Ranting but what’s new?

I talked with a co-worker this morning about our meeting yesterday.  He thinks it’s absurd like I do and he said that we just have to give it time then it will die out and we will be on some other kick.  Those were my exact thoughts.  The boss has this whole little program she has designed and it goes through March, there are additional exercises/tasks that we will be required to do.  Bottom line here is she is trying to improve customer service skills.  Which goes back to what I said yesterday about doing this job for 10 years.  Either I have what your looking for or I don’t.  Obviously I do or I wouldn’t have been hired.  Just let me do my job and stop bothering me, it will make everyone’s life easier.  Yeah I just can’t let it go.  I probably will be able to over the weekend but right now it’s just stuck in my craw and I would love to be in a position to walk out the door and never come back.  Unfortunately I am addicted to being able to live in my house and support my furry family. 

Work today has been steady busy.  I also got a massage.  Funny thing is I felt fine when I walked in the door, nothing bothering me.  Now my back is killing me.  I really hate to see what I feel like tomorrow.  There are a few things going on here tomorrow and it’s a day that I really need to be here to make sure things get done right.

My mind is all over the place.  I think about being all alone and have given some thought to taking another break from on-line dating.  I am not exactly sure what the right move is here.  The whole dating experience is a crap shoot, you never know what or should I say who you will wind up with.  I think it’s much easier to communicate in person than by typewritten word, it just doesn’t allow your personality to come through.  Most profiles blend together and say very similar things.  Once and a while you will find something with original content but that is rare.  Everyone wants to see your face and I get that but I really don’t like the fact that my face is out there for the whole world to see.  I think is mostly my makeup from how I was raised and by nature I am a private person.  I do open up but only to those that I trust implicitly.  That has bitten me before so I am even extra careful now. 

Ho hum.  Just about time to travel home (oh joy traffic again) and grab the mail and see the children.  Eat, Sleep and repeat again tomorrow.  I am so excited for the weekend need to get my haircut, hopefully go to see a movie and then blend in all of the other usual stuff.  It will be nice if I can do everything that I want to do. 

Stay warm, be safe and I shall be back with another post again soon. 

Mr. Roboto

Things are moving right along.  Had a staff meeting today, our boss wants to turn us into robots – we are getting scripts on how to speak with users and were supposed to use them but not sound like we are reading from a script.  We have practice sessions 1 hour for the rest of the month with a counterpart where we get on the phone one person is the tech and the other is the user.  Yeah, this is going to go over like a lead balloon.  It might be all the rage right now and it will be used a little bit here and there but eventually it will die out.  I saw the same thing with how we answer the phone.  I believe I am the only one that actually uses that script.  Were also supposed to paraphrase to make sure that we have an understanding.  Hello all you have to do is listen then there is no need to paraphrase.  I’ve done this job for over 10 years now and if I don’t know how to do it by now then I will never ever learn.  Bottom line is someone some place had to make a change or it would look like they didn’t do anything.  The whole thing is a cluster and I will be much happier when it dies off.  Right now I am ready to walk out the door and not come back.  Will I?  Of course not I’ve got bills to pay, but it is tempting. 

Got my new toy today.  I ordered a new Bluetooth Headset by Plantronics from Amazon.  It’s a refurb.  I thought I was getting a Cadillac model but instead got the stripped down version.  It’s still a decent product and I know I got a good deal.  I ordered a desktop stand to charge it in, but of course it’s not compatible.  A co-worker of mine has the Cadillac model and I gave him the desktop stand, it was only $26 and not worth my time to fight for a return.  Although I think Amazon should have warned me that it wasn’t compatible, but that is another story. 

Saw a funny comedian last night on Netflix – Brent Morin.  He has a little bit of Lewis Black in him, I got a few laughs from it but then again I am a difficult customer when it comes to laughter.  Once you get me going and I have one of those laughs that makes you cough and you loose your breath, that is when I am all fired up and then it doesn’t take much to make me laugh.  I don’t get that way often. 

That is really all I know, it’s business as usual here.  Work, Eat, Sleep – rinse and repeat.  With that in mind I guess I will call this post done.  Talk with you folks again soon.  Be well.

All done

That’s a wrap for my on-call shift.  I got around 5 calls yesterday, the last one came in at 9:30p, I was relaxing watching some porn and presto the phone goes off.  What bad timing.  Plus Bear was going to the bathroom and he needed attention as well.  Just when I thought it would be peaceful it turned into chaos.  Got one more call this morning at 6:30a.  Now I am done, I put my phone back to normal and the best thing about that is do not disturb will kick in at 9p tonight.  No more alerts in the middle of the night and I can turn my white noise machine back on, which hopefully means I will sleep better.  I put the electric blanket on yesterday, it was nice to wake up being toasty in bed this morning.  Marvin however abandoned me, he was sleeping on the floor.  I only had it on 1 because I have an intolerance to heat.  If I crank it up too high I will be really sick, which is not good at all.

Cyber Monday is today.  I decided to do some shopping.  Nothing crazy I got a new headset for work.  I bought a product that the company issues so it should work very well with my phone.  Honestly for the work I do they should provide one and they would but I am not in the right office to get that perk, only 1 of our offices gets that.  Stupid.  Anyway I was talking with a coworker today and he picked one up, couldn’t stop raving about it.  So I went on Amazon and got one refurbished for a lot less than new.  It’s a Plantronics Voyager Legend, sounds expensive because it is. I spent a whopping $73 and got 2 day free shipping with my Prime membership.  That will wipe out some of the overtime I put in, but I figured I should reward myself.  I also picked up some adult toys for me but didn’t spend much there at all.  That stuff can get expensive and I honestly have most of the things I have ever wanted, don’t use them much if at all but I own them. 

I had a brief thought of staying home today but I talked myself out of it pretty quickly.  Not a good impression to make and besides that I had a relaxing weekend even if I was on call.  So here I am.  Not looking forward to the drive home because it will be raining and people drive horrible in the rain. 

