Real Estate

Morning!

I periodically open Zillow on my phone to check on Real Estate in the area.  Depends on my mood at the time I am using the app if I want to look at houses for sale or places for rent.  Last night I opened it to see if my neighbors place was listed or pending being listed.  I didn’t find it.  However, I found another house in the subdivision that is pending listing and it’s going for $345,000 USD.  That’s about average pricing for this neighborhood.  It’s tract housing meaning that there are only a few floor plans available and the houses are basically all created the same.  This particular one looks like my other neighbors house as it has a walk out basement. 

We moved in here well over 25 to 30 years ago and only paid $130,000 USD for this place.  I can’t believe that it’s appreciated that much in value but based on the market it says otherwise.  I know what’s wrong with this place and know that if I was to sell as is I think I would be lucky to walk away with $200,000 USD.  That’s still a decent amount of money but then the next challenge would be where to go and how to get there. 

While I have wanted to move for years, I don’t see that in the cards.  It’s cheaper and a little bit less stress to stay put or so I think for now.  I know the longer I wait the more difficult it will become to leave. 

Changes aren’t always a good thing and can often just be a temporary sense of gratification.  I’d hate to think about starting all over on a mortgage considering I am closer now to paying this place off.  Actually, if my late spouse wouldn’t have refinanced and added in credit card debt I would likely be even closer than I am not at having this place paid off.  Not sure if I will actually live long enough to pay this place off only time will tell.  I’m sure as time goes on values for homes in my neighborhood as well as else where will continue to climb. 

Switching gears – Had to work late last night, something last minute came up.  That prevented me from not only enjoying my evening but from brushing the cats.  I had to change a bowl of dry food for them yesterday because someone got sick.  I think if it was just Rudy he would manage on his own to not have fur balls but since they bathe each other big Mora is the fur monster.  There is plenty of her and plenty of fur.  I am always amazed at the amount of fur I get from brushing her as compared to her tiny brother. 

Tonight I will be finishing off the pizza.  I want to go out tomorrow night there is a local pizza place that has all you can eat Spaghetti that comes with salad and a drink for $12 which sounds really good.  BBQ also appeals to me.  Who knows I might just wind up staying home and eating out of the freezer but it’s nice to know I have options!  Something about eating out during the week and changing things up is appealing not to mention it gets me out of the house, if only for a short time. 

3 meetings on the agenda for today – 2 of which are with vendors.  Hopefully, all goes smoothly. 

The sun is out again today and it’s supposed to be a nice hot summer like day.  Wish I wasn’t trapped in the house and could get out and go for a drive.  In a few weeks that will be the case but with my luck it will probably rain that whole week, but I hope not. 

Have a great day and take good care of yourself because there is only one you. 

Bad Blow Job

Morning!

Yesterday was a pretty good day.  I got a call from bossman a little after lunch to tell me that he was boarding a plane and that he would be in the air until late in the evening.  He just wanted to check and see how things were going and if I would cover his on-call for him since he would be unavailable.  Yeah of course I will cover it, not like I had much of a choice.  The day was calm and quiet up to that point, but that’s kind of where things changed and I got a little busy. 

Amazon dropped off my subscribe & save order.  I noticed that my porch was a mess with all sorts of debris on it.  I grabbed the blower and started blowing for a second, then the blower just quit.  I couldn’t get it going no matter what I did.  The battery was charged but still for good measure I topped it off and let the blower rest.  After hours of trying and a fully charged battery the damn thing just clicks like the fan starts to move and then nothing.  Guess this is one of those bad blow jobs.  I got the blower back in September and it’s got a 5 year warranty.  However, I don’t want to mess with that so I am ordering another one off of Amazon and then sending the defective one back. 

Each time I messed with the blower or even touched it the cats scattered.  As if I was going to attack them with it.  I’m just mad and frustrated.  The damn thing has sat in the house which is climate controlled and it hasn’t done a whole lot of work in the months it’s been here but I have used it a little bit before.  It’s just way too early for it to crap out on me.  I did put the battery in a different device and it works so I know it’s not the battery and for sure the blower has an issue.  I did research on-line but there is no easy quick fix.  You can go through customer service or you can take it apart and take your chances.  I like my idea better.  New unit will be here on Friday. 

We had some rain in the area a few times yesterday.  At one point the sun was out and rain was falling.  I told the cats there is a rainbow out there somewhere. 

Came across some interesting You Tube videos where a professional driver poses as an uber driver and picks people up and then scares the hell out of them by going fast and doing burnouts and drifting.  Another pro driver posed as a first time driver and got behind the wheel with several driving instructors he played dumb but then he started to scare the hell out of them.  It was funny to see peoples reactions and how their hearts almost jumped out of their chest.  Another one pro driver took a car salesman for a test drive and it was not a normal test drive, that poor guy thought he was going to lose his job.  He was calling the police when they stopped the car but they quickly let him in on the prank. 

