Exhausted & Recovering

I am thankful for a 3 day weekend!  This past week overall was okay.  I had a nice time with my boss and ate a lot of food.  We talked a lot and I didn’t ask all of the questions I wanted to.  There was a big shake up this week as our CEO was told to leave, I had expected this for a while but figured this late in the game nothing was going to change.  Talk about a surprise, wow.  I talked with my co-worker who has cancer and things are a bit grimmer for him, he is allergic to the chemo and they have to stop.  There are no other options for him. Personally I figure 3 months to a year, he’s been told 6 months to a year.  It sucks to hear this but at least he has time to spend with his family and can prepare for the inevitable.  He is going to retire so that will be forthcoming.

To say that things are picking up for me is an understatement.  While it was good see my boss in person, he wanted to touch base every 15 minutes to an hour and I got very little accomplished until he left for the airport.  We had no interaction on Friday.  I was able to get caught up, minus one task that I opted to put off. 

I was close to losing Momma & Marvin this week.  Both had stopped eating.  I think Momma had/has a Upper Respiratory Issue and she has given part of that to Marvin.  In addition it didn’t help that I skipped their medicine while I was off.  I had to give them both an appetite stimulant and then follow up with fluids to get them back to “normal”.  They are super picky now about what I put in front of them.  So I went for more gravy based food since they both seem to like that.  Insty will eat damn near anything but even she is picky at times.  I thought Marvin for sure was done but thankfully I just used up another one of his lives.  I am so glad I still have them and was able to fix their issue on my own and never even had to involve a vet.  I think I am a mini vet on my own with everything I have been through.  People are amazed when I say I gave them fluids.  They don’t understand and once I explain they are like your vet lets you do that.  I said sure I did it with Big Boy, the rest of them are no different.  You just have to use reserved judgement and not flood them with fluid.  I get a very small Jell-O like mass under their skin and within 24 hours it’s gone.

I hired a new grass guy and we negotiated the same price that I was used to paying.  He is also by far the cheapest when it comes to bush trimming so I am letting him do that as well.  He’s an older guy and we seem to have clicked.  I think he’s a keeper.  I know I don’t want to have to search again for a new provider anytime soon.  It’s a miserable process. 

I haven’t been this drained in quite sometime.  I was falling asleep at my desk on Friday afternoon and felt tired no matter what I did.  I went for a walk but it didn’t work.  Until I got outside and was headed home is when I got a small second wind.  That lasted until I crossed into the house and then I was zapped. 

I spent Saturday watching ER, eating junk food and napping.  I didn’t even have to get dressed and it was really nice and refreshing.  My voice mail light came on in the afternoon and as much as I didn’t want to I checked and it was a friend checking on me.  I called back around 6p and we talked until almost 11p.  I was never so happy to hang up the phone. 

I am not real sure why but my obsession is with re-watching the old ER series.  Right now I am telling myself once the character Carter (played by Noah Wylie) gets lucky I will pause but I don’t know if that will hold true.  He’s the whole reason why I became infatuated with the series.  He’s super cute and young.  Today were about the same age and my obsession really isn’t there any longer.  Yes I know he’s straight.  Anyway, I am sure getting the most out of my free Hulu Subscription.  I hate the damn commercials and if I want to skip them I have to start a new account and pay full price $11.95 per month, so I just put up with it.  I am so behind on my current regular shows that I hope my DVR doesn’t over flow.  I plan to peek at it tomorrow if not sooner.  

The big news is I found out my brothers wedding is at the end of the month.  I saw it on FB.  It’s not like I got an invite or have heard from him.  I am surprised on one hand and not on another.  She broke him pretty quick and went in for the kill.  So first is marriage and then will come her name on the house.  That will seal his fate and to unseal it will take a lot of  money and a miracle.  I can’t believe how stupid he is.  She was a monster to him and put him through needless hell for months on end, they broke up and now he realizes he can’t live without her.  Fuck what a mess.  He deserves everything that he gets.  If it works great I’m happy.  I suspect things will be well for a while and then it will be right back in the crapper.  Only I am not wasting my time listening to him whine anymore I have divorced myself from the situation.  I am only interested in his well being.  I do think it will be quite sometime before we talk again, if ever.  It’s all really kind of sad when you stop to think about it. 

Sunday is catchup day.  I was up early and got moving.  I still have to clean the house but I went out for lunch/supper to a Mexican place.  It was nice to get away for a bit.  I am also happy to be back home.  Finishing up my laundry and then I will head up and get the cleaning done. 

Monday is car repair day.  The parts came in middle of the week and we agreed on Monday.  While I am taking the day off I am also on-call so I’m basically working from home.  I will keep an eye on email and jump in if needed.  Might grab a bite for dinner out but outside of that no other real plans for the day. 

So the beat goes on and on.  Hope all is well in your world.  Talk with you all again soon. 

The search is over

The guy who was supposed to meet me today had something come up and couldn’t come out.  He said that he looked up my address on Google and that it would cost me around $40 to $50 to have my grass cut.  I was quick to mention to him that he was on the high end of the spectrum and that I would need to keep searching.  He really wanted me as a customer and asked me if I had someone cut my grass in the past.  I of course said yes and they charged me much less.  He said how does $35 sound.  I said you matched the price of the last guy so it’s a deal. 

Just when you think it can’t get any better, it does.  He then agreed to trim the bushes and clean up the yard for a mere $15.  He hasn’t seen the mess he was bidding on and I think he will be a little surprised when he actually shows up but this was his price. 

For everyone’s understanding I am sending him a letter to recap our conversation and I asked him to contact me if anything is incorrect.  He said nothing about a contract, said that he was bonded & insured.  So as long as he keeps up his end of the bargain I will keep up mine. 

I hope this works out and that I don’t have to go back searching for a new provider for this service again anytime soon.  I am just so thrilled that this is done, I am very happy.  We start in a few weeks once the grass grows.  Things are already starting to sprout and I see a little bit of green in the grass. 

Well back to house cleaning!

Get ‘er Done Weekend

Friday night I kept true to my word and had my Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese and a Medium French Fry.  The fries were fresh and full of salt.  Instantly transported me back to my childhood.  The sandwich was good as well.  Not a bad treat for 5 days of hell. 

Saturday as soon as the Gator had me awake, I sprang into action.  Breakfast for the children was the first order of business.  They were all chatty, I guess hunger pains finally hit all of them and it’s such a rare feeling they didn’t know how to react.  Seriously, they do not starve.

I went out for breakfast, back to the place where the 16yo was.  I feel like he is taunting me.  He figured out I was there and started seating people around me, he would walk right by my table wiggling his ass.  Yeah, dude is still cute but now that I know his age the interest is gone, I mean long gone and never coming back gone.  Food was very good.

On to grab the mail and hope that Death Certificates were in.  No such luck.  Then it was on to the haircut store.  Where I let a different person cut my hair and I got charged wrong, as in too much for my shampoo.  It was only a couple of dollars and I wasn’t going back to argue. 

Next stop was the upscale grocery store.  Where I spent way too much money for “oatmeal”.  The oatmeal is my excuse for going in but I always buy way more stuff than I planned on. 

Next stop the dreaded home improvement store.  Man alive it was like it was Christmas shopping at it’s finest.  Tons of rude people to block the isle, stop and chat and that stressed me out.  I had to keep reminding myself why I was there.  I passed on one item and now I’ve forgotten what it was so must not have been important. 

I should have gone for cat food but opted to go home.  I was a little tired.  Unloaded all of my purchase and then began toilet repair.  Yep, it was the flapper.  The old defective one was rubber and it was just disintegrating.  I had this black goop all over my hands, a real mess.  Got the new one installed and tested it a couple times, presto change-o fixed. 

Finally time to rest up and relax with the children.  I decided to call my brother, the phone rang off the hook before VM picked up.  I left a message thinking he was dodging me.  He called back about an hour later once I had settled down for a nap.  I told the kids he would call and yeah just as I was falling asleep boom.  He paid the nursing home, the doctors are paid.  He has the death certificates and we agreed to meet up on Saturday to close out the bank accounts that are local.  I still need a death certificate to send off for the remote account(s), if there is any money there it will be a surprise.  The bank has frozen the checking account and that was actually expected.  So he has no way to get a balance for the Savings account.  We shall just have to wait and see what’s what.  I think I will walk away with a couple hundred dollars, which will be nice. 

I got on the computer and went porn surfing, that was fun.  Never know what I am going to find but I managed to locate some decent scenes.  By now were at 3 in the afternoon.  I opted to make a pizza, which I picked up earlier in the day.  It was a Gino’s South of Chicago Sausage & Pepperoni.  Pretty good stuff.  However, the first bite the sauce went onto my upper lip and I managed to burn the corner of my lip.  It’s a little painful but just looks like I have a chapped lip.  Doesn’t feel anything like a chapped lip. 

Oh, I ate the whole pizza.  As I sat down I got a call for work, but I elected to defer it until I was done with my food.  I took care of that and another hour had passed me by.  I got out and filled up the vehicle with fuel and then went on to the cat food store.  Then it was back home for the remainder of the evening. 

Of course I went back to the computer and I started music surfing.  Acoustic Alchemy has some great stuff.  I had a very good evening listening to their music which is classed as smooth jazz.  Very relaxing.  I just love music, the older I get the more I have to have.

Finally I called it a night close to 11p that is after I put out my medicine, medicated the cats and had a stinging time brushing my teeth with my lip burn.  Watched TV and saw the latest episode of Active Shooter.  Man that was an eye opener.  After that was over with I went to bed. 

