Alone on Christmas

For the first time in 9 years I found myself all alone on Christmas.  I’ve still got Gator but I wasn’t around any other humans.  Christmas at my friends house was cancelled because one of them got sick.  I suggested cancelling and he went for it quicker than I sent the text.  I got a message back that said we will get together after the new year.  If Easter counts as after the new year then I guess that will be a true statement.  Look I had had my mind made up that I wasn’t going but honestly I probably would have gone just to be around others.  It’s really depressing to be all alone on a holiday with no one to talk to, other than a cat.  I’ve also had my phone turned off on purpose so I didn’t have any distractions, I turned it back on because I need to get somethings done and in this modern day and age with 2 Factor Auth. I can’t get in to anything with out my phone. 

I woke up early, fed the cat and started watching TV.  Eventually went back to bed for a couple more hours, then got up and had breakfast.  Then back to the TV.  I had all of the intentions of getting a shower but that never materialized.  I wound up taking an unplanned nap and then watching way more TV.  Snacking and feeding the cat a couple more times. 

I am exhausting all of the streaming content that I can.  Saw 8 Bit Christmas on HBO Max.  It’s an NPH movie and it was really good.  Been through the series Twenty Somethings on Netflix, that was like a Real World but much shorter.  There has been so much content that I have consumed I don’t honestly remember most of it but there have been some good movies.  Kind of appropriate but I started the day out watching Christmas is cancelled. 

I’ve been depressed over this but hell it’s just a holiday and time alone can be a good thing.  I like not having any pressure and being able to do what I want when I want.  However, that will all come to an end when Monday gets here and it’s back to work.  Feels odd having Christmas on a Saturday. 

The grocery stores here are all closed all weekend long.  I got up early on Friday and hit up breakfast out, the grocery store and gas station.  I’ve been home ever since.  I’ve managed to get the bathroom clean and clean part of the kitchen.  There are many other cleaning projects I had planned but never got to them.  I don’t have high hopes that I will get to them tomorrow but I guess I don’t know that for sure until tomorrow gets here. 

I got some really upsetting news late in the day on Thursday.  The modem in my vehicle is a 3G modem.  The 3G cellular networks by all of the major carriers (ATT, Verizon & Sprint/TMOBILE) will all shutdown in early 2022.  That means that those devices will become giant bricks and won’t even be able to call 911 for help.  For me this means I have to reach out to my dealer to find out the cost for a 4G modem and what it will cost in labor to install.  This is all out of warranty so I will bare the full cost.  However, I do have an extended warranty and they may well cover some of this.  Plus the fact that the announcement was made back in 2020 that these networks would be shutting down, back then my vehicle was well in warranty so I am going to argue with the manufacturer.  I shouldn’t have had this dropped in my lap last minute.  If I don’t upgrade then I loose all of the remote functionality like remote start/stop, unlock/lock and being able to check on oil life and see how much gas I have left.  It negatively impacts the cars resale value as well.  I have until May I believe to get the new modem and other parts associated with the upgrade.  Chances are pretty good I could do this myself but I am comfortable letting a dealer do the work just as long as it doesn’t cost me a bunch of money.  I will also have to start paying for the app and have no idea what that will cost me.  The infotainment system will still work because that is powered by Bluetooth, so if I am in a serious wreck and my phone is paired up, it will call 911 but it won’t be able to tell them where I am if I don’t upgrade the modem because that is what powers the onboard navigation system.  I could always trade the car now and let it be someone else’s problem but that I feel is rash and would put me further into debt.  As it stands now I am very close to paying off my current vehicle.  It’s a 2017 and were just about to approach 50 thousand miles.  That is thanks to the pandemic that the mileage is so low.  I am pretty sure that trade value would easily come close if not pay off the entire loan.  However, my plan was not to trade until later next year.  Chances are I will keep this even after the extended warranty expires because it’s been good to me, other than eating tires.  I put a new battery in it at the start of this year and that was covered under warranty.  If it starts acting up and draining my bank account I will get rid of it but as I see it now I’ve got something dependable.  I really didn’t need this but hey no one ever really needs a problem.

Going back in time I got my massage and I have been really sore ever since.  I took a muscle relaxer afterwards but it only provided minor relief.  I’ve been living with the soreness and it’s starting to wear off.  If I could get 45 minutes every week I think it would help keep the knots down and I would feel much better but it’s not cheap and not everyone uses the same level of pressure.  I wanted this to be more firm pressure and for her to really dig into the knots.  I also said I only want to focus on the upper back and not have anything else touched.  Next thing you know she is pulling my underwear down and touching my butt to work my SI joints.  I don’t know why she bothered to ask what I wanted since she clearly had a mind of her own.  Were midway into the massage and she tells me she is bi-polar not exactly comforting news.  Ah well it’s over. 

I need to grab some laundry, check on the gator and then I am going to dig into the Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding I found by accident when I made my panic run to the grocery store.  I was more worried about having enough food for Gator. 

Hope you had a Merry Christmas.  I have enjoyed my time with Gator and am glad that at the very least we are together.  She knows I am depressed and that something is bothering me.  She has tried to keep me cheered up when she is not passed out cold or demanding food.  I still have to do my stupid report, even though it’s Christmas and I am on vacation. 

Take care and we will talk again soon!