The old grind

I made it into the office with plenty of time to spare.  My trusty GPS & Waze did a great job as always.  I actually listened so that’s why all worked out so well.  When I ignore them and think I am smarter is usually when a problem crops up. 

It’s been pretty steady all morning long.  I just got done with a series of meetings and now my calendar is wide open for the rest of the day.  I am eager to leave and go see my Gator.  I’ve got one last task to complete and am just waiting for the go sign before I can get that done.  It may keep me here a bit later than I wanted to be but I plan to be at home for the rest of the week.

My review is tomorrow afternoon.  I am eager to get it out of the way but do not anticipate any surprises.  I won’t know how much of a pay raise I am getting just my over all rating on my job performance.  Pay information comes later.

Gator wasn’t thrilled that I was leaving her in charge of the house all day long.  She gobbled down a large can of gravy & some food.  I set out two smaller cans for her all had her probiotic on them so that should tide her for the day until I get home. I know she will probably yell at me but we will both be happy to see the other and I always look forward to that.  Pass out some food and a couple moments of attention and all is well for her. 

My dinner last night of BBQ Pork was good but not as good as I was anticipating something was slightly off with the meat.  I should have been suspect because there was an over abundance compared to a normal meal but I didn’t leave anything in the container but empty space. 

Today is the day that I will truly miss having remote control of my vehicle.  It’s super hot out and if I had remote control it would be all nice and cool for me when I opened the door.  Instead I will open the door to a blast of hot air but it will all cool down with the ride home. 

I did some car looking online last night for fun.  There is a red model from last year that is still on the dealers lot.  It’s marked down so they get it to move and it’s got everything I want.  If I got top dollar for my trade and a decent interest rate I could really clean up and come out with a lower payment and a short term loan.  Insurance would be higher and gas mileage would be all over the place until the thing gets used to me.  It is very tempting and the car has been on this lot for a while as this wasn’t the first time I saw it.  I like what I see in a photo but my heart is set on a bright blue, which they don’t make for what I want.  They came out with it a few model years ago but today it’s not available.  Unless of course you custom order and pay for it, then they will paint it any color you want so long as you are picking up the tab.  I like to buy from a dealers lot and be done, ordering takes time and there are supply chain issues so you really never know if when it arrives it will be fully complete or you will have to go back to have stuff added after the fact.  Plus the delivery date could change.  Car buying is stressful enough as is.  I had a relative and that is the only way he would buy – he got every thing he wanted and nothing he didn’t.  I remember going with him as a kid to pick up his new car, we pulled in.  Someone swapped the tags and handed him the keys we drove right off the lot it under 5 minutes.  I thought that was neat as a kid.  It’s just not my cup of tea. 

I hope that the rest of the week goes by fast but that there isn’t a whole lot of running with my hair on fire.  Take care, stay cool and we will talk again soon. 

Quick Update

Shortly after I made my post I got a text from my Thanksgiving friends.  It was just basic chit-chat.  While it would have been late, it would have been nice to have gotten an invite for some food.  They have a road trip next month and should be back in July.  While I won’t be holding my breath, I will be eager to see what happens around the 4th of July (Independence Day).  It would be nice to get together share a meal, some conversation as well as a few laughs.  Humor always comes out as part of getting together, regardless if it’s me or someone else that makes it happen. 

I also jumped on the scale a couple times today, right now I am losing weight so that is a good thing.  I feel sort of like I am starving and have a strong desire to pig out.  There are fewer and fewer things here that are bad to eat so that helps but when a craving kicks in for a piece of cake or something sweet and it’s not here I kind of want to climb the walls.  Eating a piece of fruit just isn’t quite as satisfying. 

Waiting for the dryer to tell me it’s done and then it will be Gator time.  Jeopardy will be on in a while as well and were both eager to watch that.  There is a champ that just keeps going and going.  I kind of like to wait to watch after it’s over so I can fast forward through the commercials, which are mostly political attack ads that I can’t stand and have come to grow quite tired of.  Wish there was a way to opt out of them other than fast forward.  They even play during the morning news when all I want is traffic and weather.  Sheesh!

Talk again soon.

Mission Accomplished

Gutters in the front of the house have been cleaned.  I put in the old gutter guard from the original owners, it’s kind of similar to what I purchased.  I got the leaf blower out to do some minor cleanup afterwards.  I was exhausted.  Wrestling with ladders, got my arm stuck in the adjustable ladder but figured out how to free myself.  That really hurt. 

As I suspected there was a large build up of crap in the gutters.  I found sticks on the roof and used a push broom to help get them closer to me so I could throw them in the yard. 

I really wanted to get to the back gutters and do the house wash thing but I figured quit while you are a head.  I was already huffing and puffing and that was after an hours worth of work. 

I came in side, took off all of my clothes.  Had a Bubbly Raspberry water, which I figured I would hate and I do.  No carbonated water regardless of the flavor is appealing to me.  Soda different story.  Not sure what I will do with the small pack of water I purchased but I know Gator can’t drink it and I don’t enjoy it. 

Got in a shower after I was able to catch my breath.  Then retired to my room for a while.  Watched The Accountant on HBO Max.  It was quite interesting.  Squeezed in a brief nap afterward.  Got up, had a light lunch.  Grabbed the laundry and hit the basement. 

I have had a pile of old owners manuals on the floor in my office from when I went looking for an owners manual for something, can’t remember what.  Just got that cleaned up.  All of the old purchased I made.  I even found the $98 receipt for my first cell phone from Circuit City, which is now out of business.  Lots of other electronics like a car alarm and stereo system I purchased for a car that has been gone for years.  I dropped $600 for both of those.  Back then I was living on credit, making minimum payments and didn’t understand how one day it would all come crashing down.  I figured I hit the lottery of life and with a large credit limit it was no problem.  Thank God I got rescued out of that and am living much more financially responsible today. 

I’ve got a mountain of bills that I have paid to file away.  I am seriously thinking of converting to paperless for everything.  Having paper records at home is convenient but I don’t really refer to them that often.  Most every creditor will store them on their website so if you need to go back you can and it’s easier digitally.  The only thing I really need to print out and keep are bank statements and I put all of those in a binder so it’s kept neat and tidy. 

I took a closer look at my tire in the sunshine and it’s minor damage and I really don’t think anything to be concerned with.  Oddly enough this is the same tire that I curbed a year ago around my birthday, but I was moving much faster and forced to take evasive action in order to avoid a collision.  That poor tire had serious damage and I was really worried about driving on it.  I am not as worried about driving on the present tire.  Like I said a small piece of rubber came off the side it’s thin and mostly a cosmetic defect.  I will for sure keep an eye on it and if it gets worse then all bets are off and I will pay to have it replaced.  Kind of really makes me want to jump into a new vehicle just to get away from this but that is kind of a drastic step to take. 

Looking forward to my BBQ Dinner tonight.  Still no word from the Thanksgiving Friends and I don’t believe I will hear from them at all.  They for sure do something for the 4th of July (Independence Day) so I am using that as a barometer.  Sure I could call but I am the one who always calls and I’ve grown tired of it.  Last time I called when Gator was having issues.  I left two voice mails a day apart and no return phone call still.  I’m pissed about that but whatever. 

Not really looking forward to heading back to the office tomorrow.  I’ve got plenty to do to keep me busy and hope to be able to catch up with some of my office mates and to help clear up a hostile situation that I got embroiled in last week.  It won’t all be fun and games but hell it’s one day and that should pass by pretty fast.  Then back home to be with Gator for the remainder of the week.  4 days to work and then back to the weekend. 

I’m kind of interested in the next rainfall and hope that I am at home so I can see how the clean gutters in front preform.  I am still of the opinion that the gutters for this house are undersized and need to be larger.  If there is a heavy rain they get overloaded and can’t keep up, if it’s just a basic rainstorm that is fine and they do okay.

My upper back and shoulders are quite sore.  I will be breaking out the massager and probably the foam roller before bed.  Hope that your enjoying the holiday and that all is well in your world.  I’m off to scour for porn and then deal with all of the paperwork I have that I’ve allowed to pile up here.  Switch the laundry out and once it’s done I will be back up with Gator and I am sure she will be commanding me around. 

3p local time is a national time of remembrance for the fallen military members.  Were all supposed to observe a moment of silence.  That I think is something new this year as I don’t recall it in years past.  People do often confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day. 

Take care and be well. 

Tired

Saturday after I made my post I lost all interest in doing anything.  I stayed home all day and chilled with Gator.  She kind of enjoyed the extra attention and I enjoyed her company.  I picked her up and hugged her, she kept it together for a short time but then wanted down and I almost got clawed in the face.  It’s dangerous to pick up a Gator, be that an Alligator or an Instigator!  She turns into an instant Gator. 

Today I woke up early, had breakfast and then got dressed.  Hit up the post office, new car wash, grocery store and gas station.  Home for a few hours.  Then ventured back out later in the afternoon to get Gator’s food.  My the supply chain is failing me.  Not much cat food in this area to be had, at least not Fancy Feast.  She likes Duck and also Chicken from Purina their sensitive stomach line.  For a 3 ounce can they get $1.50 for 1 can.  It’s pricy but she likes it so I bought 4 of each.  I found a new flavor and grabbed 2 cans of that, if she likes it then I will get her more next week. 

After I grabbed her food, I hit up White Castle.  The way I went I found the damn road was closed I had to turn around.  I jumped a curb but did it at a very low speed.  Well that curb did some sidewall damage to my tire and also damaged my wheel.  Shit just isn’t built like it used to be.  I was upset about it but now that I know I will never, ever come in contact with a curb again.  The damage is minor and cosmetic.  However, if you talk to a tire person you will find out there is no such thing as minor sidewall damage.  You need a new tire and that is the right thing to do.  It’s risky to roll around on a tire with sidewall damage.  I’ve fucking spent enough money on tires and right now I am just taking my chances, at least for now.  It’s holding pressure and it was a tiny piece of rubber that came off the side.  In my book it’s nothing major.  I actually found a company that sells a patch kit for sidewall damage on Amazon but I didn’t buy it.  I wish the black cloud that follows me would leave.

