Another day

Yesterday was fairly quiet until the early afternoon when the boss called.  He had some good news and then a request.  Got to love what I refer to as the sandwich effect.  I thought he was calling to tell me that I was getting a bonus but instead it was that an idea I had to help streamline work and make my job easier got approved.  Go me.  Then the request was to provide a sample of the project reporting I was working on to his boss.  I did that and hope that I don’t hear anything back, I am holding my breath (figuratively).  This the project that I have poured so much time into and it’s not exactly easy to get results.  I’ll be glad when this month is over so that I can submit this and hopefully be done with it and then we can stop tracking people, I am not fond of that part of my job. 

As I suspected we got an email yesterday that outlined a weeks worth of activities to celebrate Administrative Professionals Week.  It’s a week where I work but the rest of the world only gives it one day.  We get breakfast today but I am not there and have food here.  Even if I was there I wouldn’t eat their food because I have my own.  You have no idea what your getting in advance and I’d much rather be in control of what I eat than take a gamble.  In any event Wednesday is when we get our trinket or gift.  That’s my sole purpose in going in tomorrow.  I am interested to see what we get and if it’s something to ooh and ahh about or if it’s just going to be a dud.  There are other activities for the remainder of the week but I’m not interested in them.  Just give me my gift and let me go on my way. 

Had a nice time with the cats yesterday afternoon and evening.  Both of them were stuck to me like glue but they shared me instead of trying to hog me all at once.  Passed out food and treats.  Watched TV, surfed social media and watched the neighbors out the window that walked by.  There are a couple of cute guys that pass by but they are quick so there isn’t much to stare at. 

Sleeping went okay but I did wake up in the middle of the night.  I never did get out of bed just tossed a bit and wound up going back to sleep.  Woke up a couple hours early and did the same thing.  Rudy was with me for a little bit of it but I was mostly left on my own. 

When I woke up for good Mora was at my feet but Rudy was in the hallway.  He gobbled up breakfast and left very little for his sister.  It was duck and that is a favorite here.  After I was done with breakfast and getting my pills, Mora got some cuddle and play time with me.  Then I threw on my clothes and here I am in front of the computer. 

Of course my morning tasks are done and I am killing time again.  Waiting for a meeting I have four of them today.  Big yuk.  Hopefully, they will move quickly and we won’t get off in the weeds talking about the weather, some ones children or some other topic other than what we are meeting about.  I am not a fan of chit-chat when it comes to meetings.  Have an agenda, stick to it and move the meeting to its end.  Rarely does it go like that. 

I’ve got the eye candy post for tomorrow scheduled.  It’s always fun looking at shirtless guys and choosing photos.  That’s a task that I wish I had as a job that paid money.  I don’t think it would ever get old but I am sure I’m wrong about that.  Having a job that is more like a hobby than a job is a dream not sure that will ever happen.  However, the gig that I have that actually pays the bills isn’t all bad but there are those days.  Some of which are forthcoming and I dread but it is what it is. 

Hope it’s a great day for you.  Be careful out there!

Cuts like a knife

Morning.  I know the title is a decent song by Bryan Adams however I’m talking about cat claws.  Last night Rudy was so intent on staying close to me.  I was sitting in my chair after a shower watching TV and waiting for my knock out pills to kick in.  Rudy was sleeping away, I had to wake him to get up.  He climbed down and waited for me to return.  When I came back he jumped back up in the chair and went back to sleep.  I had to get up multiple times and hated waking him.  After about the umpteenth time he was in a trance on the floor, I touched him to pick him up and it was kind of startling.  I set him in my lap and his back claws landed right on my nuts.  He sliced me open a little bit.  Like I told him no good deed seems to go unpunished for me.  I didn’t blame him or even yell.  I knew I was cut just waited for the blood to start to surface, once it did time for some alcohol wipes and some antibiotic ointment.  That was the final thing that went wrong for me yesterday. 

I did get my dinner at the Mexican place.  It wasn’t as good as last week, they held back on the seasoning which is what makes the meal.  Still I enjoyed it and service was slightly better.  The place was quiet as it was me and one other customer which was a family that had kids and they were all screamers.  Yeah not exactly the best experience for me and my ears but I made it. 

Glad the I elected to make the bed before I left the house and take care of some other chores.  That way all I had to do was come home, feed the cats, get comfy and watch TV.  It was nice.  I surfed social media and watched a couple YouTube videos then back to New Amsterdam.  Got up showered and came back to watch more of the show, took my pills and was all set to pass out. 

It was a little after midnight before I started to feel the effects of the drugs taking a hold.  I climbed into bed.  Mora gave me a magic hug and it wasn’t long before it was lights out and into the night I went. 

Had a horrible dream that I went back to work at a place that I left, got a crummy job.  Figured out how to rob the soda machine, had crappy hours and got a job where I was cleaning up dust which I am highly allergic to.  I managed to wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.  Went back to bed and damn if the dream didn’t pickup where it left off.  Finally my alarm clock went off.  Apparently Rudy wanted to sleep on the job as well.  He was on top of me but there were no biscuits that I was aware of.  He probably tried but I was unresponsive.  I felt hung over as I made my way out of bed and to the bathroom and kitchen. 

Even heading down to start the day I felt horrible like I just wanted to go back to bed.  I had the idea last night before I went to sleep to call in today but here I am.  My tasks complete thus far who knows what else may crop up. 

