Late this afternoon I received an email. I am pleased to report that I won my appeal on my Emergency Room Bill and the Physician’s charges. I am so happy that this mess has been resolved and I no longer have to worry about it.
Finally some good news. I’m seeing a pattern with the promotion at work, the insurance appeal there has to be at least 1 more good thing that will happen. Maybe it’s finally time to buy that lottery ticket?
Wow another week is done. Two more left in the entire year of 2018 and then it will be history. It seems like only yesterday that we were in Summer and the year was sluggishly moving along. Time and Money something we all could use more of.
I bought an 8TB external hard drive on Wednesday. I got a decent deal on Amazon. I could have gotten a better deal if I would have moved on this last month. In any event the drive arrived last night after I got home from work. I was really surprised that Amazon just placed it on my porch considering the value The drive supports USB 3.0 which has a higher transfer rate. I have 2 of those ports available on my computer. So that is naturally where I plugged the device into but my computer didn’t properly detect the drive, so I am using a regular USB port. It still gets the job done but at a slower rate. I’ve moved over all of the data I needed to. My porn collection is still copying and when I started the transfer last night it said that it would be more than a day and were 30% done now and the status is the same. It’s 4tb worth of data so I would expect that it wouldn’t move lighting fast. It will probably be a couple of days. However, I stopped my back up program and my PC is much faster. When I turn it back on I’m sure performance will slow down some. I guess it heard me because the machine momentarily froze up for a moment.
On the work front. We had our holiday part yesterday and the food was just okay It was typical of any other party but this years experience was by far the worst for me. I only sat with 1 person to eat and talk, I don’t know 1/2 of the people that I work with and the other 1/2 that I do know was MIA. I gulped down my food and headed back to my desk. I put in a little bit but not much more work and left early. Kind of depressed as it was another sobering reminder that I am all alone.
My boss mentioned to me earlier in the week that he got a note regarding my time off and that since I was in the hole they are going to adjust my last paycheck by deducting the time I owe them. He got the notice 2 weeks ago but just decided to mention it to me this week. How thoughtful. Fuck! So I am holding some money back from this check to hopefully help tide me through the 1st pay period of the year. It’s not all bad news. I was submitted for a bonus, don’t know how much but hopefully it’s more than an Amazon gift card. Next and the biggest news of all is that my promotion will be official as of the 1st of the year. I still don’t know my new title or my new salary but I have been told there are some additional responsibilities that are headed my way. That is a polite way of saying were going to get our moneys worth out of you. Overtime will no longer be an option as I will be exempt but hopefully my new salary will accommodate for whatever bullshit is headed my way. I am happy but also nervous for the future.
On the home front, I called my brother to check in with him last night. He is still very much adjusting to being alone. He is also still maintaining contact with her and allowing her to remain in his life. I asked him what the point of her moving out was. He didn’t exactly provide the response I was expecting. He told me that it’s difficult to just cut her off. I told him think of all of the hell she has put him through and how she almost wound up costing him his job, that alone would do it for me. He said that if you love someone you can’t just flip a switch and shut them out. I beg to differ as I have no problem doing it. I’ve done it before. It’s not fun or easy but I can do it within a second. He has new locks but hasn’t changed them yet. He went over to her place for Chili and they wound up getting into an argument. She tried to hold him hostage and so that she could explain herself and that just further inflamed things. It’s very apparent to me that she will be the death of him. I don’t know that this will ever be truly over. I told him he needs to put his foot down and just walk away but he doesn’t have the balls to do it. He’s whipped and in a victim mentality. While I am not saying it couldn’t happen to me, considering that I am on the outside it’s much easier for me to see an recognize. I do believe that one or both of them will wind up in jail over a domestic incident, maybe that will be the sobering up he needs. Bottom line is that he is afraid of being alone. Hey I have the same fear but it’s more of a reality for me. I don’t have high hopes of finding anyone but that doesn’t keep me from looking. Stay tuned for more on this drama filled saga.
Still no invite from my friends for Christmas. I figure I will get a last minute text inviting me at which point I will most likely respectfully decline. You have to communicate with me and tell me your plans so that I can make plans. Just because I am all alone, don’t assume that I won’t get an offer from someone else or make plans on my own. It’s called respect and common courtesy. I can’t believe this is the way I am being treated now. Something clearly has changed and no one has told me what that something is. Did I do or say something to deserve this or is there something else going on in their lives that I have yet to be informed of? Who knows.
I’m going to climb the steps, grab a soda and find something to watch on TV as I take it easy. I will be going on-call next week and it won’t end until the day after Christmas. Then I start up again on New Years Eve. Lots of work is coming my way with the end of year departures and promotions, then things should level out hopefully for a couple months.
Stay warm, dry and enjoy your weekend! Talk again soon.
My brother phoned this afternoon to tell me that his girlfriend had moved out. As a reminder she moved out to give him space and because their relationship is toxic. He hasn’t changed the locks on the door, she has come back and woken him up one time. He hasn’t blocked her phone number because he is afraid that will drive her over the edge. I told him that he need a giant mute button when it comes to her. He is going to change the locks tomorrow but I don’t know if he will ever block her from calling or texting. This is supposed to be a break as in temporary. She committed to a year lease on her apartment so hopefully it will be a year where they both can get their heads together and move on with their lives. I pray he doesn’t get back together with her and for sure I pray he doesn’t marry her.
One thing I that I told him holds true for everyone. You are responsible for your own actions or inactions and if you don’t take care of yourself, don’t expect anyone else to do it for you.
He’s scared and lonely right now plus he is mourning the loss of a relationship. Plus he has a near empty house and he has to furnish it now. I told him you can buy what you want, you don’t need to get someone’s approval. You can also eat what and when you want. There is good and bad to everything but look more at the positives than the negatives. I think and hope with sometime he will move on and perhaps find a new person for his life. I told him if he ever gets lonely to call me, we can go to the gay bar. He laughed at that. It’s funny to me that he laughs at some of the things I say.
I did my usual day. Woke up in the middle of the night. Marv had an accident and I had to clean it up. It was 3a and there was no going back to bed after that. I watched some TV and drank a sports drink. Eventually I was able to fall back to sleep. My mistake was I slept in the same bed with Gator. She don’t move at all. She stretches out and becomes concrete. You can nudge her all night long she will stay put. So I didn’t sleep real well but I got in a few more hours. Then up and off to grab breakfast. Hit up the grocery store, the car wash, the gas station and then finally my favorite stop of them all, home.
I had some plans for major cleaning this weekend but since my laziness kicked in that didn’t get done. I have taken time for myself and spent time with the kids, so it’s been an okay weekend but not the worst or the greatest.
My porn hard drive is down to one TB of space left. I want and need a new drive. I want to pull the trigger but since I don’t exactly know what the future has in store for me I feel like waiting is the right thing to do. Perhaps after payday this week I will feel more confident. It’s not major money it’s less than $200 but that can be a lot of money if you don’t have it.