Sunday once again the Gator made me rise from bed with her magically gifted set of lungs.  It’s annoying to hear but also entertaining to hear some of it.  Got the furies fed.  Then on to grab my breakfast and hit up the grocery store.  Once again I dropped way more money than I thought I would.  They didn’t have my Diet Code Red Mt. Dew which didn’t please me at all.  I got home and got everything put away.  Then down I went in my chair.  Watched a little TV felt sleepy and I was back in bed by 10:30.  Slept until 11:30 and then said give me a 1/2 hour.  True to form Gator started her racket at noon.  That was the lunch bell ringing.  So I had to feed them.  Then I found out what a Blueberry Oatmeal Cookie tasted like.  I paid $5 for a box.  They were really good. 

Now we start laundry and that’s all done.  So here I am giving you the play by play.  Next it will be carrying everything upstairs and getting ready to clean the house.  Which will send the cats into a panic because the vacuum cleaner comes out.  Then I’ll wrangle the trash.  I’ll probably take a short break and then it will be time for a shave and shower, followed by supper which is going to be frozen Turkey, Mashed Potatoes and Stuffing.  You might think I am gearing up for Turkey Day but it’s actually an enjoyable meal that I can have year round.  I’ll probably come back to the computer for a couple hours then it will be upstairs to take in Shameless, Vice Principals and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.  Then hopefully I will feel drowsy and go to bed.  Then I’ll get to rise early again and go back to the fun that is work. 

I realized after the fact of speaking with my brother this coming Saturday I have a dentist appointment.  So hopefully he will get moving early because come noon I’ll be in the chair getting my pearly whites cleaned and polished.  Now that’s my real turkey day preparation.  Then the following week the big day will be here and we only have to work 3 days.  Nice!

While it’s not exciting news I am proud  of the fact that I finally got everything done that I have been putting off.  Here is to a fast moving and highly productive week ahead with little stress and no worry.  The refrigerator for temperatures has arrived, so my wardrobe has changed over to all long sleeves.  Still not a fan but it is normal for this time of year.  My lawn guy mowed 1 last time even though our contract expired last month.  That’s another can of worms.  So stay warm and be well. 

The Search Continues

I went for my annual eye exam today.  My search for the glasses that I want, worn by Kennedy a Corbin Fisher porn model continues.  I hate to lose and I am good at finding things and finding people.  However, this is one challenge that is besting me.  I have invested countless hours of looking at web pages full of eye glasses but no exact match.  I reached out to the studio and they were going to try to find out from Kennedy who made his glasses but that proved futile as they never heard from him.  This just pisses me off to no end.  I found what I believe to be a very close match in the Columbia line, however it’s not made anymore.  The local place that used to carry Columbia brand no longer does.  You’d think I was after this guys real name or his address but all I really want to know is who makes your fucking eye glasses.  They look so sexy and I really want a pair of my own.  Knowing his name and address well that would just be a bonus.  This is a thirst that I can’t quench no matter how hard I try.  It’s just tough to concede and put this behind me.  I have something that I like on order, it should be in next Saturday and I have to go look at it and try it on, then we can order it if I want.  It’s going to cost me around $300, that’s with insurance, every coating and option available to man kind in a single vision lens.  The brand of frame is Ray Ban, which will be new to me.  I have always been a Nike fan.  My prescription didn’t change that much and I really don’t need new glasses but I want what I want.  If I get them, there will be extra protection called Eyezen for staring at a computer monitor. 

I got my summer surprise bills in the mail this week.  Homeowner’s insurance stayed the same, which is good.  Taxes went up $300, mine are $3,700.  It is fucking expensive as hell to live where I do.  This is a wealthy town and it’s supposed to be middle to middle upper class.  I feel more like the low class.  My income is good for my age, and this is not my dream home or dream place to live.  However, with the cats and all of the crap from my late partner, where else am I going to go?  So I am kind of stuck here waiting for the cats to die off, for me to get off my ass and get rid of a bunch of useless shit, sell some shit and then I can think about moving.  By the time all of this happens I will be an old man. 

My dream is in California.  There are more gay people there, it’s much more progressive and I think my odds of finding a man would be far greater.  I want to go get my feet wet and go on a vacation to check things out.  The cost of living is much higher but the jobs pay better to accommodate for that.  I need an income translator to figure out how much I would need to make.  This too is a desire that I have been unable to quench.  I mean maybe I go on a trip out there and hate it so the idea vanishes, but I feel that I am doing myself a disservice by sitting still.  It’s all about money and circumstances.  In chatting with that lady last week I think that a move would do me good, it doesn’t have to be cross country.  But if I am going to be bold I want to be fresh and go off into unfamiliar territory.  Make my own way in navigating new surroundings.  It would be much more fun with a partner, but I have adjusted quite well to doing things by myself. 

Given the fact that my job is so stressful, I have been carefree with my money.  I see something or think of something that I want and I just get it.  Part of that is me spending part of my settlement that has yet to arrive.  The other part of it is me rewarding myself because of the stressful circumstances.  I got 2 new Mont Blanc Pens.  Oddly enough they were shipped to me from California.  It’s in the Pix line both are blue.  One is a ball point pen and the other is a rollerball.  That was an easy $389 that I dropped.  Now that they are here I am really only a fan of the rollerball and am contemplating sending the ball point pen back, but I am sure I will manage to talk myself into keeping it.  I really want a Parker 5th Generation but I opted for Mont Blanc instead.  In my book it’s the supreme grand daddy of all writing instruments and it conveys prestige.  It’s my way of looking rich even though I am dirt poor. I got me some new clothes as well so I’ll look better than normal when I go to work for a couple days.  Then it will be back to the same old same old.  

So how was the week?  It actually was pretty stressful.  One day I was so back logged I told my team not to bother me, I was focused on new hires and departures.  Plus I had to plan for an employee change.  I am off into some unchartered waters, it’s fairly simple but when you have more than one of anything to process it’s stressful because there is a deadline looming.  The closer you get to the deadline particularly for a new hire the more people start inquiring about when the account will be ready.  By Thursday I was so ready for a massage.  I wasn’t signed up but decided to sneak off for a quickie.  That turned into an hour long session with me not removing my shirt and leaving my gold necklace on.  Turned out to be a disaster.  I am all knotted up and she kept rubbing up against the chain and there is a skin tag forming.  I am so sore and it hurts.  It’s going to for a while.  Funny thing is I did this as a treat to myself but it turned out to be anything but a treat.  Next time I’ll take off my shirt and jump on the table, it will feel a whole lot better. 

Next week my boss will leave for a two week trip, not until towards the end of the week.  We are launching a big project and it will be up to me and my co-worker to keep things on track and to stay a float while he is gone.  I have some concerns but there is little I can do about it.  So like everything else that I have faced I will confront it head on and just do the best I can.  While I am harder on myself than anyone else, I rest easy knowing that I put forth my best effort.  We all have our limits and I am working right up to the bleeding edge, where burn out is imminent.  I don’t want to burn out but at the same time I can’t just stop.  I am once again trying to be all things to all people.  I realize the only thing everyone can agree on is pizza because it’s delicious and I am not pizza.  The stress with the departure of my former co-worker is felt by all of us.  Even my boss told me that he is stressed out and he wants me to not be that way.  Yeah easy for you to say but look at what I have been tasked with, it’s years of work that she was able to ramp up for slowly over time.  I don’t have years I got it all as soon as she announced her resignation.  My boss hasn’t said a word to me about this but I know he is petrified that I am going to quit.  I’m not near that point yet but I can tell you that it won’t take much to send me over the edge.  Just as long as I don’t have any health problems from this and I don’t suffer from a nervous or psychotic break, I think I can keep this up for a little while longer.  I have stepped up to the plate and picked up in areas where my boss never thought I would.  I want to make a good impression and I seriously want to succeed. 

Furthering my reward I went for pizza this afternoon.  The cute guy waited on me and got me my food.  But his shift ended and I was handed off to someone else.  I had plans to tell him that I liked him, he’s young for me and my research tells me he is taken.  However, he is gay.  I guess the stars and the moon didn’t align just right so that’s why it didn’t happen.  When I left there was an accident and I was stuck in traffic for at least 30 to 45 minutes.  By the time I got to the scene of the crash I was beside myself.  It showed me just how fragile life really is.  It was a sobering wake up call.  There was an extended cab pickup truck the roof was sheered off of it, it went under a semi truck and crashed into a tree.  There was a door in the middle of the interstate.  It looks like another car was involved and it was crushed to bits.  There had to have been at least 1 fatality if not more.  I just couldn’t get the images of what I saw out of my mind.  I prayed for everyone who was involved that they all got to walk away but in my heart I don’t see how that is possible.

Tonight I went to see Baywatch.  It was all about Zac Efron for me.  He is so cute but now that he got ripped I am not so much a fan.  Some muscle is good but you can get too much and that is a turn off for me.  Anyway, I wouldn’t kick him out of bed but the chances of us winding up in the same bed are about the same as me hitting the jackpot on the lottery.  I was carded for the third time in my life.  Apparently I look so youthful that they just had to see my id.  Everyone takes me for being in my 30’s so I have no idea how old the lady behind the counter thought I was but I took it as a compliment.  That is until I had time to think about it and then I was kind of pissed but I let it go.  The movie was good, plenty of laughs.  If your thinking about seeing it, go ahead and treat yourself.  Who can’t use a good laugh?  There are plenty in this movie. 