Munched on Pizza for lunch and supper.  Had some yogurt for a mid-day snack and cake for desert in the evening.  That’s about it, not a super great day but not a horrible bad day either.  If only all Monday’s were like yesterday.  I even got in a short nap!

Hoping that today is a good day as well.  Two meetings on the agenda and that’s it outside of time for lunch.  Already surfed the web a little bit and combed through my email.  Won’t be long and I will be headed back upstairs to hang out with the cats.  It’s supposed to be a bright sunny summer like day. 

Here’s hoping it’s a great day ahead for all of us.  Take care!

Rainy Monday

Morning!

I’ve been kicking around taking some time off work.  I’d really like to take next week but something deep inside tells me that isn’t the week to take off.  Nothing special is scheduled that I know of but I suppose everything happens for a reason.  Therefore, I booked time towards the end of the month, an entire week.  Now I’ve got time to try to fill that week up.  I don’t have approval on my time off but my boss has yet to deny a request, pretty much you ask for it, you get it.  I like simple!

Yesterday I headed out to get pizza.  The straight cute waiter I wanted to see wasn’t working.  Service was slow and a bit lack luster.  However there was a cute guy sitting at the bar and a couple other hotties walked in so not a total loss.  Pizza was okay but took a little longer than expected to get out.  Had a table near by of people talking in Spanish and they weren’t exactly quiet about it.  They had some complicated order.  One of the people there wanted Vegan Cheese but this place didn’t have that.  That is part of what caused the delay with my order.  I went up early I had a deadline to meet and well I was a half hour late but I got back home and the work got done.  I just wasn’t pleased about it.  I like to be on-time, that’s how I was raised. 

Finished up Euphoria Season 3 last night.  I’m kind of interested in the other 2 seasons so might go back and watch them.  Season 3 kept me entertained and on the edge of my seat.  Very enjoyable!

Went to unload the dishwasher last night and noticed that some things had a sticky residue on them.  Then I looked closer and noticed the soap packet never dissolved.  Which can only lead me to believe the float got stuck and there was no water.  I would have swore I heard water on Friday night when it was running but apparently my ears deceived me.  Had to stock it back up, run it again and this time I checked periodically to make sure there was in fact water flowing.  I think my water bottle got in the way and I moved it when I re-loaded. 

Took my sleeping pill a little later in the evening in the hopes that I would lessen the odds that I would have interrupted sleep.  I did in fact wake up but Mora jumped up in bed with me and we cuddled she helped me get back to sleep.  It was storming when I woke up and storming again when it was time to get out of bed.  It was nice to open the drapes for the back door and see that the gutter wasn’t overflowing.  Hopefully, there won’t be any water woes here but I am keeping an eye out. 

Got going and got my morning work that I was dreading done.  Took me about an hour of just full concentration.  Now I’ve got my report prepared, I’m waiting for data from one person to get it completed and another start of the month task is done too.  Boss is on-call this week but thus far my colleagues are all over anything that comes up, which I am fine with.  It’s not like I really want to work today but I will if something comes up. 

Internet surfing is done.  Just about time to transition back to upstairs and be with the cats, lazy and hanging out until or if something comes up. 

Happy Pride!  Hope it’s a great month and great week for all of us.  Take care.

Sunday

Sunday, funday as “they” say. It’s not too much fun for me; I’ve got the Monday regret hitting me and not looking forward to going back for another week.

I woke up to a surprise heard from my old coworker who is gay. He told me a little bit more about his relationship with his boyfriend. He said that he was busy and I’ve no doubt that is truly the case. There is nothing really for me to respond to in the email, so I just filed it away.

I joined the dating site I was talking about. Turns out they curate a small group of guys and send you all to a restaurant. It’s a mystery as to where you’re going 24 hours before the event and they seem to do this on weeknights and much later than I would care to eat dinner. No one has any idea as to who they will be meeting and/or if you will truly hit it off with someone. I expected to see profiles or photos of guys so I’d kind of know what I was getting into. I’ve managed to cancel and my money is allegedly on the way back to me. Part of me wanted to try it once but there is just too much mystery there for me to take that kind of gamble. I’m disappointed but life goes on.

I learned that Wasp’s abandon their nest by early morning. That proved true this morning, but I didn’t want to disturb it as I kind of feel like they are watching and if I disturbed it, I’d get attacked. I didn’t get any spray to kill them but looked at it. That stuff is kind of pricy.

Had an insomnia episode last night or should I say earlier this morning at 3a. It was 5a before I was able to go back to sleep and I had to be up at 7a to keep with my normal groove. Sure, I could have slept in but there would have been no eating breakfast out and the grocery store would have been packed. Hence why I pushed through it. It was not a fun experience but once I got some food in me that made me feel a bit better.

