Electronic Hell

What a week! Sub Zero and below temperatures, along with Winter Weather made for a scary week for a lot of people. Thankfully I never lost power or was subject to rolling blackouts. We had issues with several of our offices with blackouts and water pipes bursting. Our Dallas Office was by far the hardest hit. To my knowledge no one that I work with died or was seriously injured, which is a very good thing. My furnace has been running a lot more and I am thankful to have it along with a roof over my head. The weather even affected my cat, Gator. She spent a lot of time in my room away from me sleeping. She did get sick on Friday but by then she had snapped out of her sudden winter blues and was much more social. To say she worries me is an understatement.

The worst part of my week was that I spent a good portion of it on the phone with AT&T. I was sitting with Gator in my room resting when I happened to glance up towards to the TV (which was off) and noticed that the lights on my U-verse set top box were flashing from on to off. The box was hot to the touch and I unplugged it. I gave it 15 minutes and plugged it back in, that just wasn’t long enough as the same thing started happening over again. I unplugged it and gave it an hour. By then everything was cool and when I plugged it back in, nothing worked. I thought to myself I’ll bet you it’s the power supply. I bought a Universal Power Supply sometime ago to replace on a phone that was bit by a lightning storm. Sadly, the power supply worked but the phone was toast. I hid the power supply away so well that now when I actually needed it, I had no idea where it was. What to do? You guessed it, I called AT&T and reported a dead box. The guy on the other end of the line asked me to try a different outlet and to press & hold the power button. I told him I tried all of that and even stood on one foot, while crossing my eyes, ears and toes. That got a laugh and he replaced the box. No surprise to me but the shipping carriers were affected by the storms so he told me it would be a couple days before the replacement box would show up. This was all on Tuesday.

Wednesday morning, I was greeted with an email telling me that the equipment shipped and a box would be delivered to me on Friday. I also found another interesting email that told me I was being charged $49 plus tax because I made a change to my service. Seems that the way the order was placed it was an additional box and not a replacement. I called and spoke with a very argumentative dumb fuck at AT&T. I went Judge Judy on his ass and demanded a supervisor. To which he told me that that wouldn’t help the situation, his supervisor couldn’t waive the fee. The bastard was right. The funny thing was he was in the billing office and could only tell me that it was a valid charge. The only way to stop it was to cancel the order and start over. FUN. I got to talk with another person and by then I was in Lewis Black mode. I caught myself cussing and quickly calmed myself. The new person asked me how I knew for certain the box was defective. To which I replied the God Damned thing won’t turn on, that’s how I know it’s defective. Oh sir, did you try another outlet. I wanted to say oh fuck I never even thought of that but instead just replied Yes and it didn’t help. He placed a replacement order and saw that there was in fact a charge. He was thinking that a colleague made a mistake but nope it was their system. Another order had to be cancelled. They placed a new order which kept pushing out the ship date for the replacement equipment. He assured me there would be no charge and there shouldn’t be a charge since I was merely replacing and not adding a box, which is what I was saying from the start.

Want to guess what I woke up to on Friday morning? If you said another email telling me that I was being charged, you deserve a gold star. That enraged me further and I called to get that order cancelled. A lady who was too close to the microphone worked with me and said that she would just credit my account. Fine. A couple hours later, the door bell rang. It was the UPS man and he had my box from my call on Tuesday. As soon as he scanned the box my phone went nuts. I got an email telling me the package was delivered, an email telling me to return the old equipment and another email telling me that AT&T had the box that the UPS guy just dropped at my front door in their possession. They sure run a fucked-up operation. It’s a wonder that they can generate bills and paychecks.

My curiosity got the best of me and I tried to hook up the new box but since that order was cancelled and all equipment is addressable via the MAC Address (which is an electronic serial number) it didn’t match up with the boxes that were authorized for my account and it refused to work. I tried a couple times just to make sure. Then I thought well it’s the same box, what if I took the new power supply and hooked it up to the old box. Presto everything works now.

I had another replacement box coming next Thursday, so I called and waited on hold for 45 minutes just to talk to someone. I explained the situation to her and told her it was the biggest mess I had ever seen. She got someone on the phone in programming who was of oriental dissent and who spoke broken English. Neither of them wanted to cancel the order for the box coming next Thursday, until this was sorted out. I had to give them Serial Numbers from each box and tell them what I wanted to do with each box. I’m keeping the original box reported as defective and the new power supply. I am returning the new box and bad power supply. They got it all sorted out and then I couldn’t get this oriental lady to cancel the order for the equipment that was coming next Thursday. The original lady I spoke with promised me that she would cancel the order but she too failed. I wound up having to call back and wait another hour to talk with another person. I just said look, I’ve been to hell and back please just look up my account and cancel the order. That was the easiest phone call ever. The guy did exactly what I wanted him to do and he didn’t try to upsell me with other products like everyone I previously spoke with did.

I had to be a bit of a juggler as these calls took place while shit was also going on at work and I was having to work and talk with AT&T at the same damn time.  I think I deserve some credit for my time, but that is another story. Point is it’s finally done. Now the hard part is making it to the UPS store to return the box. I have a sneaking suspicion they are going to hit me with a $150 fee because I am returning the wrong box and they will also wind up deactivating the working box, which will cause me to have to call and get this sorted out. Until that happens all I can do is what I agreed to do and hope for the best. My hope is that this goes off with out a hitch but based on how the week went with them I don’t really have high hopes that will happen. My saving grace will hopefully be a recent letter I sent to renegotiate pricing, I should be getting a call soon from an Executive and I’ll be sure to keep their name & number handy in case things fall apart as I expect them to. If that doesn’t happen then I will have to make a call to renegotiate pricing on my own and I already know that will be a nightmare. Going through an Executive has proven each year to be the easiest way to get the best price.

My co-worker had his kid on Monday afternoon, so he is out for a couple weeks. That means extra pressure, stress and work for me. He called me once and sent me a photo. I’ve tried to reach him a couple times and he’s pretty well checked out. I wasn’t calling for work stuff but personal just to check on him. He told me that they have to feed the baby every 2 hours round the clock. Fuck no wonder new parents never get any sleep. Between feeding and changing there isn’t much of a break. Not to mention his wife went into labor Sunday afternoon and it didn’t stop until Monday afternoon. Her ass has to be worn out, sore beyond belief and oh the pain. I remember what it was like watching Momma give birth and how much she screamed, especially when Ruth was born super late (hours after everyone else). Jesus that poor woman. I am sure I will hear all about the adventures when he comes back. For now, I am just trying desperately to hang on to what little sanity I have left, since I lost the person that I talk with the most until he comes back.

Before all of this super cold weather hit, I had this horribly odd smell in my house that I couldn’t get rid of. Well, the cold weather did its job and that took care of it. Now that it’s starting to warm up, the odor is making its way back. I noticed it in my room yesterday and again this morning. It’s faint and not so overwhelming but I am thinking with a little bit of time as we continue to thaw my problem will be back again. I really think it’s either something in the carpet or something in the attic or walls. I put down carpet cleaner which masks the smell temporarily. I really want to climb into the attic with my o-zone generator and run it to dispel and hopefully cure this problem. I’d like to find the source as that would be the quickest way to fix this issue but that seems to be the larger issue. It’s like something has crawled up and died some place. While I don’t know what death smells like it’s such a fowl and odd odor that I am thinking it has to be associated with death. At least I am not nauseated like I was, but if the smell returns full force the nausea will likely return. Here’s hoping for the best on this one. I’ve looked outside and prior to the snow falling I couldn’t find anything dead. I don’t know how to walk in an attic and chances are really good if I get up there, I will fall through and cause much more damage and/or injure myself or worse yet wind up killing or hurting Gator. I know my limitations and I won’t go beyond them. I can easily pop the cover stand on a ladder and look around with a flash light, if that doesn’t give me a clue then set up the ozone generator and leave. The odd thing is that the attic is well ventilated so you wouldn’t think odor would come through, but if there truly is something that somehow worked its way in and died then of course the odor is going to come through until whatever it is fully decomposes. If I can see something, I can call someone to have it removed. I am honestly wondering if I am not going crazy and imagining this since thus far it’s been impossible to locate the source.

