. Everyone on the planet has to know by now. Next stop was Target. There weren’t a lot of people there but it was occupied. I saw bare shelves around the toilet paper and paper products area. I went in for air freshener and to grab a casserole. I also picked up some Lasagna that I have wanted to try. Checkout lines had signs up to wait until you were called forward to respect social distancing. The guy that was “checking me out” yeah him I was checking him out if you know what I mean. Damn cute and young of course. Then on to the pet food store where they had tape down every 6 feet on the floor so people knew where to stand once they got their products. That place was noticeably empty of people. Last and final stop was home.

I walked in and Marv was there to greet me and soon his sister came out of hiding. They both wanted lunch which was actually more like supper for them. I felt that my blood sugar was rapidly dropping. I got them fed. Then popped that Lasagna in the microwave for dinner. I had thought about getting take out but passed. I drank some diet soda and ate a Peanut Butter Cup. I started to get the shakes and generally feel unwell. That damn lasagna couldn’t cook fast enough for me or my body. I just shoveled it in. It tasted okay but wasn’t Stouffer’s by any stretch of the imagination. There is ½ left for tomorrow or later tonight.

I’m sure this is the point where your going to say Jeremy you have to take care of yourself. Yeah, I know and once and a while my sugar drops. Today was because I didn’t have any food that had substance in it. Pop Tart Bites and Chips. I didn’t really feel like eating and I am serious about loosing weight. Thankfully my jeans still fit me but I kind of feel like I have gained some weight.

Laundry is going now for the first time in two weeks. I’ve been in sweats and t-shirts all week long. I mean no one sees me. Were not doing any type of video conferencing or video transmitting. It’s all audio conferencing, which I am thankful for. I seriously look like a bum and have all week. Sweats stretch to fit in my gut but when the day comes (and it will) that I have to go back to wearing pants because I am headed into the office, I want to make sure they fit comfortably. I mean I can’t wear sweats legally into the office and I am sure people would stare at me but for all of the wrong reasons.

I watched some videos last night on You Tube on how to use a pressure washer. I am eager to get started on the green mold that is covering the deck and back of the house. I am pretty certain the smell of that stuff is why I smell mold in the house so much and left untreated it’s only going to get worse. Plus, not to mention everything will look better. I just don’t want to do any damage to anything that I come in contact with. I don’t have the “fix it” touch hence why I am extra cautious. However, I think everything will fall into place. That is tomorrows big job.

More of my neighbors were starting their mowers today and cutting grass for the first time of the season. In looking at my lawn I think were very close to needing it cut. So, I will be reaching out to the mower guy to check and make sure he will be cutting this year. Fingers crossed that falls into place. The yard is full of sticks and small tree limbs that have fallen over the winter. Normally I don’t touch the yard but if I have the energy tomorrow once the power washing is done, I may try to gather those into a pile out of the way, to make the job of mowing easier.

On the porn front, I have completed my recovery. I didn’t get everything back that I wanted but a good portion thereof did come back to life. I had to download some other stuff. My machine has been rebooted and I turned backup on for that drive. Now it’s back to normal or so I think.

I learned about a flaw in IOS today that if you have open apps on your phone and connect to a VPN there is a possibility that those apps that were open prior to connecting to VPN will not be in your VPN tunnel. The moral of the story for now is to close all apps, then connect to your VPN and open your apps. Apparently, Apple is aware of the flaw and working to fix it but who knows how fast that will happen given the present-day issue.

I got a notification on the Gram that Charlie Puth started a live video. He’s doing a concert. There are 11.2k people watching and it does cut out and buffer a bit but pretty good. I’ve watched a couple live videos and way too much TV. Speaking of TV I saw that Momma’s Family was on Logo and I went to watch it and turns out that is one of the channels that I no longer get. That kind of made my decision for me and I will now be paying the extra $1. I upgraded back to the TV package that I had. I don’t watch LOGO that often but it’s a channel I want since it’s gay themed.

Like so many people, I am tired of staying home but I know that I am not alone. I miss my freedom but am glad that I can at least get out to get essentials – it’s the highlight of the week along with napping.

Guess what? Next week I will be on-call again. Fun times. Shit always goes down when I am on call. I pray for quiet and calm, only time will tell. I am adjusting to the new keyboard and the funky key combinations that I have to press for print screen or the calculator. It is comfortable to type on like they said it would be. It’s crazy how I am so picky about my keyboards. I’ve got 3 of them here in the office with me. I have yet to switch between them.

I hope that you had a fun day and were able to be productive. I will be headed up to scoop out the litter boxes and watch TV. Talk with you again soon. Be well and stay safe.

Technology…

I had a little crisis of my own last night. I was watching some porn and told the app I was viewing it through to delete a particular clip that I didn’t find appealing. The app misunderstood the command and instead of deleting just 1 file, it deleted everything in the folder. I am using a free app called Recuva to recover the files. Unfortunately, not everything is recoverable. The restore effort is on-going as I type and it has been running since my day started and won’t finish until tomorrow. My method that I have a is I have two buckets, called keep and review. The review bucket is not backed up and I don’t move stuff frequently enough into the keep bucket. Moving forward once I recover from this; I will be sure to back everything up. Apparently in doing some research about the app, this same thing has happened to other people so I feel a little bit better that I am not alone. This is subscription-based content and I’m not going back to renew a subscription that is cancelled just to get a couple clips, not worth it. I’m mad but what can I do, not a damn thing so I just adapt and move on.

I unboxed my power washer last night and assembled it. I am ready to get washing. The plan is to hook things up and get to work on Sunday. Right now, there is the threat of severe weather and I’d rather not risk getting wet. It’s also going to rain all day tomorrow. We had a hell of a storm push through early this morning and it woke me up. I thought it was Gator pulling on the carpet with her claws. Nope that was hail hitting the house. Despite having my air purifier and two white noise machines on it still woke me up. Then the weather radio went off just as I rolled over, so I got out of bed and that’s when the phone started ringing. So, I had to sit up for an hour to watch TV before I went back to sleep. Needless to say, this is a rough morning.

Early in the evening last night I noticed that someone got sick in my room. I think it was Marv. He looked like he didn’t feel good and he spent the night behind the recliner in my room, which is abnormal. He didn’t want to eat his Tuna Fish this morning but I did get him to eat some Beef & Chicken in gravy. He had to have something on his stomach before I could give him his medicine. I skipped last nights dose because he didn’t seem up for it and honestly, I wasn’t up for it either. It was an oven in here at 78 degrees. It was much cooler in the basement and outside but that’s to be expected in the spring here. If this keeps up it won’t be long before I flip the switch from heat to AC. Which is not something I am eager to do.

Last night I also got word that my employer reported the first positive case of COVID-19. It wasn’t in my office but people travel so much that it doesn’t take long to spread. Oddly enough one of the big wigs was exposed and she is a heavy traveler. I hope this doesn’t mushroom into a bigger mess but the potential certainly is there. I know that the chief nut in charge of the country wants us all to get back to work and normal soon but that is more because he wants a second term in office and the notoriety that comes with digging the country out of a crisis. However, if we do things his way, we are all going to wind up dead sooner than later and he may well get a second term because he will be the only one alive. The man scares me and I know I am not alone. It’s painful to listen to him speak because he peppers in names and extra terms that don’t need to be said. Say what you will but Obama was the best speaker, he got to the point and stayed on point. I sure miss that, again I don’t think I am alone.

Friday was a chill day that is until all hell broke loose. Apparently, someone (not me) missed a warning notification and it looked like we had a threat on the network. It was quickly determined that it was good software but behaving in a bad manor. There was a bunch of follow up work that I think the person who missed the alert should have done but instead it was assigned to me, because I am known for being dependable. Sucks when your good at your job, just saying.