No post of mine would be complete with out me talking about my bears.  He’s been such a good boy this week.  Defecation is still difficult for him.  I discovered by trial that one dose of the laxative the vet gave me works well for him.  So he will be getting that for a bit.  Not sure if it’s something he can be on long term but if I stop and he has problems, you can rest assured that I will be inquiring.  We have had plenty of time together on the couch.  Belly rubs, hugs and kisses.  He just looks into my eyes and my whole world melts for him.  There really is something special about this cat.  He knows that I care for him and I have saved him more than once.  He appreciates it but he also works me until he tap dances on my very last nerve.  This picky palate of his is driving me nuts.  I am trying to cater to him as best as I can.  I worry that since he is off of his prescription food that he will form crystals and block again.  I sneak in a can of that food and he eats some of it.  I have a whole bag of the dry food that he was just nuts over and he stopped eating it.  I mix it with treats and he got wise to that and picks out the treats and leaves the dry food for his family members to gobble on.  They all love it. 

I rewarded all of the cats with a new water fountain, which they are suspect to drink from.  I got 2 scratching posts, I assembled one of them.  They are always going nuts over the birds.  This thing has 2 bird shaped toys and of course no one will dare go near it.  The flock to the old scratching post, which bit the dust a long time ago. 

Today was all about me and I am behind on my chores but I’ll get what I need to done tomorrow and Monday will roll around quicker than I want it to, then it will be back to beating the same old drum.

Feels refreshing to get all of this out.  Now I have to go face the music because I have been downstairs for a very long time and were way past bed time, so everyone will be fussy.  I keep telling them there is plenty of daddy to go around.  Gator has been sleeping with me, Momma sits on one side of me when Bear is on the other side.  Ruth climbs up in my bed while I am watching TV and then along comes Marv and there goes Ruth.  They all have their moments with me.  Ruth however will not be happy tomorrow because it’s claw trimming day, she scratched me earlier in the week so I know for a fact those nails are sharp. 

Well off to bed then to wake and tackle grocery shopping and then cat food shopping.  Then I am done and can spend the rest of the day at home instead of running around.  That will sure be nice. 

My lawn guy sent me an invoice last night, apparently he’s cut my lawn every week in May.  Problem is we have a contract that authorizes him to cut it bi-weekly.  He wanted the contract, not me.  However, in this case it works to my advantage.  I threw it in his face and told him he will have to eat the additional charges, I am not paying for his service every week because it wasn’t authorized.  I will pay what was authorized.  I have had more problems with this guy than I ever did with Lawn Boy.  I kind of miss him, it was a simpler time.  However, he fucked up.  So has the new guy.  I may be looking for a new lawn person again soon, which I really don’t want to do.  This wasn’t my mistake it was his.  I mean if you want to cut it every week come on by and do that, I sure appreciate it.  However, I am not paying for it.  I thought I would have this battle back in April when he did the same thing but nope, he just sent me a normal bill.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but the contract legally insulates me so while I could be nice and send him all of the money, legally I am not obligated to do so. 

Have a great rest of the weekend, enjoy the week ahead and hopefully I will be able to do the same. 

Crazy Ass Week

As the tile implies it’s been a messed up week.  I hope that next week is much better.  It’s all been work related, I got back logged and was overwhelmed.  It’s not pretty when I get that way, it’s like I am drowning and the more I try to stay afloat the deeper I sink.  Thankfully the week is over and were into the weekend.  I am still on-call but thus far it’s quiet.  I hope tomorrow is very much like today, one interruption and it was very minor.  

The cat kids are all doing okay.  They are a little upset with me because I went out to dinner tonight and just got home a short time ago.  They were fed long before I left so it’s not like they missed a meal.  However, now that I have come home they think that I should feed them again.  It don’t work like that. 

Dinner was with my friend, he called this afternoon early enough and we tried to get to our usual spot but they were booked.  We wound up eating at a Denny’s in the ghetto.  I was a little concerned but got over that pretty quickly.  The meal was okay for a double burger and fries.  Denny’s isn’t one of those places I tend to flock to, mostly because they don’t offer much that I want.  Anyway we sat there and he jaw jacked the night away until I finally said I think it’s time to head out.  Wow, if I wouldn’t have said anything he would probably still be talking my ear off.  I don’t mind listening because I know he doesn’t have anyone else to talk to and he is lonely.  Some of it was stimulating conversation but he went on for at least an hour an a half about on-line games and that was boring as all shit.  I acted interested which I am kind of sorry that I did because that just caused him to continue to spew.  I am sure I have talked about stuff and bored him just as he was boring me, I guess that is all just a part of friendship.  He picked up the check which was nice, it doesn’t compare to the meal I sprung for at PF Chang’s but I’ll take what I can get. 

Yesterday when I had a little bit of down time I found a new dating app called Bro.  Kind of a strange name but I played along.  There are some pretty good looking guys on there.  Not sure if there personalities match their looks but I am certainly trying to find out.  When you like someone but your unsure what to say you give them a fist bump.  You can message back and forth if you want to.  I find that making the first move is awkward as hell but someone has to do it or you’ll never break the ice and that’s an easy way to stay single.  I am jealous of my friend who found a friend shortly after losing his wife.  Now that time has passed for me and it’s been a few years I am ready to make a new friend and see where things go.  Everyone keeps telling me this is going to be a better year.  Well the only way to go is up. 

I heard back from the folks at Gazelle and my money for my old iPhone is on it’s way to me.  Everything checked out and the equipment was exactly as I purported it to be.  I am looking forward to getting my money.  My Mophie case arrived and I am much happier with it.  It’s built to accommodate my phone with the Mophie battery on it and it has their clip which secures it to my belt.  It won’t come undone unless I want it to.  So much more confidence there.  I took the other case back to Best Buy and got my money back.  It’s close to being a wash on cost. 

Got the cat food shopping done.  I got a coupon that gave me $10 off but you had to spend $30.  That helped me out a lot.  I got Marv’s dry food which by it’s self is $16.  I love to save money, even though chances are I’ll spend it somewhere else.  Plus I was able to pay cash so that helped out as well. 

The new lawn guy sent me an email this afternoon letting me know that my account according to his records was past due.  Thankfully I had plenty of documentation along with a copy of the cancelled check to prove that I paid the bill.  Funny thing is he tried to collect three times from the same invoice.  We talked about this early last month and he said he would delete the invoice from his system.  Apparently that didn’t happen.  I let him know that he is skating on thin ice with me and he’s very close to losing my business.  Hopefully he will shape up, if not there are plenty of others who will gladly take his place.  I asked myself today if I went from the frying pan to the fire.  I mean Lawn Boy kept great accounting records but he gave lousy customer service.  The new guy can’t keep his books straight and has to be reminded to show up, but he offers apologies where as Lawn Boy wouldn’t.  Don’t get me wrong there both bad situations I just wonder if the devil I knew was better than the devil I didn’t know. 

I finished up the OJ Trial on Netflix.  The thing that sunk this case was Mark Furhman.  When Johnny Cochran asked him did you plant or fabricate evidence in this case.  Furhman’s response was I wish to assert my 5th amendment privilege.  The gloves were a perfect fit, but OJ made it look like they didn’t fit.  Part of me believes he had some culpability but from what I saw he was framed by the LAPD and they did a sloppy job of preserving the crime scene.  If I were on the jury as I saw it, I would have voted as not guilty.  The thing that most people will lose sight of is that this is a persons life that is hanging in the balance.  You have to pay close attention and evaluate all of the evidence and arguments from both sides, in order to come up with an opinion.  Being a juror for a murder trial I am sure is hell in and of it’s self, but when it’s a high profile case that has media scrutiny behind it that makes it much worse.  The prisons in the US are full of people who were wrongly accused and convicted of crimes they didn’t commit.  I think our Justice System gets it right about 1/2 of the time and the other 1/2 of the time it’s just dead wrong.  That is my opinion and I realize just because of what I think, doesn’t make it so. 

Now I struggle with what I will watch next.  I love a series but it has to be something that interests me.  I am going to do some surfing and then I will call it a night and we shall see what I can find on the tele. 

My hope for next week is that my check arrives quickly, that ATT reaches out to me so we can put this phone issue to bed.  Time is running out, I have 14 days in which I can return the phone and pay the $45 restocking fee.  7 of those days are gone.  Next Saturday will be the 14th day and if we don’t communicate then I plan on making good on my promise to wash my hands of ATT.  I really want to keep what I have but it’s the principal of the matter.  I am not someone you can fuck with and expect to get away with it.  When I asked for the total cost of the upgrade the sales person shouldn’t have been deceptive and should have been forthright and told me.  If I went through with it then I would have no complaint but odds are I would have said thanks but no thanks, I’ll keep what I have.  Why is it that they told me what they thought I wanted to hear instead of being forthright and answering the question? 

Sunday will be finishing cleaning up the house, doing laundry the dreaded grocery shopping and of course the battle of where do I want to do for breakfast and what do I want to eat.  Not sure.  Payday is this week also so I have that to look forward to as well.  So I will have some money for a day or two but then it will be all gone.