I enjoyed staring at the cats last night just watching them sleep.  Mora was all sprawled out on my bed with that permanent smile of hers that seems to be tattooed on her face, just like her brother.  The both smile when they sleep.  They look so angelic and I just thought about how lucky I was to have them, how much joy they bring me and how they saved my life as much as I saved theirs.  It was a peaceful thought that had no interruptions and it’s moments like that I wish came more often.  I love them so much, despite the trouble they cause from time to time.  I still want to know what happened to the ping pong ball but cats got Mora’s tongue and she ain’t talkin. 

Here’s hoping Monday is a calm day that might permit a short nap.  I’ve got enough sugar in my system that I know is going to wear off sooner or later. 

Hope all is well in your world.  Take care. 

One of those days

Today has been “one of those days”.  I got up early and was able to snuggle with Rudy.  That was the best part of the day.  From there it’s been down hill. 

Instead of going where I wanted to for breakfast I opted to go eat Blueberry Pancakes they just sounded more delicious than a burger with an egg.  Just my luck someone mixed in onions with the Blueberry’s so that made the pancakes taste strange.  I thought I was losing my mind until I managed to sense and fish out an onion.  I called the waitress over and told her, she told the cook.  I finished up my meal and left.  The onions were scattered in stages so one bite would taste normal, two bites normal and then onion.  How in the world do you mistake an onion for a Blueberry?  They don’t even look the same.

Next it was to the car wash.  I stopped where I wanted to but the credit card reader had issues and wouldn’t permit my card to be read so I had to leave and hit up the more expensive place.  It’s okay because they always have hot guys working.  Their credit card reader didn’t want to work for me.  I called for help and the guy that came to help me did the same thing I had done two times already and it worked for him.  Then I had issues with getting my brake hold to release.  It’s a feature I can toggle on and off.  Kind of handy if your in stop and go traffic or if your in a drive thru.  You toggle it on and when you press the brakes it holds until you hit the gas.  Got through that little ordeal and managed to get the car washed. 

Last up was the grocery store.  Peaches in case your wondering.  They all looked expired.  I said something and was told that I needed to look closer at the year.  It was 2025 and not 2024.  They are all good for one full year.  I felt like a dummy.  I waited to complain until I was forking over my money and I elected not to grab a jar.  Now no peaches for the week.  Damn. 

After all of that I wanted to just go home and cuddle with the cats.  That’s exactly what I did.  Put the groceries away and we watched a You Tube video.  I’ve got plans to go back out to the Mexican place I was at last weekend, that meal was just so damn good I want it again.  I’d rather go someplace else where I know they have hot guys but this Mexican place is what I am craving.  Here’s hoping that trip goes well. 

Found a new TV show to watch on Netflix.  It’s called New Amsterdam and it’s a medical drama much like The Resident and ER.  There are I think 5 seasons and I am already hooked.  Started on it last night when I found it.  Just wanted to test the waters but got hooked pretty quickly.  Not sure how I missed this show when it was in production but I suppose it’s okay since I found it now.  I don’t have to wait a week or wade through commercials, just press play and I am good. 

Still on the lookout for the ping pong ball but I have pretty well given up hope that it’s going to surface.  I am thinking that Mora put it in my bathroom trash can and I empty that without looking at the contents and then go scoop litter.  I would have thought that the pink color of the ball would have stood out to me but I am guessing not.  I will probably never know what happened but her toy has a missing ball and I feel bad about that.  She doesn’t seem to mind as she still plays with it.  I guess I could call it personalized now to her liking.  The mystery of not being able to find the ball is just baffling and kind of silly that I haven’t been able to find it. 

My friend tells a story about how she had a cat and the cat liked her and hated her husband who is now her ex.  The cat knew that he was giving her a rough time.  He like me loved fine writing instruments.  That cat would wait until he was gone and then grab his pens one by one and hide them.  They never did surface, not even when they moved out.  It drove him crazy because he would go to grab a pen and it was gone.  It’s kind of funny but also not funny.  If his taste was like mine it’s expensive were talking anywhere from $50 to $500 per pen.  I believe he was an accountant.  Funny how a cat can cause so much havoc and make you think that your going crazy. 

Well tomorrow is another dreaded Monday.  I dread it more because of all of the work I have to do.  Looked ahead at my schedule and looks like a vendor snuck in a meeting on Tuesday very late in the afternoon.  Looks like I am going in the office this week on Wednesday.  It’s Administrative Professional’s Day and while I am not a secretary or assistant, my employer treats everyone in a support role as an Administrative Professional.  Therefore we get some mystery gift.  I figured might as well go in on Wednesday to get that, especially since I will be taxed on it.  Also it will prevent someone from stealing it since it’s well known that my presence is spars at the office.  This is the only place that I have ever worked where they give you a gift but you have to pay taxes on it.  Some gift.  Last years gift is a Bluetooth speaker that is still in the box and sitting on my stove.  Every gift they give has the company name on it so they can write it off as a tax break.  Although one year we did get a Mophie Power Bank and they had no way to personalize those, same goes for the Amazon Echo we got.  Those are the two best gifts they have ever given in my 10 years there.  Here’s hoping that this year will be another great gift year.  However, I will not be holding my breath.  They usually make a week of it by giving away free food that were not taxed on.  Last year I think they did some kind of gift each day.  One day was breakfast, another was lunch, another had a snack of a power bar, there was the speaker and I think a raffle for a day off. 

Here’s hoping that it’s smooth sailing.  It’s my last week of quiet and then I will be back on-call.  Also were dangerously close to what I call busy season with the interns starting in a few weeks, that means I’ll be busy getting ready for them to onboard.  Yuck.  However it also means that I am closer to my next doctors appointment and time off.  That I actually look forward to.  Taking a break is fun but just not being gone too long because the punishment of returning sometimes is far worse than the fun you can have away. 

