UPS goes Beep

I forgot about an event that happened after the movie movie was over with last night.  The UPS in my room did a solid beep to indicate that it was overloaded.  This happens usually a few times prior to the device actually dying.  The easy way to clear it is power the device off, wait a minute and then power it back on.  If your lucky it will pass the power on test and you’ll hear a click and the light on the power switch will turn green.  That is what happened.  This totally freaked out the cats. 

They both wanted to get behind the TV area to investigate but I yelled and told them no.  I figured that my luck is probably going to run out and this UPS is eventually going to die, it’s old so I have no idea how much longer it will last. 

I got the old unit that was hooked up to my computer, cracked it open and slide out the batteries, which turns out are in a cartridge format now.  Glad I looked before I leaped.  The cartridge has a special adapter, if you can get them apart you could buy less expensive batteries and be back in business.  However, I’m not about that and would rather have an exact replacement.  Turns out that is $94 which is inline with the price I paid for the unit initially.  I looked for a new unit and anything that would be close to what I wanted would cost that or more.  I ordered the replacement batteries.  They should be here anytime between Thursday this week to next Friday.  I just hope the present unit in my room hangs on until then. 

Having been through a lighting strike and losing some equipment in the past that wasn’t hooked to surge protection and/or a UPS, I am all about UPS.  They are a bit costly and it’s frustrating every 2 to 3 years to replace either them or their batteries but better do that than have to try to replace the equipment they are hooked up to. 

There is one more small unit by my desktop PC that will need to be replaced but it hardly ever sounds off so I’m hopeful that it will last a while longer. 

I have a new practice that I label most purchases that are of value with where I got it from, when I got it and what I paid for it.  That will be helpful in the future.  Plus with UPS stuff it’s a great way to remember when the batteries or the UPS went into service so you know the actual age of the battery. 

This unit will be an upgrade to my bedroom in that it has a digital display so you can see different measurements or if you don’t want it you can toggle the display off, plus the buttons are more easily accessible.  It will no doubt boggle the cats minds when I swap it out and they will want to be nosy to know what I am up to, that’s all good so long as no one gets hurt. 

That’s all I have at the moment.  It’s getting closer to lunch and I am really looking forward to an Egg Salad Sandwich, I hope that it’s as good as I think it will be.  Got some Cheetos Puffs to go along with it. 

Oh yeah, I got a new lunch box at Target.  This damn thing is big enough to carry a 1/2 case of soda.  No zipper to deal with to open it, it’s a Velcro closure & allegedly will keep ice for up to 2 days.  I don’t have an ice maker I use frozen ice packs.  it’s the only decent thing I could find.  What I had purchased from Amazon turned out to be super small and just wouldn’t fit my needs so I sent it back.  This new monster cost me $35.  I don’t like the fact it’s so large or that it’s bright white but it will certainly do the job I want it to and if I ever do happen to go on a long trip I could pack it with ice and soda or water and bring it along.  It is water/stainproof as well.  I think I got my moneys worth. 

Back to work for now.  Talk with you again soon.

LYLE, LYLE CROCODILE

Morning and thanks for stopping by! Not a whole lot knew since my last post. I got the laundry done, brushed the cats. Worked on trimming claws, which they both hated very much. At least I didn’t have to put on the welding gloves.

I was wiped out and had my BBQ Dinner for supper. Not bad. Had a piece of Carrot Cake, one more left and then I will be moving on to a Strawberry Crème Cake. Stocked the fridge with soda, got ready for the morning. Had another shower.

I started browsing Prime for more movies to watch. Found Lyle, Lyle Crocodile with Shawn Mendes singing for the character Lyle. I found it on Netflix so I lucked out and got to watch it for Free. Damn this was an awesome movie. I laughed and cried sometimes at the same time. This was very entertaining. I felt really good after watching this. Shawn Mendes has a great voice and knows how to sing.

Took a double dose of the high strength sleeping pill. I slept great but feel a bit hung over this morning and just want to go back to bed. Lowered the thermostat so it got slightly cold overnight. I woke up and turned on the electric blanket. That caused the cats to leave me. Rudy woke me up by making biscuits on me. He wasn’t that early so I just got up and got moving.

We saw the orange/black tabby this morning. It was hiding under the table on the deck, watching the neighbors leaving. As soon as it figured out that all of us (me and that cats) spotted it, it was gone like Houdini. I looked away for a second and looked back that was all it took. Poor thing unless someone is feeding it or it is good at killing squirrels I don’t know how its is managing to stay alive but like every outdoor cat that I have seen in the neighborhood, none of them seem to be starving, which is a good thing so long as they are eating something of quality.

I’m still hearing that horrible ladies name this morning from the weekend. I’ve already setup a block in my cell phone for her and blocked her personal email address in my work email. I really don’t ever care to hear from her again. If she needs to reach me, she can go through someone else and they can relay it to me but hopefully we are done with her. It’s Monday and she should be starting her new glamourous job so hopefully she will forget all about of us.

I’ve been up to get a snack. Diet Mt. Dew and a few Gummi Worms. Nothing like a little Caffeine & Sugar to get your morning jump started. Yeah it will wear off and I will get tired again but it gave me the boost I needed temporarily to get a few new accounts setup. All is quiet today and I imagine lots of people are still hung over from the super bowl. The morning traffic report only had one minor accident and everything else was clear. Sounds like I should have gone in today but right now my plan is to venture out tomorrow. We have rain in the forecast and I am not super excited about driving in that but as long as traffic isn’t that bad it will be doable.

My plans for today are to coast and do as little as possible since I did so much on Saturday. Things will really ramp up tomorrow based on my calendar.

Since I went to Target I had to get my Chicken, Broccoli, Cheese & Pasta casserole. ½ of that is supper tonight. The other ½ will be supper on Wednesday. The only problem is that it takes a while to cook in the microwave so unless I fancy something else I will need to get started cooking this as soon as I go up. It’s about 25 minutes total. Anything beyond 6 minutes in the microwave is forever to me.

