Guys on Friday

Last Weekend 4 Someone

Afternoon & Happy Friday!  Nothing much going on here, just your average Friday.  It’s rather quiet.  I had a small mountain pour in some work this morning but I have knocked all of that out.  We had a medical helicopter land close by, I knew it was coming because of the scanner and if you didn’t know you could sure hear it when it got close.  Not exactly sure what the deal was they said it was a very ill person and there weren’t further details provided.  Air Ambulances don’t typically get false alarms from what I have seen and they don’t call them for no reason at all.  I always feel for the person and their loved ones when I hear a helicopter was called.  I’ve been in that situation and it’s no fun.  As I am typing this I am hearing about a head on collision with heavy front end damage to both vehicle and they have a helicopter on standby as they have to extricate from both vehicles.  Wow!

Saw a hell of a YouTube video last night.  Cops pulled over a guy who wouldn’t stop, they had to cause him to crash.  He had no idea what was going on and they got him cuffed and stuffed (as they would say in the Dukes of Hazzard).  He took advantage of the open partition and wound up stealing a state troopers patrol car.  They setup multiple spike strips, he missed the majority of them but they got more aggressive.  He hit the last set and went out of control, straight into a semi at 110mph.  The front of that car was trash.  The title of the video indicated that he didn’t survive but he was still talking as they pulled him out of the stolen police car.  I think this was in AR or CO.  The most wild thing I have seen in a while.  They were pouring bottled water on the engine area to keep the car from catching fire while the guy was still in there, as if that would help anything. 

I am waiting anxiously for the Amazon driver to show up with all of my stuff.  The UPS person arrived and delivered one of my items.  The rest are stuck on an Amazon truck.  I am partial to UPS they have the highest success rate for both finding my house and being on time.  Amazon isn’t horrible but they do mess up and you don’t really get a delivery window unless you call before 10p a window. 

I was playing around with Rudy this morning.  He was fully of energy.  He clawed my hand and damn it itched like crazy.  I wanted to kill him but it’s not his fault, I am the one who engaged him. I could see he wanted it and I gave in.  Guess what tonight is?  Claw trimming night.  They will both hate it but it’s needed for my own safety as well as theirs. 

I am not sure if I will be posting since I will have time off and I know that 4 days will fly by and be quite a blur to try to recap even if I do nothing.  I was reading yesterday on social media that this weekend will be someone's last weekend with all 5 fingers.  This was speaking to fireworks and how they are illegal here.  Not to mention it is so dry that it would be quite easy to catch your neighbors house on fire.  I pray that there aren’t many fireworks around here and that there aren’t any gun shots but it’s once again time to play America’s favorite game.  Is it Fireworks or Gun Shots!  I hope that all of you stay safe and if your like me watch your fireworks at either an organized professional display or even better with the AC on from your living room via TV.  I will record them on my DVR and save them, then watch it back when it gets colder out.  Just like I have the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade from last year saved and watch it now thinking about when it’s cold.  It’s just something different that I do. 

TV is quite boring since the Writer’s Strike and the fact that it’s summer time.  I do hope that comes to an end soon.  This has cheated me out of so many thing but one that I love the most being John Oliver and Last Week Tonight.  I love that show and they are always up to something.  He’s got a great sense of humor!

Well time to figure out lunch and then relax with the kids.  We have already had our morning nap.  I thought Mora was going to miss it but just as I closed my eyes she jumped into my lap and right on my nuts.  Boy there was nothing silent about the fact she was present.

Have a great weekend and a very safe Independence Day if you are in the US.  Take care, stay cool & hydrated. 

Career Suicide?

Morning, hope all is well in your world.  After my last post yesterday I went back and looked at all of my prior pay raises and for the longest time I have averaged a minimum of 4%.  That just made me angry.  I let it go but surprise it came back to haunt me in the form of a 1am wake up call from a bad dream. 

I can’t just let it go because I feel like I have been fucked but not in a good way.  It might be career suicide but I opted to call my boss on it and point it out to him in the form of an email.  I am well aware that what you put in writing can come back to haunt you.  I was respectful but firm in saying hey you fucked up here and you lied to me on top of it.  Now I want you to fix it because I won’t stand for it.  What will happen?  I am guessing they will throw me a bone and increase my pay by another 5% to make it equal to the 4% I am used to but I kind of expect in the back of my mind they will do nothing.  Regardless, action speaks volumes and if this is dismissed that will tell me all I need to know and that it’s probably time to move on sooner rather than later. 

Honestly, my job is easy and I am paid way too much money for what I do.  However, it’s like potato chips and sex, once you get a taste of it you want more.  At the end of the day I am working for money not helping people, that is just a by product that helps me feel good about what I do.  Money is the motivation and even if they give me additional money it will kind of feel lack luster.  It should have been something I was entitled to all along and not have to beg for it, which is essentially what I am doing.  I threw in the fact that I am always cleaning up the other guys messes and how he got promoted earlier in the year but I am getting punished and said I think you have the two of us confused.  That probably won’t be favorable to my case but you have to get your digs in where and when you can.  If anything I think my communication will let him know that I am on the fence about staying even though I never directly said anything about leaving or giving him an ultimatum.  I think he is smart enough to read between the lines. 

I am thankful for what I have and all of the opportunities that have come my way.  I don’t want to loose or leave this job but at the same time I can’t let them fuck me and not say something about it.  It’s a ballsy move for me but no one else is going to stick up or advocate for me, that’s kind of my job.  I don’t expect there will be any fast movement on this but I wanted to get the ball rolling.  I did think to myself do you really want to stir the pot over .5%, is it really worth it.  I could just sit back and let it be but that wouldn’t answer the longing question what if I would have said something, what would happen?  Sure they could ask me to leave but I don’t think that is going to happen.

I just got a reply that my boss reached out to HR and they will meet tomorrow.  He said he respects me and my concern.  I kind of figured that is where he would go.  HR is the defender of the company and I am positive that he had to forward what I wrote to them, which is why I put it in writing rather than having a phone call about it.  Phone calls are easy to dismiss but something in writing, not so much.  This may turn out to be an effort for nothing or I may have put a target on my back, I suppose only time will tell. 

In other news … moving on to the cats.  I passed out a can of grilled turkey this morning and old piggy Rudy couldn’t get enough of it.  He didn’t leave enough for his sister so I opened a second can and fed her.  She was polite and left some for him.  He went over and started eating what she left for him and he stuffed himself so much he wound up throwing up.  That combined with my early AM wake up call told me what kind of a day this would be.  I cleaned up the mess and then the chemical I use to get up the odor and stain, started leaking.  That has never happened.  It’s like it went from bad to worse. 

I jumped on Amazon and ordered a replacement bottle of the chemical, I have had this bottle for several years and as the cat population dwindled I haven’t had to use it until late last year and then I have started using it ever since Morea & Rudy came to live with me.  I placed a large Amazon order yesterday.  Realized I forgot something and ordered it last night.  Now this, the poor Amazon driver is going to have a lot of packages to drop off for me tomorrow.  There are toys for the cats and the rest of it in large part is stuff to clean & detail my vehicle.  I’ve let that task slip away since the Pandemic and I am tired of looking at dust.  I did think for a moment since I have the time I could take it and get something new but I am still riding my loan out and keeping what I have, despite that not being fully what I want to do. 

Hopefully it’s smooth sailing from here and we can ride into the weekend without any bumps or lumps.  I am so looking forward to 4 days off.  Here’s hoping that my work situation turns out in my favor, I think if the respect is truly there it will.  Here’s hoping I haven't done something stupid.  Talk with you all again soon. 

Quick Update

It’s turned out to be a very active morning for me.  Got through the wonderful meeting and shortly after I got information about my pay raise.  Looks like it’s 3.5% this year.  I was told that was the top of the spectrum but in a past year once I got a 4% raise so I would say it’s up there but it’s not the highest possible.  Were making tons of money and expanding so I would have thought the pay raise would have been better.  I can tell by the way the raise information was delivered my boss is concerned that I might be leaving.  Yeah that is always a possibility I mean you see more money on the table and either similar work or even easier role and well it’s kind of a no brainer.  I’m always looking but have yet to find anything that strikes my fancy. 

