Waiting on Amazon

Howdy!  Not much happening today but that’s by design.  I was up early and going.  Came home and sat with the cats as per usual and tried to nap.  This time just as I fell asleep the damn phone woke me up and it was work.  I guess there is just no napping for me.  I was still a bit sleepy and shifted over to my bed from the chair.  The bed felt so damn good and that is a feeling I get when I am about to fall asleep.  However, as I laid there trying to fall asleep I had the thought it sure would be nice to cuddle with a cat.  About that time they both came running and jumped in bed.  Rudy was walking on top of me and got up in my face.  He did some washing which is cute and feels really good.  Their motivation was lunch they didn’t want to cuddle. 

That got me up and moving.  I passed out lunch, finished off some bakery I had from last week.  Then started cleaning the table.  The Amazon boxes and bags were lingering along with other things that I had placed on the table.  It looks so much better now that all of that junk is in the trash.  The cats wanted to go through every box which was fun for them. 

Then on to getting my pills set out for the week.  That is always a task I hate.  Broke out the vacuum cleaner which upsets both of the cats and they run for cover.  I chase them from my room to the living room and then back again.  Morea was out first and Rudy was sheepishly hiding in my room.  I told him it was okay come on out.  He did but took his time. 

Next fun task laundry which I am working on now. 

I looked a few more places last night for those keys and damn they aren’t anywhere to be found.  I am starting to wonder if I threw them out in the trash.  That’s not like me but hey I’ve tucked them away in a place so good that not even I can find them.  I tore apart two dresser drawers this afternoon and no luck. 

I am waiting on the Amazon person to deliver the replacement shipment today and right now it is scheduled to be here between 2:15p and 5:15p.  I hate Sunday delivery because they are really super slow and it wouldn’t surprise me if that time gets pushed out.  However I am hopeful that it will be closer to 2:15p than 5:15p.  Reason being if I do need to get keys cut the home improvement store will be open.  They close at 6p.  Tomorrow they are open until 10p but honestly if I need to go there I would much prefer to do it today than during the week. 

That’s my hum drum day.  I am coming down from a sugar high and super sleepy, it’s that bakery I ate about an hour ago for my so called “lunch”.  I’ve thought about going out but that will largely depend if there is a need to go to the Home Improvement Store and also how I feel.  I’ve got plenty here considering I went to the grocery store this morning. 

Not at all looking forward to Monday but hey it is step one on the way to Friday.  Well the cats are crying and honestly I could pass out down here so I guess I will go up and entertain them as we wait for the Amazon person together.  I know they just want me up there and then they will pass out because that is usually the routine in the afternoon they sit and nap.  No sunshine here today and it’s cold, I needed my winter coat this morning.  It’s going to be a bit nippy this week but I’m okay with that. 

Hope Sunday is going well for you.  Talk with you all again soon.  Be well. 

Nice Day

Howdy, hope your enjoying the weekend!  As you might gather by the title of this post, it was a decent day for me.  My insomnia kicked in about 1:30a and I was up until 4:30a.  Then my internal alarm clock woke me up at 6a and I couldn’t go back to sleep.  I fought it for 30 minutes and then opted to get up and get moving. 

Fed the cats, grabbed a shower.  Sinuses were flowing and allergy wise it felt like it would be a bad day.  On that aspect of things it was. 

On to breakfast had another Banana Waffle with Rum Sauce and a hint of maple.  This is what I think contributed to my allergies, it’s so good but I am not having one tomorrow.  I’ve taken my nose spray, extra allergy medicine and that didn’t stop it.  I just took 1 Benadryl to see if that will have any effect, I sure hope so. 

Dropped off my return to go back to Amazon.  Then out to see my friends.  I got my battery, alternator & starter tested.  Everything passed with flying colors.  No one seems to know why the battery dropped in voltage.  One of my friends says it’s a ghost.  I don’t want to part ways with this vehicle, there is a special connection and it’s still in very good shape. 

I dropped off my sign and we talked about colors.  My goal was to make the house number visible and stand out.  I wanted to paint the numbers in hot pink or electric orange.  Instead I chose fire truck green.  It’s a reflective color and my friend works on fire engines so he actually has the paint.  He warned me though that it would be really bright and probably glow in the dark, I said fine the whole purpose was to make it stand out.  It won’t match the color of my shutters but hell it’s tempting to take them down and have them paint those to match, that would for sure piss off a bunch of people.  If I did take them down I would have them painted a different color. A pretty blue sounds nice. 

I came back home, tried to take a nap because I was tired and the cats woke me up.  I guess I was snoring.  I had just fallen asleep and it was bliss then I was jolted awake with a smack on the face.  Not the best way to wake up. 

I got dinner out and actually ate at a place where one of my friends brother works at.  I concocted a scheme to have some fun.  It went off flawlessly.  Then I told the guy who I was and he said oh I’ve heard about you.  That’s good.  Only the 2nd time I ate at this place and damn it was sure good food. 

My waiter was a bit on the feminine side and probably gay but hey it didn’t bother me.  This hot guy walked in with either a friend or his brother and a parent.  Holy cow he had an incredible body and I watched him pretty close.  They had the same waiter as me.  After he left the table from getting their drink order Mr. Hot Stuff asks the table if he thought the guy was gay and did the limp wrist thing.  They picked up on it too.  That made me want to make a scene but I opted to keep my mouth shut.  What I wanted to do was say I don’t know about the waiter but I can tell you for sure I am gay and damn your hot, can I get your number.  However, I’m a poor judge of age and I think he was somewhere between 18 and 22. 

Now on to how I have made life interesting for myself.  A few years back I opted to buy new locks for the house.  We have had the same locks since the day we moved in and my spouse never bothered to change them.  What I got was made by Honeywell, the set came with 8 large head keys.  I swapped the hardware myself and it serves it’s purpose.  However, I have 4 missing keys that I can’t find or account for.  Just thinking in terms of how my luck isn’t the greatest it wouldn’t look the best if something happened and I had to say I had 4 missing keys.  I am confident they are in the house some place.  I tucked them away so good that even I can’t find them.  This all started when I wanted to get a spare to carry.  I looked on Amazon and the description said comes with 8 keys.  I’ve got 2 lockboxes each with a key.  I have a key on my full keyring, then a friend has 1 spare.  That’s it.  That’s 4 keys accounted for. 

I really don’t want to change the locks again, first because of the expense and second no set is going to give you that many keys.  This was on my mind all week long and I took time yesterday to look around both upstairs and downstairs to see if I could find them and no luck.  Last night I pulled the trigger and bought 2 new sets.  I’ve got 2 doors so it makes complete sense.  However, what I wanted didn’t come in a dual pack.  That would mean 2 different keys and I’m not thrilled about it but then I thought about it and it sounded appealing.  I picked this particular hardware because of brand name and the fact that Amazon would rush deliver it so it would be here by 11a.  Yeah well they dropped the ball and it didn’t show up until 3p.  Then instead of sending 2 they sent 1.  Man I was pissed.  I called and they are sending a replacement and that will be here tomorrow.  At this point I was kind of hell bent on returning them. 

I went to the local hardware store and man they really don’t have much of a selection.  Plus every set only comes with 2 keys.  If you buy a keyed alike pack of two locks they give you 4 keys.  They were priced slightly cheaper than Amazon but then I got the idea that patience might prove to be the winning aspect here.  I didn’t buy anything and walked out.  I want to see what Amazon delivers tomorrow.  I might luck out and the replacement could be keyed the same as the one I have.  I know that is a slim possibility but I looked at the order and it looks like they are sending 2 units just like the original order specified.  So I suppose there is a 1 in 2 chance that if they don’t fuck it up I could luck out. 

I figured buying replacements would surely cause the missing keys to appear but thus far no luck.  I keep looking in the same spot like I expect them to magically appear.  The only thing I can think of is that they might be in the safe deposit box but the last time I was there was when I tucked away the hard drive I had with backup data on it.  Prior to that it had been several years so I really don’t think they are there.  I’m usually so organized and particular.  I know where they should be at but they are not there.  I hate situations like this because it feels like I am going insane.  I don’t like forgetting anything it makes me feel old, it’s also so unlike me.  My memory is normally laser focused and I can recall lots of things.  I might not be able to tell you what I had for breakfast but I can remember passwords, combinations, pin numbers, how to get to and from work.  Plus security is something that is I have a passion for and I can’t just see me just tossing the keys somewhere and saying whatever they will be safe here.  I know they will turn up but if that could be sooner rather than later and I could return what I bought without having to change hardware and then go get additional keys made that would be awesome. 

On a different note I am looking forward to my next shower.  My Black Wolf Sonic Scrubber arrived today.  That thing feels so soft and it charged up in no time flat.  I hope the charge lasts a while. 