Boss man is out on Monday so hopefully things will be calm. I have a lot of catchup work to do. HR is putting in end of year departures like a 2 year old eating from a pez dispenser. I may not have to process them all but I do have to gather background information on all of them and complete multiple spreadsheets because I am the only qualified to do it. Stupid has tried in the past and he fails miserably so I just do, that way I know it’s done and if there is a mistake I know where to look.
Thinking about it if Santa were real there would be a few things that I would ask him for. Top of the list would be a man, money, happiness, having stupid grow a brain and whatever else I can’t manage to think of now. Honestly I think that if I got a man the rest would just fall in place. With that in mind I joined a new dating app called Chappy. It’s just like Tindr but only for gay people. I don’t have any location issues like I do with Tindr. At work our network is out of 1 major city and then we have branches so I get guys that are constantly not in my area. I hate that, because when I find someone I like I take a look and they are a million miles away. I know that 2 apps increase my odds of meeting someone but I really hope I strike gold. I have high standards as I think a lot of people do.
So here’s to the week ahead. May it be warmer, fast moving, productive and quiet. I get to see my co-worker who has cancer tomorrow. I don’t know that he has a lot of options available for treatment but he went to find out on Friday. Thursday I told him a little bit more about me and came out to him without saying I am gay just that I lost my spouse and he at one time had colo/rectal cancer. This is a different ball game for him, he’s got it in his bones and in his lung. It’s Stage 4 and that is the worst it can be. He is struggling to make it from day to day and each day I see another small piece of him die, it’s very minor but I honestly think he won’t be around a lot longer. It’s really sad because he is a great guy and his mind is sharper than a razor. With age come experience and he has been through the mill in 65 years of life, which by the way is still young even though it sounds old.
So long for now. I’ll be back to tell you more about what unfolds this week. I hope there is way more good than bad. I hope you like the changes I made to the theme, not exactly what I wanted but it’s fresh.
The next season of The Ranch was released on Friday. I started watching at work. Came home watched some more. Woke up this morning and finished it off. Wow what a show. Never expected it to end the way it did but cliff hangers are what keeps people coming back for more. So now I am eagerly awaiting the next release.
I switched to a laptop at work. I spent a good portion of Friday afternoon moving into my new machine. I wanted a 3rd monitor and got it hooked up but there simply isn’t enough real estate on my desk and I feel crowded, plus the 3rd monitor has to sit too close to my face. So I uninstalled the 3rd monitor. I put in some over time in working on it but things aren’t the way I really want them, so Monday morning I will be doing some modifications. Still sticking with 2 monitors.
Speaking of work we let a help desk tech go this week because he kept calling in. I kind of understand he hated his job so rather than be there he called in. Anything and everything under the sun qualified for a day to miss work. I’ve been in his shoes before and lost a good opportunity because of it. One day he will look back on this just like I am and realize what a mistake he made. What I don’t understand is how it was so easy to get rid of him but yet I am stuck with stupid. Yes still. He has gone back to his old ways where he is missing things and I have to come clean up after him. There has been no further talk about my alleged promotion and while I realize were only on the 8th day of the month, you’d think that since each day brings us closer to 1-1 that someone would be reaching out to me. Work has gotten crazy busy for me, so the days are moving fast but not always fast enough. There have been a couple days where I haven’t been able to look at social media. I’m addicted to that, so if I can’t get at it while I am working when I am home I look at it. My furry family hates my cell phone. Oh yeah I almost forgot. I was called for AV help this week to setup a video conference. I got things going and who was on the other end but the hot stud I have a huge crush on in another office. He is 100% gay, not sure if he has a boyfriend. He’s way younger and he’s a blond. I was just awestruck to see him. I wanted to listen in on the meeting and tried but I couldn’t hear a damn thing so I gave up on that quickly. He did look super fine.
While I’m talking about the 1st of the year, my friends that normally invite me over for the holidays have yet to do so. I’m pretty sure they are putting on a shindig but since I got a weird vibration from them at Thanksgiving I am just keeping my distance. If you want me you know how and where to find me. I just hope they don’t wait until the 11th hour to extend an invite. I am over that and honestly would really rather just stay home for Christmas. I can buy something in a cardboard box to eat or get a meal to go from somewhere. It’s a depressing time of year for me and the sooner it’s over with the better off I will be. So I am waiting but I don’t expect anything.
I am surprised that I only got 1 reaction to my holiday letter. No one else has said a word about it. I even know someone who is moving and I asked them to reach out with their new address but have yet to hear from them.. I get that people have lives and no ones presently revolves around me but I think it’s just common courtesy to say that you received it. It’s reactions like these that prove my point, that I don’t matter. Honestly I have some time but I don’t think next year I will do another letter, it’s apparent that no one appreciates it and it was a lot of work, a lot of ink and a lot of time I spent away from my furry friends.
So I got a phone call this week, just before getting ready to get ready for bed on Tuesday. It was my brother of all people. Apparently things have gotten much worse with his relationship. Someone is very close to either getting seriously injured or killed. It’s highly toxic and then he lowered the bombshell on me. He was going to propose to her at Christmas. Instead he is paying her a decent amount of money to simply go away. He told her his plans but since things have gone sideways he isn’t going to follow through. Now she is devastated. He is in therapy which is a huge surprise to me. It sounds like it’s helping. She is boxing things up and supposed to be all gone by Sunday. I hope for his sake that she really does leave, they don’t need to be together. He wants them to take a breather and sort their own stuff out. He thinks maybe they can get together again in the future. Fuck, kick that bitch to the curb and be done. I do have to watch what I say and can’t express all of the emotions that I want to. I listened to him drone on about this and that, he was to the point where he is losing his voice from talking so much. Plus it sounds like he might be getting sick. Since I have no idea how things are going to turn out, I am on standby for the phone to ring. I hope if it does it’s just him telling me she is gone. Some of the stories he told me were just insane and they speak volumes as to why they shouldn’t be together. I told him that I see a pattern, each time he calls things keep building and get progressively worse. Now that she is boxing stuff up, she is crying to get him back. I told him don’t you dare take her back. It sounds like he has reached his breaking point and come to his senses, but I have thought this in the past. So I am waiting for an update.
Last night I was looking at what else SUV’s and found a new ride, it has everything my present ride does plus more. Chances are I could switch out and my payments would go down, maybe not by much but money is money. When I went to bed last night I was hell bent on getting up and going to buy it. However, when I woke up this morning I had a muscle cramp in my back – it hurt and I figured that was the universes way of saying, not now. Ah this new car fever I wish it would end. Two things that get me going vehicles and men. Maybe if I would find a man that would cure the new car fever, hey it’s a thought.
I got going late in the day. Grabbed the mail, a bite to eat and then hit up Target and the cat food store. There was a cute guy in line behind me who had a friend with him. I wanted to hit on him but once again passed up my chance. Part of it is fear of rejection and the other part of it is fear of being humiliated or assaulted.