I was able to squeeze in an orange break.  I felt perfectly fine.  I went to watch TV for a short time.  The cats jumped in my lap and the next thing you know I was passed out.  I call them hypnotist cats.  They just have the power to put me to sleep but it only seems to work when they want it to and not when I need it to. 

Looks like it’s about lunch time and well that’s good news.  Having a Blueberry Muffin and a bite size Snickers with a diet soda just like yesterday.  It’s not exactly health food but it should keep my sugar from dropping.  Unless something else comes rolling in my schedule is free until later this afternoon so hopefully I will get more TV time with the cats. 

Working our way to the weekend slowly but surely. Now if I just looked more like the guy in the photo below life would be a bit more grand!  Cheers again!

In the middle–again

Yup, it’s Wednesday!  Hope your doing well and having a Good Morning!

Not sure about your part of the world but in mine, when the construction road crews break out the asphalt eater and repave the roads, they put up signs “Caution Overhead Power Lines”.  When the work is done they take the signs away but the overhead power lines are still there.  Makes me scratch my head and wonder why?  The only logic I can think of is that some of the equipment might be super tall but I’ve never seen it all in action.  I did see an asphalt eater in operation in I want to say TN or MS when I was on a road trip for work years ago.  That is an interesting piece of equipment. 

I have also noticed more Air Quality Alerts this year than in years before.  Seems that right now we have many more bad days than good days.  One of my colleagues yesterday had to go home because the office air was so bad, but yet were told that the air is safer at work than in a public settings like a department or grocery store.  That doesn’t seem like a true statement but it was one of the factors used to help get us back in the office.  Even my office air sucks, they just pull in outside air and there is very little filtration because were a “green office space”.

Yesterday turned into a real shit show, I got a tasked dumped in my lap and what I told the computer to do and what it actually did were two different things.  Created quite a mess and it took me hours to clean most of it up.  Eventually my bladder was about to explode and I had enough.  My hands were cramping and trying to type after having one hand on a mouse for two hours proved to be quite the challenge.  All was quiet until I was watching TV and it was around 9p.  I got a call for something from work that was silly, the person calling should have known the answer but I guess they were hoping I would lie to them or tell them what they really wanted to hear.  Not so it was one of those situations where I was unable to help due to security restrictions from Apple.  Whoopsie!

I’ve got the final two pieces of pizza to eat for supper today and then it will be back to frozen food for the next two days.  I have a bit of a surplus so I can be picky to a degree.  The pizza is really good, something about hand tossed crust that is just appealing to me and I can’t seem to eat enough of it.  Although after two pieces I am full.  I could push it to a 3rd but I would be miserable.  These are average size pieces.  I do think my stomach is shrinking as I have been trying to cut back on what I take in.  However, the battle is easier somedays than others. 

The best part right now of working at home is that I have a shirt, socks and underwear on.  No pants.  It’s super comfy.  I got the idea after the sweats I put on Monday, the elastic is shot and they kept falling down.  It proved to be a real pain.  So I thought why not run with just underwear.  No one is going to see me and the temperature in here is comfy for the most part.  It does get a bit chilly from time to time when the AC is on and I am in the basement.

I’ve got one meeting this morning and that’s pretty well it for the day, unless something comes rolling in the doors.  I get to announce that I will be off on Monday.  My boss has yet to approve the request but I don’t anticipate a problem.  Wednesday next week will suck but having a 4 day weekend will be nice.  I’m on-call Saturday & Sunday so I still have to be available but I honestly don’t expect anything to happen and hope that is the case.  Right now I am considering the idea to go back to the place that had the large onion rings that I went to months back.  I am in the mood for Sea Bass and the trip sounds nice.  Not sure if I will make it.  I have had thoughts of returning to this place for a while.  Soda is the best there the glasses are in the fridge or freezer until they are ready for use, then they pull them, fill with ice and serve the soda.  It’s so cold and so good.  Just an expensive place to eat. 

Cats are doing okay, Morea’s stomach settled down and she has returned to normal.  I wanted to brush her last night but she wasn’t up for it.  They say that cats don’t have the best eyesight but this cat can be sitting in my lap in the living room and someone walk down the street or a bird fly close by and it grabs her attention right away, every time.  She sees things that I miss.  I am flabbergasted by the fact she notices people on the street and they can be close to the house or on the opposite side of the street, if they pass by the window and she is nearby she alerts.  You see her get all concerned.  I’ve never had a cat do that or at least that I remember.  It’s been a very long time since I had a young cat.  I honestly forgot how playful they are and that is why when I first got them they were a bit of a handful.  They still get that way from time to time but for the most part we have all adjusted to each other.  Our routines are set and I can count on waking up to Rudy being on top of me each morning.  This morning we had an hour to sleep but I had to use the bathroom.  He got all excited but I told him one more hour.  I went back to bed and not exactly sure when he joined me but he laid down on top of me and went to sleep until I was ready to get up for good.  He’s not in a hurry to get off of me, he wants attention and soaks it up like a sponge.  They are both this way from time to time. 

Here’s hoping that it is a good day for all of us.  Stay cool and hydrated.  Cheers for now. 

Guys on Tuesday

Scary Evening

Morning, I hope all is well.  I had a scary evening as you might have guessed from the title.  Everything was normal until about an hour after supper.  Then Morea started throwing up.  The first time I didn’t think much of it other than I was concerned for her.  This went on for several more times spaced apart.  I had flashbacks to when this happened to Gator and it was the beginning of the end.  Things settled down by bed time and she came to sleep with me.  I told Rudy to wake me if she had any problems during the night.  I did get in a decent brushing with her.  She tried to eat and play with the fur that I got off of her.  That wasn’t fun.  It was cute for 5 seconds but after that it grew old. 

I had some freaky work dreams and for some odd reason my very first cat was back and I was able to take him to work.  He didn’t travel well so it really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. 

Morea was slow to get out of bed this morning, but that is kind of common for her.  She’s not really a morning cat, we both want to spend as much time in bed as we can.  However, she came out and pushed her way into the food plate with her brother.  I made sure what I passed out was Hairball Food, so hopefully her stomach is in better shape and everything stays down. 

She is like a vacuum and will eat literally anything on the floor.  It’s not like I keep food from her but she is constantly on patrol looking for things.  Her brother has the same habit just not quite as bad.  They both will lick almost anything from floor, lamp, furniture, matters not. 

I know that the vet is in our future for both of them.  I don’t want to speed that time up because that is when they money will start flowing away from my bank account.  I am still on the fence if I want to keep their rabies vaccine current or let it lapse.  Were good until November. 

Here’s hoping that today is a better day and Morea can resume a normal life or as close to it as possible.  She appears to be acting normal and her brother seems okay, I would think he would want to take care of her if she was truly sick and that he wouldn’t be bouncing off the walls like he normally is.  They both have times of that still and it’s attributable to their age.  Fireworks probably won’t fair well with either of them since they still have good hearing. 

On a different note I tried to provide a treat this week and composed a post of men each day since this is the last week of pride.  However, the post for Tuesday and Friday went up.  Wednesday & Thursday went into the ether and since I thought all was set I deleted the images.  So I’m spoiling the surprise but at least you will have something to look forward to.  Yesterday was quite a long day with lots of down time. 

Today I have a morning and afternoon meeting but unless something comes rolling in the door I will have down time.  I hope it’s a quiet & enjoyable week for all.  Stay hydrated & cool, be safe and have a good day!

Men on Monday …

Weekend Recap

Morning hope that you had a nice weekend.  I took Saturday off for me, didn’t go anywhere or do anything.  Just watched TV and spent the day in my room with the cats.  I know it doesn’t sound exciting but it sure was enjoyable to me.  My favorite thing in the world is doing absolutely nothing and spending time with the fur balls.  Even thought I essentially had Friday off it was nice to take another day. 

Sunday was my hustle day.  I got breakfast, the mail, cat food and groceries, cleaned the AC unit on the inside, did some laundry, and got pizza.  Even worked in a very small nap.  It was a nice day but I was really moving and hot. 

I should have gotten pizza on Saturday because the place was largely dead on Sunday and only 1 cute guy to look at, whereas if I would have gone on Saturday there would have been many more.  The food was good but this place can’t cut their pizza’s at all.  It’s always a fight to get the first piece and sometimes the second piece.  Service wasn’t the greatest but wasn’t he worst.