Put some new music on my iPhone yesterday.  There is a gay artist named Tom Goss.  He sings a song Rise that I really like.  In changing computers and having to rebuild my system I lost a good portion of my music, most of which has been recovered.  There are one offs and that was one of them.  So I got it back yesterday.  I also discovered a new song that he put out called Bears.  He’s got a lot of material but I am only interested in a few songs of his for now.  Bears is really catchy.  A Lesbian co-worker of mine is always saying I should go to a Bear Bar.  Turns out that Tom likes Bears so much he married one.  Now I can see where someone could picture me as a Bear or even a Daddy (when I have facial hair).  The Daddy part is kind of a turn on.  Anyway, Bears are not my type.  I like the fact that they are more accepting but I am fat and it doesn’t turn me on.  I’d love a Twink or just a guy who was in decent shape with a little (not a lot) of muscle.  However, you can’t control who your heart falls in love with and what they will look like.  You can have a fantasy but it will always be very different from reality. 

So there is about a 1/2 hour left in this day.  It’s been a busy one and flew by so I am thankful.  I hope that the remainder of the week is that way.  I am anxious to get to the weekend again.  Had a Tombstone Pizza last night and covered it in extra cheese.  It was very good!  Also tried Sunbelt Bakery’s Granola Bars they are yummy and very fresh as they advertise.  Tonight will be back to a frozen dinner, taking out the trash, preparing for tomorrow and of course catering to the children.  I miss them a little bit but I am sure they miss me a lot.  Especially Insty who clings to me like glue but only when I am upstairs and it’s worse if her mother is hanging around me.  They fight for my attention which isn’t necessary.  I only have two arms but there is plenty of me to go around. 

Hope you had a great Monday.  We will be in December as of tomorrow and this month will go by the fastest I do believe.  Looking forward to Spring and were not even into Winter yet.  I just want away from the depression that comes with the holidays.  That is the problem if I get a long period of time off, plus I turn into a lazy bum and it’s hard to get back in the swing of things, this morning was easy compared to what I expected.  Talk with you all again, be well and stay warm!  Thanks as always for stopping by.

Nice Saturday

Today has been a pretty good day.  Only 1 call (thus far) from my on-call stuff, very happy about that.  I thought today would be busy, so that gives me hope that this will repeat tomorrow and hopefully I won’t have any calls.  As long as I can make my morning stops then I will be fine. 

I have enjoyed being lazy today but also semi productive.  I have got the dishes done.  Laundry is done except for my bedding and that is a job for tomorrow.  I also have to vacuum and tame the trash.  Cleaned up my late partners office.  You can at least walk in the room now.  I did as much as I could do before it started hurting and then I had to get out of there.  I wanted to start on his bedroom but I just can’t.  I did grab some shirts out of his closet and put them in the wash.  A couple will fit me like a glove and the others will be moo moo’s but I can wear them.  I cleaned up my office a little bit.  I had to change ports on my UPS because my computer was plugged into a surge only outlet.  I need it to have battery backup, that is the whole purpose of the UPS. 

I managed to get in a nap.  I gave into eating a few cheese it’s and had a soda probably around noon.  Really I went most of the day on nothing.  I had Lasagna for supper along with a couple sodas, some cookies and 2 nutty bars.  That’s it I am done for the day.  My body very rarely signals me that I need to eat, I can feel my blood sugar drop but I am not hungry at all.  If I ate when my body asked for food I probably would lose a lot of my muffin top. 

I did venture out today, I took my car but I grabbed the keys for the truck.  There is a car key on there but it made things interesting.  If you have the fob then you can do what you want.  With a key only you can unlock the door but as soon as you open it, a timer starts and you have a very short amount of time to start the car before the alarm goes off.  Okay, so I grabbed the mail and threw it all away at the post office, it was 2 pieces of junk mail.  Then I stopped at the gas station that had the bargain price on gas.  Filled up my car for $13, I had to cycle the pump to add extra so that it would come out even.  I normally don’t do that.  When it stops I am done.  Otherwise I tend to over do it and I have gas spilling out of the tank.  Then it was on to fetch cat food.  Here was my challenge.  I had bags of food and a case of food.  I had to grab it all shove it in the car and manage to get the car started.  I made it but it was very close.  None of the cute guys I like were working, kind of sad but it allowed me to get in and get out.  It was cold, windy and rainy – not exactly weather that I enjoyed. 

I have ventured up and downstairs.  I watched a couple of movies.  One of the better ones was A Merry Friggin Christmas.  It had Robin Williams in it, so I knew it had to be good.  It was worth a few laughs.  Another reminder that we lost a great entertainer.  UVERSE is having a trial weekend, so everything is free.  I’ve got 450 channels but there are some movie networks I don’t have.  This movie was on one of them.  I also saw Hot Tub Time Machine 2, which was okay but not something that I would recommend.  I saw Naomi and Ely’s no kiss list on Netflix.  It’s worth your time.  I fell madly in love with Griffin Newman, he looked like a dork but I just wanted to suck face with him.  I am not a kisser but I do make exceptions.  It is quite a struggle to find something on TV that is actually entertaining. 

The cats just love the fact that daddy is home and they can sleep with me and when I nap they can sleep on me.  Insty & Momma have a competition going.  Momma hates it when she is by me first and Insty comes up, that will start a hissing war.  As long as there is nothing physical and I don’t get injured I am happy.  I can usually break it up by raising my voice.  They all know I don’t like hissing and growling.  Ruth is the growler.  Momma follows me to the basement and tries hard to get me to go back upstairs but I don’t give in easily.  Right now she is sleeping at my feet, she looks so angelic.  I can watch any of them sleep for hours, it’s peaceful and it will put me to sleep.  Caught Bear today sleeping on his back.  He passed out during one of the movies and I got up to give him a belly rub.  Soon after treats followed.  He’s such a good boy.

So all of this time on my hands has been a blessing and a curse.  The blessing comes from the few things that I have been able to accomplish.  The curse is that I have spent a lot of time thinking of what was, what I had and how it’s gone and never coming back.  Holidays are great when you have family to celebrate with.  I am asking Santa for the names of all of the bad boys!  Seriously all I want for Christmas is a boyfriend who will turn into my next partner.  Too bad it’s not as easy as wish and it then he pops into my life. 