Talk with you all again soon.  Be well. 

Still a mystery

Hey there!  Good news in that neither of the cats appears to have eaten the missing ping pong ball.  I didn’t take the knock out dose of my sleeping pills just in case I had to make a middle of the night run to the vet.  The good news is that I didn’t have to.  The bad news is that I was up at 2a and didn’t go back to sleep until 5a.  Then at 7a Rudy woke me wanting breakfast. 

I wound up sleeping in and just being lazy until a little after 1p.  Finished watching The Resident and now I know how it all ends.  It was a good show.  Now I have to find something new to get interested in.

That missing piece of mail showed up today.  Thankfully it was nothing more than a disclosure notice.  Speaking of notices, I noticed that my neighbor finally mowed his grass today.  My lawn people sent their bill.  They raised the rate back to what we agreed on, looks like I lost my $5 discount.  They also decided to incorporate a fuel surcharge into each mow instead of trying to tack that on at the end.  I paid the bill minus the fuel surcharge, I never agreed to that and there is no way it costs what they charge to mow my yard in gas. 

I made it to the buffet.  Nice trip such as it was.  Found gas 20 cents cheaper there so I filled up on my way home.  That was a smart move.  Food was just okay, nothing special.  They don’t tend the buffet line like they used to in years past.  Ever since the pandemic that place has not been the same.  Prices are rising and they charge a fee if you use a credit card.  I don’t know how business over all has been but in years past they drew a hell of a crowd on Friday’s because it’s seafood night.  I am still interested in making it there on a Tuesday for their Taco Bar. 

Got to hike upstairs and empty and load up the dishwasher.  Then it’s sitting with the cats until it’s time for bed.  I plan to get up early tomorrow and hit up breakfast out and the grocery store.  We have a frost warning out overnight it’s going to be that cold.  Looks like I’ll still be toting along my winter coat, which is fine.  Today was cool but I was comfortable with just a long sleeve shirt on.  I brought a light jacket just in case. 

My warning sticker on my front door about no solicitors is really paying off.  I warded off two would be solicitors.  One yesterday and one this morning.  I got the alerts from my camera that someone was at the front door and when I looked, you see them read the warning and then turn around and walk away.  There is a tag line at the end that says something like I charge $50 per minute to listen to their sales pitch and require payment in advance.  Something I found on Amazon that is a little smart assed but practical.  Besides that if your soliciting you have to have a permit from the city, if you don’t and someone calls the cops you get warned the first time, fines start the second time.  Most people just answer their doors and listen, seldom do people in my neighborhood call the police.  It’s reasonably safe but still I keep my eyes out all the time, you never know when or if that will change. 

Hope you had a great Saturday.  In case you didn’t know it today 04/20/2024 backwards is the same 4 20 2024.  Take care!

Possible Problem

Remember that new cat toy with the balls that I told you Mora loves?  The balls are ping pong balls that are large and different colors.  There is Yellow, Green and Pink. 

Late this afternoon I noticed that Pink was missing from the toy.  No big deal I thought just find it and pop it back in.  The problem is finding it.  I’ve searched the house from top to bottom, looked in nooks and even checked under the stove.  I found a bunch of toys there probably from the former cats they were all old toys. 

Rudy and Mr. Flashlight helped me search but no luck.  We have gone over everything four times.  I am driving myself crazy because I am obsessed with finding the ball.  I am satisfied that it’s either hidden really well, that I am blind or that there is a ghost that took possession of the ball. 

Mora seems to be her normal self, eating and drinking normally.  I checked the litter boxes as well just in case she covered it up.  My worst fear is that she swallowed the damn thing.  She would have had to chew on it to puncture it and reduce it in size so she could swallow it.  She doesn’t strike me as that kind of a cat but I put nothing past them as they are the masters of disguise. 

I’ve felt her belly and she isn’t sore.  I really think it’s got to be well hidden and hopefully it surfaces eventually.  Meanwhile I will be keeping my eye on Mora and hoping that we don’t need to make a trip to the vet. 

I know that I could take her now, pay the emergency fee and have her x-rayed for peace of mind but my gut tells me that is a waste of money and time.  Of course if she did swallow the damn thing when I find out it’s going to be an emergency then and I will have wished that I wasted my time and money.  One thing is certain if she swallowed the damn thing I’ll have a decision to make. 

This is so not how I wanted to have the day end.  Damn cats always causing trouble and worry.  Watch I will go to sleep and magically the ball will appear tomorrow.  I’d just love to know where the damn thing is hidden because she did a most excellent job. 

I hate losing something, knowing it’s in the house but not being able to find it.  It becomes an obsession which is what this has turned into and both cats get quite curious as to what I am looking for so they try to help but only get in my way. 

Wish me luck that this thing surfaces sooner rather than later and that she didn’t swallow it. 

Wicked Weather

Greetings one and all.  What an evening Thursday was.  We had some wicked weather move in, as was expected.  Severe Thunderstorms and Tornadoes.  I heard the Tornado Warning from my phone and the weather radio at the same time.  TV was next and a couple minutes later the sirens went off.  The cats and I were sitting on the couch.  I watched as the storm rolled in and was watching TV as well.  At one point I heeded the warning and wrangled the cats to the basement.  Kind of handy having that TV down here I was able to keep an eye on things.  Apparently there was a Tornado in town from what I heard on the scanner but not exactly sure where it touched down at.  We are unscathed at my house, nothing but wind and rain.  We came back upstairs after about 15 minutes when I saw the storm pass over.  The Warning was still in effect for another 30 minutes but the cats were going crazy down here and it didn’t look like there was a threat. 