My latest discovery tonight was a Mont Blanc Outlet store on the web.  They have the pen I want that is selling for close to $500 on Amazon for $90.  It looks and sounds too good to be true.  There is a lot of fakes when it comes to luxury writing instruments, most particularly Mont Blanc.  The fakes are so good you think you’ve got the real thing.  I fell for a fake a long time ago.  It didn’t take original MB refills and the coating on the pen started to flake off.  It looked nice at first but quickly turned into a piece of junk.  I found this site on my phone so I plan to take a closer look on my computer but that will have to wait for tomorrow. 

I left Morea & Rudy so I could toss in some laundry and update some finances.  I also looked for the damn keys and of course download some new porn.  I need to get the dishes going and get in bed.  Tomorrow is for sure an early start day. 

Last but not least I rented Magic Mike’s Last Dance and well it was super lame and I was disappointed.  There are some good looking guys and the eye candy was nice but otherwise I thought the plot sucked and the other MM movies were way better.  80 for Brady is next on my list but not sure if I will rush to rent that.  I like Lilly Tomlin and Jane Fonda which is why I want to see it.

Have a good night everyone.  I will talk with you again later.  Take care!

Back 2 It

Morning!  I had some horrible nightmares last night and woke up more than once.  The cats decided to abandon me and have been spending their evenings in the living room.  They magically appear when I wake up.  Rudy actually came in a few hours before I was supposed to get up trying to con me out of some food but it didn’t work. 

I made it back to work even though I am working from home.  It took me most of the morning to sort things out.  There were a few critical things that people just didn’t bother to touch at all and left them for me.  I could have easily side stepped and assumed that someone else took care of those things but I’m too committed and I made sure everything was taken care of.  Sucks to be really good at your job because people take advantage of you. 

We got slammed with people coming and going that was most of the mess trying to sift through it.  Thankfully my colleague took care of the bulk of it.  I have given up on double checking his work if there is a problem then someone can call him on it.  I am far too busy to police him and pick up like he’s still new.  It’s not his first day and he’s been there for a few years that he should actually be doing better but he makes mistakes over and over again, he gets the promotion.  I make mistakes on occasion and well I’m sitting in the same spot no movement. 

I’ve got a call coming up with the boss man here in 10 minutes.  It’s just the monthly check in for how are you doing.  I can’t really actually tell him how I am doing.  I would surprise and astound him and quite possibly talk myself out of a job.  Truth be told I am fucking fed up with all of the BS.  I go along to get along just because the money is really good.  I am looking but it’s really tough to make a leap.  My ideal job would be a hybrid job where I would go in on occasion.  I’ve gotten too used to and spoiled by working from home.  It’s the reason why I am so damn fat and it really bothers me but at the same time I can’t imagine going back to an office 5 days a week.  I supposed if it was close by then it wouldn’t be that big of a deal but right now it’s 40 something miles one way.  Yeah I used to drive that insanity 5 days a week to and from.  It’s no fun and while I might be fatter and unhealthier physically.  It has lowered my car insurance and I am more productive.  I am also less likely to be interrupted but it still happens. 

Everyone seems to love instant messaging or chat but me.  We used to have Skype and I hated it.  We have Teams now and I don’t use it but people are still trying to get me to join the game.  I’ve never liked instant messaging.  I remember when I worked for the jerk back when my spouse passed.  They used Skype and nothing good ever came via Skype it was always an ass chewing or bad news.  Granted you could do screen grabs and you’d have proof of what a jerk you worked for but in the long run it never did me any good.  I’m just not an IM or texting kind of person.  I would rather pick up the phone it’s quicker and you don’t have to wait for a reply or watch flashing dots.  I guess I am old but I know I’m not the only one. 

My back and body still feel like I was beaten up but I’ve not been in altercations.  My sinuses have cleared up a bit and in general I feel okay at the moment.  Not great but average.  I like it better than how I was feeling. 

The moment I’ve been waiting for finally arrived.  Magic Mike’s Last Dance is finally available for rental.  So is 80 for Brady.  I’d like to see them both.  Thinking of renting Magic Mike tonight if not tonight then for sure at some point over the weekend. 

I got a new WIFI Extender that is more compatible with my system.  I got that setup late yesterday afternoon it was a 5 minute job.  Funny thing is the my router and this extender were both remanufactured so I got a break on the price for both.  Works like a dream.  My new cameras have way better signal strength which was my concern.  My ROKU in my bedroom also has better signal strength which was kind of a bonus. 

Provided I feel okay tomorrow morning will be busy.  Wake up early, shower and head to breakfast.  Then grab the mail.  Wait for the UPS Store to open and drop off my return to Amazon.  Then out to see my friends to drop off my house sign to get painted and see if I can talk them into getting a reading on my battery.  I need to hit up the pet food store for more canned food and it probably would be smart to grab treats even though I have a full pack, I will be cracking that open any day now.  Both cats seem to have memories like hawks when it comes to treats but Morea is the one who usually reminds me. 

Outside of that I’ve got no real plans other than the grocery store on Sunday and probably breakfast out again.  Clean the house and be lazy and relax.  Next week will be here before you know it.  Were just edging closer to busy season.  The boss and I were just talking about that. 

Well now it’s time to head up.  I never did take my orange break.  Need to pass out lunch for the cats.  Grab something for myself and for sure eat a couple of oranges. 

Hope your doing well and life is all rainbows and sunshine for you.  Take care.   

Sick

Wednesday night I slept the best I had in a long time but I woke up not feeling well.  My head was killing me and I felt like I was hit by something.  I got up to feed the cats, sent and email saying that I would be out and turned my phone off.  Then back to bed. 

By the afternoon I was feeling better but I had napped off and on all day.  I would struggle to stay awake and then I’d fall asleep. 

I took enough medicine so that I would sleep and I did.  However, I woke up again not feeling the best and while I could have and maybe should have pushed forward I opted to take a break for another day. 

The cats of course love it because were together all day long.  However, I need a break from everything eventually.  I love them and that is a new word I’ve been throwing around it took a while and felt really odd saying it.  It probably shouldn’t have been such a big deal but it was.  They love me too and I see it in how they treat me and try to take care of me. 

I’ve caught up with work on my phone and pruned my email so I don’t have a huge nightmare to go back to.  However, my colleague that is covering for me has been making errors left and right and others are calling him on it.  I’ve got a mess to dig out of when I go back.  I am shooting for tomorrow just because it’s Friday, things are usually calmer on a Friday and it should give me the chance to catch up or so I hope. 

I was really shocked and caught off guard last night when I opted to browse the web.  I like to keep up with what is going on in the gay porn industry.  I learned that tragically that Kyle Ross (porn name) passed away over the weekend in a single vehicle car accident.  I had just seen a post from him where he was in TX and trying to get back home to FL he had some issues with American Airlines, he wound up sleeping in his rental car for a night.  He had a service dog with him Hank, which was a small white dog.  The dog perished in the accident as well.  Kyle worked for Helix Studios and had just announced his retirement after working with them for several years.  He stopped being in front of the camera a while back and was working on the business end along with his pal Max Carter.  Who also just left. 

This kid was a hot blond and he turned me on but while I enjoyed his studio work, it’s interesting to see how he managed to make something for himself.  He appeared to have property and vehicles and from what showed outwardly he was happy.  There isn’t any details of the accident posted on-line but it really hit me hard to see that he had died. 

I hope that tomorrow is a better day for me and that I feel well enough to power through the day and that I make progress with catching up.  It won’t be fun but it will help the time to pass.  Today was the first day in several days that I had my orange break.  I really enjoy those. 

Hope all is well in your world.  Take care and we will talk again soon. 

Tuesday

The Amazon folks have been busy at my door.  I got all of my orders a point in time that I always look forward to.  I like to take a break and not order anything but circumstances are not permitting that at the moment. 

I ordered a WIFI Range Extender for the one camera that covers the garage it’s got 1 bar and a very weak signal.  Turns out what I ordered won’t work with my present setup.  I did my homework ahead of time and everything I found on-line said it would work but nope.  I did get it working for like 5 minutes but then it stopped.  I’ve been fighting with it all day long and I finally give up and am shipping it back.  I hate returns but this isn’t a cost that I can eat. 

I ordered a replacement unit that will for sure work with my system and it will be here on Thursday.  I hope that I don’t have to devote another entire day to this.  I am eager to get a better signal broadcasting so I can rest easier that the cam by the garage won’t miss anything. 

I got the spare battery's and the charger, that damn thing is like an express charger.  I dropped them in at lunch and both are damn near done charging.  Whereas with the plug in USB adapter they provide it takes at least 8 hours to fully charge.  I’m leaving them charging so I will be ready when it’s time to swap. 