Today it is all back to business as usual and I am on-call.  I had a thought yesterday that would allow me to use the next holiday to my advantage.  I opted to take Monday off so while I am on-call all weekend, come Monday I will be off and the same for Tuesday.  That means a 3 day week.  I’ve got nothing special planned out and the boss has yet to approve my time.  I can’t believe I am the only one who wants Monday off, I see it as a gimme day where nothing much will happen because a good portion of people will be off.  I’ve still got plenty of time left and I will need to take a week or possibly two before the end of the year so that I don’t loose anytime.  I do hope that it is a quiet and uneventful week but that usually never happens when I am on-call all of the strange stuff happens. 

I have a letter in the mail I see this morning from my vehicles manufacturer about the recall.  I know what it is without even opening it, seeing the photo was enough to tell me.  The fun part will be scheduling that.  The manufacture I think is playing CYA but NHTSA says there are no recalls for my vehicle.  I will see that the letter says come Saturday.

Nothing else really noteworthy, it’s a boring day thus far and I hope it stays that way.  I would like to go up and try to watch TV but considering I am on-call I know that is a recipe to be called back, so here I sit.  Time to make my rounds on-line.  Here’s hoping it’s a great day for all of us. 

Take care, stay hydrated and cool. 

Nice Day

I hope that your having a great Friday!  I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep overnight, not sure what was going on.  In any case I had a quick call with my boss this morning and took care of a couple tasks and it was just a couple hours into the start of the day.  Then magically my day was done.  I headed back upstairs and got to curl up with the cats in my chair.  I got a couple hours of sleep before the phone woke me up but thankfully there wasn’t anything for me to do.  I essentially got a day off without having to take time. 

I am sitting on the couch now and Rudy is curled up with me licking my wrist as I try to type.  He just wants daddy time. 

Having some Spaghetti for supper and hopefully will enjoy the rest of the day.  I am turning off my work email on my phone and going to do my best to forget about work for the next two days. 

Pizza sounds good and since I couldn’t get it on Monday when I wanted it, I am going to get it tomorrow.  Probably some sleeping in and just relaxing.  Getting out in the afternoon, need to get cat food. 

Take care and I will talk with you again soon. 

Another day in life

Morning everyone, how are you doing today?  Nothing major new to report this morning.  Had a nice evening with the cats.  Got some brushing done and cuddle time in.  Passed out some cat nip just before bed.  As soon as I cracked the can open Rudy was begging me for it.  I just gave them a small pinch each, last time Rudy was coughing and I didn’t want to repeat that. 

Bedtime came for me and as soon as I got in bed they decided to start fighting.  I let them work it out and I concentrated on passing out.  I saw that when I was up in a few hours Rudy was on the cedar chest and Morea was in bed.  They switched at some point towards morning because Rudy came to rest on top of me.  I was certain that I heard the doorbell early this morning but it was truly in my dreams as there was no camera events to support it. 

Morea got a special treat last night, her and I came to the basement.  I needed to fill the water softener with another bag of salt.  3 months and the other bag was about gone.  She did her best to get in my way while I was carrying this 40 pound bag of salt and it wasn’t the easiest to navigate but no one was injured and no one fell so it’s all good. 

The burrito was really good.  Looking forward to the other 1/2 tonight.  I know not to eat a Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream Bar afterwards.  That was a bad taste decision.

I’ve got a meeting with a vendor this afternoon, the pest guy is coming and other than that my work is done unless something comes up.  As per usual I hope for a quiet day.  Things have a way of staying quiet and then bam your on fire busy.  That’s the way it went last night.  I got a last minute urgent request just as I wanted to sign off.  It’s all good, I still think it balances out in the end. 

Looking forward to the weekend and being able to turn off work email.  The idea being to forget about work for a couple days.  Nothing special planned at this point other than some sleep.  I’d like to take a trip again like I did last Saturday.  The drive is fun and I really enjoy seeing the great gas mileage results. 

Have a great day and I will try to do the same, talk with you all again soon. Be well. 

The Big News

Not sure if you like cliff hangers, I am not a fan.  With that in mind the big news is that were making money well over budget and there are even more people coming on board.  Nothing about being in the office has changed.  We were all told keep doing what your doing because your doing a great job.  I think our management is smart enough to know that when it comes time to force everyone back in the office there will be a revolt and some people will leave so it’s best not to upset the apple cart since they are looking to grow and not to loose people in mass. 

I’ve got the house cleaned up for the pest guy.  Had a junk food lunch.  Ate a muffin and banana then a bite size snickers bar and about a 1/2 hour later some Apple Jacks snacks.  Watched a little TV and then the emails started pouring in so I had to come back. 

Right now I am passing time waiting for the top of the hour.  I have a task to take care of then and I will be done for the day or so I hope. 

Having 1/2 of the burrito tonight and so looking forward to that.  Not looking forward to the side effects from consuming Mexican food but for sure looking forward to consuming it. 

Watching either Netflix or YouTube videos and waiting for morning to come.  I will have to remember that it’s trash day.  Having a Monday holiday kind of throws me off and it doesn’t feel like Wednesday to me but my computer says it is so that must be right!

I’m glad I can breathe easier knowing that nothing has changed, that is quite a relief, at least for now.  I know that some day this perk of working remote will go away.  People were asking me yesterday so how many days a week do you come in?  Well you can swing by my office and keep tabs on me if you want but I said I’m here today and kind of left it at that.  I know I am not the only abuser of the system but frankly the majority of people want to work remote since we have proven we could.  It was an adjustment but we did it and now undoing this will be like trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube. 

Take care and have a great night.

Dream a Little Dream

Morning, how are you doing today?  I was really wiped out last night, I lasted about 30 minutes once I went through my shutdown routine.  I went to bed early and I knew that it would cause issues but I was too tired to keep doing head flops and being jolted awake when I never even knew I fell asleep. 

I had an evening of bad dreams.  From what little I remember I got pick pocketed, some credit cards were taken but my wallet was put back in place.  I helped a woman who was sick until her family intervened.  She needed an ambulance but her family didn’t want to call one.  There were other events that took place all unpleasant but I don’t remember the specifics.  Add in waking up several times, each time Rudy thinking it was time for breakfast and there you have my night of sleep.  It was semi-enjoyable. 

I saw a few additional co-workers yesterday and socialized with them for a bit.  We have a big meeting today and everyone seems to think were headed back to the office 5 days a week, at least that is the concern.  I’m glad I am not alone in thinking that.  It’s only because we were told not to miss it because there would be a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT.  Well short of merging or getting acquired I can’t think of any other BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS unless someone is either getting a major promotion or stepping down.  I think we will all find out together at lunch time.  I do hope that were not going back to 5 days in the office.  I am eager to find out but also not eager to find out. 

I was able to leave early and made it home in 30 minutes which is record time.  There was traffic but it wasn’t that bad even though I got behind a few slow pokes.  Still getting great gas mileage and loving it.  When I pulled into my home garage I got a note from the pest guy, he will be here tomorrow.  That means I get to de-gay the house a task that I don’t enjoy.  I could leave everything as is and I am sure it wouldn’t bother him but I just don’t want to risk making anyone uncomfortable.  I think it’s a bit much to walk into someone’s home and see a naked person on a calendar. 

Well today would be Gator’s 19th Birthday.  The same for her siblings and I miss all of them.  I am just giving some extra loving to Morea & Rudy.  I really was looking forward to celebrating this birthday with her because I figured it would be her last one but little did I know what the future had in store.  Just a reminder that we never really know what is around the corner for each of us. 

In other more pleasant news it’s the first day of summer.  We get 1 second more of daylight.  As today is the longest day of the year so they said on the news. 

3 meetings today, 2 at 11 & 11:30 and the other one about an hour after.  That will pretty well wrap the day but I am on standby as usual for whatever comes in.  Hard to believe that I will be on-call next week.  That will suck.  It feels like I just finished after 2 back to back weeks.  I am holding the fact that I have vacation time in my hip pocket.  Looking forward to taking time 1 week minimum but might extend it to 2 weeks or break that up and make it 2 1 week periods.  Nothing on the books yet. 

Here’s hoping for all good news today and that it will be time to go back to bed sooner rather than later.  I do love my sleep.  Perhaps I will luck out and have a good dream to boot.  Take care and be well, stay cool!

