Sunday

Today started off much quicker than I wanted it to.  I got kicked out of my own bed because the cats wanted to sleep in it.  I woke up with a back ache and that could be from a crazy position they got me in or it could be from some work I did yesterday.  Either way it hurts and I’d like it to go away. 

Had my Steak N Shake this morning.  I should have skipped the shake part but you only go around once.  I tested my sugar and saw that things are way out of control.  So I upped my medicine to try to help things out and I’ll be watching what I eat more closely but I will still get in my sugar. 

For the first time in I can’t remember when I decided that I would make my own sandwiches for lunch.  I got Pastrami and Black Forest Ham, picked up some Bread and Butter Pickles and some Colby Jack Cheese.  I hope that they taste as good as I imagine they will.  I know I won’t be a happy camper making them because it’s aggravation but it beats eating the same old thing day after day after day. Which I have been doing for a long time. 

Grocery shopping came after Steak N Shake and I didn’t get much.  I got a nice surprise going down and isle I was greeted by a very good looking guy who was all about me, if only for a second.  That felt good.  I went to check out and a cashier who loves to chat wanted me to get in his line because he was bored but I opted to get in a different line.  He just asks way too many questions and has a tendency to mess things up.  Better to avoid him or so I thought. 

Off to the car wash, it was easy in and out.  Nice looking crew working as usual but not much time to stare at them.  They were all about in and out.  Then off to the gas station to fill up the tank.  When I got back in my vehicle it thought my phone was connected via USB and started playing music.  It’s fine but it was connected by Bluetooth so that was strange.  I’m not about wires and cables, that is messy and I like to avoid it if at all possible. 

Finally home to my castle.  Where laundry and other chores await.  I opted to put away the groceries.  Check out an on-line charge I got an alert about that sounded like fraud but turned out to be legit.  Then plugged in the money I spent to find out that I have a small amount left to last for the rest of the week, which is enough to buy gas again later in the week.  Then I climbed the steps and slowly got into bed with Marvin.  We got to cuddle for a little bit until his mom and sister ruined it.  I was tired but didn’t want to go right to sleep.  So I opted to take in some TV.  Nothing good on, I’m down to watching The Doctors which is like the last thing I ever watch because it’s just not that appealing to me.  I like to look at Dr. Travis but they also do have some interesting content. 

After that I turned the TV off, it was about 30 minutes.  Then tried to go to sleep.  I had Alexa help me sleep.  That did the trick.  Then I got the bright idea to turn over and that hurt like hell.  I got back to sleep and then someone started meowing and I looked at the clock and it was 1:30 so time to get up and get going.  I passed out lunch to the children.  Ruth was shy because she knows I need to trim her claws.  My back hurts so much that I am just giving her a reprieve.  It’s not a task I like to do when I am on-call but I will. 

Currently I’m finishing up laundry.  Excited to wear my new green stripped polo to work tomorrow but once someone sees me in it, I will be ready to call it a day and come home.  There isn’t much on the books for Monday but that doesn’t mean it will be a quiet or a calm day.  All of the unknowns lurking keep things interesting at times.  We will be short staffed until Wednesday or Thursday and then back to full staff.

I’m bargaining with myself about vacuuming, I don’t like upsetting the cats but I also don’t like walking on cat food and there is a decent amount of cat fur that always comes with the vacuum cleaner.  So time will tell on that. 

Anxious to heat up some left over pizza for supper and have a soda or two.  I’m doing my playing on the PC and surfing now.  So all in all things are calm and rather boring right now.  I’m okay with that and could use a little more of it. 

I learned yesterday that there is a free preview of Cinemax this weekend.  I checked on it last night and there really isn’t anything they have that I want to watch.  HBO is included with the preview but I am already a subscriber.  Speaking of which no John Oliver (Last Week Tonight) for the next few weeks to Sunday’s will be boring for TV but I am sure I will be able to make due. 

So there is a recap of my day and how I am doing.  The kids are all fine and chill right now.  No doubt they are thinking of their next meal and how they can aggravate me.  I am off to surf the web and perhaps to finish cleaning house.  Then pizza and relaxation.  It’s humid outside and the AC finally kicked on so things are pretty good so long as I am in the basement.  Upstairs not so cool but hot air rises. 

Here’s to a great week ahead for all of us!  Come back to see how I’m doing and what’s new in my world.  Take care.

Expensive Saturday

If you know me well at all, you should know that I have a lack of patients.  That said, I bought a new all in one printer.  I had to make a choice an Epson or an HP.  The Epson wasn’t an Eco-Tank but it did have a 2nd paper tray.  The HP was lower cost and so was the ink.  However, I followed my heart and got the Epson.  I had some setup difficulty but I really like it.  Seems like it will serve me well.  The only problem is there is ink to replace, which you have on all printers but it’s not inexpensive.  Then there is a ink maintenance tray that you have to replace, it collects the wasted ink.  There are lots of tiny pieces of paper to absorb the ink.  I have a 35 page document feeder that actually works.  There is faxing, duplex printing, 2 paper trays that hold 250 sheets each (a solid ream of paper) and scanning.  It’s a special edition model that I guess was made only for Sam’s Club.  If you’d like to check it out it’s an Epson WF-4740.  Priced much higher on-line that it was in the club.  I also got ink which was $100.  I checked Amazon and saw ink for $60 but this had an XL black so I opted to spend the $100. 

I stopped by the Eye Doctor and found that my frames came in, I tried them on and found the fit I liked but the problem was they were as blue as this font on the web and that is what attracted me to them.  However, when they came in they were labeled ink laminate and they were a blacker blue.  So I had the person helping me order in 2 additional frames that were bright blue.  They offered 2 day shipping for free, so I should be able to stop back by next weekend.  Got my prescription for the eye drop called in so no more conjunctivitis.  $45 with insurance, I got a coupon on-line and changed that to $35.  I have 1 refill, if it’s a temporary thing I’m fine with that but I don’t think my conjunctivitis will just go away after a bottle or two of drops.  I hate eye drops but if they fix a problem like itching or in this case junk in my eye then I’m all for it. 