I am publishing this and then headed up to figure out what box to pull out of the freezer for dinner and also to open more cat food. I look forward to spending what I hope is an uneventful evening with the cats. The struggle is more of finding something interesting to watch. Not a whole lot is on that appeals to me but I am sure I will find something to settle on.

As for Saturday well my main goal is sleep and relaxing. Beyond that there is cat food to get along with the mail and perhaps a meal or two out. Then we can see about those lingering cleaning projects that I might get to. It all depends upon how bored I really get and right now it doesn’t take much. I didn’t really want or need the personal computer crisis but it is what it is.

Sadly, the virus has overwhelmed the US and we are now the leader for infection. They say that 80 thousand people could die from this. I called it early on and said it would be a population thinner. It does sound like we are all going to be at home for a very long time. I think we will all need a vacation when this is over with. Well stay safe and be well. I will talk with you again soon.

Thankful Thursday

Welcome to another Friday eve. I do look forward to the weekend. Saturday will be a sleep in day and maybe I will finally get to a couple cleaning projects. I don’t know that I will be pushing myself, kind of depends on how I feel. I am eager to unpack and use my new power washer but the weather doesn’t appear to be cooperating just yet. I know patience will pay off and eventually I will be blasting junk off the house and deck.

I saw a friend on social media make a post from the NYC Health Department telling people to masturbate for sex, it’s the safest right now and you can’t get the COVID virus that way. If you must have sex with another person make sure it’s someone in your household (i.e. spouse, lover, partner, husband, wife, etc.), don’t go out and seek a stranger. The flyer went on to talk about different forms of sex and I was honestly surprised that he posted it but, his post was more designed around humor than educational awareness. The information on the flyer was for serious educational purposes. NYC has been pretty hard hit by this virus and they don’t want the problem to get worse.

Speaking of sex, apparently the porn industry is on hiatus like the rest of things in the world. So, when the studios run out of their stored content, those of us that look forward to that, will be out of luck. There is plenty of amateur content and porn stars are shooting their own content through platforms like Only Fans and Just For Fans, but those are subscription based. The porn models don’t work for free but most from what I see are reasonably priced.

In addition to porn I do enjoy looking at a shirtless guy. Some of those are really hot and you can leave the rest to your imagination. If that’s your thing check out Fit Studs. The guy who runs the site is a regular visitor and commenter here. He has very nice photos! I believe his site has something for everyone regardless of your taste in men.

The other day I decided to change news stations to get a different perspective. I saw this amazingly hot guy who is a reporter. I got on his social media and damn, he’s got one hell of a body and no wedding ring. It’s really tough for me to tell if he is gay. I want to reach out to him so bad, but I’m afraid of a couple things. First, that I will make a complete fool of myself. Second, that he won’t be interested. Yeah, I know I really don’t have anything to lose but my little voice is telling me to admire from afar. I mean I would be thankful if I was in his shoes that a complete stranger reached out to express his appreciation for my body. However, asking about my sexuality and/or a date seems a bit sketchy. I mean I can’t help it when I see a guy that I am attracted to. Considering my situation. I just want to show my appreciation but in a professional and dignified way. If there is a connection or mutual interest well then that’s awesome. I don’t want to come off as a weirdo or stalker. I know that I won’t ever get a guy if I don’t try. The nice thing is that there are plenty of beautiful men in the world. The trick is to figure out the ones that are stable (mentally & physically) and that are interested. I’m super eager for a companion and if he’s younger in shape and has a rocking body well that’s just like having your cake and eating it too. It would be great to fall into a situation like that or so I think. I also think it would be great to win the lottery, not sure if either will happen to me. The hardest part of dating is knowing what to say and when to say it. Especially approaching a complete stranger who you don’t know if they play for the same team. I don’t want to get punched in the nose and thus far I have been fortunate for the few times I attempted that. I get so tongue tied just like a teenager, it’s kind of funny but it’s also very nerve wracking.

Since I have nothing but time right now. I did some further research into the hunk o reporter and he’s young like 28. No wonder he’s got such a rocking body and looks so good to me. I’m telling you something about younger men just appeals to me. The problem is that we may not have anything in common or connect due to the serious age gap. It doesn’t mean I’m not willing to try but for right now I am just admiring from afar like my little voice says, despite what other parts of my body want me to do.

I did a little bit of walking on the treadmill. I think it was maybe 10 minutes. I figure start slow and ramp up. I am not looking to become the next athlete but do want to keep my weight down. It would be nice if I could lose the extra weight I gained over the last few months. Sitting in front of a computer and only walking up and down the steps while continuing to shovel the food in could easily make me larger and I don’t want that.

Take care.

Blathering on a Wednesday

Hello and Happy Wednesday!! We made it to another hump day. Is it just me or does this week feel like the longest week ever? Tomorrow will mark 1 week that I have been working from home.

In world news I saw the update yesterday from the chief nut in charge and now he thinks Easter will be an appropriate time to reopen the country. Yeah, I don’t think it will be quite that soon but it is nice to have a goal. I do think that everyone wants to go back to a state of normal but I don’t think anyone wants to rush into it and make the problem worse than it already is.

I called the car dealer today and they are still open for business. For service, you drop your vehicle off and leave. They will call you when it’s time to come pick it up. For me since I am all alone that would mean I had to camp out in their parking lot. Not something I am interested in doing. I asked about a loaner or having someone come pick up my vehicle and they said none of those options or services are running now. So, my only choice was to cancel but that’s not what I wanted to do. I mean it’s not like I am running around. Once the governor says it’s okay for people to mingle about and restaurants reopen for normal business then I can reschedule but until then I am just out of luck. I’m only making a couple trips out to pick up food for the cats and me. I may do take out this weekend but otherwise I am home. So, I cancelled my day off that was set for Monday since I have no plans now given the state of the world.

Last night I shaved. I couldn’t take the itching any longer. I want a beard but don’t want to see the white or grey. The hair is also very coarse and I would much prefer it be soft. I just think I have one of those faces that wasn’t designed to be covered up by a beard. Some scruff looks good on me but fully covered nope. My hair is the next thing that is on the chopping block. I’ve cut my own hair before but I am unsure if I really want to do that now. It is getting long and I have wanted to grow it out. This may be the time for that. It just depends upon how long I can go before push comes to shove and I can’t take it anymore, then I’ll break out the clippers.

Close to lunchtime I heard a lawn mower start up and thought perhaps my grass guy was by. Nope it was the neighbor’s person. They have their lawn serviced to encourage growth and lushness. It does look really nice! I on the other hand don’t really care if the grass grows in my yard. I honestly prefer that it wouldn’t so I could save the money but my neighbors wouldn’t like that. My lawn is starting to take off but I think I have a little while to limp through before I will need to start up lawn mowing season. I haven’t called my grass guy and just presume he will be cutting it again this year. Hopefully, I am correct in my assumption. Otherwise trying to find someone to take care of it once the season has started is next to impossible. People book those things starting in January when the thought of grass cutting isn’t even on your mind because your traveling through snow.

The new guy at work and I have had a lot of conversations. They mostly start off with a purpose and then we venture into the weeds. I remarked today that our calls are more like a therapy session. Of course, I am the one doing the talking and he is doing the listening. I’ve opened up quite a bit to him and given him great insight into my world. I’ve told myself this is a bad idea because it comes with the risk of heartache and heartbreak. Not to mention that he knows where and how I am vulnerable. I’m attracted to him and he is cute. However, I know he’s straight and married. He gives me mixed signals, by making remarks that lead me to think he is interested. It’s that or he has repressed feelings and has same sex attraction. I never outright told him that I am attracted to him, I think that is too forward and would make things awkward between us, which I don’t want. I did ask him about his sexuality and he confirmed that he is straight but oddly enough told me that I wasn’t the first person to ask him. Apparently, his wife wondered as well. We have talked about celebs that I have crushes on and he makes comments like what a rocking body he has or he can really rock a pair of jeans. He remarked today that he misses seeing me. It sounds innocent enough but being a gay man, I took it to heart. We have video phones and see each other’s faces when we talk internally.