Looking forward to an Egg Salad Sandwich for lunch. It’s all about the little things. Sunshine is really out today and since the tree in the front yard was trimmed up, the sun light really shines in the living room. The cats seem pretty happy about that. Seems all cats love the sunshine.

Hopefully, it’s nice day for all of us. Take care and be well. Talk with you all again soon.

The Weekend Recap

Friday evening, I took care of getting rid of the difficult individual that was leaving. Little did I know that the worst was yet to come. I was so happy that I thought I was finally done with her, she threw a curve ball and wrecked my Friday afternoon and made my blood boil. I celebrated by shaving and taking a shower. Might not sound like anything big to you but it just felt so damn good. I put the phone on Airplane Mode and relaxed before falling asleep.

Saturday was the day from hell. I woke up early after not sleeping the best. I took care of breakfast for us. Relaxed a bit and watched TV. For some damn reason I felt compelled to take the phone off of Airplane Mode. I believe everything happens for a reason. Well I got an email at work and it was a Big Wig that had called my desk but not left a message. This was odd and I knew something was up, so I called him back. He was surprised and said he was sending me an email. Turns out the person that left needed to have their physical access to the office restored. Jesus, I indicated that it wouldn’t be a problem and to give me 10 minutes. I fired up the laptop, logged in and took care of it. Then sent an email to confirm that it was back on. Still figured that was the last of it. Nope, then the person sent me an email and said that the automatic reply or Out of Office for her account wasn’t on. I assured them that it was in fact on and sent a screen shot to be helpful. That worked to my detriment. I got an OK response back. Then all was quiet.

The phone rang about 15 minutes later and it was the hair cut store. Turns out the lady that cuts my hair called in sick. That’s never happened so I had to reschedule. I worked it so that it would be later in the afternoon. No worries, not happy about it but whatever. I sat naked watching TV with the cats. I heard some loud vehicles outside, I thought I knew what it was but it was still pretty early so I didn’t bother to get up and investigate. Then in 15 minutes my door bell rang. Damn it! I had to throw on clothes pretty fast, answered the door and greeted the tree trimmer. His wife wasn’t with him, which is the norm this time he had another guy and much more equipment. They wiped out the job in a little under an hour. I hated to see them cut down the evergreen in the front yard, it was here when we moved in and it was a favorite tree of everyone. Sadly with time only part of it was alive and it looked hideous, so it had to go. The cats just got used to bird watching so they were a bit upset. I returned to watching TV for a bit and when I heard the wood chipper wind down I knew that he would be knocking on the door again. I threw on some shoes, grabbed my coat and we met each other at the door. Man, he did another nice job. I paid him and off he went. He made the odd comment that he smelled either a skunk outside or someone was smoking dope. I told him that it’s probably a skunk, we seem to get a lot of them this time of the year.

I hung around for a little bit but swapped out my sweatpants for jeans, put on socks and shoes. Then went to grab the mail. Surprise a class action check for $150 arrived, NICE. Totally unexpected. The way the money is rolling in I think that something bad is going to happen – usually when I get some money, no matter how much something always seems to happen to take it away from me. Perhaps I am wrong and I do indeed hope that I am.

I moved on to the Cat Food store. I just got them wet food. Apparently, the supply chain crisis is over for Fancy Feast because they had full shelves, lots of stock and not every flavor but pretty close to it. I dropped what I used to spend in a week for 1 cat. This will last a little bit longer since they only go through 3 cans a day and Gator was eating 6 + cans a day. From there I moved on to Target and opted to skip Sam’s Club. Of course it wasn’t until I am typing this out that I remember I needed Water Softener Salt, so a trip to Sam’s is on my near future list. Target was packed, I think because of the Super Bowl everyone trying to get their shopping done before the big game comes on. Of which I won’t watch any of it, just not my thing.

Then I came home. I had to scramble I needed to take the check to the bank to deposit and then drop off an Amazon Return. Then make it to my haircut appointment. I was over 5 minutes late and rushing the entire way. I figured they would give away my appointment but they just took the next guy. I got his spot but I had to wait a little bit. It was okay and I was pretty happy about that. I have NEVER been late so I am glad that this didn’t turn ugly on me. The person that I got hadn’t cut my hair in a while so she naturally asked about Gator. I broke the news to her. Man she did such a better job on my hair than the person that normally cuts it, I think I will be going back to see her instead.

While I was waiting, I saw another work email on my phone and the BOOM got lowered. Turns out that auto response used the canned wording that we always use. Apparently different wording was agreed to so this high maintenance cunt asked me to use the special wording. As if I knew what that was. I had it and fired off an email to multiple big wigs and her managers to get the fucking wording. It took about an hour to get a response but once I got it, I took care of it. I got a thank you back from the person my morning started off with and was told that hopefully this will be the last of it. This cunt has gotten on everyone’s damn nerves with last minute surprise requests, frequent badgering and has just been difficult in general. I hope that she falls in a well or at the very least leaves me the fuck alone. I am beyond done with her. She thinks she is something special stuck on a stick and she is just a damn human being like the rest of us. Go away and never ever return I say.

Ah, that thus far has been the end of her. I thought about venturing off to that steak house that I found but what to get besides Onion Rings for an appetizer. I would probably settle for a burger and since I was having that for breakfast I didn’t want 2 burgers back to back. I looked at various menus and actually wound up going to Cracker Barrel. Fried Catfish sounded really good and I enjoyed it, but it was a little too much on the fried part for my stomach. I saw a couple of hot new waiters, both of them had the same first name. The guy that I exchanged phone numbers with wasn’t working and that was my hope. He works mornings and I was there in the evening so unless he was pulling a long shift I figured our paths wouldn’t cross so it would be safe and it was. Then I thought about him some more and still wondering why he expressed interest but didn’t follow thru. It’s painful to see him just because of what he’s done to me or perhaps I should say what he hasn’t done to me. That’s why I’ve switched up breakfast places. I don’t think there is any feeling there on his end for me like I initially thought there was when he gave me specific instructions to his apartment. However, maybe after not seeing me for a while it will concern him enough that he will reach out, but I’m not holding out any hope for that. I switched breakfast places for my benefit and not his. I will go back and probably will see him again eventually but I have no immediate plans.