I had an additional annoying adventure this week. Gator woke me up in the middle of the night to feed her. I think it was Wednesday. I passed out her food and then started hearing this chirping. You know like when a smoke detector battery is about to die and the detector warns you? I was half asleep so figuring out what the problem was took me a bit and by the time I did, I was fully awake. My carbon monoxide detector decided to die. I unplugged it and went back to bed. I plugged it back in the next day and it was fine for about 5 minutes and then I was back to the chirp. I ordered a new one and have it plugged in today (Saturday). Sleeping is a big enough problem with Gator chirping and the stress from being isolated, I really didn’t need this now but then again there never really is a good time for an electronic piece of equipment to die. Better it be a thing than a person or an animal. I had that thing since the 90’s so I got my moneys worth from it and then some. My state mandates that all homes and apartments have at least 1 working CO2 detector.

I guess this just hasn’t been my week for electronics or for dealing with AT&T. There are much worse things though.

I do hope that you’re doing okay and that you weren’t affected by the winter weather. Here’s hoping for a better week ahead! Cheers for now.

It’s A Sin

HBOMax–Trailer | It’s A Sin

Earlier this week I saw social media was a buzz with a Gay TV Series on HBOMax called It’s A Sin.  Not knowing what I was getting myself into I started to watch.  It’s based in London and that is normally enough to cause me to stop watching, but I pressed on.  This is a drama series about the AIDS Crisis as it played out in London back in the 1980’s.  Holy Shit, it was terrifying.  More so now I think because of the COVID crisis.  There’s good music, good looking boys (men) and great dialog.  The part that I didn’t like was all of the sickness & death but that is part of the story.  It shows how real it was, it shows that if you got it you were isolated from the world in a hospital room that was locked 24/7 and no one really entered, they just waited for you to die.  When you did they came in donning hazmat suits and gloves, they tossed you into a box, scrubbed the room down to disinfect and it sat ready for the next victim. 

Since I presume most of my audience is gay, as am I.  I mean with a blog titled New Homo Blogo if I wasn’t gay it would be rather odd, don’t you think?  Back on point.  It’s difficult enough figuring out your sexual identity, coming to terms with it and then beginning to come out to those you love and care about (normally family and friends).  Mix in religion and you of course learn it’s a sin to engage in homosexual sexual acts.  It took me a while to realize that.  It’s not a sin to be gay, it’s a sin to act upon it.  It’s no wonder so many kids & adults are mentally fucked up because of this.  Then throw in a gay plague, that if you catch it you’ve sentence yourself to death.  My now you have to figure out if 5 minutes of pleasure is worth a death sentence.  Thankfully there has been much progress in AIDS research with treatments and preventions that were in much better shape than when this was first discovered.  I was in High School at the time and remember hearing about it in the locker room for the first time. 

The interesting part of this drama filled series for me was those that I knew were gay, I never suspect who would actually get it and die.  I was also disheartened that there are only 5 episodes but they are each an hour but seemed much longer to me.  I binge watched the show as I was all in.  Just like Queer As Folk, they did a great job of making the simulated sex hot and very real. 

A trailer of the series is at the top of the page (in case you didn’t notice).  The Pet Shop Boys song with the same name appears at the bottom.  The music was really good, there were some familiar tunes. 

If your looking for something to watch, give this series your time.  It didn’t exactly help my depression but it did occupy my mind so that I didn’t think so much of my isolation due to COVID.  If you watch, I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts.

Pet Shop Boys–It’s A Sin

Babble on

Happy very cold Saturday! It’s been super cold here and we have had snow off an on for days. Everything is coated in white powder and I learned that I had a couple of 4 legged visitors. I put off going out until this afternoon and when I did, I learned that I really didn’t want to be outside. It also didn’t help that I cut my hair today and am mostly bald. My hair looked horrible and I had to do something. I had plans to visit a local restaurant but cancelled that and instead retreated to home. I really wanted Broccoli Cheese Soup but it will be there for me another day. Looks like were set to get a bit warmer slowly by next weekend, unless of course something changes. I made it to the post office and the cat food store and those are the 2 most important places I needed to visit today. Perhaps tomorrow, if I can stand it, I may go out for breakfast again, otherwise it will just be a grocery store run.

I’ve watched part of the Impeachment Trial off and on this week. I was watching the voting being counted and am surprised on the results but it’s done. Perhaps now we can stop living in the past and move on. Things didn’t turn out the way I wanted them to but there isn’t anything anyone can do about that. It’s best to move forward and hopefully get about solving the 2 big problems we have at hand. The COVID relief package and getting everyone vaccinated. In case your new here, I am not big on politics.

I watched a couple of movies last night. On Amazon, Welcome to The Men’s Group. It was interesting and a way to escape reality. It was a suggestion by Amazon and it wasn’t horrible but more of a mindless movie to me. I did get to see some fully naked men (both front & rear), one of which was Mackenzie Astin. I’ve had a crush on him forever, he was much cuter when he was younger though. The other movie was on Starz, called Giant Little Ones. It’s about 2 male best friends who are in High School on the Swim Team, they get drunk and had sex. One of them can’t take it and announces to the rest of the school that he was drunk and woke up to find his friend giving him head. The guy who started it all in the end turns out to be the one who was actually Gay. The other kid just went through hell and a questioning phase. It was a decent reflection of how a situation like that would have played out back in the day when I was in High School.

I did some research on a local Gay Bathhouse which is called a Gentlemen’s Club. I’ve never ever been to one. It’s a great way to have anonymous sex or a hookup. You rent a room or a locker, the difference is that you can lay down in a room but you can’t lay down in a locker. If you want privacy you have to visit someone who has paid for a room. They have all of the modern amenities that a Health Club would have and a lounge area where you can watch TV. There is no booze allowed and you have to be sober. You also have to show your ID and provide personal information along with paying a fee to gain entry. What I thought was strange is that they will let guys who are 18 to 24 in for free. That is appealing to me but at the end of the day it’s a great way to pick up a disease (STI or STD and perhaps COVID) along with a guy. A few minutes of sexual gratification isn’t worth risking my health, but that’s me. It’s not my scene. I know that it does appeal to a lot of guys. What started me on this journey was watching a YouTube video about a guy who used to work in a Bathhouse answering questions. It does sound like an interesting place to work and I am sure that you would see a lot of different guys. Some of these places have set hours and others are open 24/7. It was interesting research. They do make it clear that you have to be a guy to get in, it matters not if you’re in or out of shape, short, tall, fat or skinny – they welcome all guys.

On the work front, my co-worker’s baby will most likely have to be an induced pregnancy and they are waiting to hear from the doctor so unless something natural happens over the weekend, it looks like it will be a few more days possibly the end of next week before the baby arrives. We work close together and he is the person I talk with the most out of everyone. I will miss that when he is gone for a few weeks. He’s going to take a short pause and then come back. When his wife’s leave is almost up is when he will take a much longer break and that will probably hurt the worst for me. However, I’ve been in this job on my own and I know I will survive.

I did get some good news in that my auto insurance is some $200 cheaper now. That’s mostly due to the fact that my vehicle has aged and I had new car replacement for the first 3 years. I don’t know that I will ever get that insurance again because it’s costly and at the end of the day you’re probably not going to need it, then again if I did need it, I would have had it. Sort of like getting an extended warranty, which an automobile is the only thing that I really ever buy one of those for.