It’s refreshing for me to work with someone that I can be my authentic self with. If he ever decided to turn against me unfortunately, I have given him plenty of ammo. I don’t think that will happen but then again no one ever thinks someone will turn against them. Sadly, it happens. The one thing that I have said more than one time is that if I make you feel uncomfortable or I start talking about something that is offending you, please let me know. I know he claims to appreciate me and says he really enjoys talking & working with me. I suppose paranoia is setting in on my end but then again in today’s world you can’t be too careful.

Shortly I will be headed upstairs to see the furry family and watch some TV. Then supper time will roll around. I’ll talk with you all again soon, be well & stay safe.

Hello Tuesday

Thanks for stopping by and checking in on what’s going on in my world. Sadly, I don’t have an overwhelming amount of information to share. It’s like one day blends into the next and that is the way life I believe will be for quite some time.

I’ve been watching local news on a daily basis but never really bother to turn into to National News. Yesterday the president interrupted local news coverage with a press conference. Pretty much a complete waste of time because he didn’t have anything new to say. I think he is wanting to bring a calm to the storm but the more he talks the more he instills panic. He seems to think that we can just magically all go back to normal in a couple days or soon and very soon. Yeah, sorry pal that is not the way this will work. He scares the hell out of me and makes me think we in the USA are all truly fucked. Only time will tell but I think it would be wise if he stopped talking for a while. Even his own staff looks at him like he’s deranged. While I don’t particularly care for my Governor, I trust him and have more confidence in him than I do in the president. Once he says it’s safe then I will believe it. I do believe everyone will have their guard up for quite some time, even after we are all told that this is under control.

In our morning call the boss man indicated that he thinks we are all going to be working from home for quite some time given the state the world is in. We all agree. It’s not necessarily what we all want but it’s a necessary evil. I think our leadership gets that and right now I don’t have any concerns of being told to go back too soon. Sounds like everyone but the leader of our country understands this. That is truly disappointing, our leader should be smarter and much more educated. You can’t run a country like you run a business, but then again, he’s no good in business. He owned a casino that went bankrupt. A casino for God sake. It truly is a scary thing that he is in charge of the country. It’s like I said when I learned he won the election, were all fucked and not in a good way!

Lots of people are going nuts with boredom or just frustration from being cooped up. There are people who share my same concern about gaining weight because all they do is eat. It’s convenient because the food is right there and your essentially surrounded by it. It brings comfort or so I think for a short period of time. Plus, there is the loneliness of being in isolation and not having any one around to talk or interact with. Sure, there is work but that doesn’t quite cut the mustard for me. I want to be me and personal – relaxed and not professional.

In other news I got my bill from AT&T and turns out the lower figure I got was correct. The email that they sent with the higher figure is just to scare you and prepare you for the absolute worst. The taxes and fees are what make the difference and the email is designed for the max. I guess better safe than sorry. They do the same thing with wireless service. You walk out of the store thinking you have this large bill and then when it shows up it’s not nearly as bad as you were told. I am getting less channels but paying around the same. I looked at changing back to the service I had and it’s like $1.30 more which isn’t that big of a deal. I would get more channels, which right now means more options of programs to choose from but I am staying put for the moment. I can always change my mind and increase if there is a need or desire.

Last night I had problems falling asleep, I got drowsy and fell asleep in front of the TV a couple times and when I went to call it quits that’s when my brain went into overdrive. I tried to fall asleep even with Gator in the bed it was no use. She wasn’t happy with me when I got up and turned on the TV but I had to do something to pass a little bit more time. I turned on CNN and watch a bit of Don Lemon and some Anderson Cooper. Something I don’t normally do but given all of the choices I had they were the best options. Thankfully it wasn’t long and I was drowsy again and returned to bed. That of course means that I really didn’t want to get moving this morning. I blame all of this on the nap that I was fortunate enough to be able to take yesterday. Sleeping is when I am the happiest and if there was a way to set a timer to be in a state of sleep but still manage to take care of the cats, I’d set that timer for a couple months right now.

Apparently, I didn’t learn from my mistake yesterday with the napping. I went up stairs around 11a to be with the kids because there wasn’t anything going on at work. I wound up napping. I kept getting interrupted by the darn phone and unimportant emails. I think I might have gotten in 45 minutes of napping. When I opted to get up it was because something important came in. That didn’t make my little girl terribly happy because she was in my lap. I came down and tended to business, then went back up and wolfed down a sandwich, a soda, yogurt and a brownie you know to keep my sweet disposition. Then sat in front of the TV for a short while and had to come back down to get on a conference call. We have another one here in a bit and the day will essentially be done but I will be watching from my phone in case anything urgent comes in. I might be working normal hours but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I am in front of the computer for a full 8 hours.

All of this sitting has my ass hurting, seriously. I would much rather stand but then my feet hurt. I guess I am really getting old. Whatever allergen is present in the house be it mold or dust really has my nose going crazy. Yet another reason why I miss the comfort of my office. Well I think that does it for today. Stay strong, be well and some how we will all weather this storm. I will talk with you again soon!

Time for Monday

The morning has flown by. I got through my morning tasks as well as our morning conference meet up call. The lines were flooded so I had to try a couple times but got through. Boss man checked in to see what hours everyone wanted to work this week. I told him I am fine where I am at. It’s essentially my normal shift as if I was going into the office. I like some sense of “normal” and my hours are about the only place that I will see that right now given the circumstances.

Grabbed lunch and fed the children. Today was the first day I didn’t leave a TV on in a month. Everyone seems to have adjusted. The only difference is they know and remember that I am still in the house. So, I suppose that is of some comfort to them.

Watched a little TV and got in a nap. My “lunch” was much longer than an hour but that’s primarily because there isn’t much going on today and my schedule is wide open except for our afternoon status call which should be short.

I received a call from my new dentist and they advised me that they aren’t seeing patients now with the COVID outbreak and that they wanted to reschedule. Were set for May now. That will be a busy month for me. I have the dentist appointment, a follow up with my doctor and an eye exam all in the same month. Let’s hope that we can all get out and about then or there will be more rescheduling to do.

I peeked at my car dealer’s website and it looks like they are picking up vehicles for service, at least that was my take away. I haven’t heard from them but will be checking in and confirming my Monday appointment. If they pick up my vehicle and return it, I won’t need to take the day off.

One of the ladies at work that I spoke with while I was dealing with Momma has been texting me periodically looking for a favor and/or a status up date on how I am doing. While that is all well and good, I never gave her my cell phone number. I don’t read the messages and delete them. To put a stop to it I blocked her. That wasn’t something I wanted to do but it was necessary for my sanity. I did give her my home phone number and don’t mind if she calls. I got an email from her at work and responded to it. She kind of took off on me and I didn’t bother to respond. She feels that it’s my obligation to reach out to her and let her know that I am okay so that she doesn’t have to worry about me. Uh, okay whatever. I never asked you to worry about me in the first place, if you want to that’s on you. Usually if I want to know how someone is doing, I reach out to them and they tell me. I don’t send a text to a cell phone # that I was not given. Jesus she’s not my mother but she is acting like she is and that I owe her something when in reality I do not.

In listening to one of my technology shows yesterday they pointed out that so many people are out of work or will be out of work as a result of this crisis. That cybercrime and scams will be on the increase. So be extra vigilant in watching for suspicious emails, texts and phone calls. These people just try the same thing over and over again. It’s like playing the same number in the lottery and eventually someone bites. I see it each and every day.