Morea got sick last night and I knew something was up when she wouldn’t come to bed.  I took time at lunch and brushed her while I was on a call.  Damn I got off some serious fur from her.  She sheds like no tomorrow.  She also grooms her brother and he grooms her.  However, she is the one who the fur seems to affect.  She seems to feel better today and is playing and wants attention.  I hope that I can keep her happy.  The last thing I want is a sick cat.  Too many years of that and youth is on their sides I want them to live and be free enjoy live while they can.  They seem to do that pretty well.  Chasing each other throughout the house as soon as I am in the basement.  They do it sometimes when I am upstairs but for the most part it’s something they like to do when they are alone and I am fine with that so long as no one gets hurt. 

I don’t feel the greatest but I’m pressing on.  Today’s been a light day and I honestly have tried to not focus too much on work.  Tomorrow will be a busier day and not one that I look forward to.

My mind is like scrambled eggs.  Between trying to take care of myself, the cats and then work issues and trying to get the dumb range extender configured I feel bad.  In the process of it I found a dead baby mouse and it had been there for quite sometime.  Yuk.  I imagine that I will find them now and then.  I am not in the network closet (which is where it was) that often.  I don’t like surprises like that at all. 

I tested out the case I got for my car remote and yup if the remote is in the case the car doesn’t see it at all.  Just what I wanted and it actually works. 

Looking forward to what I hope is a relaxing evening.  Reheating some pizza, watching TV and playing with the cats.  Let’s hope work doesn’t get in the way!

Hope today was a good one for you.  Talk with you all again soon, be well. 

Ye Old Update

I took a little more than a 1/2 day today.  I wasn’t feeling well and still don’t feel the best.  However, I got some pizza and a nap so that helped a bit. 

I was also pretty concerned over the vehicle issue.  I took it over to the place where I got the battery from.  I gave them back their pry bar although I think I should have kept it out of spite.  Anyway, they looked things over and everything passed with flying colors.  The battery is a little bit over charged since I left it on the charger overnight.  They said to keep an eye on thing and if anything is awry bring it back. 

I took a quick spin to the post office and picked up my sleeping medicine and they let me put my signature on file with a pink card.  It works for everything but certified letters, so no more signing for silly stuff that will help me out a little bit. 

Home to the cats.  We napped and watched TV.  Had supper which for me was a big bowl of soup.  Beef Barley with a touch of hot sauce and a ton of crackers.  A semi cold Sprite Zero. 

The Amazon person stopped by and dropped off the battery checker that I ordered last night.  The camera by the door picked him up.  The camera by the garage should have picked him up as well.  The door camera has way more battery life than the camera by the garage.  I think the second battery will be a good idea for the garage camera. 

Speaking of extra batteries I got a message that UPS was bringing them today last night.  Then I woke up to a message that UPS won’t be bringing them until tomorrow.  I’ve got another UPS delivery coming tomorrow as well so I guess they are trying to save a trip. 

Thinking about this battery thing and with some reading I did I ordered a case to put my remote in.  It’s possible the remote is too close to the car and it’s keeping things alive.  None of the welcome lighting is on so I really don’t think that is the case but if I walk out and stand next to it the welcome lighting comes on and if I don’t get in the lighting times out but the car still knows I am there, so it’s possible but I highly doubt it.  I want to rule it out.  The case I ordered will be here when I wake up in the morning.  It’s between 4a and 8a delivery.  Amazon usually drops things off pretty darn early in the morning.  If I would have ordered it while I was waiting at the shop I could have had it same day but that window closed.   

So the vehicle sits in the garage and I will visit my friends on Saturday to drop off my sign.  I am going to ask if they can scan it and see what it shows then.  What I am describing is referred to as parasitic battery drain.  There is a slightly involved process to diagnose what the issue is but you have to hook up a volt meter disconnect a battery cable and pull fuses one by one.  It’s not something quick.  I saw a YouTube video on it. 

I know what is making me feel horrible is sinus drainage.  I think it’s my allergies but it could also be a virus.  Normally if it’s allergies I double up on medicine for a short time and it goes away.  Right now the extra medicine isn’t having much of an effect.  I don’t want to take time off only to be sick, that sucks.  However, if I get the signs from my body that I need rest then that is what I will do.  Right now I plan on going back tomorrow.  I am covering my on-call tonight and have already taken something so everyone knows I am working.  Unless its really necessary I don’t like to leave on-call in a lurch where it’s up to someone else to cover but if it happens I don’t feel bad about it. 

Here’s hoping tomorrow is a better day for me.  I do have some work stacked waiting for me so it’s not like I will be idle like I would have been if I worked today.  Hope that your Monday was better than mine.  Talk with you all again soon. 

The car is sick

Morning … Thanks for stopping by, I’m glad your here.  I went out last night for my Mexican food.  Before I left the battery on the car was at 87% done with charging.  I figured that the drive would help top things off.  I got to where I was going and back home without any problems.  Everything behaved normally. 

When I got home I hooked up the battery charger to check on the status of the battery and it was at 63% and it was a healthy drive so that shouldn’t be.  There was plenty of time for it to recharge.  My gas mileage was excellent at 27mpg which I get on occasion, when I use cruise control. 

The only thing that tipped me off to the battery issue was the tail gate had no chimes when it closed.  I turned the battery charger on and left it hooked up overnight.  I broke out a flashlight to look around the engine compartment for anything that might be obvious to me.  Well turns out when they changed my battery last on the day after Christmas they left a pry bar sitting just under the hood.  It could have and should have easily flown up by where the wipers are and come out.  That would have done some damage.  I was pissed when I found it.  Right now it’s in my garage and I am contemplating to keep it or return it.  That was an accident waiting to happen that thankfully didn’t happen. 

Worried I was prevented from going to sleep despite the larger dose of medicine I took.  It didn’t help I was playing with my phone and on Amazon looking for battery testers.  I went back out a couple times the last was just close to midnight and the battery was full.  I left the charger hooked up as it’s in a trickle mode to maintain the battery.  The tester I ordered should be here today so I’ll know if this thing ate the battery or if something else decided to go awry. 

I did some research and my vehicle is known for eating batteries regardless if you drive the thing every day or if it sits for a couple of days.  There are all sorts of things to do from re-flashing a module in the car, replacing several parts one of which is the dashboard lights.  However, no one has really been able to t-totally fix it.  It is possible with my good luck that I got a bad battery but why would it take 4 months to die?  That makes no sense at all. 

Funny thing is I thought about paying off the loan again and when I start thinking about that something usually goes wrong with the vehicle.  It’s like I should be focused on making payments forever.  Call me crazy but I’ve got a special connection with this vehicle and while I have been tempted to get rid of it, I think hanging on to it and paying it off is a smarter move in the long run.  Most of what is being made now has bugs in it and is crap and I am about at the end of making payments I really don’t want to start all over. 

I just don’t want to go some where and be stranded having to call for a jump and then not knowing if the jump will get me out of the jam.  I’m eager to see the test results and then that will help me decide my next move.  I may need to take a day off to have the thing worked on and well if that happens it’s okay better now than in a few weeks when it’s going to get really busy. 

Now as for my experience with dining out.  The food was great  The service was horrible.  The waitress forgot that I ordered a soda.  I couldn’t enjoy chips and salsa before my meal because there was no drink.  The salsa is mildly spicy and I like to have something to drink as a safety net.  She apologized but she let my drink go dry while I was eating and then when I was done she comes back after a while and asks if I want a refill.  She had an attitude like she was doing me a huge favor but really didn’t want to be bothered.  I got a soda to go but then she forgot what I was drinking.  I don’t normally do this but she angered me and therefore no tip for you.  It didn’t make me feel good but I don’t feel that I got the level of service that I should have.  I saw a YouTube video a while back that said even if you get bad service you should leave some form of a tip.  Yeah well that would be do a better job next time. 

While I was eating I got an alert there was motion at the garage.  I looked and damn if it wasn’t a car going down the street.  I adjusted the motion zone but that didn’t help.  So I am recording those events but not getting alerts for them.  I’ve got the cameras set to only alert if it detects a person.  I checked the footage when I woke up and I saw there was motion at the garage at 6a but when I looked I saw nothing but an empty video clip.  There wasn’t an actual alert.  These cameras are a little hypersensitive and that’s mildly okay but when an alert fires I want to actually see a person because the alert causes my heart to skip a beat. 

I should be getting alerts today with Amazon and UPS both dropping off packages so that will be handy.  I have another UPS package coming tomorrow and then I am done with deliveries. 

I did wake up to a note from a stranger with the exterminator and my regular tech isn’t coming out it’s a substitute.  He wants in first thing on Thursday morning.  I’m not letting him in and telling him in advance that I will be working and unavailable.  I’ll see if I can get him to just treat the outside of the property that should hold me for 2 months when hopefully the regular guy will be back.  It will save me from having to de-gay the house which is a task I never enjoy. 