One of my favorite MTV Real World stars is Mike C. Manning. Had a new movie come out and it was streaming. My choices were to watch it on TUBI with ads for FREE or Pay $2.99 to watch on Amazon commercial free. I opted for Amazon. This was a horror type film and not my jam but I watched the preview first and it was enough to draw me in. His character played a gay guy and I got to see his rear in a shower scene so money well spent. It was more of a Drama than what I would call a Horror movie, definite plot twists that I never saw coming. I had the phone on Airplane Mode and just sat with the cats as I watched it. What a great way to spend the evening. Mike is so damn sexy and has really launched his career from being on MTV’s Real World. I wish he was my boyfriend; he seems like such a nice guy and he’s got a great body with some muscle! Sadly, he is married to a guy. I just found that out through an internet search. Damn another hottie off the market!

Ah at this point I needed to do some venting so I called up my Thanksgiving Friend and we had a nice chat. Then it was time to work on the dishes, have an Oreo Ice Cream Bar, listen to some music on headphones and chill for about an hour. Then I got up and got ready for bed. Rudy tried to take my ice cream bar away from me or at least get a lick of it, he could smell it and was very interested. It did NOT happen. I don’t know who gave these guys table scraps but they have never forgotten and it will likely be a battle I fight with them for a very long time that I am certain will prove to be an impossible habit to break. I don’t mind throwing in a pet here or there but let me eat in peace, I don’t bother you when your eating. I know it doesn’t work that way.

I’ve not seen the Orange Tabby I spoke about in my post on Friday. I’ve checked flyers at the pet food store, looked on line and no one reported a cat like that missing. Hopefully, it’s OK and has a home. I will still keep an eye out though.

Sunday, I woke up at 5a with my legs out of bed but the rest of my body in bed. I had a dream where I was doing a lot of walking. I had no cats with me when I woke up. They were in the hallway just staring at me. I guess they probably thought I was having a seizure or something. I do get rough when I sleep and I don’t stay in one position. You could easily get punched, kicked or anything. It really depends on the dream I am having. I know that I snore and I talk in my sleep, so they have probably seen it all in the month we have been together. Which today marks their 1-month anniversary here. Wow that went by fast!

Rudy kept jumping on me, making biscuits trying to jar me awake and out of bed. I just wanted to go back to sleep. My hips hurt from the odd sleeping position and I was cold, I didn’t have that much cover on. He let me sleep a little while and then kept coming back. Eventually I gave in and got up. I was a little later than normal but figured it would all be okay.

Made it to the breakfast place. They were more crowded than normal. It took a lot longer but eventually the cute waiter that I like surfaced. He wasn’t taking care of me. I had my burger with an egg on it and some spicy house made ranch sauce for the fries that came with it. I remember to have the mayo put on the side and didn’t like it because it was spicy as well, plus I’m not a fan of mayo on hot food. I remembered to say hold the onion. I forgot to say cook the egg over hard. I had yolk everywhere. It was a good burger though. A little more cheese, throw in some bacon and it would have been super perfect. I got a decent meal, a guy candy show and people kept coming in. The place was packed by the time I left. I was happy I backed in to my spot, as their parking lot is curved and it’s difficult to back out of. Someone rushing in could easily hit you or you might not see them and hit them. Another reason why I like to be an early bird. In and out with not many people, usually.

Onward to the grocery store. It too was packed. I am guessing all of this was because of the Super Bowl and people wanting to get out before the crowd really hits. Oddly enough the best time to shop is when the big game is on. If your looking for any kind of snack or chips you are out of luck and same might be said for beer. Otherwise, everything else is pretty well stocked and you can maneuver through the store with ease. We figured that out years ago and would put off going to the store from the early afternoon to the late evening that one Sunday of the year.

I returned home, put away the groceries. Returned to my room to watch TV and wound up taking a nap as per usual. Woke up and passed out lunch for the cats. I came down to work on laundry. I am washing the bed stuff.

For some reason I can’t seem to decide on what day I want to go in this week. I thought about Monday but it’s usually so calm and it’s a nice day to stay at home, keep your head low and just squeak through the day. I will probably make it Tuesday or Wednesday. Kind of depends on how I feel and what is going on.

Need to check on the first load, get ready for the second load and then do some internet surfing. Then it will be back upstairs with the monsters to try to work in vacuuming. Getting supper, watching more TV and eventually getting ready for bed to face another dreaded Monday. I hope that it’s a nice calm day with little going on.

Sheesh what a weekend. With the way Saturday went it kind of feels like I never left work. Every time I turned around, I was logging in. I don’t do that much work when I am on-call and this wasn’t my weekend for that.

I hope all is well on your end.  If your a Super Bowl Fan hopefully your team wins.  Take care and best wishes for a great week ahead for all of us!

Ah, Friday

Hey there!

I hope that you had a wonderful day. I’m writing this in the morning but won’t have it posted until later in the day. That’s on purpose in observance of today being the 3^rd Year Anniversary of the passing of my Momma Cat. I wrote the post to her last night and scheduled it for this morning. As you might imagine and hopefully feel by reading, there is a lot of emotion in that post. It broke me up to write it and I had to take a few breaks.

What’s strange is that when I was done and headed up the cats seemed to be more attentive. I happened to glance out at the deck and in one of the chairs I found a cat staring back at me. It perked up when it saw me and I began talking to it. It was an orange tabby with a black face and looked kind of ugly to me. It got up, stretched and walked away. The odd thing is that Taz used to sit in the same chair and wait for us when he wanted in and we were either sleeping or not home. It was just odd timing that this all unfolded after I wrote my post to Momma. I thought to myself The Lord works in mysterious ways.