Got a large pizza with Sausage, Mushroom, Pepperoni and Black Olives.  Had a few slices and brought the rest home.  That will be meals for Sunday and Monday.  I had a Chocolate Creme Torte and it was amazing.  Dropped $37 which is a bit high but then when you consider it’s 3 meals it’s not bad at all. 

Stopped by a store and got me some extra cushion socks, picked up 2 polo shirts and saw a cute twink who had red hair and his ear pierced.  He was really my type and had a rocking body.  I was wearing one of my gay shirts (it’s got the rainbow on it) so I figured with me looking him up and down it would be obvious but he really wasn’t paying attention to me.  Too busy chatting to a coworker.  I didn’t say a word, just took in the view. 

Got me a nap in and saw some good porn just prior to dosing off.  Ms. Gator woke me up in the middle of the night she puked in my bed, on my feet and it was a horrible mess.  I get that cats get sick from fur balls, but why is it always in the middle of the night? 

Went shopping on Amazon.  Decided to get some new jeans.  I can wear them to work on Friday’s and the couple pairs that I have are well worn and almost getting not suitable for the office.  Jeans are not cheap.  I also got a few other items one of which was 2 telephone surge protectors.  I’m going to put one on the line as a whole and then the other one on the new printer.  Better safe than sorry.  I also found out my telephone with the display that went out, it’s actually the wall transformer that blew.  There are 0 volts coming out of it.  So Amazon helped me find a new one and it will be here on Monday.  The phone still works with out AC so I’m hopeful that this adapter will fix the issue. 

Renewed a 3 month subscription to a porn site that I enjoy.  They recently upped their prices so I have to play this game of renew for 3 months, cancel.  Then in 3 months do it all over again.  It’s a pain but it is cheaper. 

Had to get cat food.  This was a super stop because Marv needed his dry food and Ruth needed her special food, plus there was regular food to buy.  $55

All of my money has been spent.  I’ve got enough for groceries, gas and maybe a car wash.  That should last me until later next week when we get paid again.  I should have my raise retro active to June 1 and a bonus which will all be money that helps me pay for a lot of the damage I did this weekend to my credit cards.  I use the cards for points, cash back, etc.  then pay them off each month.  When the time is right I cash in and reap the rewards.  Smart, huh? 

While I didn’t get everything that I wanted to do done today, I am happy.  Buying the printer caused something to click inside of me.  I fulfilled a long term want and I guess that is what it’s all about. 

Last night I got into a fight with Instagram and some software that I had purchased to capture other peoples photos.  There was a cute guy who decided to show off his buns and I just had to have the photo on my camera.  Well the fucking software no longer worked.  They made a new version and rather than pass it on they wanted me to pay.  So I paid and then it didn’t do what the old version used to do.  I was pissed because Apple is involved here and there is no getting your money back.  I wound up trying an app finding out that it did what I wanted and then upgrading to the pay version.  So I got 3 apps but only 1 does what I want it to.  Anyway I got my photo and that’s what is important here.  The cost is mild $3 per app so it’s not like it’s anything major but the point is what was frustrating to me. 

The bed clothes are in the laundry and so are my new clothes purchases from today.  Something about a freshly laundered and made bed that causes me to sleep so much better.  I’m thinking of shaving tonight and getting a shower.  No sense in putting a dirty body in a clean bed. 

Finally, I got my new modem thingy setup for TV and Home Phone.  The old unit went back to the UPS store today and all is well.  I had to make some cabling adjustments to my UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) to ensure the equipment was properly protected and that even if the power went out that stuff stays live, at least until the battery gives.  That’s important mostly for my home security system.  Not like anyone is going to break in but if they were it would happen when the power was out with my luck.  I’m supposed to get email alerts when there is an outage but have only received 1 and that was a couple months back.  Whatever it was that took out so much of my electronics I hope that it doesn’t come back for a long time, if ever.  The damage could have been much worse and I could have been forced into filing an insurance claim.  Instead I’m eating the cost of a few hundred dollars and calling it a day.

I’m really worn out and look forward to getting to bed tonight and hopefully taking in some quality sleep as well as a decent quantity of it.  Gator & Company will have me up at the crack of dawn but as long as I can go back to sleep I’m fine with that.  If not then perhaps catching a nap mid day would be good. 

3 to 4 stops tomorrow.  Breakfast, Groceries, Gas and maybe a car wash. Then I am home for the day and that is always a comforting feeling.  Knowing that I don’t have to leave until Monday.  If I could stay home an entire day I’d do that but today it would have just been too much work.  I was running all over the place.  It’s really hot outside and I’ve used the Max AC in the car twice.  It’s so comfortable on an extra hot day. 

Well I’ve got the yawns and Momma is fussing at me.  I guess it’s time to call it a night since it’s 10p.  I’ll be back tomorrow for more gabbing.  Thanks for stopping by.  Stay cool!

Stormy Week

Everything at work is okay.  There were no consequences and for that I am thankful.  Apparently I’m told I had a large line of credit and my mistake reduced that, but there is still money in the bank.  Good to know!

We have had plenty of rain, lighting & thunder.  I came home Tuesday in a heavy storm.  2 fire departments were at the end of the street.  I thought it sucks for those people.  Little did I know what I had in store for myself.  Got in the house, fed the cats and that’s when I discovered the damage.  Apparently there was a lightning strike which caused one hell of an electrical storm in my house. 

Gone …

- Cordless phone system

- Modem on my all in 1 printer, so no more faxing

- Display on one phone

- Power Supply & Battery Backup System for my home phone & tv, which means neither of these services were working.

- Ethernet jack on the back of my cable modem

I had to power cycle the whole house things were way off kilter.  Thankfully I caught it before the sump pump over flowed.  The power cycle caused it to kick in and begin working. 

My home alarm was messed up as well, it thought the back door was broken, which thankfully it wasn’t.  However, since there was no home phone service it couldn’t call anyone to tell them.  I had to power cycle the system, which is not an easy thing to do.

