Sick Day

I woke up really feeling the after affects of my refrigerator workout.  My left hip hurt like crazy, this started last night and I figured a good nights sleep would cure that.  However, I was wrong.  I ate breakfast and fed the cats so for all intense and purposes the day started normal but I knew when I woke up that today I was not going to work. 

I took a muscle relaxer and it’s amazing that one little pill can knock you out of commission for the entire day.  I was hallucinating as I tried to stay awake this afternoon after having slept most of the morning.  Eventually I just gave up and went back to sleep.  I slept pretty much all day long. 

I turned my phone on close to 5p and found that my other co-worker that had been out for 2 days took today as well.  That has only happened a couple times that both of us were out or off.  Usually one of us is there.  I only have 50ish emails to comb through and I seriously plan to return tomorrow. 

I do feel better not 100% but I am hopeful that tomorrow is a better day than today was. 

Good news is that last night I got up the courage to pull the fridge/freezer out to check and there wasn’t a drop of moisture to be found so I fixed the issue.  That made me feel good but I had a strong feeling that when the filter broke in the afternoon that was the source of the problem.  I hope the appliance keeps on humming along for many years ahead. 

Also got my paycheck that reflects my pay raise and I am getting $83 more per pay period, I think I will just up my savings and take the money rather than stuff part of it in a 401K.  I can always change my mind. 

My apologies for no Man Candy today but you know me I will make it up to you once I get caught up.  Right now my worry is sleeping tonight so long as I can accomplish that I will be able to meet my goal of going back tomorrow. 

Take care and hang in there were closer now than we were on Monday to the weekend. 

Memories & Money

Morning!

Glad that Monday is out of the way.  It was a long day for me.  Today will be a little bit of the same.  Yesterday was so long because I had a lot of idle time and that should prove to be the same today or so I hope.  I enjoy taking a break from the screens, heading upstairs to be with the cats. 

Supper last night was left over Chinese food, which was combination house fried rice.  I added a little bit of hot sauce for some flavor.  As per usual Rudy bothered me and wanted some of it while I was eating.  I looked at him like I always do and say what’s a matter do you smell your cousin?  Unamused he jumped down and stormed off.  Mora didn’t bother to beg.  The answer has been and always will be no.  My food is mine and I don’t share with cats.  I rarely share with people. 

Bossman sent me an invite yesterday for a quick call to talk about my pay raise.  That call just happened and I got a 4% raise which is one of the top raises that you can get.  I’ve gotten a little bit more in years past but I am pleased with this pay increase.  I’m sure that taxes will gobble some of it up.  I am debating about adding some of this to my 401K, perhaps splitting it down the middle and taking a 2% raise for myself to live off of and giving the other 2% to my 401K.  Last year I pushed my entire raise to my 401K.  I could easily do the same as I am not struggling with what I am making but I like to see at least one pay check with the raise on it before I make any changes.  As per usual I was told to keep up the good work and that I am doing a great job. 

I forgot to mention that Sunday night I hauled out my photo collection and browsed through old pictures from trips we took as well as some childhood photos that were mixed in.  I got to see all of my family and it was kind of nice.  I got some laughs and memories came flooding back.  I’ve been wanting to do this for a while but kept putting it off.  Much to my surprise I found a nude of me.  This was back in the day when you had to take your film to a store for them to develop it.  I was just as shocked to find it as I was when it came back.  Normally those photos would not be included.  Looking over all of those photos just makes me want to take a trip but it’s not quite as much fun to travel alone.  I found an old email where my late spouse detailed an itinerary for one of our trips.  I was AOL back then and so was he.  It was a nice find as well, now I see why I hung on to it.  It was printed on a dot matrix printer.  Ah memories.  What a life.  I saw this house when it was in better shape and one of our favorite trees that a lighting strike took out. I could go on and on but time to get back to reality. 

We have a bit of a cool down in the weather still hot but not as humid.  Hopefully the AC will run a little less.  This place felt like a freezer yesterday regardless of where I was at.  The cats seemed to enjoy it and soak up the cool air. 

Well I think I am going to take a break while I can and escape to be with the cats before it’s time to come back to meeting city.  There are a couple later this morning and one this afternoon.  Then all I have to do is survive tomorrow and the boss is on vacation for a bit.  Hip Hip Hooray!

Take care and keep cool.  Talk with you all again soon!

Saturday … the day I have been waiting for

I hope all is well in your world!  I heard a saying while I was on vacation a few weeks back, if you want something go to the top person.  I’ve always wanted to ride along with a police officer.  I wanted to be in law enforcement but I’m not into physical fitness and that is probably shocking to some folks considering that I am gay.  It’s never been my cup of tea.  I like a fit guy though. 

I waffled on my decision but decided to give it a shot, the worst I could hear was no and heck I was already there by not asking, so I had nothing to lose.  I wrote the chief of police and we exchanged a few emails to iron out logistics.  I had a choice of Saturday’s the last one I was on-call and didn’t want to take any chances or this one.  Obviously I picked this one. 

I got a full station tour which was interesting.  I saw glimpses of their different computer systems and technology that is available.  Finally I got to put on a bullet resistant vest and got in a car.  I was limited to two hours and the time was chosen by the police department.  After all I had all day long and better for them to pick the time than me. 

The first thing I noticed rather quickly is there isn’t a whole lot of room in a police car even if your sitting up front in the passenger seat.  The computer takes up most of the room, but I made it work.  I just didn’t have a place to put my left arm. 

We drove around a little bit then parked chatting all the while.  The officer started running random plates.  It didn’t take long before we got a hit on an expired plate and he went after them.  It was a Dodge Charger and he didn’t light them up just tried to get through traffic to pull them over but they were too fast and wound up getting a break.  Circled back to the same spot and back to fishing as I like to refer to it, because it’s very much like fishing.  A whole lot of sitting and waiting.  He ran several other plates, he miss keyed a plate but I heard wanted person then he noticed his mistake.  He ran another plate and we got a hit on another expired plate.  We took off after them but he realized who it was and opted not to stop them.  Back to the fishing hole. 

We weren’t there very long before we almost got hit, a guy drove a little off the road and I thought for sure the cop car was going to get hit.  However that didn’t happen.  He ran the plate but it was clear.  Then he ran another plate and we got a hit.  He promised me that we would get someone and indeed we did.  He almost got side swiped as he went after them from someone not paying attention.  Then even with lights on and the occasional blast from the siren cars were very slow to get out of the way.  People simply don’t pay attention, they are in their own world and they drift off.  Finally we caught up the car and he called it in and got out.  Turns out he pulled over a politicians husband.  The guy only got a warning for the expired plate. 

Back to the fishing hole for a little bit more but nothing came of it.  We drove around a bit more.  Stopped for gas, drove around after wards for a bit and then my two hours of fun was done just like that. 

I was hoping for a bit more excitement, no guns or bullets flying though.  I had to sign a liability waiver that said I understood I could get injured and if I did I agreed not to sue.  I never felt unsafe but I will tell you that it was quite sobering to put on a bullet resistant vest.  They are heavy and awkward but yet they do save lives. 

I got a final tour of a couple of additional areas we didn’t cover, we chatted a bit more and then I was walked out.  Funny thing as I was leaving I thought I saw the guy that got the warning coming to the station.  I’m so sure that I’d bet money on it. 

It was rather interesting to see what I have been hearing for years on my scanner.  I have an offer to go again if I want but I don’t want to wear out my welcome.  Perhaps if I would go back on a weekday there would be more action but it’s kind of hit and miss, just like with my job.  The calls come in waves, sometimes your bored for a long time and other times you can barely have time to use the bathroom and grab something to eat. 

I was a little depressed that those two hours flew by so fast with nothing really happening but perhaps that was for the best.  I think that being a police officer has a lot of ups but also has some downs.  The biggest one being that when you leave for work in the morning, you don’t know if you will get to come home at the end of your shift.  It’s got to be horrible to be a spouse of a police officer. 

So there is the big secret that I kept under wraps. Now I can check a box off on my bucket list!  

 

As for the rest of today I got the mail which contained a letter permitting me to renew my drivers license on line.  I had been anxiously waiting for that to come.  I paid my money and my new license should be here in a few weeks.  I wound up watching drinking a soda and watching TV.  I dosed off for a bit in my recliner despite having both cats in my lap.  They were as happy as could be though. 