With the snowfall that we have had I saw paw prints on the deck and in the front yard. I kind of thought we had a cat in the neighborhood. I’m guessing because of it’s looks someone dumped it, but that is very much an assumption on my part. I kind of wish the silly thing would have shown up back when I didn’t have a cat I might have been able to make a friend and take it in. At the very least it would be off the street and out of the elements. If it was chipped it could be reunited with it’s owner. I don’t want to take in a 3^rd or even begin to feed a 3^rd cat. However, I will keep an eye out for it and might see if I can make a new friend. I’m not the best with strays despite my track record, a good portion of that was due to my late spouse. He was the cat whisperer. It was a game of wit and control. He didn’t want the cat to win but he wouldn’t force a cat to do anything it didn’t want to do.

Last night I did take a dive into the Carrot Cake and it was so good. I had Fish & Mac N Cheese for my main meal. Then the cake and finished with a couple of gummi worms. It might not sound that great to you but it was pretty damn good to me for being something that I was able to put together. I was easily done within a ½ hour.

Spent the rest of the night with the cats in my room watching YouTube videos and then caught the latest episode of Young Sheldon. That’s such a great show and like I said from the day I started watching it, that little kid cracks me up. Speaking of the young actor that plays the character of Sheldon. The entire cast on that show is well chosen and it is one of very few shows that I look forward to seeing.

I’ve got some additional TV waiting for me and I plan to watch that tonight. I had some strange dreams and I think that was in part due to reflecting on the events of the past combined with the events of the aftermath. I woke up with my Insomnia, also I think related to the same as well as something that is playing out at work today. Worry is my enemy when it comes to sleep and it always seems to have such control over me. I hate that. However, a quick hour with some YouTube videos and watching the cats try to sleep despite the blinding light from the TV was enough to lull me back to sleep. My body wouldn’t permit me to sleep in until 7a and I was up at 6:30a. Root sensed that and he pounced on my bed. He’s so annoying but at the same time he is the one who is always eager to start another day. His enthusiasm is contagious and soon rubs off on his sister. Before you know it we have a mini parade to the kitchen and they are both clamoring at my feet, double teaming me. Until I finally open and plate their can of food, which they split. Not necessarily even but they do split it. One leaves something for the other if they aren’t having a competition to see who can clear their side of the plate first.

Yeah, these two cats have really helped change an otherwise boring environment into something with life and excitement. They are helping me more than I am helping them, but we are each doing something for the other.

I am once again thrilled that another weekend is upon us. I scheduled a haircut appointment for early tomorrow morning and I’m not happy about it. However, it will help me get going and do something other than lay around. Once I am out and moving, I tend to want to stay that way. Knocking out items on my mental punch list of things to do. If I run out of steam that’s okay because chances are the day is still early and I can rest and regroup for the afternoon when I can go at it again. I’ve got a few trips that I’d like to make. My tree guy just hit me up that he will be here tomorrow so that kind of changes my plans. I will want to be here while he is here but I told him about my haircut, I’m not changing that because I look horrible and really need it. I expect that after a couple hours he should be gone so I will probably get out in the afternoon. Not exactly the idea Saturday that I had planned but I am sure since I have 2 days everything or at least most of what I want to accomplish will come to pass.

I’ve got 2 people leaving today and 1 of them is being difficult and vague, not wanting to pin point exact timing so as to try to make my life difficult. I like to try to coordinate a mutually agreeable exact time not an approximation as to when things should shutdown. This person said something like please shutdown my access by 10p. Okay last I checked 5p is by 10p, right? I mean if you want to be an ass about it I can be just as big of an ass back and since I am in control your kind of screwed. They asked me to confirm so I parroted back what they typed in that I will shutdown your access by 10p. I didn’t provide an exact time or provide the usual well wishes. This person has been a pain in the ass ever since they came on my radar for this process. They think they are special because they are black and honey were all the same. I don’t care if you think your God’s gift, your not a gift to me and I can easily flip the switch and cut your ass off. I like to be nice and polite – professional if you will but very few people object to playing that game. The majority of people I work with in this process have put in their resignation and they are in a state of bliss or just stop caring so they are more apt to be nice. However, there are a select few that are just asses. I’m usually more tolerant but in this case, I’ve just given up all hope and am going to play down & dirty since that is the way this person seems to want it. I know no sooner than I shut them down they will be bitching their access should have stayed on. Well, it’s a one-way switch and once I flip it, I’m not going through the effort of turning everything back on just so you can claim to “work” for a couple more hours when I know that your sitting at the bar getting sloshed or at home having a party. Do I sound bitter? Yeah, it gets really old when people don’t want to cooperate and I am beyond done with playing games. This person happens to be going on to a really good government job and so they think they won the lottery or something. Well, you’re still working for a living so you didn’t win a lottery but you might have some muscle to flex. Big damn deal.

I am just ready to put this day in the rear-view mirror. Hopefully, things will be smooth sailing and the day will pass by quickly. Hope you had a great day and have a great weekend to boot! Take care and be well. I will talk with you all again soon!

IN LOVING MEMORY OF MOMMA

 

via GIPHY

 

Momma… It’s been exactly 3 years ago today that you passed. I’m sure you already know I kept my promise to you and did right by your family. I’m sure you notice that you have the last member of your family with you or so I hope you did. Gator left me about 2 months ago. Just like with you it was difficult but her passing was extra difficult because it marked the end in the legacy that we built together, the life that we shared and a time when I was actually happy but didn’t realize it. We have been through so much together and now unfortunately I am all alone. I miss you and your kids. Each day I open a photo app on my phone, to have a look back in time and there are few days that there isn’t a picture or a video of you or one of your kids. It makes me say I miss you all the time, it has also brought a smile to my face at times. I miss my family that’s all of your family and the others that joined us along the way plus your other dad.