I didn’t feel the greatest last night.  My sinuses are all a mess.  Not sure if it’s allergies or if I am trying to get sick.  I am going to for sure take my Orange break today to get some Vitamin C.  It’s a quiet day thus far and I wiped out all of my tasks that were scheduled in about 10 minutes.  Now it’s just waiting for something to go wrong otherwise it’s going to be a long boring day.  The quickest way for something to go wrong is for me to be away from my desk, that seems to bring out the gremlins.  This is the week where my employer is honoring the staff.  We get breakfast and a gift (but were taxed on it).  I sent a note to someone in the office asking them if it was something physical to put it in an envelope and place it on my desk as I wouldn’t be in this week and I’ve had a problem with things walking away.  I’m guessing it’s probably going to be a virtual gift card but I don’t know that for sure.  That is what they did for 1 of the 3 years of the pandemic.  The first year we got no gift.  Then at Christmas they sent us 4 small pieces of chocolate which cost them a bundle.   I wish we didn’t get taxed on gifts especially when they turn out to be nothing but trinkets that are personalized with the company name so it’s a tax write off for them.  It doesn’t seem fair to me then again life isn’t fair. 

Finishing up here with the cats.  They both took their sweet ass time but finally joined me in bed.  Morea climbed up by my head and curled up and had to have a paw resting on my chest.  It was so cute and enjoyable.  Rudy climbed up on my belly and curled up.  He was passed out when they both worked their magic and I got super sleepy.  I held hands with Morea as I rolled over and Rudy fell off of my stomach but he was just moved on to the bed.  He walked away but Morea stayed put.  She turned on her motor which I could hear through my pillows and that was magic.  Ah I am so thankful for them.  They have helped me mentally but I still have my low moments where I want out.  I will probably always want out until if I ever find happiness.  That being a man and changing my life to being a bit more active and involved.  That will also probably extend my life and I know physically I will feel better.  I don’t know if that is ever going to happen but I am still looking. 

Ho hum it’s Monday and all I want to do is go back to bed.  It’s super cold here we got into freezing overnight so the heat is working this morning.  By noon things should be comfortable and there will be some cold nights but the daytime should be comfortable all week long. 

Here’s hoping that it’s a calm week, moves fast and whatever it is with the car doesn’t cost me much outside of an investment in time.  I hope your week is great too.  That’s all I have at the moment.  Talk with you all again soon.  Take care!

 

 

Cameras

Hi, I hope that your weekend is going well.  Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday was way too cold to do anything outdoors it was a great day for sitting by a fire, sipping hot chocolate or curling up with a cover and a good movie.  I stayed home for breakfast but the kids (cats) got me up early, despite my insomnia acting up overnight. 

I got a shower and then headed out.  Stopped by the post office to pick up the mail.  I’ve got a package coming that I have to sign for, it’s sleeping medicine and the new pharmacy makes you sign for it, which is stupid but whatever.  I setup an electronic signature through USPS which is pretty cool but it won’t apply to this particular package.  I think because they have my street address on the label.

Then I went to get my vehicle emissions inspected which took all of 5 minutes.  I passed which I wasn’t surprised by that, I was surprised that their computer was able to interact with my vehicles because the last time I was there it didn’t read and it was a huge ordeal that took way longer than 5 minutes. 

Off to visit my friends.  I got some advice about my cameras and found out that they will paint my house sign.  It’s just a wooden sign with the house number on it but it’s getting old and could some paint.  I had planned on doing it myself but if I can get a pro to take care of it might as well.  They said bring it out next Saturday.  I will be without it for a few days but they will paint it any color I want.  I’d like to get creative but I think of the HO ASS (aka Home Owners Association) and I don’t want to rile them up.  So I’m just going to say make it highly visible but don’t go horribly crazy on the colors.  Presently the background is white to match the house and the numbers are green to match the shutters.  I have never taken this down and I will venture to do that next weekend, here’s hoping it’s not a nightmare. 

I wasn’t feeling Sea Bass for supper so I went to a new pizza place that my friends told me about.  It was a little bit of a haul away from the house but I do like a drive.  It was okay not exactly what I was looking for but it was good.  They use those thin tiny square napkins so you wind up using more than if you were just given a regular size napkin.  I hate them.  I had plenty of pizza left and they brought me 2 small boxes I had to make it fit and I wasn’t happy about that.  However, they gave me this jumbo size cup of soda to go and that made it worth it. 

That was a wrap on Saturday. 

Sunday I had my insomnia and we had a freeze warning out.  The change in weather has my sinuses acting up.  The kids of course woke me up early because that is what they are used to doing.  I tried to sleep in a bit longer but that was futile and I just got up. 

Passed out food for them, took my pills and got dressed.  Out to breakfast.  I had the most delicious Bananas Foster Waffle with some eggs and sausage.  I wanted two of them but I didn’t dare try that after last weekend.  Then on to Target to get some misc. stuff one of which was cat treats.  Morea has a schedule and she holds me to it because she wants her treats.  I’ve created monsters but I love them so might as well make them comfy. 

Then on to the grocery store, where I saw a hunk and swore if our paths crossed after my initial up close sighting I was going to make a pass.  Wouldn’t you know it, our paths never did cross again and he went through self check out and was gone long before I was.  Then on to the gas station.  I got home and didn’t plan to go back out.  Turns out that my battery was low.  I figured that out when I lowered the tail gate and didn’t hear any chimes.  I broke out the battery charger and it was at like 40%.  Not sure if it’s my lack of driving or if I’ve got another issue.  I’ll have it checked out next weekend when I visit my friends.  However, now I am going out to dinner just to put on some extra miles and hey I will get another good meal that doesn’t come out of a microwave. 

Now for the fun part.  Mounting the cameras.  I elected to take care of the garage first and that was simple.  Easy up and done.  Next was the front porch.  I opted to mount it in a more visible location against a wall.  This installation turned into a bit of a problem but with persistence I was able to get it done.  The cats were a bit upset with all of the in and out but they liked watching me.  The mounting was the hardest part.  After that was done setup was super simple.  I’ve got them both on my Guest Network so they are separate from my regular home network.  I want to buy more already but I am going to give it some time to see how it goes.  The sound is LOUD and if you set off the siren that is LOUD also.  The spotlight are LED and they don’t impress me much but I’ve mounted both cameras where there is existing light at night.  So capturing video shouldn’t be a problem.  I’ve tested and set them both off.  They cover a wide swath of an area and for the garage I had to cut the motion area back or I would pickup every car on the street.  I don’t want to be pestered by alerts, I only want the real thing.  I like that I can interact with people via the camera and I never have to actually answer the door, but then again most times I don’t answer it unless there is someone I am expecting. 

Changing the batteries on these won’t be super fun but it’s easy.  I am interested to see how long 1 battery lasts and I will probably load both cameras up with a second one.  Easy to spend money not exactly easy to earn it.  However, once you get the hardware expenses out of the way and have your system setup the only real cost is the subscription for monitoring which is $100 per year.  I saw that Blink has a camera that is powered by 2 AA batteries and they say it lasts 1 year.  Tempting but I’m in the Ring eco system and I don’t want to mix systems but they too have the same $100 per year subscription fee that covers all cameras. 

I’m proud that I was able to set this up on my own with no help from anyone.  I just hope that it delivers what I am looking for given the investment I’ve made. 

Well off to pull the laundry out, head up and check on the battery.  I will probably go grab dinner it’s 3:30ish and with travel it will be 4 or after when I arrive.  I thought about a steak place for some chicken but then I thought about Mexican and well Mexican wins!  It’s a bit further but I think I will enjoy it much more. 

Back to being on-call tomorrow, not looking forward to that.  Plus well Monday and work in general.  Yuk.  I plan to be home all week long and venture out on Saturday morning.  Weather wise it should be an okay comfy week.  The furnace might run a bit before the sun is out but otherwise it should be just comfy and I’m more than okay with that.  I like it when I don’t need air or heat that makes me the happiest but it’s a short lived period where soon we will go in to air being needed and the power company loves that.  Ah well it’s only money, right? 

Have a great week ahead and I will talk with you all again soon.  Be well. 

Friday–work rant

Morning!  Yesterday was one of the first days in a while where I actually didn’t do a whole lot and didn’t spend hours on end in front of the computer.  Kind of makes up for the long days/nights that happen.  Today I think will be another one of those days.  All of my assigned tasks for the day are done.  That took me all of 10 minutes.  I jumped in to help with another issue and knocked that out of the way.  Now I am idle as idle can be.  Now in to a bit of a work rant.