So since we are entering into a new month I kept with my usual routine and changed the mast.  This month features Joseph Rough.  He’s a porn star and I have a major crush on him.  He is into heavier stuff like bondage and leather daddy’s.  I can get into some of it but not all of it.  Still he is one cute guy with an amazing smile.  He reminds me of the guy that quit working in my office to take another job earlier this year.  He smiled all of the time like Joseph does and they look pretty similar. 

There is a lot of good porn out right now, but I have taken a break.  I need to get back into the swing of things.  Not exactly sure what I am waiting for but it just isn’t at the top of my list of things to do.  Which is also not normal.  My sex drive is usually pretty high.  It would probably put me in a better mood if I got off. 

Right now I am tired and looking forward to jumping into bed and hopefully getting a good nights sleep.  Last night a co-worker texted me at midnight, no doubt she was drunk I could tell that by her text.  I read the message and then climbed back into bed.  I sent a reply later this morning and said no texts after 9p.  Normally it wouldn’t be a problem because Do Not Disturb would be turned on, but since I am on call I have to disable that until my week is done.  I still don’t sleep soundly because I know the damn phone could go off at any minute.  Usually there is nothing after 9 on the weekends but I have had calls as late as 11p.

Ah one more day of freedom.  The upside to that is most of my work is done so I can be equally as lazy tomorrow as I was today, that is provided I am not bothered by work.  Then it will be back to the grindstone for 5 long days.  Almost forgot I was able to pay my bills even though pay day isn’t until Monday.  They have to deposit the money ahead of schedule and the bank posts it because the next business day is Monday.  Kind of nice.  I have some money left but not much.  Not happy about my debt situation but I will probably die in debt and might as well make myself happy (with in reason) while I am walking this earth.  Risk is involved in every purchase because I don’t know what the future holds.  That is why I am not a big fan of contracts or long term commitments when it comes to money.  A Relationship is vastly different and I have no problem in committing myself when I find the right guy. 

I hope that your Saturday was enjoyable and that you had some down time similar to mine.  Now I will venture into the evening and see what else I can find on TV to entertain me.  I am hoping for some good stuff but we shall see.  Take care and thanks for stopping by!

Thanksgiving

I was able to sleep for most of the morning but my body still got me up at 7am.  The children were pleased about that because they were hungry.  Finally it was time to get ready, everything fell into place that is until it was bow tie time.  I went to put it on and realize that this was a bargain for an obvious reason, it was made for someone with a smaller neck.  Still where there is a will there is a way.  I forced it to snap in place and paid the price of mildly choking myself for several hours.

When I arrived at my friends place he saw the bow tie and he had to match me so he put one on as well.  That wasn’t in his plan but I guess he likes to keep up with the jones’ even though I am not a jones.  We arrived at Maggiano’s as per usual we were early and they weren’t ready for us.  Instead of passing out pagers, they asked for a cell phone # and said they would text me when my table was ready.  I started getting a ton of compliments on my bow tie.  A couple from gay guys that were working there.  Hey I am glad it made an impression and I got positive feedback because it was painful to wear but that made it worth while. 

We sat and chatted for a bit and after 15 minutes I went up to inquire about the table and presto it was ready.  We made the trek upstairs via elevator.  I would have rather taken the stairs but hey it’s all good.  As usual we sat at a very small table and there was hardly any room to move once the food arrived.  We got extra stuffing and a couple extra deserts.  I contributed my $10 coupon because my friends insisted on paying the bill, which was over $200.  They had a couple glasses of wine and that adds to the cost quickly. 

Reservations were at 2:15, I left home around 12:15 to arrive at my friends house by 1p.  We got back to their place around 6 and I departed and made it home at 7:30p.  The Black Friday Shoppers were out in full force.  There is a Wal-Mart close to my house and they opened their doors at 5p.  There are bargains to be had but I think it’s safer and easier to shop on line than to risk safety of being injured or trampled to death.  There isn’t anything that is worth that, even if they are giving it away. 

Once I got home I put away the left overs and fed the children their evening meal.  I let them skip the evening medication.  When I am off my routine is off and they get some benefit from that.  I can’t go too far because things could get out of control and I can’t afford that.  I flipped around through Amazon and NetFlix before I eventually found something to watch.  Then it was off to bed. 

Friday morning…. I slept in as well today.  Not so sure that I will have that luxury tomorrow since I will be back on call.  Anyway, I wanted to go to the movies.  Then an urgent call came in.  I wasn’t obligated to answer it but figured there could easily be negative repercussions if I chose not to.  I took care of it.  Then came back upstairs and laid down to continue watching TV only to get another call.  This guy was in the office and couldn’t login, he told me in his message that he didn’t want to work today but he had to.  Okay so I fixed that one as well.  I was starting to wonder if no one read the email that HR sent out.  I got a couple other calls but they were not urgent and didn’t require that I respond.  I talked myself out of going to the movies because my luck would be I would be all settled in and then something would come up and I would have to leave.  Movies aren’t cheap and I want my monies worth so I figure that I will go next weekend either Friday or Saturday.  It will be a welcome change.  I only ventured out in the crappy weather (rain, windy and cold) to fetch the mail.  Then came back home prepared lunch for the children and I wiped out most of the left overs I was sent home with.  Still have some Ziti and Pumpkin Cheesecake – that won’t last too long.  Sat around and watched TV.  Fell into a food coma and took a nap.  It feels like a wasted day but I honestly don’t have the desire to do anything.  I am all messed up on what day of the week it is because of the holiday and time off.  Oh I forgot I saw a bargain on Gasoline so I stopped to fill up the truck.  I only hope that the same bargain will be available when I next venture out so I can fill up my car for cheap. 

I have poked around on-line looking at black Friday deals and realized that I could have gotten a little bit better deal on a laptop but so what, I’ve got it and it was cheap – does what I want it to.  I did purchase a LoJack subscription today for it.  I went with basic service because it was the cheapest and after I was done they upgraded me one level so I have recovery included, as if someone would steal this.  Then again you never know.  I may purchase a couple other things but honestly not looking to do any shopping.  I have but one gift to buy and that’s for my friends I had dinner with yesterday.  I am going to give them cash because they can use it more than anything I can try to buy.  Plus they already extended an invite for Christmas to come to their place.  I hope they have Honey Baked Ham and don’t try to make a Rib Roast because I will enjoy Ham much more. 