Please don’t be sad or worried, I am making it. I had to get a couple of cats to help keep me company. In some ways they remind me of a bit of each of you and your kids. It’s not the same and it never will be, the original family is gone but this brother & sister duo are doing their best to keep my life interesting. The boy (Rudy) is super thin and full of energy, loves to follow me and he’s the one I bonded with first. The girl (Mora) is super large, we have bonded but it just took a little longer. She follows me around as well and often comes to sit in my lap or lay on me for attention or just to be close to me. Somehow they have that “cat” ability to read me and my heart, they know me and they know things that are going on inside of me that I’m not even aware of, which is kind of scary. I’ve not taught either one of them the L word (that’s Lunch) like I taught Gator. However, they always seem to want to eat and they have caught on to Lunch time when I take a break to stop and eat. They of course demand to be fed and I take just as good care of them as I did you and your kids. They aren’t replacements for you or any of your family but rather they are new cats to help occupy the void that was created when Gator left. I honestly didn’t want them and was kind of pushed into it, I took them kind of knowing that once we crossed into the house that would pretty well cement our relationship and we would all become a new family. I am their 3^rd home if you can believe that. I’ve got my thoughts as to why that is. They are quite the handful at times and they do fight but somehow manage to make up and wind up sleeping with me in my tiny bed, which leaves not a lot of room for me. They ensure that there isn’t a boring moment here.

I’ll never forget you or your family and my love will continue for all of you so long as my heart is beating. I love and miss you all so very much. I long for the day that were reunited if that is actually going to happen. I have my doubts but perhaps I will be pleasantly surprised. I hope that you and your family are all at peace and keeping a watchful eye over me from above.

I sure was a Lucky guy to have our paths cross. I never thought I would be allowed to keep you much less that we would wind up keeping your entire family. It’s amazing how it all just came together. I remember the sheer bliss after all of the kids were born. You were so relieved and we were so proud and pleased that it went well and everyone was alive. Thanks, Momma, for all you did for me and for never forgetting that I was your savior. Oddly you and your family were my saviors.

3 whole years passed by so quickly, the world changed so much and some how we managed to endure and are recovering from the pandemic. I made it through and honestly, I didn’t know if that would happen. I really want to check out and come join you and your family but there still seems to be a need for me to stay down here. Apparently, I’ve still got a mission to complete or something like that.

All my love, hugs & kisses to you. Rest in peace sweet girl. I’ve got it from here.

 

 

Blowing in the wind

It’s Friday Eve again!  The only thing better is Friday at the end of the day.  Yesterday turned into quite a long day.  I was able to end work at my normal time but stayed in front of the computer.  I looked down and damn if it wasn’t 6p.  The cats pounced when I opened the door, they were vocal and you could tell they were hungry and unhappy.  I fixed all of that.  Finished off the left over pizza.  Had a small hand held snack size Cherry Pie for desert and made my way to my room. 

We watched some YouTube videos and hung out.  I got on social media and found out that one of my favorite YouTubbers that I’ve been following for years got hacked, his channel disappeared and his Gmail account was taken over.  He’s playing hell to try to get it back and honestly it doesn’t sound good.  As you can imagine he’s devastated.  This is where data backup comes into play so that you have your content always & forever.  The email problem all I can say is you get what you pay for.  Gmail is really nice but if you run into a problem there is no support.  I hope that he can get his channel and account back.  At least he still had his social media accounts, which is a good thing. 

This scenario is why you want to use different passwords for every account, make them long & strong as well as random.  Stick them in a Password Vault and any account that offers Two Factor Authentication, turn it on.  Nothing in security is fool proof but the more difficult you make it for a bad guy the less likely you will be a victim.  Changing your password on a regular basis isn’t a bad idea either but if they are truly randomized passwords that are long & strong then there is less of a need to do a frequent change.  The whole password & security thing can be quite overwhelming.  Especially when you climb up the age ladder.  Trying to explain this all to an older adult can be quite frustrating.

With last night running over time I really didn’t want to get out of bed this morning and come back to work.  Thankfully, Thursday’s are usually slower days.  I’ve got a colleague taking care of some project work which frees me up and unless some emergency arises I can loaf all day long if I want to.  I’m not doing that but I am not exactly breaking a sweat.  I had my morning rush and worked through the items I wanted to accomplish today.  I’m just watching to see what comes rolling in and going from there.  I’ve got an afternoon meeting which won’t be much fun. 

Tomorrow I’ve got 2 people leaving and one of them is already being difficult so it won’t be much fun and I kind of expect a long day but perhaps that will turn around.  Right now I am focused on today and we will deal with tomorrow when it happens. 

The wind is a blowing here so I am not eager to set the trash out.  Hopefully, later in the afternoon things will calm down so nothing blows over and we can have a quiet night.

Looking forward to eating lunch, perhaps taking a nap or watching some TV and just in general pushing myself away from this computer.  My neck is bothering me a little bit as is my upper back.  I sat on the heating pad last night and boy did that feel good.  The only thing better would have been a massage from a human or a machine that applied enough pressure like a human. 

Not sure what frozen item I will microwave tonight.  Looking forward to hopefully finally diving into the Carrot Cake.  The sugar wearing off from that, falling asleep should be effortless tonight or so I hope.  Take care and be well.  I will talk with you all again soon. 

Afternoon Rambles

I’m trying to pass time and thought of a couple things that I needed to do.  I was unfortunately a LastPass customer and I left them last month and switched to a different password manager.  Which is highly suggested since they haven’t really been forthcoming.  I’ve not had fun changing all of my passwords, but that is a recommended task after you migrate away.  I remembered that I put in a security code for a couple accounts as well as security questions & answers.  This afternoon I updated the security codes and security questions. 

Regardless of what the security question is it’s best practice to have a different answer.  As an example if you grew up on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and the security question is What was street was your childhood home on?  Your answer should NOT be truthful but instead something random like 57 Chevy.  This is because it’s fairly easy for people to use social engineering to figure this out and because there are now tracks on the internet so it’s just easily attainable information.  The problem is it’s easy to remember the truth but it’s when you lie that you have a problem remembering, that’s where tracking stuff like this in a password manager/vault comes in handy.  The truth/lie thing is a tip I picked up from watching Judge Judy back in the day. 