Back to the salt mine

Morning, how you doin?  I got a semi-decent nights sleep.  I was really tired because I had to finish up my day when I got home from eating, but first I had to rest up a bit.  I accomplished everything I wanted to which made me feel good.  I didn’t want to pack my lunch but I did.  I never liked that task.  I am happy to grab something when it is time but planning it all in advance never really was my thing. 

I’ve got more Mini Burritos and then a Mega Burrito from the store along with some frozen food.  Right now I just want to go home. 

I woke up on my own, Rudy was sleeping on the job.  However, he was pleased to see me when I said lets get breakfast.  Morea was closer to me than him, he was in her spot.  Not sure what that is about.

I’ve got a call with a vendor at 3 so hopefully they don’t talk terribly long and I can get out of here at a decent hour.  The drive in was pretty simple and I got to leave early, thanks to short hair. 

Also I was wrong about the forecast it’s sunshine today but rain tomorrow.  That of course is subject to change you just never know with the weather.  Hard to believe that Summer starts tomorrow when it’s felt like summer for a while. 

I got a surprise when I opened my bill from my lawn guys.  No charge for the bush trimming.  It wasn’t even mentioned so either they forgot about it or it will come on the next bill.  I used to pay a month at a time long before I had a bill but now I just pay when they send me a bill, seems to keep them more organized.  The trimming they did was very minor so it might be free.  They also still kept the lower price on mowing instead of charging me the normal higher rate that I had been paying for years.  They still get me to try to pay some stupid gas surcharge but I always ignore that, gas should be figured into the price you charge and no one else ever charged me for gas as it was baked into the price. 

I am caught up on work and getting ready to head to the first of three meetings, I don’t have to leave my desk they are all calls and mostly a waste of time but that’s the corporate world they love their meetings.  This place more so than any other place I have worked.  I think it’s due to the manager I have because when I was in a different role and had a different manager I had maybe a meeting a month, funny thing I was much happier then but made far less money.  Everyone before me told me that my present manager was meeting hungry if there was even the slightest reason to have a meeting there would be one.  They weren’t lying.  I’ve been fighting it for years but it doesn’t seem like I am winning at least unless he is on vacation.  Speaking of meetings we have some big all staff meeting tomorrow and I’m concerned they are going to try to bring us back to the office but I’ve had that fear for a while now and it hasn’t happened.  I hope to be wrong again. 

Just looking forward to the commute home and walking in to see my kids and their faces.  They both hear me and hang out by the door, it’s cute but annoying when you have packages or bags to bring in. 

I hope that you have a great day.  Talk with you again soon. 

3 days of Fun

Hello, how are you doing?  I hope well and that you had a good weekend.  Mine is about to wrap up.  It was really good overall.  I spent a lot of time with the cats.  All day Sunday.  It was raining out and I wanted to get out but put it off because of the rain and wound up spending the entire day in my room, watching TV. 

Saturday I had breakfast at home and was able to go back to bed to get more sleep.  Then I headed out on my quest to the buffet.  Damn 1 hour and 30 minutes of driving.  Kind of felt like I was never going to get there.  Lots of things are the same but a few things have changed.  This was truly a good workout for the vehicle as I got the best gas mileage ever.  29.5mpg and I left on a full tank.  I thought for sure that the mileage would change on the way back but nope it just kept getting better, much to my surprise.  I was trying to hit 30mpg but never made it.  It’s only got 58 thousand miles on it and I think it’s just breaking in.  They told me when I bought the car back in 2017 that modern cars now days do not have a break in period.  However, my gas mileage was crap when I first got it.  I lived at the gas station twice per week, of course that was back in the olden days when I was going in 5 days per week.  Based on my experience I’d say modern cars still have a break in period.  I didn’t get really good gas mileage out of my last long term car until it hit 50 thousand miles. 

The buffet experience was les than I had hoped for.  No one to greet me and seat me when I arrived.  I had to seat myself, I marked my spot by grabbing my own silverware.  A waitress came up to me in line and asked me for my drink order.  I had Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Fried Chicken, Some stringy garlic flavored Roast Beef that was sitting in it’s own juices which was mostly water (wasn’t that bad but wasn’t the greatest) and Cat Fish Nuggets.  The cat fish was on par but as per usual someone when crazy with the salt shaker.  I made two trips and got the Roast Beef only on the second trip.  As I sensed I was starting to fill up I saved room for desert.  Some bread pudding with a dab of ice cream on top.  It was good and the only thing that could have made it better was having someone to enjoy the meal with.  I was shocked that they added a convenience fee for using a credit card.  The local bank branches all changed and I don’t carry an ATM Card so no way for me to get cash.  Prices were still dirt cheap, especially on soda it was only $2.75 for unlimited refills.  Whereas at home soda goes for $3 to $4 for the same thing, depends on where you eat at.  It’s almost to the point where I am ready to ask for water instead of soda. 

When I walked in I saw a rather large man come out of the rest room.  He returned to his table.  Then made another buffet run, returned to his table then back to the bathroom.  Seemed like he was in there forever but came back out and went back to eating, then made another run to the buffet.  I hate public restrooms and I wanted to use it but for the life of me I just imagined that things wouldn’t be the best if I walked in.  I was fine until I started to get closer to home. 

I had a flawless plan on getting home.  I knew that part of the town would be closed due to homecoming but my timing was off and I forgot about the parade.  I wound up being told to turn around by the cops.  I really thought about going around him but didn’t feel like explaining things or risking a fine.  I just wanted to grab the mail and unless they take up both lanes of the two lane road I needed to travel on I would have been fine.  However, I turned around drove like a mad man because I needed to get the bathroom.  Made it to the post office, then home and avoided any accidents.  I was so happy to be home. 

This morning Rudy had me up at 6a, he was hungry.  I managed to keep him at bay for 30 minutes then I got up.  Got food for Rudy and his sister.  Then I made it to the shower and got dressed.  I went out for breakfast.  I came back home afterwards, started laundry and took a nap.  Then I got up and headed out to get a haircut and hit up the grocery store.  I came home got everything put away and continued laundry. 

I ventured out to attempt to get pizza for supper.  The place I went to was closed on Monday.  Didn’t know that and wound up at Olive Garden.  I had nothing to bring home but I did have an enjoyable dinner. 

The newest thing I found on YouTube is Hypnotic videos.  A guy hypnotizes a good group of college or high school students.  Then the fun begins.  He’s got them dancing, singing, thinking that he is their favorite celebrity and gets one person to forget their first name and no matter how hard they try they can’t remember.  It’s really funny.  I can see how if your a good subject that this cane be used for all sorts of things like quitting smoking, losing weight, depression, anxiety, etc.  No idea how much it costs but I can pretty much tell you that it’s not something that I would think health insurance would cover.  Kind of like cosmetic surgery. 

I didn’t interact with any friends this weekend and am still am in a very good mood.  Something changed late last week with my mood and it’s a positive change.  I can’t really put my finger on it but I hope that the happy continues because it beats being depressed and thinking about checking out. 

I’ve got to get laundry out of the dryer, put everything away and make the bed, make my lunch for tomorrow ( I am going in and that means Rudy gets to made biscuits at 6a) vacuum and get the trash out.  Plus put a new sticker on my license plates. 

The only real negative thing that happened this weekend was this morning Morea got sick, it wasn’t a lot and it contained the “normal” food.  I do think the Hairball food is working for her.  Her brother eats it as well but I haven’t brushed her since Friday.  Were limping along on what is left of the canned food.  We will make it to Saturday and if not then I will make a trip over earlier than I wanted to.  I just didn’t want to spend the money and honestly there is no way I could have made it through that store after supper.  I was stuffed and needed to sit down and rest. 

Now that I am comfortable, Rudy is curled up next to me and Morea is sleeping on my bed.  They both got some basement time but it was murder to get them back upstairs.  I took Morea only down with me this morning when I did laundry and she was so good that she followed me back upstairs when I was ready.  I had to call her but she came with me.  They both smother me with attention but out of both of them she is by far the most clingy. 

It’s kind of a sad day in that if she was alive this would be Momma’s birthday and she would be 20.  Gator and her siblings would have their 19th birthday on Wednesday.  It’s really sad that Gator isn’t here I still miss her a bunch.  I do look forward in a couple of weeks getting to ring in the 4th birthday of Morea & Rudy on the 4th of July.  I can already tell you that Morea hates Thunder and I don’t think either of them are going to do well with fireworks.  It also sucks that the 4th of July is on a Tuesday.  I’d take that Monday off just to make a long weekend but I am on-call.  My boss always covers the 4th that is the one day per year that we can count on him.  Whoopie, nothing ever happens. 

