Ye old Update

So Friday the 13th turned out to be a lucky day for me.  My pay stub indicated that I got a $50 gift card but the card I received is actually $25.  So I inquired how to get my pay stub fixed and I was told that it would actually cost more to fix my pay stub so they are sending me another $25 gift card.  Hey that works.  Outside of that nothing really remarkable happened on Friday, it was just another normal day. 

Saturday, I woke up at 7a to Ms. Gator scratching on my door wanting her breakfast.  Needy bitch!  I got up and gave into her.  I came back to bed but there was no going back to sleep but I did try.  So I got up and started the day with my phone seeing what was going on in the world.  I found a super hot porn scene that I thought about watching but talked myself out of.  I got dressed and had my morning pills.  Then out the door and on to a restaurant for breakfast.  Afterwards I stopped by the eye doctor to see about the new frames they ordered in.  These were blue but not blue enough.  I don’t get why things pop on a website but in reality they aren’t that way.  That is deceptive.  So they found another pair that might be an option for me and they ordered them in.  I’ll likely be going back next weekend to make a decision.  I was sort of prepared to do it today but the lady helping me talked me out of it.  Might as well get what I am after.  The 2 frames I tried on today were both plastic and they felt great, super lightweight and nothing like my metal frames.  After that was done, I just came home.  I had other errands to run but foolishly talked myself out of doing them.  Well then a storm blew in this evening and there was no going back out for me.  I don’t do rain unless it’s a must.  Shopping in the rain is something I am not a huge fan of.  I had a momentary power outage from the storm. 

To help make up for my mistake, I decided to get busy around the house.  I took time to look at my computer power connections and figured out that things were plugged into the surge only protection side of the UPS.  So I moved that around and tested it.  Works like a charm now.  Hopefully this will be the end of me having to reboot because my monitors went south due to a power glitch. 

I had plenty of feline time and they all have soaked it up.  Ruth and I got into it because she thought I was after her.  I was talking sweet to her and she decided to shift into bitch mode, so I shifted in to the same mode.  She ran under the couch growling and hissing.  I keep telling her I need to trim her nails, trying to prepare her but I don’t think there is any preparing her.  I just have to do it and I really am not thrilled about it.  However, for her safety it needs to happen and it shall tomorrow.  If those claws curl under it will be a nightmare for both of us and I’d like to avoid that at all costs.  

Sunday will be breakfast, grocery store and home.  Then I will need to make a 2nd trip out to get cat food which is something I put off today.  I’ll get gas and then come home.  I should be set for the rest of the day. 

A friend called me earlier in the week and I called him back to tell him about my pay raise.  First thing he says is that is great, lets celebrate.  We should go out.  Yeah I get a couple extra dollars and he wants to spend it for me.  So looks like next weekend we will be going out.  At least it’s something to look forward to. 

Speaking of looking forward, I jumped back on Match dot com  I haven’t paid them any $ but am considering it.  There are several nice looking guys and apparently someone is interested in me, but unless you pay you can’t see or communicate with them.  That’s how they get you.  I understand, it’s a business.  If I get what I want out of it then it’s money well spent.  So decisions, decisions. 

I’m considering being a volunteer to help out gay youth deal with their sexuality.  It’s been on my mind ever since I saw the documentary about Love Loud.  So long as there is no minimum time commitment required I will throw my name in the hat.  However, work comes first.  I think I would feel really good about myself and if I wanted to it would be nice to add to my resume or work bio.  Time will tell. 

So it’s 11p on a Saturday night and my eyes are going.  I should get upstairs and work on getting some sleep.  It’s funny how I used to be able to stay up for hours with no problem but as I get older I feel the struggle and if I am up way too late and don’t get enough sleep, I feel it the next day and getting going is a super struggle.  Thankfully it’s the weekend and I can pretty well do what I want.  However, I’m still tied to my phone since I’m on-call. 