The new car wash was interesting.  No paper receipt they offered to text a receipt to me but I skipped that.  My vehicle is cleaner but it by no means was a perfect wash in my book.  It took about 5 minutes.  I will probably go back there just because of how well it did and the cost.  Top wash went for $14 whereas you can easily spent that and more at other washes in the area, they all average out to be about the same experience. 

I found that there is a small branch resting on top of the house by the blocked gutter in the front.  I’ve prepared myself and plan to climb on the ladder early tomorrow morning to go gutter cleaning.  Not fun but hey I’ve got nothing else going.  It’s best to start early when it’s cool out because it starts to really cook as the day progresses.  When I say early I’m talking like 7a or 8a, nothing past that. If all goes well I will be able to put in the gutter guard mesh I bought and perhaps this will be the last time I am up on a ladder for this task.  It will kind of depend on my energy level.  I really need to cover the whole house but I really only concentrate on the gutter in the front and the gutters in the back.  The front one is the real bitch to get to.  I want to also hook up my house wash stuff but I might be trying to cram too much into the morning.  That may have to wait for another day.  Thus far all quiet for on-call and I think it will stay that way.  I want to see the new Top Gun movie but I am waiting to not be on call before I under take that.  Let the popularity of the movie die down some so there will be less people when I go. 

When I am done with whatever it is I am doing outside.  I plan to come in, take a shower and cool off.  Probably nap a little bit.  Then need to get the laundry going and all of my chores will be done. 

COVID in the area is spiking once again, not a complete surprise but most people I think are over it and just say fuck it and take the risk.  I don’t want it again.  I am probably going to get the 3rd shot in the next couple weeks.  I don’t really want to do it but I think it’s my best protection and way to stay safe.  That along with limiting where I go, which is partially why I only venture into the office 1 day a week. 

No invite, text or email from my thanksgiving friends.  I know that Memorial Day is difficult because their son died in the Iraq War.  It was a helicopter accident.  That forever changed them and we weren’t really close back then.  We used to get together, have a small meal and chat for a bit.  Nothing terribly special but the invite would always come the day before the holiday at the last possible minute.  I think perhaps since I had COVID they are afraid of me now.  Plus I also think our friendship is dying a slow death, not exactly sure why.  I’ve always been the one to reach out but when I don’t they get upset when we next see each other.  The last I checked the phone lines run in both directions.  The burden shouldn’t be on one party to call the other party.  Both parties should be free to call whenever.  I don’t bother because I get rushed off the phone, I either call at a bad time or there is always something going on and it just feels to me like they no longer care, at least that is the vibe that I detect.  Maybe I am wrong but a true friend exhibits different behaviors in my experience. 

Well I need to get my meds, wind down for the night and prepare for what lies ahead tomorrow.  I also have to go into the office on Tuesday and that won’t sit terribly well with Gator but it is for the best that I go in. 

Payday is Tuesday but all of my money is in the bank, I do enjoy early payday’s, even if it’s all going to vanish in a couple days.  Easy come, easy go. 

Stay cool, be well and hopefully you will be able to enjoy some good food.  I’ve got a BBQ Dinner from the store and I plan to have that tomorrow for my supper.  Tuesday it will be back to TV Dinners, yuk.  Talk with you all again soon. 

Mission Accomplished

I managed to wake up at a decent hour, get breakfast & a shower.  Then hauled myself over to the bank and got the document notarized.  I just put the collection of documents together and stuffed them in an envelope.  Postage is $1.76, which to get $100 in return isn’t shabby.  When I hit up the post office later today I will mail this and then we wait.  My guess is probably 3 to 6 months, only time will tell. 

Gator had me up during the night.  My sugar was dropping once she woke me up so I had to eat something, which I wasn’t happy about.  She got her food.  We watched some TV and then eventually we both went back to bed.  She didn’t want to get up because she had already fallen asleep and it was next to impossible to get her out of my lap but I did it with a little yelling and lots of prodding.  She wasn’t happy with me but it’s all good now. 

I should be outside on a ladder cleaning the gutters but honestly I just don’t feel like it.  I don’t know that I will ever be in the mood for that but I do know that it’s a job that needs to be done and it’s not going to do its self.  I’ve still got 2 whole days so maybe it will happen.  I’ve got lots of other little projects around here that I need to work on.  In my mind it’s all easy and done but in reality it’s not so. 

I have thoughts of buying a new chair for my office.  I am tired of a sore tailbone and pain when I get up.  It beats commuting to the office.  I got a promo from Razer they have their “Ultimate Gaming Chair” that was just released.  It looks comfy but it’s $1,000.00 and if I can’t try it out before hand then I really don’t want to mail order a chair.  I like sitting in something on my own to make a determination.  There are just somethings that I need to physically see, touch and interact with in order to make a purchase decision.  The only problem with getting another chair is that I have a small collection here between what my late spouse left me and what I have – he went through chairs because of his size.  The average cheap office chair for $200 doesn’t last long.  So I am finding out through my own experience.  Even though what I am sitting in is a gaming chair and it’s in great shape it’s cheap and the cushion wears out and I suppose my weight increase hasn’t helped things. 

Last night I watched the latest episode of Accused Guilty or Innocent.  It was about a man who was dealing with an evil neighbor.  One day they got into a struggle over a gun, the man managed to regain control of the weapon and shot the neighbor in the back.  His neighbor was high on drugs, had warrants out for his arrest and was the aggressor in the situation. What killed the mans defense was his own admission to the police when he stated he ran after him a ways and then shot him.  What he said then and what he remembered after the fact were two different things.  In his statement to the police he was relaxed showed no emotion and just admitted to shooting the man.  He did call for EMS right away but it was too late.  The judge didn’t allow in the facts about the deceased having a drug history, frequent interactions with the law and the fact he had escaped the police the night before and was wanted at the time of his death by police.  The man was found guilty and sentenced to life.  He’s already up there in age and has to serve a minimum of 38 years before he is eligible for parole.  Unless his attorney is successful with the appeals process this guy is going to die in prison.  Looking at this after the fact.  I can see obvious errors he made and I called it early on that he was “fucked” when he not only made certain statements in his confession but when the judge didn’t allow the full picture into the trial, so I wasn’t shocked by the outcome.  It is sad though.  The first mistake he made was pulling the trigger.  The second mistake is one that lots of people make and that is talking to the police without an attorney present.  Never ever under any circumstances talk to the police, especially if it’s being recorded and/or you have been read your Miranda rights.  I love this series but I hate it when people who were innocent or in the right are sent away.  It just shows that justice truly is blind. 

Back up to the Gator.  I will do some relaxing and then probably venture out for the day to get her some food and probably some food for me as well.  Hope you have a great weekend and I will talk with you all again soon, be well and stay cool & safe!

Coming together

Happy Friday!  I hope that your doing well and ready for the weekend.  It’s 1 day longer for us folks in the US as Monday is Memorial Day.  Things are reasonably well here this morning.  I am ready to be able to relax a little bit. 

Last night I got my brothers birth certificate, so now I just need to hit up the bank to have a document notarized and then I am good to put all of the paperwork in the mail and then we wait to see what the state has to say about giving us our money.  In their mind I will have fully complied and provided enough proof up front or they will hit us up and ask for more.  Based on what I saw on the claim form instructions I think I’ve covered everything and they should have enough proof that we (me and my brother) are heirs and just pay out. 

The trash people came bright and early this morning.  Like I thought they emptied out my can, tree branches, trash and all.  I don’t plan to make a habit of putting “yard waste” in with the trash. 

I’ve watched a smattering of You Tube videos on weight loss, pot belly and losing weight over age 50.  They all go in so many different directions.  There are hormones at play, you need to take this pill, eat this type of food, they are in general all over the place.  The only sure fire thing I can see that they all agree on is less calories in, exercise and get plenty of sleep.  That’s the stuff I knew before going into this.  I knew working from home would cause weight gain but I never imagined that I would gain that much.  I will be happy with whatever I am able to keep off once I actually start losing but ideally I’d like to go back to pre-pandemic weight which is about 20-30 pounds lighter than what I am today. 

Since the trash folks woke me up early.  I got on the foam roller.  My back isn’t nearly as sore as I had expected.  It is still very much black and blue.  If I happen to fall off a ladder and call for help the paramedics will think that I took one nasty fall.  The goal is to stay on the ladder if I do in fact even get the ladder out this weekend.  Foam rolling is quite painful.  It sounded enjoyable to me at first but then once I actually felt the so called foam it’s quite firm and that is by design.  Never ever heard of a Foam Roller until I got more into getting regular massages.  I knew about TENS units but never thought of that until I fell for a college football player and started watching his social media.  They hook those guys up to some large machine.  I wish I had a body like a college football player a body is like any other machine – you have to work it to keep it in tune.  I am a lazy SOB when it comes to exercise.  I think I might even be allergic because I constantly breakout in a sweat when I exercise.  Isn’t that one of the symptoms of an allergic reaction? I want the body but just don’t want to do the work but doing the work is the only way it’s going to happen, short of surgery and that isn’t something that (pardon the pun) is even on the table at this point.  Lipo sounds great until you see the after pictures and realize how beat up and sore the person is.  Plus I can only imagine what that would cost and how long at my age it would take to recover.  Fitness what a struggle. 

It’s still very early but also quiet.  I had 1 meeting but it just got cancelled, so unless something comes in that causes me to work, it should hopefully be a quiet day.  I look forward to relaxing and any time I can get away from work is good.  I just wish I wasn’t on-call this weekend.  Chances are minimal that anything will happen but if I go do something else then it’s like Murphy follows me and it will rain a black cloud of work at the worst possible time.  That’s just the kind of luck I have. 