Yesterday, I got a note from my boss asking me to reach out to a vendor about a project at my local office.  This is something that has been in the works for at least the last 6 years.  I’ve talked with multiple vendors, brought them in, sat on conference calls and in the end my boss gets sticker shock when he hears the price and he just drops the ball and walks away because he doesn’t want to spend that amount of money.  I went through this last year and brought a vendor in he sent in his bid and it was even higher than we expected.  As per usual my boss walked away.  The money in the budget far exceeded what this 1 vendor proposed and there are multiple offices to take care of.  He used most of the money on the other offices but left my office and 1 other where the price is likely going to cost the most.  Now he wants to pick up the ball and run with it again to talk about next steps as if we are actually going to go through with this. 

Given the past experiences where he makes me out to look like an ass for wasting peoples time, I am not keen on jumping to this task.  I think the ball will get rolling.  If he goes through with this I will need to be in the office several days in a row and that WILL NOT be fun at all.  It’s kind of a no win situation for me.  If he walks away then I look like an ass again but if he moves forward then I have to prepare to be in the office.  They will start work super early and end late so it means very long days for me. 

There is pressure from up above that is being put on my boss to wrap this up so I think he might actually move forward.  This is a cluster of a project and if there are problems everyone knows to come to me, I’m the person who deals with issues and problems since it’s in my local office.  Thus far I haven’t sent the email but it’s in my drafts.  I am thinking about just dragging my heels on this and when my boss eventually asks me about it say something like oh gee did you send me something I must have missed it.  I’ll get on it now.  That would buy me a little bit of time but I expect that he will be asking me about it next week.  To add insult to injury the vendor reached out to me within the last couple months and I never responded so they probably think the project is dead.  My boss is hell bent on using a particular product here and this vendor is 1 of 2 in my local area so if he burns a bridge here, we have to start all over and I really don’t look forward to that. 

One of the offices we just completed last week and there is a simple part to ensure that people that need to can use the service, he forgot to enter a bunch of people and the complaints kept coming in hot and heavy late last week and earlier this week.  He makes it sound like he’s going to take care of it and he fumbles and then I get to pick up the pieces, welcome to my nightmare.  Yet another reason why I just want to walk away from this job.  That is probably not going to happen and I am going to have to deal with this particular project sooner or later I’d just as soon put in the rear view as fast as possible.  My guess is that he will want it done over the summer and that is busy season for me, I should schedule vacation when he wants to complete the work that would just be too funny.  Knowing him he would forge ahead and then I would have to come back to clean up the mess so I’d be shooting myself in the foot.  UGH I hate drama and complicated problems.  I’ll do my part and send the email then just have to hold my breath and see where and how the chips fall. 

Work rant over.   Today is the day my Ring cameras arrive.  I’m looking forward to getting the batteries charged up.  I’ve been thinking a lot about placement and watching YouTube videos.  What I learned is to mount them up high enough so they can’t be knocked down.  However, I am the person who is going to have to change batteries and I want to make it convenient for me.  I saw that Amazon sells a gutter mount kit, which looks appealing but that means climbing up on a ladder every time the batteries need to be changed.  Now I see why wired cameras are much better.  You put them in and your done with no maintenance.  However I’m not climbing up in the attic and I don’t want to hire someone for that so battery cameras are my best option.  I really don’t expect to pick up much if anything but then again I could be in for a surprise.  I don’t think people are going to go knocking down my cameras but I do realize it could happen.  I am still sticking with making it convenient for me.  The front door and the garage are where I plan to place the first 2.  If that works out well then I will order more and build.  At that point the only cost to me will be the hardware.  The cloud plan that Ring offers that I am getting is $100 for all you can eat cameras and door bells at 1 location.  I believe they have footage stored for 1 month which should be quite ample for my needs. 

Weather went from summer like back to winter.  Were supposed to have a freeze over the weekend but then back to summer.  I think everything outside is going to be so confused.  I know eventually things will level off and then I will be sorry because the AC will be on full blast.  I had it on last night to get the 81 degree humidity and heat out of the house.  It did a good job and I had it stop at 77 which is far too hot still but it was comfortable.  I left it there and turned everything off.  I went to bed and woke up to a much cooler house but it’s comfy upstairs.  A little chilly here in the basement but I don’t plan to be down here that much longer. 

Going back up to see the cat kids, loaf as I was up and down last night with my insomnia.  I had cats fighting in my bed that woke me up and then they took turns crawling on me.  It’s like a workout just to get some rest.  However, they like to sleep during the day and if I take a nap we all go down and out, until the phone goes off or some noise wakes us up.

I’m wrapping this up I know the work rant took up most of what I had to say.  I need to get to Sam’s for soda.  Post office to get the mail.  That’s really it outside of the grocery store on Sunday.  I might go see my friend again on Saturday and I know that will do me a world of good but I am more tempted to sleep in. 

Whatever you do, be sure to make it a good weekend and enjoy your down time.  Stay safe and be well.  I will talk with you all again soon.  Thanks for sticking with me on this rambling.  I do appreciate your visit!

 

Easy Thursday

Wednesday is done and that’s a good thing.  I tried to eat dinner last night and got interrupted just as I was about to dive into my food.  Damn call forwarding.  It was something quick but still I didn’t want to work anymore it was 5p and I put in a full day as it was plus I wasn’t on call.  However, I took care of the issue and managed to eat even though my food was starting to cool off. 

The house was 81 degrees but I resisted for as long as I could with no AC and just before bed, I turned it on for about an hour, that helped.  However, it was still hot & humid when I woke up this morning despite being 65 degrees outside.  My house holds heat which is great for winter but not when you want to cool down.  I wish I had an attic fan, that would take care of the humidity in a flash but man it probably would scare the cats. 

My insomnia kicked in last night probably due to the nap that I took at lunch time.  I watched some TV and then Rudy helped me get back to sleep.  Damn him if he didn’t wake me up just after I fell asleep.  I guess I was snoring and it was bothering him.  However, I fell back asleep. 

Thursday hasn’t exactly kicked off quietly for me but it can always be worse.  Work is easy today.  No dumb meetings and I’ve taken care of all of my tasks for the day.  I’m just waiting for something to roll in.  I’ve already gone out of my way to look for work and helped 1 person.  I bask and enjoy the down time because it won’t be that much longer and I will be busy and pulling my hair out. 

This jobs work is much like an ocean tide.  It comes in waves.  It goes from calm to rocky in the blink of an eye but most days you can forecast ahead of time but there are surprises now and then.  The down time does make for a long day but it beats pulling your hair out.  I mean it’s work so there is no totally pleasing me.  The only way that happens is if I get to do what I want w/o having to watch email or my phone.  Then I’d be a very happy man and probably run not walk away from all of this. 

My Ring cameras are on the way, of course the Amazon person is going to drop them off.  They will be delivered tomorrow.  The spare batteries and charger aren’t scheduled to be delivered until next Tuesday, which I guess is okay.  As long as the weather cooperates and I feel up to it, I should be able to get them installed this weekend.  I’ve got the app installed on my phone and created my account which was a little more complicated than it should have been.  The damn thing kept arguing over the 2FA code.  I was entering what it sent but it kept telling me that it wasn’t valid.  For fear that there would be problems again in the future I switched to a 2FA app, which is more secure and I like better than getting a text message. 

I ordered the Black Wolf Sonic Scrubber while I was spending money yesterday.  I am eager for that to arrive and to try it out.  I never ever heard of this company but I did buy a couple of their products to accompany the scrubber.  Here’s hoping I’m not allergic to them since my skin is sensitive and picky about what chemicals including soap that it will tolerate.  I imagine that this will show up in a couple weeks but they may surprise me. 

I am tired as you might imagine and ready for a nap.  That is a trap and I am hoping not to fall in but it’s tough to resist.  I didn’t get my orange break yesterday so I have that to look forward to here in a bit and if I get enough energy going maybe I can snap out of my sleepy spell but I am more apt to just give in.  It feels so good and if I get a cat in my lap or laying on me it’s really tough not to stay awake, especially if it’s Mora and her Motor that thing is loud.  Rudy’s is soft and you have to really listen to hear it. 

No real set plans for Saturday which I am looking forward to.  I’d like to go back to that good place I went to a while back that was in the middle of no where so I can get some Sea Bass that sounds good.  Kind of depends on the weather and my mood. 

Need to get the trash out today and we have bad weather coming might be another Tornado afternoon/evening but I hope not.  Rain or storms is one thing but severe weather I would just as soon pass. 

Hope all is well in your world.  Take care and I will talk with you again soon. 

Dude Soup–Hump Day Bowl, enjoy :)

Smile for the camera

I went to the office yesterday and it was enjoyable but depleted my energy level.  When I got home I just crashed from exhaustion.  Thinking about going back to 3 to even 5 days a week and I think I would just be worthless after a couple days.  I don’t see how my energy level would keep up but I suppose my body would adjust or so I hope.  Anyway right now I got my 1 day out of the way and that is all that matters to me. 