I hope your doing okay in this summer heat.  Just hang in there Fall is on the way but we have the rest of this month and next month to get through.  The place I ate at today had Thanksgiving items out.  Wow, that is early as Thanksgiving isn’t until November.  I guess the early bird gets the worm.  Thanks for stopping by.  I will chat with you all again soon. 

Money

I found out this morning that I got a 4% raise which is the best raise I have had in the 4 years that I have worked here.  For the first time ever I’m not getting a bonus, but I was submitted.  However, I will be getting an Amazon gift card.  Gee, I’d rather just have no bonus.  They will tax me on the gift card. 

Saving the best part for last.  A promotion is on the horizon.  It might not happen anytime soon but I know it’s coming.  I would be a senior level and that would make me equal with the rest of my team.  Yes, that includes stupid.  However, it would probably take away my stipend for on-call but I will be getting another raise out of it.  Unless I would move into Management this will likely be the highest level that I will climb to.  There would still be room for future pay raises so it’s not as if I would be capped out.

I am a little bummed about not getting a bonus but back pay retroactive to June 1, that will be a bit of a bonus in and of it’s self.  I am eager to see what my check looks like tomorrow. 

Speaking of money, I got my new pair of jeans yesterday.  There nice but I just can believe they were $50.  It’s denim not cashmere.

Well lunch is about over with and there is plenty of work to do.  I’m still digging out of email and more keeps coming in.  I wish I had an off switch, that way I may actually get caught up.  What a novel idea. 

Hope your Wednesday is progressing well.  Stay cool. 

On my back

Last night I saw Blockers (or as I call it Cock Blockers) it was a decent movie that gave me a couple of laughs.  So I went to bed in a decent mood.  It was humid over night and I woke up a couple times.  When it was finally time to get up I didn’t feel the greatest and decided to call it a day before the day got started.  I fed the cats.  Had to figure out how to set my OOO response and then it was back to bed. 

All I have done all day long is sleep.  From one nap to another.  First was in my own bed and I was up for a couple hours, then back to sleep on the couch for hours.  I got a delivery and didn’t even know anyone had been here. 

The power company was by in the afternoon pounding on the door but I didn’t answer.  I was in the middle of a movie.  When I eventually opened the door I saw a note that my gas meter had been upgraded.  Wow, who cares. 

Cats have been with me all day long and they nap as well.  However, there napping is part of their regular routine.  They don’t have to get up and go to work like I do.  I will take a little extra sleepy time medicine when it’s time for bed.  Hopefully, it does the trick.  I have the AC running cool so hopefully I can avoid taking another day off, although it’s tempting. 

Kind of nice not having to worry about email, phones, meetings, traffic and mostly stress.  However the enjoyment is only short lived.  Eventually this will all turn to boredom, which is why I want to go back tomorrow.  Not to mention the money. 

Nothing really worth while on TV.  I have to scour NetFlix to find anything of interest and that gets old as well.  However, it beats staring at a blank screen.  I’m sure I will find something of interest.  Plus I have to make my sandwich for lunch tomorrow. 

My back feels way better, I guess I just needed a heavy dose of sleep and that seems to have done the trick.  Talk to me tomorrow after I spend 8 hours hunched over the computer.  Ugh. 

Well time to drink some water, make that sandwich and tend to the children.  Momma will be squawking soon and I’d like to avoid that, so I guess I should scram.  Hope you had a good day!

Believer

Ever heard of Imagine Dragon’s the band?  There pretty good in my book.  I had no idea their lead singer Dan Reynolds is Mormon.  He also has some pretty strong believes about being gay.  Apparently there is an alarming rate of young Mormon guys and gals who are committing suicide simply because they are gay and don’t know how to deal with it.  I saw a documentary on HBO called Believer that talks about this. 

Mr. Reynolds is so fired up he worked with Tyler Glenn and together they formed an organization called LOVELOUD they have a music festival in Salt Lake Utah every year until the rate of suicide declines and the Mormon church accepts LGBT people.  It started as a 1 time thing and from there things snowballed and this thing got really large.  If you have HBO I encourage you to watch it, your eyes and your mind will open and it’s more than worth your time. 