Finally, I don’t know what came over me I think it was hormones.  The guy at work that I have it bad for but know is straight, we used to be friends but I found out that I am just a coworker to him.  Yeah that guy.  Well he has a thing for Oliva Pope (Kerry Washington).  Apparently he likes a little rough sex from where our conversation went.  Anyway I said to him, if you had a chance to sleep with her but in order to do so you had to sleep with another man first would you do it?  He hesitated and then said nah I’d have to ask my wife first so I’d pass.  That answer to me says I was right all along he has feelings for other guys but they are repressed.  Fuck I want him so bad.  As a person he isn’t my kind of guy but based on his physical looks yeah he totally fits the bill.  So it would be a meaningless encounter.  I was talking with another friend and she said are you sure that he won’t turn on you and file a sexual harassment claim?  That never crossed my mind, I mean we have talked about some pretty explicit stuff.  Besides that I did attach a disclaimer to my question and told him he didn’t have to answer if it made him uncomfortable.  I just don’t think I have anything to be concerned with, if he makes that move then I will have no choice but to deal with it.  Since I got that wake up call I’ll think twice before speaking.  We used to be pretty close but he fucked that all up when he told me that he just though of me as a co-worker.  It was a rush to actually have the balls to articulate the question.  I know that my crush is just that a crush and nothing will ever come of it.  That doesn’t squash my feelings. 

Okay well Momma’s upset that I am down here so late, even though it’s Saturday night.  I am looking forward to seeing SNL tonight, no doubt there will be plenty of political humor.  Hope your all doing well and that life is being kind to you.  Talk with you all again soon. 

How Goes It?

It has been an insane couple of days.  One of my co-workers that I work very close with has gotten sick.  She was out one day and I thought I wouldn’t make it through the day without here.  She came back yesterday but then is out sick today.  I think she over did it.  There are situations that come up and I have to deal with on my own.  Being on call I had the impression that it was my responsibility to deal with all of the tickets that were sent to the department.  Everyone said so but now they are back pedaling.  I am being told that I am taking on too much and I need to either give others a chance or out right delegate something to them.  I am not in any trouble but I think there may be fear of burn out.  Just some concern.  Plus we appear to have a lazy ass that is too good to work tickets.  I have been spoiling everyone because as soon as something comes in, I snatch it up.  It’s helped me learn and grow, plus it makes me and the team look good – just good customer service which is what I am all about.  It’s hard to sit back.  I was even told that I can get a message today but since were down by 1 person I am not partaking.  Plus it’s a chance to save money. 

This whole on call things really is nothing to be alarmed over.  Thus far no phone calls, so no emergencies.  What has happened occurs during working hours and I have managed to take care of.  Sure there were times when I wanted to pull my hair out but I made it.  I pray that all of the nights are silent.  If you want to make the days noisy I am fine with that, just as long as those days are M-F and don’t include the weekend.  I am starting to think that the rate plan switch on my cell phone was a mistake but hey there is no going back. 

Really hard to comprehend that today is Thursday.  Most everyday so far I have woken up early and just gotten started with the day.  It gives me more time if anything unforeseen comes up be it at home or in traffic. 

The kids are doing well.  I did a dumb thing last night.  Ruth came over for me to pet her but she has a habit of not getting to close until you are able to hit the right spot, then she looses her inhibitions and walks right up to you, the minute you stop she runs away.  Last night she was just out of reach but was clamoring for attention.  I reached out and grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and tried to pull her closer.  That scared the crap out of her and now she won’t take any risks around me.  Feels like I set things back.  Hopefully she will warm up to me again.  I love her and really would like her to be a lap cat but she is far too independent for that.  I would and could love on her so much more if she would just relax and open up.  Ah, well we all have our own personalities and that is what makes us unique.  This morning I noticed Marvin appear to have a tremor in one of his paws.  He has been acting strange lately.  He is having more moments that he forgets that I am home and starts crying like he is lost in his house.  I start calling him but that doesn’t appear to help.  Don’t want to lose my sleeping buddy.  I am keeping an extra close eye on him.  Bear begged for attention last night, I had to pick him up and place him on the couch with me.  He lapped that up but when he wanted down, it was now and not in 5 minutes.  I got him back on the floor safe and as quickly as I could.  He’s still a lot to lift even if he is only 27 pounds. 

It’s cooling off outside.  I have been driving around with the sunroof open on my car.  Something I only rarely do.  I just decided I’ve got the benefit, might as well enjoy it.  I do it as long as I can but eventually all of the pollen floating gets to be too much and I have to go back to a/c.  Turned the a/c off at the house last night.  Might need to turn it on when I get home but really don’t think it is needed during the day.  Of course winter power rates are a ways away from taking effect.  Love when that happens because there is typically a serious decrease in the bill.

Each night I go home I think oh maybe the new lawn guy came today.  He said he would be out this week but didn’t pin himself down to a specific date.  Needless to say he hasn’t been by as of last night.  I am hoping that I will be surprised tonight or tomorrow.  If he hasn’t been out by Saturday morning then it’s time for a phone call to see what’s going on.  I kind of feel like I may have been played but am trying not to be paranoid, I mean if that is the case there are plenty of other people who really want the job.  It will all work out.  The letter that I sent to fire the original lawn boy to my knowledge hasn’t been delivered yet.  I checked on tracking and it’s like it’s stuck in the system.  I see it leaving a sorting facility but don’t see it arriving into the local post office.  It was supposed to be delivered by Wednesday.  I hope that they can deliver it soon, because the sooner he knows the better.  I sent it certified mail for a reason. 

Tonight will be a ball of fun.  I get to go home feed the children get the trash put out and then gobble down supper and go pay bills.  Then it will be time for bed and I get to come back here tomorrow.  I love a plan or a schedule but when too much is crammed into a time slot it causes anxiety.  I applied an update on my home machine this morning and it’s not back on line.  I am a little nervous that it’s stuck and I can’t exactly ask one of the kids to check on it for me.  That would be great if I could just say Bear go reboot the computer for daddy and he would do it.  Hell it would be a miracle for him to get downstairs much less to reboot the computer. 

Well lunchtime is about over with.  Time to head back for the long afternoon.  1 meeting scheduled with the boss to touch base.  Outside of that my afternoon is wide open.  I am sure some issue will come along and help fill the void of free time I have.  One more day hang in there we can make it.  The weekend is almost upon us and I look forward to hopefully being able to sleep and take a nap.  Cheers!

IT IS DONE

I am pleased to report that Lawn Boy has officially been fired.  I found someone that will match his price and terms.  Plus the new guy pointed things out to me that he considered to be unacceptable and said that he would never do that.  So I have been taken for a ride long enough.  Thank God it is over with.  I put his final check in the mail with a letter, sent certified mail and then set out to mail it tonight, which was a fiasco in it’s self. 

So mailing the letter, I turn to a local post office that has a kiosk which allows you to preform a lot of functions that you can normally do at the counter, but the kiosk is 24 x 7 unlike the counter.  Strike one was the post office I went to no longer had a kiosk.  Strike two was that I went to a post office that I know has a kiosk, it took my money but never delivered a stamp.  Strike three was getting lost in making my way to a third post office, that I finally found.  When I got there the place looked to be closed.  I took a chance and walked up to the door, sure enough it opened.  Kiosk working and delivered postage.  Success finally.  It cost me a lot of time, gas and patience.  I also have to work to get a refund from the kiosk that didn’t give me a stamp.  That in it’s self will be a chore, how do you prove that you don’t have something that a machine says it gave you?  Anyway the whole damn thing is over with now and I only wish I could be a fly on the wall when he reads my letter, it should set him off but then again that is by design.  I was professional and to the point.  It was tempting to put in a big ol’ FUCK YOU but I didn’t do that.

Once I finally got home most of the evening was gone.  The cats aren’t really happy with me because I have been gone the bulk of the day.  I went for pie this afternoon and it was a nice trip.  Kind of felt like my late partner was watching over me.  I sure do miss him.  It doesn’t help that this next week if he were alive he would have another birthday. 

Considering that Lawn Boy might try to reach out to me by phone even though my letter says that is prohibited, I took the time to ensure that all of his phone numbers were blocked.  If he does call he will hear a message that I am not accepting his call.  If he violates my letter then that will open a whole new can of worms for him but I honestly think that he has trying to get rid of me ever since my late partner passed away, even though I have always been the one to pay him for lawn service. 

So there you have my day.  I had a patty melt, fries and a diet coke.  Then a slice of peach pie which I thought would be cold but was piping hot.  It was still good.  Picked up some pecan caramel cinnamon rolls along with a peanut butter cup pie.  Had a nice bill of around $41.  The whole way home I kept thinking why did I buy this poison, I know it tastes good but I really don’t need it.  It was also a struggle to commit to actually going for pie but it’s done and I feel better.

My morning was tied up visiting banks to place an extra layer of protection on my accounts.  My main bank took great care of me.  Another bank I do business with wanted to charge me a fee for the service.  I declined.  I came home and wrote the CEO a letter to see if he will make an exception in my case since I am being proactive.  I fully expect them to bend but if they don’t then it might be time to make some different arrangements.  I just was beside myself, that particular bank doesn’t do any damn thing for free.  I get it they want to make money but this is one service that they shouldn’t charge for.  I am looking out for both them and I, but they just don’t see that. 