The most recent scam I saw on social media said that someone called pretending to be the persons bank. They said that there was a fraudulent transaction with Zelle and they were holding off on processing it due to the high dollar amount. Zelle is a person to person money service that banks use to give you the ability to send cash to family/friends and whomever else you may need to pay without having to write a check or present them with physical cash. I’ve used it and it’s neat but you do get warnings asking you if you are certain that you want to send x person funds and once you click past that your money is gone and not coming back. The recipient gets it right away. Anyway, the caller asked if they authorized the transaction. When they said no, the caller wanted to change their ATM card pin over the phone by transferring them to an automated phone system. Fortunately, the person who got the call said let me call you back. They contacted their bank directly by phone and that is how they learned of the scam. If it doesn’t sound right or you have a funny feeling, check it out. Most of the time your instincts are right. Most of the malicious actors count on folks not being educated and aware, which is why their scams & tactics work so well. Plus, a lot of people really believe what they see in caller-id. That too can be spoofed or faked so the only way you know for sure who your talking to is if you originate the call.

Well there you have it my Monday update. I do hope that you and your families are doing well. Take care and we shall talk again soon. Thank you as always for your visit & time.

Better Shopping

What a night, since I got in so much sleep yesterday my body woke up at 3a and I just couldn’t sleep anymore. I had some food, albeit junk food. Then turned on the light in my room and got yelled at by both cats. I warned them before I did it but I don’t think they got the message. Grabbed the phone to see what was new in the world and on social media. Nothing significant but it did help occupy some of my time. Then it was on to watch TV, I couldn’t tell you what I saw because it wasn’t anything that I really wanted to watch I was just passing time until the sugar coma kicked in and that took a couple hours. I knew when I climbed back in bed at 5a that I wouldn’t want to get up early and boy I was right. However, I got the children fed and Marv his medicine. Then had some breakfast it was light because I thought I would do some take out later but that never materialized. I made it to the grocery store a couple minutes after they opened.

As I entered the store, I saw a sign that said 8-9a is reserved for shoppers 60+ yeah, it’s because they are at risk. Guess what so am I because I am a diabetic. No one said anything to me and if they did that would have been my come back. I was never so happy to see Bananas and they were fresh! There were still a lot of empty shelves which is disheartening but understandable given the changes in circumstance.

I stocked up on frozen sausage, egg & cheese biscuits. Normally I just get 4 but this time I got 8 because I don’t know if they will be there next week. Frozen pizza was still very much picked over and most coolers were empty or close to it. However, ice cream was fully stocked. I didn’t practice the 6-foot rule I got what I wanted/needed and got out. There was a sign on the milk coolers that white milk was limited 1 per customer. I bought a gallon as opposed to a ½ gallon again because I don’t know if they will have it next week or not. A good portion of what I bought was junk food or stuff I knew I shouldn’t have but what else is there to do besides … eat, watch tv, work from home, clean the house, watch porn or sleep? I spent way more than I normally would but I think I am in decent shape. I will need to go back next weekend again and will probably time it the same. As I exited the store, I saw a state trooper standing guard. I thought to myself let’s hope that we don’t need the police because there is a riot at the grocery store. I mean I get that it’s possible but I certainly hope that it doesn’t come to that, where you are not only afraid to leave because you might get the virus but also because you might get mobbed or robbed.

Since we didn’t have breakfast together, I thought it would be smart to check in on the old guy that I would normally see at breakfast on Sunday. He sound like he is doing well, despite the circumstances. Plenty of people are checking up on him and he has a wide social circle. There aren’t many people in my life so I cherish those that are. It was a nice distraction from daily life and we got to have some fun by joking with each other.

I see no reason in the world to do laundry. It’s not like I actually need clothes when I am working from home. I live in sweats and a t-shirt. I’ll wash them but everything else is just on hold this week. I did pick up some CLR at the store and detached the shower head. I soaked it in the kitchen sink with a mix of water and CLR. That stuff works wonders. I have a wand and head combo shower. So, you can switch from both to the wand for more up close and personal washing. I learned something today and yes it was the hard way but apparently if you flip the diverter switch the other way you can turn off the wand and give full power to the head. Yup, I got a little wet but it’s okay. I eagerly await my shower in the morning I should have full power of all streams. I keep a toothbrush in the shower just to help keep the shower head clean and it helps but eventually the shower needs some CLR which is nothing like TLC.

I’ve sat around and watched TV, YouTube Videos, given a little attention to Marvin. Gator has been attached to me for most of the day that is until I got out the vacuum cleaner.

I got a call from the boss man who had a quick question. Then I got an email from a tech who expected me to help him. Dude I am not on-call and not your personal solve it person. I guess our help desk is working 7 days a week now. I mean we have close to 1,000 people working remote which is a lot and it’s amazing that we were able to make that happen with very little effort. Next week will certainly be a challenge as it will be everyone’s first full week of working remote. I will be spending more time than I want in front of this machine so I am limiting the time I spend with it over the weekend.

Please be safe, take care of yourself and stay home. I’m glad that I have a diversion even if it’s work because if I just had to sit here and watch TV with nothing to do I would go insane quickly. This like many other parts of life would be better if there was another human in my home but sadly there isn’t. Oddly enough though we had snow this morning. Yeah, a couple days after the first day of spring and snow flurries. That is a sign of comfort to me. I think were all going to get through this but life as we know it will forever be changed and things won’t go back to 100% normal but we will be pretty close to it. This is scary stuff and the numbers are going to climb before they fall and this gets under control. Here’s hoping that this week medical science makes some progress. I will talk with you again soon. Thanks for stopping by!

Not your normal Saturday

We have a shelter in place order and when that came down it caused panic in me and I am sure a lot of other people. Then I learned exactly what it means and I am fine. The one thing everyone was told NOT to do is the one thing that most people are doing. The one thing was not to panic and start buying groceries and other items as if they were going to be confined to their homes for months on end. Unfortunately, that seems to me the one thing that people are doing.

It was around 11:30a when I opted to head out. It did feel a bit strange but I pressed on. I grabbed the mail and there wasn’t anything to get excited over. Then I hit up the office supply store. Yeah, I got that keyboard. There is more on that below. They are sold out of chairs and monitors and I learned that people were taking the displays. They didn’t have a wide selection of keyboards in stock and I honestly hesitate to touch one but figured what the hell, how do you know if you will like it if you don’t type on it. From there I stopped into the pet food store. The grooming salon is closed. I suppose that is because people work in close proximity to each other and they didn’t want to take any risks. The rest of the store including the vet was open. The vet staff are wearing masks, which looks strange. I got all of the normal cat food. A worker asked me if she could help me, I said no and then mumbled under my breath, yeah you could help me if you knew exactly what my cats would eat but no one in this store has that classified information.

My plan was to hit up the grocery store next but I saw the line at the Wal-Mart super center and you had to scramble to find a parking spot. It was like Christmas time but much worse. I figured if they were like that then our 2 stand alone grocery stores would surely be the same and the last thing I wanted to do is get into a crowd. I mean I can hold my own but I really don’t like crowds in general. So instead I hit up Taco Bell and was able to get thru the drive up with ease. Most fast food places had lines but things seemed to be moving at a fairly rapid pace. Then I came home to enjoy my food while Gator stared at me and meowed most the time while I was eating until she eventually gave in and started eating what I put out for breakfast.

We spent the bulk of the day in my room. I got in naps and even went back to bed this morning after I fed them. During the night Gator decided to kick up a fuss and woke me up. I fixed her when she left the room, I closed the door and turned up the white noise machine. Man, I slept pretty well. I hated to close the door because that punished Marv but time away was much needed. Were all still buddies and get along okay. They (the cats) are going to love this daddy working from home stuff.

Got an emergency call from work that informed me that soon a shelter in place order would be in effect for the state the office is in and that we should only go into the office in the event of something that was urgent and couldn’t be addressed from home. They want everyone to continue working from home. Yeah and I think were all going to be doing that for 3 months minimum but that is my guess and I have nothing concrete. I don’t think that anyone wants to be the first to go back to work and then find out that the virus has spread only to tell everyone to go back home. So, I think employers and people in general will be extra cautious until we know that this thing is more under control and maybe a vaccine has been developed or some better medicine to treat it.