Rudy started doing his food dance around 3p and I had to put up with it for about 45 minutes before I just gave up and opted to feed him.  My belly has red marks all over it from his claws.  It’s an allergic reaction and I know that if he realized how it would affect me he wouldn’t have done it but I never want him to stop making biscuits. 

Once I got up to feed them I got dressed and decided to head out for some Popeye’s Fried Chicken.  Don’t you know it just my luck only the drive thru was open, the inside of the restaurant was closed for repairs.  The place is only like 3 years old so that was kind of surprising to me.  I got back in the car and drove to the Mexican place and had my usual.  Service was horrible and I was very close to walking out. 

Back home and working on laundry and surfing the web, reading email the usual Saturday night stuff.  Mora is down here with me keeping me company.  She likes to stay close to me but if I let her down here during the week there is no way in the world I would ever be able to do my job. 

Last night I watched Tires on Netflix.  I saw Season 1 when it came out and thought Season 2 would be a bit more interesting than it was.  I managed to finish the series this morning since Rudy woke me up for food early. 

I think were done with rain until Monday rolls around.  I am ready to find Noah and ask him to start building an ark.  I like so many other people in my area are tired of the rain.  Bring on the sunshine, not necessarily the humidity that comes with Summer.

One more day of rest then it’s back to the normal grind.  Yuck!  At least next week is only a 4 day work week.  Were closed on Thursday for Juneteenth, which is a Federal Holiday in the US.  I’m telling you that Wednesday or Friday will be a mess because we will some how cram that day of work we are off into one of those days if not split evenly between them.

Thanks for stopping by, hope your weekend is going well.  Take care!

Steroids

Morning … I woke up to a message from the doc.  He called in a Medrol dosepak (corticosteroids) in the hopes that will help quell the rash.  I kind of doubt it but hey I’m going to give it a try, it’s better than nothing.  I haven’t picked up a prescription from a local pharmacy in well over a year, possibly two.  Everything comes mail order or is delivered to my door.  While I could clog up the drive thru I will go inside because they will need my new insurance card.  It won’t be a speedy trip.  I am going to try to make it happen today just kind of depends on how things go throughout the day. 

I woke up with an irritated throat and the medicine should help with that.  I feel fine but throat issues are my kryptonite.  I am still going because I feel okay at the moment.  There isn’t much on my schedule for today but that is always subject to change depending on what comes in via email.  So long as I feel okay I plan to go in to the office on Wednesday. 

I got a nice surprise a gift card to what used to be my favorite restaurant this morning.  Good thing it doesn’t have an expiration date.  I know I’ll use it but it’s not a place that I am just dying to go back to.  If I had to pick a favorite place to eat it would be the Mexican place that I went to yesterday. 

Outside of that nothing is really new per se.  Since all is quiet at the moment I think I might try to sneak out and fetch that prescription.  Watch just as I do is when everything will blow up, that’s the kind of luck that I have. 

Here’s hoping it’s a great day for all of us and maybe just maybe this rash will finally be history.  Take care and be well. 

Day 2 - Fish & Shoes

Today was way more expensive than yesterday but I had a lot more fun as well. 

Started out with breakfast, got an omelet and had a double chocolate biscuit.  It was really good.  Then I drove around to kill an hour so I didn’t have to go back home just to leave again. 

Made it for my facial.  It felt amazing and to me it looks like I’m wearing make up but I know it’s just the products they used.  I got the esthetician to look at my neck since it’s been bothering me for well over a year.  She gave me some samples of some cream to use.  To her it looks like there were several layers of skin taken away back when I had my neck shaved and that caused damage.  She said that if the cream she gave me didn’t work that I should consult a dermatologist.  I remembered my $15 coupon which was nice to get the discount. 

After that I went on to buy a new pair of shoes.  They are walking shoes but they could be classed as tennis shoes.  I wear a size 10 but in order to get a comfortable fit I had to go to an 11 1/2 wide.  They are lace up shoes which I hate but the shoes themselves are comfortable.  Made by New Balance. 

Came home after spending all that money, relaxed with the cats.  Sprayed the new shoes with some water repellant and laid down to take a nap.  I think I maybe got 15 minutes of sleep, I really wasn’t drowsy but wanted to rest.  Had both cats with me and that made it enjoyable.  They loved it.  We were in bed for about an hour and a half. 

I got up around 2p and headed over to Sam’s club.  Damn couldn’t find most of what I was looking for.  I did get the necessary Paper Towels and Soda.  I picked some some cookies from the bakery.  They had some Carmel Squares that I was looking for.  I didn’t take a whole lot of time to look around but I did browse a bit.  The place was next to empty compared to the weekend.  I can always go back next week if I want. 

Then over to the pet food store and then back home.  Got the cat food put away and everything I just bought in the house.  Sat and watched TV to pass time until I needed to leave to grab supper. 

The place I had in mind turned out to be a bar.  It was horrible.  Very noisy and most people seemed to know each other.  I sat at a table for the longest time until I saw a guy get up and order a drink.  I got behind him and got a soda and placed my food order.  They messed that up but I did get fish and onion rings.  There was no tartar sauce and the fish was nuggets instead of fillets like I wanted.  It was just an average meal.  The real fun came when I went to pay the bill.  They said what’s the name on your tab?  I said I didn’t give my name.  I had to tell them what I ordered two times.  Then some busy body tried to convince me I just ate Mac & Cheese when I know full well I had onion rings for my side.  I left no tip, paid and got the hell out of there.  I’ll never ever go back it was a miserable experience. 

I flew home driving fast and ye old vehicle provided a thrilling ride and performed as I expected. 

Filed a dispute on the shampoo and conditioner since the company I bought it from has been non-responsive.  I figure I’ll get their attention one way or another.  I have no product therefore I don’t think they deserve any of my money. 

My next endeavor was to try to get an auto insurance quote on-line.  Good luck when your credit report is frozen.  I got an alert that a Soft Inquiry posted, despite the fact that I never provided my SSN.  Progressive was the only company that would quote me and turned out they were significantly cheaper than what I am paying.  However, I think I’m just going to keep what I have.  Years ago I got hit by one of Progressive’s insureds and they wanted to play all sorts of games in settling the claims process. I wound up having my insurance pay and then subrogate the claim to get the money from Progressive.  It wasn’t my fault and yet I was being treated as if I was the one who rear ended myself.

Felt more relaxed today and I know the longer I am away from work the more relaxed I will feel.  I know how I am going to feel when it gets closer to having to go back but for now that is more than a million miles in the future and I’ll deal with it when I have to. 

Thinking of having a fast food breakfast tomorrow and going to see my friends.  I may venture out of the area for supper over the weekend but for the most part plan to stay local.  My next dining adventure is planned for Monday. 

Hope all is well in your world.  Enjoy the weekend and take care!

Busy

Yesterday I focused on work and kind of forgot about ye old blog, I really thought I posted something. 

Today is the day I have been waiting for.  It’s my Friday and I will be done with work for the rest of the month after today.  Nothing will please me more than when I check out today knowing I don’t have to go back until next month.  Sure would be nice if I could win the lottery and not have to go back but that’s probably asking for way too much. 

My goal is to skate through the day and not remind or tell anyone that I am leaving so that it hits them all like a ton of bricks – surprise!  My boss scheduled a semi-large project that kicked off yesterday and I only found out about it on Monday.  There was prep work that needed to be done so I was a bit busy unexpectedly.  He made me the focus of the project and told anyone who had questions to reach out to me, thus far no one has said a word and the project isn’t set to wrap until Thursday but I’ve done my part.  I hate no notice surprise you got work now projects.  That’s just inconsiderate I think.  Kind of like the boss approving a week of vacation for my mistake making co-worker and none of us knowing about it until he was gone.  That’s why I’m not saying a word let them get a dose of their own medicine. 

I got a new cologne called Toy Boy by Maschino.  I bought it purely based on the name.  It was in a black bottle and is a men’s fragrance but smells more like something made for a woman.  I put a little bit on my hand last night and I can still smell hints of it today.  It’s like it doesn’t want to go away.  Not sure if I will be wearing this.  Right now it doesn’t do anything for me.  I could say the same for Spice Bomb when I got it, but after a couple days I warmed up to it and love Spice Bomb today.  I don’t wear fragrance often due to my allergies. 