Friday I had been thinking a lot about my recent change in cell phone plans.  I went on line and found out that the plan I was quoted for was correct.  What the lady didn’t tell me was there is a $20 charge per phone on the account to be able to access the plan.  It’s like they love to fuck you anyway they can.  So for $8.00 more with this fee I can have 6 GB instead of 3 GB.  It was a no brainer and I switched.  If I see that I don’t use it then I will gladly go back to the 3 GB plan.  I don’t think the setup I have will save me much money but at least I have a hotspot.  Funny thing is ever since I changed data plans my phone has been a little bit more difficult to use.  I think they must have sent it a pill to slowly die.  I know they want to sell phones but come on, not everyone wants to or can afford to upgrade.  Even if I went in for an iPhone 7 at $0 cost you have to commit to a two year contract and then I would have to buy a new Mophie, screen protection and new cradle.  I want a new phone but just can’t afford it.  I am more obsessed with getting a new car than I am a new phone.  Both will happen eventually. 

Went out for breakfast this morning and a kid from the afternoon was working the breakfast shift.  He took care of me.  Man he sure has a nice ass.  Good thing my normal waitress was there to tell me that he just graduated high school.  Wow that is a kid and he has jail bait written all over him.  If I hadn’t heard about him just graduating I probably would have asked him out.  He was nervous because he was out of place on a different shift, that would have probably sent him over the edge.  I am all about younger guys but there is such an age that is too young.  Sure lots of guys are attractive but a younger guy is less likely to want to settle down and commit to a relationship.  They have oats to sew and a field to play in still.  Things I never took full advantage of, but I wouldn’t change how things turned out for anything.

Tomorrow morning is going to suck.  Have to get to the grocery store and then clean the house.  Plus read over this boring pension plan junk and make a final decision.  Actually I already know that I want to roll it over but getting all of the forms filled out and going through my brokerage to set things up, it’s just time consuming.  An easy process but when your time poor it doesn’t help things.  I don’t like to let things linger, I want to get it done and move on with my life.  There are plenty of other things that need my attention.  Speaking of which I should get to bed soon.

Before I go I am pleased to report that changing the batteries in my keyboard resolve the problem.  Not sure how long this thing had been sitting on the shelf but they would go for about an hour before problems started.  The new ones have been in since earlier in the week the keyboard has been on but in sleep mode.  It’s going strong and it still says the batteries are at full capacity.  WOW. 

Up to see the children, listen to them complain, medicate them and prepare to wind down.  I need to squeeze in a bath for Bear, he’s a mess and paper towels or baby wipes won’t do him justice to get him clean.  He is a pain but I love him and am so thankful that I have been able to keep him this long. 

Perhaps another post tomorrow if anything noteworthy happens and I have time.  This is my last weekend of freedom before entering the on-call rotation.  Now I will have 2 weeks off and be on call every 3rd week but it’s a vicious cycle and that 3rd week will get here quickly.  Plus things come up and we switch and cover for each other so who knows.  It will net me more money and I am all for that.  I just don’t want to fail and that is a day to day fear.  I am in slightly above my comfort level but then again that is how you grow, it’s called self improvement.  Feels good and bad at the same time. 

Well it’s 12:30 am on Sunday here, time to wrap this up.  Take care and we will talk again soon!  BTW I said PIE a few times.  :-)

Giving In

This morning I called AT&T to inquire about how much it would cost to add tethering to my cell phone.  Since I have the unlimited grandfathered in data plan, they don’t offer tethering on any unlimited plan.  I was told about a new plan that just came out.  Unlimited Talk & Text, even if I text internationally as well as 3GB of data for $52 a month, that is with my discount.  That is a huge savings and the best part is there is no overages if I exceed 3GB, they just throttle the data to a lower speed.  If you find yourself using more data you can always upgrade plans without a penalty.  It sounded awesome to me and I don’t know why I did it because I said I would never, ever leave or give up unlimited data.  However, they made me an offer that was very attractive and I could have taken my sweet time but decided to change plans.  I hope that was the right choice because there is no going back to the plan I had before.  I do qualify for the unlimited plan they offer now because I have UVERSE but it would actually make my bill go up by $5 from where I was at.  Saving money is always a good thing.  This deal will help me out or so I hope, the savings was the motivating factor.

I did test the tethering and it works.  It actually shouldn’t work because we have a security policy in place at work that prevents this.  You can get it enabled but it requires approval.  They won’t say no because it’s you own the device.  However I am glad that I didn’t have to go through all of that red tape.  This will come in handy when I am on call and if I am away from home.  I don’t suspect I will blow through 3gb of data but then again you never know.  On-call starts next week and I am not excited about it but am excited about the earning potential it has, plus I may learn a thing or two – not too shabby.  I would just as soon take the on call stipend and not have to bill for any calls, which would mean that it was quite for a solid week.  That I believe will happen, not sure if this will happen next week but I hope so. 

Got a call back from a lawn guy who wants to come out over the weekend, told him come on out I don’t have to be home, you can look around and give me your best price.  I had similar conversation with another guy via email.  I am getting eager to make the change and be done with it.  Thinking before you act is always the best approach.  It’s kind of sad that I have to fire Lawn Boy but at the same time he isn’t treating me well and didn’t understand why I was so upset and disappointed.  Had he not spoken to me in a disrespectful manner none of these extra steps would take place.  I also suspect that he may have mixed feelings and decide to not continue to do business with me before I get a chance to play my card.  I just want this to work out to my advantage and don’t want to jump from the frying pan into the fire. 

Woofed down lunch, got a massage coming up.  I sure do need it my upper back is really bothering me.  I had a muscle relaxer last night and I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning for any reason.  Moved the alarm up 5 minutes but that didn’t help things, just delayed the inevitable. 

Got extra security added to my accounts so that no one can make any changes unless they have an extra password.  It’s a pain to have to add this but it’s for my own protection.  I mean if I want to flush my finances down the drain it’s my business and I don’t need help.  Waiting for the letter to arrive from the bank and depending upon it’s content I may engage Law Enforcement to see if they can’t catch the bastards.  I suspect that since they were declined twice they figured out they got someone with questionable credit and they won’t bother to try to do this again, but then again you never know. They may go dormant for a while and then strike again.  Better to have protection in place than to fly blind and wide open.

The world has certainly changed a lot.  I would have never thought of identity theft would be such an epidemic but with the invention of the cyber age it makes sense.  I don’t understand why people who have such remarkable talent can’t use their skills for good instead of evil.  Think about that for a moment, if they did the world would be such a better place.  Chances are that I would likely not have the job I do.  While it is job security for me, there are times when all of us in IT/Security get awful tired of this crap, even if it is job security. 

Well time to prep for my rub a dub-dub.  I hope that she works out all of the kinks.  Not sure if I will be able to see her next week since I will be on call.  I have to ask about that.  Plus I have someone high in the food chain that wants to take me to lunch next month and it will of course be a week that I am on call.  Ah well it will all work out soon enough. 

As per usual, I hope all is well in your world and that life is treating you well.  Talk with you all again soon.

Another day, another problem

This morning I learned the reason for the extra inquiries on my credit report.  They are both fraud.  My identity was stolen a couple years ago when someone filed a fraudulent tax return in my name.  I spoke with the bank in question this morning and learned that the malicious actor has both my correct date of birth and social security number.  Credit was not granted.  They listed me as the primary cardholder or person responsible for payment and then listed authorized users who are more than likely the people who would be running up the bill if the applications would have been approved.  Credit inquires stay on your credit report but the bank agreed to change them to view only, meaning that I would be the only one to see them, so as to not detract from my credit score and to help future lenders make a fair decision and not presume that I was declined credit.  The funny part of this is I actually applied for a card with this bank earlier this year.  The malicious actors applied twice last month. 

I already have fraud alerts on my credit bureau reports so no new credit can be opened without my approval.  Now I am wondering if somehow the result of my credit card compromise last week was the result of the malicious actors.  So more work for me, I have to contact each creditor and get them to put some additional fraud protection in place so that no one can make changes to any of my accounts.  While it seems like wasted effort, I will be happier in the long run for being proactive now instead of having to be reactive later.  You just don’t know what length an identity thief will go to. 

Last night I picked up an old phone book that had been sitting on the coffee table in the living room for the longest time.  In there I found a treasure trove of lawn care services.  I have called and emailed most of them.  Now it’s just a matter of sitting back and waiting for a reply.  Ideally I would like to have a replacement in place by Friday but that might not happen, so if I can get a replacement in place by next Friday then I will be happy.  I really don’t want Lawn Boy coming back ever again, but I am not terminating his service until I have a replacement in place.  It’s just like quitting your job, you don’t quit until you have a new job lined up. 

Outside of that not really much else to report on.  Got my pension paperwork and have to make a decision on how I want to roll it over.  It’s going into an IRA but I am thinking about a Roth IRA.  That’s all I got, hope all is well for you.  On to a boring meeting. 

The Fate of Lawn Boy

Last night was a horrible night.  It of course started with a telephone conversation with Lawn Boy.  He was inflexible and didn’t understand why he should have to give me anything.  We went back and forth, he pressed my buttons and I pressed his.  He kept saying over and over how he just wanted me to give him some understanding.  Then he totally crossed the line and insulted me.  Right there was my breaking point.  Then he went on to mock me and didn’t understand what I meant by providing good customer service.  Then tried to make this my fault and not his own.  This is a long standing relationship and one that he claims to value.  Given his actions and the choice words he spoke that is clearly a lie, he just wants my money.  I see that he just wants to bleed me dry. 

This conversation did not do wonders for me, my blood pressure or my back.  I concluded the call with the understanding that he would come out today and cut the grass.  Then come back in 3 weeks since he is so inflexible.  I am searching for a new vendor and already have his termination letter written up.  I floated it past one of the secretaries in the office and they made some minor revisions.  I also talked with an attorney who totally agreed with me, fire his ass.   