Back to the fun tomorrow and it’s supposed to rain so hopefully traffic won’t be bad.  I know that having shorter hair will help to get me out early in the morning.  I hope that I am able to leave early.  I am not a fan of being in traffic during the week but weekends seems to be fine, depending on timing. 

Take care and be well.  We will talk again soon. 

Picking up the slack

The day started and just like that the day is done.  I had a couple of tasks to complete, they are done and there is nothing else on my plate for the rest of the day.  I’m happy about that and hope that it will be a quiet & calm day so that I can nap in peace & quiet. 

I did have one person nagging us this morning about one of the tasks I had and it’s like slow your roll I am working on it.  By my smart ass response I kind of committed my other co-worker into completing his part.  I finished up one of the tasks that was on his list.  He did most of the work, I had to fix one thing and then it was all done.  I told myself as I was doing it that I should wait and leave it for him but I didn’t want to take the risk of him dragging his heels any longer and opted to just bring it to an end.  I feel a little bad about it but at the same time I am not saying anything to him.  I don’t even know if he’s figured it out yet but he will.  I did him a favor in the grand scheme of things but in a way I also overstepped.  However, the weight of the tasks were working on falls on my shoulders and I am the one who would hear about it so it’s kind of like covering myself.  Now were all caught up and that helps me to breath a sigh of relief. 

Remember the Burrito I spoke of earlier in the week.  Well it was so big that I opted to cut it in half and make 2 meals out of it.  I had the rest of it last night.  That’s what I call eating on the cheap.  It was like $9 and I got 2 meals out of it.  Kind of like buying a large pizza and then having left overs so you get multiple meals.  I am out of fresh prepared food so it’s to the freezer tonight. 

We had some excitement at bed time.  I turned off all of the lights and there was a glow of the lamp downstairs.  The cats were confused and acted like someone was down here.  I came down and checked it out, looks like the timer shot craps.  I fixed that and this morning the light was off when it should have been on. 

I had an up/down night where I was going to the bathroom but I never lost any sleep.  Had some pretty good dreams, and Rudy was quick to follow me and start begging for me to get up early.  That was at 5a and I told him we still have a couple hours to sleep in.  He was patient about it but you could tell it was really bothering him that he wasn’t getting his way.  When he was on top of me he turned so his back was to my face.  I thought mister you better not pull anything funny or you will get to go flying.  He was a good boy. 

Morea was coughing after breakfast.  It took a couple minutes but that cleared up.  I look at both of them and think how lucky I am to have them.  I also still have fleeting moments where I want to part ways.  Then I look at them and think there isn’t anyway I could give them up, were too in love with each other.  I know they have been through multiple owners and they might be waiting for me to drop the bomb and severe ties but were in this like a marriage, until death do us part. 

Looking forward to having time away from work and being able to wind down.  The pressure that I have felt in the last couple of weeks seems to be subsiding.  That doesn’t mean I forgot about anything that happened. 

I hope that your having a great Friday and that the weekend will be a good one for all of us.  Now it’s off to sit in front of the TV and veg until my phone calls me back to work, that always seems to happen so I don’t expect today to be different but then again you never know.  Take care and be well.  

Calmness

Hello again!  I hope all is well.  I made it back to work (aka the basement).  There was a little bit of catchup to do this morning.  It was a productive morning and I went from 7:30a to 10:30a in what felt like the blink of an eye. 

I took my Orange Break at 10:30a and that let to a nap, which bled over into lunch.  I didn’t come back until 2p but there honestly isn’t much going on right now.  The bulk of my work will be done at 5p when I process a bunch of people getting promoted.  I see this all the time but if you talk with my boss he will tell you that promotions only happen at the start and middle of the year, but I know that is complete BS.  Anyway, I’ve got everything staged so I am ready to go.  Until then it’s just a matter of passing time, which will make for a long day. 

Tomorrow is much worse because there is literally nothing on my calendar other than lunch and my morning tasks.  Plus it’s a Friday before a holiday weekend so lots of people will either take the day to extend their weekend or just generally goof off and I don’t expect it will be a busy day.  I could be wrong but were in the middle of the year and I think everyone is ready for a break.  I’ve got something that will keep me busy for a little bit but I suspect I will be spending more off time with Morea & Rudy and there will probably be another nap time. 

Rudy had me up at 6a this morning.  He was resting on top of me.  I rolled over but braced him so he could come along for the ride.  He settled back down quickly.  Eventually I needed to flip the other way and that is when he just went up by my head and curled up.  When I was ready to get up he was on top of me and trying to wash my face.  I let him get in a couple licks but I didn’t want one of his famous lick baths.  I passed out breakfast and he was extra hungry this morning, he left a small amount for his sister and she gobbled that up.  They both were asking for food when I took my orange break, so I made that their lunch.  It’s kind of funny if I decide to skip a meal then they won’t want food but if I am in the kitchen and working on getting something to eat, they have to have food.  BTW my headache is all gone today, so thankful for that.  I hate headaches! 

Speaking of which thus far (fingers still crossed) no messes to clean up, the new food seems to be working.  I brushed both of them last night.  Their coats are thinning out and they seem to be shedding less.  I love the looks on their faces, it looks like sheer bliss and enjoyment as I run the brush over their back.  You can just tell they are soaking it all up.  It makes me happy that I can make them happy.  Both of them wanted to play last night, they entertain themselves, we don’t have much play time together that doesn’t involve them play biting me, which I hate.  It’s cute at first but they want to chomp on me like I am a piece of steak and that’s where I object.  It takes me back to raising Momma’s Family and how the boys would want to play all the time and then they got in this chewing phase where they wanted to nibble on my arm.  Ah, the memories. 

Just about time to wrangle up the trash and get it all out to the curb for tomorrow’s pickup.  I heard a truck this morning and thought for sure I got the days of the week mixed up.  When your home a lot the days tend to blend together and it’s easy to forget what day of the week it is.  Sometimes, I have to look at my phone or ask my smart speaker for the day of the week just to make sure I am on the right day. 

As for the weekend I am thinking of a nice drive to the buffet.  I haven’t been there in probably 1 1/2 years.  I went during COVID when it was safe but the quality had changed.  Nothing tasted the greatest.  Now that the world is back to normal I am hoping that if I make this trip it’s not for nothing and that I actually get to enjoy my food.  Seeing some nice eye candy would be a bonus but I go for the drive and the food.  The older I get the more the drive wears on me.  Depending on traffic it can be anywhere from 1 and a half to 2 hours one way.  Yeah, that’s a long way to travel for a bite to eat but the prices are cheap, especially if you go for lunch instead of supper.  I imagine a lot of the scenery has changed with time.  This is a trip me and my late spouse used to make and it was mostly enjoyable except for the few times we each over did it when eating.  You can leave quite miserable if your not careful and don’t know your limits.  If I do go it will also be a nice little workout for the vehicle. 

Speaking of which no word on my gas lift yet.  I would for sure think it had come in by now.  I am guessing my friends are waiting for me to come out on Saturday but unless I get a text, there really isn’t a reason to go out there.  I am in my head but I think taking a break is probably a good thing.  I don’t want to wear out my welcome.

That’s about it for now.  Hang in there one more day and we will be at the weekend.  The holiday I spoke of earlier is Juneteenth Day.  We used to close early on that day but since it has become a Federal Holiday in the US we are closed that day.  It took away one of our floating holidays but that’s okay by me.  I’ve got plenty of vacation time and I can make a holiday when I want or need.  The year is 1/2 over and the second half will probably go faster than the first half.  Talk with you all again soon, take care.

New Drug

I tried the new drug my doc gave me and I wound up with a raging headache just before bed.  I figured it would go away but it did not.  I don’t get headaches and when I do sleeping for sure wipes them out.  This was pretty bad and woke me up during the night.  I figured I wouldn’t be going into the office.  I slept in and went through the normal morning routine but something inside of me just said you need to go back to bed today.  I listened to that voice and took the day off. 