I suppose that is enough babble for a day. I hope that your world is better than mine and that your safe, warm and well. Take care and I will talk with you peeps again soon.

One Year Ago Today

My life changed forever one year ago today.  It’s the one year anniversary of the death of my Momma (cat).  I can still vividly recall the looks she gave me while she was waiting to die.  She hung on so very long until it was just the two of us together for one last moment and then she let go.  Don’t get me wrong all of my pets that have passed have been painful but each one of them is special and as such I grieve their losses slightly different. 

It’s hard to fathom that it’s already been a year, given that in mere weeks it will be a year since I have been locked away working from home.  I feel like I have lost all concept of time and everyday is Blursday.  Meaning one day blurs to the next and I can’t tell if were on Sunday or Friday. 

My momma was a special woman and she never ever forgot that I was her savior.  I’ve never had a cat worship me and be so very thankful for rescuing them.  It was one kind gesture on my part but she remembered it every day there after.  She also had a place to raise her family, she knew that her 2 human companions would take care of her and her children.  I am fairly certain she wondered when her children would leave home and one day just gave up and realized they were all here to stay.  I think she had mixed feelings about that, but I am glad that it worked out that way.  I am so very proud of her and all of her children.  They are and were wonderful cats. 

If you would have asked me years ago before everyone and everything started dying, how my life would have played out I couldn’t have imagined how rich it would be with memories.  I also wouldn’t be able to tell you how broken my heart would be or the state of utter depression that I am in.  Nor how truly lonely I am.  Granted the pandemic has some affect on my overall state of mind, but I wouldn’t wish the negative that has made up the majority of my life on anyone.  I am fully aware that things can always be worse and for someone out there they probably are, compared to my situation. 

As I sit here and type this I can’t also help but think about how very difficult it will be the day I have to part ways with Momma’s last child.  She (Gator) was the third born and the one who has hung on the longest.  She is aging but I don’t think she will be checking out for a while and that is exactly what I need.  We (her and I) are each others world and we depend so much on the other.  She needs much more from me that I do from her but she knows her part and she helps more than she knows.  She also drives me more crazy than she knows.  I love to watch her sleep.  She gets into some very cute positions and it’s just down right funny to see her bury her face in her bed to block out the light.  There is no doubt that she misses her family as much as I do.

One thing is certain, I know Momma is, was and forever will be proud of me.  I did right by her and her family.  Still that doesn’t ease the pain I still feel to this day.  I am used to the fact that she isn’t around.  I am at peace that she is no longer suffering and that I no longer have to worry about her passing or when to make “the call”.  I still wish that she was here to comfort me and see the progress that I have made.

Just like she never forgot that I was her savior, I too will never forget her and while she may not roam the earth, she is forever alive in my heart as long as it continues to beat.  I am so very glad and grateful that our paths crossed.  It was a huge risk for me to bring her in to our home and I never ever thought I would be allowed to keep her, but the reward was in getting to see her grow and raise her family.  She had a great life with us and it would be one that I would wish for if I was a cat.  Each of my cats has taught me something.  The lesson from Momma was take a chance, you never know how it will turn out.  She had lots of houses to try to get food from for her and her kids when she was carrying them, but she chose us.  We fed her, we watched for her and ultimately one day we made her ours.  If our paths had never crossed just think each of us would have truly missed out on something special.     

Rest In Peace Momma, I miss you and will continue to honor my promise to you.  I hope that we are reunited again some day.

What a week

Not sure if you remember the series Saved by the Bell. One of the characters on the show was Screech who was played by Dustin Diamond. Unfortunately, he contracted Cancer and it was fast moving, it took him out in 3 weeks and he passed away on Monday at the ripe young age of 44. While I knew he had cancer I didn’t realize how advanced it was and that this was a battle he wouldn’t win. Hearing of his passing was shocking and upsetting. I wasn’t attracted to him just his age and how fast this went is what bothered me the most.  I hope he is resting in peace. 

I did something different this week and created a small post recapping parts of the day. I did this with the hope that this would be a little bit more interesting of a post. I’m summarizing it rather than listing the notes I made each day. Hope you enjoy!

Just look at all of the accomplishments I made this week …

I received the results of my DNA at first, I was disappointed because I only got the health reports [which said there was nothing to worry about, based on DNA] but a few days later is when things came to life. I found the origin of my ancestors and that I had multiple DNA matches. The closest being a 2^nd cousin with my father’s last name. I wanted to reach out but opted not to. I think if it would have been a closer match like a ½ brother or ½ sister then I may have done so. I know that my father tried to disown me and even ran to join the US Army in the hopes he could escape a Paternity law suit, but it didn’t work. The court declared him my father and the US Army helped ensure he was in court. While it sounds like a far-fetched tale this DNA test proved that what I was told was the truth and nothing but the truth. I had no reason to doubt it but this just seals it for sure for my own eyes. In the event if I should get closer matches in the future, I am willing to reach out to them. I know I have at least a ½ brother and a ½ sister. Perhaps our paths will cross someday, it would sure be interesting if we all managed to get along.

I figured out how to merge my Amazon Prime Account with my Twitch account and subscribe to one of my favorite streamers. It doesn’t cost me anything and gives my favorite streamer $4.99 per month. I’m not into video games but I do like watching the streams as this particular guy is gay and loves to take his shirt off. Things do get interesting from time to time but there is nothing X rated and no nudity besides looking at his fine chest!

I finished watching the TV Series Everwood that I was streaming on HBOMax. I’ve still got a mad crush on Gregory Smith; even though I know he is straight and married. I can dream and there is no charge for that!

I picked up a couple prescriptions at the local pharmacy, which reminds me I need to set out my meds. I always despise that task.

I am supposed to be getting some additional responsibilities at work, it’s an administrative task that I have been told more than once I will be inheriting but thus far it’s all talk. I will be kind of surprised if it actually comes to fruition.

The biggest news of all of my accomplishments is that I filed my income taxes. Whoopie! My reason for doing so was 3-fold. First, there was a sale on the rates of the software. Second, my credit card has an offer that will get me 10% of my purchase price back. Third, I have to be concerned with identity theft and the earlier I file the less the risk. It’s something that I have to do and it’s not going away so might as well get with the program.

In the news of Ms. Gator …

She has this lovely new habit that I do not like. She has to wake me up twice during the night so she can get food. This causes me to lose sleep not to mention my patience with her. I try to put it off but that only works to my detriment as she is persistent and knows that if she yaps long enough that I will give in. She sure has a great set of lungs! She is also having more regular bowel movements, which I know sounds disgusting but they have increased to at least once per day. Once and a while she will skip a day. Before she was doing every other day or maybe once every 3 days. I attributed it to her kidney disease and am wondering if maybe her kidneys woke up. Lord knows her stomach doesn’t sleep much. She has also managed to not interrupt me as much this week when I am down stairs, which I see as a positive sign. I enjoy being able to concentrate on what I am working on or looking at, rather than worrying about her. Several times I don’t realize it until I am ready to go upstairs and then I race up because I am worried since she has been so quiet. She is always happy to see me.

On the house front …

I have noticed when I work in the living room next to Gator my allergies are really on high. There has been a slight funny smell in the air and by Friday this week it got massively worse. I don’t know what death smells like exactly but I know it’s not Cinnamon, Spice and everything nice. First, I thought maybe since we have had a large abundance of rain and the snow fall that maybe my water problem returned, but I checked on that and nope, bone dry. All looks good, considering I did self-remediation. I looked outside at the only side that isn’t visible through a window. I thought maybe something happened over there. In deed it did, a large tree branch fell and hit my house. No apparent damage but I do have to get the branch removed. The odor in question can also be found in the basement, primarily in my office and above is my bedroom. So, it shifted to a different side of the house. I was coming home from grocery shopping today and it was a balmy 9 degrees outside. I took an extra close look and I saw a black cat. If it was dead surely that would account for the odor, but I had looked there before and didn’t see anything. I walked over and there it was I said hello and the damn thing ran away from me. Thank God it wasn’t dead. I don’t know who let it out or dumped it but they should be shot. It’s dangerously cold out and not meant for a cat to be outside, but I think back to the days of Taz (aka Little Bear) and he survived somehow. He also had sense enough to know when to come in out of the cold.