Once upstairs I passed out their treats and just kept an eye on things.  There was that period of time where it was calm and serene after the storm.  The sun was back out, the birds were chirping and the temperature had really dropped.  I took that opportunity to set out the trash.  Two hours later the next batch of rain and storms came rolling in as I was sitting in my bedroom.  Nothing severe. 

That was the so called excitement in the evening and really passed some time with all of my focus being on the weather.  Then I finished up Part 5 of The Upshaws on Netflix.  That went by quick.  I started earlier in the day.  Just my opinion but they never seem to release enough episodes for me to be satisfied. 

Next was back to YouTube where I watched The Pascal Show.  He had Riley Strain’s fathers (step and biological) on the show along with the family spokes person Chris Dingman.  It was a little over a 2 hour show and I didn’t know that I caught it at the start of their conversation.  There is new information but the toxicology report is still pending.  The more I hear about this case the more I say he didn’t die on his own or by accident, there was for sure fowl play.  The police do not appear to be that forthcoming and they have video evidence that the family would love to see but they aren’t releasing it.  Nashville Metro Police are trying to rubber stamp this as an accident and hope that the attention spotlight swings away from this as it’s a huge black eye for Nashville.  I really hope that the truth comes to light and the family gets the answers they deserve so they can start the healing process of grieving their loss.  If there is foul play as I suspect I hope that the wheels of justice move swiftly.  However, I think that this is going to remain one of those great unknowns.  I do hope that I am wrong on that. 

One thing that came to light in watching the Pascal Show is the reminder of how we are a digital society and there are logins and passwords for everything.  It’s important to have a password vault with emergency access so that if something happens to you, someone can get access to your stuff.  Be it your phone, bank accounts, safe, etc.  If you don’t want to go the digital route just make sure you tell a trusted person your logins and passwords, write them down in a notebook or have some other plan of action.  I know that my friends had a neighbor pass away and she took care of everything for the household.  Her husband had no clue what the password was to anything and he had to start over.  It was incredibly difficult.  Not a sponsor or paid endorsement but I use BitWarden and pay for it so that I get some extra features, Emergency Access is one of them.  Most password managers have a requirement that the person or persons that you designate have an account on their service.  My friend that I designated never did switch over from LastPass (which was hacked) and is still blindly using that platform as he feels safe, when it’s not safe despite my warning as well as warnings from other tech pros.  If I expire it will be a great mystery as to what my passwords are.  However, my friend has access to my home and will be able to get my two most valuable assets being the cats – I want to ensure they are cared for and not abandoned, they are all that I have that I truly care about what happens to them after I am gone.  I said all of this regardless of your age (young or old) make sure that you have a backup plan in place in case something happens to you where your seriously injured or you expire. 

Speaking of technology I have been looking at New vehicles again via You Tube.  I’ve opened my eyes a bit wider.  Still have no plans of making an immediate move but on the look out as I never know when I will give in.  I’ve said 1 to 2 years but I am enjoying saving money more than I am paying a car note.  With any luck I will be able to hold out and pay cash when I am in the market next, that would be a first and something I would be really proud of.  Not that I am not proud of where I am today. 

My insomnia kicked in again early this morning.  I woke up to a cooler house and it feels more like Winter outside this morning than Spring.  It’s going to be that way for a bit.  Anyway that woke the cats and Rudy came to beg for food as well as check on me.  Mora checked in and then went to playing with her toy.  She got into one of Rudy’s toys and he heard that and went to confront her.  Their toys are shared but they each have their favorites.  Anyway, Mora kept playing and Rudy returned to be with me for a while.  Eventually when I settled back in bed they were both gone but I woke up again in an hour and Rudy was resting on top of me.  He felt me move so he started his begging but I told him we have an hour to go.  Tonight will be so different I am taking a stronger dose to ensure that I sleep all night long.  I hate waking up in the middle of the night and then not being able to go back to sleep, it’s the worst. 

Plans for the weekend include maybe some outdoor work but probably not.  I’d also like to take a trip to the buffet just to change the scenery up as well as giving my vehicle a workout.  It seems to hum along much better when I drive it for a distance.  I also get better fuel economy.  I’ve wanted to make this trip for a couple weeks now but keep putting it off.  Who knows what will actually happen but it’s still in my plans.  I know that I will be eating out over the weekend regardless if I travel far for the food or stay close.  That’s something that I always look forward to is good food.

Hope that you have a good weekend.  Just one meeting in a few hours at work and unless something else comes in my day is done, I just remain on standby.  Not a bad way to spend a Friday. 

Take care!

Throat Punch Thursday

Howdy one and all!  Years ago talking with a then colleague about funny names for different days of the week one that stood out to me was Throat Punch Thursday, for some reason it just sound hilarious. 

Had a boring evening, just watching TV.  Trying to stay away from The Resident because I am now on the final season (#6) and want to savor it and not rush through it.  Although it is quite temping just to see what happens.  Wish I would have watched this live when it was in production but at the same time kind of glad that I didn’t because there are no commercials and you don’t have to wait a week to watch the next episode.  It would be neat if some how broadcast TV had the option for one to pay to not see commercials.  I’d sign up for sure, it would be useful especially now that we are in election season.  Saw my first political ad this morning and I know there are more coming, yuk. 

The cats were wound up last night just before bed.  I wasn’t interested in playing so they had to amuse themselves.  Mora managed to get two balls out of her new toy that the balls spin in a circle on.  I didn’t know that until this morning when she was playing with the toy and it sounded funny, I looked at noticed one ball.  Found one of them easily and the second one took me a few minutes.  I put it all back together and she is working on getting them free again now.  They aren’t supposed to pop out but since this is some knock off toy from Amazon it’s not a surprise that they pop out.  She won’t eat them, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t tried.  She will try to hide them to make it difficult for me to track them down. 