The Gator woke me a couple times last night.  I wasn’t terribly pleased about it but I gave her food.  One can was really good and she started yowling to tell me all about it.  That of course is about the time I was comfy and almost back into dreamland.  Silly girl I think she likes to push my buttons and see me jump more than anything.  I will never ever know if she is truly hungry, I just react to her.  The one funny sign she has is if were on the couch, she will stand up.  If I don’t give in she lays back down then a few minutes later she stands again.  This goes on until eventually she starts crying.  She has only cried one or two times.  I figured out the standing thing which is a new reaction. 

That’s all I got at the moment.  Hope you have a safe, fun and enjoyable weekend.  It’s going to be hot here, I don’t look forward to that but at least it won’t be raining and that is a good thing in my book.  We have had about a week of off and on rain.  I am ready for some sunshine just not the humidity.  Here’s hoping that I can accomplish everything on my to-do list.  Take care!

Oh Brother

I like to poke around on my states treasurers website to see from time to time if they have any money for me, my family or my late spouse.  Yesterday was one of those days and I once again found something.  This was money from my mom’s mortgage, which I find kind of odd.  She defaulted so you would think they wouldn’t be giving refunds but I’m not questioning it. 

In order to claim the money, which is just a few dollars there is paperwork.  Legally to get it I need to involve my brother.  I called him yesterday and left a message.  I wasn’t sure if he would call me back but he did.  We talked for a very long time.  Hell, there is lots to catch up when you don’t talk to someone for years at a time. 

He is in favor of going for the money and will cooperate.  I told him that it should be spilt 50/50 but he said I could keep it.  I said I would rather this be done legally even though it’s a small amount of money.  I don’t want him to someday think about it, claim something fraudulent or illegal took place and then I’d be in a pickle.  If were doing this then it’s all by the book, above board and legal or there is no sense is wasting time. 

I thought I had my ducks in a row before I called him and I pretty well did.  However, I had to reach out this morning to ask him for a copy of his birth certificate.  Apparently it’s not good enough that you have the same last name, you have to prove that your related to the deceased and a birth certificate is the only thing that can prove that.  Funny thing is that for years the version I had of mine had no parents listed.  I had to get a copy years ago and when I did I was asked who my parents were, I listed my Mom and it’s a good thing because now I have a copy that says she was my mom.  I know if I sent in a copy that had no parents listed the state would be like, your not related.  The reason why no parents were listed on the original is because I was supposed to be given up for adoption it was all in place but things changed at the last minute when my grandmother (mom’s mother) stepped in. 

It was nice to chat with my brother.  His wife got COVID around the same time I did.  He has been exposed by her and others at work.  Ironically he tests negative.  One test he said he waited in a line for 7 hours and then they lost the results.  While he didn’t have any signs/symptoms I think he probably had it.  I mean to be exposed by several people I would think it just had to get in his system.  He like me only has had 2 shots and he really didn’t want the first one.  He had no side or after affects other than a sore arm.  I guess with all of his smoking and drinking, germs just can’t take hold in his body.  He told me for 2 years he was working 50 hour work weeks and that’s some good over time when your an hourly worker.  That all just came to an end and he really misses the money.  He doesn’t really have a life other than work, eat and sleep.  In whatever free time he gets his wife gobbles that up.  He told me that he’s got no friends.  That’s because she made him get rid of them, but I didn’t get into that.  He’s free to live his life, he’s an adult and knows how to make choices.  I told him about being down to one cat.  When I had to tell him that I lost Marv & Momma I just couldn’t hold it together.  I told him how Gator is the last one and how old she will be next month.  He was shocked.  He’s got 2 dogs and they just adopted a cat that is about a year old.  The cat is learning to go outside.  I told him it’s far better if he keeps it indoors because it will live longer.  His wife is the one who is in favor of indoor/outdoor animals.  She’s a dumbass and I really don’t care for her.  I’ve seen and heard how she has treated him and she has him manipulated into thinking that it is impossible for him to exist without her.  Lord help him if she dies first. 

I’ve spent most of the morning gathering paperwork, filling out forms and on Saturday morning I need to hit up the bank to get a document notarized.  Then once I get my brothers birth certificate I will put this in the mail and then we wait.  I told him it will probably be a few months before they get to it.  I didn’t tell him this but I think that they will probably issue 1 check for the full amount with both of our names on it.  I would rather they issue separate checks it will be better for both of us.  If we both have to get together he won’t go anywhere but to work and the bathroom without his wife.  Kind of makes me wonder how he makes it from day to day but whatever. 

I am exhausted, I didn’t do any more foam rolling and need to.  I got a shower last night and went to bed.  Today’s trash day and of course it’s raining most of the day.  I just want to be able to sneak out between the rain drops and not get wet.  It’s all hot and dry for the next several days after today.  I’ve seen way too much rain and am not a huge fan of it.  Especially with some plugged up gutters that I don’t think I will have the energy or ambition to clean, but then again everything is subject to change. 

2 more meetings and then my day is done.  I look forward to neither one of them but once they are in the past I will be a little happier because it will be much closer to quitting time.  Happy Thursday!  Hope your doing well and taking care of yourself.  One more day and then most of us are free for 3 days.  That’s true for me but I’ve got to keep my electronic leash (aka cell phone) by my side since I am on-call.  I really am envious of one of my co-workers who has an Android phone.  When work is done he flips a switch and work email is off until he turns it back on.  I wish I could do that on my Apple, maybe some day it will be a simple task.  I know how to turn mail off but it’s involved and just not worth it unless I am taking time off.

Cheers for now! 

Pain

I didn’t want to skip my normal what I call babble post but I had to let out my frustration about the tragic event of yesterday. 

Back to normal business.  The lawn people showed up yesterday and I don’t know about the old man that runs the trimmer.  He missed so many weeds in his trimming.  I am going to take photos and send a note asking them to take their time when they do the trimming, instead of rushing through.  I want to get exactly what I am paying for. Honestly if I could I would just fire them.  You get one chance with me and once you fuck it up, then I tend to move on to the next person.  I hate dealing with lawn care and trying to find a good honest person who will do the job right and not overcharge me.  I think that person or company does not exist in my neck of the woods.  I mean its grass cutting and trimming, it’s not rocket science and anyone that is upwardly mobile can do it.  If I didn’t have severe allergies and muscle issues, I would do the damn job myself, then I know it would be done right and if it wasn’t I could only be mad at myself.  I will not fly off the handle like I want to and be nice about it but if I have to mention it more than once that nice guy tone will disappear. 

Work was a bear yesterday.  I had things coming at me from all directions.  I stopped long enough to ask a colleague for help but they were too busy and said they could help me in an hour.  Fuck that I just took care of things on my own.  I might not have gotten them done as fast as they should have been but they got done.  As a result of this my back was killing me and I couldn’t wait to get away from the computer. 

I worked with the massager last night and then broke out my TENS unit.  I didn’t get a whole lot of relief but things did calm down enough for me to sleep.  By the time I was sleepy my second wave hit and all I wanted to do was stay up.  I wound up watching music videos while Gator kept begging me to turn in for the night.  I eventually gave in and she was a happy girl. 

My charger that I hooked up the USB power strip only worked for a short period of time and then the same old problem was back.  I went back to the free Mophie charger and that appears to be the permanent solution.  Apparently, the newer Juice Pack’s require a higher wattage/voltage to properly charge.  I think it’s all a scheme to get you to buy new equipment and make the 3rd party manufacturers rich.  That’s why I hate change as it applies to cell phones.   

I woke up this morning at 5a to the sound of Gator wanting food.  I couldn’t go back to sleep, I tried but I was in too much pain.  I got on the floor and broke out the foam roller.  I’ve used this before but it’s been standing up against the wall.  This time on the floor it did a better job to dig in and break things up.  It was also much more work on my part.  It hurt like hell but I powered through it.  I looked at my back in the mirror and I look like one of those patients from the Chiropractic videos I watch where they foam roll, scrape and massage out all of the knots and build up.  It’s purple, black and blue.  It still hurts but not nearly as bad as it did.  I plan to foam roll some more.  Might even have a date with an ice pack or two.  I’ve already taken Ibuprofen.  I am mixing in my muscle relaxer that the doc wants me to take 3 times a day, that I normally only take 2 times a day.  I need some serious relief.  I don’t think I will get that until all of the knots are gone and once [if] that ever happens, I will need to keep them at bay.  I look a little uneven in the mirror where one shoulder is higher than the other.  A massage and then some Chiropractic care would probably be a good thing for me.  Never been to the Chiro but the more I watch on TV the more I am breaking down some fear and thinking of going to see one.  Back problems have been an issue all my life but the upper back issues started more once I was in my late 30’s and it’s only gotten worse with time, especially since we have no more massage therapist at work thanks to COVID.  The last massage I had was last year and I got that on my own.  Regular massage helps but you have to get the right person working on you that knows to dig in, dig deep and move all of that shit out.  It hurts and if you’re lucky it will hurt for a couple days then the healing begins and I feel so much better.  Most massage therapists are afraid to really dig in and sweat it out with me.  I am a lot of work. 

I have aspirations of doing gutter cleaning and some outdoor cleanup this weekend but between the hotter weather and my back I may just skip it all.  Kind of depends on how early I can get up when I know I have the day off and how I feel.  Of course, I have to keep the phone handy in case something breaks at work and if I didn’t have that I would be much more inclined to just dig in.  It would be nice to have someone here just in case I manage to fall off the ladder or somehow manage to injure myself.  My fix for that is my air pods, only one of them fits and stays in really well.  Keep that in my ear and if I fall, I can always use ‘Hey Siri’ to call for help.  That saved a lady when she couldn’t move after falling to get help.  I figure it would work for me but with my wonderful luck I would knock myself out or the damn ear bud would fall out and I would be fucked (not in a good way). 