I really didn’t want it to turn out like this but had a feeling from the get go that it would.  In searching for a new provider I have found so far that he has been giving me a bargain rate.  Getting someone to commit to a bi-weekly schedule appears to be a difficult thing.  I do have a well established firm that has several people working for them that will give me the same price that lawn boy is charging me now but I have to commit to every week.  My lawn only needs service every other week, my wallet appreciates that.  Thankfully we are nearing end of season.  My plan is to have someone in place to cover the rest of this year and hopefully next year.  I want away from Lawn Boy as fast as possible.  Someone told me put the pressure on yourself, fire him today and then you have to get someone.  Now that I think is a little excessive. I am being aggressive with my search and if I have to commit to every week then I will, but would rather get away from doing that.  I am confident that I will have someone in place soon, come hell or high water.  I’ve got 3 weeks from today.  My goal is to not have to pay him anymore than necessary. 

I woke up in the middle of the night, my back was all knotted up and cramping.  I had to get my back knobber out to work on the knot.  That of course upset Marvin and then the choir began to sing.  Finally he wanted out of my room so I let him go.  Then I thought about what to do in order to get back to sleep the fastest.  Answer, self pleasure.  It usually works but I was so upset that didn’t work.  My mind kept racing.  I finally got back to sleep for 2 hours and then had to get up and come in.  I drove in thinking about it and parts of my commute are a total blur to me.  I talked to a couple people, re-wrote his termination letter and have been able to calm down.  I pray that tonight is a different and much better night. 

A little concerned about Bear he was hanging out by the backdoor last night when I got home and was there when I got out of bed this morning.  Looking on the cat cam it appears he has relived himself, but I won’t know that for certain until I walk in the door.  He has this horrible habit of sitting in it and then needs a bath.  I just gave him a bath and he is dirty already.  I think I need a portable vegetable sprayer to wash him down after he is done.  Too bad they don’t make a robot to do that dirty job.  Now there would be quite the invention. 

I think the batteries in my new keyboard are bad, Logitech said they aren’t user replaceable.  I proved them wrong last night.  Just 2 AAA nickel metal hydrate rechargeable.  Simple as pie to replace.  I let it charge over night.  When I next spend time in front of the computer I will know if I am on the right track.  If there is no improvement then it’s time to turn off the backlight, that should improve things.  Logitech says that the battery should last 8 to 10 days depending upon usage.  I was lucky to get 2 or 3 hours.  It’s still well within the return period, but I hate taking stuff back regardless if it’s mail order or in person.  Returns are just horrible in my mind.  However, if this issue doesn’t resolve then I will be returning the damn thing. 

There you have it.  Now it’s time to jump in the car and speed home, only to stop and grab the mail then to fur ball city I go.  Hope all is well for you.

Pissed @ Lawn Boy

So for many years the same kid has cut my grass.  Last week he was due to come by but he didn’t.  I became concerned and reached out, only to hear a voice mail greeting that he is unavailable.  I left a message and sent a letter.  Got a response today.  Uh, sorry I took my family on vacation.  WTF when did you plan on telling me.  Oh it was an oversight on my part your one of two customers that slipped through the cracks because you pay me w/o having to get a statement in the mail.  Now the fucker wants to come back this week but come again next week to get me back on his schedule, if not then it will be three more weeks before he stops by again.  Then we can go back to our two week arrangement.  He only offered an apology and that is supposed to excuse this behavior.  He just told me without saying it that I am not important to him and I don’t matter. 

I started shopping for a new person and have someone who is supposed to be calling me back with a quote.  If he is cheaper then I will jump ship.  Lawn boy needs an answer today or he won’t come tomorrow.  If I stay with him then I am going to make him start sending me a bill in the mail or he won’t get paid.  The extra effort and expense on his part will take away from the profit that he is raking in with me.  I am truly disappointed in him and frankly have lost respect for him.  I have vented in a letter but that hasn’t gotten rid of my anger.  I want to cuss his ass out, I realize if I do that were done so right now I don’t want to burn any bridges. 

How the fuck can you run a business like this?  So everyone but me and 1 other person knew he was going on vacation.  He hasn’t even addressed my question about what plan do you have in place to assure me that this won’t happen again?  I mean if his wife had surgery or there was something catastrophic then I could easily excuse this and have more understanding but seriously on vacation for a week, you have got to be shitting me.  If I do call him back I am going to try to get him to do this week for free, that is the least he can do for his fuck up.  God Fucking Damnit I am so infuriated right now.  This is unacceptable and inexcusable behavior but he just wants me to look the other way.  Yeah well my lawn looks like a fucking forest and there are laws in place that you have to cut your grass.  All it takes is one complaint and I get a ticket & a fine.  I don’t want to go through the embarrassment and if I get a fine he’s fucking paying it because but for him going on vacation this wouldn’t be an issue.  His greedy ass is just in it for the money, fuck doing a good job, fuck customer service, fuck everyone just take the money and run.  What a bastard. 

Okay I think I can calm down now.  Wow the finale of Vice Principals was pretty intense.  I figured Dr. Brown would get back at those two and it was funny until someone got hurt.  I hope HBO keeps the series going, I am ready for the next installment. 

Speaking of TV, Shameless premiers on October 1, so looking forward to that.  It’s an awesome show in my opinion. 

Realized last night that I forgot to notify a merchant of my credit card number change.  Thankfully I remembered and took care of it this morning.  I was surprised over the weekend when I went to update a porn subscription how the agent wanted to re-negotiate a deal with me.  5 years for $500 when that didn’t work it was just deal after deal after deal.  I finally said look all I want to do is update my credit card number, Monte Hall is dead and this isn’t Let’s Make A Deal.  So uh or sir the best that I can do for you then is give you the same month to month rate you were paying.  Fantastic let’s get on with it.  Then he had to get a supervisor on the line, to secure the line so he could take my credit card number.  Holy fucking shit, it’s like I was buying a car and they had to go talk to the invisible man behind the curtain.  Just pay attention, stop trying to sell me something I don’t want and do what I ask.  That will avoid wasting time and prevent my blood pressure from soaring through the roof.  There is one scene that is coming up that I just have to have.  What they don’t realize is what I gave them is not a physical credit card but a virtual number that I can revoke anytime I want.  Once it’s revoked you can’t get it back and all future charges stop.  Something done for safety reasons.  That way if a merchant I do business with on a month to month basis is the victim of a data breach or the card becomes compromised, just shut it down and spin up a new one with a couple of mouse clicks.  The trick part is they are only good for 12 months, so I have to go back and tell the bank that I need the card to be good for another 12 months, when that happens eventually the expiration date will change and that for most places is just a matter of updating it on their website or in the case of Netflix the bank tells them and they update it automatically.  I don’t ever want to go through this again but suspect that I will.  It’s easy when it’s just one or two sites but when you have more than that and multiple cards it complicates things. 

So claws are trimmed for Ruth, she hated me again but is over that now and she is once again my little angel.  Bear has been washed and despite dropping him when I was trying to put him on the ground he is no worse for the wear.  Funny thing is when he saw me putting on the jacket, he ran underneath the couch.  Just wait jacket weather is around the corner, he’s going to freak out for a while. 

Okay well I suppose I am done now.  On with Monday.  Hope things are well in your neck of the woods.

Rainy Thursday

Today has really taken off, I can’t believe we are approaching 1p.  The rain has been falling all morning long and my back window is now clean.  Traffic was a mess and I was later than normal, but still on time.  I registered yesterday for some training and the company listed all of the training times in GMT, so I had to convert that after the fact.  Turns out all of the classes I signed up for are at 8a and my normal start time is 8:30a, so I will have to get up earlier on a few mornings.  There are 3 sessions one coming up soon and then in the next couple weeks to follow one on a Wednesday and then on a Friday.  I also mistakenly registered for a class on the 30th but that is a holiday and there is no way I will be attending, I submitted a cancellation for that and am waiting to hear back from the company. 

I learned a little bit more about our Antivirus protection here at work, it’s simple stuff but it’s also very important because it’s helping to keep us secure.  Cybersecurity is ever growing and Cybercriminals are just as vigilant as the security pros.  It’s like a war or a contest to see who can beat whom.  It’s a scary world we live in, before you worried about getting mugged after dark outside of that not too much happened.  Now the crimes are different both in person and on-line.  You just have to watch your six at all opportunities.  I will get another session and get to learn more, but for now I have some basic daily tasks which is kind of nice.  My co workers got to learn everything as it came on line when the department was first created, I don’t have that luxury and am having it all force fed to me at once.  Were moving slow but still it’s a lot to take in. 

Tomorrow is payday so that means that I will be paying bills tonight after I stop for the mail.  I got a phone call and an email from the parent company of the urgent care facility that bilked me out of $115.55, they forwarded the letter on to a VP and she called trying to be intimidating and left me a message that she has findings she would like to share.  I’m not calling her back.  I reached back out by email and asked her to disclose her findings.  My guess is they don’t want to give the money back because of their mistake.  I don’t care who I get the money from so long as I get reimbursed.  I do feel as if the parent company of the urgent care center that made the mistake should be the ones who have to pay it back, since they took it because of an error they made.  I’ve got all of the bases covered on this one, just have to sit back and wait until it plays out.  I could easily be out the money but the way I look at it is I was already out the money, so I have nothing to lose.  The risk is pissing people off and well I can tell you that I have quite the knack for that. 