My insomnia kicked in at 3:30a and that was horrible.  I watched a little TV, got both cats back so I had to share my bed.  Half of me was covered and the other half not so much.  Eventually they both woke up and I got to reclaim some cover.  Eventually I passed out after an hour but it was tough to turn my brain off.  Rudy woke me early which didn’t help.  I wasn’t in the mood to get up but was glad that he was early so I could just close my eyes again.  Finally it was time and not sure what happened but when I went to get up, they both jumped and ran.  Not sure if they were playing or if I surprised them but I talked to each of them before I moved so they knew I was getting up. 

On the work front today is the best day.  All of my work, speaking of daily tasks is out of the way.  I can go catch that nap if I so choose.  However, I know that if I do my phone will wake me up. 

We have more severe weather and hail is in the forecast as well as possible Tornado’s.  It’s supposed to start in the afternoon and winds are supposed to be up to 60MPH.  Not exactly sure when I will set the trash out but I don’t want the can to blow over so I am going to try to wait until the bulk of the storm has passed.  Here’s hoping that I am once again unscathed by the weather. 

Got a Chicken Salad Sandwich with my name on it for lunch.  Had forgot that I purchased it, so that I’d have something for going into the office.  Since that didn’t materialize I need to eat it so it doesn’t go to waste.  The first jar of old peaches was polished off on Tuesday evening.  I am into the second jar and scarfing them down.  The goal is to have them gone by Friday, since I just opened the jar last night.  It’s always a fight to break open those vacuum sealed jars, even with a jar opener that I got from Amazon. 

Here’s hoping that Thursday is whisper quiet and an easy day for all of us.  Come on Friday were ready for the weekend!  Take care y’all!

Man Candy - Enjoy

Wacky Wednesday

Morning and welcome in to another hump day.  If you guessed that I talked myself into staying home then you are 100% correct.  Give yourself a pat on the back.  I got to thinking about it and just determined that I didn’t want to deal with all of the BS most especially the garage parking situation.  I will be in next week, I do need to keep appearances up for the small amount of people that actually take notice that I am in the office. 

Storms last night knocked down a large stick in my front yard but other than that I do believe we are okay.  The rain didn’t last as long as was predicted and the severity was minor to what was forecast.  All things I am happy about.  However, the next batch is queueing up.  It cooled off a little bit overnight but were back in the heat today in the upper 80’s.  The AC is still going strong.  It freezes me out when I am downstairs and when I am upstairs it’s just comfy.  Things will even out a bit more as we enter into the summer months.   

The grass is really growing here and I was due for my weekly cut tomorrow but the lawn people are here now.  I hate how they just show up for weeks on Fridays and then change it to Thursdays and now apparently it’s Wednesday.  I don’t actually get a full week in between cuts.  The important thing is that the grass is cut on a regular basis that keeps the neighbors and the city happy.  Funny thing is that my neighbor that works in local government has yet to cut his grass once.  Yeah it’s tall and his lawn looks like crap but you think anyone is threating him that if he doesn’t cut it there will be consequences?  Not a chance in the world.  I don’t think that is fair that he has a different set of rules to live by and is “above the law” to a degree.  The rules apply to everyone and they should be enforced equally but sadly they are not.  Welcome to America and Politics.  There might be one other person in the entire subdivision that hasn’t cut their grass yet but the majority of us have already started.  It’s the middle of April.  Sooner or later he will have to give in.  I kind of get it as I don’t like running the mower due to my allergies which is why I farmed the job out and pay someone to take care of it for me.  It’s a fun job when your younger but as you age it becomes less fun and more work.  Regardless of the mower you use. 

Things went okay yesterday for the most part until we had our call with a vendor late in the afternoon.  Suddenly it turned into a chatty meeting that went over just like it did last month.  Now we have another meeting with the same vendor on Friday, it’s all about changes the vendor made that we are trying to implement and my boss is making it harder than it needs to be.  There are also way too many cooks in the kitchen.  I’ll be glad when this one is done and we can just go back to our normal 15 minute meetings once per month where we say everything is fine. 

I’ve got 2 meetings today, one before lunch and one shortly after.  It’s not going to be any fun but I will survive.  Then I should be free from meetings for all of Thursday.  That gives me space to semi-decompress a little.  I use my time to organize and file away emails.  It’s the best day of the week for me, outside of a Friday that is free from meetings. 

Rudy was all worked up last night and wanted to play.  I was naked and just wanted to take a shower.  I grabbed the feather on a stick and played with him for a bit.  Mora just looked at me with a scowl on her face as if to say, what about me.  That’s when I ended things and disappeared to the bathroom.  Both of them were all wound up by the time I got out of the shower and they were having fun on their own, which is fine.  Then before I knew it they were both on the bed, napping.  Rudy woke up and got into it with his sleeping sister which didn’t fair well for him.  She hogged the bed all night long and he slept on the floor.  Kind of like she put him in the dog house.  I had some strange dreams and woke up to use the bathroom, had to carefully step over him.  Somehow he was on top of me an hour before it was time to get up.  Making his biscuits and trying to wake me up, which just led to him settling down and sleeping on me until I wanted to get up.  I didn’t make him wait the full hour but the majority of it.  I love them both but at times they are work. 

I hope you have a great day and I appreciate your visit.  Take care!