I saw a big announcement from Logitech yesterday.  They have a wireless mechanical keyboard – 3 different models and it’s kind of appealing to me.  I sought out some review videos but only found a couple and they didn’t do as good of a job as what I was looking for.  They make a full size and a mini size model.  Mini is just a keyboard w/o a number pad.  Writing Instruments and Mechanical Keyboards seem to be what I geek out about the most.  I get that you can only use one at a time but for some reason I think I must have this.  I’ve been thinking about trying out a new keyboard breaking away from Razer or perhaps just switching models and switch types.  Problem is I want to try before I buy and it is next to impossible to find all of the various models as demo units in a physical store.  Logitech also has a new mouse out, it’s an upgrade to the MX3 that I have.  I am perfectly happy with the MX3, I like it so much that I got one for home and one for work.  The mouse by its self is $99.  It’s just like nothing I have ever put in my palm before and if you’re looking for a mouse the MX3 or the newer version are something to consider.  Trying one of those in a physical store is easy, everyone seems to have a display unit for every type of mouse there is.  I had a Razer mouse for a short time but took it back and swapped for the MX3 and never ever looked back. 

Well looks like it’s time to give away some money or should I say, pay the bills.  I hate that task but it’s necessary to keep my life on track and moving forward.  The good news is my TV & Home Phone bill dropped to be at an all-time low with that great discount I got.  I can only hope that taxes, fees and whatever doesn’t change to drive that back up.  The bad news is that my promotional rate for internet is ending so I will have to call back and play like I want to cancel in order to get another special rate, if they give in.  The trick is to say you want to cancel, especially if you’re talking to an automated attendant.  That routes you to the Retention Department and those people are empowered to try to keep your business by lowering the rate.  I am paying $55 for what normally goes for $75.  It’s only 200mpbs and I think both the rate I am paying and the normal rate are overkill but the phone company offers service but it’s not that fast and costs almost as much, plus they have data caps.  The cable company has no data caps and more people go with them just because.  Each year the price seems to go up and they also push me to want to go faster but that costs more.  I am happy with basic speed, where I am at now but wish the rate would drop well below $55, I think $30 a month would be more manageable and they would still make a profit.  If you work for the cable company you get tv and internet for free.  Let that soak in for a bit. 

We have more severe weather in the forecast today and Tornadoes are possible, so it could turn out to be a very interesting afternoon & evening, where I see nothing but rain outside and weather on the TV. I hope that it doesn’t materialize as bad as it is predicted and that I certainly don’t have any more sticks or limbs down. I picked those up yesterday, chopped them up and threw them in the trash. That didn’t do any favors for my already aching back. I know that is a no-no but at the same time I am not paying for someone to haul that crap away. Everyone has their hand out these days. I pay a trash bill; the sticks and limbs are nothing more than trash to me. Yeah, I know it’s called yard waste and there is a collection for that but you have to haul the shit yourself to city hall and I’m not putting that shit in my nice vehicle. They used to come get it, you just had to stack it neatly at the curb. COVID changed that. I’m sure I will get yelled at from the trash people or maybe not. It’s not something I have done before but trash is trash to me and if I put it in the bin, they don’t look they use an automated lift truck to empty it so I really don’t think it will be an issue. I guess I will find out soon enough come Friday.

Take care and hug those you love or at least tell them you love them.  Tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us.  Talk with you all again soon, be well!

Unbelievably sad

Yesterday was one of those days where I was totally consumed with work.  I didn’t pay much if any attention to my phone.  As I was wrapping up for the day, I saw a news alert about the School Shooting in TX.  I turned on the news and just couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  I just so happened to be searching for something to watch later in the evening and heard the President’s speech about this.  I don’t know if we in America will ever truly wake up and do something meaningful that impacts gun regulation.  I don’t mind if you own a gun and ammo but I don’t think anyone but police/military need access to assault rifles and I don’t think just anyone should be able to purchase a gun of any kind, much less a kid.  The system is clearly, obviously broken and I don’t know how many more people will need to die before someone wakes up and fixes what is truly a broken mess.  If you want to protect your property, your life and the life of your family with a gun, that is perfectly fine in my book.  If you want to take the gun or any weapon for that matter into a public space and start picking people off one by one, that’s where I have a problem.  Since the shooter is dead it is doubtful that we will ever truly know why this happened nor will anyone be able to ask questions and get answers. 

Look we all get mad, frustrated and I think all of us have that urge where we say words to the effect of, I want to kill, but that is done in a fit of anger it’s not something that you truly mean.  Everyone deserves a right to feel safe in a public space, much less a school.  Kids are there to learn and kids by definition are mostly innocent and defenseless, no one and I mean no one should rob them of their youth or innocence because once it’s gone, it’s not something you can get back.

Yesterday’s event forever changed the lives of so many people.  They may recover but they will never truly be the same as they were prior to this taking place.  I don’t know about you but I am so tired of hearing about mass shooting events regardless of where they are taking place.  It’s senseless violence.  The odd thing is that when most of the world was locked down, we didn’t have these types of events.  When colder weather hits I don’t recall (may be wrong) hearing of these types of events.  What is worse is that when one of these events happens there are usually copy cats or similar events that take place within days, weeks or even months of one of them.  I don’t think this is something that should be swept under the rug and not reported on but I do think that the media gives far too much attention to events like this, which I think feeds into this problem spreading. 

We are all entitled to our own thoughts, opinions and political beliefs.  That is part of what makes America a great country.  Not only do we need to regulate/reform gun control but we need much more serious penalties for these types of crimes.  You have to dissuade people from wanting to do this and from giving these types of events so much publicity.  That’s how I think the problem could be fixed.  Maybe I am wrong and maybe there is a better solution.  All I can say is it’s time for our lawmakers to stop sitting around with their thumbs in their asses and/or pretending like this doesn’t exist.  This is a very real and one of the more serious issues that demands priority attention to remediate, so that everyone can sleep at night instead of wondering and worrying. 

I just don’t get how the greatest country on earth can have this kind of a problem.  It matters not who is at fault or who is to blame – we need to focus on the problem and fixing it.  You can play the blame game all day long but that fixes and solves nothing.  Thoughts & Prayers won’t fix this problem and certainly won’t bring anyone who lost their life back, they are gone forever.  Hopefully, before another event like this takes place, we have some progress towards a meaningful solution but if I were a betting man, I would lay odds that won’t be the case and this will just be a never-ending problem until one day were all fucking dead.

I didn’t know anyone involved, I have no ties to Texas but I can tell you that without a doubt I am sickened and saddened by what happened.  This was senseless and like every other mass shooting it didn’t need to happen and could and should have been avoided!

20 20 – Season 44, Episode 24 “Double Life, Double Murder”

This aired on Friday, May 20^th but I didn’t watch it until last night. 20 20 always does a good job of creating captivating and interesting programming. I enjoy the fact that the episodes are 2 hours long because I think you get a fuller picture than you could possibly get in a 1-hour program.

This was the story of Brandon Woodruff who was living what appeared to be a normal life for a 19-year-old Texas kid. His life changed in 2005, when both of his parents were brutally murdered. He was charged and convicted of their murders. He maintains his innocence and lots of people think that the original case had plenty of holes in it. If you watch the episode, you will learn more than I can possibly cover here.

In summary he was gay but still in the closet. He like many others struggled with coming to terms and then being able to tell the world. He was very much hiding this from his family. He went away to College at TCU (Texas Christian University) a private college based in Fort Worth. His personality changed when he got there and I think he was coming to terms more with his sexual identity. This kid and his family had no money. His family managed to scrimp and save to afford 1 semester of college for him on a trial basis. The family had to downsize their home and was in the process of moving when his parents were murdered.

What is odd is that he started hanging with a different crowd at school, buying designer name brand clothes and was a bit obsessed with wearing them. He was flying off to Miami, LA and other places. He told people he was a model. It didn’t take me long to figure out first that he was gay and then that he got into gay porn. I was of course spot on. He did some work for Helix Studios as Bradley Rivers. He had blond hair, a smooth body and in general was good looking.

I saw some of his work last night, I went looking for it and it wasn’t part of the 20 20 episode. They flashed a photo provided by Helix but he was shirtless but otherwise clothed. He wasn’t exactly what I would call an A list porn star but he knew what to do in order to get the job done. This was more lackluster porn than the quality work that Helix produces today but that’s my opinion.

The thought process in convicting him was that if he would lie about a little thing like his sexuality then he for sure would lie about a big thing like murder. Oddly enough he was at a relatives house the weekend a gun and some bullets went missing. The gun was never found. The caliber of the bullets was the same as what was used to commit the crime. He also had a dagger or sword with him at college that his roommate saw but it too went missing about a month before the murders. The dagger was found when his family went to clean out the belongings of the home. Oddly police searched it with a K-9 team and didn’t find anything. When a relative discovered the item, she took it to police who had it forensically examined. It contained blood and DNA of his father. This wasn’t found until years after the verdict was rendered so it wasn’t used as evidence to convict him.

The police used here say from a friend of Brandon’s that My Space page allegedly said that he hated his parents and wanted to see them fucking dead. Police came unglued when they found out that this was here say and didn’t actually exist because they used that as evidence in their affidavit to get an arrest warrant. I don’t know why in the world a police department would use here say and not actual proof but that was a while ago when the digital age was in its infancy. Today I don’t think that would have happened as police are savvier.

The way that 20 20 laid the story out in my mind they removed any suspicion of doubt and I think this guy in fact killed his parents but just can’t come to terms with it. Much like he struggled to come to terms with being gay. I get that murder and sexuality are two very different things. I can relate to the sexual identity issue and having problems accepting it, coming to terms with it and then being able to tell others.