I was shocked to hear that Kenny Rogers passed away. I am not a country music fan but he did write some great tunes and had an amazing voice both talking and singing. I watched a documentary about him with Dan Rather on AXS last year. At least he passed from natural causes and not this virus that is going around.

My plan for the rest of the day is to stay at home and make the best of the situation. I have plenty to get done but I don’t have a lot of motivation to start moving, so I am just enjoying being lazy. I’m sure that next week will be hellish and keep us all busy. So might as well relax and enjoy now. The thing that I do the most often is put the phone in do not disturb mode. That way I can sleep or do what ever in peace. People or phone calls that I deem important will still ring through. Everyone else gets voice mail. It’s not as if my phone rings off the hook anyway. I absolutely hate being a slave to the phone when I am on-call or working. That little ding for email or a chirp for an alert drives me crazy, but it’s necessary to stay in the loop.

Tomorrow morning, I will venture out for groceries, I plan on getting out early hopefully before a large crowd has a chance to raid the restocking efforts that take place in off hours. This way maybe I will be able to get milk and other things that seem to be in demand. There is just me and I’m not looking to hoard but I want to be comfortable and take care of myself. Then I shall return to my home for the remainder of the day where I will do some cleaning and perhaps bake a pizza.

Now about the keyboard… It is a little confusing to figure out where some keys are like print screen isn’t just 1 key it’s a combination of the FN key and then the insert key. I actually use print screen a lot. I’ve got this program called Snag-It that does screen captures. I use it at home and work. For home it’s great to capture confirmation numbers that appear on screen, a handsome fellow or settings from a program. At work I use it mostly for documentation or to capture settings. I learned of the program many jobs ago and have used it ever since. It’s like the snipping tool in Windows but it does so much more. There is plenty of power packed in there but I only use a fraction of it. Setting up Logitech Options Software was a little time consuming. Plus, they want you to register for an account so they can take backups of your keyboard & mouse settings. That’s nice but I tend not to customize. I looked for a manual or guide and wow that is nonexistent. Thankfully with some google searches I was able to learn about the print screen key.  Right now, I plan to keep it and add it to the family of keyboards that I have. It came with a mouse that I am also using it’s okay but I was happy with what I had. It is fairly similar to what I was using. The truest test will come when it’s time to go back to work on Monday unless this becomes difficult to type on all day that is the only reason why I would even consider returning it. 

Well I am off to update my financials from the few transactions of the day. To check on something at work and then to surf for some porn and eventually I will head backup stairs to watch something. The most amazing thought I just had is that with so many people on the Information Super Highway aka The Internet isn’t it amazing that we haven’t had a collision yet. I know that many networks (service providers for conferencing, meeting, etc.) are heavily stressed but you can still get on social media and streaming services without a problem. Thank God for the Internet or we would all be much worse right now. Imagine if this all hit back in the day before the internet really took off, man things would be messed up for sure.

Take care and be well. I will talk with you again most likely tomorrow after my grocery shopping adventure. Here’s hoping that this week is better than what it was last week.  Thanks for stopping by. 

Day 2 of House Arrest

I hope that you and your families are doing well. As for me and my furry family we are doing okay. Gator is a little loud demanding attention, food or just meowing because she knows it irritates me. Working from home is going okay. I woke up feeling oddly refreshed. I initiated my Bourbon & Vanilla Soap and it smells so damn good. That was the high point of my morning before work.

We had our morning call and my boss notice that I was the first one to jump in on the conference bridge. He said I need to talk with you, got some news for you. I said is it good or bad. He said I’m smiling for you. Okay I had no idea what he was going to tell me but it would turn out to be the true high point of the day. The call was over and he called me direct. Back when momma was dying there was a shit storm at work with a couple new folks coming on board and I was working extra time to please them. Well turns out my boss and our office manager got together and went to bat for me. I’m getting a $1,000 bonus. Yeah that’s no typo. While it won’t bring my momma back it will help me, even if it’s subject to taxes.

The whole keyboard situation is driving me nuts, the wrist wrest is comfortable but it’s a little cumbersome for the desk. I broke out my comfort wave from Logitech it’s bulky as hell but a little more comfortable. I want to go keyboard shopping but kind of afraid to touch one in the store as I might pick up a cootie. I think I will be venturing out for that tomorrow. Plus, cat food and probably a trip through a drive up or curb side pickup. I really just want to go out to eat so bad, that’s my jam.

I see that several states have Shelter in Place orders. I think that will be coming state by state and it seems like the right thing to do. At least 15 days to slow things down. From what I see it doesn’t mean you can’t go out for essentials but if at all possible, you need to stay home. That can vary by location and apparently you can be ordered to stay in your home and not leave. That’s the point that would drive me crazy and I would have to leave for my own sanity.

I am wondering if my new dentist and car service appointments that are scheduled at the end of the month will still happen. It’s a very strange time right now and we are all learning as we progress through this.

To help add some spice to the day I opted to wear a jock strap today. Not something I normally do but it’s kind of fun. I don’t look nearly as good in it as the guys I see in photos. It’s like I told someone the other day I have washboard abs, your going to have to dig for them but they are in there!

Stay safe and we will talk again soon.

The New Normal

It’s official now I am working from home until further notice.  That statement is true for so many people right now.  It’s going to stress a lot of networks including the telephone networks.  So you might get a busy signal or encounter connectivity issues.  I personally haven’t had any issues like that yet but I have heard of reports.  My employer has requested anyone that can work from home do so.  It was stressed that we are not closing offices so I guess if you wake up and are tired of being in jail (at home) that you could mosey into the office.  That’s something I may do eventually.  Right now this is supposed to last a couple weeks.  However, from a reality standpoint this could be the normal for a few months.  The plus side of this for me is that my vehicle won’t be wracking up mileage so my factory warranty will last longer, plus I won’t have the fuel expense. 

Restaurants among other businesses are closed in my part of the country.  You can get take out or delivery but no dine in.  I’ve gotten an email from one bank I do business with and they are closing their lobbies.  This is all unchartered territory and I think there will be a lot of take away from this and it may even change how people live & work forever not just in the short term. 

I practiced social distancing long before it was the thing to do.  Yeah that was humor, I was talking to a co-worker and said that and got a laugh.

All I want to do is sleep and eat, I sure don’t want to work.  Working from home is great until it becomes a mandatory thing to do.  It’s like getting on an x-ray table and the first thing they say is lay still and don’t move.  Well that’s all I think about doing then is moving.  Tell me I am not allowed to do something and like a little kid it’s the first thing I want to do.  I don’t know if that is human nature or more of a personality thing. 

So all of my eye candy will come in the form of social media and porn, no actual real in person hunky guys unless I happen to stumble across one at the grocery store.  I am still on the dating app but this is kind of a lousy time to be in the dating pool..  I mean you can’t go any where to meet in person.  I suppose it doesn’t affect those folks who just want to get off and move on with no string attached but that’s not what I am about. 

It hit me last night that today was the last day I get to give Marvin his shot.  Then I realize wow Momma’s been gone for a little over a month now.  Where did the time go?  I still miss her like crazy but the pain is almost non existent which is kind of scary but turns out to become the normal eventually with every pet loss I have gone through.  Marv and Gator are doing okay.  Gator is doing her best to keep tap dancing on my nerves but Marv is all mellow.  Both are still very picky on eating but they aren’t on hunger strikes and for that I am thankful.  I will probably touch base with the vet on where we go from here regarding the B12 shots with Marv.  They seem to be helping him he walks a little better and the yowling is way down.  Which I am also thankful for.