The odd thing here is Mr. Reynolds is straight, married and has children.  However, his friend Tyler Glenn is gay.  Mr. Glenn struggled with accepting it.  Apparently if your gay and Mormon, you can tell the church but you just can’t act on your desires, if you do then you will be excommunicated. 

I’m not Mormon and never have been.  The thing I struggle with is in John 13:34 God says … “

A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so also you must love one another.” This clearly says to love one another, not to only love straight people or white people but to love one another.  Why is it that many religions discriminate?  Regardless if your Black, White, Brown, Straight, Gay, BI they should love you and welcome you unconditionally.  Modern religion in general is flawed in my humble opinion.  The God that I struggle with believing in wouldn’t be happy with how most religion and people interpret his word.  There are too many politics in religion but yet there is supposed to be separation of Church and State. 

Young people regardless of their religion, young people have been troubled and committing suicide because they simply can’t deal with the fact they are different than their peers.  Realizing that your gay is a lot to take in.  Some people do fine with it, while others struggle.  Hearing things like the catch phrase “it gets better” is comforting but at the end of the day t’s just a catch phrase.  Additionally, that phrase doesn’t exactly specifically imply when it will get better, just that it will.  I suppose everyone has their own interpretation of exactly when it will get better.  For me it means that once you become an adult that things will turn around.  Being gay at least when I was growing up being gay was a big deal.  You would be ostracized, excluded and discriminated against just because you were attracted to the same sex.  It’s not a disease, it’s not contagious and your not interested in every single person who happens to be the same sex as you, and your not a pedophile.  Today the world has changed and is much more accepting but that acceptance has limits.  There are still people in the world who believe it’s wrong and that your sick. 

For a very long time gay people have been trying to educate and inform to seek acceptance, tolerance and understanding.  Personally for me I lived a good portion of my life stuck in the closet because I was afraid.  Of what you might ask?  Well, that I would be ridiculed, ostracized, discriminated against and that people in general would think differently of me once they knew about my sexuality.  That fear was enough to keep me from being free.  I reached a point in my life where I just wanted to shout it out to the world but those that were important in my life discouraged that behavior and told me that it would likely have devastating consequences.  So I took the advice I was given for the most part.  I shared my secret with those that I trusted so some people knew but not the world at large. 

Suicide was an option that I thought of many times, however it’s a permanent solution to a temporary problem.  There are far more devastating consequences for those that you love and care about but at the time your not thinking of them but your thinking of yourself and how you can “fix” everything.  Well sadly suicide while tempting is NOT the answer!  You are perfect just the way you are.  If people can’t see that then they don’t need to be in your life.  No matter how hard you try and no matter how much you ask there is no praying or taking away the gay.  It’s there forever because is apart of who you are.  Being gay is not a choice, it’s just the way you are.  It’s not what makes you happy, again it’s who you are. 

Think about it for a moment.  Let’s suppose that sexuality is a choice.  What percentage of people do you think would honestly pick to be gay?  It’s like if you could pick the color of your skin, what percentage of people do you honestly think would pick Black or Mexican?  When after all if it’s all an option you’d pick to be straight and to be white.  You’d have to be insane to pick gay or another skin color because you know that those other choices are areas where society discriminates.  Hey if it were a choice I would rather be straight because it’s just far easier.  Easier to get a date, easier to get married, easier for the world to accept because it’s the “norm”.  But it’s NOT a choice.   

I’d love nothing more than to help someone deal with accepting themselves for who they are.  Being gay isn’t a bad thing.  Regardless of what your told it’s not the end of the world.  Time does help things get better and life in general becomes easier.  You struggle a lot more with your sexuality when your younger than when you get older and wiser.  I’m glad that organizations like LOVELOUD and people like Mr. Reynolds exist to educate and inform.  I’m glad they got the press they so deserved and that this cause will continue until there is no longer a reason for it to. 

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.