Just because I think he did it doesn’t necessarily mean for sure that he is guilty. I should also point out that there is/was no physical evidence that connects Brandon to the crime. I am not exactly sure how a conviction was secured without that. Double Murder is a serious crime and he got life for it. Once the guilty verdict is rendered you play hell trying to get that conviction vacated. Wrongful conviction does happen and there are lots of people in prison today that do not belong there. Is Brandon one of them? He has appealed and that appeal was recently denied. There is a website freebrandon.org that tells more of his story. Only God & Brandon know for sure if he actually did it. My opinion is just that and has no weight.  For him to be innocent the real killer would need to be found and based on the facts I heard it sounds like if he is truly innocent someone did a hell of a good job to frame him.  Check out the website, listen to the story on 20/20 and form your own conclusion.

Double Hitter

I’ve got 2 posts for today.  First the normal babble and Second thoughts about a recent episode of 20/20. 

The charger I got worked to fully recharge my device and the battery pack so that mystery appears to be solved.  The damn thing did chirp a few times during the night and woke me up but when I checked on it all was well.  I’m not a fan of the chirping, plugging it in there is no noise and when I used QI Charging on my prior charger there was no chirping.  This might be something I have to get used to if so, I will just turn on my other White Noise machine to help drown it out.  As long as I can hear Gator if she needs me, I am good.  The house alarm white noise or not is loud enough to wake anyone at any time unless you don’t have a pulse.  Gator and the alarm are all I really care about overnight.

Speaking of overnight, Amazon came through with my delivery at 4a this morning.  I was surprised to read the notification and then go to the porch to find the package waiting for me in the cool crisp Spring air.  I did a quick test with the power strip and my old charger, it appeared to work but the real test will be once I get it setup tonight. 

I also got a shoulder massager/heat wrap to see if I can’t get some better ROM (Range of Motion).  I really don’t think that until all of the knots are worked out of my back that will happen.  I figured what did I have to lose?  I plan on speaking with my doc about this and suspect he will want to sign me up for Physical Therapy which I am not happy with but if that is what it takes then let’s get it done.

Had some very strange dreams last night, woke up for a bladder brake and then when I went back to sleep it was like I jumped right back in.  Kind of like I was in a real-life video game – it was insane. Not exactly sure what that was all about.

Gator was a bit picky with eating this morning since I skipped her Probiotic this morning.  She had to have a gravy can to get her motivated to chow down.  Of course, you know I had to feed it to her by hand in bed and she made a bit of a mess but I could tell in the end she was happy and that is what matters to me.  She drives me nuts but she knows I will do whatever it takes to make sure she is cared for.  She might not always be happy but she will never, ever go hungry so long as I am walking the earth. 

I do feel a little guilty for working from home today but being on-call I just hate leaving and then having something come in and waiting for me as I walk in the door.  It’s not like the work isn’t getting done or I am missing out on something by staying at home, other than physical movement and being around others.  Gas prices are also a bit insane at the moment.  I don’t know if I put much truth in it but I read an article the other day that says prices will be at $10 per gallon over the summer.  I think that is a bit much and if that happens people will revolt and for sure no one will be going anywhere unless it’s necessary or they are just wealthy.  Hell, I remember when prices hit $2 per gallon and people lost their minds.  I remember when gas was less than $1 per gallon but I was just a kid then.  Saying that makes me feel very old. 

Work was very busy earlier this morning and I was running with my hair on fire as we like to say.  I had things jumping at me from all different directions.  Finally got caught up and things have calmed down.  I am watching now but unless something comes out of the wood work, I’m good until noon and that is when the flurry of meetings starts.  We had a BS get together yesterday; my boss calls them Huddles like were a fucking football team.  He used to have every Monday and we got away from them.  He brought us all together for 1 reason but of course he yammered on, had to type out a couple emails while we were on the phone (he is so unorganized and not respectful of our time) I just think that is rude, because he has to talk while he types the message or his brain doesn’t work, so you listen to him dictate an email, which is so unnecessary.  Then after about 30 minutes he told us why he called the meeting which was unnecessary and he could have handled with an email.  I think he likes to hear the sound of his own voice and loves to use his power to call a meeting – so we meet just for the sake of meeting.  Fucking ridiculous but I want the money so I have to put up with it.  Reviews will take place next week and then in a month we will find out how much of a raise we will get. I am not a fan of that process either.  I think when you get your review you should be told how much of a raise, you’re getting but I suppose I am the odd man out on that.  

That’s it for the yammering post for the moment.  Hope that your doing well and life is treating you good!  Take good care of yourself because you are the only you that there is, no one else is like you!

Mophie–Solved the issue

Several posts ago I wrote about my woes with my new Mophie Juice Pack and how it wasn’t charging wirelessly via QI Charging.  I had Mophie chargers that I used before for years and they worked on every Mophie I had but not on the new Juice Pack.  I sent several back to Amazon as defective. 

I wrote the folks at Mophie via snail mail and got a response.  They said that it was the power or the cable and/or could be incorrect placement of the unit on the charger.  They sent me a free QI rapid charger for Apple devices.  That arrived at lunch time today.  What I didn’t know is that this unit had it’s own power supply.  I hooked it up and magically everything just worked like it was supposed to.  That got me curious so I took a charger I had by my computer and hooked it directly to my powered USB hub and magically that charger works now.  Looks like it was a power supply issue.  Apparently the new Juice Packs are hungry for power. 

The true test will come over night when I hook up the unit and see how full it is in the morning.  I suspect all will be fine but I am not fully calling this resolved until I do that test. 

I placed an Amazon order for a new power strip that has USB inputs in addition to AC Power.  I plan to hook up my charger directly to that and I have a suspicion that it will work and my woes will be gone.  While I got an extra charger out of this, that wasn’t my end goal.  My end goal was to solve the problem. 

The only oddity that I need to have explained to me is why it doesn’t charge in my vehicle.  I am using a Mophie cable and it’s plugged directly into a powered USB port, so it should be able to draw whatever power it needs while the vehicle is running.  I may just need to buy a new charger for the vehicle and if that’s the case that won’t be the worst thing in the world. 

I will mention in my next future post, most likely tomorrow what the results are of the overnight results.  I am not fully sure what I will do with the free charger but because it’s a rapid charge I am not crazy about it.  I think rapid charging a battery takes away life and while all batteries die eventually I want to maximize the life span of every battery be it rechargeable or not. 

I am a little baffled by how this all worked out but thus far it looks to be good news and that makes me happy.  The only other thing I could wish for is that I was able to get my Juice Pack in Red to match the color of my phone.  Mophie’s Product Red originally went to support the AIDS movement and now I believe it goes to a random charity but still your doing good by buying Red and it doesn’t cost anymore than any other color.  The black case I have now tends to get lost or blend in, where if you have red it stands out.  I’m big on colors anyway, probably the gay in me but I don’t like to always just blend in or go with the crowd.  Different can be good!

With all of this good luck happening I am wondering if I shouldn’t have purchased a lottery ticket while I was at the store.  If I hear someone wins in my neck of the woods that will of course tell me the answer to my rhetorical question was YES.  That’s the kind of luck I am used to, but if it’s changing as long it’s for the better and not for worse I am all for it!

Heavy

Happy Monday, if that is such a thing.  Temperatures dropped like they saw a State Trooper in my neck of the woods.  It was damn cold when I got up this morning.  Gator woke me up at 2a and I put some of her left-over food in front of her and closed the door.  I went back to bed but it wasn’t but for a couple more hours.  My bladder woke me up and then I had a difficult time falling back to sleep.  Broke out the heads phones and watched some TV.  I did it that way so the little woman wouldn’t know what I was up to.  She was sleeping in her bed and I saw no reason to wake her to deal with her ire. 

I’ve got a little it on my mind, in particular tomorrow and staying home.  I want to stay because I am on-call and it looks like a busy day.  If I go in and leave my fear is that something will come up and I won’t be able to deal with it in a timely fashion.  If I stay home I am afraid that will be noticed as well.  It’s probably a non-issue in the grand scheme of things but I tend to over think and worry about little stuff. 

My weight is another thing that I am concerned about.  Turns out all of that Carrot Cake pushed my weight up and I am truly not happy with the numbers I see on the scale.  It was difficult to walk by and not pick up another Carrot Cake yesterday but I did resist.  I still have other sweets here and part of them is a couple slices of the cake I got last week.  I don’t want to throw it away but at the same time I don’t want it to go to my waist.  I am having issues with fitting into my clothes and with the numbers I see on the scale I see why I am having a problem.  If I can get a pair of pants on they don’t stay up for very long and I walk around pulling them up all the time.  I don’t want to advance to suspenders or to buy a larger size but I may need to give in.  It’s not just the cake from the last couple weeks, the pandemic and staying home with little physical activity is what put me in this shape and it’s easy to pack on the pounds it’s not so easy to shed them, particularly when your older.  I also have to make sure I eat something or my sugar will be out of whack and I don’t want to deal with that.  I need a diet and while I realize the first 3 letters are die, if I don’t do something it will certainly push me closer to the edge.  I need to stick around for my old cat who’s birthday is next month. 

Speaking of the old kitty.  I think that the probiotic has helped things along a bit.  I just put it on my Subscribe and Save.  I’ve got 5 packets left and will need to string her along skipping a day here and a day there to stretch out the supply.  She has episodes where her appetite spikes but for the most part I do think things are under control.  I need to give her some fluids but I hate that task as much as she does.  The old girl has learned a new trick that is to some how make her water fountain leak.  I have a pee pad underneath it because she likes to splash and generally make a mess but I don’t know what she does to it but it just starts leaking.  The only cure is to dump it, clean it and put it back together and then everything seems fine until the next time.  I don’t know that she is doing it on purpose but I am not a fan of cleaning that thing out.  It’s on my calendar with a reoccurring reminder because if you don’t clean it out then she gets sick.  That used to happen to her brothers and sister, when there were more of them drinking from the same fountain.  It’s not so much an issue with 1 cat but still I don’t take chances and keep to a rigorous regular schedule. 