The cats decided to chase each other early this morning and jumped in an out of bed, waking me up.  I almost thought it was Friday morning and the trash people were banging the cans.  I told them to knock it off as I rolled over.  Who’s got that kind of energy in the early morning?  I used to when I was a kid but that was so long ago I forgot what it feels like. 

Finishing off my pizza from Sunday today for lunch.  I am sick of it but don’t want to throw my money away.  It was good but I got too much of a good thing.  The pizza place used Cheddar on the BBQ Pizza and that gave it a different flavor, next time I will get them to swap cheeses or just leave it off. 

Got a couple meetings today to get through and just waiting to see what else comes my way, trying to keep quiet and just make it through the day.  I’ve done all of my heavy lifting this morning knocking out what I could before I leave.

Hope it’s a great day for you.  Take care!

Good & Bad

Welcome back and happy almost Friday.  Yesterday after lunch things got busy.  A large project dropped and that kept me occupied for the afternoon as well as part of this morning.  There is more work to do but not until tomorrow so it’s going to be a busy Friday.  The only good thing about that is it will be fast moving. 

Looks like the Groundhog(s) managed to build a new den, it is located on the corner of my neighbors fence and goes underneath a shed they have.  If they manage to tunnel and emerge in the neighbors yard they have a dog (I call him Sir Barks A lot bet you can’t guess why) that will shred both of them or so I think.  Amazon Alexa said that a Groundhog can easily defend it’s self against a small dog but their dog is medium to large so who knows, I don’t want to find out.  I saw the baby out last night getting its munch on.  It is common for them to have several dens so I’m not offended.  I like them and wish them no harm but kind of wish they would move on.  Kind of doubt that is going to happen unless someone traps them and rehomes them, I’ve given up on that idea way too costly.

Got in some early play time with the cats and took a shower before heading to bed.  I slept fine until around 5a this morning and then my bladder said it was time to get up and my brain said oh yeah that’s a wonderful idea.  Rudy was happy when I got out of bed but not so when I returned a short time later.  He waited patiently by my head until I was ready to get up.  I gave him some attention and he made some biscuits. 

My new hard drive arrived and I’ve got the data copied over.  Now I am compressing things to help save space and then I plan to format the recovery drive I was sent and copy the compressed data back to it so I have a local backup if it’s needed.  I can update it as needed, until I manage to fill that drive up.  This will be a process but if I stick with it I hope to be done by the end of the weekend if not before.  Then I can start having it all backup to the cloud as well, you can’t have too many up to date copies when it comes to data recovery. 

The weather for the weekend is spotty showers, doesn’t exactly make great weather for spraying for pests but if I can get the stuff down and it dries then I’m good.  It’s designed to fade away over the course of two months.

Got my first new promotional internet bill, glad I signed up for the auto pay discount because my bill is a whopping $2 less once they add on taxes.  Auto pay is a $5 discount but odd how it actually works out once the bill is generated.  It’s still cheaper than what I was paying.  The only thing I have noticed is that at two different periods I have had spotty connectivity where it’s solid for a while and then randomly skips.  It only makes a difference when I am working, my play streaming and browsing don’t seem to notice it.  The fix has been to reboot the modem and then the router.  I started a log since this happened again yesterday I’m looking to see if there is a trend.  If so might need a different modem even though this one is supposed to be brand new.

Well back to the fun that is work.  Hope you have a great day.  Take care!

A good day

Yesterday was a pretty good day even though it didn’t go exactly as I thought it would.  My FedEx delivery got pushed to later in the afternoon.  That meant that I was stuck for the majority of the day sitting on the couch watching for FedEx to pull up and working on a laptop.  Not my ideal work day but the cats loved it!  I got pretty sleepy but didn’t dare doze off because if I missed the FedEx guy I’d be super upset. 

Managed to find some guy on You Tube who takes tours of cities.  He made a couple videos on Chicago which I watched and found very interesting.  There was another one on Milwaukee that I saw and there is plenty of interesting information.  Kind of felt like I was with an old friend and he was educating me. 

Installed those new lights I got on Prime Day in the garage and damn they are super bright for being LED’s.  It looks like daylight in my garage and I am quite impressed.  They should last around 5 years according to the literature that came with them but who knows if that will actually happen.  Got my document holder setup and it works just like I wanted.  Powered up the backup hard drive and all my files are there safe and sound. 

Now for the bad news looks like my new hard drive might not be here tomorrow.  That’s what Amazon’s site is showing as of this morning.  I think it might have something to do with the Global Computer Outage that was caused by Crowdstrike.  Who knew that one company could cripple so much?  Technology has come a long way and we are super dependent on it.  When it works life is good.  When it fails well it’s not so good.  There was minimal impact where I work, just Microsoft Cloud stuff that wasn’t working.  Our email is still on premises but that is transitioning.  The Cloud isn’t such a good idea but I know it’s all the rage and the future where companies and services are headed.

I started listening to Whoopi Goldberg’s latest book via audio books on Spotify.  I pay extra for that so might as well use the benefit.  I love listening to her talk and it feels like she’s in the room with me and were friends and I am listening to a story.  It’s pretty good so far I am at Chapter 5.  

I know this is a couple days old information but I just found out this morning that Caleb Harris the missing TX College Students body was found.  Very sad but I thought all along that he was dead.  I hate it when I am right in situations like this.  It looks like there could be fowl play involved or maybe he just happened to trip, drop his phone and fall into an open man hole.  There are so many questions and I don’t know that there will ever be any answers. 

Speaking of Caleb, I might as well touch on Riley Strain.  Looks like he was very drunk and a high, this appears to be a tragic accident at the moment.  That’s what the conclusion is from Nashville Police & Government.  Who knows what the independent (2nd)  autopsy and investigation that the family had done will turn up.  I’d love to know how many days he was in the water.  It also looks like from some bar footage that has since been released that Riley wasn’t wearing a belt which might explain how his pants came off so easy but I don’t know if cowboy boots would come off that easy.  I’ve never worn them.  There are many questions here and I think his family is fighting for answers and hopefully they will get them. 

I’ve gotten my haircut this morning.  Rudy woke me at 6a and I was not happy about it.  I still had a couple more hours to sleep.  That means once I got home I went back to bed.  Been lounging all day and I am about to get dressed and head out for some food.  Thinking about going back to the Mexican place I was at last Saturday.  It was just that good! 

Got the bills that arrived today paid and just trying to enjoy what is left of my quiet weekend as I prepare to go on-call come Monday.  Not looking forward to it but hopefully things won’t be too horrific, fingers crossed. 

Hope your having a great Saturday!  Take care.

Made it

Morning … I made it to the office.  Had a horrible nights sleep but Rudy kept me company part of the time and helped to get me back to sleep.  I figure that I am going to crash at some point today but hopefully it doesn’t happen until I get home. 

Something went wrong with a change I made not sure if it was the computer or me just not fully concentrating.  As a result I am waiting for the fix to be applied and it’s a slow process and has one person inconvenienced.  That makes me feel bad but there isn’t much I can do.  Just apologized and let them know I am working on it.  That’s what I get for trying to help out.  Damn me being nice – no good deed goes unpunished a lesson that I seem to never learn. 

Mora was surprised that I got up early she wanted to lay in her bed but I went to greet her to make sure that she was alive because normally after the can of food cracks in the morning she is waiting around the corner.  Rudy did his usual thing and followed me to the kitchen getting under my feet and being anxious for his breakfast.  Mora came out and had some.  Then she jumped back on my bed while I was in the shower. 

As per usual I hated to leave them but I look forward to their greeting when I get home, that’s a priceless moment. 

Got my replacement hard drive ordered.  It was a Prime Deal and I saw it yesterday.  I could have got an even better deal if I would have only acted quicker.  Now for the fun part it will be late next week before the drive arrives.  I picked up a few other things that were on sale and they will be delivered on Friday.  Got that document holder and some new lights for the garage that are supposed to be super bright, here’s hoping I’m not blinded when I install them. 

Since the stress of coming in is over with for now I expect that I will sleep really good tonight or so I hope. 

I thought about it and put in for a weeks vacation.  It starts on a Thursday when I am off to see the doctor.  I took the Friday off as well and then the following week and Labor Day is on the following Monday so it’s a nice long stretch with two weekends.  The bad part is that when I come back I will be on-call.  I really hated that it worked out like that.  Very much looking forward to taking a break.  I am at or close to burnout and the break is very much needed. 