Had to have help from the gas station attendant at my local Sam’s club. They redid the pumps and my membership card is very old so wasn’t recognized by the swipe. I’ve had issues with the card working inside the store, but it always worked at the gas pump. The attendant told me that they are trying to push everyone to the app and get away from membership cards. However, if I continue to have problems eventually, they will escort me inside, demand a manager and that I get a replacement card. I hope that the card works next time but my best guess tells me that it won’t. I wish they would go to a tap and pay system where I could tap my phone to detect my card as well as payment and just be done with it, but that’s applying some logic and that just doesn’t seem to work well. Kind of like how common sense is not so common anymore.

Almost did the upgrade to W11 this afternoon but I remembered that I have some issues with my outdated financial software, I must make registry edits. They might carry over since it’s an in-place upgrade but on the off chance they don’t I’m listening to that little voice that says wait.

Found out that High School graduation is today so that could impact my return trip home presuming I still go for pizza around 2:30p. Class sizes around here are large which was the case for me when I was in High School. It’s just common place for this area in general. Ah to be young again, have my entire future waiting for me. I never guess back then that it would turn out like it has.

Working on finishing up laundry and surfing the internet. The start of a new month means more work for me, but I will get through it like I always do. Especially if everyone leaves me alone and things stay quiet and I can push myself in the morning. Looking forward to seeing how much interest I have earned, that’s the best part of a new month. Not to mention seeing more vacation time accrued at work. Sad part is that I’m a month older now. Were also closer to the Cat’s birthdays in July.

I hope that you are having or had a great day, depending upon when you’re reading this. Take care!

Windows 11

Happy Saturday!  I had another insomnia attack last night that ruined my intentions for today.  However, I made the best of it.  Watched an old movie called Stir Crazy with Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder.  It was long but kept my interest and when it was done I easily fell back to sleep.  Rudy woke me up around 7:30a, kind of surprised he let me sleep in.  He wanted his breakfast though and I passed it out for him.  Then I came back to bed and waited as I watched more TV to eventually pass out.  I got up around 9a and had breakfast which was nothing more than cereal and a banana.  Then it was back to the bedroom to watch more TV and nap. 

I got moving late in the afternoon and headed to a steak house to order chicken.  It’s a dish similar to what I order at Outback called Alice Springs Chicken.  It was good but they forgot the bacon.  Grabbed the mail and returned home.  That was as much getting out as I needed to do. 

I noticed yesterday when I set the trash out that a Wasp has setup a nest right behind my security camera.  I know that it’s a matter of time before I get a little too close for comfort that the damn thing will attack me.  I am probably going to get some Wasp spray and try to kill it.  I am not a fan of insects much less stinging or biting ones. 

Last night I watched a 2 hour Only Fans that someone called Justasoccerboi filmed with Seth Peterson.  They were in a hotel room and forgot to deadbolt the door so the maid interrupted them trying to come in and clean the room but Seth was getting eaten out and told the lady to come back later.  The room looked nice as did the guys but the whole thing wasn’t edited very well and it’s by far the longest Only Fans clip that I have ever watched.  I just deleted it from my system just because it was so long and quite large.  Seth as you might recall passed away earlier this year from what is believed to be an accidental drug overdose.  

Speaking of OF, I just got a bunch of Blake Mitchell OF clips that were leaked.  Most of which I had before but I never had any of his Live Chats.  It’s nice to hear his voice and quite a shame that he too passed away in a motor vehicle accident late last year.  One clip I want to see is the final one he made with Joey Mills.  While Blake published everything, Joey hides some clips behind a pay wall and thus why I haven’t seen it.  Not paying $25 for one clip, sure I want to see it but not that bad. 

On the dating front I got an ad last night from a service called Mingleo.  It’s a dating service that requires a subscription but they match you with other guys based on your interest and how you both responded to their questionnaires.  I’m going to do some research on them before I just blindly spend money.  They are in most major cities in the US so in case your looking thought I’d share it.  They keep your information private unless you ask them to share it or choose to share it on your own with a guy.  This sounds a lot like It’s Just Lunch but something that is cheaper and targeted to gay men. 

While I was watching TV this afternoon, I fired up my laptop to do some surfing and have noticed that when I shutdown the menu shows up differently and the taskbar looked different, I unlocked it and sure enough I can resize it to make it show more icons in the system tray as well as display the Time, Day of the Week and Date.  This was my major factor for not upgrading other than in general I am not a W11 fan.  However, now that I know that I am so tempted to give in and upgrade to get it over with.  I know that sooner or later were all going to have to as extended support will expire or Microsoft will make it so cost prohibitive that most folks will just give in and upgrade rather than pay.  Part of me wants to upgrade now and the other part of me says wait until you have much more time to deal with things if something goes south. 

Meanwhile I discovered that I threw my laundry in the dryer and walked away, never pressed the start button.  I thought it was taking an unusual amount of time to dry so I went and checked on it.  Sometimes my brain just goes out to lunch without me and I do silly stuff like that but it’s not often enough to be concerning. 