Something good happened this morning.  As I was getting dressed my other sock from my favorite pair of socks that disappeared months ago fell out of a t-shirt I picked up.  I looked high and low but apparently not high enough.  I was so happy to have found it.  Perhaps this is a sign my luck is changing.  Considering the nice check I got in the mail over the weekend.  I could use many more good surprises like those. 

My Thanksgiving friends usually have a BBQ or some form of food for Memorial Day which will be next Monday.  I usually don’t get invites until the last minute and don’t exactly know why that is the case.  When it comes to Turkey Day they are all over me at least a month in advance.  It just doesn’t feel like much of a true friendship anymore.  I left a couple messages after speaking with them about Gator last month and I am still waiting for a call back, don’t think that is going to happen and I am not holding my breath.  It just makes me feel a bit crummy/sad.  I am not expecting an invite this year for Memorial Day, if it happens great and if not great as well.  I am on-call for the holiday but don’t expect that there will be any activity but I have to be prepared like a Boy Scout. 

Speaking of BBQ that was my dinner last night.  The store had a Pulled Pork Meal with their cheesy potatoes and pit beans – damn it was so good.  Wish they would have thrown in a roll but it was enough food to make me feel full, despite not looking like much.  I always lick the container clean since I am by myself.  If I was in a public setting I wouldn’t do that but it is just that good I want every last bit I can get.  I would have purchased 2 of these dinners but they only had the one and it had a coupon for $1 off on it, which means it has been sitting so they want to sell it before they have to pitch it, which means to me eat it as soon as you can.  I don’t want to mess around with food bacteria – food poison is one way to loose weight but damn I sure don’t want that it’s not any fun. 

Not much else but work going on.  It’s warmed up a couple degrees down here in the basement where ironically it was warmer that it was upstairs.  The heat will move in slowly but it’s not going to be bad at all, very much a Spring Day with temps in the 70’s.  That won’t be the case for long were going up in temperature as the week moves on.  I can’t believe next month it will be June already. 

Hope all is well in your world.  Take care!

My Happy Nuts

Back when I first heard of Manscaping and then a company was born from that, I bought their product. I was attracted to the skin safe razor. I mean who wants to cut themselves when shaving let alone on your nut sack, or anywhere in the surrounding area. It didn’t take me long to find out that their so-called Skin Safe blade was anything but. I complained to the company after I did some serious damage and yes it hurt and itched for days on end. They said words to the effect of if you would have taken time to read the instructions you would have known to use a guide that came with the unit and hover over the area. As a method of comfort, they sent me a fresh blade, like that was going to undo the damage. I followed their advice once I healed but it didn’t quite get me as clean as I wanted. Of course, you know I removed the guard and tried to be careful but I cut myself again just not as bad as the first time.

Watching porn most everyone is clean shaven. They might have some pubic hair but their nuts are always perfectly smooth. I’ve read before where some guys just get in the bath tub and after a good soak, they whip out the razor and go to town. There is a straight razor made for that very task but I’m brave not stupid. I never ever took a straight razor to my nuts. I used a safety razor to trim pubic hair but found that when it grows back it itches almost as bad as having poison ivy, that was a one-time experience and I was much, much younger.

I put all sorts of search terms into Amazon just to see what it will spit back at me. In doing one of my searches a few months ago I came across a company called Happy Nuts. They too make a razor that has a skin safe blade and it shaves in both directions. I knew that I would eventually cave and order their product, which I did recently. It came and I got it charged up and ready to go. I made sure to read the instructions and it said it was perfectly safe to shave without a guard. Their product did an awesome job but I did manage to get a few nicks along the way, nothing major like my first experience with the other company’s product. When you’re shaving or mowing in that area of your body, you want to take your time and not rush the job. I find that it’s best to shower after you are done and then pat dry so not to cause irritation. They do make cream as an after shave if you want but I don’t put any chemicals on. There is just something about feeling my nuts with no hair on them that feels nice. Now that it’s been a few weeks regrowth is starting to occur; it doesn’t itch and isn’t uncomfortable which is nice.

I wasn’t paid or compensated in any way by either of the companies. I know that the Manscaped company has had several versions of their product and each time they continue to improve. The latest version has a dock that charges the unit and there is even a built-in light so you can see where you’re shaving.

I really didn’t have any content to post today and thought that sharing this might help someone who maybe has wanted to try this out but was afraid. I was nervous but also kind of turned on but managed to set aside my feelings and just concentrate on the job I was doing. You certainly don’t want to be surprised, interrupted or frightened while doing that job or you will for sure cause injury to yourself. If you have skin tags keep the unit away from them.

Porn stars have to keep themselves well groomed for the camera. Lots of them use laser hair removal (that’s expensive and requires multiple treatments) and I’ve heard of some people using wax (sounds really painful) or hair removal cream. I did try the hair removal cream route when I was younger, it burns and smells awful so unless you’re using a product that is specifically made for the groin area just skip it or you will be sorry. There is a company that just came out with a product but I don’t remember the name, it’s made for this job specifically and while I am tempted to try that as well, I don’t think I will ever muster up the courage, even if it’s provided to me free of charge.

Hygiene is important. If someone else is going to be going down on you or you’re going to be going down on them. The thought of dick is appealing but pubic hair not so much. Plus, it does help to make clean up afterwards easier.

I really searched for some clever photos on-line to include but alas scrapped the idea because I wasn’t finding anything that was appealing. I hope this helped someone or was at the very least educational.

Be clean – stay safe and we shall talk again soon!

Love me some Facebook

I found a series on HBO Max about George Carlin, what I am watching is Part 2 as that is what was advertised when I was browsing. It’s interesting thus far and has provided me with some new insight about the late comedian. He truly was a funny guy and has made me laugh a lot, which is not an easy task to accomplish.

Gator had her yowling fits last night and had me up and down a few times. I fed her this morning somewhere between 6a-7a and then went back to bed for a bit. I woke up around 8:30a and I had breakfast and she got another breakfast. She returned to her bed to sleep. I went back to continue to watch the aforementioned series on George Carlin. I eventually got sleepy and went back to bed. It was a rainy overcast day and perfect for sleeping in. Gator started in shortly after I laid down, which always seems to be the case. If it’s not her then it’s my phone. In any case I put one of her left-over dishes in front of her face and closed the door. I had no idea that I was going into a food coma. I woke up at 1p. When I came out of my room my focus was on Gator. She was hiding in a new spot but we crossed paths and I was sure to get some lunch down for her. I had something as well.

We both returned to my room and watched a Tech Podcast. She passed out in my lap but I was wide awake. I had my phone off overnight, which isn’t something I do regularly but it is quite refreshing. When I turned it on all sorts of stuff just came pouring through. I had fraud alerts from a credit card because my Sam’s Club membership auto renewed and they weren’t used to that. I got that cleared up and then combed through everything else that was really much of nothing.

The rain started up again so I was glad I was indoors. I had to push myself to get going around 3p. Hit up the post office, cat food store and then went to Cracker Barrel for lupper, which is a combination of Lunch and Supper. It took a while to get waited on but I was seated pretty fast. Saw a fair number of cute guys. Had the catfish, grilled and asked them to go light on the spicy seasoning. They didn’t exactly listen but I got some tartar sauce and made the best of it. My waitress said they could make it over if I wanted it. I thought to myself, you saw it when it came out of the kitchen and knew it wasn’t right but you still served it to me, why on earth would I wait even longer for a meal that is right in front of me. Common sense just isn’t so common anymore. I think she should have asked them to remake it right away before she ever brought it to me and I knew there was a problem. They tried to sell me desert but I resisted that, I’ve got plenty of sweets here to munch on.

Drove home and it was spitting rain here and there. It would start then stop. Once I got closer to home it started to pour. I came in and got settled. I noticed what I thought and turned out to be a check in the mail from a Facebook Class Action Suit. I wanted to open that at the post office but I thought whatever it is, won’t change wait until you get home. Holy cow I’ve never in my life received so much money from a class action settlement. It was just a few dollars shy of $400, I sure do love me some Facebook now! I plan to tuck that away into savings but I am sure that Karma somehow will cause me to spend it, but at least I have it to spend. Class Action Settlement’s normally only yield a small dollar amount but if my memory serves correct this took years to hammer out. I don’t know about you but I join them when I am eligible and then forget about them. Then the check finally comes and it’s a surprise, just not usually as nice of a surprise as this one was.

That’s my Saturday in a nut shell. I am waiting on the laundry to finish drying and then it will be back upstairs to be with the old lady and clean up after her. We will continue watching TV and eventually fall asleep.

Sunday will be grocery shopping and doing some minor cleaning inside, relaxing and watching TV occupies a large part of the agenda for the day. I unfortunately have to sort out my medications again, I do it 3 weeks at a time but it seems like 3 weeks goes by in a flash. It is always on target with being on-call and Monday it is my turn again and I am sure it will be a hell of a week. I don’t get rid of it until next Tuesday but normally nothing happens on weekends or holidays but that is not always true and you have to be ready just in case. However, most of us just go on with our lives until there is an alert. I typically like to stick close to home and don’t venture out too far, just in case.

Not sure if you have seen the advertisement or trailer for the new Top Gun but I am interested in seeing that, even if it’s in Theaters only. I think if you see it in the right environment, it will be quite immersive and enjoyable. I’ve got my eye out. I heard the other day that if you dine at Applebee’s they will give you a coupon to redeem for 1 free ticket. That almost makes it worth eating their food for the free ticket. I’ve yet to stop in though and most likely won’t. I don’t mind buying my own ticket. It would be nice to go with someone but it’s also enjoyable to do somethings by yourself.

Finally, the latest on my rash. I noticed some crust on my neck last night which I picked off, not exactly sure what that was all about. I am still broken out but it no longer itches. I threw in my pillow cases into the laundry for good measure. I plan to clean my jewelry tomorrow with just plain water. It sounds like I am out of the woods but I will feel more comfortable once all of the rash is gone. I plan to shave tomorrow evening so that might turn out to be interesting but I will be using a fresh blade.