I chatted with a friend that happened to be in and we got on the security camera discussion.  He suggested Ring.  He showed me his setup from his phone and said to go for the $100 a year subscription it will keep all of the video you need and considering it covers all of the Ring cameras at your house it’s kind of a steal. 

This morning I bought in and ordered 2 battery operated spotlight cameras.  I was going to go all in and get 4 or 5 but something told me start small and build from there.  I got 2 additional batteries and a charger so I can hot swap when needed.  If I ordered off of Amazon they would deliver them to me today.  However I went through the Ring website and right now they are supposed to arrive by Saturday with no charge shipping. 

I want to see how easy it is to set them up and mounting them will be another factor.  I plan to put one by the front door and the other by the garage.  Then just see how they preform if all goes well then I will add more.  I’m all about the battery and not much for wires.  The person I was speaking with told me they make kits to retrofit over existing outdoor wiring but I would just as soon not mess with that.  I am going with keeping it simple. 

I will let you know what I think.  I hope this turns out to be a positive experience.  The cameras themselves aren’t cheap but it beats hiring a firm to install them for you and then pay for a monthly subscription.  I hope this turns out to be worthwhile and useful.  I’m sure just like the cat cameras I will wonder what I ever did without them. 

Speaking of the cat cameras.  I looked for the cats yesterday on both cameras and couldn’t find them at all.  Makes me want to add more cameras inside.  I knew they were here and safe.  They were both waiting for me when I walked in the house and they were just as happy to see me as I was to see them. 

That is about the excitement for here today.  I have a meeting in about an hour to go to that I will dread.  Then I’ve got a couple of late tasks to take care of that will keep me.  Then we move on to Thursday and Friday where it should be all down hill and easy or so I hope. 

Had fish for supper last night it was okay.  I always think of my colleague that passed suddenly last year when I eat that meal.  I was eating the same thing when I got the notification that he passed.  Kind of odd that a specific TV Dinner makes me think of him.  I’ve got no idea what I will have tonight but I can say with a great certainty that it will come from the freezer. 

Happy hump day, hope things are going well for you.  Take care and we will talk again soon. 

Busy

Well the day kind of took off on me.  There was a lull that permitted me to take lunch but otherwise it’s been one thing after another.  Right now I am waiting on a person to tell me things are okay and then I can finally sign off for the day. 

Suffice to say things are moving along okay, nothing really major to report.  I had Taco Bell for supper last night.  I didn’t like the drive to get it because traffic getting out of their parking lot is always a challenge but otherwise it was fine.  That jogged my mind to log the charge.  That’s the one problem with fast food they usually don’t give you a receipt and when they do most of the time it’s on a printer that needs some service. 

I was all set to go in tomorrow but now that deadline is looming over my head I kind of really want to call it off and stay home.  I mean getting up early, showering and then the commute.  All kind of for nothing.  I can take the shower and save the commute.  Again nothing I do at work is any different than if I am at home.  However, I do feel a little bit of guilt for staying here so unless something changes my mind I will probably go in and get it over with.  I know that I will feel better once it’s behind me and nothing is better than the drive home and then seeing the cats faces when I walk in the door. 

I saw an ad last night on social media for Black Wolf Sonic Scrubber and it’s not expensive so I am considering buying it.  It’s a bathing product to clean your face and body.  Comes with a handle so you can work over your back.  When I tried to buy it on Amazon I found this wrap thing that said it works better and cleans 100% of your back but it involves a little bit of elbow grease.  I actually meant to order it today but the afternoon is getting late and I really want to retire for the day. 

Of course I am faced with the same question as last night.  What’s for dinner and I am thinking of heating up the spaghetti & meatballs I got from the store.  It’s quick and easy plus tastes better than something out of the freezer. 

I just heard from the person I needed to so I am getting away from this machine and going to be with the cats and closer to food.  Hope you have a great evening.  Stay safe & comfortable.  Talk with you all again soon. 

 

Education on Water Softeners

Morning and happy Monday if that is such a thing.  I’m more keen about Friday’s and/or days where it’s closer to a break or a holiday. 

Anyway I got to thinking about the Water Softener Battle.  I feel the need to explain a bit more.  Originally I thought that there shouldn’t be any water in the salt tank but obviously I was wrong.  What I had when this started was gallons upon gallons of water, which is NOT normal.  What I’ve learned in this process is that there should be some water at the bottom of the salt tank but it should be minimal and not Gallons upon Gallons.  I had a mush of salt & water (aka Brine) and with time that hardened and became a little like concrete.  It needed to be broken up and removed.  The best way to do this is with a broom handle and a shop vac.  It’s heavy so I should have probably had another person with me but that wasn’t an option.  Once I got the salt tank cleaned out that was 1/2 of the battle.  I spotted a leak in one of the hoses connected to the main water inlet.  That was the hardest part to fix because finding it locally was impossible.  I didn’t know what size fittings I was dealing with and when I came across that plumber a few weeks ago he told me what I needed.  Then it was on to Amazon where I found what I needed.  I got 2 one for hot and 1 for cold.  Glad I did this because when I fixed one the other started leaking.  Next came the test of the system and I still had way too much water.  That’s when I started pulling things apart and inspecting as well as doing some minor cleaning to make sure holes that water flows through as well as filters were not clogged.  Then I determined the brine pump was defective and the real culprit in all of this.  I ordered a replacement on Amazon.  Turns out the replacement part is about an inch shorter and part of the bottom support broke in transit but nevertheless the part works.  After a couple of recharges and taking the time to look up how a water softener actually works is when I learned that you need some water (not gallons upon gallons) in the salt tank.  I sucked out the water that was there, added salt and started one last recharge cycle.  Put the cover back on and I’ve peeked at it a couple times and all appears well. 

I also learned that most water softeners last about 8 years and they aren’t horribly complicated to work on but they do look intimidating.  The best place for parts is Amazon unless you happen to have a local mom/pop hardware store that stocks parts.  I could damn near rebuild the entire softener minus the tanks all from Amazon, which is kind of interesting.  However if your in way too deep it’s sometimes easier to just rip the old one out and replace it.  They all mostly work with the same type of plumbing setup up so if you have one, getting a replacement and installing it should be straightforward.  The hard part is muscling the old one out and getting the new one in. 

I know way more now than when I started and having that knowledge up front instead of learning the hard way would have been more valuable but considering how I learned chances I will forget it are slim to none.  I even downloaded the manual to my softener and have it stored on my computer incase I ever need to reference it. 

A new thing that I started doing back when I got a new Washing Machine is labeling new stuff.  I put the date of replacement, where I got parts and depending upon the item I may code in the price on the label.  It helps a lot because time gets away from you and details become fuzzy but with a label the date is easy to recall as well as the place of purchase  So the water heater has a label, my new UPS have labels as well as the one I replaced the battery in and the parts I put in the water softeners have labels.  I’ve had a repair person tell me that it was a good idea.  I’ve got a Dymo label printer and it’s used to address letters or packages but I don’t send nearly what I used to and figure the labels need to be used. 

I feel a little bit prouder of my accomplishment but still not the overwhelming sense of satisfaction I was hoping to get.  That’s mostly due to the fact that this took about a month, a bunch of time and a bit more money than I wanted.  However, I could have called a plumber and had them fix it probably in a few days but then I would have really sunk in the money. 

Another behavior that I am changing is that I used to fill the salt tank full of salt, it’s cheap and one less thing to think about.  However, I am keeping the salt level low so I can monitor if the water issue should come back.  It shouldn’t because the brine pump was replaced but with time salt builds up and things stick.  They need to be cleaned to get the gunk off. I’ve got 1 45 pound bag of salt in and I will probably pick up another but it will be kept as a spare and then I will swap out as needed.  Back when there were 2 of us and we each took way more showers and commuted to work the water usage was a ton.  As a single person who goes into work maybe 1 day a week and doesn’t take a shower every day the water usage here is minimal and that one bag of salt should last me easily 6 months to a year if not slightly longer.  I would fill it up but then if a problem arises with water levels I won’t know it until it’s far too late and emptying out salt mixed with water is something I never want to do again.  I damn near gave myself a heart attack and it took forever to recover from. 

There you have it everything and more that you probably didn’t want to know about a Water Softener.  We’ve always had Kenmore Softeners they work well.  If I had to replace it I would want another Kenmore but realize given that was a Sears brand it might not be available.  Kenmore designs are all in 1 units.  Where as other manufacturers have a 2 piece setup where you have 1 tank with the resin and the computer that runs it and attached is a salt storage tank.  I don’t have a lot of room and a 1 piece all in 1 setup fits quite nicely and frankly looks better, not that anyone will see it on a regular basis. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Soft Water at last

Hi and thanks for stopping by.  It’s been some weekend. 