 

Take it Tuesday

Monday wasn’t all that bad; I was busy for a few hours but all of my work was done in 3 hours. I took a break and of course just as I got comfy and dozed off, Rudy woke me up. It was time for lunch. It’s another warm day here and I gave in on Sunday and turned the AC on. I don’t know that it will be on long as I see cooler temps by the weekend. For now, it remains on and nothing feels better than nice cool air blowing as I am drifting off for the night. I suppose if you add in two purring cats that would be ideal but usually only whichever one of them is close to me is the one that is purring.

Forgot all about Monday being Tax Day here in the US. I filed months ago and am glad that it’s out of the way. I like to put that behind me fast as well as get my refund.

Had some left-over Taco Pizza for lunch. It was like eating a cold Taco from Taco Bell. It’s got Sour Cream on top and I didn’t want to put it in the microwave. It was tasty. I’ve got a small amount left and plan to devour it soon.

The oldest jar of peaches I wrote about a couple days ago is about history. Enough left for one quick snack tonight and then it will be time to move on to the newer of the old jars if that makes sense. They taste fine and thus far no repercussions, hopefully it fairs that way. Then from now on I will pay more attention to expiration dates in the store before I make my purchase.

My plan for the moment is to head to the office on Wednesday. It’s been a long time since I have been in on a Wednesday and my hope is that traffic will be a bit lighter and the parking garage won’t be as much of a nightmare. It’s a hope but I know it probably won’t be reality. However, I found myself bargaining this morning that it’s not really a big deal if I go in. Yeah, I might feel better from the accomplishment and it would be a change of scenery but in the end, I’d just be bored after a bit and it kind of serves no real purpose. With that in mind my plans for Wednesday are up in the air at the moment. It is a lighter day according to my schedule.

At any rate I am just basking in the quiet time because it won’t last for very long. Things will get very busy soon. I am grateful that I built in a break of a couple days in May. I did the same thing last year and it was just dumb luck, which is exactly what happened this year. It’s only two work days but at the end of a week so it works out to 4 days straight and like always I won’t want to go back.

I was able to brush and trim both cats claw last night. Rudy was for sure the furriest of them. Not what I expected. Both of them had a couple of extra sharp claws and they were pissed when I clipped those. However, all is forgiven and were back to being friends again. I got snapped at but not bitten. I am going to try to keep the brushing up but it’s one of those tasks I would rather skip. I’d sooner hook up a vacuum to each cat and let it do the work. They actually make pet vacs with a brush that fits on the end of a hose and it sucks up the fur. They are supposed to be extra quiet so as to not freak your pet out but I don’t know how well it would go over. If I get up enough courage I might make the purchase. Rudy was extra wound up before bed so the three of us got in some play time before bed. I was playing with a feather on a stick and Mora just grabbed that out of my hand and ran off with it after a few minutes of playing. That kind of brought things to a close. Speaking of playing, Rudy’s toys arrived yesterday. The balls I ordered from Amazon and they were nothing like they were described but exactly what I wanted to get for him, so it was a happy accident that worked out well. I will cuss when I step on them in the middle of the night but as long as he’s happy and plays with them it’s worth it to me. I like happy cats.

Had some Stouffer’s Spaghetti and Meat Sauce for dinner last night. It was good. Caught up on The First 48 and The Neighborhood. Mixed in some YouTube and ended the night with The Resident. Had to reboot my modem and router last night. I think my WAP (Wireless Access Points) aka Range Extenders got software updates and I only needed to reboot the router but might as well do both, there is no harm. I like the fact that I don’t have to trudge to the basement and get in a closet to do the work. I can take care of rebooting both via my phone or even from a computer.

Today is one of those not much going on at the moment type days I’ve got 3 meetings. 1 before lunch and 2 after. Time to listen to the chicken’s crow. Not my favorite thing but taking the bad with the good.

It’s all sunshine and the temperatures are climbing to make for yet another hot day. That is until this afternoon when severe weather comes rolling in. As long as it’s not a night of sirens from the weather radio, those are the worst nights. Scares all of us and wakes us all up if we are sleeping. Just what is designed to do.

Here’s hoping it’s all sunshine and no rain in your neck of the woods. Have a great Tuesday!

The Weekend

Since Monday is going to be a super busy day for me. I figured I would get a jump and document the weekend so you would have something to read while I am buried in work.

Hope you had a nice relaxing weekend and all is well.

Saturday … Woke up early thanks to Rudy, he was persistent and gave me a couple forehead washes to get me out of bed after biscuits didn’t do the trick. I got up and fed him and his sister. Then back to my room to watch TV. I was wired and going back to bed is what I wanted to do but I knew my body wouldn’t permit me to return to a sleep state. Watched more of The Resident. Had breakfast around 9a and then wound up climbing back into bed around 10:30a. Managed to sleep with both cats next to me. They clamored for who got to be the closest to me and Mora won just because of her size, she sat on her brother and he honestly didn’t seem to mind.

Woke up around 12:30p and had a couple cookies and a soda. Watched more TV. The sun was shining and it was starting to heat up outside but I wanted no part of that. Eventually around 1:30p I got up and showered. Got dressed and left the house.

Hit up the cat food store where I once again spent way too much money. Grabbed the mail. Been dying to see a particular piece of mail that showed up last week in my informed delivery and I reported I didn’t get it. Informed Delivery showed me another photo and that it was supposed to be in my box on Wednesday. Once again it was not there and I’ve already reported it again. Perhaps it will surface next week but I am not holding my breath.

After that I opted to go back to grab a full-size Mexican pizza. The salsa didn’t have the same bite to it as it did last week. However, the pizza was still just as tasty. As I was getting ready to leave, I saw the guy that I have been wanting to see. He still works there. Hopefully, with summer ahead I will see more of him. Got a nice rear end view and that just made me hungry for a man.