Happy Saturday – hope you got to enjoy it and have some fun as well as relax. Bye for now!

Take Cover

Good Morning Everyone!

We made it again to another Friday! Yesterday afternoon and evening there was severe weather in my neck of the woods. My phone went off with a Tornado Warning but the sirens didn’t go off until at least 15 minutes later. I subscribe to a service that also calls to warn of severe weather, that call came hours later. In watching TV, the entire time there was a threat that a Tornado could spin up quickly but there wasn’t one in my area, which is a very good thing. I’ve got some sticks in the yard that fell and lots of leaves scattered about but no damage and that’s the way I like to come out of each and every storm. Always thankful for that. When the warning message came out Gator and I were on the couch, she was sleeping and I just watched out the windows. I had the police scanner on and they were even a bit confused about if they should or shouldn’t set off the warning sirens. Needless to say, local media had weather coverage for the bulk of the afternoon and into the early evening. The only thing that affected me is I didn’t get to see the ending to Jeopardy, not a big deal.

I got in a morning nap yesterday, after a couple hours down here I grew tired and decided to head up and stretch out on the couch. Got to love working from home for that reason alone. I also wrapped up work early around 3p yesterday when the weather started up and once again, I was tired of sitting in front of two monitors. I kept watch on my phone and if I was needed it’s just a stroll back but thankfully nothing came up.

My supper was an odd choice. I didn’t really want to eat but I had what was left of the Carrot Cake and it was a large slice, could have easily been two pieces. I had the strangest dreams and woke up a few times but amazingly managed to fall back to sleep.

I was feeling icky as in dirty last night and itching a little bit so I jumped in the shower. That was refreshing but nothing like it was on Wednesday night. The rash has taken over part of my neck and has spread to ½ of my face. My whiskers disguise it a bit but if you look for a minute you can tell. Very strange and I have no idea what it is. That’s the only place the rash is. I am kind of anxious about shaving but that doesn’t happen until Sunday. I feel fine but it does flair up itching a bit at times. I am on high alert with any itch I get and think twice if I am going to scratch or not. I haven’t put anything on it since I showered on Wednesday night, just a couple showers and that’s it. I will be doing some extra laundry this weekend. Whatever it is I hope that it goes away quickly and doesn’t come back. I might take some Benadryl much later and that will certainly knock me out.

I have one meeting today for about an hour a bit later this morning and after that the day is wide open. Hopefully, it will be a quiet and calm Friday. That’s the way all Friday’s should be for everyone.

Hope you have a great day and a nice weekend. Bye for now.

Finger Licking

Good Morning, Guys & Gals!

I hope that your Thursday is off to a great start and that it will be a great day for all of us. Things are average here. The rash I spoke about yesterday on my neck, finally did calm down but I had some flare ups during the day but managed to resist the urge to scratch. I was eager to get in the shower last night when the work day was done. Some Tea Tree Shampoo and cold water worked very well and felt nice too. The thing with rashes is you want to pat dry when getting out of the shower. If you rub it irritates the skin and the rash starts itching and bothering you all over again. Learned that lesson a long time ago from a Dermatologist. I flipped my pillows and was a little concerned about sleeping but made it through without any issues.

My neck is broken out this morning and there is some mild itching. In having time to reflect I like to wear a yellow gold and a white gold chains when I am at the office. I used a little extra cleaner and made sure to rinse them well but perhaps those rubbing might have irritated the skin. If that’s not it then the haircut place had something on the blade of the razor that shaved my neck. The Oatmeal Squares I am eating are new but you’d think if I had an allergic reaction, it would be all over my body and not just concentrated to my neck. I am beyond trying to solve the mystery of what caused this and much more wanting it to go away and never to return. I am not thrilled about the little surprises like this that life seems to throw at me.

Today is the day of the dreaded meeting at work that none of us are really looking forward to. It’s with a vendor that provides a service to us. They changed things up on their end and we need to learn about their new product. The vendors representative speaks English as a 2^nd language and is difficult to understand. We have found that a lot of people we interact with from this particular vendor have the same issue. If I can understand them that’s great but when I can’t that’s where I have a problem. This is a very expensive service and you’d think with the money my employer is shelling out that this place would have professional prepared training but they do not. Bummer! Maybe things won’t be as bad as they have been in the recent past but I can only hope.

Work had a little activity yesterday and I bounced between personal and work all day off an on. When work needed my attention, I shifted and when I was done, I went back to my home environment. I have what I suppose you might call a unique hobby in that in addition to watching porn I like to collect photographs from the scenes. Both are shot by the studio that is producing the scene/movie. Some you can acquire in the public domain for free but they don’t always show a lot of skin. You can usually get full sets of the photographs from the studios website if you are a subscriber and they provide them. Over the years I have collected quite a few. I found a large trove of them yesterday buried in ZIP archives and I spent a good portion of the day unzipping files, reviewing and moving them to a folder. My rule of thumb is that if I can’t see the models faces then I don’t want the photo. It doesn’t take me long to review a set and move it. Then it’s on to the next one. What I found is something like 170, I am down to 110 still to go. What is unusual about this is that these are photos from Helix back in the 90’s. It’s amazing to see how young the models were (they were all of legal age) and a good portion of them grew up in front of the camera. Kind of an odd career choice to start off with but I suppose if it affords you decent pay and benefits as long as your comfortable with it, then why not. As you can probably imagine looking at porn be it in photos or film does excite one quite a bit. While I didn’t do anything about that excitement, I know for sure that I couldn’t work in that industry much like the Food Service Industry. They both have something that looks good and I am beyond tempted to just start enjoying. I don’t see how staff in the adult industry can help themselves but I suppose it’s like anything else, eventually you get so used to it that it doesn’t appeal to you. I don’t know that I could ever reach that point nor do I want to. I only really enjoy two things in this world and that’s sex/men and food. Like I told my doctor if I can’t have one then I am damn sure going to have the other.

Speaking of which I saw a tweet yesterday from a porn star, who said if you have a belly that looks like a beach ball, I like that and would love to rub it. Send me photos. I guess there might be hope for me being overweight yet to get a guy. I don’t want or need anyone to rub my belly. I am not Buddha. I can think of other parts of my body that I would enjoy having rubbed in particular my back. It’s always full of knots.

The Gator is doing reasonably well. She woke me up twice last night for food. I gave in once and then removed her from the room. That seems to be working pretty well for both of us. Her appetite started picking up drastically yesterday afternoon and I was a bit concerned that we were going back into the pattern but things calmed down by bed time. She got fed from the couch last night and I did it again this morning. I hate the messes that she makes. She does try to clean up after herself but doesn’t always do the best job when it comes to her bed and the couch. If it’s something in her coat she is on top of that right away. She has recently started a new habit in licking my fingers. Sometimes it’s because there is oil from the food but other times it’s just random and when I am not looking. I enjoy it but one time she caught me way off guard and I had no idea what was going on. Leave it to a cat to surprise you. I think she is trying to show some affection for all that I do and put up with. She needs not do that because it's all done out of love and because it’s the right thing to do. She is quite the handful but she can also be very sweet and loving. I’m glad she is here and don’t ever want her to leave.

I have a bit of a race to run to see if I can get the trash out before severe storms move in this afternoon. Not sure if I will manage but I am going to try. I hate messing with the trash and wish I had a robot that would take care of that task, grocery & pet food shopping as well as laundry and cleaning the house. However, I am the robot and if I don’t do it then it doesn’t get done. That’s the way I expect it to be for the remainder of my life. If I meet someone well then perhaps that will be a game changer or we can at least share those chores.

One more day after today and then we are at the weekend again. This year is moving by pretty fast. I didn’t think we would ever get past February and March but the time machine has picked up some steam and were moving full speed ahead. It will be Christmas again in no time at all, even though that is many months away. What is more imminent is the dog days of summer. Bring on the shirtless good-looking men!

Take care and I will talk with you all again soon.

Almost like a vacation day

It’s a rainy day here, overcast and a little on the chilly side. Great day to sleep in or take a nap. I am kind of envious of Gator because she had her breakfast and then went back to bed. Today was the perfect day for that and I really wished that I could have joined her.

Yesterday morning I had an itch on my neck, just one side. I thought nothing of it since I had my shower already, I just scratched and moved on. My neck is shaved with a haircut and it goes a little wonky from burning to stinging and sometimes a little itch. That itch bothered me off and, on all day, long. By the time I was home it was driving me crazy. I put on some after shave and moved on. Things calmed down. This morning I wake up and my entire neck is itching and I am broken out in little bumps all over the place. What in the world is this fresh hell all about? I cleaned my neck off and put on some Cortisone Anti-Itch cream. That is not cutting the mustard and I want to scratch so bad. I took an extra allergy pill, even though my allergies are fine I figured it would help control the itch. This has to be razor related. My sheets and pillow cases were just in the laundry as was the shirt I wore yesterday. No new detergent. I do have a new bar of soap but it’s 3 weeks old and I don’t use that on my neck. Good golly an itch no matter where it is at is just one of those little annoyances that drives you crazy. It’s tough to resist scratching because that feels so good. I will most likely be breaking out the numbing cream I have to see if that will take this away.

Given the above I am so glad that I didn’t go in today even though I am normally home on Wednesday’s it’s one of our mandatory days that I should be in the office. I was really glad that I went in yesterday because the big boss called me directly. I hate that and hate dealing with him but it’s just one of those things where you smile and help them. I didn’t rush him but I was eager to hang up the phone. Of course, I had work to do when I hung up with him. He’s on some bullshit project mission to invent work thinking that he is streamlining things or making my job easier. Things are comfortable and I know the process, don’t mess with it. It’s working but of course in business the big dogs think they can make a name for themselves by improving things, particularly things that aren’t broken but soon will be after their improvements.