Saturday morning started off with insomnia in the early morning hours.  Not exactly sure why but it was there.  I still managed to get up and going early. 

Did a super dumb thing and had Bread Pudding for Breakfast.  It was a new dish at my breakfast place but it was more meant as a desert, they don’t have desert but they do now.  I got some eggs and sausage to go with it.  Not bad.  The bread pudding needed raisin's to taste a little bit better but it wasn’t bad.  I just set myself up for a nap and sugar crash but hey I had to try it. 

Went on to get my hair cut, drop off my return to Amazon, pick up my mail and the last part for the water softener.  Then on to see my friends.  That was a fun trip but rain moved in and damn that wasn’t fun to drive home in. 

However, the rain did help with my afternoon nap that I had to have since the sugar from breakfast was wearing off. 

When I woke up I thought about going out for supper.  We had bad weather moving in and I had totally forgotten about the cats food so had to grab that.  Then I was set on getting food for me but the more I drove something told me that I needed to be at home.  I diverted my plans and stopped at Wendy’s.  Where a hunk o man took my order and my credit card.  Too bad whoever filled the order didn’t listen to my instructions because there was crap on my burger that I asked to be left off.  It’s the first time in a while that’s happened. 

I came home had my food and we sat in my room with the AC on to cool down the place.  Oddly enough a cold front was moving in.  We had really bad storms and several tornados.  We were supposed to be in our safe spot but I kept a watch on the media and I had the scanner going.  My phone and the scanner sounded some new warnings and sounds that I haven’t heard/seen before.  I just stuck with the cats and held steady in my position.  The storm like a bad dream was over just not soon enough.  No damage here but other areas weren’t so lucky.  Lots of people without power.  Mine flickered once but it’s still on. 

I came downstairs and installed the new part for the Water Softener and then watched a couple of repair videos and checked a couple of other things out.  Turns out this is one appliance that looks much scarier than it is but it is not complicated.  It’s tough to get parts for today because I suppose Water Softeners have fallen out of fashion or people rent them from Culligan instead of buying them.  However, I’ve been through a couple of recharge cycles and I do think I was wrong about water in the salt tank.  You need some otherwise how does the salt break down?  It wouldn’t without some water it would just stay in the tank. 

I went to bed and there is so much that wasn’t done but I just didn’t care. 

Sunday the dawn of a new day.  Also a day I kind of hate because it means were closer to Monday and it also means I have to go visit the grocery store.  YUK!

I went back to the breakfast place I ordered a dish with a chicken strip, egg, cheese served on biscuits and gravy and damn it was so good.  I was such a pig and after I finished the first one I asked for another serving.  I was so full and miserable when I left I wanted to go home and laydown.  It is back to feeling like Winter in the 40’s again and the wind is blowing.  Perfect day to sleep in. 

I went on to the grocery store, bitching under my breath the entire time I was in the store about how miserable I was and I got a couple of burps which felt so good.  Made it to the end of the line and left.  Then got into a small fight with a gas pump that didn’t want to work right on a super cold day.  Won that battle and finally came home. 

Put the groceries away, turned on the heat, got undressed and under a cover.  Watched some TV and then went back to bed for a while.  The cats got me up and then I started to move. 

They wanted lunch.  I then came downstairs and sucked the water softener’s tank dry (with a shop vac.  I’m talented but not that talented) and then ventured backup stairs to grab the bag of salt that has been sitting in the garage for a couple weeks.  I was surprised that it made a minor dent when I poured it into a totally empty tank.  I started a recharge cycle put the cover back on and walked away.  It’s finally back in service and I did it all by myself.  The biggest help was running into that plumber a couple weeks ago who told me the size of the fittings.  However I did all of the actual repair work and parts swapping by myself and that saved me a bunch of money.  However, this was a bit more of a costly project than I wanted it to be.  It started with a couple hoses then turned in to needing another part and there was a lot of self doubt.  Oddly enough I don’t have that feeling of satisfaction I was looking for I am more glad that this is done.  If it gives me any more trouble I will walk away from it and just rely on city water.  It’s not that bad but you have to use more soap and the taste is slightly different. 

Got a load of laundry going.  Going to work on the dishes and vacuuming in a bit.  Got to do some surfing.  Bills are paid and receipts are entered.  I need to get to filing but will probably save that for during the week.  I for some reason let things sit and they pile up after a couple months.  I file them, swear I won’t do it again and go right back to doing it again. 

I hope this week goes well.  I for sure plan on going in 1 day this week.  I like the comfort of my home but I need more exercise and to be around people.  Something about that just does me more good than I realize.  I am still amazed that I used to commute 5 days a week without question for years it seems like a huge waste of time & money.  However, the psychological benefits are immeasurable.  I’ve had some good times alone but way more good times with others, sharing a laugh or just working through a tough project.  I get why no one should be alone for an extended period of time with no end. 

I am still on the dating app.  No serious conversations have started yet.  I have pretty well exhausted all of the potential suitors but I tweak my criteria here and there.  I don’t understand why the app shows me straight men, when I see them it’s an automatic reject I don’t want to waste anyone’s time.  I want this to be a simple process and well it’s just not.  Emotions get in the way there is some awkwardness and there’s the complicated part.  I just wish my search was over.  I’ve been tinkering with this for many years now and much like the water softener I’m ready to walk away. 

A serious question though on a different note.  Do any of you have security cameras?  I’m looking to put in cameras on the outside of my home because there’s some strange stuff going on.  I don’t want to get roped into a costly cloud storage bill and wires are not my friends.  I’ve done some research but not enough to where I am ready to pull the trigger.  I’d be interested to know what brand you have, how they work for you and how much the monthly cloud storage bill is, plus how’s battery life.  I see the Ring outdoor cameras that boast 2 year battery life which sounds nice today but come 2 years from now it won’t be that nice.  I also kind of want to stay clear of Amazon.  The cameras I have for the cats are indoor, there is no cloud storage or recording.  It was offered but I declined.  Those cameras are Amcrest and I’m happy with them as they serve their intended purpose. 

Well off to surf and get more work done.  Thinking about supper and honestly nothing that I have here sounds that good.  I’d rather go out but I’m in my comfy clothes and don’t want to change.  It will either be settling for something here or hitting up a drive thru. 

Thanks for stopping by, I will talk with you all again soon.  Be well and stay comfortable if your weather is like mine it’s changes drastically on a whim. 

Sunshine & Friday

Hello and welcome back, I hope you are doing well.  It sounds like one of the greatest things ever Sunshine on a Friday.  There are several things I can think of that would enhance this.  One of which we don’t get as adults and that’s Summer Break.  Sure we can go on vacation but work still keeps on going and if your anything like me you come back to a pile of work and play catchup, that’s not nearly as fun as a Summer Break where when you come back everyone starts over on a level playing field.  Ah well Momma told me there would be days like this. 

Unless someone needs something I am done until 2p when I should attend a BS meeting to meet some new vendor team which I really don’t want to.  I’ve got someone leaving later this afternoon and then I am really done. 

My dick co-worker has asked for someone to either cover part of his on-call or swap weeks with him because he needs to go to a Bachelor Party for a college friend.  Well Normally I would jump and help him but not now, he’s on his own.  He’s also got the patching weekend so if you swap with him that means getting up super early on Sunday and I am for sure not signing up for that.  What I believe will happen is the boss will wind up covering for him on the 2 days he needs, one of which is a Friday.  I hate when the boss is on-call because it means were all on-call. 

That’s work in a nutshell for now.  Looking forward to putting that in my rear view mirror.  I will be glad if the day ever arrives that I can just stop working but I don’t know that will happen.  Anyway the weekend is around the corner. 

Speaking of which I’ve got my eye on a new dish at the Breakfast place.  It’s Bread Pudding and normally I wouldn’t hit them up until Sunday but I do think I am going to tomorrow.  I love sweets and this will either be really good or a flop.  It’s one of a handful of new dishes that I need to try.  I’ve got an early haircut and need to get to the post office and UPS store so it should fit right in.  I will probably pass out by noon but hey it should hopefully be a good time or so I hope.  If I feel like it I will also go visit some friends. 

Back at home Rudy has found a new sleeping place on top of my nightstand.  I keep a pillow there it’s for me to hold while I sleep but I don’t use it that often.  Well it’s his new spot to keep me safe at night.  Morea likes to be at the corner of the right foot of the bed and she keeps me safe from down there.  They both wonder away at different times but for the most part they are with me all night. 

I had to get up an hour early today because the bladder said so.  I went back to bed but Rudy did his best to prevent me from getting in bed, getting comfortable and falling back asleep.  However, I still managed to pass out for I think about 20 minutes.  He started washing my hair and tried to paw my face  Persistent if nothing else. 