My Tuesday evening was ruined.  I was on the phone with U-verse support forever, then had to call the cable company.  I was beyond frustrated and pissed off.

However, I got curious and found a work around for the TV & Home Phone.  It’s temporary a new modem is on it’s way to me.  So I have an external power supply that I thought might work and it does, so long as the house is cool.  Let some humidity build and it shuts down quickly.  You almost need an oven mitten to unplug it.  I know it’s not idea but it’s worked for a couple days and that is exactly what I needed.

Wednesday I got a replacement cordless phone and a replacement cable modem.  I tried to work on the all in one printer but it was hopeless.  The printer it’s self works and so does the scanner so that’s good news.  Bad news is the document feeder and now the modem are broken.  I’ve started looking at printers.  I can’t afford what I want which is an Epson Ecotank printer, I’m looking for soho quality and that comes with a premium price.  I’ve always wanted an Epson I have heard nothing but good things about them and am eager to try one out.  Perhaps someday but for now I am sticking with what I have and looking for options just in case.  I still have ink for this printer but won’t be buying more.  It’s been 3 or 4 years that I have had it and I’ve really gotten my moneys worth out of it. 

I guess I could start a go fund me page or an Amazon wish list like a porn star.  I am only kidding.  I don’t get it porn stars expecting people to buy them stuff or to help pay for this or that.  Your job should pay for your needs and wants in life.  If it doesn’t then you either need to find a way to supplement your income or get a new job.  I haven’t given one penny and I won’t.  Doesn’t matter how cute, young, big or tight you are … I have to pay for everything I get. 

So the cats are doing okay.  I went to my friends house on Wednesday for Independence Day.  They have a replica of Big Boy and that was tough.  I did spend a lot of time with that cat.  It brought back a lot of memories and of course caused me to start 2nd guessing myself again.  I can’t change my decision but I do have to live with it for the rest of my life.  That isn’t easy but I’ll manage. 

I’m excited to have a free weekend.  I discovered today that I will be on-call next week and am not looking forward to that.  However, I’m focused on the present and right now things look really good.  I am eager to find out about my pay raise and bonus.  If they don’t tell me by the time I go home on Wednesday, I will know first thing on Thursday morning when I wake up and open up an app on my phone to see how much is in the bank.  Friday will be payday but we can look 1 day in advance to see our paystubs online. 

I’ve got about 2 more hours to go and then I’ll be headed home and straight into the weekend.  Here’s hoping it will be as productive as it seems in my mind.  I hope you have a great weekend as well. 

Sunday

I spoke with the boss today, it sounds like my mistake will be glossed over.  However, he hasn’t spoken with his boss yet, so I am still holding my breath a little bit.  He didn’t seem terribly concerned about it.  I got a thank you for my efforts with closing the office. 

I processed all 10 departures last night and it didn’t go fast enough but I got through it.  Tomorrow we will be talking about the card system which won’t exactly be fun.  I’ve got a fairly busy day especially since it’s the start of a new month.  Lots of tasks occur then and it’s just a matter of going through the motions. 

I did get some sleep but it was closer to 3a when I finally was able to fall asleep.  Gator decided to sit on my chest, so that was fun.  She is such a sweet little girl but she is annoying as all get out.  She knows what she is doing but she wants her daddy’s attention.  They all do and they work me for every ounce they can get out of me. 

I had an okay day.  There was some on-call work required that I took care of.  It wasn’t all at once, it was divided over time but all in all I put in close to an hour.

Saw a movie I have been wanting to see called Limelight.  It starts Paul Vandervort.  He’s a sexy good looking model.  Go ahead and give him a google, if you like guys you won’t be wasting your time, I promise.  He’s got a nice body, never seen his package before but his rear end looks great.  There are shots of that in the movie.  He wrote this movie and it’s based on a true story.  You can tell when he character goes to become a “star” that there are gay overtones, he always has to wear swimsuits – his character grows tired of this.  Not sure if the movie reflects his life or the life of someone else.  It’s a dark movie but it reminds you to never loose sight of what is important and that’s your family and friends.  I saw it on Amazon for $4.99 and it was well worth my time. 

In other news, there was a branch down in the front yard from a recent storm.  I trimmed the oak tree that is closest to the house.  Plus chopped up some ivy that was strangling a bush.  Sprayed some Roundup around and hopefully all of the ivy will die.  That stuff is vicious it will choke out anything it gets it’s hands on and the roots are thick.  I’ve lost a lot of shrubbery to it.  Plus I’ve got poison ivy growing.  I don’t have a green thumb but I wish I had enough money to have someone come out and tidy things up the way they should be done.  Not a minor trim but a major trim.  My yard would look so much better.  For now I’m just interested in maintaining status quo, it’s not the greatest but it’s not a junk yard either. 

I found out that one of my neighbors that sold their house, sold it to a Property Management company.  They are renting it out.  Nice!  It’s a great house from the outside, I have never been in.  The only draw back is in order to get into the attached garage you have to go outside, which would be a deal breaker for me.  At any rate I have no idea who’s going to rent it but they will probably be paying close to what I pay for my mortgage but they won’t have the worries of repairs or maintenance.  I think that I eventually would like a town house or condo to take away the maintenance part which would be awesome.  However, that is long down the road.  Not going anywhere with these fuzzy creatures, unless I was buying another home no one would allow 4 pets. 

So I’m winding things down for the day.  A little computer time to play, watch some TV and soon it will be off to bed.  Monday will be here before you know it.  I do look forward to having a holiday but look much more forward to next weekend.  Not being on call will help my stress level, which has been and is way too high.  I wish it was as easy as inserting a venting tube to decompress but like everything else in life it takes time. 