I’ve got a task to take care of at work tomorrow, I will need to login the morning and then again later in the afternoon.  I am planning on going to eat lupper early.  So that I am available when I need to login.  I am not a fan of working weekends but I’m on call.  Thinking of pizza and trying to see the straight hot waiter that I have a mad crush on.  Not sure why I am so attracted to straight guys, wish that my Gaydar worked better. 

Not a horrible Saturday just not the most productive.  However it was good for relaxation.  Shame that the time goes by so quickly.  It was a nice day until I got out for supper then it became overcast and has started to rain a little bit here and there.  Hope it was a good day for you!

The Load

Morning!

We once again have made it to another Friday, which is a very good thing!  It’s been a super short week for me, only working 2 and a half days. 

I know I have been lacking in posting photos so I dumped a huge load and for those of you that are here to see them, hopefully they were a welcome site. 

Had one of my sleepless nights last night.  Woke up at 2a and didn’t get back to bed until 4a.  Mora helped me by sitting with me and cuddling in bed.  The cuddle is what sends me off and I’m pretty sure she knows that. 

Rudy wanted to get up way too early this morning but I kept him at bay until 6:30a which is still 30 minutes too early.  He’s got his schedule and wants to keep it.  He got his claws trimmed last night and only a minor struggle but he let me take care of those sharp nails.  Mora just watched as if to say, your not doing that to me.  I told her yeah I am but maybe not tonight. 

Summer weather is here for the most part.  It’s in the upper 70’s and 80’s only a matter of time before we climb higher.  Sadly more rain is on the way and now for multiple reasons I dislike rainy days. 

I’m all by myself at work which is fine since right now there isn’t anything going on.  Yesterday had it’s up’s and downs.  I’m caught up and dug out of the hole I was in by being out a couple days.

Need to take the car in for an oil change and to have things looked over.  I want to take some time and am toying with taking sometime in the next few weeks.  I want to take a week but who knows I might widdle that down.  I don’t really have any plans per se other than the vehicle and perhaps a Sam’s Club run.  Found a new place to get a facial that I’d like to try but haven’t looked to see if I can get in.  I kind of feel bad about taking time so soon after being sick but at the end of the day it’s my time and I know I am encouraged to use it.  Because if I don’t use it I will loose it and there is no pay out it just disappears like money from a bank account. 

Speaking of bank accounts, that new account I opened last week will be coming up ready to pay out it’s first interest.  My money is on hold until late next week, which is fine it’s not like I need to use it.  I was smart and didn’t put all my eggs into one basket.  I found out that checks and debit cards aren’t issued automatically, you have to request them.  Until my money is available I can’t do much of anything.  Just based on the advantages this account offers I can see why and how it can replace a traditional checking account.  I’m just after the interest to see my money grow even more than it has already. 

For some reason I went looking for something on the computer and stumbled across a bunch of old photos of my family (my late spouse and the prior cat family).  Kind of made me sad.  I still miss them.  I see photos of them every day when I look at my photos on my phone and memories from years past.  I knew that some day all I would have is photos but I never thought that in the end once the cats were all gone that it would be just me.  Very interesting how that all worked out.  Way too many tears and much sadness but yet here I am.  I often wonder why. 

Need to get the trash out today.  Having a holiday on a Monday messes up the entire week and all week long I wonder what day of the week it is.  Some of my neighbors reacted and just set the trash out last night so they didn’t get missed in case the pickup happened today.  I looked on the internet to make sure it was a holiday that the trash folks observed so I know pick up is delayed by one day.  I don’t want to miss the actual pickup. 

Kind of bored right now but I will have some work coming at the top of the hour.  Then for sure I know at the close of business and a few hours after.  Today is going to be a very long work day for me.  Most of it will probably be me sitting around waiting for things to roll in but I’m okay with it.  Gives me time to rest and watch some TV.  Hopefully my favorite judge will be on, it’s Landlord Tennant Day and for some reason I love watching those proceedings much more than a Criminal proceedings. 

Hope you have an awesome day and weekend.  Talk with you all again soon!

Man Candy - Overdue Load

Back 2 Work

Morning

I took another day and went back today.  I did do some work yesterday afternoon and evening to make today a little less stressful for me.  I am all alone but now that I’m caught up it’s no big deal  Earlier this morning I had people coming at me from all directions.  It was hard to keep my place and concentrate but I managed it somehow. 

Rudy woke me up at 6a and I managed to keep him at bay until closer to 6:30a but by the time I got moving and ready to head back to work it was much closer to 7:30a. 

Got a good nights sleep but had some strange dreams, which I kind of expected.  That happens when I get a bit too much sleep, plus factor in stress and worry.