Lawn boy hasn’t been able to cut the grass due to all of the rain so I will be able to save some money there, but I know he’s coming just not sure when.  My lawn looks horrible but it’s only been 2 weeks.  I think he may be able to catch a break tomorrow, but this is the weather we are talking about so it could change at any second. 

Everything else is calm.  I got to spend the evening with the kids and watched TV.  We all had a good time and enjoyed each others company.  Would be nice if we could repeat that tonight but daddy’s got to pay bills first and then we shall see what remains.  My 1p is coming up so I have to run.  Hope all is coming up kittens and rainbows in your world.  Talk with you all again soon!

Friurday

That’s Friday & Saturday mashed together.  So I have had a lot of time to think and talk with people about the job thing.  While it is unchartered territory for me, provided there is no contingency of college placed on the job, if they offer it to me I am likely to accept it provided the money is right.  I am thinking that I should hear something next week.  My other concern is that I won’t be as active as I am now.  I get a lot of walking done during the day and that helps my fat body.  If that stops then I wonder if I will pick up pounds?  Hopefully not. 

The talking part I believe will put me over my limit on my home phone minutes.  I used to have unlimited but for cost reasons down graded.  I honestly don’t use a personal telephone all that much.  I don’t get many calls and I don’t place many calls.  Shame home phone minutes don’t roll over like cell phone minutes.  I am also wondering what my gab session is going to cost me, whatever it is I am sure it won’t be cheap since it’s usage billed by the minute and I at least 1 hour over.  Thankfully incoming calls don’t count against my minutes at home. 

I stayed up very late last night and looks like I am doing that again tonight.  I was very drained today, the work week and all of the emotions that I experienced totally drain me.  Now someone wants me to stack on college, yeah there is no way in hell.

I have successfully taken apart the freezer and I put it back together.  There are no left over parts, which is a very good thing.  That often is not the case with me.  I had to remove the contents of the freezer, take out the shelves and then a bunch of screws and the mounting brackets for the basket at the bottom of the freezer.  It took a little bit of work to get the cover off but when I did I saw a small plastic fan and the freezer coils.  Try as I might I couldn’t get the damn thing to act up while the cover was off.  I figured it was the fan making all of the racket.  So I got out some 3 in 1 oil and lubed it up pretty good.  Power cycled the fan a couple times and presto were ready to clean up the mess and put things back in.  It was quiet for the first few hours.  That wore off and it’s making the damn noise again.  I guess the fan or the bearings on the fan are going out, that is the only thing I can think of.  I am going to put up with the noise until it breaks and who knows how long that will be.  Rest assured it will happen at the worst possible time, things like that always do.  I could call a repair man now but you know as soon as he showed up the damn thing would run like a champ and there would be no noise whatsoever.  Just like taking your car to the shop or calling for computer help, everything seems to know when the repair person is looking and it tends to behave.  Why is that?  So annoying. 

I ventured out for breakfast and got the mail.  Bears pee pads were waiting for me.  Along with a doctor bill.  Then home, to watch TV and eventually fall back asleep.  Then that is when I started on the freezer work.  Then I rested and watched more TV.  Had to take another nap.  Then I got up, fed the children supper and went out for Mexican food.  Then cat food and a quick trip to the office supply store.  There is a new Pilot Gel Pen out called the G7 I saw it on Amazon.  Can’t find it in stores yet.  If you didn’t know I have a serious pen fetish and could easily waste a bunch of money on a writing instrument.  I have more pens than one person should be allowed to have.  It’s just one of the strange quirks I have. 

Cleaned up the house a little bit.  Did the dishes and the bigger clean job I saved for tomorrow.  Started laundry.  Played on the computer a little bit.  Had to generate some correspondence.  I have become so anal lately.  I edit on screen but the errors don’t jump out at me so I have to print it out thinking it’s the final version and then it’s back to editing and re-printing.  I think I am keeping the printer, paper and electric company in business.  Didn’t help matters that I had to fax the letter off, so more damage to the home phone.  

Were back to winter like temps.  It’s chilly outside or it was today.  Not sure what tomorrow is going to bring. 

A guy hit me up on one of the dating apps.  We have been chatting.  He lost his partner 5 years ago.  I don’t have an attraction to him but there is nothing wrong with chatting with someone.  Never know things might work out.  I am not all giddy over it like I would be if it were someone younger and well closer to my area.  He is a few states away, but travels.  Since I told him that I lost my partner I haven’t heard from him.  Perhaps I scared him away, that tends to happen.  I learned the hard way to save the fact that I am a widow for much later in the conversation, unless of course he brings it up.

Got a call earlier in the week from the lawn boy.  He finally has raised his prices.  I am a little peeved over it as he is already making a killing for his 15 minutes of work.  The price jump is only 5 dollars per service, which in the grand scheme of things isn’t that bad.  He does an average job but now I am more on guard and watching for a mistake so I can call him on it.  I have already found a couple but haven’t made a call yet.  Part of me says if you annoy him he will cancel but the other part of me says he’s taking you for a ride that you don’t want to be on.  He is all about the money and not necessarily about quality.  That has changed as he has aged, the money was important to him when he was starting out and so was the quality.  He wanted referrals and well he got them.  Now he has so much business that he struggles to keep up.  He should hire some help but I guess he is too proud.  In any case I am tempted to get quotes from his competition and if I do and I find someone priced lover it will be adios.  I don’t get to see him so there is no eye candy benefit for me and well he’s straight and married so I wouldn’t even try.  This is all about business and the value I am getting for my money.  You should have heard him tout his service when I protested the increase … well I do this and I do that for you, my costs have increased over the years but I haven’t passed them on to you.  Yeah what ever you money grubbing sob, I will pay the $5.  If it wasn’t for my allergies I would do the damn job myself and pocket the cash.  Although in the dead of summer it’s nice to not have to worry about sweating to death in the sun and getting sun burned.  So I guess there is good and bad here.

Well time to climb the steps the children are all upset that I am still up.  I see no reason to hurry and run to bed.  Although in a few hours I will wish I had done just that.  I think I can still accomplish all of my goals for the weekend and be ready to go back on Monday.  Not that I want to go back but it beats the alternative.  Hope your having a great weekend.  Take care and be well. 

Another day in my life

I spent a long time in traffic this morning.  All I wanted to do was get to work.  As soon as I arrived, I was ready to go back home.  Isn’t that terrible?  Traffic headaches are one thing we can all do without, but unfortunately that is one of the prices you pay when you work in the BIG city. 

I got all of the bills paid last night, Lawn Boy came early and I got my new glasses from Warby Parker.  So it was a decent night.  I like the new glasses but they will take some getting used to.  I got them as a spare pair so I will use them on the weekend and in the evening.  Something's are still better without glasses, like viewing my iPhone or watching TV.  

I’ve settled my battle with the robot people.  They are giving me a discount on a sleeve that should hopefully make the product enjoyable as it is advertised.  I am eager to try it out.  I went looking last night for whatever happened to Real Touch which is the other company that I bought from.  Turns out they are out of business, the cost for making the unit was too much so they just stopped.  They have a client available for download and some straight pron that you can save locally to get use of the product.  It wasn’t a cheap purchase and I wish they had some gay pron I mean not everyone likes vanilla.  The next step will be Virtual Reality Sex so you are immersed in the experience and if you can do that with pron I think that who ever manages to perfect that will make a lot of money.  Sex has always and will always sell, it’s not going out of business until the day the earth comes to an end. 

Speaking of sex, I spent the remainder of my evening on the new dating app I downloaded.  Lots of potential matches.  I have taken the first step and reached out to several guys but no responses yet.  I am getting what I call robot spam.  It looks like a person but it’s the same generic message and once you answer you get the same response back each and every time.  They tell you how great you look and how guys are lusting after you, then they want you to send them more explicit photos and they provide you a cell number to text them to.  Yeah why would I want to do that?  I will say that I am not alone, lots of guys want a relationship and aren’t there for hookups.  I am also out of the age range of a few guys but I still reached out to them, I mean you never know.  I’d like to strike up a meaningful conversation with a cutie and have it blossom from there.  I don’t know if that will ever happen, but I am at least trying!

Yesterday before I left I threw Mr. Banana in the chair next to my bed.  When I got home someone had taken it and placed it back in the bed, where it belonged.  So apparently it is getting use.  Marvin loves to chew at the tags that are attached.  He still goes after my fingers but not as much, we are starting to make a positive transition or so I feel.  I slept with Marv last night, he is such a snuggle monster.  It’s always been that way and I love it.  It’s nice to have something to look forward to and were both sleep hounds but he would win a contest hands down.  Sleeping is like his job. 

Looking forward to a full lunch hour and catching up on YouTube videos as well as maybe some TV.  Mostly just an hour away from work.  With this new schedule I tend to get a little more away time, the afternoons are usually long and boring.  So I have to occupy myself and try not to get into trouble.  It would just be easier to let me leave but as soon as they agreed to that something would go wrong when I was a mile away.  It’s just how it works.  Since I am sitting for the majority of the day, that new chair is very much welcome but who knows when it’s gong to get here.  I think they must have made it overseas and it’s stuck in customs, I mean a chair shouldn’t take this long.  I can go on Amazon and have one in two days I don’t get what gives. 