Despite the fact that I got going late, Momma still things I am working past my bed time so she is all over me. Plus they haven’t had their treats so I guess I will be going upstairs.
A win for me this week, the eye doctor absorbed the balance on my account and I got an apology. I’m still not going back but hey a win is a win. I heard from the hospital about the ER visit that is up the air. My medical records have been sent to my insurance provider. I got a call from an executive at the hospital who took exception with the fact that I am blaming them for improperly submitting the claim. I explained to her what I was told by my insurance provider and she tried to argue with me. I told her the facts speak for themselves and she could deny it all she wanted but they fucked up and in a big way. I told her if I am on the hook for this then were going to have a serious problem on our hands. We parted ways agreeing to wait to see what the insurance company does and if there is a balance I am supposed to call her so we can talk about it. I’m keeping good records on my end and this should play out pretty quickly as the time limit is approaching. It will be a Merry Christmas for me if this whole thing just goes away. I’ve checked my dental insurance website and no claim has been submitted yet for my tooth. I am watching that like a hawk. Ah, money there is just never enough of it in my account to do the things I want to do and cover the expenses I have. Being poor sucks!
I hope life is treating you well. Talk with you all again soon.
I decided to call the Dentist and made an appointment to get my tooth fixed, just to error on the side of caution. Since selling the practice to a corporate conglomerate things just aren’t the same. I got a robot person when I called to make the appointment who tried to shuffle me off to another doctor. I declined that and they said the soonest my dentist could see me would be Thursday. I scheduled time off work and that was that. Fast forward to Thursday at 11:30 I get a call telling me that they only scheduled enough time for an evaluation and there wasn’t time for repair work to be done. So I could go twice or just come in one time but the appointment would need to be moved. I opted for 1 trip, it’s far better than 2 trips. The appointment was setup for Saturday. Not exactly how I wanted to spend my day but the work got done. Turns out if I would have left this decay would have set in and then things would have gotten much worse. As she was cleaning and drilling, we heard a snap and yet another piece of the tooth broke off. Holy hell I am just falling apart. I had to get numbed up for this and it took 2 shots because the first one was a little off and missed the full quadrant of my mouth. It was about an hour and a half for repair time. My dentist knows me well and so does her staff so that’s why they called ahead of time. I asked today about why Saturday, well turns out Big Brother watches them close during the week but no one is in on Saturday so they can jolly well do what they want. If this would have been a week day they would have scheduled an hour but then Big Brother would whittle that down to 30 minutes. That’s all they allow for a Dental Emergency, they are all about making money and if the dentist is tied up seeing an emergency they aren’t making money. Corporate logic it escapes me but it’s what has happened to the Medical field here in the US and now it’s spreading like cancer to the Dental field. Before this is all said and done I may be looking for a new dentist but for now I am staying put.
The best part of the visit was when it came time to settle up. In times past they would send you a bill but now they want their money up front. First glance the receptionist told me it was covered 100% and then she did some more digging and said nope it’s 90% covered. So they took a small amount of money. I just looked on-line and according to what I see there is no coverage in place for this and I am responsible for the full bill. That will take time to process but probably later this month or first of next month it will be a reality. I go back in January for a checkup and that’s when they will have their paws out for my money. Yet another unplanned expense.
It’s been a crazy week and I am glad it’s over with. However, being on-call it’s not over until Monday morning. My boss will be visiting stupid along with his boss. Not exactly sure what if anything is going to happen there. I find it odd that my boss is traveling because that isn’t something that happens. If your getting fired HR usually tells you and your manager doesn’t really have anything to do with informing you. I had an incident where stupid wrote me asking a question. I provided an answer and that confused him so he called me. I told him the same thing I put in the email and then he suddenly understood. We have these types of incidents all the time, it’s not getting better and try as he might, this is just not the job for him. Ah well I will work with it as long as I have to but it doesn’t mean I like it.
I got some feedback on my holiday letter from a long time family friend. It was put much smoother than I am saying it here. What I heard was we all have problems, your not alone or special, my year was similar to yours but I’m not going into details and then I got this quote from John Lennon. Lovely. I understand people don’t want to read doom and gloom all the time. I tried to put in some humor. I slaved over that letter with many printed copies hitting the shredder and much time spent away from the furry family. Momma was sick to death of me editing the damn thing. Frankly so was I so I got to the point where I thought it was perfect and pulled the trigger.
Last night I had some work that was scheduled so I got that done. Then opted to take care of this crazy ass eye doctor bill. I wrote a very frank and stern letter that said I think your fraudulently trying to get money out of me and you won’t or can’t provide an explanation of how this balance came about, you waited two months to tell me my account was past due when in fact based on interaction with your staff I was under the impression my account was settled. I thought about this long and hard but in the end I gave an ultimatum either forgive the bill and admit that this was your mistake or cough up the itemized bill. I sent it straight to the doctor not sure if it will end up there but I also used Certified Mail and there is a time limit imposed on the ultimatum. There is more than one eye doctor in the area. I have long thought they fuck people over but this gives merit to what was just an opinion before. The chances of me going back are slim, this has put a very bad taste in my mouth. I want to bring about a resolution so I can move on with my life.
There is still the matter of the Emergency Room visit hanging over my head and while I hope my insurance will pay based on my appeal, it’s possible I am going to get stuck with that and that will put a huge damper on things. I want that over with as well but if it’s going to mean I have to pay up, well then this can drag on forever as far as I am concerned. By law they have 60 days and then they have to render a decision so it shouldn’t be much longer.
I have often tried to conform of what I think society or others expect of me in the way of appearance. An example of this is getting my ears pierced it’s something that I have always wanted to do but never have done Today’s radical change was I had the sides and back of my head shaved off, it’s like a bare skin fade. It looks really cool and it’s something that I have always wanted to do. Now granted I picked the wrong time of year because it’s Winter like outside but today it was like summer in the 70’s. Tomorrow were back to 45 degree weather and I will be wearing a hat for sure. This is a great way for me to get sick again but as long as my hat is on, I should be fine. I don’t know if I will ever muster up enough courage for the ear piercing thing. I did manage to scare the shit out of myself. Before I left for my haircut, I turned on the TV to a tech show that I like to watch. The kids enjoy it as well. Well when I came back home I forgot all about that. It was quite and then just as I was half way in the room I hear a voice and jumped out of my skin until I realized what it was. Holy hell almost had a heart attack over that.
It’s been a long day and I am beyond tired, so I guess I will be headed to bed. My jaw is sore. I wonder if this is a side effect that one experiences if they suck cock for a living? I guess I will never know. In any event I am eager to see how I feel tomorrow morning. Even my ear hurts and I can only open my mouth so wide. Insert sucking cock reference again here. Sorry but I have to laugh and that’ my inappropriate sense of humor. Speaking of which I will be getting training on Sexual Harassment. I do hope it’s a how to course but think that it will be quite the opposite of that. That and Diversity & Inclusion are big pushes right now. I got an invite to join a D&I group as did everyone else that I work with. I would kind of like to go but at the same time I want to keep my personal life out of my professional life. My sexuality is my business. I only tell people that I trust, well that or if I am sleeping with you. So as I said I only tell people I trust. I wish I was sleeping with someone it would sure help me out. As the holidays approach so does the depression and being short on cash doesn’t help things. I am hopeful for a bonus as well as a nice raise come the 1st of the year but thus far I have heard nothing more about my supposed promotion.