Supposed to celebrate the 4th at my friends place, they are having some type of burnt flesh and were not eating until 4p.  That’s much later in the day than I’d like but it’s free food, I just hope it’s good.  Burnt anything is not appetizing to me at all.  A simple burger and brat will do just fine.  Ideally I’d like to be home by 7p so that I can have time to wind down and get ready to go back on Thursday.  Traffic, parking and life in general should hopefully be a little less stressful this week because lots of people are on vacation.  Unfortunately, I am not one of them!  It would be great to work 2 days and then have the rest of the week off but I’d probably be bored out of my mind. 

I have discovered something annoying about my new ride.  While I am a horny person, I am not a horny driver.  Meaning that I don’t tend to use my horn.  The noise startles people and if you honk at the wrong time they can easily run into you.  I’m a flasher – love to flash my lights  If that doesn’t get your attention then I will honk.  Turns out that it’s difficult to honk the horn.  You have to press really hard in the center of the steering wheel at the bottom.  Past rides you could easily honk by pressing anywhere on the wheel.  I’ve needed to use the horn a couple times and it wasn’t there for me.  Not sure if there is anything that can be done about it, but it’s on my list the next time I go in for service, which will be in a couple months. 

The weather has been HOT but that is nothing new for summer.  Looking forward to Fall but not Winter.  However, I do hope that we get buried and I mean buried with snow at least once.  Enough to close pretty much everything.  We haven’t had a major snow in several years.  Snow right now sounds refreshing, give me a few months and I will be wishing it was summer again.  :-)

I hope that all is well in your world.  Thanks for stopping by to check on me and the fur family.  I’ll chat with you all again soon. 

Stress

As you can probably tell from the title, it’s been a busy and stressful week.  I’ve been driven to my breaking point multiple times.  I’ve wondered how long it would be before I snapped.  Well that apparently happened this afternoon.  I made a fucking stupid mistake and shutdown 2 domain controllers.  That brought the organization to it’s knees for several hours.  Engineers worked for hours to fix my fuck up.  It wasn’t until about an hour ago that I even realized this happened.  The Director of Networking reached out to me and asked why I was on Domain Controllers today.  My heart sank, I thought I was on end user machines and not DC’s.  Holy fuck, this is certainly an offense that I could get fired for.  I’ve owned up to it and apologized but that doesn’t mean that my employer is bound to give me a 2nd chance.  However, I hope that they make an exception in my case and I get another chance.  I probably am blowing this up a little bit but my job is everything to me and I can’t afford to lose it. 

Outside of that it’s been business as usual.  Work, Eat, Sleep.  Hopefully, next week will be uneventful.  I’m up late tonight for work, were closing an office.  Can’t do anything until the stroke of midnight.  Waiting to act is painful because I want to go to sleep but have to force myself to stay awake. 

Sleepy Saturday

Made it to c the eye doc.  My prescription changed a little bit, as per usual he said I could get another year out of my glasses.  However, if I wanted to I could get a new pair.  I came prepared with a couple of items but 1 was a child’s frame so that’s out.  The other was a sunglass that had a curved fit to it, you can put regular lens in it but based on feedback I was talked out of that one.  So the lady found something in plastic by Izod or Oakley not sure which one.  It’s super bright blue which is what I wanted.  She ordered in the frame in two sizes and I’ll be back there to check them out when they arrive.  Cost with insurance will be $216 which isn’t horrible but it is expensive to keep doing this every freaking year. 

So I talked with the doc about conjunctivitis in my right eye.  It’s just aggravating to wake up in the morning to have one of your eyes close to glued shut.  Then you rub it and that junk gets in your eye and it feels gritty.  It’s a nightmare that I have lived with as a result of initiation in High School when some stupid girl put mascara in my eye instead of on the lashes.  I got one hell of an eye infection then and with some drops that cleared up.  Then as I got older this problem started up and it isn’t getting better.  Turns out there is a drop for this it’s a steroid and antibiotic mixed together.  It’s still under a patent and as you can well imagine it’s expensive as all get out.  I got a sample and will give it a try for a week, if it seems to work I just ring up the doc and he will phone in a prescription.  If I get this, it will go to the pharmacy at work and I have already done my homework to get a coupon to reduce the cost even further. 

I’ve done battle with my tires today.  The dealership always sets them back to 35 and my ride felt lopsided.  I put in a little bit of air and went for a ride.  That wasn’t good enough so I have all of the tires back to 40 which is 5 pounds over but that seems to work for me.  I’ve done this with most every vehicle I have had.  On the lemon car it worked against me because it created feathering or a bald spot but I just think that was part of the make up of the car, everything about it was cursed from the day I bought it.  Oddly enough I do miss it a little bit.  It was a sharp looking vehicle. 

In case you can’t tell I like expensive things and I’d be considered high maintenance but I take care of myself how I see fit.  Cars never appealed to me but now it’s like I woke up and I now I want to trade vehicles all the time.  I have not the money for it but I do have the desire.  Thankfully without the money and the fact that I froze all of my credit reports I can’t make any rash decisions to buy.  I really like what I have it’s nice and I’m super proud of it and the fact that some how I have made it all come together. 

Marv seems to have an inflamed knee and he is walking funny.  He’s always had a hitch in his giddy up but this is more pronounced.  However, he managed to jump on the couch for the first time in a while.  I talked with him about it and he just looked at me like what.  I am watching him I may take him to the vet but I know the first thing they will want to do is an x-ray and that is an easy $100 if not $120.  I just don’t want to lose him and at the same time I don’t want him to be in pain.  That might be what all of his crying is about. 

Got my pizza on today.  I went to a place where I met a friend a few weeks back.  I ordered something different with salami and ham it’s super greasy and a little on the spicy side but it’s good.  I made sure to get the large so that I could make a couple meals out of it.  Hand tossed crust is what makes the difference.  Plus the boys spinning the dough were really good looking.  It wasn’t cheap but it was good.  They had awesome desert as well but I passed on that this time. 

I went into Target to grab a couple things and I’m still amazed that I dropped $80.  Money spends so easy but is so hard to earn.  I’m good to make it to the grocery store, the gas station and breakfast tomorrow after that I will be looking forward to payday. 