The rain is all done and today is a nice sunny day.  Surprising how the weather affects my mood and nothing that I love more than a day of sunshine.  Not excited about it being super hot. 

As always looking forward to heading home this afternoon.  Until then lets hope that I can stay awake and motivated even if there is a lull.  I hope that you have a great day and appreciate your visit.

Tired & Sore

My outside tasks are done!  I woke up at 7a when it was cool outside.  Had some pastry, Banana and a Diet Coke for breakfast.  Fed the cats.  Loaded up with sunscreen and mosquito spray, threw on some clothes and my work shoes.  Grabbed the Armor Away or whatever it’s called.  House wash in a bottle.  I got it just before the pandemic hit it was a 2 for 1 special on Amazon. 

Hooked up the hose and started spraying away.  I think that it must have gone bad just from sitting, either that or the gable vent I was trying to clean is just that dirty.  I had one a couple years ago it looked horrible and this stuff made it bright white in 10 minutes.  Not so this time, I got off some of the dirt. 

I grew unhappy with the way it was rinsing and just decided to call it a day and put that junk away.  Grabbed the power washer and I rinsed it all off.  Wound up doing the side walk, a bunch of landscaping bricks that had green mold growing on them and then made my way to the deck.  Got the green mold off of it and washed the back of the house, the deck part and then what is the master bedroom, which also had green mold growing on it, light but nevertheless it was there.  I have no idea how much water I used but I started probably at 7:45a and I didn’t come back inside until 11:30a.  It was kind of fun but it was also back breaking. 

I was in limp mode by the time I got everything cleaned up and put away.  I am quite proud of my accomplishment.  If I had the gas left in me I would have done the other side of the house, it faces the street.  The siding looks clean but the gutters have dirt and some green mold growing on them.  I suppose that is a job for another day. 

I got undressed in the garage, came inside and grabbed a Gatorade.  Sat on the couch and watched some fireworks on YouTube.  I was sweating to beat the band.  I had caught my breath and was somewhat rested but still felt the ache in my back.  I made my way to the shower and that felt good.  Then I dried off and climbed in bed. 

Rudy was by myside and wouldn’t leave me.  He knew I was hurting and could use the company.  I rolled over and he snuggled up next to my back.  Eventually after about an hour I woke up and he was right there to greet me and make biscuits just as if it was morning all over again.

Passed out lunch for the cats, I ate more pastry and some left over cake.  Washed it all down with a Diet Coke and then got on my laptop.  I scoured menu after menu trying to find a decent place to eat at.  Wound up at a local pizza place.  Had some spaghetti & meatballs with garlic bread and a salad – washed that all down with a Diet Dr. Pepper and it was $22.  I left full. 

Then went for a ride to check on the neighbors new house.  There is a for sale sign in the yard so maybe they aren’t going to move in after all and they are going to sell it.  It’s coming along pretty nice.  I think by this time next month it should be fully done presuming that it’s being worked on every day.  I’ll probably make another trip out because I am just that damn nosy. 

Stopped in for a car wash and got to look at a good looking 20ish year old guy who had a fine looking ass.  I’m telling you that I am officially at the desperate point.  I want a companion but want him to be good looking kind of beauty and brains.  Hopefully my search will end this year because this is old and well so am I.  My age is against me for sure, especially if I want a younger guy say in his 30’s, I’d go 20’s but fear that I wouldn’t be able to hold a conversation that long and we wouldn’t have a whole lot in common.  Outside of the companion part I need to have some damn good sex, kind of tired of watching porn and seeing other guys have a good time.  Yeah things can always be worse but this is one hell of a problem that seems insurmountable.  I’ve done a damn good job solving all of my other problems but this one well not so much. 

On a different note, I went to the BBQ place and ordered the catfish last night.  It was not that good.  However, a woman walked in and from a distance she looked like my mom.  As you got closer I could tell that it wasn’t her but damn if I didn’t know that she was dead I would have sworn that it was my mom.  That was kind of odd to me.  I almost bought her meal and struck up a conversation but wouldn’t you know it I got a work call that I had to head home and deal with.  I thought about taking her picture and sending it to my brother but figured that wouldn’t fair well so I just left it alone. 

I’m sure I will continue to be sore for a few days but it still feels damn good to have made progress.  I could have easily wasted the day by rotting in bed. 

Tomorrow is the usual breakfast and grocery stores.  If I feel up to it I’ll be stopping at two grocery stores, kind of hope that I do because that will mean more food for me. 

Hope you have a fantastic Saturday.  Take care!

Talkin

Today is the last day that the cats will be 4.  Over the last few weeks I’ve noticed that both have become much more talkative.  They are both enjoying evening playtime before bed.  I wonder what other changes are in store as they go into their 5th year of life starting tomorrow.  I hope it’s just as enjoyable as it has been since the day I brought them home. 

Not exactly sure why but my notifications on my phone for email changed to vibrate.  I switched it back to sound notification and that broke notifications.  I thought it was limited to work email but turns out it was both personal and work email.  I did more than one reboot and reset.  Eventually things got back to normal.  I still don’t fully trust it since I am on-call.  I’ve got my work email on my laptop and watch it as I spend time relaxing with the cats and watching TV. 

Had one dumb meeting today that lasted maybe 5 minutes and I think that will be the last time I hear my bosses voice for a little over a week.  I’m down for that.  He’s going on vacation and that means there shouldn’t be any meetings next week.  It will also mean that it’s just two of us me and the mistake maker, who just so happens to be out today.  I don’t think anything is wrong, I think he wanted more time off.  He will be on-call next week and I hope that he shows up all five days.  Kind of makes it risky for me to go into the office on Tuesday but so long as he is back on Monday I think I will take the chance. 

Fairly quiet today as we wind down the week.  Were closed for the rest of the week in observance of Independence Day.  Quite a nice perk giving us two days off instead of just one.  I guess they figured that most people would probably call in on Friday so might as well close. 

I had my pay raise conversation and this years raise is way better than last year and I got a little more than what I was hoping for.  All in all I’m pleased.  Although I think they can always do better, sort of like they think that I can be a better worker despite the fact that I’ve given them nothing short of greatness.  For the first time ever I’m taking the first check and then after that I am putting my raise towards my retirement.  I’m living comfortably at the moment with what I am making.  I hope that it will make quite a difference. 

It started off rainy here but the sun has since come out and we are starting to dry off.  Supposed to be more showers tomorrow but then after sunshine for a while.  I’m all good with that just hope that it doesn’t ruin the holiday.  I also see why now my lawn guys showed up yesterday.  If they would have come today there is no way they would have been able to cut.  The grass is getting a little crispy and frying a bit.  The rain will probably cause it to bounce back. 

Here’s hoping that over the weekend I can get my outside tasks completed as well as make my Friday Sam’s run.  I hope it’s a great holiday for everyone, relaxing and enjoyable.  Be safe and take care!

Ask and ye shall receive

I made my dreaded phone call to the cable company.  Turns out service in my area has been updated so with a new modem I’ll be getting parallel speeds of 300mpbs up&down.  The new modem will arrive over the weekend.  I don’t look forward to activating a new piece of equipment but hopefully it will be painless.  The call over all wound up saving me $300 over the next year, which breaks down to a $25 credit per bill.

I am relived that I am back to a decent rate.  If I want to sign up for auto billing I can save an additional $60 per year, which breaks down to $5 additional dollars per month.  There aren’t any taxes/fees added on to the end price so I know exactly what I will be paying. 

The guy tried to upsell me, which I realize is part of his job but for now I’m just content with keeping my internet connection.  I’ve got 30 days to call back to take advantage of the upsell offer he made but they won’t be hearing from me.  I’ve thought about increasing my speed to go faster but honestly I don’t use the full speed they have given me, it’s been something I’ve wanted to do for years but once I see how much it costs I quickly talk myself out of it.

Glad that something went my way and I got a win of sorts.  I’m not locked into a contract and can walk away at anytime.  I wish that companies would automatically reward their loyal customers with the lowest rates instead of having to make them call in and beg.  Trust me when I tell you they would still make a profit if that happened it’s just that it would be less of a profit because the majority of people hate calling and would rather pay.  Not me.  If you want something ask, the worst they can say is no. 