So how’s life in your neck of the woods? What’s new? What’s old? How’s the weather? I do hope all is well. I shall talk with you all again soon.
Damn Christmas Cookies are going to be the death of me. I had a couple tonight after dinner, which was left over pizza. I felt something hard and tried to chew on it but when I looked at it in my hand I thought that looks like part of a tooth. Sure enough it was! My lower left tooth all the way in the back, the middle just broke off. There are two jagged edges. Right now I don’t feel any pain so as long as things continue in that manner I will just leave this alone and save it until January when I go back to see the dentist. I have the part of the tooth that broke, not sure that they can do anything with it but I like to leave my options open.
Stupid Eye Doctor sent me another bill now my account is 61-90 days past due. I am so scared, not! I think this probably crossed in the mail with my letter so I am not doing anything, just waiting it out. I asked for a detailed itemized bill. I mean I don’t have a problem with paying them but it would be like me sending them a bill saying hey you owe me $200. Why? Because I said so. Yeah that logic doesn’t work for me. I have to know exactly what I am paying for and why this price is different than what I was quoted back in September.
Almost got hit tonight by an over aggressive driver, he was a mess. I wound up calling him in for reckless driving. The cops asked if I thought they were drunk I said maybe but it more seems like they are in a hurry to get some place and they are going about it in the wrong manner. Then I got asked if I wanted to leave my name and number. Sure why not.
Holy hell it’s only Monday .. .make the merry go round stop, please make it stop. I hope the rest of the week is downhill from here. Outside of the aforementioned, it was actually a decent day and I got a lot accomplished. My boss took my cost savings to HR and I very may well get a bonus, hopefully it’s not a fucking Amazon Gift Card for $25 because I saved them close to $3 thousand dollars. I don’t mind helping out and calling out issues like this but I am there for the money and the more I can get the more I will take. No matter how much they give me, I promise you it will never, ever be enough. Just make it worth my time and effort, you’ll have an employee for life. It’s called taking care of your employees.
Well now that I have this out of my system I am going to try to find something to watch for a couple hours before it’s time to bring an end to this day. I hope your day went well.
I got a couple of alerts from one of our Firewalls at work, they were high temperature alarms which is of concern considering they sit inside an independently 24/7 365 airconditioned data center. It wasn’t but several minutes later a broadcast message came out that we had a power outage due to weather. Unless things come together overnight tomorrow will suck. We have bad weather forecasted for our area but it’s minor snow, so I suppose it will all fall into place good or bad as tomorrow unfolds.
In other news, I spent $25 on Christmas Cookies today. Shame my favorite cookie the Wedding Bell wasn’t in there. I am on the lookout for those. I got a nice tray filled full of sugar, chocolate and sprinkles galore. My doctor won’t be happy about it but since we only go around once, I want to at least eat what I enjoy. My grocery bill was way higher than normal because of this splurge but I do love a Christmas Cookie. Hopefully they are all gone in a couple weeks, I am in no rush.
I accomplished mostly everything I wanted to. I’m pushing off adding to my music collection so that I can go spend time with the cats. Marv needs some more Dad time and I am all too happy to give it to him. We had some time together earlier today on the couch but he got tired of that and fell on to the floor. Those back legs of his won’t allow him to jump anymore. He can walk but no jumping, very odd.
It’s been a medication holiday around here for Marv & Momma, but that ends tonight. Back to the pills.
I was pretty pleased when I filled my gas tank up this morning. When I got back in it said I could drive 399 miles. Prior to my mishap normal was 400 so I would say were just about back in good shape. That comes from variable speed driving and switching between traditional drive and into Sport mode. In Sport mode it feels more like I am driving a rocket, you just touch the gas and your doing 60 in 6 seconds from a dead stop. It does use a bit more fuel but if you get into a sticky situation that is the mode to be in for acceleration, something that I use on occasion and not typical of everyday driving.
Well back to sweater weather, coats, hats and gloves. Funny thing is Winter doesn’t officially start until 12/21. Speaking of Winter I ordered two men calendars last night from Amazon. They weren’t supposed to be here until Wednesday and now suddenly they are coming tomorrow. I only ordered because there was a special of spending $20 on books or calendars and getting $5 off so it was worth it. I can’t seem to find a true poster sized calendar of men like I managed to mistakenly order last year. I didn’t think I would like it but I rather enjoy it now and want another one for 2019 but it looks like I will have to either search for another type of calendar or just hang a normal type calendar, which is what I am probably going to do. Each year I order a Union Pacific Calendar. My late spouse enjoyed them and I kind of like the format plus trains are enjoyable so why not. I should have a Cisco Snort Calendar arriving at work which is what I plan to leave there, this year my UP calendar is there. I need to laugh a bit more at work and Snort will help with that. Go give it a google and hopefully you’ll find out what I’m talking about it’s a parody type calendar.
That’s all I know at the moment. Going up to be with the kids and pass the evening away until it’s time for bed. Not looking forward to next week but at least the Full Moon will have passed so that might actually work in my favor. This whole power outage thing just doesn’t give off a good omen about the week ahead. Here’s hoping it’s enjoyable for all of us. Saturday is December 1 – holy cow where did this year go! Be safe, stay warm and take care.
Well it’s that time of year again. I enjoyed my usual feast at Maggiano’s with my friends. The Cesar Salad wasn’t the same without the Romain Lettuce but I’d rather not get E.coli. That is nothing to play with. Saw my favorite waiter that I have a crush on. The stuffing wasn’t the same this year, not nearly as much sausage as in years past, it tasted almost like stove top. My friends this year were different. Normally we meet up at their house but this year like last year we met up at the restaurant. Last year their dog had a stroke and that’s why they didn’t want to meet up at their house. This year I have no idea why. Honestly I’m kind of ready to bring the tradition to an end. I’d just as soon go off and find something on my own, I guess this year it just lost it’s luster. I sense something is different with my friends but I have no idea what it is. Maybe it’s just me. They also usually pass out an invitation for Christmas Dinner at their house but I didn’t get that yet. I’m sure it will come to pass but time will only tell.
My other friend that is losing his job in January is now talking about moving to be closer to his sister. She’s got 2 houses and they are both paid for. Yes she is well off. I mean anyone that I have ever spoken with that owns 2 houses and one isn’t for sale has been well to do. I hope he doesn’t move because if it wasn’t for him, there wouldn’t be anyone to get together with.