I did go back to bed.  I figured I was sleeping too much when the grass guys woke me up.  That was not a great way to wake up but I suppose it did the job.  I moved to the chair and watched TV.  Wouldn’t you know it I fell asleep again.  There is something inside of me that if I am bored my body just shuts down, it’s not like I can control it when it hits it’s all systems down.  I used to fall asleep at work in meetings thankfully that doesn’t happen mostly because I get angry or have a strong desire to reach the end of the meeting. 

I did manage to make it virtually to the funeral of my neighbor.  It was a short service that lasted 30 minutes with only one song.  It was tough to sit through and watch other people breakup but I didn’t shed a tear.  I felt sad but that’s about it.  If I was there in person I think that things might have been different but then again we will never know.  I do hope that this is the last funeral I have to attend for a very long time.  This was a very elderly person that lived a rich, long and fulfilling life.  I’m jealous a little bit but only because if life was to stop for me today – my life is no where as rich or fulfilling as I’d like it to be.  I feel old but in the grand scheme of things I am still young. 

Tonight will be interesting, I do hope that I sleep because I really need to get back tomorrow.  I won’t be making it in the office this week but there is still work that needs to be done.  I wasn’t thrilled about taking today off but I don’t feel guilty.  When I am out everyone else has to work twice as hard, that has to speak volumes for the weight I pull. 

Looking forward to supper I have a very large beef burrito from the grocery store to devour and I have some sour cream to go with it.  I might eat some ice cream afterwards depending on how I feel.  I’ve had my mind set on this meal since Sunday when I spotted this plump masterpiece.  I do hope that it tastes as good as it looks. 

My head is still bothering me a little bit but I hope to manage.  I already know to cut the dose in half of the new medicine when I take it again.  I probably won’t be brave enough for that until Friday night or the weekend.  I am not a fan of pain in any part of my body.  My head feels like a giant watermelon that I just want to hit with a sludge hammer and I know that won’t cure anything.  When I get a bad headache that is my go to thought.  I wish there was a drug that didn’t have any side effects, maybe someday it will exist but I don’t think that will happen in my lifetime. 

Here’s hoping that your day is better than mine and life is treating you well.  2 more days until the weekend is here.  Talk with you soon. 

Another passing

Earlier this year I wrote about a childhood neighbor that passed.  Today I found out that his wife passed away a few days ago.  The obituary was only published today and the family is eager to bury her so the wake & funeral are both tomorrow during the day.  I told myself that I would go to the funeral when she passed but for the life of me it’s the last place I want to be.  I guess that is why Rudy & the universe was telling me that I should go in today.  I’m saddened to hear of her passing but she lived a very long time.  Plenty of family and friends as well as lots of money.  It sucks that they both passed this year only months apart but that is typically what happens when one spouse goes, the other isn’t too far behind. 

I had sent flowers to the funeral earlier this year but for this one there simply isn’t enough time and rush delivery is super expensive not to mention the cost of flowers to start with.  The family said they didn’t want flowers but there are always those people who will send them, I am one of them but not in this particular case.  I wish I had a bit more time and that things weren’t so rushed.  I don’t get the rush to bury her, other than a cost savings.  Anyway, I posted my condolences.  I see that they will live stream the funeral so I am going to try to watch that from my office tomorrow.

So many memories.  This lady was the nosy neighbor if there ever was one.  If you wanted to know about something just talk to her.  You couldn’t call because her phone line was always busy and she didn’t have call waiting.  I spent a lot of time at their house and have a lot of good memories.  I do feel bad for all of her kids, which are all adults now.  This is one of those losses that you expect eventually just given time and age but your never really ready for it.  The will surely be gossiping going on in Heaven. 

Funny thing is that I used to subscribe to an email list where they would email out the obits daily.  However, someone saw profit and decided to start charging.  Now I have to visit a web page each day if I want that information.  I was passing time earlier and looked, her obit was the first one and it just caught me by surprise. 

I’m not depressed about it, not crying just kind of in a bit of shock and feel bad for the family. 

In other news I happened to see a meme that said you know how when your expecting a package, your more excited to see the UPS driver than to get the package.  Damn that was the case for me today.  Good looking guy scurried to my porch and dropped the package, then left.  I instantly thought of that meme. 

The day is pretty quiet and I expect it will likely stay that way.  I will be headed up soon to relax and be with the cats.  Morea curled up with me at lunch time and she didn’t want to leave.  She is so sweet and I remember when I visited she was the bitch and kept her distance.  She let me pet her once her brother warmed up to me.  He’d warm up to any stranger that would give him the time of day, that cat is for sure a people person.  Morea not so much until she gets to know you and trust you.  She got her brushing last night.  Not that much fur came out which I was happy about.  The new food thus far (fingers crossed) seems to be helping. 

Not looking forward to waking at 6a but I’ll tell Rudy biscuits at 6a and he will be sure to wake me, just in case I set the alarm.  That is usually the time he wants food.  There is good and bad with going in but nothing beats the feeling of coming home to two cats who are eager to see you and you have the feeling of accomplishment & joy.  That’s not something that I can reproduce any other way but it’s a great feeling. 

Hope all is well in your world.  Talk with you all again soon. 

Trying to sleep in

Morning … Happy Tuesday!  Since I am supposed to have a package coming today I opted to stay home and go in to the office tomorrow.  I told Rudy last night biscuits at 7a, I am staying home.  Well I think the universe wanted me to go in.  Either that or the cats are just used to my usual Tuesday routine.  Rudy woke me up at 6a.  He was sitting on me.  Morea was resting by my head.  I had to get up to use the bathroom.  Rudy of course thought breakfast was around the corner but I came back to bed.  He didn’t give up and kept trying to get me to get up and feed him.  He was patient about it.  Morea started bathing me but then she took up her position by my feet.  I just wanted to rest the last hour I had left before I HAD to get up. 

When Morea moved, I rolled over and Rudy jumped back up on my side.  He apparently knows a thing or two about pressure points.  He hit me in just the right spot where it was tender but I just ignored him and closed my eyes.  Eventually he moved a bit but stayed on top of me.  I had like a 1/2 hour left by this point.  I closed my eyes and the next thing I knew the alarm was going off. 

Okay so now Rudy gets his food.  Morea goes to the window and when Rudy is done, they switch places.  Morea eats then Rudy comes back for left overs.  He sniffs, decides he doesn’t like it and tries to cover it up, then turns around and nibbles.  This happens at most every meal and it’s kind of funny but it seems to be something all cats do because Momma’s Family did it as well. 

I had my breakfast and then it was time to get my medicine and get dressed.  Rudy jumped into my bed so that I can’t make it.  I got dressed and Morea was waiting for her cuddle time.  I grabbed my phone, sat down in my chair and Morea jumps into my lap.  I give her attention while catching up on what is on the phone in terms of mail and notifications.  Then I look back at photos I took on this day, usually seeing one of my late cats and then it’s time to focus all on Morea.  Before I know it I have to evict her from my lap and put on my socks.  Then stumble back to the kitchen.  Open the back blinds so the kids can look out.  It’s a nice sunshine day, very cool for this time of year but in a few hours all of that will change. 

Then I make the trip with my water bottle and phone to the basement.  Rudy and Morea just look at me with very sad faces as I disappear.  They sit in anticipation for me to open the door.  They are very patient but to occupy time they will play and run around.  It’s an interesting little routine. 

I still think perhaps I should have gone in.  I saw the traffic report and the way I would travel is all backed up, so I am more thankful that I am at home.  Honestly, I don’t have to go in this week at all but I do plan to try to make it in tomorrow.  I know it will be a waste of gas & time, I will be bored to tears but the best part of the day is leaving when I want. 

The phone went nuts last night and I was glad I wasn’t on-call but I still looked at what was coming in.  I wish that I could toggle work mail off and on with a flip of a switch.  I can but it’s buried and I honestly don’t feel like digging unless of course I have time off.  Speaking of which my next time off request for August/September was just approved this morning.  I am looking forward to taking a week or possibly two off but have yet to schedule anything.  It’s on my to-do list that I never seem to get wiped clean.  However, this is something I have to do because we can only carry over 2 weeks of vacation per year. 

Big announcement yesterday, we have a meeting to attend virtually next week with management.  It’s supposed to be just a regular quarterly update but they said not to miss it, there are plenty of topics that will be discussed.  I suspect every time we have one of these meetings they are going to pull the rug out from under us and require a return to the office.  I don’t know for sure that it will happen but it’s always top of mind when they want everyone to gather round.  Only time will tell. 