In addition to doing this I remembered that back before Gator passed away I changed my emergency contact and beneficiary at work to my brother.  Given his reaction when I called to tell him about Gator and the fact that he no longer had my cell phone number, spoke volumes to me.  He really could careless about me.  It’s been that way my whole life but this cemented it.  This afternoon I changed everything back to my Thanksgiving friend.  If/when I meet someone or even make a closer friend I may revisit making changes.  I know my Thanksgiving friend won’t live forever so time is working against me there, because he’s up there in the age bracket.

Odd thing is that he, you and a couple other friends are the only people that know about Morea & Rudy.  I’ve not felt compelled to share that information with anyone else.  No one has asked me if I got more cats and I am sure that eventually it might come up, I’m not sure if I will share that or not kind of depends on the person and circumstances.  Not sharing information has it’s advantages. 

I was waiting for a specific time to roll around because I had a work task to take care of.  That time has passed and the task is done.  I am ready to head upstairs to be with the cats.  I know they will be eager to see me.  I’m finishing off the pizza tonight.  Last night was the first night where I had no extreme allergy symptoms.  Hopefully this pattern keeps up because that was no fun.  I’ll either have an Oreo Bar for desert or if I feel like it I will dive in for a piece of Carrot Cake.  I want the cake but I think of how much bread was in the pizza and for some reason that makes me want to change my mind.  I know it makes no sense because I’m not exactly eating healthy so it really matters not but for some reason that’s just how my brain works. 

Have a good evening and be well. 

Mid Week

Morning, we made it to the ½ way point in the week. I had a decent evening with the cats. Watched a movie on Prime that I paid for called “The subtle art of not giving a f**k”. It’s based on the book, which I’ve always wanted to read but never did. It’s about a guy who had a bunch of bad things happen in his life at an early age and how he reacted. It’s honestly a book/movie deal of a lifetime that anyone could write based on their life experience/story. The take away was that there are very few things in this world that actually matter. We all loose focus of that in our day to day lives. You need to take a walk on a cliffs edge as a reminder to focus and think about what really actually matters, the rest of the stuff just don’t give a fuck about it. Now if it was just that easy to put into practice. It was a good movie and worth the money I spent on it. I’d recommend it if you’re looking for something to watch.

I will say that I had some crazy dreams after watching the movie but still it wouldn’t cause me to do anything different. It was a great evening’s entertainment. So much so that I focused on the cats and TV and didn’t go to social media until after the movie was over with. The movie talks about social media and how everyone is having a good time or so it appears. However, everyone deals with similar crap/problems and no one’s life is storybook perfect. I get that but looking at social media what is front & center is all of the good and very little if any bad that is happening. No wonder we all think that everyone’s life is awesome compared to our own.

Not much is going on here. I woke up to more money in my bank account and yes it was due to a tax refund. I’ve got 1 more refund to get and then my collecting is over with. I transfer all of the money straight from checking to savings. I’ve got plenty of things that I could waste it on that I really want to buy but I just put those items on my Amazon shopping list and look at it. I watch prices and when I think the time is right or I want to treat myself that’s when I indulge in a purchase. I never buy anything that I can’t pay cash for. I’ve got my eyes on a couple pens, I always think once I buy this one my collection will be complete but it never seems to get that way. I always want more. Sort of like if I see a cool coffee mug or a hat. I’ve got an addictive personality but only when it comes to certain things. Thankfully I don’t really like the taste or smell of alcohol or I’m sure I’d be an alcoholic like my brother. I never smoked or did drugs, again that’s a good thing because I can see getting sucked into that. If you’ve been a long time reader you already know this but my vices are food (primarily pasta & sweets) and gay porn or men. I still don’t know that if I got a man that I would/could stop gay porn because I’ve been at it for so long. I was exposed to porn in general at a young age and it just drew me in like water to a thirsty person. It was straight porn but still I was hooked.

On the man front. Many years ago, I saw a young waiter that worked at a couple local restaurants that I dined at. He had a boyfriend but I learned of his name through a waitress that I befriended. It was kind of sad but he broke up with his boyfriend. I’ve been following him on social media and he was 18. Now he’s in his late 20’s graduated college and is focusing on improving his body. Man, he posted a nice shirtless selfie (no nudity). I commented and he’s got no idea who I am. It’s not the first time I commented on something that he posted. He’s always so polite and appreciative of my comments. Which I find uncommon for a young person. He’s no longer a waiter but I saw that he was into some drugs when he was in college, which is a turn off for me. It’s nothing major but it is enough to dissuade me. I still wanted to hit on him, despite the vast age difference. However, I resisted the temptation. I know that you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take but I’m a decent judge of character and I don’t know that we would mix well as a couple. We might be friends. However, right now I’m just a stranger in the shadows.

I did a Google search of dating services in my area. They make some pretty big promises and don’t discuss fees or costs on-line. I can only imagine it’s expensive. While I am tempted to go back to a dating app, I’ve not had good luck with them or with asking hot waiters out so I feel the need to change up my approach. I don’t mind asking out a complete stranger that I think is HOT it’s ballsy, puts me on the edge of my seat and gives me kind of a rush if I actually go through with it. I’m usually expecting a no and am unprepared when the guy says yes or lets get a phone #. I’ve been on some first dates, although it’s been like 2 or 3. I’ve never ever had a 2^nd date. I think finding love is difficult but being gay or same sex attracted adds an additional layer of complexity to the equation. Then when your older (like me) don’t really get out or have a friend group it makes it damn next to impossible. I see and know the obstacles but trying to overcome them seems to be my kryptonite. I hear there is someone for everyone and that love will come along, perhaps when I am least expecting it. However, it’s been close to 10 damn years and not much has changed in this area. I keep doing the same things, expecting different results and it just isn’t happening. Correct me if I am wrong but isn’t that the definition of insanity?