I was all excited for the time off but honestly it’s just been an emotional mess for me to deal with. I miss my Ruth and her loss is oddly still fresh in my mind. I also miss the way things have been in years past when I had something to look forward to. Maybe this is me wallowing in self pity but I really don’t feel like there is anything to look forward to. If not for taking care of my cats there really wouldn’t be any reason for me to stick around here on earth. I am very thankful that I have them, even if they do cost me money and work, they are worthwhile investments or so I think.
The weather here warmed up into the 60’s so no coat required for Thanksgiving which was nice. I only got Turkey & Dressing to take home. The selfish bastards that paid the bill kept the bulk of the food for themselves. Not sure why but whatever. It’s not like a lonely single guy who eats out of cardboard boxes would appreciate it. I stayed home for Black Friday. It was nice to just eat a little bit of snack crackers, consume soda and watch TV. Then when I got tired I would go back to bed. Then wake up and do it all over again.
My porn collection is growing and I’m running out of hard drive space. So I was in the process of compressing the drive I use. Thankfully it finished so I had something to mess with last night. I tried to zip up some of the files to reclaim space but that is kind of a lost cause. I honestly need a larger hard drive. Problem is I have no money for that right now. There is a really nice deal on Amazon for an 8TB drive for like $120, that would last a very long time for me. However, I said the same thing when I moved in to the current 4TB drive that I am using. For now I am just going to be more particular on what I keep. If I had a nice source for archiving I could just retire the files but that isn’t an option.
I had sent off for my medical records from the ER visit I had back in September. My insurance company needs them in order to reconsider the claims. Well I learned the hospital won’t fax them, so I had to complete new paperwork to have them mailed. While I was at it, I voiced my frustrations for this whole ball of wax to the president of the hospital in a letter. Maybe just maybe this will be what sparks change and gets this whole thing resolved. I just know that I don’t want to be responsible for this very large bill that I surely can’t afford.
I got a collection call from my eye doctor, before they got my letter in the mail. I want to know where this mystery $33 balance came from before I surrender any money. I am kind of ticked at them for sending me a bill months after the fact. I am also tired of surprise bills between them and the hospital it’s enough to lose your mind.
Not to mention I still have my excess pto balance that work is going to deal with. My guess is they will take it out of my last check but maybe I will get lucky and they will just take it out of my balance for next year. I get 5 weeks as of Jan 1. Since were entering the month of December I should also be hearing more about this promotion that is supposed to come to pass. I sure hope I get a decent amount of money because right now I am sinking like a rock. Paying bills later on next week will be a challenge and looks like I will be dipping into my savings, not what I want to do but in the long run it will be a smart move. If I would take advantage of skipping my car payment that wouldn’t be necessary but if I skip my car payment even though the credit union will allow it for a fee, it could screw up my GAP coverage if I were to need it.
I did finally finish obsessing over my holiday letter and mailed it on my way to Thanksgiving dinner. So some people should have it by now and others well it will take a bit to make it’s way but know that it’s on the way. Of course sitting at dinner I thought of all of the things I should have said but didn’t. For 2019 I am going to try to keep a highlight record of what happened in each month. That will make writing next years letter much easier. I was able to put in a personal note to everyone, which was enjoyable.
Today our warm weather continued! I went out for Mexican food and a short drive. It was really nice to get away. Glad I am back home and hard to believe tomorrow is Sunday but at least I will go back to my routines, however exhausting and depressing they are. I will also be on-call for a week on Monday. Then just 2 more times this year and were done. I started making the schedule for next year but last year I volunteered myself, this year my boss is either going to ask me or it’s all going to fall apart. I am starting to keep my mouth shut and just let things play out either for good or for bad. Sometimes that is the best thing to do.
So now my big debate is to go clean the carpets or save that for another day. Not sure what I want to do there. I would like to relax a bit more but I keep thinking how nice things would look if I just threw in some effort. Problem is I honestly don’t care. It shows in how the house is and how the yard is as well. As long as this place doesn’t fall in on top of me or it’s not a major emergency it’s probably not going to get done. I started with enthusiasm but time and depression have gotten the best of me.
With it being a holiday weekend there isn’t terribly much on TV. I have exhausted my backlog archive of The Big Bang Theory but there is more that is set to record tomorrow. Meanwhile I have to result to Live TV or NetFlix/Amazon. I’m kind of picky when it comes to my viewing pleasure. I have seen a couple of good movies though.
I suppose that’s enough jabbering for this post. I’m going to stick a fork into it and call it done. I hope that your doing well. As per usual, we shall talk again soon!
As per usual, it’s been a roller coaster week, thankfully it’s over and next week should be a cake walk or so I am hoping.
Wednesday night I came home to a house that was 65 degrees cold. The cats were not happy but they were also hungry. I got them fed and noticed that Momma was missing. That was of concern but I wanted to see what I could do about heat first. So turns out the batteries went out on the thermostat. I replaced them but that didn’t fix the problem. I found momma meowing in my room. She was inside of the stereo cabinet just staring at me as if to say I’m sorry, please let me out. I opened the door and she ran for the food. Then I discovered that she left me a couple of presents so I was already unhappy, this didn’t help matters. I had to call someone out, after hours and paid a couple hundred dollars to have my igniter and a capacitor replaced. I think I did pretty well cost wise considering that it was an after hours repair. Heats been working fine ever since. I got a holiday bonus from work that helped to cover this but it wasn’t the way I wanted to spend the money.
We had our first Winter Storm on Thursday. The media plays a lot of hype into it and does a good job of scaring the bejesus out of most people so they stay home because they are paralyzed by fear. Well that just played in my favor there was about 4 inches of snow on the ground. There was next to no one on the road. Normal commute time is 1 hour and I made it in 45 minutes. I drove slower than normal but still I was way early. There is always plenty of cushion in my commute to account for traffic delays.
Work has been busy, a few new hires this week and of course they all start on Monday. There was little notice but I work them as I get them. Best news is that boss man will be out of the office all next week. I am so thankful for that because he was really getting on my nerves. Every email I sent he had to chime in with a retort, I know that they weren’t directed at me. As you well know if you have been reading this for any length of time there is a bad apple on my team. Rather than focus on him and address all of his problems individually, the team has to suffer and we all get talked to at an elementary school level. It gets very old very quick. I have no patience or tolerance for stupid. You also can’t fix stupid, it’s forever. However, in the business world you have to build a case to get rid of someone. I have no idea how they are addressing him, but whatever they are doing it’s not working and they are moving way too slow for me.
I got the whole issue with Ruth’s funeral (cremation) worked out. It was just a misunderstanding. Turns out the secretary and the 3rd party Funeral Home made a mistake and sent me a bill but my account was paid in full. There were several apologies afforded to me, to which I said it’s okay were all only human. As long as the account is paid that is all I care about.
Yesterday I got a surprise in the mail from my Eye Doctor. They seem to think that I owe them $33 and it’s past due by 31 to 60 days. This is the first bill I have gotten. I checked my Vision Insurance EOB’s and they have been paid. Turns out the lady who quoted me the price for the replacement pair of glasses made a mistake to the tune of $99 but they are only billing me for $33, which I can’t figure out why. So I did the next logical thing and wrote them a letter. I explained what happened, what I have paid and that I feel the bill should disappear. If I truly owe them I am happy to pay but they need to show me an itemized bill that breaks this all down.