All of the children are thrilled that I am home.  Ms. Instigator has been up my butt since last night.  She has even stepped on my junk and she got her footing just right so it was right in the nuts.  Painful.  I think I need to invest in a cup for Christmas.  Things are way too quiet around here.  Silence is welcomed at times but right now it’s deafening.  I still miss my late partner as well as the two cats that I have had to part with.  This is the time of year everyone should be together.  I know that it’s impossible to get them back and that is what hurts the most.  I also wonder if and when the right guy will come along for me.  The next time has to be the one because it will be the third time, if only that was true and guaranteed.  I have spent the day watching gay themed Romantic Comedy's and well that didn’t exactly help matters.  I am so jealous of people that have someone else to come home to and spend the holidays with, even if you fight like wolves at least you have each other.  There are perks to living alone but being alone on the holidays I think is by far the worst.  Still it allows me to reflect on what was, what happened and how I have survived.  Yes, I have come a long way baby but there are still many miles to walk.  I just need a breather and then I will be back out there one step at a time. 

I hope that tomorrow is quiet.  I plan on getting out for mail if there is any and cat food shopping.  Outside of that I will probably continue to be lazy.  I am thinking of starting laundry tonight, which probably isn’t a bad idea.  I don’t want to go back to work and am thankful that I have 2 more days but still when those fly by the only good thing is that I won’t be on call anymore.  I guess there is always something to be thankful for.

With that in mind I am going to work on what is left of the left overs and see how much of it I can make disappear.  Then I will go back to the basement for a little bit and probably call it an early night and sit and scroll through Amazon & NetFlix again to find something to watch.  It’s a shame that I pay for 450 channels on TV and there isn’t anything on that I am interested in.  Speaking of which my contract with AT&T is about up and I hope they can make it worth my while to stay.  If not then I guess it will be back to cable which will be good from a cost perspective but only for 12 months and then we get to play the game all over again.  I would rather get a good rate and stay put than have to always do the shuffle.  I tried U-verse and I like it more than cable, but it also costs more than cable.  They nickel and dime you to death with fees and regulatory recovery costs not to mention 911 fees.  Cable has some of that but not nearly as much.  Ah well something I will need to deal with next month, until then I just have to pay the bill.  Now I am really going for those left overs.  Take care, stay warm and thank you for stopping by.  Talk with you all again soon!

Thanksgiving Eve

Here I am stuck at work, no early release today and I am not happy about it.  Plus my boss phoned and asked me to pick up on-call early because she is letting the late shift guys go early.  Not exactly sure how that is fair but it’s money in my pocket if anyone calls so sure I will be more than happy to help out. 

Monday night when I took out the trash I looked up and there it was.  Yeah a full moon and I am on call.  Without warning I just said oh fuck me!  I figured I would be in for a hell of a ride.  Thus far it’s the calm before the storm.  I got 1 call early on Tuesday morning.  I took care of it and finished getting dressed and still got to work with 1/2 hour to spare.  I hope it stays quiet even though I would like the extra money.  The best part is that I get Thanksgiving day and the day after off.  There was an error made when the notification was sent out.  Now if someone calls the boss and has a special request then I have to help, otherwise I am free.  Saturday we start back to normal and I am thinking I will be pelted over the weekend, but maybe not because people will be traveling back home – be a shame if they were all stuck up in the air with no way to contact me.  Yeah that is what I hope for quiet.  I don’t mind a call here and there but constantly no thank you.  I guess working a holiday on call can be both good and bad. 

We have a lot of people out today and consequently those of us that showed up for work, have to pick up the slack.  So I am on the phones and watching email now, as is everyone else.  I see were busy which I didn’t think would be the case because it’s almost 2p and I figured most people would have gone home for the day.  Some people are probably working from home trying to get last minute things done before family and friends show up.

Last night I got my rainbow bow tie in the mail.  Looking forward to wearing it tomorrow.  I hope I can pull it off.  If it’s not too tight then I will be okay but if it’s choking me then it will be a no go. 

Not a whole lot to report everyone is doing okay.  Calm and quiet is the way I like it.  No drama or events to write about.  This is the perfect time of year to hibernate.  Speaking of which Bear asked to sleep with me last night so I carried him into my room.  He was very happy!  I also left a bowl of dry food for him and much to my surprise he ate it up.  Seems like one of the kids is always hungry.  Not a bad thing I suppose. 

Looking forward to consuming great food tomorrow.  However, I am finding this time of year difficult.  It really didn’t bother me much last year.  This year it’s difficult, I just want someone to share the holiday with and I really miss my late partner.  I know that this will eventually all work it’s self out but right now it’s no picnic.  There are many things in my life and that have happened to me in this past year that I am thankful for.  Mostly that I am able to support myself, the kids and I have managed to hang on to the house as well as put a new roof on it.  There is a sense of pride and accomplishment that I get from being able to make it on my own, there is also some fear that comes with it as well because there is no safety net and if you fall it’s going to hurt.  Still I try to focus on the positive and hope that as each day passes it brings me closer to the next guy that will be in my life, that is if there is a next.  I do have doubts.

So back to the fun and games that I call work.  Hope all is well for all of you.  Thanks as always for stopping by!

Spending Money on a Sunday

I didn’t get to the movies today, it was a thought but once I was home I decided to stay put.  It was cold this morning and I was thankful that I had switched my wardrobe.  Made my usual trip to Steak N Shake and the Grocery Store.  The kids had enough food that I just purchased enough at the grocery store to freshen up the line up.  No need to make an extra trip and it helped get me to the $70 mark so I got my $20 off.  Love that!  A cashier that I have struck up a rapport with told me that she lost her dog.  She found a place that did cremations for $80 – you get their ashes back, a yard marker and a scattering urn.  Yeah I like what I got from my vet but the price was $124 and were talking for a cat, I would hate to see what a dog costs.  I am very hopeful that I won’t be in the market for cremation anytime soon.  I have thought of talking with the funeral home that I used for my late partner to see what they would charge.  But that is a conversation for another day.