Saw my neighbor that moved out.  Looks like he came back for a visit with his kids.  They appear to be gone and there is still no for sale sign, the yard has kids toys in it still.  I am just sitting back watching to see what develops.  Perhaps he is going to rent the place out and is just taking his sweet time. 

We had some rain yesterday.  It was nice to see the back gutter taking it like it should.  I saw some little drips here and there but no serious overflows like I had.  I will be keeping a close eye out. 

Watching random You Tube Videos and several episodes of The Neighborhood. Last night I caught the last episode of the Colbert show, it was okay.  I usually just watch his monologs on You Tube, that to me is the best part of the show.  Wonder what Johnny Carson would think if he could see how things with late night television have developed?  I’m sure he would be shocked. 

Still haven’t got around to trimming cat claws.  I need to get to it before I get any more scratched up.  Rudy got me this morning on my arm.  Both of them got into a fight last night and I had to break it up.  Not sure what it was all about but probably Rudy wanted to play and Mora wasn’t up for it.  I did take time to play with both of them before bed and they both took me up on my offer. 

I suppose I am going to head up and see what the rest of the day has in store for me.  Hopefully, not too much.  Take care!

Fatigued

Hey!

Memorial Day was a nice day to have off.  I was worn out and wound up sleeping through the morning.  I eventually got up, threw on some clothes and ventured over to the office.  I got the card for my co-worker on it’s way to HR.  I walked around for a couple minutes and then left.

Hit up the cat food store on the way back home.  Selection of food was down a little bit but I still managed to drop $50 and that will last roughly 2 weeks. 

Got home and relaxed with the few hours that I had left.  Watching TV, drinking a soda and enjoying the company of the cats.  Time to leave snuck up on me and I got moving.  I made it right on time to my friends place. 

It was a good time and I wanted to keep it shorter than it went but I left after a few hours.  It was still daylight and I had an hour of free time before it was time to get ready for bed. 

We had Hamburgers, Dill Potato Salad, Baked Beans, Potato Chips and Corn on the cob.  Cherry pie for desert to cap it off.  They didn’t have any soda this time so I had to drink water but it was fine. 

This morning I woke up and felt quite fatigued.  I think it was a combination of the heat as well as the gutter work I did that finally caught up to me.  The more I sat and thought about it the more I talked myself into taking today off.  The poor boss was all by himself.  I turned my phone off after I sent an email to tell him I wouldn’t be in today.  I don’t plan on powering it back up until tomorrow morning when it will be time to go back.  I looked at my schedule before I made my final decision and I really didn’t have a whole lot going since I did some work over the weekend. 

I do plan on returning tomorrow because I know I’m the only one, there is plenty to do on the schedule and I am sure that I will have carry over work that piled up from today.  So when Rudy comes calling me at 6 something am tomorrow morning, I will give in so I can get an early start and hopefully a jump on the day. 

Today I slept and it felt good.  Got up for lunch, had a small lunch and some Gator Aid.  Wound up heading back to bed and sleeping some more despite telling myself I need to stay awake.  I’m sure tonight won’t be much fun trying to sleep but perhaps I will luck out and will get a good nights rest.  Not doing so is the leading cause of why I would take another day but knowing the circumstances like I do, unless I am feeling super bad, I will force myself to go back. 

My stomach has been doing summersaults all day long and that didn’t help things.  Had a light supper.  I surfed for porn and got myself all turned on this afternoon.  I am only in front of the computer now because I found content that I wanted to download.  I realize I need to pay a couple of bills as well. 

I will be headed back up to shave, shower and enjoy the rest of the evening until I hopefully eventually fall asleep.  If all goes according to plan I will have a 3 day work week which isn’t bad, even if I am on-call. 

Really wish I would have felt better this morning but I have oodles of time so it’s not a huge big deal to me.  Hopefully, your day today was way better than mine.  Not sure if I will be able to post tomorrow or not depending upon my workload.  Take care!

NOT THE DAY I PLANNED

Woke up with plenty of time to spare, thanks as always to Rudy. I passed out breakfast for the cats. I got dressed and headed out to get my breakfast. Then I started my errand running. Hit up Target because it was time to change cat litter. I got some soda, a card for a co-worker that is out on medical leave that I have been thinking about, one tub of cat treats along with the litter and next thing I know I had a $95 bill. That wasn’t what I had planned on spending but now they are just numbers to me, and I don’t worry about it like I used to have to. Next up grocery store and then topped off my tank which also cost me more money. Came home and got everything put away.

Then it was time for my usual TV watching and nap. Got my medicine put out for the week ahead, passed out lunch for the cats and I had a junk food snack and soda. I wound up watching TV for a bit longer before I got to cleaning the house. Litter boxes changed out. I’m sure that will please the cats. Then started vacuuming. I was in horror when I got to my back door, I saw a stem sticking up from the carpet. As in moldy mushroom stem. The back gutter has been overflowing, and we have had a ton of rain. Still, I was taken back and disappointed. I snapped it off and threw it away.