I got another ER EOB this morning from the Insurance Company. Turns out the hospital is billing twice for the same service, but they are charging different amounts. That to me constitutes fraud, so I blew the whistle on that this morning both by voice mail and in a letter. I’m hopeful that my Health Insurance Company will resolve this so that I don’t owe a dime.
For some strange reason I feel like everyone is out to get what little money I have. Medical Care in the US is expensive even if you do have Health Insurance. I opted to drop the expanded coverage for Vision Coverage through my employer. My late spouses plan covers routine exams 100%, the benefits for frames and lens are not the best but I plan on sticking with the pair of glasses that I have. It should last at least a couple years. The vendor for Vision is changing and it’s something that is accepted by a few places in the area, so why wouldn’t I use it. My employer still gives me basic coverage for an annual exam but it costs me $15, you can’t beat free.
I have been slaving over my annual holiday letter for weeks now. I even made more last minute changes today. I can get lost in editing for hours. Don’t worry it’s only a 4 page letter but the print is small so I got to cram a lot of things in there. Today I got the envelopes printed and the letter finalized and printed as well. Turns out my printer needed some ink and I had it on hand. I went to get replacement ink to keep on hand and if I get what I want (larger capacity cartridges) it costs as much as a new printer. I don’t want a new printer I want replacement ink. I opted to just get the basic cartridges and that cost me $68. Ink and printers, it’s a racket. They practically give you the printer but they make all the revenue on the ink. Knock off ink was only two or three dollars cheaper and not worth the risk. I bought this back in July and it’s November. I don’t do a lot of printing and was using the cartridges that came with the printer, they are always only 1/2 full so I think I got my monies worth. It’s not like my vehicle where I fill up on Sunday and by Wednesday I am at 1/2 or less than half full. Don’t get gas by Thursday and I won’t make it home.
Last night I hit up Cracker Barrel for supper. They had Fried Turkey and I wanted to try it. Horribly salty and the Green Been Casserole they served with it was the same way. So that was my main reason for going. Since I was there I wanted to get a Chocolate Pecan Pie to go. That was a mess. My waitress was like Houdini and swapped out my check without me even knowing. She was going to fetch the pie but couldn’t find any. They were still looking and after 20 minutes I just gave up. I went to pay my bill and thought it was oddly high, it wasn’t until I got my receipt that I realized I was charged for the pie. I explained that I didn’t get the pie. They of course asked several people to bring a pie upfront but no one listened, so after another 15 minutes I gave up and asked for my money back. What a nightmare. I didn’t need the pie but would have liked to enjoy it. I did notice there was a very young but cute and very thin bus boy who was wearing a pride bracelet. He wasn’t my type but hey his body would have done, considering the age range I didn’t say anything. I like younger guys but they have to be legal.
I stopped in the pet food store to get a few cans of food for the menagerie. There was a very handsome young man behind me in line who had this large dog cage. I wanted to say I’ll jump in the cage if I can call you daddy but I figured that was a horrible pickup line. I don’t get readings to tell me if someone is straight or gay, unless it’s just obvious. I had no information to go off of, so I kept my mouth shut but I ignored my inner voice that said you should tell him he’s cute.
Next stop was to a new car wash in town. I saw them wash a police car and that damn thing shined like a new penny. It was very impressive. I went all out and got the best wash for $20. A smart ass hot guy waited on me and took my money. It was an okay experience but I noticed as the car was going through the wash that it smelled like someone defecated, it was very unpleasant. I got home and when I got out of my vehicle the odor was stronger. Apparently they use shit scented chemicals. The car shines but it smells bad. I provided feedback on-line, not sure what will happen but I can say I tried that wash. There are cheaper washes in town where your car comes out smelling better. It won’t be as clean but at least you won’t gag while your driving.
This morning was grocery store time. My stomach felt a little off kilter but I just brushed that aside and went about my business. It wasn’t until I was close to the end of my shopping trip that things erupted. I now know not to get the Fried Turkey again. I was mad and embarrassed at the same time. I got as cleaned up as I could and then went through the checkout line. The upside of this is the inside of the car still smelled like it did last night so I couldn’t tell if it was me or if it was the chemicals from the car wash. I came home and jumped in the shower. Then back out to the car to unload groceries and check on it. Turns out it was the chemicals. I put in the last Vanilla Christmas Tree Air freshener that I had. They make me sneeze but it’s sneeze or gag. I can at least remove it if it gets too over powering. I’m hopeful in a couple days things will settle down.
So this will be a short 3 day week. Were celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday and then there is black Friday where people lose their minds just like Boxing Day in Canada. I will be going out with my friends to Maggianos. Both have confirmed. It will be nice to see everyone and then to be able to get up from the table and go home. I will sleep in a bit on Thursday and probably a lot on Friday. No way in the world will I leave the house on Friday because all of the crazy people will be out and traffic will be horrible. It will settle down a bit by the weekend but it will be nuts for the next few weeks primarily on the weekends.
The only things left for me to do now are shave and prepare for Monday. Got to make my sandwich. I’ve got this affection for Rye Bread. Pastrami on Rye, Miracle Whip and Colby Jack Cheese. It’s just delicious to me. Good thing I have extra bread and meat to make lunch on Friday and Saturday.
My holiday letter will be mailed on Thursday on my way to meet up with my friends. It’s a tradition that I keep up. There are only a select few people I send them to and honestly I think maybe only 4 people take time to actually read it. I like sending a letter rather than Christmas/Holiday Cards. It’s cheaper and easier. Although I did find that I reflected a lot on the negative and not so much on the positive. I typically try to get an even balance and keep it up beat. Hence the editing and all of the draft copies I printed.
Well upstairs to the children to enjoy some TV and some Egg Nog Flavored Ice Cream. I am looking forward to that. Not like I need it but I am sure it will be delicious. I haven’t had a nap so a little sugar buzz and then I will sleep like a baby tonight or so I hope. Now if I can just get Momma to stop crapping in my bed and Gator to stop puking in my bed it will be a great night. The city loves me because I do so much laundry!
I hope that you have a great week and that your well and staying warm. We will catch up again soon. Until then be well and take good care of yourself! I will try to do the same.
I am so glad this week is over with. The week ended on an up note for me. I found a significant cost savings for my company and that we have been overcharged for years. I brought this to my bosses attention and asked for his consideration of a bonus for my efforts. I mean I’m already at no so it can’t hurt. I have also been two twice this week that my promotion is officially on track to happen January 1. As we get closer I will get more details.