Anyway, back on point. I have no idea what the odor is. It turns my stomach and makes me nauseated. It’s not mold. I ran my o3 generating machine that will kill odors, smells and most anything in its path and the basement smelled really good yesterday. I also ran it in my room, keeping Gator out. I had to open the windows and let the smell of the o3 out and all was well for a while. Then came time for bed and the damn odor was back. I am mad, puzzled and frustrated. I am wondering if it’s not all in my head and I am imaging this. Still, I watched an endless amount of YouTube videos for how to rid your house of odors and picked up a couple tips. I got some scented baking soda that was labeled as carpet cleaner and that got the living room/kitchen smelling really good. I came up a little short when it was time to do my room but it did help some. I also opened up several windows, turned on both bathroom fans and forced air to circulate. As the air was circulating, I could smell the odor a little bit. It’s got to be something outside or something in the walls. I just want it to go away and never return as it’s making my life miserable.

Oddly enough I did get a text message this week from someone with a random company that claimed to want to buy my house. They knew my name, address and cell phone number. Granted nothing is impossible to find on the internet these days if you know where to look and what or should I say who you’re looking for. I’ve also noticed a large number of ads appearing in social media about local loft apartments that are for rent. This is no doubt due to the fact that I clicked on one of them a few weeks ago out of curiosity. I looked at another one last night and it was super small and from the floor plan it didn’t look like there was space allocated for a bed but they were nice enough to make room for a couch. The rent was sky high for this area. Yeah, moving would cure the smell and probably do wonders for my outlook on life and depression. However, I have a large amount of crap that I was left with and I have to have a place to put a good portion of it. There are somethings that are just not worth it and I would leave behind.

I know that I live in an average neighborhood where house prices are what I consider to be outrageous, considering what you’re getting. It’s a sellers’ market right now and maybe I should take that as a sign but instead I am hanging on to what I have at the moment.

I wish that I had a true friend that I could call that would come over and could not only help me sort through all of this crap but perhaps work on making this place as great if not greater than it was some 20 + years ago when I moved in. Right now, I want to keep what I have. I just want this smell gone and don’t want to loose my mind trying to make that happen. The house gets sprayed a couple times a year outside by skunks and even that odor is gone with in a couple days. It’s not pleasant but at least I know it’s temporary. What I am dealing with now makes me question if it’s going to go away or if I will have to figure out someone to call and pay $ to make it go away. I hope that I don’t have to make a call as that will likely be painful to the wallet not to mention what will be done to my home.

The big game …

Today is a special day for football fans. I am not one of those fans. I don’t mind looking at the players in their uniforms but outside of that there is no appeal. I also don’t understand football, meaning the rules of the game. I get that a touchdown or field goal gains points but that’s about the extent of my knowledge. Sports are generally not my cup of tea. However, looking at male players in various uniforms, regardless of the sport is appealing to me. I have no idea what I will be watching but I know there will be something that will capture my interest.

Speaking of games, I will be on-call next week and so not looking forward to that. Chained to a phone is not my idea of fun, but I do it for the $. We had a staff meeting this week and the meeting started out by informing everyone that there was no plan to return to the office anytime soon. Someone apparently wasn’t paying attention because at question-and-answer time they asked when are we going back. The answer was repeated. While I do look some what forward to going back, I rather enjoy working from home. I get to sleep in an extra hour, there is no traffic to fight and I have freedom to switch from work to personal and back again. I think it’s going to be a difficult thing for all of us when we get to that point but I also think that it will be much later this year, if not next year.

I hope you had a good week and I hope the week ahead is even better. Enjoy your Sunday regardless of how you’re spending it. If you’re a football fan, I hope your team wins the big game. I’ll talk with you peeps again soon. Be well!

Last week of January

The week was okay, I had a day where I didn’t feel the greatest. I had another day where Gator had me up serving food a couple times during the night and she loves to wake me a ½ hour before it’s time to actually wake up.

We had our first real snow fall of the year and got about 3 inches. It looked so pretty, especially because I didn’t have to get out in it. Those are the best kind of snowfalls. Of course, with snow rain always follows in a few days to help wash it away. That rainy day was Saturday. I opted to stay home and sleep and watch TV. I did get in front of my laptop quick enough to gather some data that I need for my daily report and I used my phone to browse social media but that was it. The bulk of the day was spent watching TV and napping. It was good to let my hair down, so to speak.

Today was crunch time. I had to hit up the post office, cat food store and grocery store in one trip. That was not fun but I lived through it, even though I forgot cheese. I’ve also paid my bills and even started on my taxes. Oh, what fun taxes. Last year I walked away with a few dollars and this year I will walk away with a few dollars less. I get a nice refund from the Federal Government but my state eats most of that up, then throw in the cost of the software & filing and presto I walk away with maybe $100. Last year I filed on 02-01, but this year I am holding off for a little bit. I will for sure file in February because my Identity was stolen several years ago and the fraudsters filed in February so when I went to file in March, they already got their money and that’s when I learned the unfortunate news. It was a small nightmare but I survived. It did take much longer to get my actual refund but I don’t bank on my refund like I did in years past when I was younger.

My auto insurance will renew in March so there is more money to part with and it will be time to pay the post office again. Good thing I have some savings so these aren’t devastating expenses but it still sucks to shell out a bunch of money regardless what it’s for. I have never liked parting with my money but it’s one of those necessary evils.

My co-worker is closer to having his kid and that means this wonderful morning report we do as a team will be done solo by me. I am not looking forward to it. He is so lucky because he gets 12 weeks of paid leave and he can take the first 6 weeks however he wants. The last 6 weeks have to be taken consecutive and none of this affects his PTO time. It’s a great benefit from a great employer. I kind of wish I was having a kid so I could escape for 12 weeks, lord knows I need a vacation.

Looks like indoor dining has reopened in my area, I found that out this morning when I got out. I will for sure be going some place next week, provided it lasts that long. The infection rate always seems to rise once they open things up because people start getting back too normal. I expect this will be a temporary allowance and expect that we will eventually go back to prohibiting indoor dining. Speaking about the virus. I found that I can register both with the state/county where I live and also the state/county where I work. I’ve done both and am waiting to see who tells me first that my shot is available. I am not a front-line worker and while my job is considered essential, I can easily work from home. I told both about my health conditions, which will give me some priority but it is still going to be sometime before I go to get my Faucci Ouchy.

I still have to do house cleaning and I am having a California Pizza Kitchen Margarita Pizza (I know I probably spelled that wrong). I will be using my pizza stone and am looking forward to it. Of course, the grocery store is gearing up for the Super Bowl and that is one day I try to avoid. You can walk through an empty store but only if you wait until close to game time. Of course, most things are gone and if you’re looking for chips, forget about it.

It’s hard to believe that we will start on the 2^nd month of the year. Where oh where did January go?

I have found that on social media there are people who are expressing displeasure for our current president. Just my opinion but he’s far better than what we had. That said, I am sick of politics and mute or unfollow those that choose to talk about it in a negative tone. The county needs to heal, it’s a large open wound that will close slowly. We don’t need more salt we need more healing. That too is just my opinion. I wish we could all just get along; the world would be a much nicer place!

Nothing really remarkable to talk about, just wanted to put out a few words to let you all know that I am still among the living. I hope that your week was good and that next week will be even better. Take care of yourselves and stay warm. I will talk with you peeps again soon.

