Saturday

I managed to get a shower this afternoon.  I got out to get the mail, cat food and picked up a pizza from Domino’s.  When I got home I was ready for a nap.  I ate some pizza (which wasn’t the greatest) and then watched some TV and took it easy.  I came down to pay bills and check my email.  Hours went by and now it’s 9p. 

No big plans for tomorrow.  Depending upon how I feel I might schedule a haircut this week.  My hair is totally out of control.  My ultimate goal for tomorrow is working on laundry.  Slowly but surely I am making some progress. 

I hope that I get some more energy and return to normal sooner rather than later.  I am pushing the fluids again and that has helped a little bit.  Gator had me up at 5a and I had breakfast because I knew that I would eventually get tired and return to bed.  We ate together which happens on occasion.  My appetite isn’t really there but I am forcing food in, I know that helps too. 

Stay warm and safe.  Talk with you all again soon!

Friday

The end of yet another week is here.  I woke up this morning and it felt like I took two steps backwards.  That tends to happen when I push myself a bit too hard when I am sick and I always pay a price the next day.  I spent the bulk of today in bed and that didn’t please Ms. Gator.  She got fed and we had our cuddle time and I am sure there will be more before the day is done.  I just felt horrible with a general body ache, sinus and cough.  Ms. Gator woke me at 6a and I opted to eat breakfast with her.  I was surprised that we had yet another dusting of snow.  The trash trucks were right on time and making a bunch of noise, as per usual.  I took my medicine and then began watching TV. 

I am currently watching Different Strokes with Todd Bridges and Gary Coleman.  It’s hard to believe that every regular character in that show is deceased.  It was really good TV back in the day but I appreciate it a bit more now than I did then.  Plus I don’t have to sit through commercials.  I believe I am getting it with my Paramount Plus subscription on Amazon.  Eventually I get tired and pause it, then rest up and turn the TV back on. 

I knew that eventually I would need to put on some clothes and get the trash barrel in.  I opted to do that at 3p and since I was upright I decided to come down and work on the computer.  I’ve done some surfing, finally balanced my checkbook for December and finished writing a letter that I had in draft mode for almost a month.  I still need to pay bills but money won’t be going anywhere until Monday so I am waiting to schedule anything until tomorrow or Sunday at the latest. 

It’s still cold here and the basement could use some heat but I will be headed up soon to grab some supper and check on Ms.Gator.  She’s been napping in the sunshine on the couch.  She is managing to chew through the food I picked up when I was at the grocery store so I will need to get out tomorrow or Sunday at the latest and get her more food.  I also need to grab the mail, it’s been 2 weeks since I have been to the post office. 

I think I am starting to come around slowly but don’t want to do too much after the morning I have had.  I would like some consistency in how I feel to really know if I am truly making progress.  My memory gets foggy still at times and that really angers me but there isn’t much I can do about it. 

Kind of feel like dining out tonight but I think that would be a bit much so I will be staying home and eating something canned or frozen.  My desire to eat comes and goes but I really could easily skip eating for a day or longer as long as I wasn’t taking my diabetes meds.  I am wondering with the coughing if I have a pneumonia setting up, that combined with how I have been feeling and the lack of appetite kind of takes me back to my childhood when I had pneumonia but I do remember feeling much worse.  Perhaps COVID and it’s remanence is just taking a bit longer to work it’s way out of my body.  I will be much happier when it’s all gone and life goes back to normal. 

I do not look forward to playing catch up at work it will be almost an impossible task but I know that it will be there waiting for me regardless of when I actually return.  Returning to work is so far off my radar now but I know that is the goal I am shooting for.  I don’t want to rush things but I am also kind of tired of lying around and flipping through the channels for content to consume. 

Hope that your staying warm and doing well.  Have a great weekend!

Still Fighting

Yesterday was the first day that I could feel remarkable progress.  I feel a bit more normal but I am still dealing with weakness/dizziness, fatigue, sinus issues and the hallmark of COVID the cough.  I’ve been telling myself since Saturday that I would get to the grocery store on Sunday, then it was Monday.  Long story short I finally made it today.  I spent a hell of a lot of money, forgot somethings and made it home.  I was exhausted and wound up taking a nap.  It’s a simple trip that shouldn’t take that much out of me.  The one thing I noticed is that my jeans fit a little bit better.  The gastrointestinal component of this mixed with constant sinus soup does make ones stomach ache. 

I heard from a colleague that a team meeting was called with the big boss today.  It turns out our boss has COVID as well.  That is well over 1/2 of our team that has had it.  The big boss did tell everyone that I wouldn’t be back until the end of February. 

I am so confused by my leave.  The company that handles this for my employer originally told me that I was good to go until the end of February and now they are saying I am only good until the middle of the month.  That’s probably because my doctors office submitted the paperwork with 2 different dates.  I wrote the company tonight and in a couple days I should have an answer.  I’m also interested in how I am going to be paid because were getting very close to that point.  It’s about time to pay bills again. 