It’s been a chill day.  Need to go up and bring in the trash can/barrel.  Just passing time until later this afternoon when I have a laundry list of tasks at work to knock out.  Right now is the calm before the storm.  There is more work waiting for me on Sunday, which is unusual but it happens from time to time. 

Once again enjoy the weekend.  Just wanted to share my win.  Finally, fact if you want something from someone ask on a Friday if at all possible.  Most people are in a good mood and more inclined to say yes.  It’s not a given but it’s been a well proven method.  Do with that what you will.  Take care!

Saturday

Happy Saturday!

Thus far I’ve made most all of the progress I was hoping to.  Woke up early and made it to breakfast out.  Had my Greek Pizza thing and it was good.  Saw something else on their menu that caught my eye it’s a burger served between two glazed donuts, sound interesting.  Lots of sugar there but also a lot of flavor.

Made it to the office and I was the only one there for a little bit.  It’s a little strange going in on a weekend and no one being around but that was the benefit.  I worked on the door and things went better than I could hope for.  It looks like there is a short in the wiring either within the door or in the ceiling.  I have to call an electrician to work on it.  The door is fine as long as no one uses it but once it is open wide enough even for the thinnest of people that’s when things go out.  Then it closes and with a little bit of time it resets and comes back to life.  Apparently there are more people back in the office and using it so that’s why I have been getting complaints.  Saw my voice mail light on and I’m sure there is something interesting on the other end waiting for me along with email in my in-box.  I didn’t peek, just stuck to the task at hand being the door and I got out of dodge when I was done.  Took me a couple hours including travel and then I was back home. 

Hot and tired when I got home, I took a nap with the cats.  Then woke up had a Diet Coke and a Blueberry Muffin for lunch.  Then outside to tackle a couple tasks.  I applied a patch to the siding to cover the hole.  The material is not the same color as my siding so it stands out but at least the hole is covered.  I need to keep an eye on it to make sure it stays stuck there was some talk about it coming undone and then using a blow dryer to make it adhere.  I’m hoping I don’t have to do any of that.  Next was on to put in the extra battery in the door camera, that went like a snap.  All done with outdoor work for now.  Still have the gap to cover with some foam on the side of the house. 

While I was working one of my neighbors got a new vehicle.  I watched him get in it, drive it out of his garage onto the street and he parked next to his mailbox for a minute, grabbed the mail and then put the vehicle away in the garage.  Either he got bad news in the mail or he is super lazy.  I’ve never seen him do anything like that before. 

Speaking of news, my lab results came in this morning.  Apparently I was due for a Hepatitis screening and they did that.  That is what held things up.  The results are all good and I don’t have Titus, never thought I did and didn’t realize they did screenings for it.  My A1C is still at 6.1% which is where it was last time.  I figured out that I lost 8 pounds since I was there last and I’m hoping that the pounds continue to come off, despite my sedentary lifestyle. 

Working on laundry now and planning to go out to Red Lobster for supper unless I manage to change my mind.  I look forward to enjoying a decent meal and for entertainment I hope to see some hot guys but not holding my breath on that one.  Still feeling quite lonely and no prospects on the dating app.  I think I should have withdrawn my money from the bank and poured gas on it and lit it on fire it, at least I would have been able to watch a show instead of giving it away to some app that does nothing for me. 

The sun is out and the heat is back on here.  My AC is running and it feels nice to be indoors.  Hope that you had/have a great day!

End of the road

My last day of boss vacation, I’m happy and sad at the same time.  I didn’t miss him at all and frankly wish that he would take another week or two.  I could easily get used to this luxury life of less meetings, more time to myself and to work on other things.  We have a situation that just cropped up now and I know he would turn it into a meeting if he was here.  I know all good things come to an end eventually and it’s not like this wasn’t expected.  It just seemed much further away when it was Monday. 

The weather here was horrible yesterday.  We got pelted with a few rounds of hail, lots of rain and thunder & lighting.  The cats were amused by the hail but also a little scared at the same time.  Thankfully what I saw we had was small compared to other areas that got softball size.  Thankfully I don’t see any obvious visible damage.  The house got back into the 80’s and I had enough of that so I turned on the AC.  It cooled down and remains that way this morning.  We have cooler weather for a while, so I imagine there will be no furnace or ac for a bit and I am okay with that.  Just comfortable status quo is fine.  

I made it to the dentist and got a good report, as per usual.  They told me to keep doing what I am doing, because it’s working.  I am not doing anything but brushing once per day (before bed), flossing and rinsing with Listerine.  I use Oral B and Sonicare toothbrushes, and rotate daily for the most part.  If I am out and have something stuck in my teeth that is bothering I will floss then but otherwise it’s just once per day.  I fell in love with flossing.  It sounded like a chore to me when I was older but now just like sex and potato chips I can’t get enough of it.  At my old dentist I would ask for a second flossing just because it felt so good.  I miss my old dentist but am happy with the one I presently have, plus she is closer to home. 

Another surprise that came yesterday was the verdict in the James Crumbley trial.  I expected it more today than yesterday.  What a long day was yesterday for those people, coming back with verdict later in the day.  He was found guilty on all four counts of involuntary manslaughter.  I am interested to see what he and his wife are sentenced to next month. 

Meanwhile on the search for Riley Strain nothing new from what I see.  Looks like Nashville is pulling out all the stops and using every available resource and looking every place they can think of.  I am not sure why he hasn’t turned up yet but am interested to hear the backstory if/when he surfaces.  Tonight will mark one week that he has been missing.  The longer this goes on the less likely this will turn out good, I say that just based on other cases that I have seen in the media.  He’s a cute kid and sounds like he had everything going for him as he was set to graduate in just a short while.  The video I’ve seen shows that he is clearly drunk or under the influence of something.  I hope that he is found safe and soon. 

I’ve knocked out my morning tasks, had a bit more this morning than normal but they are all done.  Nothing left on my plate but to sit back, relax and enjoy the day.  I’m craving Steak N Shake bad.  I wanted to stop in yesterday after the dentist but told myself to go home.  I am thinking of going out later this afternoon and making this my supper.  It’s a treat but I know my stomach will have some issues with all of the grease.  If I don’t go then I will be digging in the freezer. 

Looking forward to what I hope is a relaxing weekend, filled with some good food and TV.  I hope that you have a good weekend as well.  Take care!

Still Bitter Cold

Good Afternoon and thanks for stopping by.  As you can guess by the title it’s still very cold here.  I got a decent nights sleep and got up early this morning.  Shaved, showered and dressed.  Of course you know before I woke up I had to feed the cats or there would be no peace here. 

I debated wearing a ski face mask where only your mouth and eyes are visible.  It’s just that cold out.  I realize it could freak people out and they might think I stopped in to rob a place in stead of to grab a bite to eat or shop.  I opted to not wear it and kind of wish I would have. 

Got breakfast a burger with an egg and fries.  Not bad and I was full.  The place I went to is a regular place that I go.  They are still charging $4 for a soda with refills.  Unless you bring a two liter bottle and ask them to fill it up there is no way you will drink $4 worth of soda.  It’s either that or you just hang out there for hours and drink.  However, I had things to do. 

Made a Target run.  Wouldn’t you know it the one thing I wanted to check out was space heaters and I forgot.  I did find some bakery in the store and grabbed a large Danish that looks more like a Stolen.  I’ve already had a piece and it’s pretty good. 

From Target to the grocery store and then on to fill up the tank.  When I started my journey I pressed the remote in my vehicle to open the garage and I heard the door move but glad I looked before I backed up the door wasn’t open, it only went up a couple inches.  I pressed the remote two more times and the door opened. 

When I came home and pressed the button on the remote don’t you know the damn door wouldn’t open for anything.  If it wasn’t for a lockbox I have I would have been locked out.  I don’t normally travel with keys and have an alarm which is always on, especially when I am out of the house.  I got in through the front door and then used the manual release for the garage and the door lifted right up.  I think it was just too cold for the motor.  Of course after I got my vehicle inside and closed the door I had to press the door button to re-engage the automatic opener and don’t you know the door went up and down with no problem. 

I’ve gotten some battery alerts from my front door camera, the super cold weather is hard on everything.  It looks like it needs a charge up.  Once it warms up that alert goes away and the battery levels are fine. 

I was interested in how much the car battery had in it, even though it started I know the cold just isn’t good for anything.  I hooked up my charger and learned that I had 42%.  I’ve got a charged back up but since it’s going to be super bitter cold for a few more days I plan to go back and do a double check. 