I had a couple of quick things to take care of this morning but those tasks have been done for a bit now.  I am already bored sitting at home, imagine how much worse it would be to be in the office with nothing to do.  At least at home I have freedom to browse the internet, go back upstairs and even go back to bed if I want.

Here’s hoping that it won’t be a crazy day, but that I won’t be bored out of my mind.  I’ve got 2 meetings one in the morning and then another after lunch.  Outside of that my day is wide open.  Nothing good yet on the internet but I keep a watchful eye. 

I hope all is well in your world and that you enjoyed a glimpse into my world.  Until we talk again, take care & be well. 

Men on Monday

Rest of the weekend

Morning – Just a recap of how the rest of my weekend went. 

Friday … I was supposed to get a replacement gas shock installed for my hood.  The part didn’t come in but instead of calling & telling me, my friends made me drive out.  They are supposed to call or text when the part shows up, but I am not holding my breath.  With parts and the supply chain it’s all one big gamble.  What is available today isn’t tomorrow.  Then to add insult to injury we didn’t wind up going to lunch.  That was really disappointing.  Especially because it was tough to get motivated to get out of the house.  It was one of those days when I just wanted to be lazy.  I also had breakfast out but asked for 1 less pancake but got charged as if I had 3 instead of the 2.  That wasn’t fair but no point in arguing over it. 

Saturday … Wow this is kind of tough trying to recall the past few days.  I went to Red Lobster for a bite to eat and to grab the mail.  I made it a lupper meal but had it around 3:30p  They weren’t busy and I was able to get right in and get a table.  Biscuits seemed extra good.  Wish I would have had a Pina Colada.  I didn’t really do anything else but veg with the cats.  Morea got sick. 

Sunday … Made it to breakfast, Target, The Grocery Store & The Cat Food Store, time for Hairball food.  They seem to enjoy it.  Then had McDonald’s as a treat for supper.  It wasn’t good for me but boy was it good.  Got the trash taken out, water fountain changed, toothbrushes changed and litter boxes filled with fresh litter.  Spent a lot of time with the cats.  They enjoyed it.

Not super excited about being back at work.  Already managed to point out some mistakes my co-worker has made.  I am caught up, was surprised but this time after being gone for 2 days I only had 88 emails to come back to and a good portion of that was nothing but trash.  I am going to head up in a bit for an orange break and to see the cats.  I’ve seen our Groundhog the past few days (morning, afternoon and evening).  I should call the trap guy back but honestly I don’t want to mess with him, since it seems like he’s more after my money than he is the groundhog. 

We got rain yesterday and I was caught in it during a couple of my ventures out.  It was amazing that I could park in the garage, go out not even 30 minutes later and the humidity was so high the car was bone dry.  There were still puddles on the ground.  It was HOT yesterday. 

Good old Amazon has changed their shipping from UPS to their own carrier for prescriptions.  I’ve got some new medicine and had the doc send it there because it would be cheaper.  Of course they have managed to screw up the delivery.  Some how it wound up in the wrong carriers stream but not until it got close to me.  Now it will be days before I get this.  I was supposed to have it on Saturday.  I was told yesterday afternoon that I should get an email today letting me know when it will arrive.  They did offer to cancel the order but that means I would have had to the doc call it in to a local pharmacy and then shell out more money than if I was just patient and wait.  It’s not life sustaining but it’s something new I wanted to try.  I’d like to get it today but I think it’s probably a safer bet to say that I will have it mid-week.  I need to place another Amazon order but I honestly don’t want to.  I hate shipping mess ups.  UPS is the one carrier that has the best success rate for me, but they aren’t perfect.  It would be nice if they switched back but I know that won’t happen, the long term plan always was to migrate away from UPS for shipping.  Truly sad for me. 

This is a 5 day work week for me.  My boss is working from his childhood home visiting his mom.  That will last for a week.  Then he should be off on vacation for either 1 or 2 weeks.  That will be super great.  This weekend is a 3 day weekend, since next Monday is Juneteenth.  One more holiday next month and were done until September.  Speaking of which I timed my next doctors visit to co-inside with the Labor Day weekend and my Birthday.  I will have a 5 day weekend to look forward to then.  I still have gobs of time to burn so I will need to put in for a week or two.  Part of me wants to get a dumpster and clean this place up.  The other part of me wants to travel.  I also have a great idea of just pissing a week away and lounging around the house. 

I think it’s going to be a long day because it’s kind of quiet.  That’s okay by me, at least I am no longer on-call.  My 2 week journey of hell is done.  Something I never want to repeat.  Here’s hoping it is a great day & week for all of us.  Talk with you all again soon. 

The Doctor

My visit today was really quick, everyone was on their A game.  I spent as much time as I needed with the doctor and it didn’t feel like I was being rushed along.  I managed to remember everything I wanted to talk about.  I’ve gained some weight since last time, only 4 pounds but it’s going the wrong direction.  Turns out one of the medicines I take to control my blood sugar is preventing me from loosing weight.  The solution is to switch drugs but were talking to an injectable, even though it’s only 1 time a week the thought doesn’t thrill me.  Plus all of the injectables are brand name and that means money.  I am going to check to see what insurance will pay and then if there are any rebate programs.  I may make the switch.  The doc said that these medicines actually promote weight loss and were talking like 50 pounds pretty quick.  That would for sure make me happier. 

Speaking of happiness we talked about my depression and how I think that some day the cats won’t be enough of a deterrent.  He’s worried about me.  He talked about maybe switching up my anti-depression meds to something old school.  It would help with my insomnia but those meds also promote weight gain.  So it’s kind of a double edge sword.  I talked about being institutionalized and told him that isn’t something that I want.  He said no one looks forward to it.  The up side is the time off from work but the downside is your locked up.  I told him that I am smart enough to know when to call for help. 

What I was encouraged to do is to get out more.  Make some friends, go for a walk – occupy myself but with things that involve others.  Potentially going into the office more often than I do.  I get it those things will help me feel better.  When I am around other people that know me and I interact with them I tend to feel better so it’s not a surprise that he suggested that.  I’d love to follow his advice but the making friends part is a bit on the difficult side. 

I didn’t really spend any money today.  I ate both of my meals at home.  I thought about going out and potentially hitting up some friends but wound up taking a nap with the cats.  Watching TV and just relaxing. 

Tomorrow I will for sure be getting out to get my car worked on, hopefully going to lunch.  I might even go out for breakfast.  I wanted to hit up the movies but show times didn’t really work out for me.  Hopefully I either can work it into the weekend or what I want to see comes to being available at home.  I’ve got to for sure get to Target I am low on cat treats.  Morea needs some hairball food, it’s the next step to trying to combat her throwing up.  I brushed her last night, just her and it looked like I brushed three cats.  There was a lot of fur.  I had a thought to get her to the vet for a bath and shedding treatment, that would probably do her a world of good but I don’t know that she would tolerate it well and I don’t know how much actual fur she would loose.  I know she would smell funny and that isn’t a good thing. 

Hope you had a great day.  I am headed back to the TV.  Hopefully, I get some decent sleep tonight, that wasn’t the cast last night but I did have a soda like 30 minutes before I went to bed.  Not a great idea.  Tonight it’s all water.  I want soda and sugar but I am trying to “be good”. 

Oh my blood work also came back hours after I got home.  I was surprised it’s never done that fast.  A1C is 5.8% which is good.  All of the other levels that were measured are well within tolerance.  I had him check my Thyroid, it just barely squeaked by into the normal range. 

Talk with you all again.  Be well and try to stay cool.     

SSDD

Good Day I hope all is going well for you.  It’s sort of my Friday today.  I work a normal day, cover on-call and then when I go to sleep I am off.  I pick back up on Friday at 5p but until then I am off.  I get to see the doctor and get my car worked on, how exciting!  I am supposed to have lunch with a friend as well and I do look forward to that. 

Yesterday afternoon and again this morning it’s been nothing but mop up duty.  Fixing other peoples mistakes.  I love helping people but I hate cleaning up after others, hell I don’t like to clean up after myself but I do it. 