I know February is love month with Valentine’s Day. I am purposely not actively engaged in a search now because of that. Once V-Day passes I will be more open to looking. I need to improve my gaydar and perhaps make a trip to a gay club or bar. I am really against a bar because those are usually filled with drinkers & smokers and I am neither. However, I don’t really know the best way to meet a good man. I hear I am a good dude or a good soul but thus far that hasn’t given me any advantage.

The weekend is more in my sights now. I’ve got a haircut lined up on Saturday. I need to hit up Sam’s Club and for sure this is the weekend I need to buy some damn cat food. I don’t think these guys are going to be nearly as expensive as Gator or her entire family was but they are still going to eat up some of my money. Thinking about eating out for dinner on Saturday. I already know that I am going back to the new breakfast place on Sunday. Thinking of getting a burger with an egg there so that kind of puts some limits on what I have for Dinner the night before. Thankful that I am NOT on call and can power off my phone. Just hope that the cats let me sleep when I want to and they behave themselves.

Have a great day, stay safe, be well and take care. Talk with you all again soon. Thanks for stopping by!

HORNY NEIGHBORS

Yesterday seemed to be the day to fire people. As it got closer to when I wanted to leave the hammer dropped and like 3 people were gone. That’s some work for me but I managed to chew through it and get them all taken care of. I didn’t leave at the time I wanted to but I still got out before Rush hour was in it’s prime, and for me that’s a win.

My lunch box broke yesterday. The damn thing is an Igloo and I got it in 2018. It sat for 2 years so I am surprised with the brand name and the time it was not in use that it has managed to fall apart. It’s nothing fancy just some insulated fabric that zips up. There is a pocket in front that I use to carry other things, more like a woman’s purse. I’ve got medicine, cough drops, finger nail clippers, a multi-tool and other junk. It’s a lunch box but to me it’s more like a utility bag that doubles as a lunch box. Anyway, the pocket on the front the zipper zips but the tracks don’t all come together. I could easily loose something and I wouldn’t want that to happen. It fell apart in my office so I had time to transfer everything from that compartment to a plastic bag. I’ve placed an order on Amazon for a replacement but I can’t get the same thing, which is kind of a bummer. People really gave me so many compliments on it. The lunch box portion still works but I’m going to scrap it when I get my replacement, at least that is my thought process now.

The cats were happy to see me. Rudy met me at the door, which was expected. Morea just jumped off the bed and was coming out to greet me when I stuck my head in and said hello. They both wanted food. No surprise there. I got them something to eat and I just wanted to relax. It was a long ass day. We sat and watched some YouTube videos. I eventually got up and had some left-over pizza. My sinuses were still bothering me and I was starting to feel ill again, so I knew food would help. I’ve got no idea why I did this but I broke out the hot sauce and added that to the top of the pizza. It spiced up the pizza but my mouth was on fire. To cool it down I had a new Oreo Ice Cream Bar. It’s like eating Cookies & Cream but the cookies are all Oreos. They are really good and it was an interesting find when I was at the store. Rudy tried to take them damn thing away from me but I didn’t let that happen. I guess he knows what ice cream is. There’s chocolate in there and while it probably wouldn’t hurt him I just don’t take chances like that when it comes to any cat. Regular ice cream w/o chocolate I might let them have a lick or two. I remember Momma cleaned a pint of Pumpkin Ice Cream for me and the next day she was so sick and I wound up taking her to the vet. I filmed her cleaning the carton so it’s a nice memory and you can really hear her tongue digging in and she is giving it her all. So from that life lesson I learned only vanilla and in severe moderation for cats. I thought I was treating her and didn’t know it would wind up costing me a trip to the vet.

As the evening rolled on my sinuses continued to drip, I was sneezing and I felt horrible just like I did when I was at work. I kept chugging the water. Finally, I broke out some nose spray and that seemed to help but only for like 5 minutes. I got ready for bed early. I was so tired I was falling asleep watching TV. I got in bed and damn if I wasn’t wide awake again. I got up and watched some TV, but first I took an anti-acid pill and a Claritin. The anti-acid pill was to help settle my stomach all of the drainage really gets to me. The Claritin on top of all of the other medicine I take is my last-ditch effort when I have a severe attack. That shut it all down. I was up for an hour and then I was able to return to bed and finally drift off to sleep. I woke up to use the bathroom and Rudy was following me. He returned to bed and jumped on my side and hung out until I fell asleep. I know he wanted more food. Missing lunch really messed with them both. Morea asked for more food as well but I didn’t give in. They have fresh dry food and they were munching on that.

This morning I was kind of afraid to get out of bed. I actually felt better than I expected to. I figured I would wind up calling in. However, I pressed on and now I feel hot and not terribly well. I am still chugging and am going to try to finish the day. I’m not sure if this is an allergy or a virus but I wish whatever it was would leave me alone, I’m beyond tired of dealing with it.

Most of the modern average priced vehicles have anti-theft systems on them. When you lock the car with the remote the horn beeps. I am surrounded by horny neighbors who love to press their key fobs to hear the horn honk. One of them has kids and the kids love to play with the remote and even set off the panic button. It’s kind of annoying. Besides running down the battery I don’t get why they don’t all just press the lock button inside the car before they get out. That will lock the vehicle and should engage the anti-theft system. Unless it’s a Ford to active the anti-theft system you have to press the lock button on the remote twice, at least that is what a prior owner’s manual told me for a Ford that I used to own. My vehicle beeps instead of the horn honking but I still use the lock button inside the vehicle and mine is parked inside my garage. Every house in the subdivision has at minimum a 1 car but most have 2 car garages. The majority of people park their cars in the driveway. I guess the garages are so full of crap there isn’t room for a car. We always had a policy that no matter what we put in the garage there would be room for the vehicles. It’s a nice security feature and it’s harder for people to tell if your home or not.