I am not sure if I mentioned it but the Dyson vacuum that I have, the on/off switch no longer clicks, so you have to use a piece of tape to make it stay on in order to vacuum.  I took that sucker apart today and figured out that I need a new relay switch.  Amazon has it for $7.50, which is awesome.  It gave me an excuse (not that I need one to do more shopping).  I got the switch on order as well as a 5 pack of bow ties, one of which is rainbow and I plan on wearing it on Turkey Day.  I also got another Duke Cannon Big Ass Brick of Soap and a bladder replacement for my Steam Cleaner.  The switch and the bow ties are guaranteed for delivery by Wednesday, which is a very good thing.  The rest of the stuff should be in by the end of the month, not that I am in a hurry.  I am anxious to replace the switch – I love it when I can fix something on my own and make it work.  Saves money and makes me feel good all at the same time. 

I can feel a small difference in how I feel since I am on day #2 of the antibiotics.  Hopefully they do the trick and wipe out whatever germ is causing me trouble so that I can return to normal. 

I got my phone mostly setup for being on-call, I will turn off Do Not Disturb in the morning and will look forward to next Monday when I can turn it back on.  I disable my personal email from pushing and change it to manual update, so that I don’t get woken up at 2 in the morning when a piece of spam comes flying in.  Tonight will be the last night that I can sleep soundly until Thursday.  We only work Monday thru Wednesday.  There is no hope of getting to leave early but I can tell you that a number of people will be out on vacation this week and if your not out for the whole week a lot of folks will take Wednesday off.  I will want to leave early but won’t because it will mess up any time that I work on Friday.  I will get double time and a half, why would I want to screw myself like that?  So as difficult as it is I will work the whole week, but I didn’t say I wouldn’t complain. 

The furnace is running strong, it just kicked off a moment ago and it’s toasty in here.  A little too warm for me, but that will change I am sure.  I have it set for colder in the night and then to warm up about an hour before I hop out of bed.  It also warms up an hour before I am home.  Another proud accomplishment.  Thankful that I didn’t blow up the house! 

I cleaned out an return air duct that I have been meaning to get to.  Man it was full of dust.  I also fetched a bankers lamp that my late partner had in his office and moved it to mine.  It had to be dusted.  This is also something that I have put off.  Then I walked back to what used to be his bedroom and went looking for some clothes, I have a few more things that I could wash and wear but I am done with laundry for the day.  I thought to myself as I was back there, I really need to move in here, it would be nice.  I need to throw out his nightstand, it’s the source of an unpleasant odor but I am paralyzed to take any action – it’s the same way with his office.  It’s just something that I don’t want to deal with.  I know he is not coming back and it seems like the longer I wait the more I want to put it off.  Eventually I will draw a line in the sand and say that’s it, then it will be all action.  Until I get to that point it is waiting for me and I know it’s not going anywhere. 

Insty has been up my butt all day, meowing for this or that.  Mostly for food.  I did manage to get a nap in today and she slept on my lap.  It was great.  Bear came over and I was petting him – we all just drifted away.  Very relaxing and pleasant. 

Well now it’s time to head up and get ready for Monday.  Yeah I am not thrilled about it but it will be one day closer to turkey day.  Also I have a $10 coupon off of a $30 purchase at Maggiano’s.  It says nothing about Thanksgiving Day so I am going to try to use it.  If it works I will get my $40 meal for $30, which won’t be bad.  My friends typically pick up the tab but I am not counting on that.  I am fully prepared to pay for my own meal, always have been and always will be. 

I hope that you had a great Sunday.  It was fun for me and I am sad it’s just about over.  I am more sad that I will be on-call.  Talk with you folks again soon.  Stay warm!

Saturday

I got my usual good report from the dentist and get to return in 6 months when the weather is warmer.  It was raining and snowing here this morning.  I loved it!  I put new wipers on the truck in the pouring rain.  It would have been easier if it was dry but it needed to be done.  My late partner always loved the snow and when I saw it, I got excited it was like he was with me for a second and it was a comfort to know that everything is going to be okay.

I also got my mail, which brought me my naked men calendars.  I was hoping the guys would be a little hotter than they are but you win some, you lose some.  I also got an occupancy permit, which means my roof passed inspection.  Very happy about that. 

I can tell I am sick when I wake up, I feel horrible and my head has to drain.  I used Doctor on Demand which is an app on my phone.  I saw a doctor via video conference and got some antibiotics.  Hopefully this will clear up my sinus issue and get me back to feeling normal.  The change of the seasons always gets me.  Plus I have sick coworkers so I am surrounded by germs all the time. 

I had a nap prior to going out and fetching my prescription, I went out for a bite to eat at Bob Evans.  It was okay but a bit over priced.  Plus they didn’t have the heat on in the place, I was freezing.  I wanted Mexican food but decided against it.  I get in those moods where I think of something that I want then talk myself out of it.  It’s like nothing can make me happy when I am like that. 

I was supposed to go see Love the Coopers but talked myself out of that as well.  It will be in theaters for a while and who knows maybe I will have time on Thanksgiving Day to go see it.  Maybe not.  Instead I came home and changed my wardrobe from short sleeves to long.  I hate long sleeves but they are necessary to keep me warm.  I like being comfortable.  Walking around here in my undies I have noticed that it gets chilly.  Speaking of which I just finished fixing the furnace.  I did it myself.  So a couple years ago I had this problem where the furnace would cycle on, cycle off and then cycle back on.  It is NOT normal.  That was happening again.  The fix is to clean the flame sensor.  The hardest part was finding the damn thing.  I called someone out 2 years ago (a hot hunky straight guy) who preformed the fix and then charged me.  It’s just a little bit of sandpaper and you clean the thing off.  Your rubbing off a coating that was put on at the factory and eventually you will have to replace the sensor but for now this is the cheap way to get by.  It can buy you a few extra years.  Just tested it and the house is HOT, so apparently I did a good job. 