One more day and it’s Friday.  I am so ready for the weekend to be able to turn off my phone and sleep in, if the cats will permit that.  Exhausted is the word.  Work isn’t just 8-5 yesterday it was working until around 6, taking a break and then back at it for a bit at 7 and then I was done but emails kept coming in and I kept looking at my phone.  I’m all about helping out and doing my fair share but this whole be responsible thing and being an adult is for the birds.  I guess I just take my job way too seriously.

I hope that you and your families are doing okay, stay safe and be well.  I appreciate you stopping by.  I am headed up for lunch in a bit and think I may try to squeeze in a nap.  Then make it through the afternoon and on to another evening.  Talk with you all again soon. 

No groceries

I found out this morning that is not a cat living under the deck, it’s a raccoon.  It was peacefully sleeping and I got to look at it up close.  Don’t know if that upsets the cats or not but they come around every year like clock work. 

I arrived at the grocery store to find most of the shelves bare.  A butcher was on the phone talking with a lady about chicken and how it was going fast.  He expected to be sold out within an hour.  Hello, this is real?  No bananas, No milk but they had everything else I wanted.  Frozen pizzas were really picked over.  If it’s like this today, makes me wonder what it will be like next week.  Will they even be able to open? 

I saw a guy loading up on toilet paper and that is the one thing they have mounds of.  Thankfully for me I buy mine at my local wholesale club.  I got it last year and I’m still using it today.  Plenty left for another couple months.  I’m not here much and the way they sell it in bulk it just works out that way.  Paper towels don’t last terribly long but at least a couple months. 

There was a waiting line to get into the wholesale club when normally at 9:30a on a Sunday no one is around.  I stop in for gasoline and that was priced low compared to what it’s been selling for. 

Since I buy a lot from Amazon I looked for 2% milk and they apparently don’t sell that in my area for delivery.  I found Fairlife ultra filtered milk at the grocery store and swore I’d never buy it because it was expensive but today was the day.  That is the only 2% they had and $5 for a half gallon I think is a bit much but given the circumstances I didn’t have a lot of choice unless I wanted to run around to try to find it elsewhere.  One guy I was talking with said he was headed to the gas station they have milk.  Yeah well I thought a grocery store would have it as well but they don’t.  Sure hope he isn’t in a for a surprise. 

This whole panic over this virus is a bit much.  The media is feeding on it like it’s fresh meat and people are lapping up the hysteria and buying into the hype.  It’s nothing more than a virus it’s not the end of the world and while you might get it, if you do all of the right thing to avoid the flu, chances are you will avoid this as well.  I’m not iron man but I am really not terribly concerned about it.  I am more concerned about being able to survive given that most everything is flying off of grocery store shelfs.  At the rate were going I will be forced to buy every meal out sooner rather than later and if restaurants can’t keep up then I’m fucked.

In other news I went shopping on-line and my next obsession to get up and close to is a Logitech MK 850 keyboard & mouse combo.  It goes for $100 but is sold through big box and amazon stores at $77 to $79.  In searching for this I came across an MX wrist rest which obviously is much cheaper and I think might do the trick better.  I’m looking for wrist comfort which is what other keyboards have that the one I like and use both at home and work don’t have.  My desk at work is more comfortable so it doesn’t really bother me there, but at home I feel it and miss comfort.  I just placed an order for the wrist rest and it will be here on Wednesday, so I’ll let you know how it goes. 

I woke up at 6a and when I came home from my morning shopping trip I had to take a nap.  That was around 11 that I finally passed out but the phone woke me up a couple times.  I finally got up for good at noon.  I need to get busy but wanted to drop a few lines here. 

Hope all is well in your world and that your grocery stores are fully stocked.  I’m off to do chores how much fun will I have?  Absolutely none!  But the chores won’t get done w/o me.  So off I go.  Talk with you all again soon.  Be well.

PIE DAY

Thus far I have survived the week, even Friday the 13^th. Nothing terrible happened to me it was an average day but extra busy. I saw a cute blond young man that I wanted to have my way with at the gas station. It was a great way to start the morning, even though I didn’t say a word to him.

I spent today much like last Saturday. I slept in, ate junk food and napped. I would have gone for pie but they closed that place, so no pie for me.  Marvin woke me out of a deep sleep around 1a. I know he wanted food but not really sure why he woke me. Gator has picked up the yowling from him and now they both do it from time to time. Sometimes one starts and that causes the other to join in. Great the yowling choir, maybe we should go on a road tour. There is another cat that is living under the deck and I wonder how much of this behavior is caused by that. They have to know another furry friend is living outside. I thought about buying another diffuser of Feliaway but talked my self out of it when I saw prices at the pet store. A refill was $27 and that’s more than I paid for the diffuser and a month’s supply of the stuff.

The corona virus thing is a mess. We temporarily closed 1 office on Friday because someone in the building, not at our firm might be infected. I got an email about our ever-changing policy on the subject. If you exhibit any of the symptoms of the flu, you are not allowed to enter the office. Instead you can work from home, you will need to see a doctor and be able to supply proof that you’re not infected and then tell management and when they say it’s okay, you can come back. Traffic is getting lighter and lighter each morning; the parking garage isn’t nearly as full as it normally is. I’m okay if people want to freak out but just don’t get hysterical about it or starting hoarding things. I don’t see any reason for panic and I don’t think it’s the end of the world.

In other news I bought a power washer. It won’t be here until Tuesday but I am eager to clean the outside of the house and the deck. I hope it does the trick and that I don’t blow a hole into my house or break a window. I’ve got plenty of hoses but they are not easily accessible so I bought a new one. It will come in handy when I empty the deep freeze and unplug it – so it’s like a 2 in 1 purchase. I also got a pizza cutter, not a wimpy roller but a long blade like they use in the pizzeria. I will be using it for the first-time tomorrow night. It looks to make the job effortless and I am eager to try it. The other thing I got was a large bar of soap flavored with Bourbon and Vanilla. That was not cheap at all but I’m telling you it smells fabulous. If it gets me drunk every morning then it will either make for an interesting day or be the reason why I work at home until it’s gone.

I am still fighting with the ants. Got them pretty well under control in the kitchen but they are out of control in my bathroom. I found one in my medicine this morning. Not happy at all. They are all over the shower or should I say were. I sprayed and then washed down the shower. The smell of the bug spray kicking up my allergies so I am a bit of a mess right now.

I blew through all of the “good tv” last night and now I struggle to find something to watch. Tomorrow will be the winter finale of The Circus and I’m not happy about that at all. However, I know they will be back on eventually. Thankfully Last Week Tonight with John Oliver will still be on so I have that to look forward to. At least there is no shortage of good porn to watch and that is a very good thing!

I got a random survey in the mail from the Associated Press and if I take it, I get $5. So that is done. It was all about politics and the election. Kind of interesting. Now I will wait for the check to be in the mail. I took another survey at work from one of our building management companies and they promised me a $25 Amazon gift card, I don’t think that will ever surface.

I did get a call this week from Bank of America. The person that called works from 6a until 2:30p how in the world will we ever talk? Easy, we won’t. I called back once and left a message I got another message the next day around 1p. I’m not bothering to call back. I already know they fixed my credit report which is why they are calling. I don’t expect or anticipate them to do anything else, I may at the very least get an apology letter but I don’t anticipate anything. I have paid the balance on my account and I am going to let it sit at zero for a while, that will give them time to respond. If after a while I don’t hear anything then I’m going to close the account. The vet said they would give me my money back but to date I have nothing. I’m giving them until mid-week and if a check doesn’t surface by then I will be calling. I want my money.

So tomorrow it will be breakfast, grocery store and gas station. Then home for the rest of the day. Typical Sunday in cleaning the house, finishing laundry and getting ready for Monday. The only good thing about Monday is that I won’t be on call for another 2 full weeks. I so look forward to that. However, our new guy his wife is sick. She had a fever but it’s gone after a day. He’s supposed to be on-call on Monday. She thinks she has “the flu” and isn’t concerned about the corona virus at all. I certainly would be. I’d be like headed to the doctor to at the very least put my mind at ease. However, she is toughing it out and hopes to return to work on Monday. I told him keep your distance and don’t get sick. Watch what happens. Young people think they are invincible but they are not.