Funny thing I downloaded Bumble last night and started to go through the process I said I’d give it one last try but filling out my profile it just all seemed next to impossible, like I knew I was wasting my time. I gave up and deleted my profile. I can always enroll again later. I was set to pay for a subscription but looking at their prices, ouch way more than what I wanted to spend.

The more I watch The Resident and see people die in the show, the more I think that it’s time for me to move on. It feels odd because I’ve never done this before. However, the thought of dying alone is not appealing to me and the longer I wait the less desirable I think I will be. I know what I want from a body and age perspective but I think that I will have to make some compromises. Then again love might just find me instead of me looking for it.

Being alone has its advantages but I’d like to try to occupy my life with a guy. I know it would change my entire world and how I spend my time. However, I would still have some control. I’ve got plenty of pent-up physical needs and while I want to act those out with a guy, I am more interested in companionship and clicking, if that happens, I am confident that everything else will fall into place.

Logged on to Classmates dot com, peeked at a year book the year after I graduated. Also looked at a more recent year book and man I can see the changes. Way more clubs and organizations. A Gay Straight Alliance being one of them, never had that when I was in school. In many ways I think High School is more difficult now than it was back in my day but in other ways I see benefits that kids have now that I didn’t have back then. It was an interesting journey. The site wants money and tries to sell you year books but you can get by for free as long as all you are doing is browsing. I think the charge may apply if you want to interact with others. I’ve got no interest in doing that. In fact, yet another reunion is around the corner later this year. I wished I went to the last one it looked like fun from the photos. I just know how lonely I felt in school as a kid, when I went for a tour of the campus a few years ago with others from my class I felt that same feeling creep back. It’s like I was welcome but I wasn’t part of the in crowd, which caused me to feel all alone. Thinking of that I have no plans to attend any reunion. Lots has changed since High School and I am way smarter now than I was back then. I’m just moving forward.

It’s a sweatbox upstairs and the cats are not happy that we are in the basement. It’s in the 70’s down here and it’s 81 upstairs. If I could get those temps to equal out upstairs then I’d be all set to run back up there. I know I will be headed up eventually. Looking forward to watching more TV and dozing off. Got to take care of the dishes first and I dread that task, even though a machine does all of the hard work.

Sunday … Tried to sleep in but Rudy didn’t permit that for very long. I wound up brushing him off of me and got clawed, which got me out of bed. He got his breakfast. I got dressed and headed out for Chocolate Chip Pancakes. They were not nearly as good as I expected them to be. Very dry and little chocolate sauce on top. I’ll stick to Double Blueberry it is much better. Then on to the grocery store. Had a jar of peaches vacuum sealed from the store that I bought two weeks ago. The date on the outside said best by 08 April. They have never been opened and look perfectly fine. I figured I would just not tempt fate and picked up a fresh jar. When I was checking out, I asked the cashier her thoughts and she stammered and really didn’t give me an answer. She didn’t think I wanted the fresh jar I just picked up and I told her that I wanted it. I never looked at the date on the new jar, just figured it was different. When I got home and was putting everything away, I peeked at the date and damn if it doesn’t say best by 08 April. No wonder she was confused and if I would have paid more attention, I would have never bought that jar. Damn looks like I have to pay closer attention. Now I have two jars and the peaches look fine. I’m going to crack one of them open and gobble some down provided they taste okay, which I expect they will. I am just disappointed the grocery store would sell something with a best by date of 08 April on 14 April.

Had to break out the steam cleaner and fix a cat mess. Carpet looks good as new and it took just a couple minutes since it was a couple spots. The cats looked at me funny. Then I retired to my room where it’s still humid and the ceiling fan is on. Today is going to be another warm day. Watched a You Tube video and then went back to The Resident and after a while I got tired so I went back to bed. In getting up that kind of woke me up but still I laid in bed with the cats. Mora came and I got to give her a big hug, which we both enjoyed. Then she settled at the end of my feet. I watched more TV and eventually opted to try to nap. I think I got 15 or 20 minutes maybe. The phone went off and since I am on-call I wanted to know what came in. It was just a piece of spam, which I suppose is a blessing but also a curse since I was napping. I got up and put out my medicine and cleaned the cats water fountain. They always go looking for water the moment I take it away, never have figured that one out.

Back to the basement to dry the laundry I washed yesterday. It’s about done so I will be headed back up and going to get some trash out and vacuum. Thinking of grabbing dinner at a local Mexican place it just sounds good. It’s either that or pasta and honestly Mexican will just taste better.

I want to go in to the office one day this week. However, I think of the parking situation in the garage with construction and how parking is limited now and that just makes me want to stay at home, despite being free from on-call as of Monday. If I don’t go in that would be three weeks in a row that I have been at home. Tuesday doesn’t look the greatest although I might make it. Wednesday seems to be a lighter day and I think I might be able to make that work better. If both of those days pass by and I haven’t made it in, then there is no chance that I will go in on a Thursday or Friday. It’s not like anyone will miss me since I am still working just not physically in the office.

Okay scheduling this to post on Monday morning. Take care and thanks for stopping by.

Words …

Morning and Happy Friday! 

I completed my self-evaluation at work this morning.  Words can be used as weapons and I meticulously documented every damn thing I did over the past year.  I’ve been waiting for this moment since my last review when I got the shaft of a low pay raise and my review score fell from what it had been in prior years.  I am making it difficult for my boss to repeat the same thing, not to say that he won’t but he will have to work overtime to do it if that is his goal.  They ask that we document 3 to 5 things that we did that were significant over the past year.  I have always followed instructions and kept it to a max of 5.  Not this year I listed 21 things.  I called out my co-worker who always fucks up and my boss seems to do nothing about it as a way to improve my performance.