It took forever for me to warm up once I was done with my running but the cats were happy to see me.  I got more litter and treats for them so of course they were happy.  Also, having today off meant that we got to spend time together. 

I watched Good Greif the new Dan Levy movie.  I didn’t shed a tear at all and thought the movie was boring, I dozed off for a brief moment.  I did watch it to the end and my opinion didn’t change.  Interesting plot having a spouse who dies only to learn that he was having an affair while you were married.

After that was done I watched an A I special called George Carlin I am Glad I am Dead.  It was an A I engine that produced the material and it sounded a little like George and the topics and language used kind of matched.  It didn’t make me laugh but did cause me to stop and think which would be my typical reaction to George Carlin.  I get that people are frustrated and upset by not only the title but the fact that a computer was trying to impersonate him.  My mouth flew open with horror when I heard the title but I had to check it out. 

My back is bothering me a little bit from the work I did around here yesterday.  I also have some work to do but that got pushed to later in the evening, which I am not happy about but figured would happen based on a telephone conversation I had on Friday. 

I’ve tweaked my blog a bit and noticed that my Best Male Blogs badge wasn’t rendering and I wasn’t listed on that site any longer.  I submitted a request to get re-added and the kind gentlemen that runs the site has graciously relisted me.  I’ve added a link to the site Gay Demon it’s a list of all kinds of blogs as well as adult sites.  Just wanted to call this out as well as thank the site for listing me again. 

I am off to have some Italian cuisine, feed the cats and watch some TV to continue to pass the evening until I have to do some work.  I had planned on making an event of it by inviting the cats downstairs but now I am just doing it from upstairs to get it out of the way. 

I will be on-call tomorrow and back to the normal bump and grind.  I will hate it but at least I will be working from home.  I do hope that I will be able to get out a bit more next weekend.  I am proud of my accomplishments this weekend, just wish that the weather was a bit warmer and I would have been able to get out a bit more. 

Hope that your warm and well.  Talk with you all again soon.  Be well!

Victory

Good Morning on this last Friday of 2023.  I hope it’s a great day for everyone!

Good News for me, a couple hours after sending my reply to Amazon I got a response they were working with my bank to resolve the issue.  This morning I woke up to an email from Amazon as well as my bank telling me that Amazon had credited my card.  I figured the evidence I submitted was overwhelming and showed clearly that I did the right thing, followed the rules and deserved the refund.  I’m glad that this little mess is behind me. 

Yesterday I checked the web for trash pick up and the web site indicated they would be here today.  I put the barrel out.  Several neighbors followed my lead.  Hours later I got a phone call after I was done with supper that in fact the route was pushed back by one day and they would be here on Saturday.  Ah, nuts I figured that was the case and that’s why I sought it out on the web.  Should have trusted my gut.  No worries though the barrel sits out for another day.  I will be walking an extra bag out of all of the things I meant to discard but didn’t. 

My day ended quite early yesterday at 3p.  There were some lingering emails that came in that I had to deal with.  An issue cropped up in the evening and a game of ping pong started.  I decided to login and stop it.  I believe I fixed the issue and that ended the emails for the night, which was my goal. 

Watched some YouTube Matt Rife videos which were pretty good.  I tell you that guy is every gay mans walking wet dream.  I wish he was mine but he’s straight and has a girlfriend.  I don’t always laugh at his humor but it’s really starting to grow on me.  I suppose it’s the generational gap.  I think he’s going to be around for a long time and hope that I am correct.  His Netflix special was great as are all of his free specials on YouTube. 

It’s still wet and cold here.  Snow is wrapping up this morning but it’s mixed with rain and you really can’t see any snow.  What little dusting we had has melted off.  I’m still hopeful that eventually we will get blasted with a good storm.  Nothing like sitting in the house, furnace going and looking out the window.  It’s peaceful and very enjoyable.  Want to liven things up, turn on the police scanner and you hear about all of the wrecks and chaos going on.  That can be fun too.  So long as I have plenty of food and am not driving in it I will be happy.  Then I can watch to see if there are any paw prints in the snow.  I just love looking at pure untouched snow.

I’ve wrapped up my morning tasks at work for now.  I’ve got some things to take care of this afternoon and of course have to stay available in case anything rolls in that needs me.  I expect it will be an uber quiet day and I am perfectly okay with that. 

I am not eager to play America’s favorite game, is it gunshots or fireworks.  However, as long as none of it lands in my house or does any harm to the cats and I, I’m fine with it.  I hope it’s not terribly noisy but the crowd here changes all the time.  It’s a medium sized sub-division and houses are bought & sold all the time.  There are some folks like myself who stay put and have been here for a while.  It’s been a little over 20 years for me.  I’ve thought about moving but energy and cost wise it makes more sense to stay put, at least for now. 

The cats permitted me to do some writing yesterday evening.  I was able to grab a shower and go back to it.  Then my eyes started giving out and I knew it was best to quit.  Crawled in bed and watched a little TV.  I was doing pretty good.  Rudy came and sat on top of me and that was it.  TV went off and I was out.  Mora was by my side hugging me.  That napping I did yesterday worked against me.  I was up at 2a but was able to go back to sleep quickly.  Rudy got me up at 6a and I told him he needs to move his clock up one hour, he’s getting me up like we never fell back in time.  I am certain he is hungry but damn I like my sleep. 

We had a nice leisurely start to the morning, I got up and fed them, had my breakfast.  We returned to my room where I threw on some clothes and we sat and watched TV.  Mora came and laid in my lap after we had some play time.  Of course when I got up to come down here they both were wide eyed awake and walked me to the steps.  They will now sit in anticipation of my return, which will occur in a bit.  I will go back up unless something with work comes up.  First, I need to post this and do some surfing. 

Right now the only thing I look forward to in the new year is hanging up the new naked men calendars so that I get a chance of scenery.  I do hope that 2024 is a better year.  2023 wasn’t the worst year ever but it started out rough for me.  Things smoothed out with a little bit of time and there were bumps along the way but it looks like I’ll make it all the way through and be fortunate to see 2024.  I don’t make New Years resolutions because they only get broken.  I just hope that I am thinner, happier and doing better overall in 2024.  Fingers crossed for all the best!  I wish the same to each of you. 

Thanks for your readership and stopping by!  Come back again soon to see how life continues to unfold for me and of course for more Man Candy!

Weekend Update

Howdy, hope that your weekend is going well.  Friday night I elected to skip supper.  Nothing I had really appealed to me and I wasn’t hungry.  Knowing that the meds I am taking for my diabetes wouldn’t cause my sugar to bottom out the days of feeling compelled to eat are pretty much behind me.  If I would have tried this say six months ago I would have woken up in the middle of the night, my sugar would be low and I would be inhaling Oreos and Milk like no tomorrow.  I’d feel bad for two reasons.  First would be because my sugar dropped and Second because I ate so much. 

I watched Fast X which was pretty good.  Paul Walker was in it because they started out with an ending from a prior movie.  There were also photos of Paul later in the movie.  The piano music from Charlie Puth’s song See You Again played during the film.  The movie went on honestly a big long and some of the stunts while spectacular were truly things that could only happen in a movie.  After an hour and a half I got bored but watched until the end.  Honestly, don’t remember what I watched after that but I know that I still had time to kill before bed.  That was pretty much the evening, took great pride in shutting my phone off.  That felt really good knowing no one could bother me, not that there is anyone to bother me other than work and that’s largely who I try to escape from. 

I’ve got a problem I haven’t had before in that I discovered my time off balance is going to be over what were permitted to carry over.  I need to take a day off between now and the end of the year.  I’ve actually got 9.5 hours to burn but I’m comfortable using 8 and letting the rest go.  I could schedule time this week but since I am on-call out of respect I don’t want to do that.  My plan is to take the 26th and just make Christmas a bit longer.  This way if I would wind up going to my friends place I wouldn’t have to hurry home to get ready for back to work the next day. 

I discovered a new restaurant thanks to social media.  It’s about an hours drive away in a town I’ve never heard of before.  I might have been there but I know I never ate that this place.  It’s on my things to do list, possibly on the 26th if not sooner.  Apparently people come far and wide for their food so the advertisement said.  Before I make the trip I need to call to make sure they take credit cards.  It would suck to drive all the way there to find out they were cash only and not have an ATM card with me.  That’s something I just don’t carry along with much cash.  The circles I typically am in I can use credit for anything and be fine. 