Just got off the phone with my mom.  She told me that she didn’t think she would ever hear from me again.  I told her that wasn’t the case I am still here.  I just can’t deal with that extra drama there is far too much going on in my life and I don’t have room for that.  We talked about the house and what she wanted me to have, but I told her that I need access to the house.  Without access I can’t get anything.  She went on to tell me that the neighbor and the police were after her.  She was going to jail because the police officer sprinkled cocaine around the perimeter of the house.  Yeah she is still delusional and paranoid.  I am not sure that will ever go away.  She then told me that the place where she is at is only temporary.  Yeah okay so where are you going to live after your done?  Oh I guess I will get an apartment, because I lost the house and they won they got rid of me.  I am not so certain that she will be able to afford an apartment and like I told you before she isn’t moving in here.  I am content as is.  So she is going to call me and we will keep in touch.  I am sure that eventually I will go see her.  I am not a fan of nursing homes or hospitals.

On the technology front I found this neat program called Emby.  It allows you to stream your movies and music from your local PC to your TV via Roku.  There are also apps for many different platforms.  You install the server software on your PC.  Then visit ROKU and install the app.  Then go to join and you have to coordinate with a PIN and sign in to your account.  Then you can see whatever you have decided to share out.  I of course use it for porn.  But it could also be useful if you have TV Shows or Movies that you wanted to watch in a different part of your house than where your PC was located.  The best part is it’s totally free.  I was experimenting with a cloud based solution before but it didn’t work so well.  This is easy as pie, and anyone could set it up. 

That is the adventures of my Saturday.  I will be winding down shortly and headed to bed, watching some TV and relaxing with the cats.  Momma is passed out beside me in my office and the dryer is churning.  The others are upstairs anxiously awaiting my arrival so they can pester me.  I still have to go on litter box patrol.  When I was upstairs last Momma had done something that could clear out a stadium.  I wish I knew what I fed her to cause that, so I could stop it.  It’s like TAZ/LB is here.  Well the silly woman just woke up and now she is playing.  I guess I should go.  Talk with you all again soon!

Good Eating

Well the horses ass came to town and left, I never knew he was here.  It was a quiet day in that respect.  However, we had all sorts of Network issues this morning so that made for a busy and frustrating morning.  The best part is when I found out that Maggiano’s was catering the meeting today.  There was plenty of left overs and I got a ton that I am taking home.  It’s going to be some good eating tonight.  I am so looking forward to that and relaxing on the couch, catching up on all of the TV that has built up on the DVR.  Plus the kids will enjoy the company.

I am sore today from the massage yesterday and I expect to be that way for a while.  I am still taking muscle relaxers and I can feel tension in my neck.  Maybe someday it will all go away, until then I will have to do battle with it. 

Tomorrow is Dentist day.  So long as I get a good report I will be happy, give me my goodies and make me another appointment for 6 months from now.  Very happy that it’s Friday but not looking forward to next week, even if it is Thanksgiving.  I will be happy on Thursday for the food and freedom from work.  It’s sort of like a bonus so instead of being on call for 7 days I only get it for 6 days, not too shabby.  I guess that is something to be thankful for as well.  After this I am all set until February, unless something goes awry. 

Winter has come to town with falling temps and we are supposed to have flurries on Sunday.  The news people said snow but it’s just flurries.  Lots of people are on edge because often they say flurries and we get dumped on, but weather is like life, ever changing.  You get the good with the bad.

Packing up and shipping out to make the long trip home and fight with traffic.  Hopefully with it being Friday and close to a holiday traffic will be light but it was anything but that this morning.  I hope that you all have a great weekend.  I will talk with you again soon.

Still going

Got mommas blood results today.  Thyroid level is fine.  However, she has kidney issues – the values are off.  They want me to bring her back next month so they can get more blood from momma and more money from me.  I am inclined to not bring her back, she is eating, drinking, using the bathroom and playing.  She’s not broke so why try to fix her.  I think they just want my money, but maybe that is the skeptic in me. 

Yesterday was the day of the big off site event.  It was like there was a black cloud following me.  The event went on without any problem but we had technical issues right down to the wire.  I even had problems with my iPhone trying to give me directions to get to where I needed to be. 

I’ve been getting frequent headaches, some nausea and mildly dizzy.  I went for a massage today and found out that I am tight and have knots o’plenty.  The therapist worked them out as much as she could.  I’ve been taking muscle relaxers things have been that bad.  I will be popping one tonight when I get home.  I have a feeling that come tomorrow it may hurt to move. 

Tomorrow is the day that Mr. Personality will be back in town.  So NOT looking forward to that.  We will have a bunch of people here tomorrow so the potential for tech problems increases and of course they are all big wigs so I have to be sure to get into the game and stay there all day.  Fun times. 

Plans for the weekend?  Yeah going to the dentist and going to retrieve my calendars from the post office.  I also want to see Love the Coopers.  Outside of that not really, might see my mom or at least give her a call.  Hopefully work in some naps to rest up for the week ahead when I am on-call. 

Well back to the grindstone.  Talk with you all again soon.  Have a great weekend!

Cock Blocked by the post office

Yesterday I got a notification that my calendars were delivered.  I was anxious to see the preview of the men on the back covers.  Instead when I got to the post office I got the dreaded yellow card, which means see clerk.  They have lockers to place larger packages and only use them with me about 50% of the time.  So I was cock blocked by the post office. 

I ordered a few things from Amazon and had everything shipped to work.  One of the many things I ordered was wipers for the truck.  They shipped them separately.  One package made it to me.  UPS delivered the other package God knows where but it’s not in our building.  Not happy about that but I can get a replacement shipped after I wait a day.  My hope is that the other package will surface but I still have the feeling I am going to wind up with 3 wipers.  I pray that the remainder of my order makes it here without any issue.  It’s all regular stuff that one would order.  See I thought about having the calendars shipped here but if this would have happened with them I would really be upset.  It’s always better safe than sorry.

Still waiting on Momma’s lab results, I would think they would be in by now.  If they don’t call me by tonight then I will be calling them tomorrow. 

Today was my free lunch day and it was okay, nothing fantastic.  Tomorrow I will be leaving the office early and headed to an annual seminar that work puts on.  Hopefully they will finish the presentation early and I can get out of Dodge early.  Would be nice but I won’t hold my breath.  Thursday will be a normal day and then Friday is when the ass clown comes to town.  I found out he will be here all weekend long, which is fine by me.  I won’t be here all weekend long, I will be doing other things like sitting in the Dentist chair.  I always look forward to that, nothing like a woman's breast on your head – it is a unique feeling and I rather like it.  I don’t get turned on but rather I relax.