This largely feels like a game of cat and mouse and one that I am tired of playing.  So long as nothing major goes wrong I am on-track to mark ten years at this place and there is a bonus that comes with that.  I want that and to see what kind of a review I get as well as how much my pay raise is.  The review and pay raise mostly will determine what if any next moves I need to make.  My hope is that I can just stay put, I am too old to start over and there are a lot of perks here that I am sure I won’t get at another job.  Not to mention the fact that I would probably have to go in every damn day and ugh that feels like a step backwards instead of forwards.  However, we shall see what the future holds.  Just have to wait it out. 

Speaking of work, I captured a photo the other day from social media about Corporate Email Lingo

• “Per my last email” = In case you suddenly can’t read
• “To reiterate” = This is the last time I’m saying this
• “Moving forward” = Don’t try me again
• “I’ve copied” = Let’s see you lie your way out of this bitch
• “Kind regards” = Fuck you

As my late spouse would say, there is a lot of truth in humor.  I found that super funny and hopefully it gave at least one of you a chuckle!  I see those familiar phrases from time to time in emails. 

Yesterday was a relaxing and calm day, just what I needed.  I got in a nap and watched some televised court.  Saw a sovereign citizen get ripped to shreds by a judge.  I don’t get how you can adopt that mentality and think that the law doesn’t apply to you.  Then again it’s a free country, you can think what you want but it doesn’t make it correct and/or legal.

Enjoyed spending time with the cats.  Rudy was by my side for the bulk of the day.  I had a spell where I didn’t feel good after lunch and that’s when I took my nap, they both let me retire to my bed and they stayed on the couch.  Towards the end of the evening both curled up in the cat bed and were quite comfy.  I passed out their cat nip there and Rudy left and followed me around.  Mora stayed put and slept.  Rudy wanted to play and that was the last thing on my mind, I was looking forward to calling it a day. 

Tried to catch-up on regular TV.  Saw the latest episode of Young Sheldon.  Then I started to watched Accused Innocent or Guilt and damn if I didn’t get sleepy and nod off for the night.  At least it’s on the DVR so I can rewind and resume watching when I want.  DVR’s are a great invention but nothing compares to the original TIVO experience and I do miss that. 

Work is starting to perk up a bit so I have to go deal with that.  Here’s hoping it’s a good weekend for all.  Take care & thanks for stopping by. 

Different Day

Today thus far feels much more like a normal day.  I worked pretty much non-stop yesterday, although I did break for lunch.  The cats were not happy about all of my alone basement time but I had a job to do.  Since I will be gathering the same data on Monday’s looks like they will probably be my busy days of the week and as always I never look forward to a Monday unless I am coming off of on-call. 

Had a Breakfast Burrito and an Apple Fritter for supper washed it all down with a Coke Zero.  I increased the cook time for the Burrito but I suppose since I am putting it on a paper plate and not a paper towel like the directions say to that is why some of it still remains cold.  I’ve got a box full of them and am determined to get at least one fully hot.  They are good and just average size.  Meaning unless you have a seriously small stomach or small appetite you won’t get full on eating just one. 

Enjoyed a peaceful evening with the cats and continuing to watch The Resident.  I am on Season 4 now.  They had a COVID episode and it was touching.  They highlighted the fact that many people had to die alone.  I think back to the ending of Shameless and how Frank died alone.  That really bothered me as I think no one should die alone but sadly that is how I picture things will end for me when my expiration date arrives, that is of course based on current conditions.  It’s possible that I will meet someone and I will have someone by my side.  I guess they call it the future because you have no idea what will actually transpire. 

Saw that the Crumbley’s were sentenced this week to 10 to 15 years in prison.  Not surprising they both have started the appeal process.  It’s tough to over turn a guilty criminal conviction, regardless if your truly innocent or if your guilty, the justice system is prejudice once a guilty verdict comes in and you have an up hill fight that can linger for years.  Justice isn’t always just but once and a while we get it right. 

Watched the latest scene from Corbin Fisher with Jack (aka Adam Awbride) and Barron.  Damn not sure how long it was since Jack had his last big O but he had a very large finish.  That was a great way to end what was a busy and kind of a bad day. 

Rudy told me that he got sick.  I knew he wanted something just didn’t know what it was.  He was all over me making biscuits and it was 9:30p  I got up and followed him, that’s when I discovered the damage.  No worries I told him and I cleaned it up and looks like it never happened.  That seemed to comfort him and then he permitted me to go back to bed.  I am never happy when they get sick.  We just had a brushing session a couple days ago.  Looks like I have to have those more frequently.  It’s just something I don’t enjoy doing but the cats start out loving it, then get over stimulated and it turns into biting and play time where they are all hyper.

Here’s hoping that today remains like it is now and that I am not worked much if at all.  All of my tasks are done for the day and it’s just a matter of sitting around and waiting to see what if anything rolls in.  I am sure I won’t get away with nothing to do all day long but if it happens I won’t complain, especially after the day I had yesterday. 

Feels odd that today is Thursday but I am not complaining about that either.  Got to wrangle the trash and push it out to the curb.  An afternoon task.  It’s colder here and rainy.  Were supposed to be heating up in the 80’s to 90’s over the weekend and the first part of the week.  I do not look forward to those temperatures.  However it waffles like this and then bingo one day your just sitting on hell’s front porch roasting.  We haven’t had much Springtime here for years but perhaps things will be different this year.  For sure by the end of April or start of May it will be time to turn the AC on full time. 

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.