 

Yanni’s Nikki Nanna (We Are One)

Never stop learning

I was really impressed by the inauguration ceremony. The fireworks at night were the best I have ever seen and probably cost a small fortune. Fun fact, you can’t watch a firework show and be mad or at the very least not have a smile on your face. I was also particularly interested in the pen that the President used to sign documents on his first day. With a bit of research, I found that he used a pen by A.T. Cross or more commonly known as Cross. The pens were custom made for him. They are Cross Century II Rollerball pens. It had a black lacquer finish we 23-karat gold-plated appointments. He used a felt-tip version, which is just a matter of swapping a different refill. You can buy that model of pen on Amazon but you won’t get the customizations that were made for the President.

It’s been a semi busy week for me and of course I didn’t want to go back, much less be on call. I had one night where I thought for sure the next day, I would be calling in sick but I pushed through. I couldn’t stay awake; my head was pounding and I had to use the bathroom several times during the night. I took my sleeping pills and went to bed early. Whatever it was passed. I’ve been sure to flush my system out by drinking plenty of water. I have also tried to create a caloric deficit and did a pretty good job of not snacking and only eating 3 meals per day. I did loose a couple pounds, probably water weight. My hope is that if I can keep this up, I will be able to get my weight under better control.

My furry roommate is meowing, I think she wants some food. Speaking of which I had White Castle tonight for supper. Their new Sloppy Joe, a couple of Cheese Sliders and a side of fries. What I asked for and what I walked away with were two different things. I actually wound up with way more food than I ordered and that is the first time that happened in quite a while. Normally I get shorted.

HBO MAX just added Everwood a drama that was on from 2002 through 2006. It had Gregory Smith in it and that is my reason for watching. He’s cute, I know straight & married today but hey you can’t fault a guy for dreaming. Needless to say, Everwood is what I am watching now. Each episode is around 45 minutes and there are no commercials. Most episodes of TV shows have important life lessons or takeaways imbedded and you have to pay attention to figure out what that is.

I learned something this week. If you have a dishwasher and aren’t getting good performance chances are the filter needs to be changed or at the very least rinsed off. I had no idea dishwashers had filters. Give a Google to your specific make and model or consult your owner’s manual to find where the filter is on your specific machine. I had to take the bottom part of the arm assembly apart. The filter wasn’t clogged but I rinsed it off anyway and found some plastic pieces floating the pumps water supply. The machine was making quite a racket and I figured it was on its way out but I removed those plastic pieces and got it all put back together. I am proud to say I had no left-over parts and it actually works better and quieter now that there isn’t debris floating around in the pumps water supply. That little adventure probably bought me some extra time at the very least. I am not in a hurry to replace anything around here but if the time comes then I will certainly do it. Washing dishes by hand is horrible much less really boring unless you have a partner to share the chore with.

I do have to get up early tomorrow to take care of a task at work, then visiting the grocery store, gas station and then home for the day. I will lounge around here and maybe do some vacuuming. I am thinking of getting a frozen pizza and using my pizza stone again. Outside of that nothing special.

What are your weekend plans? Tell me all about it. Best wishes for the week ahead. Take care and I will talk with you peeps again soon!

Changes

I hope you like what I did with the template. Before anyone asks the photo is NOT me. It’s Brandon Wooten who is better known as Wooty Booty or by his former porn name Ashton Webber. Hence the name Wooty Booty he’s known for his ass and it’s perfect in my opinion. The kid is also mega hung, but he’s a bottom, at least he was in porn! I did subscribe to his Just For Fans channel for a few months but the content didn’t appeal to me. When he was younger, he wasn’t all tatted up. I am not a huge fan of marking up one’s body but if it’s kept to a minimum it’s fine. He does wear all of his tattoos well; they just don’t appeal to me. I chose the photo because he is waving hello and I thought that was a unique way to welcome visitors. The template (which doesn’t include any photos) is a Blogger theme that I changed some of the colors. Back in the day I used to change the title photos and themes on a regular basis but eventually that proved to be too much work and I stopped. Considering that were in a new year and the month is ½ way over with I thought why not. I found the photo when I was doing some research for a potential post. Once I saw the photo, I abandoned my research and shifted into modifying the blog. I’m a little board and this was a nice escape.

Today was a sleep in and relax day. I did nothing but venture out to get the mail and cat food. The weather is just cold here. Roads are clean but I just wasn’t in the mood to travel. I’ve still got 2 days left in this extended weekend, so perhaps I will squeeze it in. I’m thinking about tomorrow.

My Furry Gator has enjoyed having her human around. She has cuddled with me for a good portion of the day. She is still eating food like a vacuum cleaner, so I am all too happy to put it out for her. I just wish the frequency would slow a bit.

I’ve been watching YouTube videos on belly fat and how to get rid of it. I stumbled across a couple of unique videos about taking cold showers, it has nothing to do with weight loss. It’s about getting outside of your comfort zone.

I also took time to look up my tire size and shopped for new tires. It’s kind of depends on what you’re looking for but it can be really cheap or really expensive. I’ve got touring tires which is mean for just riding around and they have low noise and aid in gas mileage. The other type of tire is performance and that is not going to help with gas mileage and won’t provide a quiet ride. I didn’t make any decision or place any orders, just wanted to see what options I had. Oddly enough the same tire that I have was one of the recommended tires that I install. The warranty on the tire is 50,000 miles and I haven’t gotten anywhere close to that. More like 20,000, which is horrible considering they were a little over $300 per tire.

That’s all I know at the moment. Take care and I will talk with you peeps again soon!

Size Matters

Hello again friends, we made it to Friday! Yesterday was semi-productive for me. I made it to the doctor’s office, the nurse drew my blood and I only got stuck once. She had to dig a bit to find the vein and that hurt like hell but this is the first time that I only got stuck once. I had the uncomfortable conversation with the doctor and he actually told me that there are injectables that work much better, have been around longer and probably cost less. I’ve heard porn stars rave about them but the idea of a needle is a turn off for me, but I am curious enough to want to try it just once. I did my research and injectables or pills for ED are not covered by my insurance. They used to be years ago but like everything insurance formularies change. There are plenty of 3^rd party services that offer help for whatever you are seeking but you have to read the fine print. You could be signing up for monthly subscription to speak with a physician at the rate of $30 that doesn’t include the medicine or shipping. It feels a bit odd putting this information out there for the world. I know that lots of guys suffer from ED and it makes me feel super old. We agreed to table this for now as I strongly feel it’s situational. My unit is functional but I just can’t be as active with it as I’d like. I also strongly feel that the added weight gain contributes to the problem. Oddly enough I forgot to ask about low-T but the symptoms that I have kind of fit low testosterone levels. Believe it or not you can get testosterone mail order and it too is an injection but it’s subcutaneous, I could easily do that because it just goes under the skin. However, the idea of needles doesn’t appeal to me. Also, if you’re on testosterone you have to be closely monitored for the first year and if I went around my doctor, I know that he would be quite unhappy. I don’t want to gamble with my health or play doctor because that can lead to serious consequences. Just leaving things alone is probably the best, but it does weigh on me and that causes other issues like sleepless nights.

I did voice concerns that I kind of feel like I am going insane being confined to home and he told me that he's heard more complaints of that recently. You would have thought we would have all complained months ago but since this pandemic continues to linger so does working from home. My weight is really up there and I am not happy about that either. It’s odd how weight can affect so many aspects of your daily life.