My neck is killing me I sure wish that it would stop hurting.  It’s too much time spent with my iPhone and looking down at screens.  It might be a bit before I get my next massage because of the Thanksgiving holiday.  I hope she comes early, no idea if that will happen.  I just sent our office manager an email asking when will she be here next?  Ah just found out she will be here this week, thank the Lord!

That’s all I know.  Now back to the regular drill, counting down to getting to go play in traffic and the rain on the commute home.  Talk with you all again soon.

Sunday

I was up pretty late, the cats didn’t seem to mind.  However, they were quick to try to wake me for breakfast, which didn’t happen at it’s usual time.  I wanted to sleep in and I did until 8:30a.  Then I decided to haul out of bed and start the day.  Breakfast for the children, a glass so I could fill it with water and take my pills.  Then time to get dressed and head out the door. 

First stop was the vet.  I took them a check for payment and was told that the credit card machine was working for 1 out of every 2 people.  Wow better odds but I am still glad that they are paid off, one less thing I have to think about. 

Second stop was at Cracker Barrel.  Yeah I know it’s not the normal Steak N Shake.  I had been thinking about CB for a while and decided just to head out.  The cute waiter I asked out hasn’t been spotted there since shortly after I asked him out.  They have a new breed of guys and all of which are cute.  Had my infamous Blueberry Pancake breakfast.  It was very good and I was surprised that I got seated as soon as I walked in the door.  When I left it was wall to wall people and they had a waiting list going.  That is the usual experience for me.

Third stop was the grocery store.  I had to get a couple of candy bars to go over the limit so my coupon kicked in and I paid $56 and got my $20 discount.  I could easily get used to this.  I think that is part of the trick, which is why they have this promotion going for so long.  I am just thankful to be able to save something.  I need all of the breaks I can get. 

Final stop was home.  Unpack and start the fun here.  The new shower curtain went up last night and it’s not long enough and it’s cheap, which explains why it was only $5.  I put the original in the laundry and have it back up.  I am using the cheap one as well but not too sure how long it will last.  I am already wanting to chop it down.

I started continuing to configure my laptop and that has been an all day job.  Just a couple of interruption's by Insty.  Once for lunch and Once for supper.  Girl sure loves her food.  I am surprised that Momma isn’t clinging to me.  I gave her a break last night and again this morning on her medicine, as a reward for visiting the vet.  She will start her pills back again tonight.  Speaking of the children I got the claw trimming taken care of.  Ruth was a pistol and she fought me through the entire process.  Turns out her claws were really in good shape, she could have easily went a couple of more weeks.  Everyone else well they needed to be trimmed.  It was NOT a fun job but I am glad it’s behind me.  I have also managed to complete Laundry as well.  Also got my shave and shower.  Made my Sunday Pizza and consumed it.  I had plans for a nap but just never got around to taking one.  Hopefully that means a really good nights sleep for me tonight, I could sure use it.  No bad dreams, just good uninterrupted sleep.  Are you listening Mr. Sandman?

When I went to clean the house I learned that the vacuum on switch doesn’t want to stay on.  You touch it and it goes on and when you remove your finger instead of staying on it turns off.  I had to tape it down in order to get the house cleaned.  It’s been a good vacuum and I can live with that quirk if I have to but I would rather not.  I saw Bear slither underneath the couch.  Now I know how he gets in.  Not sure how he manages to pull himself out.  The only things left to deal with is prepping for tomorrow and wrangling the trash.  Two tasks that I will complete tonight.  I need some relaxation time as well.  Right now my desktop is updating with the major Windows 10 update and that will take a while.  I really need it and am kind of sorry I said update now but I would also be around when updates are installed just in case something goes wrong. 

Next weekends agenda will be to get my choppers cleaned and to see Love The Coopers.  Time for some fun and time away from technology.  After all the week of the 23rd is when I am on call.  I always like to try to live it up just before the boom lowers.  Good news is that I will be done for the year unless something happens.  I hope the boss uses a better method for deciding who’s on call when she prepares the next schedule. 

My mom called, yeah really.  She left me a voice mail while I was cleaning the house.  I didn’t bother to call her back.  I am going to try to see her next weekend as well, it’s not a high priority but I figure it’s time.  I am doing it begrudgingly.  It’s not something that I look forward to. 

I have been back on-line on the various dating apps.  No sign from the bad date and that’s okay.  While I am eager for the 3rd date with a new guy I would rather wait a little bit than rush into something.  I’ve got one friend telling me that I am trying too hard and that love will find me when the time is right.  Yeah, that might be a true statement but if I don’t look, I can’t sit back and expect Mr. Right to knock on my front door.  It’s like being unemployed and expecting your next employer to come knocking, doesn’t work that way.  Both situations require a concerted effort or you won’t get any results. 

The week ahead has me leaving the office early to go off site for a presentation on Wednesday.  I could be home early or I could be really late – depends upon how much people yack and what traffic is like.  Last year was a little bit of a challenge and it was much colder.  I was in long sleeves.  Right now I am still wearing short sleeves.  I need a jacket some days and other days I need a coat but by the afternoon it’s perfect outside.  Strange weather.  Then on Friday the bull in the china shop comes back to town.  I just hope that our paths don’t cross, so that Friday is the good day it’s supposed to be. 

That’s all for now.  Off to enjoy what is left of this Sunday and try not to think about Monday.  Hope you had a great weekend.  Talk with you all again soon.

Retail Therapy

Momma and I went to the vet.  They did the full blood work but they are sending it off, in order to save me money.  Besides that since she is okay we aren’t in dire need of the results right away.  They suspect that the medicine needs to be adjusted.  This is due in part to the fact that she has facial and ear itching, to excess and she is irritable.  I’ve got my Momma back but she is a crabby little thing.  I picked up additional medicine for her as well as more medication for Bear.  Cost $185 for all of it.  Not terrible.  Then I made a goof move.  I put it on my special line of credit.  Since it wasn’t $200 there is no special promotion on interest.  I wound up going back asking them if I could pay a different way because that would seriously mess me up.  They accommodated me.  Thankfully their credit card machine for normal cards wasn’t working, so they asked me to call back on Monday.  Instead I will be taking them a check tomorrow.  It will be paid for in full and over and done with. 