Hope you had a great week and that your doing well. Thanks for stopping by. Talk with you all again soon.

Panic at the Disco

Like you I am in tune with the news and each morning I hear an update on the latest numbers on the Coronavirus.  Apparently each year in the US when there is a primary election there is some virus that comes with it.  Ebola, Sars, etc.  I didn’t realize that until someone pointed it out.  I don’t know if I fully believe this but apparently it’s nothing more than a viral pneumonia that is being hyped by the media.  Pneumonia does kill people but usually a heavy dose of antibiotics will fix that.

Lots of places and events are closing.  Talk shows can go on but can’t have audiences.  Unless this gets under control quickly I think we will soon all be relegated to staying home and not leaving.  I wonder if anyone has thought about how we will get food, medical supplies, etc.  This is by far the worst crisis that I have experienced in my lifetime outside of 9/11. I’m in the office today.  It was difficult to get moving but I did it. 

Even my employer is taking this seriously.  Since I am in a high risk group I should be working from home.  However, I am not saying anything at the moment.  If things get bad or I have a legit concern then I will reach out.  I like working from home but having to do it long term (like a few months) would probably cause me to pack on the pounds and go crazy at the same time.  Hence why I am not saying anything. 

Closer to home… Marvin got his shot this morning and I didn’t stick myself with the needle this time.  He is a silly guy being picky about eating.  I know he is eating but he is super picky about it.  Gator ate this morning like she hadn’t seen a plate of food in 3 days.  They were both very vocal this morning. 

The pheromone diffuser is plugged in.  I haven’t heard any crying so maybe it’s working or maybe it’s just a coincidence.  I’m not sure but time will tell.

In other news, AT&T has me confused.  I have multiple figures on what my bill is supposed to be one is super high and the other is low and reasonable.  I guess I will find out when the bill actually prints, which will be by next weekend. 

Tomorrow is the big day, Friday the 13th.  Funny thing when I went to pull out of the driveway this morning I glanced at my odometer and the last 3 digits were 666.  Guess it’s a good thing I came in today because if I would have seen that on the 13th I may have well gone back in the house.  It will be a busy work day got like 5 people leaving so that will keep me busy, plus anything else that pops out of the wood work.  Boss man was supposed to go to Mexico but cancelled his plans so now we are having daily meetings, that’s so much fun. 

The best part of today is that I came into find an envelope on my desk from a colleague that I work with in another office.  I was flabbergasted when I opened it up.  It was a very nice thank you note for doing nothing more than being myself and helpful.  I will cherish that.  Wish that everyday would start like that.

I hope your well and doing okay.  Stop by again soon for another update on this rollercoaster ride I am on called life.  All my best!

Marvo

Mr. Marvin is back to crying but it only happens during the daytime, usually once the TV powers off.  I wish that I had some type of an override button but sadly I don’t.  4 hours is all you get.  I heard him chirping yesterday and managed to tune in at just the right time today to hear it again.  It breaks my heart, I love him so much and don’t want him to think that he is all alone or forgotten.  I know that he misses me during the day, most cats/dogs do miss their owner when they leave. I am happy that he hasn’t returned to waking me up in the middle of the night but I am on guard for that to happen, but hopefully it doesn’t.  He’s a good boy who I think is just confused in his old age and misses his brother.  

I don’t know if it will work but the vet suggested Feliaway it’s a calming pheromone that is supposed to work on cats.  We have used it in the past with no effect on any of the cats.  I’m willing to give it another go to see if maybe it can help Marv out.  I just ordered it on Amazon and it will be in tomorrow.  30 days is around $20 for something that goes up in the air that is expensive but if it works I will gladly pay the money to get a refill. 

He’s being picky on eating again and likes to chow down when I am not looking or he thinks I can’t hear him.  I heard him last night in the treats dish, he was just crunching away.  I love to hear him eat that is music to my ears.  Now if I could get his sister to play along and they could all eat at the same time that would be great. 

My nerves are on edge and I think these last 2 cats are going to tap dance on them until they fry.  Not intentionally of course.  I am just so hyper focused on each of them because of love.  I did think about it some more and I suppose it’s possible that Marv has something going on in his gut, not 100% that it’s cancer but he is big in the front and small in the back – that’s not normal but again he’s an old man.  I suppose I can type anything I want here and waffle back and forth but it’s not going to give me any answers.  All I can do is continue to wait and watch, hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

I worked on my foot last night.  My little toe on my right foot was bothering me.  It just needed a trim and to cut away some of the dead skin that built up.  I think it’s a callous.  I wound up cutting too much away and sliced into my toe.  Yes I drew blood.  Yes it hurt.  Yes I wasn’t happy with myself.  Today it’s sore but it itches more than it hurts.  Diabetics shouldn’t work on their own feet but as long as I can still see them and reach them I’m going to continue to work on my own feet, unless I get something I can’t deal with or am unable to bend to reach them.

I’ve got an Amazon order waiting for me on the porch.  Nothing exciting just pee pads and Mucinex.  I wanted to order a lot more but opted to hold off for now.  Here’s to Tuesday and maybe I will get some good sleep tonight.  Thanks for stopping by, we will talk again soon!

Change the clock

Happy time change weekend.  I do believe I have updated all of the clocks in the house and especially the one in the car.  My new auto sync (atomic) clock was the only one that was off, outside of my watches.  I thought that was kind of ironic because the whole purpose of a auto sync clock is that you don’t have to worry about setting the time.  To make it a little bit more humorous, when I went to adjust the time there isn’t a button for that.  I can change the TZ (time zone) and if I want 24 hour time but to actually adjust the time, not possible.  The fix for the moment was to change the TZ it will sync up again at 2a so I’ll know in the morning if this is going to be a permanent fix.  I am a little nervous about one of the card servers at work.  I’ve been messing with it off and on all day.  I think it’s fixed but the true test will be in the morning.  Thankfully the new guy gets in super early and he knows to check on it.  I really wish we would just adopt 1 universal time for the entire US and call it a day but I don’t know that will ever happen. 

There was some new flavors of cat food out, they cost slightly more but I figured why not get them and try then.  Variety is the spice of life.  Well guess who doesn’t like them.  They eat a little bit but then turn their noses up.  1 of them is called Kicked Up Chicken, sounds like something Emeril would make with some BAM.  However, cats don’t like spicy food.  I can’t tell if it’s carrots or peppers but whatever it is they don’t like it.  I’m kind of tempted to try it but for the fact that it’s cat food.

I got the house cleaning done and am just passing time until it’s time to pop a frozen pizza in the oven.  I also need a shave but don’t look forward to that as much as I look forward to pizza.  Picked up some spring cookies, whatever they are.  Tried some pop tart bites, they are really good.  I have some muffins and new mini ice cream bars.  Yeah it’s a fat man’s paradise here with plenty of junk to eat.  Problem is that won’t get the weight off of me.  Two things that I dearly love in this world and that’s food and men.  I want them both!  I’d also love to loose this extra weight I recently put on but I don’t want to do the work.  I keep telling myself tomorrow but tomorrow never seems to come and pretty soon I will be as big as a dump truck, still waiting for tomorrow. 

 

For the remainder of the post I am going into TMI mode and if you don’t want to read it or it’s not your cup of tea, I get it and that’s okay.  If your stopping here I’ll say the usual talk with you again soon.  If your continuing well I will say that again much later.