We spoke about the COVID vaccine and turns out I did the right thing by registering with my local health department as they are in charge of distribution. You can’t just pop in at your local doctor’s office and get the shot. The health department will probably tell you visit a local pharmacy when it’s your turn, so I will be waiting on that. The BIG thing is no one knows how long the vaccine lasts and just because you get the shots doesn’t mean that your immune it just lessens your chance of contracting it. Time will eventually tell the efficacy. Also, don’t throw away your masks as they will be around for a very long time. Just because you get the shots doesn’t mean you can stop wearing a mask. This is one fine mess were all in. I hope with new leadership that we can get on top of this and get better containment and control so that we don’t have to live our lives wondering if we were exposed or if we might have COVID. I think working from home will be the norm for the bulk of this year as well but I will be along for the ride just like the rest of you, so we shall see what the future holds. Let’s hope that it’s brighter and better!

After the doctor I decided to hit up Best Buy. I have been wanting to get a new mouse for the longest time and have been obsessing over gaming mice because they are supposed to be better. Considering I have a gaming keyboard the RGB lighting would pair well. Sadly, Best Buy’s stock was raided and there were only a few choices. I picked the Viper Elite by Razer which is an ambidextrous mouse. I saw it on line and knew that I wouldn’t like it but what I wanted they didn’t have, so I gambled. Turns out I was right and I returned it today. I now have a Logitech Mx Master 3 ($99) which is a productivity mouse. Logitech has been my brand of choice for keyboards & mice for a while. Having a Razer keyboard ($200 – Huntsman Elite) and a different brand mouse doesn’t sit terribly well with me, I like things to match and be consistent. However, there is no hard & fast rule that it has to be that way. My primary mouse before this change was a Logitech M705, which is still working to this day. It’s been several years and I wanted something larger. I hear the jokes now about me being a size queen. What can I say bigger is better for several things. A computer mouse, a bank account, a vehicle, a sandwich and of course a penis! If your curious about computer mice or keyboards I suggest watching YouTube videos as they can be helpful in making a decision, as that is what helped me.

I also had my first Steak N Shake in almost a year. The drive thru line moved way faster than I ever anticipated because they make everything fresh. As per usual my order was messed up and I didn’t get what I wanted but I also wasn’t charged. All of that grease didn’t set terribly well with my stomach, but damn it tasted so good. Egg, Cheese, Bacon, Burger, Lettuce & Tomato. I wanted a bowl of chili but wound up with a cup instead, which oddly was for the best.

Just as I pulled in the driveway the phone rang and it was work, there was a crisis and someone needed my help. It was only a phone call so I got to eat and talk at the same time. This lingered on for longer than I wanted it to. I also got to deal with more of a mess today, again by phone – I never logged in or was on my computer. I have checked mail periodically on my phone. There is some catchup work to do and I found out that we have to go back to punching a time card, regardless of our exemption status which I think is bullshit. There will be lots of overtime for me but will I get paid for it? Nope because I am salaried so a time card is a moot point and I am going to object but I will still follow the rules, that is if my memory remembers. I think this is just office politics and I despise them like all politics.

Today I made it to Target as well and got everything on my list and a few things that weren’t. I spent way too much money but it was mostly on Cat Litter. My baby should be well supplied in that area. She’s still needy and crabby. She made me come up earlier this afternoon because she wanted to sleep curled up in my lap. She traps me in my chair to the point where I can’t move so I wind up falling asleep as well.

I treated myself for supper and had Cracker Barrel. What a horrible idea that was. I had Haddock for supper because it was the only fish on the menu and it was horrible. Let’s hope that my pancakes taste much better when I have them for breakfast. It was a 2 birds 1 stone kind of thing. We are in the middle of a winter storm with ice and snow. It wasn’t horrible before the sun went down but now is when I anticipate that it will get bad. I still need to grab the mail and cat food tomorrow. I also am thinking of traveling for pizza, but that will all depend upon road conditions, given the state of my tires. Grocery store on Sunday and I have no idea what I will be doing on Monday but I know that I will be wishing for one more day off for sure.

I hope that you have a safe, fun and enjoyable weekend regardless if it’s 2 or 3 days. Talk with you peeps again soon!

Wonky Wednesday

Most people have a day of the week they dislike. Mine has always been Monday but I am starting to give consideration to change that to Wednesday. Strange things happen on this day of the week. We had another abnormal situation occur today at work. Just when you think all is quiet is usually when these types of situation crop up. I got roped into it by accident but it all pays the same. I will be on call next week and hope seriously that nothing bad, strange, dramatic and/or drastic occurs. A nice normal quiet week would be fine with me!

On to my vehicle. I was right the battery in fact was bad. It took 24 hours for the dealer to determine that. They had to run it through some “testing” for warranty purposes. I don’t get it I can pull up to an auto parts store and they can check my battery and within a matter of minutes they can tell me if there is an issue. I get the manufacturer doesn’t want to pay for anything they don’t have to but neither does the customer. As for the rest of the vehicle I should get tires soon, according to the dealer. Funny thing is the measurements they obtained today are the same exact measurements they obtained 7 months ago (May) when the vehicle was in for its last service appointment. It’s not like I am racking up miles but if I were then tires would have come into the picture sooner. Certainly, when life resumes normal and I have to commute I will keep the thought of new tires in the back of my mind. Rubber is expensive. I filed a warranty claim with the manufacturer of the tires and wound up putting the same tire right back on. Funny thing is that I saw in a YouTube video days ago that if you have problems with a tire manufacturer you should move on and not put the same tires back on the vehicle. However, the warranty claim saved me some money. I really love this vehicle like I have no other car. Money is money and when a vehicle starts gobbling up bunches of money regardless of the connection or the love you have for it, it’s time to call it a day and move on. The tires help add fuel to the new car fever I have and that is motivation to get something new. Only time will tell what I will do. For now, I am going to keep driving it and not worry about tires, as they are only in the yellow portion. In case you’re not familiar you have a color code system Green, Yellow and Red. If you’re in the red it requires immediate attention. Provided I do put tires on it I will purchase them from a tire store vs the dealer and I will choose a different manufacturer and probably not mess with another warranty claim, even though I clearly have another one. I watch the tire pressure and make sure it’s exact on a frequent basis, driving to work or not. I really don’t get how this keeps happening.

Tomorrow is the big Doctors visit. I am a bit apprehensive which is abnormal but were going to be talking about sexual function and that is just an odd discussion. I really don’t want to walk out of his office with a script for a blue pill or to see Alice as I think what I am dealing with has more to do with situational awareness and the weight I have gained. Thankfully my organ is still functional it’s just not what it used to be. Sort of like my car when I bought it 4 years ago vs now. Maybe all I need is some rubber. Seriously, I hope that there isn’t a sign that something greater is at play. I had also hoped to have the results from my DNA testing that I did. It was projected for early January a few weeks ago and when I login to the portal it’s still pending. They have my sample it’s just a matter of getting the results. Not only am I eager to know what they can find but I am interested in the health reports to be able to share them with my doctor. I hate hurry up and wait but I really have no other choice.

I am looking forward to the drive over, listening to the sound of the open road and of course my music. Speaking of which I enjoy something from most but not all types of music. Country isn’t something I am into heavily but there are a few catchy tunes. I was saddened to learn that K.T. Oslin (a country singer) passed away a few weeks ago. I enjoy a good portion of her music. I discovered her music when I was much younger because of a co-worker. It’s funny how different people bring different things to the table and introduce them to you, but that is part of the joy of life. Variety is truly the spice of life.

The furry Gator has been needy and a bit crabby, but were getting along because I think we both realize we need the other one. I was super drowsy this afternoon and went to take a nap. She was sleeping in her bed and she woke up and it took a few minutes but she joined me in bed. I was expecting her and we slept together for a half hour. Then I woke up and she was all crabby because she missed lunch. I came upstairs early this morning and never bothered to wake her, normally she hears me regardless of how quiet I try to be. I got bored with watching TV so I came back down since she is currently napping again in her bed. She has a routine just like me and I know it all too well. Food before bed, some water crying and then cuddle time with dad.