Headed downstairs to look and see if I could see a source for the mushroom stem but I couldn’t. Also didn’t see any mold. This is in an area that previously had mold and I remediated by treating with a mold treatment and then mold prevention paint. The boards were slightly damp but there was no clear source of growth. I sprayed them down with a mold treatment for good measure. That led me to my next adventure, which was gutter cleaning, which was not on the agenda.

It’s a nice summer-like day with the temperatures in the 80’s, not the kind of day I want to be in but nevertheless I had to address this. I found standing water in the gutter and plenty of debris that the strainer was keeping at bay. Hence why when it rains the gutter overflows and drips onto the deck. Of course, while I was out all the hot guys, I have crushes on were out playing or working. I got in a quick view here and there, but my mind was in the gutter. It smelled horrible and I got the debris cleaned out and flushed the gutter with plenty of fresh water. I could hear it all going down the drain which is a refreshing sound. I flushed the drain (aka downspout) as well for good measure. I had the most difficult time getting the hose connected. I’ve got a hose reel, and it connects with a plastic fitting which wouldn’t thread onto the hose bib for anything. I tried everything I knew and even changed hose bibs but still no luck. Had to pull the hose fully off the reel and then use the metal fitting on the end to connect it to the bib and I was in business.

Cottonwood is really flying around here. Bugs were out and I was sweating. My pants kept falling and I tightened my belt as tight as I could, yet they kept slipping. I hate having to constantly pull my pants up but ever since I lost my initial weight it’s been a problem. I suppose there are worse things to deal with.

I only cleaned out the section of gutter that was dripping onto the deck but now I understand a bit more about what is in the other gutters and will need to call someone to come clean them as that is a task that is much too large for me. I did pretty good on and off the ladder, but it got to me. Plus, I left my phone inside, so I was out on a limb. If I would have fallen, I would have been fucked and not in the good enjoyable way. No one would help me. Rudy came to watch me out the window as if to say, if you fall daddy, I will call 9-1-1. If only he would be able to call. Anyway, it worked out and I finished.

Came inside, took off most of my clothes in the garage. I was huffing and puffing. Just wanted some water. Then I remembered F1 Grand Prix was live on Netflix, so I watched a little bit of that as I cooled down.

Then got a shower and dressed. Had to climb the ladder again because I forgot to put the strainer back in the gutter. Those things are life savers and keep your gutter open, so water keeps flowing, although in my case it was very little water getting through since the strainer was clogged. I put the so-called gutter guards or netting back in place, it doesn’t really stop a whole bunch and kind of is a waste of money.

Headed to the Italian place where the pizza is horrible, but the pasta is delicious. Had a nice salad and pasta. Got some dessert to go and came home.

I had planned to go into the office today but that didn’t materialize. I am worn out. My back is sore and my muscles have been stressed. I was surprised I was able to eat without shaking and looking like I had Parkinson's. I really enjoyed the meal.

Now that I am back home had to catch up on finances. Working on laundry. Got the card for my co-worker ready to go. Planning on heading to the office tomorrow. I must ship the card to HR, and they will address it and put it in the mail. I put a stamp on it and sealed it up. I know that it will catch my colleague off guard, but she has been on my mind, and no one has any idea why she is on medical leave. She is supposed to be back in early July. Just wanted her to know I was thinking of her and missing her.

Got an invite to my friend’s house for Memorial Day. Were supposed to have burgers. I’m sure it will be a typical lack luster meal that I won’t enjoy. The company is way more enjoyable than the food, which is why I go. Who knows, I might be surprised and get a good meal, but I won’t be holding my breath.

I’d like to do some work ahead of Monday because I know there is plenty waiting and again, I will be all alone. I feel the itch starting I’m sure the mosquitos’ bit me up good, at least that is what I expect. I can’t feel them biting me, which is why they get away with it and I must suffer. Who knows, one of them might have followed me in the house but I hope not. I just hope that don’t feel too sore or bad in the morning so that I can keep to what I have planned for Monday.

Right now, I plan to enjoy my time. Mora is nagging me like crazy; I’ve missed treat time and she is upset. I need to trim claws as well and that isn’t something I look forward to.  Oh and I need to buy cat food tomorrow.  Here’s hoping I don’t forget that!

Hope you had a great Sunday!

Lazy but productive

Happy Saturday! I hope that your weekend is going well. Mine is thus far. Rudy woke me up at 6am. I told him last night I didn’t need an early morning wake up call, but I guess his stomach didn’t understand that. I got up and fed him & his sister. Then I climbed back into bed. Watched a little TV and eventually went back to sleep. Woke up around 9a which was kind of a surprise.

I had breakfast at home. I wanted to go see my friend at his shop, but I’ve continued to procrastinate and put that off. I could have got a shower and made it out there with plenty of time to spare. It’s just that once we get to talking, I tend to stay until they close at noon and really wasn’t in the mood to be there quite that long. Instead, I came back to my room and watched TV, eventually returning to bed for a quick nap and cuddle session with the cats.