None of the small group of people I visit with were in yesterday, same was true for last week. Perhaps the odds will be in my favor the next time I try to visit with them. I am thinking of not going back for a couple weeks just because. Next week I will be on call and I hate traveling home while something could be brewing at the office. The week after that the week starts on a Tuesday because Monday will be Memorial Day. I think it will feel too much like going in on a Monday but I may give in and go in anyway. Still yesterday I noticed that not many people are coming in to the office and I am sure it's that way across all of our locations. People just aren’t crazy about getting out of their homes, spending money for gas and then the commute all to be able to do what they can already do from the comfort of their homes. The pandemic spoiled us with this and now that more people have a taste of working from home, they just don’t want to give it up and I totally get it. However, I think going in one day a week is good for the soul, it’s not always something I look forward to and I don’t like the extra early wake up time or the commute (when it’s rough) but I do feel pretty good at the end of the day when I am finally home. It feels like I accomplished something even if all I did was sit in my office all day and look at the 4 walls. It is nice to see other people and even mutter the occasional hello.

I was in the bathroom yesterday just had finished washing my hands and felt someone touching me on the shoulder and then talking to me. It took me a minute but it’s a guy I hadn’t seen in 2 years. There still are people that I used to see on at least a weekly if not daily basis that I have yet to see again since coming back to the office. That initial meeting is always a bit refreshing and slightly odd. He frightened me at first, good thing I had just went to the bathroom.

For now, it’s just a humdrum boring day, nothing scheduled or planned. No meetings or calls scheduled and that can make for a long day but it’s also like being on vacation as long as no one bothers me. I’ve already been bothered once this morning and know that I will have a little bit of work to do in a bit when an email comes in but otherwise, I think I should be home free. There is one call that I don’t look forward to tomorrow but other than that the rest of the week should be smooth sailing right into the weekend.

Hope that you’re having a great day and that the sun is shining in your neck of the woods. Have a great Wednesday!

Getting out

Good Early Morning to you.  I made it into the office, it was a decent commute but one that I really didn’t want to make.  I almost stayed home twice but kept pushing myself to make it.  Now that I am here I am ready to go home.  I got a decent amount of sleep but not enough to fully satisfy my craving.  Gator wasn’t wild about me leaving her but she liked the extra food I put out for her and went to check that out. 

I noticed that she ate some of her treats last night.  I’ve got a decent supply because she stopped eating them for a few days.  I can’t help but wonder if I am feeding a mouse when I leave food out for her.  I don’t think so but unless I had a video camera on the food and was recording I will never know for sure.  I like to watch Gator eat so that way I know what is going into her system.  I still think at times I am feeding a worm because of the amount of food that she eats – especially when she asks for one can, finishes it and then asks for one or two more.  I always think in those times that she is going to barf but thus far it’s not happened and I hope that trend continues. 

It was a nice calm morning, where you could feel the cool breeze but it’s going to get hot in a matter of a few hours.  I’ll need that AC to drive home for sure. 

My allergies are still bonkers.  I broke out the nose spray last night, it really started extra heavy about the time I finished dinner.  Going to sleep was the best remedy of them all.  Now that I am awake the cycle starts all over again.  I took the extra pill this morning and am drinking like a fish but thankfully it’s only water.

I am kind of eager to get this day over with between meetings with the boss and then an outside person who speaks English as a second language and has a thick accent and is a bit difficult to understand it’s not going to be a picnic.  The fun starts at 11:30a and runs until 1:45p then a short break and we start up with one more meeting for an hour at 2:30p then were finally done.  I will be exhausted by then if not physically mentally for sure.  Plus who knows what is going to come through the door today, meetings are secondary to any requests. 

I’m enjoying the boredom at the moment while it lasts.  Checked on Gator and she is in my room passed out.  She will be fine, food/water is out plus she sleeps most of the day away.  The grass people should be there today and my oh my how the grass has taken off in growing. 

Not much else going on at the moment so I guess I will post this and focus on some work stuff or maybe phone someone to chat for a bit.  Hope that you stay cool and have a great day. 

Back to The Game

It’s once again Monday, ugh!  Gator woke me up just as I was starting to fall asleep.  That messed up my rhythm and I had to stay up for another hour before I could go to bed.  I wound up removing her from my room.  I wasn’t pleased about having to do that but I needed to ensure that I slept.  In that hour I was up I plugged in my headphones to the Roku Remote and watched YouTube videos until the internet went out.  Apparently there was scheduled maintenance that my ISP was doing which I knew nothing about.  Not terribly happy but then again most people aren’t using the internet at 11:30p on a Sunday.  The batteries were going in the remote so I had to hurry up and turn the TV off or big ears would be at my door asking to come in.  That also meant that I couldn’t use my Alexa for White Noise so I turned on the air purifier which helped.  Finally back to sleep.

6a I woke up and my bladder was about to explode.  I opened my door and there she was sitting at the top of the steps waiting on me.  She was staring into space since I wasn’t supposed to be up but as soon as I said something to her, she sprang back to reality and started begging me for breakfast.  I fed her and then went back to bed for an hour.  I went back to sleep but it was pretty quick and then I was up before the alarm went off.  Climbed out of bed for good and started to venture to the kitchen for my breakfast. As I was eating Gator started making noise.  I finished up eating and then went to feed her the left overs from her 6a meal.  She ate them with no problem. 

Once that was done I was finally able to get dressed and then get moving.  I made it to the basement by 7:30a but with poking around into other things before I started I signed in 2 minutes later than I wanted to.  It’s okay boss man is away today and were all having a great day.  Imagine that.  No meetings, calls or bullshit to deal with.  However, it’s only a temporary break and then it’s back to reality tomorrow. Looks like I didn’t miss a whole lot being out only 2 days but it’s always a gamble when you take time off.  Sure hope for the same luck next month when I do it all over again.  

My allergies are on fire and I really don’t want to go in tomorrow but most likely I will.  I just take a Claritin on top of all of the other stuff I already take and that usually does the trick to lock things down.  My thirst goes way up but I can deal with that.  I wish my allergies would leave me forever but I don’t foresee that happening, had them since I was a teenager and that’s a long time. 

Snack time rolled around I went up to get Gator something and she was eager to eat again.  She even drank a bit of water.  I did give her a 1/2 dose of fluids last night but only because she wouldn’t sit still and I had to poke her twice.  I thought I had a full dose in but when I looked closer at the bag it said 1/2 so that’s what I went with. 

Stepped outside for a quick minutes to trim a vine that is growing.  It tries to attach it’s self to any and everything.  I trim it back once and that usually does the trick for the year but I still keep an eye on it.  It was encroaching on the evergreen I am trying to bring back to life and if I permitted that, what is left of the evergreen would die for sure.  I still don’t think the evergreen has much of a chance but I am still hoping and trying.  I do not have a green thumb.  It’s really nice here today it was 70 degrees exactly when I was outside, the sun was shining and it was peaceful outside.  Kind of wished that I could stay outside all day long.

Back inside I had a snack of my own.  Nature Valley makes soft Oatmeal Squares just like Quaker.  They are good but not nearly as good as Quaker because those had real fruit filling in them.  Nature Valley’s are just flavored but still good.  I had that and a Diet Coke, which an hour later I am still sipping on. 

Fired up one of my personal laptops last night to get some updates on it.  I am thinking of leaving my company laptop at the office and just using my personal equipment when I work from home.  The displays on my laptop & desktop are far better than anything work provides.  Plus it won’t be long before my work laptop lease is up and then it will be time for a new machine.  I don’t know if I want to keep a laptop.  I am thinking about giving it up but it will be a little bit before I need to make that decision. 

I had Burnt Ends last night for the first time.  They were okay, not my favorite thing to eat but not bad.  Then I find out today is National BBQ Day.  How about that for timing.  Tonight will be left over pizza. 

I checked out a dating website yesterday afternoon out of sheer boredom.  I had no profile and no picture up but a guy started hitting on me right away.  I did see a guy that looked appealing who was younger and said in his profile that he didn’t care about age difference.  I guess there are younger guys who want older guys just as much as this older guy wants a younger guy.  I personally think it’s a great combo because you compliment each other, what one doesn’t know chances are the other one does.  I realize that not everyone will see it my way. 

Learned that COVID cases are on the rise in the area and that is not a terrible surprise.  I do plan to talk with my doctor next month to see what his thoughts are on me dating and if it’s safe enough.  I am sure he will also tell me that I need to get my 3rd COVID shot which I have put off.  He may even say to get the 4th one as well.  I am just not an eager beaver when it comes to getting poked or stuck and then there are the side effects of the shot it’s self which for me is just sheer exhaustion but that doesn’t fully set in until the day after.  If they could give me the shot in the ass then I would feel a little better about it but not much.  Never been a needle fan and don’t think I ever will.  I do like the way IV drugs work quicker but that’s about the extent of it. 

It’s coming up on lunch time.  Got a store sub sandwich to cut into and some Cheese Its to eat.  Not terribly hungry though.  More tired than anything but I need to try to stay awake so that I will sleep tonight.  Plus I kind of hate going up in fear that I will wake the furry monster and she will be asking for food.  It’s peaceful down here but I can’t stay in the basement forever. 

That’s my Monday thus far and if things continue at this rate, it won’t be a bad day but might be a long day.  The kick off to summer – Memorial Day is around the corner.  I like summer for the skin that the boys/guys show it’s nice.  Not a fan of hot temperatures.  A day like today where it’s 70 is perfect enough for me.  If summer consisted of that kind of temperature it would be fine by me.  However, who am I in the grand scheme of Mother Nature.  No one, so weather is going to do what it’s going to do.  Just have to enjoy the nice weather while it lasts and then we will move into the oven.

Hope your having a nice day.  Thanks for stopping by, take care and we will talk again soon.