I hope that all is well in your world. Politics are starting to scare me a bit and I think I will be a bit more at ease after the inauguration. It’s all gotten way to far out of hand and right now I don’t see a way to put the bulls back in the barn but hopefully with time they will calm down and come home on their own. Hopefully, that makes sense.

Take care and enjoy the remainder of the week. I am going to try to enjoy my time away from the office, even though I have to login and run that silly report. I really wish vacation or time off was exactly that and there was no interaction with work whatsoever but I suppose that would be a perfect world. Talk with you all again soon!

 

Younger Men by K.T. Oslin

Unprecedented week

No doubt that you have seen the events that transpired on Wednesday in Washington DC. It was something that I have never seen before and nothing that I ever thought would occur in my lifetime. At the time of writing this it’s Thursday evening. There are calls for the 25^th Amendment and/or Impeachment. Growing up I heard that you should never talk about 3 things … politics, sex and religion. I never understood about politics that is until President Trump was elected. My opinion is that he has proven to be less than Presidential and that he should be removed and replaced as quickly as possible. Leaving him in power to finish out his term is too great of a risk to take, since he is unstable who knows what else might happen. What I think will happen is that he will be allowed to remain in office and finish out his term. I think after his term is finished or come the time, he is no longer in power that he will flee the country and go into hiding to avoid the massive criminal cases that are no doubt being built against him. While I don’t think he is the antichrist I think that he is close to it and for sure evil.

Today I had the strangest incident occur in my career. We had a person report that their computer was hacked and then become verbally belligerent and refuse to cooperate with anyone who reached out to try to help. Taking it a step further the person would just spout off and then hang up. We had no clue as to what truly happened and started digging into it. Long story short turns out there was no hack but rather human error. Rather than admit that a mistake was made the person stuck behind their original story even when we had irrefutable proof of what had occurred to the contrary. The thought that entered my mind is, wow this person must be a Trump supporter. Cry and claim your being attacked but have no proof and whatever is shown to you to refute your claim, you respond by calling it fake news. This person I determined to be bat shit crazy did the stupidest thing ever and got all of upper management involved and said that we were not trying to help. Unless there was some medical condition at play, I think this person will at a maximum be fired and at a minimum be talked to. This was the most screwed up thing I have seen and I have seen a lot. We spent hours on this and if we had cooperation and less drama it would have been a 15-minute phone call and we would have been done.

In other news I bought a battery charger, not that I needed one because I had one already. I bought it because it was more modern and simplistic to use. When you hook it up you get a voltage reading of the battery. Then if you elect to charge you get progress readings as to the percentage of the charging cycle. There isn’t an estimate of completion but for $35 I think it was money well spent. I easily was able to confirm that my battery is toast and needs to be replaced. I scheduled service which was mildly difficult but they will be here next week to pickup the vehicle and take it in. While it’s there I told them to change the oil even though I am at 30% might as well save a step. The best part is that the battery and/or anything else that is wrong will be covered by the factory warranty. I’ve got 5 thousand miles left or until 09-11 before the warranty expires. While my vehicle is in great shape, I am eager to buy a new one. I don’t know why but a couple years after I lost my spouse, I got a mad case of new car fever and it calms down and flares up. No kidding but 6 months after I bought what I own I was ready to trade. I have never been a vehicle guy but things and people change. What I drive now is a luxury vehicle and ever since I got a taste of amenities that I never had before, I don’t want to give them up but instead want more. I do realize that drives the price up and like my late grandmother said the more bells and whistles you have the likelier you are to see those bells and whistles break. I take care of most of the things I own because they are special to me and I want them to last. Although admittedly I am in a bit over my head when it comes to my home, all the more reason why I want to sell and move to something smaller and more my style. Perhaps that will happen but I don’t have high hopes or plans of that right now.

My little furry friend has been extra bossy and crabby this week. I have been watching her face and it looks like one side is slightly inflamed. I took a peek at it last night and she permitted that. Honestly, I was scared of what I was going to find but it appears that she has some swelling and redness around the gum of one of her fangs. It doesn’t seem to bother her but since her sister had oral cancer that is what is foremost in my mind. I know that she is old and dying, but I want to maximize the amount of time that I have with her. Her appetite has also picked up even more than it was already, I hope that it slows down a bit. I don’t want her to stop eating just slow down a little bit. If she should lose her appetite it will be difficult to get her going again, just based on family history. I’ve been successful with her departed family members most but not all of which at some point stopped eating. I worry a lot about her but the fact remains that I can only control so much and that at some point she will die. I know that each day brings us closer to that point in time but at the same time I hope that she is like the Energizer Bunny and she keeps on going for a couple more years. The really difficult part for her will be when life goes back to normal and I have to return to the office. She is so clingy and demanding to be by my side that I fear she will go into depression and that might be the beginning of the end. I would like to quit my job but my creditors wouldn’t be too happy with me and I wouldn’t be able to survive long term so I have to work until that winning lottery ticket comes my way.

Next week will be a short one for me, 3 days to work and then 5 days off. Two of those days are vacation, two are weekend days and One of them is a holiday. Not a bad deal 2 for the price of 5. I for sure won’t want to go back to work after having a long stretch off. My co-worker who is about to be a new father found out that we offer 12 weeks of paid leave. You don’t have to use any vacation days but you do fall under FMLA so that if you exhaust the 12 weeks and still have to take time, you will need to find a new job. With FMLA you can piece meal it, you don’t have to take all 12 weeks in a row. However, as part of the benefit that is offered for parental leave you have to take the last 6 weeks in a row or you forfeit them. It is going to be rough when he is out. We talk every work day for at least an hour if not more. We have what I consider to be a friendship and he is my primary outlet right now during lock down. Not having that interaction on a daily basis will be difficult to adjust to and I know that I will be calling him just to check in, if only for 5 or 10 minutes.

I don’t know about you but thus far what I have seen of 2021 I am ready to ask for my money back and move on to 2022. That is honestly when I think the largest part of the pandemic will be truly behind us and when all 12 months of the year will be back to business as usual or more normal. I think that this year still holds some joy but there will be an awful amount of pain until the pandemic is under better control. I saw a meme on social media that said we should let Amazon deliver the vaccine. If you’re a Prime Member you get 2 days service and if you’re not then you have to wait 2 days longer but in the course of a month, we could have a good percentage of the population immunized. While that is humorous there often is a lot of truth in humor.

We made it to the weekend. Friday night into the early part of Saturday I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep for a few hours. Then a couple hours after I got back to sleep the cat woke me up because she was hungry. I had little energy on Saturday to get moving as I had wanted to, so I slept a good portion of the day and by the afternoon I was in full gear but I didn’t set out to accomplish what I wanted, just covered the basics of getting the mail and cat food. I had to scrounge for food from the freezer but I didn’t starve. I really wanted to go out and then I found that White Castle has a sloppy joe slider. Wow I have been so hungry for sloppy joe’s it is almost worth going to grab some but as per usual I talked myself out of it. I spent the evening watching YouTube videos. I came across Mark Rober the guy who designed the ultimate glitter bomb to combat package theft. I watched that. Then found a video on his page where he surprised a 12-year-old boy who had a rare form of brain cancer with an epic 13th birthday party after his cancer treatment was done. That’s when I experienced a new emotion where I cried and laughed at the same time. I challenge you to watch the video (which I will post at the end of my ramblings) without expressing some form of emotion. I’m not saying your going to cry but you for sure have to smile or chuckle at the least. It was the best thing I saw in quite some time.