Once I got up, I passed out lunch for the cats. I had a Coke Zero finished off some Chocolates I had and called it lunch. Back to watching TV and peeking at my phone, nothing was going on, which is good news.

I set a goal to finish the episode of The Neighborhood I was watching and watch one more, then I would get moving. I stuck to the plan. Got my shower and dressed up. Made my plan to grab the mail first, gas up (which was seriously pricy $5 per gallon) and then hit up Lowe’s. Purchased 2 bags of sand and 3 bags of drainage rock. Came home, opened the drainage rock and filled the big hole with that. It’s nice. Hopefully, the critters let it be and don’t dig it out! I saw a smaller hole and filled that with a bag of sand. Dumped the last bag of rock out front in a landscaping bed, where my problem gutter always seems to clog and overflow, despite having a gutter guard in place. Put one bag of sand I had in the garage because I know the critters will dig right through that.

Peeking at my neighbor’s place, he came back to mow the grass the day after the U-Haul’s left. No one came to set the trash out which is overflowing and it’s only a matter of time before the Raccoons discover it and start making a mess. There has been no activity, and all the kids’ toys are still sitting outside. I see a TV on their enclosed deck is still on the wall, so I wonder if they are coming back to grab leftovers or if they are just going to leave it is for now. I suppose as time moves on the picture will paint it’s self and they will either come back pick up the leftovers and do some outside work before they put the place on the market or they will come back and continue to occupy the place. Selling points are new windows, new roof and new ac/furnace. I’m sure they made some improvements inside. The enclosed deck is a nice touch. I just hope if they sell that I get along with whomever moves in next and they kick in some money when it comes time to maintain or chop down the shared tree we have.

I took a minute to catch my breath and then I left and headed for the buffet that I was seriously craving. An hour and 15 minutes later I arrived, despite one wrong turn. This time before I blindly ordered the buffet, I walked through the buffet, and it didn’t look that good. I ordered off the menu for the first time. I got a Horseshoe which is 3 burgers on Texas Toast served open face, then topped with two kinds of cheese (queso (white) and yellow (cheddar)), then French fries and finally topped with chili. It was so good and I was so full when I left. It was a little on the salty side but wow, so good. Had one piece of guy candy that I was eyeing; he was straight looked like he was waiting for his girl to show up and having dinner with his parents. Jeez, I wished I was that girl, he was so hot!

Made the drive back home. My new car fever has flared up again and now I am even considering buying something that is used, which would save me some money. However, my preference is brand new. Looks like whatever I get will need to be a 2026 because come 2027 there are mandatory government monitoring features that will be on all new vehicles. The car will watch you with AI and if it decides you are drunk, drowsy or otherwise impaired it will shut down and you won’t be able to start it. No idea on how long it will stay disabled as those details have yet to leak. The way it’s sounding is that the vehicle will be disabled for a while. There is no override. If you’re traveling the vehicle will pull over and then shut off. There are other government features coming as well but that monitoring one is the most concerning. Hopefully, more information comes out later this year otherwise what I get will be 2026 or earlier.

Thinking about work, Friday was a hellish day. There will be plenty for me to do next week and I will be the only guy working since the other two will be out. Not sure why my boss let the mistake maker go when he knew that the new guy was out. In any case, I will survive it’s what I do. I won’t enjoy it one bit but fear not I have plenty of time off and plan to schedule some next month. I’m supposed to hear more about the promotion I am being considered for, nothing is in the books, but I listened to my review, and my boss clearly says that he will schedule something for us so I can get more info. I want a clear understanding and documentation in writing about what I’d be stepping into before I step into it, and they make things up and change them leaving me stuck. I don’t plan to fall into that type of trap. Boss man is out next Thursday & Friday so at least I will have 2 days of peace and quiet or so I hope. I will also be on call all next week, oh joy!

I’m working on laundry, paying my bills and updating finances. Surfed the web to catchup on porn and waded through my inbox and did some serious cleanup. Waiting for the dryer to tell me my laundry is done then it will be upstairs and time to get ready for tomorrow. I will be up early, heading to breakfast and the grocery store.

Thinking about driving to the office tomorrow to check on something, not sure if that will happen or if I will just let things be. I’ve got nowhere to go other than figuring out what I want to eat. There is a new place by the office, I looked at their menu online and its mostly finger foods and tons of alcohol, none of which I am into so I’m passing on that place. There are other places nearby that are within walking distance. Ah, there is the buzzer time to get moving.

There you have it another DITLO (Day In The Life Of) me. Thanks for stopping by!

Long Time Coming

Morning!

I made it out last night for BBQ, it was delicious.  However, I kept thinking the whole time I was eating that it was Saturday.  It’s so abnormal for me to eat out during the week.  It was fun though and I enjoyed myself. 