I woke up early on Saturday as if it were a week day. My body is just programmed that way and it doesn’t seem to know the weekend are days that I can sleep in. So I got up, fed the cats. Watched a movie about the Patent System in America on Amazon Prime and that lulled me back to sleep. When I woke up a couple hours later I had a soda, some Belvita Biscuits, a banana and a bag of bite size brownies. Then got my meds, got dressed, futzed with my hair and went to get my hairs cut. I waited a week longer and was liking the longer hair but my patients to deal with it runs out quickly. Then I learned that haircuts went up in price and wasn’t terribly happy about that but I had to pay. Afterwards it was off to Target (finally) to get cat liter and a couple other things. Then to the post office and finally back home.
I took it easy for a couple hours even went back to sleep around 3p for a nice little nap. Then Gator sensed I was awake and the fight was on to wake up. She has all of the patients in the world to beg, it’s just part of her makeup. So I gave in and passed out some food. Then I walked out to fetch some food for myself and to grab some cat food. That’s when I saw a dog for adoption at the pet food store. All of the other dogs were barking, he (I presume) made eye contact with me and I waved to him and said hello. He seemed happy that someone acknowledged him but he never really perked up. I think inside he thought maybe since I kept looking at him that he would be going home with me. I couldn’t take it and went to stop and stare at him some more. I kept saying I want to help but inside I kept hearing a voice that said, don’t do it. I knew it would be unfair to the kids and it would likely have an adverse outcome so reluctantly I turned away and waved bye. You probably thought by reading the subject line that I got a dog but that is not the case. I do feel sorry for the poor thing but I can’t rescue them all, no room, no money and certainly not enough for me to take care of.
We have had our first snowfall, it was nice in that it didn’t amount to anything. We had more snow on Friday on the commute home. It was pretty to drive in and to see it falling but it caused some accidents and delays but I got home safe. Now if we could just get the motherload of a foot or two to dump on us I’d be happy but only if it was on a weekday. Maybe I will get my wish and maybe if I get my wish I will wish that I wished for something else. It sure is cold outside and were not even officially in Winter yet. But since the days of short sleeves are growing less and less I am reluctantly switching to long sleeves. The Winter itch has already started on my hands and back, it’s just dry skin but damn it itches like crazy.
So that is about as exciting as it gets here. Normal average week and weekend thus far. I like no drama, no trouble. It’s fun to watch on TV or in the Movies but in real life it’s something that I could take a pass on.
Not sure if you saw Justin Timberlake on with Jimmy Fallon, it was a week or two ago. I DVR’d and just watched last night. It was pretty good, I didn’t laugh outwardly but I was entertained. Justin was on vocal rest so he couldn’t talk. Jimmy at one point irritated him and he called him a Motherfucker, not saying it out loud of course but he mouthed the words and that was just funny.
Okay back to hum drum life and laundry. Stay warm and be well. Talk with you all again soon.
It occurred to me that I forgot to post over the weekend. I got caught up in life and it simply fell by the wayside. Things are moving along okay, sorry if I scared or alarmed you.
A friend of mine called me on Sunday to let me know that he got an email to report to the office on Monday for an organizational change meeting. It was very vague and he asked my opinion. I told him I think your getting fired. Turns out I was right, his employer gave him plenty of advance notice it doesn’t take effect until late January. He is just beside himself, life has been one thing after another he lost his wife. He was thinking of moving but I am so glad that he decided to stay, otherwise this news would have had a worse impact on him financially.
Speaking of jobs, we have had a little blood letting where I work. The hatchet lady is in our office today and I’m just waiting to see if anything happens here or if this was just a social call. I suspect they aren’t done. We just completed a big merger and while it usually doesn’t happen this fast, people do tend to lose their jobs as a result, which is tragic. It’s bad enough for me to hear about it because I process those types of events but when it’s someone you know and work with it’s much worse.. Fingers crossed that they are done.
As for me, I am told that my promotion is on track for Jan 1. Time will tell. I should be hearing more on this as we get closer. I am also making an effort to work as much overtime as I can now, might as well get the last drop while I can.
Ye old vehicle is doing okay, gas mileage seems to be a little worse since the new tires were put on. I’m giving it a bit of time to adjust and hopefully it will bounce back. A long trip would help things but there isn’t any money for that.
I’m still waiting to hear how things are going for the hospital bill that I might be on the hook for. I hope that is a non-issue and is covered like it should be. Life is just one big waiting game, which I dislike very much.
I was browsing on social media last week and learned that a former co-worker passed away. He was a young guy but he put his body through hell with drinking. I have no idea what else he did. It was just a complete shock and there are no services. I would have went if there were services but his family is likely strapped for cash, he was a paycheck to paycheck person, like most of us are. Just sad that he passed.
I opted to get the mail last night, which is not my norm. I was greeted with a bill for Ruth’s cremation. I was not happy at all and that was the focus of my evening. I wrote a letter to the funeral home I used and expressed my confusion asking them to provide some clarity. I wrote the funeral home that sent me the bill (a 3rd party) and explained the situation to them. I didn’t come out and say it but if they don’t get their money I will pay up. All I have is a verbal promise, no witnesses and that would prove difficult to enforce. I gave the appearance that I was willing to litigate but it’s much easier and cost effective to part with my money and file a complaint with a regulatory agency. It is a losing battle. I’m hoping that the guy who made the promise comes through but once again it’s a waiting game.
The children (cats) are all doing okay. Momma has her bursts of energy but otherwise appears normal. She is so thin and I am trying to fatten her up but it’s not working. I suspect her thyroid is at play here.
Hey elections are over with. I am so happy for that. Now the junk mail, phone calls and political ads will all stop if only for a short period of time. I can’t say that I am happy with all local results, but I did vote and at the end of the day that is what matters. I hope that things improve in the US overall, but again it’s about waiting. See the theme for this post?
Well I am at work so I guess I should shift gears, even though I am all caught up. I am sure that will only last for a short time, which has been the case all this week. I like lulls but it does make for a long day.
I hope your all warm, safe and well. Talk with you again soon. Take care!
We had trick or treat at work yesterday afternoon for employees kids. Someone told me about a particular costume, I thought it was an adult dressed up so I went up behind the costume knowing full well the person couldn’t see behind them and reached out and gave a big old hug. I was mortified to find a child inside. The look on the poor kids face, I was so embarrassed I got back inside my cube as fast as I could. I made an assumption which has been known to get me into trouble. I’m sure the kid told his dad and his dad will likely have something to say or maybe not. I honestly don’t care. I told one of my co-workers and he laughed his ass off at me and then told me who the kids father was. It’s one of the new people … fudge!
Today is a mildly difficult day, if he were alive today would have been my late spouses Birthday. Monday would be my Mom’s Birthday. Kind of a double dinger there. I used to look forward to these dates but that is no longer the case. In a week my brother will be celebrating his birthday. I kind of feel bad but I am so broke the only gift I can give him is to send him back the same gift card he sent to me. I’m pretty sure he will notice but hey at least it’s not going to waste, right?