It’s another hot day here.  Off to surf the web and pass some time before it will be time to head up stairs and spend more time with the family and another day will have turned to night.  I do hope all is well in your world.  One more day of peace and quiet before I go back to the rat race.  I still haven’t logged in to check on mail and I am going to try to wait until Monday morning.  It will be one hell of a surprise but better to deal with it at work than at home. 

Talk with you all again soon.  Be well!

Friday

I managed to fall for another series, this time it was produced by Amazon.  It’s called Goliath and there are 2 seasons.  Billy Bob Thornton play the lead character who is an attorney.  He takes on 2 difficult cases.  The first season isn’t terribly as bizarre as the second season is.  It’s oddly compelling TV and like masturbation and potato chips the more you get, the more you want.  I am ready for season 3. 

I did get my vehicle serviced today.  I chipped a wheel in a couple places.  It looks odd because none of the other wheels are impacted.  I caught a curb a couple weeks back and believe that is what caused the damage.  I’m not happy about it but I am also not about fixing it either.  It’s not major damage.  Outside of that everything else checked out fine and I got fresh oil.  So now another 5 or 6 months and it will be back again for an oil change.  I do have to go back in September to get pain & fabric protection re-applied.  I know it will take an hour plus because they have to scrub the inside of the vehicle.  I will probably be asking for a loaner on that trip because I don’t want to be held hostage.

I got a nap in and just as I was falling asleep the fucking phone rang.  I wasn’t happy about it either.  It was my silly eye doctor confirming my appointment for tomorrow.  I don’t get all of the follow up phone calls to confirm appointments.  I’m a big boy and when I schedule something I don’t tend to forget it.  It goes on my calendar and I am constantly looking a week or two ahead so I know what’s coming up.  I guess there are a lot of forgetful people in this world and some day I will probably be one of those people but for now thankfully I have my memory intact. 

I took my work email and calendar off of my phone for the day and that was so nice.  I did check on email this morning while I was waiting for my vehicle and it was already starting to pile up.  I can only imagine that I have a nice pile of it waiting for me when I decide to login. 

Next week is going to suck because it will be hella busy.  First, I am on-call for the entire week.  Second, my more knowledgeable counterpart is on vacation and out of the country for the next 2 1/2 weeks.  Which means it’s the boss man, me and stupid.  Third, we are launching a phishing campaign next week and all of that is in my hands.  Fourth, we sold off one of our offices so I have 10 people departing.  Fifth, outside of those departures there is a high number of regular departures and stupid is taking a good portion of them but I have to double check all of his work.  So I really needed today but I am not anxious to return.  Thus far the only good news about next week is that Friday will be payday and I can’t wait to see my check with double extra juicy overtime pay on top like a cherry on a sundae.  I hope that I can maintain what little sanity I have left and that I survive the week ahead. 

I was going to go out to eat and take care of an errand but it was raining so I opted to stay in and dry.  The cats seemed to enjoy my company.  Hard to believe it but my momma is 16 years old.  Her kids are now 15 years old.  They both had birthdays this week and I rang in my Facebook anniversary it’s been 11 years since I have been on that platform.  Where does all of the time go?  I am so old but yet young at the same time. 

Plans for tomorrow outside of getting my eyes checked and probably spending a small fortune at the eye doctor, I will go out for breakfast and then treat myself to one additional meal out later in the day.  There is some shopping to do and I will grab the mail.  Outside of that unless I get a sudden burst of energy I will probably loaf around here. 

That’s about all I have right now.  This summer heat is an energy drainer and when I am in my vehicle or my home I feel like I am in a freezer and can’t get enough of it.  My body’s thermostat is whacked which came from working in an ice cold computer room 5 days a week for a couple years.  Ever since then things haven’t quite been the same.  I hope that your all staying cool and that life is going well for you.  I need to get upstairs before momma goes postal on me.  She is driving me nuts with her crowing.  Take care and we will talk again soon. 

Da Weekend

It’s Father’s Day weekend.  That means it’s homecoming around here and as per usual it’s the hottest time of the year.  Scary because were not officially into Summer, things can always get hotter.  My grass was cut on Thursday and my lawn is not in the process of dying from being cut too short. 

Friday was a difficult day.  My boss got bad news about his father and had to fly home to see him.  Things don’t sound good.  He says he will be back in the office by Tuesday but I am not so sure about that.  That means that I get to baby sit stupid.  He has already called me once this weekend about how to deal with something.  He doesn’t take time to read and look things over to make an intelligent informed decision.  He just looks to me for the answer, tell me please tell me how to do my job. 

We got word that one of our offices is closing and has been sold off to another firm.  It’s the way the cookie crumbles.  That means there will be some work for me with about 10 or 11 departures.  Stupid has actually been able to process those pretty well, which is kind of a surprise.  He skips some of the tracking spreadsheets but that is okay by me because when he does work with them it’s always fucked up.  I’m okay with tracking and hope that he continues to do well but since he can’t be trusted I still have to double check every damn thing which is frustrating.  He’s been there an entire year.  If he doesn’t have it down by now he will never get it but for some unknown reason to me they are giving him chance after chance after chance.  Oh Vey!

So I had Pizza for supper on Friday night, made it here in the oven.  Ate the whole damn thing in 1 sitting.  Watched Part 2 of The Ranch, a series on Netflix.  It’s got Ashton Kutcher in it, he’s hot in my book even if he is straight. 

Saturday I spent pretty much at home for the bulk of the day.  I got out to get my weeks worth of mail and cat food.  Then went on to Maggiano’s to meet up with a friend.  Lots of hot guys there so that was a perk.  On the way home I locked eyes with a fat dude on a motorcycle and he started reaching for what I was pretty sure was a gun.  That was a little scary but I never saw a gun and I made sure we got separated quickly.  He kept up with me for a while but when I hit the hammer harder my Twin Turbos were no match for his souped up lawn mower on wheels. 