Saturday was a fun day.  Despite my insomnia kicking in Friday night I got up early.  Fed the cats and got a shower.  Threw on some clothes and headed out for breakfast at Bob Evans.  They use a bit too much salt for me.  I tasted it in my meal and also in the biscuits.  After that I went to get the mail and then out to visit with my friends.  By the afternoon I was back home, feeding the cats again (primarily Rudy) and going through the mail.  I had two pieces of mail that caught my eye and I was interested to see what was inside.  The first was a rebate check from one of my diabetes drugs.  The second announced a new health benefit that’s free of charge.  Not too shabby.  A few pieces of junk mail and some more medicine.  That’s it. 

I was ready for a nap so I rested and watched TV.  I dosed off but woke back up quickly a couple times.  So much for a formal nap.  I wanted to go back out for supper but that just wasn’t going to happen.  I really wasn’t hungry.  It was cold and raining and just getting back out in that again wasn’t appealing to me. 

You might recall over the summer I mentioned about writing some erotic stories.  Eventually I gave that up, I wrote most of what I wanted to and just took a pause.  Having a new pen I really wanted to take it for a spin.  I have been fighting with getting back to writing and this was the perfect excuse.  I had nothing going so randomly a one of the many guys I had a crush on in High School popped in my head and I began writing the fantasy down.  The new pen is really nice.  Very bright blue ink but it has a slight bit of bleed.  I wrote with it for a while and then changed back to regular gel pens.  I’ve got so many pens to choose from that I change frequently.  I wound up cranking about two complete stories.  I started on a third and plan to go back to either add or finish it tonight.  Just thinking about the fantasy and putting it on paper has a huge turn on to me. 

I know back in the summer I said that I had a plan for the stories to share them.  I’ve not followed through with that.  I’m kind of hesitant because there are only a couple of stories that I am really proud of.  The rest are mediocre.  I still may share them.  I think the stories I am proudest of would cause some guys to get hard and maybe get off to them.  However, what I think and what reality is could very well be two different things. 

Knowing that I wanted to get up early on Sunday I opted to eat a couple frozen waffles and use some of the new syrup I got with sugar alcohol.  That has a kick to it but when it wears off I get super sleepy.  I was writing away in my third story and couldn’t keep my eyes open but didn’t understand why and then it hit me, it was the sugar wearing off.  That’s when I put everything up and got ready for bed. 

Damn insomnia kicked in again last night along with a leg cramp.  Still I powered through getting up early this morning.  Opted to shave and shower to start the day rather than to end it.  Kind of knocks the shaving task out of the way and I hate it.  Fed the cats before I got started.  Rudy was waiting for me outside the bathroom door when I was done.  He was sleepy but eventually he went in for his drink of shower water. 

I made it to breakfast, had another breakfast burrito.  I skipped the side that it came with and just had the burrito and a soda.  I was listening to three guys yap on about all sorts of things, one of which was killing a dog.  That turned my stomach and honestly I could have done without hearing that story.  After that made it to the grocery store and then to the gas station and finally home.  The cookies I really wanted were all sold out, as per usual.  Wedding Cake Cookies sell out quickly around here.  I still have plenty of holiday cookies here and it’s probably for the best that I didn’t add to the collection.  Picked up a jar of refrigerated cling peaches and I am just dying to dive into them.  Never knew they existed until today.  I was really looking and struggling with what to buy.  The total this week was about half of what it was last week and I had a whole lot less.  Still I won’t starve.  This new drug is kind of killing my appetite add in a little depression and it’s the perfect combo for weight loss. 

Got all of the groceries put away.  The cats and I sat in my chair and they got their sleep.  I got a little bit but really tried to stay awake.  Finally when I wanted to sleep Rudy was bugging me for an early lunch.  That was my clue to get started. 

I fed them.  Put out my medicine and then broke out the dreaded vacuum cleaner.  Had to clean the air purifier, oddly only one of it’s many filters were fully of dust, everything else was clean.  Still I ran the vacuum over every filter before putting it back together and resetting the indicator.  It’s made things better here but it’s not a miracle cure. 

Then I sucked up the dust from the carpet and someone went a little crazy in the litter box making a huge mess by scattering litter way outside the box, so got that cleaned up.  Trash taken out.  Then I promised them a trip to the basement.  They followed me down here and Rudy has been finding toys and bringing them in.  He has been bugging me for attention and even started to fall asleep on my chest when I’d take a brake from typing. 

My new leather chair already has been victimized by their claws and I am trying to keep that to a minimum but they use them to get my attention.  That’s it.  Need to change out the laundry and head back up.  Might work on that third story I just need to pass a little bit more time and then I will be headed out for supper. 

My hormones tell me to go back to the pizza place where the cute boys are.  At least I’d get a nice show and have something left over to take home and eat for part of the week.  However, I think I am going to Red Lobster that sounds really good.  Hopefully, this will be a better experience than the last time I was there.  Might even order something different like Fish instead of crab pasta but probably not. 

Plan to enjoy what’s left of the day before I return to the pit of hell that is work tomorrow and being on-call.  I do hope that a lot of people are out of the office and that this week will be incredibly light and maybe we can even get away from a couple of our BS meetings.  That would be a Christmas miracle to me. 

Talk with you all again soon.  Be well, stay warm and dry.  Take care!

Lighting Strikes Twice

Morning … Hope that your enjoying your Friday Eve!  I heard yesterday as did everyone else that was in the meeting that were getting a second holiday bonus due to profits being so great.  Even better they are giving it to us on our next check.  It will probably be comparable to our traditional holiday gift so a few hundred dollars and then taxes come out.  Don’t get me wrong I’m not ungrateful but by the time taxes come out there isn’t a whole lot left.  If it turns out to be more great but my hopes aren’t set on high for a large dollar amount.  Every penny helps and if I get enough money that I don’t have to tap savings to pay for my pen that would be awesome!  They did this last year for us but I never expected it to happen again.  Folks might start getting used to this. 

Speaking of pens, I filed a dispute yesterday with my bank over the credit that Amazon owes me for the return.  I was told they have 15 days to issue the credit from the date they received the return, if they don’t then the bank will issue me credit and start the dispute process.  Right now it’s just sit back and wait.  Meanwhile the nag alerts still are coming in that my balance is higher than normal.  I control those alerts but it’s set for a reason as a cautionary thing.

Got my nap yesterday with the cats and took in some TV.  There wasn’t a whole lot going.  I was sitting in the sun by lunchtime with Mora in the living room.  She had me all pinned down and I got hot enough that I just came back downstairs.  Managed to get a little bit more work done that rolled in but for the most part sat around and surfed the web.

The Lasagna was delicious and I ate it all, had that awful full feeling because it was so rich.  I didn’t eat anything else for the rest of the night.  The cats were content in their cat beds I passed out some cat nip and went through my normal shutdown routine.  They never came in my room and I was able to watch TV and fall asleep alone.  Sadly I didn’t stay asleep for long.  I was up by midnight and watched a little TV.  Rudy tried to get some food out of me but that didn’t happen.  I went back to bed for a couple hours and was up again at 5 thanks to Rudy who though it was time to get up.  There was no going back to sleep but I made him wait until normal time before I passed out breakfast.  He wasn’t happy about that. 

I wanted to call in today and go back to bed due to the lack of sleep but I pushed and I am doing okay at the moment.  I know the bottom is going to fall out soon enough and I will be tired.  Good thing I have all my work done at the moment.  The only thing on my schedule is lunch.  I will be headed up to relax with the cats and probably take a nap.  Keeping an eye on my phone and if work rolls in I can easily come back down or grab my laptop if I feel that lazy.  No sense in wasting a perfectly good vacation day when I can be off unless someone bothers me. 

One more day and I am plotting my Saturday with breakfast a trip to see my friends and to get the mail.  Then debating about what to do for my main evening meal.  Thinking of traveling to the buffet but Red Lobster also sounds good.  Kind of depends on how I feel and what I crave a bit more a long drive or a short drive that will dictate where I go. 