I saw the strangest bug this morning in my room.  It looked like a spec of dirt, but then I noticed it was moving.  Before the cats figured it out, I grabbed a tissue and picked it up.  Never seen anything like it and hope that it’s one of a kind.  I’ll mention it when the pest guy is here in a couple weeks.  I have no idea what it was.  Looked like the size of a grain of rice but it was black, no wings or feet, it crawled.  Kind of surprised that one of the cats didn’t see it but since it was super small it was just by chance I came across it. 

Another night where my insomnia kicked in and I was up for an hour.  Morea wasn’t happy about it because the TV was in her eyes but she managed to adjust.  She never moved an inch and waited for me to return to the bed.  Then she crawled up by my head and slept with me for a little bit.  When she left she managed to wake me, no big deal.  She isn’t exactly light on her feet.  Reminds me of my big boy.  She has no trouble moving around and is pretty quick despite being a bit on the large side.  She has really taken to me and craves attention as well as belly rubs. 

Had some Beef & Bean mini burritos from the grocery store.  I added some extra cheese and tried some taco sauce to spice them up a little bit.  They are so good and they have been making them since last month, I pray they don’t stop.  I would love some Mexican Lasagna but they stopped making that a long time ago.  It would be awesome if they revived it.  I like quick grab n go options it beats a TV dinner.  Might cost a little bit more but I am okay with that. 

Speaking of costing more last month was a pretty expensive month.  My last credit card just closed and it was about $200 higher than I am used to.  Just paid it off this morning, I wasn’t always able to do that but damn it feels good to get back to zero. 

Outside of that it’s kind of boring here.  I am just watching the time pass and eager to switch off work email on my phone, if only for a short time.  I am not eager for my next on-call week but at least it will be 3 weeks away at the end of the month.  Were back to a normal schedule and even every 3 weeks is a bit much.  No one looks forward to it but we all do it.  I miss the days of extra pay for being on-call.  I got $100 extra for the week for the inconvenience and then I got to bill in 15 minute increments for my time and there were times when I was able to rake in the cash and other times when it was just an extra $100.  That is one of the downsides to not being en hourly employee any longer. 

I am going to take a break, a bit of an extended lunch hour if circumstances allow.  Hopefully, they will.  I need to rest up and keep my blood pressure at a normal level.  Hoping that the day passes quickly without too much BS to deal with. 

I know the cats won’t permit me to sleep in but it will be fun not having to rush around tomorrow morning and be able to take my time.  I do have a deadline as to when I need to leave.  I hate the commute to and from the doctors office but it allow time to think and I get to see some of my old stomping grounds.  I used to work out by where my doctor is.  Lots of memories, spent 5 years out that way.  Yep, traveling it 5 days per week around 45 miles one way.  That racks up the miles on your car pretty fast.  So glad I don’t have to do that now.  I like watching the traffic on TV and not being in it, that is much more enjoyable. 

I hope you have a great rest of the day.  Until we meet again, may the odds be forever in your favor.  Take care!

No Mowing Yet

Morning … My neighbor didn’t mow his lawn last night, I guess I can always hope for tonight.  He isn’t in any kind of a hurry.  It’s not like he is going to get in trouble since he works for County Government, it’s like he is above the law.  I suppose that is why he never trims his bushes, it looks horrible but I am just keeping that to myself, outside of the fact I just shared it with “the internet”.  I know you won’t tell him, right? 

I stumbled on a You Tube channel that was live broadcasting a train ride through the Netherlands (I think).  There was lots of tunnels and snow.  It looked very nice.  I had the thought the other day when I was watching a porn clip of two guys on a train, that it might be fun to take a train trip.  However, I don’t know that I would get any sleep with the whistle blowing randomly.  A day trip doesn’t sound bad though.  I’ve always liked trains, I was introduced to them by my grandfather.  He had a nice setup in our basement and put some serious work into it.  He had a brother that out did him and his setup was much grander but still they all just went in a large circle.  My late spouse loved trains as well.  I have his collection buried here in the basement.  It another one of those things that I could sell and probably walk away with some cash.  However, I don’t know enough about the going rate for model train stuff and could easily get ripped off. 

Any who it was nice to lower the volume and let that play while the cats slept and I surfed on my phone.  The whistle got my attention a couple times but didn’t seem to wake the cats.  I remember when they first arrived the least amount of noise would wake them.  From my phone to my police scanner.  They were seriously jumpy.  Now they are used to it.  Unless it’s something really loud they won’t wake up. 

I had something different for supper last night.  It was a bowl of Mac & Cheese with Broccoli Cheese Soup.  Not the greatest but damn the photo on the outside is what drew me in.  4 minutes in the microwave and it was ready and spitting hot. 

I didn’t sleep the best.  I was quick to get into bed because I was sleepy.  Morea climbed up by my head and slept with me most of the night, which is something new.  She got sick again after supper last night.  I hope that this doesn’t mean she is going to get sick again.  She gets clingy but I don’t know if it’s out of love or fear, still figuring her out.  My back was killing me when I woke up.  Then Rudy was all over me to try to wake me up.  We still had 3 hours to go and I managed to get him to paws.  He was quick to pounce once he saw my eyes open to check the time. 

Not a lot going on this morning thus far.  I hope that it stays that way.  I’ve got that wonderful meeting to run this afternoon.  After that nothing else really on the radar.  I did have 3 things come in last night.  I logged in to take care of one of them because it was early enough, the other two came up closer to 5p and that’s when I said they will wait until tomorrow.  I’m playing by the rules and unless it’s marked urgent it waits.  The only thing good about Monday is that I won’t be on-call any longer.  I will be sure to never ever schedule myself for 2 weeks of back to back on-call that is very stressful.  Wish I knew what I was thinking.  I do remember thinking, oh that will be a walk in the park, super easy.  Yeah well I didn’t account for a shift in mood and a change in attitude. 

Looking forward to putting this day in the rear view mirror and moving on to what will be my Friday.  There will be a bit more to do tomorrow but that just means it will help time to pass instead of sitting here and waiting for the clock to move.  I am waiting on something at work at the moment but once that is done, I am headed up for an orange break and perhaps a moment or three of relaxation.  I’ll come back down when I am needed or when my next task is due. 

Here’s hoping it’s a great Tuesday for everyone.  Take care. 

Tall Grass = Shirtless Man ?

Sitting with idle hands I have been surfing the web and looking at photos of guys both clothed and naked.  I recall at lunch noticing that the neighbors grass was getting kind of tall.  I wonder if that means he’s going to take off his shirt and push the mower?  I can only hope so.  My neighbor isn’t well ripped like the guy in the photo nor does his mower have a bagger.  The best part of summer is looking at all of the shirtless guys.  I don’t get to see that many but I do mostly enjoy what I see. 

I did some more looking on my vehicle.  Turns out the recall notices are going out at the end of the month.  The manufacturer says my vehicle is includes but NHTSA says it’s not included.  I don’t know who to believe but if I get a recall notice in the mail I will be calling the dealer to set up service.  Haven’t been to a dealer in a very long time for any kind of service.  I do understand why some people call them stealerships because they do rob you of your money.  Here’s hoping my car doesn’t burst into flames.  It can happen at any time regardless if the vehicle is running or not.  Parking at work is in a covered garage, if you park on the street you have to slug a meter and it’s quite expensive.  I know if I say something I will be asked to park on the street and no one will pick up that tab, so better to keep my mouth shut for now. 

The boss made me mad again, what’s new?  I get to run a large meeting tomorrow.  I had to run it last week because he was on vacation.  This week he’s going to the doctor.  Next week he better damn sure run this thing himself OR find another sucker, I am done.  I am also not being proactive and helping people where & when I can, I wait for problems to trickle up like everyone else.  I mean I only occasionally exceed expectations so why not live up to my review?  Yes, I’m bitter and it’s going to stick with me for a while.  I might go back to being my helpful self again but for now I am only doing the bare minimum of what is required, nothing more.  The problem when you excel at your job is that you get fucked over in one way or another.  This happens no matter where you work.  I’ve seen it happen to other people and now I have the experience myself.  It’s not fun. 

Well before something comes in I am headed up to be with the cats.  Grab my laptop to hopefully ward off any problems but also keeping me prepared in case I need to login.  If I ever would switch jobs my first requirement is no on-call, it’s so old it’s beyond stale. 

Have a great evening and maybe you will see some good looking people, perhaps a shirtless man or woman.  Perhaps I will see the neighbor all shirtless, hot and sweaty.  It would be nice.  I’m not holding my breath though.  Talk with you again soon.