Last night I did something that I said I wouldn’t do again, that’s break out the lawnmower trimmer.  I followed the manufacturers suggestion and put a guard on it.  Man that made a world of difference and I didn’t get cut this time.  Everything is silky smooth and of course I’m horny as hell.  I really wanted to get off last night and I started watching some porn but Gator decided to occupy my lap and then I got tired and it was game over.  My late spouse used to say you know that your getting old when you have to make a choice between sex or sleep.  If you choose sleep, your officially old.  Two states that are constant for me are tired and horny. 

There is no shortage of thirst traps or sexy men, but finding one seems to be the difficult part.  I’m not looking for a pity fuck, although it sounds nice.  I’ve never done that kind of things before and don’t know that it would leave me with a warm and fuzzy.  Besides that I want a man who will be there not only for sex but for day to day life.  I can’t say I am looking to get married but something long term and stable is more what I am looking for.  My time on the dating app is running out with each passing month.  I’ve had a few guys show interest in me but I’m either not interested in them or when I show interest we ‘match’ but can’t seem to get and keep a conversation going.  I get that it’s awkward and hell we both probably feel it but you have to move past it.  I can only send messages out but I can’t make someone talk to me.  One of the ladies that works on my hair tells me to stop looking for love so hard, actually just stop all together and then it will happen.  I took her advice for a short time but yeah nothing. 

Dating and finding a mate is a total crap shoot in that you never know who or what you will get.  People seem fine at first and like a job interview everyone is about looking sharp and acting their best.  It’s not until that newness wears off and you get to see the real person that you know if you have a keeper.  This is the next big part in my life that I wish would come together.  For me it seems to make things better.  I’ve been on my own for a while now and I know I don’t need anyone but I really want someone.  I have all sorts of worries and concerns but I think that if I met Mr. Right that everything would just come together. 

I’ve been really looking at eye candy – shirtless men and even men with clothes on.  I’m just so thirsty.  I try to quench my thirst with porn but being alone is only so much fun.  Okay so I am starting to yawn which must mean I am getting old.  I need to take the laundry upstairs and spend some time with the kids before this day gets away from me.  I’m proud of the progress I made but I am not eager for the week ahead. 

Thanks for stopping by and reading all the way to the end.  I will be back again soon.  Until then take care and be well. 

Oh, what a week

I am so thankful that this week is over with. It’s been uber stressful. A vendor we do business with got bit by Ransomware. That has caused my boss and others in our organization to be a little bit more paranoid. Lots of changes both in policy and in permitted applications. I suspect that this hysteria will continue for the foreseeable future. They are all focusing as if we could get hit by the same thing and while that is possible, there are a million different types of virus, trojans, malware, ransomware, crypto ware, etc. That’s why we have a defense plan in place and it’s a layered approach which is smart and the right thing for any business today. Sadly, things that we would mitigate and clean up before if found today will cause your machine to be removed from the network and replaced. We just aren’t in the chance taking business and while I don’t think that is necessarily right for all types of detections it’s the direction we are going and I have to support that despite how I feel.

I have also been involved in many calls regarding the corona virus and how we plan to respond to that. Jesus if there ever was a reason to work at home, this is it. That is pretty much our plan in a nut shell. Travel is limited and if you can get by with a video conference then that is the preferred route which for what we have invested in AV I would think would be the norm but sadly it’s not. I think that this virus is to the point of being the next pandemic and it will wipe out a bunch of people. Other people tell me that I am wrong and that things will get under control. I suppose it’s a wait and see type thing but wow it’s something I think about every day. Not to mention the fact that my body has been trying to get sick for months and while I feel bad from time to time and have some symptoms I have no concern that I have this but if you cough in an elevator or even sniffle people look at you funny.

On the home front things are going pretty well. Marv has been quite for the most part. He makes noise when I am home but no more yowling and waking me up in the middle of the night, which makes me happy. He’s taking his medicine and eating. I had some problems getting the cap off the needle to give him his B12 shot and wound up sticking my finger in the process. That fucking hurt into the next day. He got his shot and all is well. Over all I would say things are pretty well back to normal or a state thereof. Gator on the other hand is cutting back on what she will eat and she begs for more food, I give it to her and she smells it and then turns her nose up at it. She is otherwise normal but this whole battle of the food has been constant for a long time. I struggle with what I am going to feed them and I think they pick up on that. I wish that I had a crystal ball and could tell what they would eat, I would buy it and eliminate the problem. I hate the food struggle and it really irks me to throw away an entire can of food, that’s good money going straight to waste.

I got a call from the vet and they are going to give me my money back. I told them to write me a check that would save me from having to go back to present my credit card. Besides that, I really don’t want the big bank to know I was successful in getting my money back. I also did battle this week with AT&T this was a yesterday fight. I lost $75 in discounts and in order to get them back I had to involve the office of the president. I thought I made a huge stride until I got home and looked at what my bill was. Jesus, they had a serious rate increase and I actually was slated to pay more instead of less with the discount. To remedy that I reduces service today and now I will pay about $20 less per month. The change in service from what I was able to see online won’t be noticeable to me given the networks and shows I like. Besides that, you can offer me a million channels but I can only effectively watch one at a time. I did find out that you don’t have to have AT&T for internet to get the new AT&T TV, so that is something I may consider next year, but for the next 12 months I have what I have and am locked into a contract in order to get the savings, which is fine by me. I’m always looking for ways to cut costs. The more money I can hang on to the better for me. Rainy days seem to come more often than not, if you know what I mean.

I got my vehicle scheduled for service on the same day I will be seeing my new dentist. Car work in the morning and mouth work in the afternoon. That should make for an interesting day and leave me hopefully with some time in the afternoon to maybe grab a meal out. I did find out that my car dealer dropped the brand of vehicle I am driving. They can still provide service but just aren’t selling that brand. That is displeasing to me because I am still kind of looking to make a switch later in the year. I will have to travel either upstate or cross into a different bordering state to get what I have my eye on. Until I see it in person and drive it, I can’t say for sure that I will buy it, but getting up close and personal is dangerous for me because that brings me much closer to pulling the trigger. I actually found what I wanted online last night and it had everything I wanted but a sunroof. That is going to be a tough feature to find, I think. I’m close to the factory warranty being up on my vehicle from a mileage standpoint. I am at 43 thousand and at 50 thousand the warranty expires. I’d like to drive something new and pay less in insurance, car payments and gasoline. I don’t know how successful I will be at achieving that large goal but it doesn’t mean I won’t try. Who know I may just wind up keeping what I have? It’s not bad it’s just not new. I’ve got an extended warranty because I planned on driving this for a while. Insurance is really what is killing me but that is because of the Turbo. Don’t get me wrong I like the Turbo and I work it; it’s helped me out in a couple of close calls. This is the first turbo I have had and given the experience I really don’t want to give it up unless I have to. Kind of like the brand of the vehicle I don’t want to drive anything else now but if I have to I will.

I am on-call next week and do not look forward to that. Boss man will be going on vacation just for part of the week. He was actually scheduled to be off on Friday and all of next week but because of the vendor issue his plans were changed for him. The next full moon is on Monday. This is time change weekend and if all of that isn’t bad enough Friday is the 13^th. I am already stressed from this week and I don’t know that next week will be much better but I can certainly hope so.

I have slept away the bulk of the day and need to get dressed, grab the mail, something to eat and some cat food. Plus, work on laundry. With the change in the weather to spring the ants are coming in so I have that annual battle to look forward to. Spring is going to be costly for me. I need to get a power washer to clean the back of the house and the deck. I could use that attachment for the leaf blower to clean the gutters and the trim around the garage needs to be painted. If it’s not the money the physical activity will do me in. I really am starting to feel how out of shape I am. I went downstairs at work this week and back up to my office and I was so out of breath. It’s a simple trip that I used to make with no effort at all and today it makes me huff and puff. This extra weight that I have put on needs to go but I so lack in the motivation department.

I hope that you had a great week. I am going to get this published and then get moving because hunger is real. Take care and thanks for stopping by.