Sunday I did my usual breakfast, grocery run.  Stopped for gas.  My oh my my money spent fast.  I’m lower than I want to be but I think I can cover myself for another week then were back to another pay day.  That check will look really nice with all of my overtime.  Which reminds me I have to go check on something or should I say someone at work.  Finishing up laundry and plan to stay cool, shave and have a nice freshly made Burrito for supper.  Then some ice cream. 

I spent a lot of time with Marv this weekend.  He wanted in my bed but doesn’t want to jump.  Same thing goes for the couch.  He can get down but doesn’t want to get up.  He’s always been a jumper, in fact I made his middle initial a J because that is all he did when he was growing up.  Like springs and it was obsessive.  I just hope he hasn’t hurt himself.  He is due for some blood work but I am putting it off because I am still paying off the funeral for his brother.  Money, time and good food are 3 things I can’t seem to get enough of. 

I hope that all is going well for you.  Thanks for stopping by and checking in to see what I've been up to.  Now it’s off to work virtually and then back to surf the web.  Have a great week ahead.  I’m thankful only 4 days in my work week. 

The Staircase

If you like real life drama crime type movies/series then you should check out The Staircase, which is on Netflix.  I watched Episode 1 and was hooked.  I kept wanting more and more.  It took a serious chunk out of my weekend but I got through the whole series.  It’s a rollercoaster ride. 

I find myself not knowing what to believe after watching it.  I’m not sure of guilty or innocence.  I can tell you that the trial in my opinion was not fair.  There was a lot of evidence that was admitted that should not have been.  When your on trial only evidence that relates to the actual crime its self should be allowed.  There were a lot of fuck ups with the evidence that was allowed but it all comes out a day late and a dollar short. 

Much like a sitting US President, if you watch the person on trial through out the series you will see how it ages him and takes a toll on his health.  Spoiler Alert, I kept thinking they were going to say he passed away but he didn’t. 

This series much like the critically acclaimed Making A Murder series show you how fucked our Justice System is here in the US.  If someone within the system has it in for you and thinks your guilty they can make your life a living hell and you can spend time behind bars for a crime or crimes that you didn’t commit.  Not to mention the mounting legal expenses, you can easily be driven into poverty.  Scary but true. 

Nevertheless it was a compelling and very entertaining series and I highly recommend it to anyone. 

Routine

I enjoy routines they help keep me on track and if all goes well I won’t forget anything.  That said I am tired of the daily routine of work.  It hits me once and a while, most often when I am bored out of my mind.  It’s been non stop for the past couple months but lately I have time on my hands.  How much time are we talking about?  I spent 2 hours organizing email today.  At the moment most of my work takes place in the morning and by the afternoon I am ready for a nap.  It’s been like this for days.  My boss told me to take a hands off approach to things because he wants Mr. Stupid to get more practice.  Fuck it’s been a year if he doesn’t get it by now he’s fucked and so are we.  While I hate the thought of someone losing their job and the same thought of having to start over, I would rather rip the band-aid off and get it done.  Mr. Stupid represented himself as experienced but he barley knows his way around a computer, so I don’t feel terribly sorry for him.  We all know it’s coming but I guess they have to dot the I’s and cross the T’s before they pull the trigger and kick his ass to the curb. 

We had a team meeting today and things got boring so I fell asleep but I didn’t miss anything important.  The boss and one of my colleagues were on the same subject for 30 minutes – back and forth. 

Good news is that I lucked out and I’m not on-call next week.  I agreed to a shift change so that I can be on-call when my boss is on vacation so Mr. Stupid doesn’t fuck things up.  Consequently, Mr. Stupid has to pull 2 weeks of on-call, which I’ll admit is rough but we have all done it before. 

My crabby co-worker is leaving the country for 2 almost 3 weeks, so it will be a nice break to be away from him. 

On a different note, I got my eye exam scheduled and the day before that I get to have the 2nd oil change on my vehicle.  The manufacturer says to change it when it gets to 10% or below.  I’m at 25% and I’m losing 1% per day, so it should be close.  Last oil change was in January so 6 months isn’t bad.  I’m sure this won’t be cheap but if it’s a twice a year event that is not bad at all.  As for my eyes I want new glasses but I don’t want to obsess like I do.  I hope that I can find something easy and not take all damn day so that I can get other things done.  This all happens next week and I get 1 day off extra so a 3 day weekend!  That will be a nice break but not long enough. 

This year, later next month will mark 4 years at the same place.  It feels like I walked in the door yesterday.  5 years usually brings me trouble at any job and it’s the longest that I have ever worked for any given employer.  I hope that this time around it’s different and that things continue to go well when I get to the 5 year mark and beyond.  I really want this to be the last job that I have but I don’t know if I will be that fortunate. 

On to my 4 legged furry friends.  Everyone is doing okay for the most part.  Marv still worries me but we spend time together.  We have a routine that we go through and that involves time on the couch and time in my room.  He still won’t sleep with me if I close the door but I understand.  It hurts a little but I get over it about the time my head hits the pillow.  I still miss Big Boy and I have second guessed myself beyond what I should.  I still wonder if I made the right call but everyone tells me you did.  Comforting as that is I still have to live with my decision and that is difficult  Speaking of the children they will all have birthdays next week.  Guess I’ll have to go get them a Tuna cake.  Father’s day is this weekend and I’m sure they will get me the same thing they have for the past several years … it’s either nothing or a fur ball.  I’d sooner opt for nothing. 

Well time to tangle with the trash, find something to watch for a little bit before I have to make my lunch, pass out medicine and shuffle off to bed.  Thursday will eventually be calling but I so wish it was Friday. 

Hope your all staying cool and doing well.  It’s not officially summer yet but based on the weather it might as well be.  2018 1/2 way over already.  6 more months and this year will be done, just like this post is.  Talk with you all again soon. 

Oh Brother

It’s been the week from hell.  Plenty of overtime and I wasn’t even on-call.  Yes it will look good on a check but my sanity is going.  Got home on Friday and I pretty well collapsed.