Sadly today is death day for the Showtime standalone app.  I found out that Paramount is bundling their app with Showtime but just because you subscribe to Showtime via cable doesn’t mean you get a Paramount subscription automatically.  There are all sorts of Terms and Conditions.  That’s a convenient way to say I’m going to get the short end of the stick.  I like the standalone apps so you can watch what you want whenever you want.  This is all a part of a movement to rebundle things and for those people who thought they were saving money by getting rid of cable and subscribing to standalone services, all it all up and you’ll likely find that you are paying more so a story said from CNBC.  It’s just another way to make money and that’s what big business is all about turning a profit.  There are people who subscribe long enough to watch what they want and cancel.  They call that CHURN and it’s very popular.  I on the other hand subscribe and keep the service despite the fact that I might not watch anything for months.  Me thinks I am going to re-evaluate that and might wind up getting rid of some services. 

Here’s hoping it’s a great day for all.  Stay warm and be well. 

Feeling Lazy

Morning … I made it home at an early hour like I wanted and promised the cats.  They were starving so I gave them food and then got comfy and put away my leftovers from lunch.  I hardly ever eat everything that I take in.  The package I got was indeed the fire truck calendar and it looks pretty good.  Got to see the people that I wanted to and had a decent day.  However, once it was time to eat supper I was dead.  The day had taken its tole on me.  I ate and that gave me some minor energy that didn’t last terribly long.  I made it to my normal time and then got ready for bed.  I got in bed way early and was out early.  I was tired because of waking up early and going through the motions and I didn’t have a nap all day long.  

The cats wouldn’t let me sleep they had to fight during the night and my body naturally woke me up a couple times in addition to the fight.  I managed to get back to sleep.  About the time I got comfy I felt Rudy climbing upon top of me.  He knew I was awake but he patiently waited for me to give him attention and acknowledge that he was there.  I wound up getting up about a 1/2 hour early and while the cats were thrilled about it, I was not. 

I had breakfast, got dressed and medicated.  Then spent some time with them and looked over my phone to see what I was walking into.  It’s a quiet and calm day thus far.  It’s also super boring.  I was bothered twice last night by two different people and had to make a call to my boss to fill him in.  I took care of the situation but wanted to educate him because it had the potential to blow up.  As per usual I was told thank you, that I did everything correctly.  Now I kind of wish I would have asked for today off. 

We have a couple meetings today.  One is with the boss and it’s going to be our usual mid-week of listening to him flap his yap.  The other is with the entire company to get a progress update.  Were all hoping that we will hear that were at another year of record profit and they are going to give us a second holiday bonus like they did last year.  I think we will hear the profit part but as for the second holiday bonus I am not holding my breath.  That I think was a one time thing last year and it was the first time it’s ever happened.  While I hope history repeats it’s self in this case I don’t have high hopes for it.  I don’t expect any bad news though and I think everyone is thinking the same.  Hopefully, at least that part is true. 

I’ve got my dumb report to prepare and get out but part of me says do it now to occupy myself and the other part of me says it can wait until tomorrow.  That’s when I have it scheduled.  I like having free time but being bored just makes the day drag on that much longer and it seems like quitting time will never get here.  I just did a quick check of my schedule for the rest of the week and based on my calendar it’s going to be calm and boring for the rest of the week.  Of course, I can’t go just by my calendar alone because you never know what is going to crop up and creep in. 

If all goes well I plan to indulge in store bought Lasagna for supper tonight.  It’s really rich and quite filling.  It’s not my favorite Lasagna but it’s not bad and sure beats frozen. 

Still waiting on Amazon to issue my refund, it’s odd that it’s taking a long time.  They for sure have the package and I’ve got proof of that.  I am trying to be patient but the card I used is over it’s normal balance limit and I’ve got nag alerts set so they come rolling in at the start of each day and I get two of them. 

Just got an alert that someone was at the front door, looked and it was the mailman dropping off a box.  Turns out it’s my new pen and thankfully it’s exactly what I wanted in the first place.  I am beyond pleased.  Glad I didn’t return the refills to Amazon because they fit the new pen like they are supposed to.  Can’t believe this all worked out but I am glad that it did. 

Here’s hoping it will be a great day for all.  Take care, stay warm and be well.  Talk with you all again soon.

 

Ah Monday again …

Morning, hope that you had a great weekend.  I woke up early yesterday got breakfast, hit up the grocery store and gas station.  I wanted to go out for supper but opted to stay home as it was cold outside and I didn’t want to get out in that. 

I found some holiday cookies that I had ordered via Amazon at the grocery store.  I cancelled the Amazon order since it hadn’t shipped and saved my self some money.  I have cookies everywhere and won’t be running out for a while.  I keep buying them but am growing tired of them.  I am collecting the Linzer cookies from Pepperidge Farm because they only are available now and after Christmas they will be gone until next year.  The grocery store just put out their Archway display and that’s where I got my extras. 

Picked up a small carton of Egg Nog, no alcohol I like it straight.  It’s good and I can drink it in large quantities despite it’s richness it doesn’t seem to get to me like it does other people.  I had a small glass last night with of course some cookies. 

The fridge is oddly fuller than normal and my grocery store bill was larger than it has been in a while.  Breakfast yesterday was a yummy Sausage, Bacon and Cheese Omelet with a side of toast and gravy.  The chef went a bit overboard on the cheese but it was all really good.  Not a huge Bacon fan but threw it in to change things up.  Don’t know that I will do that again for a while I am more of a sausage guy. 

Mora got sick yesterday multiple times and that made me add a spot carpet cleaner to my Amazon list.  I will be getting one sooner rather than later.  This was my fault because I have been putting off brushing her.  That came to an end last night and I got some serious fur off of her.  Need to get her brother but she is by far much larger and thus furrier than her brother.  Got to love on both of them yesterday.  We all slept together last night.  That is until I got to sleep and then they left me but I didn’t know that until I woke up this morning. 

Spent the day watching Roseanne and I am growing tired of that but it’s really the only thing available that I have any interest in.  I have looked at some YouTube videos but always default back to Roseanne.  It’s interesting seeing the cast age and grow, reliving memories from when I was younger.  There were a couple times I laughed last night that scared both cats because laughter is still a foreign sound to them because it’s not a sound that comes out of me often so they are still getting used to it. 

Warmer weather is here at least for a couple days but then were headed back into the deep freeze.  I am headed into the office tomorrow despite not wanting to work and not wanting to go.  Our receptionist is retiring and this will be the last time I see her.  We have spent 9 almost 10 years together and she has both made me laugh and rubbed me wrong.  I got a card for her that I am dropping off. 

My Sunday started off with finding out that Rudy opted to play in my bathroom sink and managed to get my eye drops down the drain.  That took me a few minutes to fish out and I wasn’t terribly happy.  That boy is curious and playful but it always seems to happen at the wrong time.  I want to get cans of air that have motion detectors on them and set them up so that he would get blasted and scared when he gets to some place where he shouldn’t be.  That would cure him I think. 

Listening to some conference call where everyone is rambling on.  I am supposed to be looking at a screen to see the presentation but I honestly don’t give a damn about what is being discussed.  It’s a review rehashing the last couple months and I’ve lived through it already.  It’s the only meeting/call that I have on the books for today. 

I’ve got plenty to do but I am saving a large part of that for tomorrow. 

Pen update.  The old pen has been returned and received by Amazon as of a few minutes ago.  A label for the new and what I hope is the correct pen was created yesterday.  It’s coming through the USPS and of course to my street address where there is no mailbox which could cause a slight delay before it’s delivered.  I’m just waiting for it to be placed in the mail stream so I know around what day it’s supposed to show up so I can go fetch it.  My hope is that it’s hear by the end of the week, it’s being shipped from within the states so it shouldn’t be too terribly long. 

One horrible task that I hate I need to do today and that’s put air in my tires.  The temperatures change and that causes the air pressure to change.  It’s best to fill your tires in the morning before your vehicle is used.  I could tell the other day that the pressure was getting low by the ride.  My gas mileage decreases a bit as well.  I don’t have real time pressure monitor that shows each individual tires pressure.  It’s something that is available but not toggled on for my model.  I want that in my next vehicle.  I’ve got the standard TPMS and if I get seriously low on air or the tire rapidly goes flat that will trigger a warning.  Tires I hate them but keeping them in tip top shape is in my best interest because so much is riding on them. 

Hope that your Monday is good and that we can move on with this week already.  Stay comfortable and be well.  Talk with you all again soon.  Thanks for stopping by!