I had my review yesterday afternoon.  I read through it earlier in the afternoon.  Only one surprise.  The bonus that I got earlier this year when I was out sick, I thought came from my manager.  Turns out it came from a different manager and I had no idea.  Looks like I picked up yet another fan at work that loves my work and loves to work with me. 

The big shock came when my boss told me that he wants to promote me.  He wants me to take a Team Lead position.  He said that I’d just be doing the same stuff I am doing now but that I would have a title modification and a separate pay increase.  I told him that I felt like this was a long time coming and that he had been grooming me in this direction.  He said that if I wasn’t interested that is fine but he needs a Team Lead.  I know that means that if I don’t take it he would give it to the mistake maker.  I wouldn’t want that.  I told him that I am interested but wanted to know more of the specific duties and expectations before I made a final decision.  He is supposed to be working with HR to find out more and pass it along.  I did share with him that I had spoken with a prior Team Lead and a former employee and they had nothing but horror stories to tell me about the position, so I am skeptical. 

Now given that I figure if I take this I would be looked at differently for sure.  It’s a mini management role.  If I keep doing what I am doing that’s great but should I keep doing it all full-time from home or should I start making in office appearances.  That old saying the bigger they are, the harder they fall comes to mind.  I am pretty sure that if I was a Team Lead and my “secret” of working full-time from home came to light that there would be no hesitation and I would be kicked to the curb.  However, the odd thing is that my review is glowing once again and it outlines that I do a full body of work and go above and beyond no matter what.  I did feel a bit guilty when my boss told me that he trusts me.  I feel that I am betraying his trust by working from home.  However, I give more and work longer so the company gets more bang for their buck.  I am clearly at a cross road and need not only more information but need to think about what my next move will be. 

I am truly fine to keep doing the job I am doing with no change.  I am always a bit resistant to a promotion because your going into unchartered waters and it’s more of a fear of the unknown.  Plus I am not a huge fan of change.  I like things to stay mostly the same, I get in a routine and stick with it. 

I just think that if I lost this job that there would be no true recovery.  Sure I could probably land another job with a little bit of time but my age would work against me and there is no way I would earn nearly what I earn now. 

There is no doubt in my mind that I will work this out and make a decision one way or another.  However, I’m open to any advice or suggestions you might have.  I have plenty to think about as I wait for details to come forth. 

While I have expected the promotion for years I kind of though that it probably wouldn’t come to fruition and that it might all be in my head.  It’s times like these that make me realize that I am smarter than I give myself credit for and that I know how to read the room pretty good.  Once again it’s a reminder to listen to that little voice inside.  Despite this being expected I did walk away from this review with a huge surprise.

Review Time

Morning!

By some miracle we didn’t get any rain yesterday.  It was forecast and I kept close tabs on my phone looking at the weather.  Each time it said it was going to rain nothing happened.  According to the news this morning were supposed to be mostly dry for the next 48 hours before we gear up for our next batch of precipitation. 

Later this afternoon I have my annual review with my boss.  I am not fond of this, I pretty much know where I stand and am not expecting any surprises as it relates to the review.  Compensation well I’d like to get a surprise there by getting a bigger raise but I won’t know about that for at least another month.  I am supposed to be able to read my review ahead of time so I am prepared for the call but my dumb boss has yet to make the review public.  In years past they sent an email copy to you but now you have to login to a portal to read it.  I tried a couple times yesterday and again this morning, still it’s not letting me see it.  I sent an email this morning to remind the dummy to make it public so I can see it.  In our call he will read the whole thing to me over the phone as if I haven’t read it before and emphasize his comments.  I’d rather just have a conversation I mean that is to say provided I can read the document ahead of time.  However, it’s like I am in first grade all over again.  I record the entire call so I have it for my records, you never know when you might need that.

Got a surprise yesterday my neighbors the one who built the second house a couple years ago.  Yeah well looks like at least one of them is moving out if not the whole family.  A couple U-Haul's showed up yesterday along with several cars and they spent the afternoon packing up before they headed out.  There are still kids toys in the front and back yard which makes me wonder if they are truly moving out.  The grass also needs to be cut again and bushes trimmed.  It’s honestly not ready for the market quite yet.  However, until they are gone and there is a for sale sign in the yard, I’m not holding my breath.  I was sure I was going to be free of them a couple years ago but yet here we are. 

Supper was Cheese Potatoes with Bacon casserole from Stouffers.  It’s a side dish that I make a main mean and split in half.  So it’s good for two meals.  The bacon makes the house smell amazing and gets the cats going.  You should see their noses sniffing the air, like what is that, it smells so good, let’s smell again.  They make life interesting, you never know what they are going to do next. 

If the stars and the moon align and I feel like it, might just head out for BBQ tonight.  Kind of mostly depends on my mood, since the weather should cooperate. 

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.  Take care!