After we were done I brought the princess back home.  I decided that since I didn’t get a good nights sleep that a nap was in order.  I also wanted to catch the latest John Mulaney comedy special on Netflix.  Even though he is straight, I still think he is fine!  I got 1/2 way through.  I still have to finish it, which will happen later tonight. 

After my nap ended prematurely I had to get up and feed the children lunch.  Then I returned a call to a friend, who was inquiring if my date called me back.  I told her I will never hear from him again.  The more I think about it, I am very glad of that fact.  We weren’t a good fit and so be it.  I am not happy about the experience because it was a waste of time, but at least I got some good food out of it.  Moving on, I went and got my haircut.  Then on to the post office got my latest copy of Out Magazine, haven’t looked through it yet.  Then I went to the buffet.  I filled up on the best mashed potatoes, vegetables (carrots, broccoli, corn) as well fried and baked chicken, pasta and catfish.  Then of course I had to top all of that off with Bread Pudding, Lemon Sauce and Vanilla & Chocolate Swirl Ice Cream.  Then I went back for just Bread Pudding and Lemon Sauce.  I paid my bill of $12.96 which included a tip.  Found out that if I come down during the week it’s only $6.99.  Then it was time to head back.

Coming home it turned dark and I was thankful that I was in the truck.  It’s got the best headlights and fog lights as well so I could actually see very well.  Then I hit up Target which is where I did my Retail Therapy.  I got cat litter, mouthwash, some facial mask stuff for my face and then I went to look for a laptop.  Found a steal that I couldn’t pass up.  An Acer Aspire.  The model is ES1-512-C80E it’s a very basic laptop but has a nice large display, long life battery (whatever that means) and a separate numeric keypad.  Cost was $199.99.  Now do I need this?  No I’ve got a desktop here at home.  However, I am lazy and don’t want to always come downstairs.  Now I won’t have to.  I am starting to wonder how much I will really use it.  My other laptop is at work and stays there full time unless I have a reason to bring it home.  I’m thinking I may swap them but not sure yet.  I am configuring it while I type this.  It’s upgrading to Windows 10 which is not exactly lighting fast. 

After Target I hit up the pet store and saw my crush Jordan who has the most perfect ass and cutest face.  Yes, he is straight!  I picked up cat food, made a donation (which I never do) to give a cat a toy for Christmas.  Then I came home to feed everyone supper and here I sit typing this out. 

Last night I texted my dickhead brother.  I asked about meeting up today and he didn’t understand why we needed to meet up.  Seriously is the world filled with that many forgetful people?  When I told him that I wanted to go through the house, he is now suddenly unavailable.  He had to work and had plans after work.  Never mind that he works less than 10 miles from my house.  The dumb ass could have stopped by with a key but I didn’t even ask.  I figure he is going to be a dick so let him be that way.  Then he asked me if I was going to see or call mom.  I told him eventually.  I don’t want to interfere with her treatment.  He said that she is asking about me.  Well, they have a telephone there she can pick it up and call me.  Problem is with her altered mental status she probably doesn’t remember my phone number.  There probably isn’t anything that I really want.  I did think about going down and trying to pick the lock, but if someone was watching they would call the cops and I could easily wind up in jail for attempted burglary which would cost me my job.  So instead I opted for the buffet.  Truth be told no one would do anything unless it took me an unusually long time to do the picking but I find it better not to take that risk, but I really want to spite the dick.  Like go in turn on the water and leave it and all of the lights on.  He would freak when he got them final bills.  As I was telling a friend earlier this week, he didn’t think any of this through.  Mom is in a Medicaid bed and they will only pay for 100 days, after that you have to meet new eligibility criteria.  So she could be kicked out as soon as February, won’t that be absolutely perfect to rain on his Valentine’s Day?  Just don’t think that either of them is coming to live with me because that answer is NO.  He wouldn’t lift a finger for me, he won’t inconvenience himself.  Both he and my mom are ME oriented people.  Yeah, I hate to admit it but I used to be that way.  My late partner snapped me out of it.  Now I put myself out there for others before I take care of myself or my needs.  Your supposed to reap what you sew.

I had a little bit of an intervention yesterday at work.  2 of my friends conspired together, both are really worried about me.  So were all supposed to get together at a gay bar so that I can get tips from a young gay couple that one of my friends know.  They are married but she showed me photos of them.  I could hook up with 1 of them, he’s super cute.  I’m told they will give me solid advice and help get me in the dating scene.  I am also told that I need to update my profile photo because on some sites I am using older photos of me, I am hot and cute but that isn’t the real me today.  I’ve aged so better to advertise as I am than how I was.  I understand, but everyone does that.  I am also told that I need to go outside of my signature look and dress properly for a date.  Yeah okay so who is going to pay for all of these new clothes for this new look?  I think that is total BS, you aren’t attracted to someone because of what they wear or how they dress, it’s the person and how they look.  It’s physical appearance in combination with what is on the inside (how they are as a person).  I have never said oh I want to go out with him because he wears Polo or Tommy Hilfiger or don’t touch that guy he wears off brand clothes.  Seriously!  Signature look I think that is pure BS.  I dress how I dress and if you like it great and if you don’t fine too.  You won’t change me I am who I am – love me for who I am or don’t love me at all.  I am not going to turn in to a fake person or act a specific way just to land a guy.  One can only keep a façade going for so long and then the real you comes out.  I would rather be genuine and 100% me.  After all no one does me better than me!

Tomorrow I have groceries to get as well as a house to clean and clothes to wash.  Typical Sunday and then were back in the game for another week.  Next week will be the last week before I am on-call.  Still hoping for quiet but I have to play the hand I am dealt like it or not. 

I am going to put up my new shower curtain, which by the way I found out was only $5 because it’s a cheap thin sheet of plastic.  So much for a bargain.  I’m keeping the old one until I know how well the new one holds up.  Then I am putting on some facial mask, taking a hot shower and calling it a night.  Not before I empty the litter boxes though.  I just went up to pass out treats, everyone of course is starving.  Yeah right.  They eat better and more often than I do, still I am the fat one.  Explain that to me. 

Hope that your having a great weekend.  Talk with you again soon.