I really slept in this morning, woke up had some sugar for breakfast and then a couple hours later passed out. I got going around 2p. I needed to go to Target but considering my funds are limited I skipped that. I did however indulge myself with some White Castle. Now that I am burping them up several hours later I’m thinking why the hell did I go to White Castle. It was a change of pace. They had a robot soda machine. You touch the screen to tell it what you want then hold the button with your cup underneath and it fills it with refrigerated soda. I never did figure out how to get ice out of the damn thing. Leaving the place I had a close call. Another vehicle was backing up and I didn’t see it, they saw me and stopped mid-way. I’ve got cross traffic alert but no alarms went off. I got out of there as quick as I could all the while averting what would have been a disaster.
On the way back home I grabbed the mail and cat food. I spent $43 on cat food, treats and liter. It’s barley enough to hold them for a week. The litter is marked up at the pet food store but Target sells it on the cheap. I wasn’t terribly happy about that but it’s on a credit card and I won’t see that bill until next month.
It’s been a nice relaxing day that has been a little dull and boring but I kind of need that right now, life has been way too full of chaos for me. Dull and Boring sounds appealing outside of the boring part.
I did draft a holiday letter, thinking back through the major and minor events of the year. It will be going out next month, I usually mail on Thanksgiving Day as if I were mailing Christmas Cards. It’s been a long standing tradition of mine. I feel a letter is more personal and it certainly costs less, unless of course your mailing internationally and then postage is kind of up there in price. I used to have a long list and over the years that has whittled down. It used to be that if you didn’t send me anything in return I would cross your name off the list. Now I just send to those that I care about and call it a day. Most people don’t realize how much they mean to me or so I think, but as I have seen all too often in the blink of an eye life can change or end. I like for people to know that I care, even if they don’t feel the need to respond.
Tomorrow will be more laundry and house cleaning. I will also be going back to my same grocery store that got bought out. I haven’t been in there since the purchase so I don’t exactly know what fresh hell awaits but I am sure that I will find out soon enough. I really hope they didn’t change the layout of the store terribly much. Just in case I have my list made and realized the store I went to last week I forgot water for the kids, so I added that. Luckily I had a spare to get me through the week. They are thirsty and Marv with his Steroids just amps up his thirst.
Catching up on some of my backlog of TV and enjoying time away from work. My next payday will be on Halloween. Sounds like my so called promotion won’t happen until the start of the new year, which is what I thought when I was told. However, we do make exceptions and promote some people prior to that. I was originally told it would be 3 months, which was nothing short of a lie but hey who’s keeping score? As long as it comes through and the money is right I will be happy. I have a feeling it will come through but the money may be a little off. All I can do is wait and see, which of course is not easy but I’ve lasted 3 months what’s 2 more? Funny thing is I process all of the title changes so I will probably be doing my own, kind of funny and ironic.
The next big event in terms of work will be end of year departures. Each year I am surprised at the number of people that were either asked to leave or who are retiring. I also took on-call for New Years Eve, I mean I will be working on departures so why not it just makes sense. Plus if this promotion comes through it will be my very last opportunity to charge for overtime, so I will be sure to mop up and claim as much as I can. I haven’t yet drawn up the on-call calendar for next year but I will be working on that soon enough, it’s a bit of a nightmare because you make the schedule and then others come along and tell you they can’t work this week or that week, so you have to shift. It would be far worse if my team was larger but I only have to schedule for 3 people total and make sure that everyone gets an even number of holidays.
There is one even that I just thought of that will be slightly hellish and large, were going to phish people. We just did this whole security awareness thing all month long and next month were going to see who paid attention and who didn’t. It will cause some peoples blood pressure to rise, an increase of calls to our help desk and an overall increase workload for me and my team. I am of course the driver but I get my marching orders from my boss. I really don’t want to do this. We did it earlier in the year and it was pure hell for 4 weeks. However it will bring us closer to Turkey Day and well that’s a good thing in my book. Come on Sausage Stuffing!
I hope that you all are having a great weekend and life is treating you well. Ms. Momma seems to be doing okay but I have my watchful eye on her. Now to climb the steps and call it a night. There all waiting for me. Talk with you all again soon.
I got a call yesterday that my baby would be ready today. Then this afternoon I got a call from the Insurance company who told me they found even more damage. I took out the tie rods, they found that when they tried to align the wheels. However, approval was swift and the parts arrived in about an hour. I took off from work but came home to wait for a phone call that it’s ready. I got that call at 4p but I was told that the dealership is fighting with the insurance company on payment, they said that I could come pick it up, no sense in making me wait any longer. I like that. I got a special rate on my oil change and then paid the big bill of the deductible. They didn’t have the vehicle as tidy as I would have liked but they did a nice job on the repairs. You can’t tell there was a problem. Now that my gas tank is full, tomorrow I will be going from home straight to work. Hard to believe all of this mess started one week ago tomorrow.
Last night I came home to find that momma wasn’t interested in supper. She had barfed a couple times and was running around like a crazy woman. She was squatting and passing small droplets of blood, exactly what we went through 2 weeks ago. I made a vet appointment for last night at 9:30p but when we got there they were slammed and couldn’t tell me how long it would be. I waited for a moment but then rescheduled for tonight. Neither of the vets that I wanted to see were working so I was booked with a stranger. Tonight when we showed up the vet that took care of Ruth saw that my name was on the list so she stuck around specifically to see me. It sounds like this is just stress related, that’s how were treating it now. It’s a wait and see because today momma is back to a more normal state. If this continues, long term they will need a urine sample and/or blood work to find out more of what is going on. However, based on the exam results and her age, plus my recent car issue, we think she has picked up that I am just a bit stressed myself and she is reacting to that. So I got charged for an exam and was told to keep giving her the pain med for a couple more days. I don’t want her to be loopy but at the same time I don’t want her in pain. I surprised her when I came home early today, the look on her face was like Daddy your home early, where’s the beef?
So I believe this brings an end to the bad ju ju that has plagued me. Were headed for higher ground and only goodness will follow. I hope that life deals me a much better hand.
Best part of today is I missed out on our annual fire drill, which makes me happy. Tomorrow is Friday. We have a few people leaving and it’s going to be a little rough for me but it’s part of the job. I think I might have mentioned that our fiber circuit got cut so we were on our backup circuit at work and things were horrifically slow. Today things were back to normal after 2 days of hell. I am slowly digging out, leaving early didn’t help me but hey there will always be a tomorrow. I got more work pushed off on me and I am not happy about it but people come to me because they know I will come through for them, that is what happens when your good. If it’s true it’s not bragging but it kind of still feels like it.
The next best thing that can happen to me is me getting rid of my damn cough. I can’t wait for next month when all of the political ads will stop. There is a guy running for Senate in a neighboring state and he’s so fucking cute but I don’t like his beliefs and he’s straight. Each time I see him on TV, I can’t help but think about having sex with him.
Okay now to get the trash ready and put out, then to have some ice cream and watch TV. This night is done and I am so ready to get tomorrow over with so I can have the weekend to do what I want and that mostly is relax and sleep. Can I get an Amen?
Have a nice weekend and be safe.