On my way home last night I paid attention to the gable vents on most of the homes on the way in. The one in front of the house specifically, most are filthy. I’ve been meaning to clean mine but now I don’t feel so bad that I didn’t get to it last year. I’ve got spray cleaner that does wonders for it but the weather needs to be warmer and it involves lugging out the hose. Not exactly a task I look forward to.

I know were still in Winter but I can’t help that the tree guy will be by soon or so I hope. I called last year. He seems to make it a trip the following year. I really want all of the crap from my yard cleaned up and the trees trimmed. It would have been great if he could have gotten to it last year but the advantage to waiting is that you don’t have to deal with the leaves and you can see better. He’s given me a great price but the price comes with the limit of waiting on him to get around to it.

It's been a very busy couple of days and I think that is going to be the norm for a while. I just hope I don’t have to deal with too many people getting fired. I understand quitting to change jobs. Regardless I feel sorry for anyone who loses their job even if it’s their own fault. I know what it’s like to lose a job and it really messes with your head and your self-confidence. Not to mention trying to bounce back, most likely having to take a cut in pay in order to be able to get back to work. Plus trying to come up with the reason why your no longer employed without outright lying but not admitting you were fired, because no one seems to want to hire a person who admits to being fired. I want a new job but that would end some of the perks that I have now and honestly starting over at my age is scary for me. I’ve got something decent and I’m so thankful for that. I just wish some of the BS and certain people would leave but no matter what job you have there will be people you don’t care for and BS, it’s just the nature of working for a living.

That’s all of the words I’ve got for today. Getting ready to ramp up on a project, then there is my lunch break and then back to a meeting. Hopefully it will be smooth sailing and we can sail right on into quitting time. I did turn my phone off last night before I went to bed. It feels so good to know that no one can bother me. I woke up to find that I got 1 of my tax refunds already. That was a welcome surprise. It’s a small amount of money but it’s certainly welcome. I didn’t expect anything until much later in the month.

Have a good day, stay warm and be well. Talk with you all again soon!

Manic Monday

Happy Monday if that is such a thing.  I had a semi-decent nights sleep.  I woke up to use the restroom and as I vaguely remember it I had some bad dreams, but couldn’t tell you what they were now if my life depended on it.  I just remember that Rudy followed me to the bathroom because he’s my shadow.  I woke up with 1 cat in bed with me this morning I think it was Rudy but am not 100% certain. 

I went through my routine and the cats were so confused as to why I was up an hour early.  However, they took the opportunity to eat and play a little bit.  After my shower I saw Rudy jump into the tub, despite it being wet it didn’t phase him..  I turned my back and him and Morea switched places.  It was so funny.  They both thought I was upset with them but I could careless.  I didn’t spray any cleaner after my shower so it was perfectly safe, just left over water that they were playing with.  I knew the shower/tub fascinated Rudy but had no idea that his sister had similar feelings or if this was just a case of monkey see – monkey do. 

They both looked at me with sad eyes as I walked out the door, I told them both to behave.  I plan to be home before 5p.  As things sit right now unless something goes horribly wrong I plan to leave around 3p to 3:30p.  I can play catchup when I arrive home, if that is needed.  Hopefully, I will be able to enjoy my evening in peace. 

The office has more people in it for a Monday than I expected.  The commute was average for a workday.  I felt a little off when I left the house but stayed in the moment and focused.  As I began work it hit me again that I wasn’t feeling the best.  About an hour ago my nose was bothering me, I was hot and felt horrible.  I looked in my lunch box and found an allergy pill, took that and now everything seems much better.  I am no longer hot and my sinuses seemed to have calmed down.  I smelled dust when I walked in and I am allergic so that is what I am attributing this to.  I certainly don’t want to relapse into the viral syndrome or anything like it – that is so not fun. 

I can’t help but think of a friend who is on vacation with his family.  Kind of wish I was with him but he’s on a cruise and out of the country.  2 weeks sounds like a good time.  I know he was looking forward to it.  He works pretty hard so why not play hard as well.  That’s exactly what I want to do is leave for a couple weeks.  However, with the new boat anchors (aka cats) unless I had someone to go with me I don’t think I would have such a good time.

I thought I spotted a bargain yesterday at the store.  A decent size tub of Belgian Chocolate Pudding.  I bought it despite it being Gluten Free.  Man it needs Gluten because it doesn’t taste the best.  I mean I am going to finish the tub but it’s not high on my priority list.  I’m thinking about the last piece of German Chocolate Cake I have left.  I bought a 1/2 of a Carrot Cake and I look forward to diving into that.  I might not have a man but I’ve got food, it won’t look good on me but it sure tastes good going down.  Working on the left over pizza.  Had 2 pieces for supper last night, it was okay.  Really not looking forward to that again tonight but I need to make it disappear.  I will feel better when I’ve consumed it all.  Plus the refrigerator will smell a bit better. 

Looking forward to lunch.  Tuna Fish on some multi-grain bread.  I got Cheetos Puffs and a Cherry Pie.  Threw in a Peanut Butter granola bar just in case.  However, I think that will fill me up.  I get to go earlier today because of a project that required me to be in the office.  Which is the sole reason why I am here on a Monday.  I looked at my calendar and it’s been almost an entire month since I was here last.  That sure did go by fast. 

My neck and shoulder are bothering me a little bit, nothing a good massage couldn’t fix but I don’t have one lined up.  I kind of think that might have been the root of my viral illness.  Despite drinking plenty of water I don’t know that I flushed all of the toxins out of my body afterwards.  I would like to get back to a regular schedule to help reduce the pain and to feel better but finding a decently priced and good massage therapist is tough.   

I’ve got nothing else to really babble about so I guess it’s back to work for a bit before lunch time rolls around.  After that it’s all gravy to me as it’s downhill and going home will be well within sight.  Don’t think I am not watching the clock.  I wore my dress watch to work and it’s ticking away. 

Hope you have a good day.  Take care & be well.  Thanks for your visit.  Talk with you all again soon.