Saturday met up with a friend at a pizza place that I had never been to.  It was delicious and since he picked up the tab last time, I got it this time.  Boy I really got it $40 for lunch – that’s 1 large pizza, 2 diet sodas, and 2 pieces of Snickers Cheesecake.  I wasn’t expecting a bill that steep.

I got my haircut and came home.  Rested up with the kids and then after a few hours it was back out to get cat food and some insoles for my shoes.

Then I saw that ivy had taken over part of the back of my house.  So I went out to deal with that.  I convinced myself it was poison ivy and I came in and took a shower.  Still itched but it was all in my head.  Woke up this morning and felt fine until I started thinking about it and I have itched ever since.  My right eye is bothering me a bit but outside of that I think I am in the clear.  Then after my shower I called it and spent time with the kids. 

Sunday woke up early, had some time to kill before I knew the gas pumps at Sam’s club would kick on.  So I just took my time.  Stopped for breakfast, hit up the grocery store and then came home. 

The cashier at the store always asks me for computer advice.  She’s got a Gateway Computer and lost her password.  It’s a WIN 7 machine.  I gave her advice and was prepared to just walk away when she was telling me about her dead husband.  That changed everything.  So I came home and found a password utility that I have that I knew would work for her.  I made her a CD and printed off instructions.  Then hightailed it back to the store and delivered it all to her.  She wanted to pay me and I told her she didn’t owe me anything.  I wanted to be a smart ass and say that will be $2,000.00 but she probably would have keeled over.  It seemed like a fair price to me (not). 

Stopped for gas and I heard this funny noise come from my phone as I hopped back in.  I was almost home and heard it again.  I looked at my phone and it was my brother.  Asking me what I was up to.  I called and found that he was only a short distance away from my place.  He asked to come over and since he was alone I told him okay. 

Wow that threw a monkey wrench in my otherwise boring day.  He sat here for hours and told me all about his relationship troubles.  I told him the same thing I always say, you two need to get apart and stay apart.  It’s not fair to either one of you to keep this going.  Besides that she is freeloading off of him along with her 2 adult children and he is letting her.  She is up to her ass in debt with a credit card here and there.  In trouble with the IRS and just got a major speeding ticket.  He needs to get the fuck away from her and be done with it once and for all.  However, he doesn’t want to be alone.  I told him you will get used to it and the silence is actually comforting at times.  She is not the only fish in the sea and you can always find someone else.  She was having her family over today and he didn’t want to be anywhere around them.  Which I understand but hey it’s your house – what’s wrong with this picture.  I told him I wouldn’t put up with shit like this and if I had me a sugar daddy I would treat him way better than what she is treating him.  He can’t eat, he can’t sleep, he’s just all wound up like a clock.  His body is a mess.  He went to the bathroom every 1/2 hour he was here.  I told him that I take a blood pressure pill and I am a diabetic and even I don’t pee that much. 

It was nice to spend the afternoon with him but it was a bit of a time suck and he kept saying the same thing over and over.  I listened and gave advice.  We would switch the subject but it always came back to him and her.  Jesus kick her out already and be done with it.  Less drama for you and maybe you could eat and sleep and who knows you might even pee less.  This time it all started with a loaded questions.  She asked him what he doesn’t like about her.  He told her the truth and she just came unglued and couldn’t let it go.  This happened on Thursday.  He actually had to get a hotel room on Friday night to try to get some sleep, then she called him at 2a and asked where he was.  Like a dummy he told her and guess what, she was knocking on the door within a half hour.  I told him you should have turned off your phone and gone to bed. 

Call me at 2a, if it’s not an emergency or something isn’t seriously wrong I am going to come unglued really fast.  There is no need to phone at that hour unless something is seriously wrong.  Whatever it is can wait until a decent morning hour like 8, 9 or even 10. 

She is complaining because he hasn’t given her a ring and they aren’t engaged.  Uh what the fuck.  Yeah I said it right she thinks he is going to marry her.  He at least has common sense with that and said nope not happening.  She wants him to bundle his car insurance with hers so they are on the same policy.  He thought about that and figured out nope it would just be another bill I would be responsible for.  I told him not to do it, yeah it might be cheaper but if she doesn’t pay and they cancel for non-payment he wouldn’t have insurance either.  Just don’t lump anything together with her a cell phone, car insurance or anything else. It’s fine to buy a meal for her but that is pretty much where you have to draw the line.

While I didn’t get nearly the relaxation and alone time that I wanted I know that I helped out a couple people and that feels good.  The kids didn’t run and hide when my brother stopped by.  Probably because he didn’t ring the bell.  Everyone was relaxed and themselves.  Ruth of course was hiding under the couch because that is what she does on a Sunday afternoon.  She comes alive at night. 

Now upstairs to eat some ice cream, prepare for Monday and relax until it’s time for bed.  Looking forward to seeing John Oliver, hope that I can stay awake for the show. 

Onward to a new week and a fresh start.  I wonder what fresh hell awaits this week?  Last weekend before I am on-call.  So hopefully I can make it count!  Have a great week everyone and thanks for stopping by!

Surprise Pie

Today was massage Thursday at the office.  I haven’t had a massage in a couple months.  There are knots abound in my back and yes it hurts but somehow I still keep putting the left foot in front of the right foot.  Speaking of feet they are killing me as well but I guess this is the joy of aging. 

So I got a knock on my cube door this morning and it was the massage therapist.  She got me a large slice of my favorite pie that they stopped making last month.  Remember I wanted to go but didn’t.  She did it because she heard about Big Boy’s passing and wanted to extend her sympathy.  That was a very nice gesture.  However, as I was eating it I had some doubts the container was a little dirty and my stomach began to ache.  By lunch time all I wanted was my sandwich and a soda.  Stomach is back to normal now but it was touch n go there for a bit.

The hottie that worked for the building management company is no more.  Not sure what happened to him.  I talked with him on Tuesday by email and had another request on Wednesday and when I sent it, I got a bounce back.  That was quite the surprise.  I never got around to meeting him in person, another reason why you shouldn’t put off what you can do today. 