Sunday, I got up had breakfast and started watching TV. That was a huge mistake because the sugar wore off and I went back to bed. The cat and I had an epic cuddle & nap session where she just relaxed and stayed next to me until I actually woke up, which is rare. Normally she gets me to sleep and then abandons me. It was great but the day was getting away from me. I grabbed of all things a candy bar and a Mt. Dew and powered through getting dressed, reviewing what was on my phone and then shoving off to the grocery store. I was able to get some decent food and saw some eye candy to boot. It's still way too cold outside and while I wanted to visit a few other places I opted to go home. Since I know my vehicles battery is on its last legs I don’t want to get stranded somewhere. Plus, I will have ample time later this week to hit up those places as long as I still have the energy. I am working on getting my clothes through the dryer. Then I will wrangle with the trash and hope to cut my hair, shower and shave. Nothing terribly physically exhausting. I still have to do my work report and we have some people changing titles tomorrow so I have to process those changes today. Then it will be back to waiting on the cat and keeping her company until it’s time to finally see some good TV. Nancy Pelosi is doing an interview on 60 minutes. The Circus is back on Showtime, Shameless is on and the next episode of Your Honor is on. All of which will be far too much to consume in one night but it will give me some good entertainment for a couple days.

Here's hoping that this week is better than last and that I can actually accomplish all of the things that I have put off for way too long with my time off. Cheers!

 

I dare you to watch this without expressing any emotion!

364.24 days to go

Happy New Year! I didn’t manage to stay awake to ring in the new year or play America’s favorite past time game. What game? Is it gun shots or fireworks? I turned on my air purifier and fired up the white noise. Then fell into a slumber. Unfortunately, I was up several times during the night. The good news is that I was able to fall back asleep.

When I finally woke up around 9 or 10, I decided to make Cinnamon Rolls. I accidentally managed to keep two of them together so it made one large roll. It was good. I left them in the oven a bit long so the bottoms burnt, but the rest of them were good. I ate 3 (the large 2 in 1 and then 1 regular). I started watching Season 3 of Cobra Kai on Netflix. About an hour later I could feel the sugar wearing off. I grabbed a Diet Mt. Dew and consumed that, which bought me a little bit of time. I kept watching, it was really interesting. I like how they mixed parts of the original Karate Kid movie into the series. That took me back to when I too was a much younger man. Eventually I went back to bed and took a brief nap with my side kick in tow.

Once I woke up, we finished the series which turned out to be pretty good. I’m ready for Season 4 but who knows when that will be out.

I got the trash ready and pushed it out to the curb. Then came in and started my fun process of promoting people and running my silly report for work. That took a little bit of time and my sidekick has been meowing ever since I was down here. I stopped to feed her but that only bought me a few minutes of silence and then she was right back at it again. Eventually I ignored her and she quieted down. I finished up at work and opted to take a break. I went up to figure out what was for supper.

I had a Bacon, Ranch and Chicken bowl from Stouffers. I managed to get a steam burn on my thumb when I pulled it out of the oven. I don’t like burns at all but steam burns can be wicked. It’s calmed down but my thumb is inflamed and red. I took a break and watched some more of The Middle and my side kick managed to fall into a deep sleep. I turned the TV off and told her that I was headed back downstairs and she perked up, followed me downstairs like she was going to miss a train or a bus. Then proceeded to nag me to go back upstairs. I finally had enough and picked her up, which resulted in her scratching my arm as she flailed to get loose. I put her on the steps and then closed the door. Man, she turned on the tears then I finally had to go open the door and she has settled down.

I’ve come to the conclusion, which you probably arrived at long ago. I’m letting her walk all over me and she is taking full advantage of the situation. I don’t mind the endless amount of food but the constant meowing when I have to come downstairs is a bit much. She is the reason why I sit upstairs during the week hunched over a laptop. I’m much more comfortable and can work quicker & more efficiently if I am in front of my desktop, but her royal pain in the ass doesn’t want that. God forbid that I should be comfortable in my own home. I give her some leniency because she is the last one, she could still be grieving the loss of her brother. However, I need time for myself and time away from her in my own element (basement) is enjoyable. I want to ring her neck but she takes me to my boiling point quickly. I know someday I will miss her and long for that meow. Right now, though I long for some peace & quiet. I spend the bulk of the day with her, which probably explains why she so easily gets on my nerves.

My favorite part of the New Year is putting up my new male calendars. Nothing says Happy New Year like a sexy naked man. Now if I could just have one of those in my life that would be nice.

I have yet to pay bills which is my next task once I am done with this post. It’s not like me to delay that task I am on top of it but a couple days won’t hurt anything. Besides that, the money isn’t actually going anywhere until Monday morning.

How’s the weather in your neck of the woods? I’m in the middle of an ice storm today and I think snow will be moving in tomorrow. Crazy thing is I have to get out tomorrow to grab the mail and get cat food. I want to go for pizza again. They have a contest going where they passed out envelopes the month of December. You bring them back anytime in January and you get whatever prize is inside but the catch is the envelope has to be sealed. I’m not a lucky person but I would like the top prize which is $100 store credit. That will buy me a few pizzas. The weather will dictate if I travel for pizza. Otherwise, I will find something local, time for a change of pace.

All things considered the first day of 2021 hasn’t been too bad. Let’s hope that the days ahead bring lots of pleasure, laughter, orgasms, food and weight loss. Hopefully, this time next year my noisy side kick will still be with me and I will have expanded my friend list and maybe found a boyfriend to add to the list. I’m not holding my breath but at the same time I am not ruling anything out.

I hope that all is well for you and that your first day of the year has been enjoyable. Now on to paying bills or as I call it giving my money away. Then maybe surfing for some porn before I call it a night and head back up to be with the furry sidekick. I know that time can’t come fast enough for her. Once again, Happy New Year!

End of year thoughts

2020 was supposed to be the year that my life turned around. I really honestly felt that I would find love and that something really good would happen to me. Little did I, let alone any of us know that a pandemic would hit this year.

The worst thing that happened in my life this year was the loss of 2 of my cats. A friend that I never met in person died in the summer not due to COVID. I found out on Christmas Eve that I also lost a co-worker who passed away suddenly, this was not related to COVID. We weren’t close but we talked and she actually provided me some help. Death happens around us all the time but this year it seems to be one of the many things we hear about sadly all too often.

The best things that happened to me this year was being able to work from home and the rise in popularity of my blog. I know that I don’t often post about the greatest of things and that I am not a super star in the blogosphere, but everyone needs someone and I’m glad that our paths have crossed. This is mostly due to me visiting other blogs and leaving comments, the comments spark curiosity and interest and then people make a determination if they like you and want to link to you or if they would rather just move on. I have been fortunate enough to get a few sites to link to me and I am grateful for that. I return the love and I try to keep an eye out for those sites that continue to link to me so that I can continue the love.

I delayed plans to get a new vehicle in light of the pandemic, considering that I am not commuting like I normally do. This caused me to catch a break in that the vehicle that I wanted was a new model and had a recall due to a safety issue. I have plans to upgrade in 2021 but it will likely be later in the year. I hope that it’s financially feasible for me to do so. I know that vehicles are a horrible investment due to rapid depreciation and with the amount of normal driving I do it doesn’t make sense to lease.

With the restrictions in place and working from home, I am reminded more often than I care that I am all alone. I look forward to hopefully being able to make new friends and date when life returns to normal. Not to mention being able to hopefully drop some of this weight and hopefully fit back into my clothes more comfortably, that is if they still fit. I wear jeans and sweatpants but that’s not normal attire for the office.

While none of the dreams/desires I had for 2020 came true and it truly wasn’t my year, I have hope that 2021 will be better, not only for me but for everyone.

Don’t be afraid to leave a comment, I don’t bite and if you’d rather not have your comment posted say so and I will respect your privacy. While the world at large has made great strides with same sex relationships I realize that not everyone is accepting and that some people just feel uncomfortable or may not be out.

Stay safe and enjoy what is left of 2020. Happy New Year! Thanks again for your readership, it means a lot to me.