The other day Rudy wanted to lay down in my bed but my phone was preventing him.  He started trying to cover it up.  I guess he sees me swiping and figured he would try it.  I just picked it up and moved it.  Damn if he didn’t move and do it again.  I held on to the phone and he got comfy.  He gave me a couple of laughs. 

Morea appears to be doing better but I am still watching her.  She still goes and tries to vacuum up any crumbs I manage to leave behind when I am done with a meal.  That combined with her grooming of herself and her brother I think is what is getting her into trouble. 

It’s almost time for my orange break.  Last 2 oranges and then I need to buy a new bag.  They are small things and a bag seems to last about 2 weeks.  I like them cold so I put the whole bag in the fridge. 

Another hot night and were in for yet another hot day again today and tomorrow.  It’s okay until we get into the PM hour after 5 and I last until between 6 and 7, then that AC has to be ON.  The cats are still amazed by the cold blowing air and sit in front of the vents like something magical is going to happen. 

Hard to believe it’s only been 3 months since they have been here and Gator’s been gone for 4.  Kind of feels like a lifetime ago.  Well both Morea & Rudy won’t be terribly pleased with me because it’s claw trimming time.  I plan to work that in today because I’m tired of getting clawed when they both make biscuits on me.  Rudy makes the most and the fastest.  Morea is an occasional biscuit girl but she loves to stick her claws in most anything.  I suppose it’s a cat thing for security but damn it hurts. 

Happy Friday I hope you have a great weekend and life treats you well.  Off to play and keep an eye on work.  I really want to go up but I know when I do it’s like the kiss of a death because that is when the emails will start coming in.  At least that is the way it normally works and if I try to take a nap it’s 10 x times worse.  Even if I am at lunch. 

Talk with you all again soon!

Boring–Bored

Hello and welcome back!  Nothing much really happening here.  Yesterday I was done pretty early and just sat upstairs on standby.  I got bothered a couple times but it wasn’t until later in the afternoon that I had to respond to some emails.  For the most part I had lunch and then checked out.  No one being the wiser.  Got in more than 1 cat nap but the phone has the tendency to ruin those. 

A neighbor called the police yesterday because they had someone trying to break into their basement through a window.  I was kind of interested in that call and it was just a few houses down from mine.  The cop said that the window was covered and secure, no way anyone tampered with it.  I guess the homeowner was delusional.  It’s honestly very rare that the police are here.  If someone goes on vacation and asks for their house to be watched they will swing by but otherwise I don’t typically see them.  That of course doesn’t mean they aren’t here.  I know they have a camera setup and watch that, but is not common knowledge. 

Poor Morea she got sick from both ends and it happened a couple times.  She was clingy after that and I think she wanted some comfort as much as she probably wanted more food.  It looked awful and I hope that today is a better day for her. 

I turned on the AC for the 2nd day in a row.  That draws both cats to the vents and they just stare in amazement.  They did the same thing when the heat kicked on a couple times.  Right now they seem to be fascinated by cold air.  It’s in the 80’s in the house by evening and I have to cool it off or there will be no sleeping for me. 

We have started to hang out in the living room and watch TV.  It’s a bit more comfy the space is more open and you don’t feel the humidity beating down on you like you would in my room.  My chair is a bit more comfy but hey it’s nice to see sunshine and movement outside.  It’s a little rough emotionally for me because that was part of my routine with Gator but at least now I can sit where I want.  I still see her looking at me funny, like you need to be over here next to me.  Morea & Rudy don’t do that.  When they are in a bed they just want to be left alone.  I am perfectly fine with that. 

I watched a police chase in LA in the afternoon that was a little interesting.  The police used spike strips on the freeway, which they said you see about 1 time per year.  This was a simple traffic stop that the driver took off because I think they had other issues and were probably afraid.  However, no sense in making a bad situation worse – just pull over and take your lumps.  It’s better than getting lumps while they try to handcuff you and take you to jail.  I mean the outcome is the same it’s just the charges are less and thus your bail will be less. 

The post office sent me an email saying that my water softener part has been delivered.  That was super fast.  I wasn’t supposed to get it until next week.  I will check my front porch sometimes they will drop a package off there but I do think that I will have to go to the post office to pick it up.  That can be a job for Saturday morning.  I could probably squeeze it in today or even tomorrow but I honestly don’t like leaving the house while I am working because even though it’s calm it doesn’t take but a second for the wind to blow the wrong way and then all hell breaks loose.  Better to stay put and be bored than to temp fate unless it’s a super quick trip. 

It’s about Orange time.  I eat two small oranges and open the back door to let the cats sniff outside in and look around.  We have a little time together and then I come back down here.  Sometimes it’s quick and other times well I work in a nap.  My neighbor was using his screened in deck/porch last night watching TV.  It was the first time I’ve seen him out there.

Saturday I’ve got a busy morning planned.  I need to get to the UPS Store to drop off a return, have a haircut appointment and then the post office thing.  I was thinking about eating breakfast out but that will depend on how I feel.  Then I’d like to see some friends again and after that the day is wide open.  It’s supposed to rain.  I know I need to hit up the pet food store but other than that nothing else really planned.  At least I don’t have to squeeze in grocery shopping like I did last Saturday. 

As always I look forward to being away from work and the down time of resting and relaxing.  I like not having to worry about the damn phone like I do during the week. 

Happy Friday Eve to you.  I hope that your doing well.  Talk with you again soon. 

Hump Day–Dudes

Review yourself

Howdy one and all!  Thanks for stopping by, I hope that you are doing well. 

Yesterday I received the annual email that I’ve gotten for the last 8 years that indicates it’s time for self reviews.  Each year they ask us to review our own performance and then our managers use what we put in to build on that and form a final performance review.  I think it’s a dumb process because who’s going to rate themselves low on the scale?  Who’s not going to brag about their work?  I mean it’s bias and tainted but hey I’ll play the dumb game even though I don’t want to.  It’s how we get our pay raises. 

Each year I pull up a copy of what BS I submitted last year and pretty much regurgitate that using a new word here or there.  We have to outline up to 5 highlights from the past year.  This year I took the opportunity to say that I am still wiping my co-workers ass despite the fact he’s been there for 3 years, just got a promotion.  I also said that we have too many damn meetings and they should be limited to once or twice per month, cut the chatter and stick to business.  I used friendlier language but if you read between the lines what you just read were my real points. 

Next step is to wait and then in late May early June I will have a call with my boss.  He will provide me with a copy of his comments and then the call is for him to read his comments to me, as if I am handicapped and can’t read so that we can both agree and then we wait a few more weeks and eventually I will get a call telling me what my pay raise is.  That’s pretty much the process.  It sucks but it beats not getting a pay raise.  I expect 3% but it’s not out of the question to get 4% anything above that is just a sheer miracle and kind of unheard of. 

Keeping on the job subject I watched a video last night about what to not put on your resume.  I learned nothing past 10 years experience.  Also that you don’t need to put your full address just your city and state that’s a new one for me.  Columns are also not a great idea because the automated systems that read them often chop things off or truncate them so they are unreadable. 

It was a hot night here with the temperature reaching 80 inside the house.  I had to turn on the AC despite not wanting to.  I let it run for a couple hours and then turned it off.  My room was a little humid but not uncomfortable so I was able to sleep.  I woke up this morning and of course the house was chilly but I didn’t turn on any heat.  It’s comfortable if your wearing clothes but if not then it’s a little nippy.  It’s going to get hot again. 

I was so looking forward to going into the office tomorrow but saw that I have someone leaving and since I can’t control when someone leaves I need to be ready at a moments notice to shut things down.  We do try to coordinate it but I don’t want to risk being in traffic and not able to complete the shut down portion.  That leaves Thursday and Friday to pick from and well since I’ve made it that far in the week why bother.  I’m just going to stay home all week and go in next week.  Morea & Rudy will love me a bit more and be happier. 

I’ve got 3 meetings today and don’t really look forward to any of them.  Thankfully there is 1 this morning and the other two are back to back this afternoon.  It’s all a complete waste of time in my opinion. 

That’s pretty much all I have right now.  Here’s hoping it’s an okay day and we can go back to bed sooner rather than later.  I like sleep.  Rudy & Morea like sleep too but they get more of it than I do.  I like that I’ve got sleeping buddies but I wish they wouldn’t hog the covers and would give me a little bit more room.  Also no early wake up calls.  Rudy doesn’t come with a snooze button and he sometimes likes to sleep with a paw sticking out so it’s easy to get a paw to the face when he starts dreaming and thinks he is walking, playing or fighting.  It’s cute when your awake but not in the middle of the night. 

Never a truly dull moment here with cats, they keep the place lively.  Take care and we shall talk again soon.  Be well.