Sneaky story.  I got a letter addressed to my late partner.  I knew that it was advertisement about some service because his Bankruptcy case is done.  There was no return address but they did a lousy job of sealing the envelope so I opened it up, found the address of the sender.  Made a label and sealed the envelope properly.  Now I am sending it back to them telling them it was refused because he is deceased.  I really don’t like junk mail and don’t get a whole lot of it.  In fact the number of items that are addressed to him have decreased drastically over the past two years.  I imagine with time that it will come to a halt.  However, his mom has been dead for years and once and a while I still get a piece of mail for her. 

Another fun day here in my life.  Hope that you enjoyed my recap and that your week is moving along splendidly.  Temperatures here really cool off at night but it heats up back in the 80’s and 90’s during the day.  Just another sign that Fall is on the way!  Talk with you all again soon.

One More Day

I was able to pill myself to sleep last night.  It was an okay night of sleeping but it did have a couple interruptions.  When I woke up this morning I still wasn’t quite feeling it.  Rather than getting sick, this almost feels like a bad allergy attack.  In any case I fed the cats, sent my obligatory emails, re-recorded my voice mail greeting, took my pills and gave Big Boy his pill, then I was back in bed.  As much as I did want to return today I felt the extra day would help.  When I woke up I was a sneezing mess and my nose was all itchy.  I opted to start on Prednisone, it’s a quick fix for the major symptoms.  The side effects that I will have to endure will be dizziness, hot flashes and peeing all of the water away in my body.  The other side effect will be that I will want to eat much more.  It’s only a short 6 day course, then life will return to normal. 

I isolated myself again today no phones, no computer no nothing but TV.  I saw the Single Moms Club.  That was the best thing that I watched all day long.  There were lots of other movies but they were dumb.  Last night I took in Defying Gravity for a mere $2.99 and it wasn’t until I started watching it that I realized I had already seen it.  That’s the problem with Gay Themed Movies there just aren’t a ton of them to pick from.  Now if your looking at gay porn well there is plenty to chose from.  However, I like to watch movies that have gay themes to them – it’s just more normal for me.  I am also big into Stand Up Comedy but there isn’t a lot to chose from there either. 

Thankfully tonight it’s Wednesday so that means that Suits will be on.  I always look forward to that show and this weeks episode is sure to be a doozy from the trailers that I have seen.  Also after that is Mr. Robot which is getting interesting.  Both are on USA and I think they are also streamed after the fact on USA’s website, but don’t hold me to that. 

When I did finally open up technology I got some great news.  One of my many favorite porn stars is going to bottom for the first time.  I’m talking about Will Braun.  Photo below is none other than him. 

For the first time in at least a year or more I was able to see Lawn Boy today.  Man he still has the figure going on but you can see that his face shows his age.  I looked at him but went back to my movie quickly – it wasn’t like I wanted to sit and watch his every move like in the old days.  He’s straight and I’ve got no chance with that, so keep it moving.

I will be going back tomorrow and the shit is stacking up for me.  While others can take phone calls no one can fix the physical things in my office that require an on site tech.  So that means my day should be interesting.  The massage therapist will be in as well.  I am hitting up the ATM in the morning and hopefully I will be able to get some time with her either tomorrow or on Friday.  If not well so be it.  Can’t say that I didn’t try. 

Short rest of the week and then I will have to enjoy my last free weekend, as next weekend I will be on call.  That is when it starts to rain.  Now, I looked at last weekend and Saturday & Sunday were very busy.  I will be keeping an eye on this weekend as well.  But it only gives you an idea of what to expect.  It’s not until your actually on-call that you know what your in for.  Everyone is telling me that I won’t be able to leave the house.  Yeah maybe on Saturday but on Sunday I will be at Steak N Shake and driving to the grocery store.  I mean a guy has to eat!

All of the time at home has of course caused me to lament on how I am all alone and what I have been through.  While I am stronger in some ways I am still vulnerable.  2 years seems like a long time but it’s a very short period of time.  While the dating world hasn’t exactly been kind to me, I hope that I can meet someone who will be able to rock my world both in and out of bed.  I realize that what I dream for may mean that I have to meet multiple people but I would just as soon skip that and go straight to the end.  I know that is not how it works, but I wish that it did. 

The children have loved me being home.  Momma and Gator have taken full advantage of me.  Big Boy even wrapped his around my leg.  They are still doing the meow choir and they have enjoyed lunch again.  It’s more expensive for me to stay home than go to work where they are concerned.  At least my gas tank won’t require a lot of fuel this Friday.  I do plan to get out of the area on the weekend and who knows maybe I will actually make it to the movies.  I just hope that I can have some fun this weekend.

I hope all is well in your world.  Take care and we shall talk again soon. 

Chipped

Last nights mail brought me a new credit card.  This one contains the chip for greater security.  While I am all about that I am sad that at the moment I can’t have a personalized card.  I had sent in a photo of one of the cats and gave the card the nickname of the same cat.  It was just an easy way of keeping track of things.  The bank is working on being able to personalize chipped cards but for now, the basic card is the only thing available. 

So then I had the task of tracking down all of the recurring charges that post to that account, logging into websites and changing the card.  What I found rather odd is that NetFlix already knew that the cards expiration date changed and it was updated automatically.  That is nice but also kind of scary as well.  Every other site I had to manually update.  One site I can’t update unless I send an e-mail with my credit card details and since e-mail is NOT a secure form of communication I will just let the subscription drop and then re-subscribe.  Kind of a pain but better than taking a risk.

I looked at the lawn last night and with all of the rain we have had it looks like a forest.  Mostly weeds and very little grass.  It is in desperate need of being cut.  Hopefully lawn boy makes it there today.  If not then tomorrow we are going to have rain.  I just don’t want any complaints.  There is more than one yard in the subdivision that needs to be mowed.  Homeowners Association dues are due by the end of the month.  We have NEVER ever paid because it wasn’t until after we were in the neighborhood that it was disclosed that there was such an organization.  Had we known up front we would have passed on the house.  Since we have gotten by w/o paying I am continuing that tradition.  1/2 of the subdivision pays and the other 1/2 well we are the delinquents and get our addresses published in a newsletter that tries to shame us into paying.  We have also been threatened that the association will place a lien on our property.  However, we all know that is just talk the don’t have the money to file that many liens and they are using it as a scare tactic.  I just hate the whole mess of it.  The dues are very reasonable but since only 1/2 pays they have had a couple increases to make up for us slackers.  Despite that they are still reasonable. 

Bear is as clean as he has been in a very long time.  I saw him last night use the litterbox, which was awesome.  He is still a picky eater and cries out for plate rotates or different food.  He knows that he’s got me by the balls and that I will jump for him.  So I bitch but I still play along. 

Talked with a couple of friends last night and watched Tosh.O.  I wound up going to bed early and waking up again in the middle of the night.  Tonight I will be doubling up on medicine and that should allow me a full nights sleep.  It sucks waking up but even more so when you realize you have to go to work.  I also had very strange dreams last night, which kind of left me a little foggy this morning.  The house was once again chilly but that is only temporary.  It’s going to heat back up again over the course of the next few days.  Plus by the time I get home at night it’s comfortable.  I don’t think the children enjoy the cold too much. 

I did in fact go out for lunch yesterday.  I had a calzone and was stuffed. It had onions in it and they didn’t set all that well with me.  However, it was very good.  I enjoyed getting away and yesterday seemed to fly by.  This morning we are slow right now but I have already had a couple of bursts where I was super busy.  I like laid back but steady with simple things.  Complicated problems are never fun but oddly enough that is how I learn the most, even though I don’t like working with them. 

My arm is still messed up.  I put on antibiotic ointment and tea tree oil last night.  That helped a little bit. I still see red circles around a couple of the scratches.  That indicates infection.  It’s minor right now but if the circles grow or spread, then it’s time to get to the hospital because the infection is spreading.  I am keeping a close eye on it and think that I will be fine.  These are mostly superficial which is why I think I will be fine. 

So hard to believe that come Friday, May will be 1/2 over with.  Wow, the time is flying by.  I am not looking forward to next week since I will be on-call but it will probably fly by as well.  The weekend will be the worst part of it.  However, the following Monday is a holiday so that will be a nice time to relax and regroup before coming back on Tuesday.

Tomorrow is massage day and I am waiting for the e-mail to come out that the signup sheet is ready.  I need another power hour.  Depending upon what I am able to sign up for will dictate how much money I need to take out of the bank tonight.  It is always nice to look forward to a massage but that time seems to vaporize quickly.  Going for an hour seems to relax me and she gets me right to where I am about to fall asleep.  It’s like getting to the point of orgasm and stopping.  Its nice but it’s also a bit of torture. 

A friend of mine recently got a dog.  He was always a cat person.  Now of all of the things to name a dog he called this dog Winky.  I guess he doesn’t have a dirty mind like me or maybe he does and did it on purpose.  Anyway I can’t wait until the first time someone says to him I want to come play with your Winky. I personally don’t like the name.  This is a guy who made a move on me while I was in my last relationship.  I have thought about circling back and talking with him.  He identifies as straight but if he is so straight why did he play with my ass.  A truly straight guy wouldn’t do that.  I’ve got mixed feelings about it so I leave it alone.  That is probably for the best.  Starting fresh with a new guy and getting to know them – then moving from there.  I will say he was super cute, not sure if that is still the case now. 

So I am out of juice or should I say content to write about.  Guess I will call this post done.  Hope that your Wednesday is a great day and that that sun is shining in your neck of the woods.  Talk with you peeps later.