I had my review this week and it was damn good as I had expected.  I was told that I am the hardest working employee my boss has.  Damn straight!  He didn’t put that in my review but if you read between the lines it’s there.  So the pay raise part is a whole mystery.  We won’t know anything until July.  I can tell you that I was submitted for a large (not sure how much) bonus.  It’s still in the approval stage or so I am told.  I think the news is available but they just can’t share it yet.  Best part is they tell us in July but it’s retroactive to June 1.  Good thing I put in that OT last Friday.  I had to stay last night as well.  So far for this pay period I have 8 hours of overtime and I am not even on-call.  Not bad. 

I’m counting on a large pay out and mentally I have it spent already.  Thankfully it’s only mentally spent and not physically spent.  I can tell you I plan to reward myself with a writing instrument, as if I need another but since you only go around 1 time it’s my plan.  Now we just have to wait and see what comes to fruition. 

My more senior level co-worker who has been there forever, decided to bite my head off when I made a friendly call to inquire about an urgent issue.  He was such a smart ass.  I bite my tongue.  I am always helpful but since he is on-call this week he decided that he should take all of the trouble tickets that come in.  That’s fine by me, I told the boss about it and told him unless I received a directive I planned on sitting back and watching the tickets pile up.  Pile up they have, he’s been like an octopus all week long.  I did take one but I knew it would come to me eventually, no sense in delaying the inevitable.  The on-call person is supposed to act like a traffic cop and dispatch or assign tickets but very rarely does that happen.  I would be asking for help this week if I was on-call there is no way one person can keep up with the volume we have had.  Phishing and viruses are on the rise.  So is stupidity because otherwise intelligent and educated people click a link or enter credentials when they shouldn’t.  They know better but they still do moronic things.  Good thing for that or else I might not have a job. 

Well I promised Momma we would go up at 7:30p to watch TV and I have 1 minutes so I’ll chat with you all again soon.  Happy Friday eve. 

Exhaustion & Burn Out

Hey everyone!  I hope all is going well for you.  Seems like we didn’t have any spring and summer is here.  The day starts off mild but quickly goes to wild hot crazy.  My AC has been on for about a month now.  I turn it up when I am away because it bothers the cats and when I get home this place turns into a refrigerator.  My ride is pretty much the same way and even the seat is air conditioned but oddly enough I don’t feel it.  I still leave it on max just because.  As the temperatures continue to rise I’ll eventually be starting my ride up before I enter to cool it down and then I will notice the seat AC.  My seats are leather and that is nice but not in the summer. 

So work this week has burnt me out and I fried my brain.  I took a break for dinner on Friday and then came back to the office.  I worked until 9p.  We just opened up a couple offices and it’s just nuts right now.  I hope that this week things get more back to normal.  First of the month has me scrambling to compose several reports. 

Saturday I did nothing.  I was naked all day long, stayed in doors (of course) and watched TV and took several naps.  It was refreshing.  The closest I came to a computer was my phone.  I never left the main level of the house.  Cats seemed to enjoy it. 

This week I took a pretty big step and came out to a co-worker.  I’ve been wanting to do this for quite sometime and finally I just ripped the band-aid off.  He didn’t think I was gay but he was curious.  He’s younger, straight and engaged to get married.  I had concerns about coming out but he told me that he had gay friends and it was no big deal to him.  I told him about my late spouse and that caused me to relive some of those events.  It was slightly emotional.  He was the 2nd person to say that someone admitted they were gay.  You admit you committed a crime, ate a cookie, cheated, lied but you don’t ever admit your gay.  You come out.  Being gay isn’t a crime.  Something about the phrase admitting your gay just doesn’t set right with me.  Oddly enough my move brought our friendship closer.  He realized that he was given an honor of trust by me, because I don’t just tell anyone, I tell those that I trust and that spoke volumes!  Exactly what I wanted it to do.  Glad it was well received. 

So here we are again at a Sunday.  I woke up at 6a and took care of breakfast for the kids.  Then sat and watched porn, then a few TV shows and finally I got my lazy fat ass up and shaved and showered.  Then it was time for pills and getting dressed.  Out the door I went to IHOP.  Chicken Fajita Omelet with Double Blueberry Pancakes and a Diet Pepsi (yuk) to wash it all down.  Got up to the counter and I was boy crazy and the waitress asked me how my food was and I said fine, how was yours.  She capitalized on my error and gave me a smart ass response back.  Yeah whatever.  I was more interested in the guy behind her than her. 

Then it was on to grab the mail, groceries and pick up some cat food.  Dropped $95 at the store.  Then to the car wash and gas station and finally home.  When it was all said and done I actually dropped $165 but that’s for everything.  This was one of those paychecks where I oddly enough had 5 hours of overtime so I have plenty of money left over.  I want to save it but then I go and spend it.  My next check will look nice and so will the one after that. 

Turns out that we should have our reviews this week and that will give me the information I really care about and that is how much more money will I be making.  That will be a turning point for me.  I just hope they really make it worth my wild. 

Well upstairs I guess and time to wind down a little bit, prepare for Monday and enjoy what little time the evening has left for me.  No doubt that will mean Marv will be by my side soaking up as much attention as I will dish out.  I love that cat and feel so sorry for him.  He is really lost without his brother but he didn’t shutdown as I feared he might.  The cashier at the grocery store offered me a black kitten, she has 4 of them.  I said nope the inn is full.  I’d love another cat but truth is I would be looking for a replacement for Big Boy and he can never ever be replaced.  Try as I might I’ll never find another cat like him.  So better off to keep the peace and let the family enjoy themselves.  At least I know what to expect with them but every now and then they throw me a curve ball. 

Here’s hoping this week is less stressful, there is more down time, more chit-cat and that Friday comes around again soon.  Best thing about Monday is that I won’t be on-call.  Got 2 weeks of freedom, then here we go again. 

I wish you all the best for the week ahead.  Thanks for stopping by and checking on me.  I’ll talk with you again soon.