My colleague from work sent me a text message after not hearing from me for a day.  We normally talk each day but it’s always me calling him.  My other friend hasn’t bothered to do any follow up with me.  I did call him but got no answer and he never bothered to reach back out.  He is quick to text but never calls and I’d figure he would be checking on me.  This is a disappointment and I have had some depression over it.  I had thoughts of calling it quits because at the end of the day it doesn’t seem like I really matter to anyone.  My employer wants me back only because I serve a purpose there (and boy howdy everyone now knows exactly what I do and they are drowning without me).  I think of my furry friend and that is what always manages to stop me. 

Speaking of furry friend, she loves to sit in my lap and she falls asleep hard.  It’s like daddy is protecting me, she lets her guard down and away she goes.  I try that and she is the one to wake me up.  I usually do wind up sleeping with her in the chair.  She for some reason doesn’t like the bed, I think it’s too high for her.  She won’t jump up either but she will jump down.  She is taking her medicine and we haven’t done any fluids.  She stays well hydrated with her fountain.  I need to clean and change it, that is a task for tomorrow.  I am only a week over due. 

I continue to absorb content via streaming services.  Netflix informed me that they are increasing their price next month and I am not terribly happy about that.  HBOMax has The Chipmunk movie from a few years back, I never saw it and watched it last night.  It was really cute and entertaining.  I saw Guess Who’s Coming to Diner with Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher the other day.  That gave me some belly laughs (which are rare).  Sure do miss Bernie he was a great one to make me laugh.  I’ve also tuned into Euphoria, I want to watch from the start of the series but haven’t been able to bring myself to do that. The TV goes off and on multiple times a day and I am sure getting my use of my ROKU and even watched the GAYVN awards casting my phone screen to my ROKU.  It was a good time, I don’t usually watch award shows but this one was of interest. 

I also listen to music on Spotify and have found a lot of old songs from the 80’s and 90’s that manage to entertain me.  I always wind up with a bit of a neck ache after listening from all of the head movement I do.  I really get into the music if it’s something I enjoy. 

Sorry that I haven’t been posting more but this COVID thing has really knocked the life out of me.  I get up feed the cat and watch some TV.  Then eventually I will either have breakfast or skip it, depending upon my mood.  Then I have a late afternoon meal that serves as lunch & supper.  I snack a little bit at night.  I need a haircut I look like a wild man who just woke up because my hair is doing it’s own thing.  I made the mistake of stopping pounding the fluids so I am getting back to that.  The antibiotic my doctors office called in seems to be helping a little bit as well.  I picked up some Vitamin D today from the grocery store they say that will help with recovery as well.  I just want to get back to my old boring self and feel 100% instead of 50% that I am at now.  Laundry is also piling up around here, it’s the only thing that waits for you. 

Hope that your safe and well.  I will talk with you all again.  Stay warm!

The fight continues

I had a virtual doctor visit today and my disability paperwork has been completed.  I am off work for a few weeks, if I get better I can get things changed and go back sooner.  If this thing isn’t out of me in a couple weeks then I guess it’s moved in to stay.  I got new symptoms this morning, the dreaded diarrhea and it seems to be sticking with me.  I eat and then it’s like my body just shreds what I put in it.  I am for sure taking something to bring an end to that. 

On the off chance there is something bacterial going on an antibiotic was called in for me.  Turns out my insurance used to cover this but now does not.  I need a slightly different version in order for it to be covered.  I’ve called and let the doc know that.  If it isn’t changed tomorrow then I will send a message, which seems to get a quick response.  I need to refill my sleeping pills and I would rather make 1 trip out than 2. 

As for getting out, I have no plans other than the essentials of mail, cat food and groceries.  If I begin to feel better I may chance it but right now I much prefer to stay home.

Gator seems to be liking me sick.  She woke me up at 2a and asked for food.  I just fell into a nice slumber and because of her I was up for a couple hours before I could go back to sleep. 

I am consuming all kinds of content on the streaming services.  I just finished The White Lotus on HBO.  I am hooked on The Righteous Gemstones.  Steve Harvey’s attempt at court with Judge Steve Harvey is also pretty good.  I am running out of things to watch and it seems like when I say that out loud something manages to catch my eye. 

I chatted beefily with a co-worker and things are still falling apart at work.  I told him that I probably wasn’t going to be back for a few more weeks which didn’t go over that well.  Youth has its advantages and since I am not in my prime it takes longer for me to bounce back, plus take into consideration the other health conditions I have.  I think people will have a new found appreciation for what exactly it is that I do.  I do not miss all of the silly bullshit and mindless meetings.  I do however miss some parts of my job.  I still would like to walk away but know that is not reasonable, so I will go back but I am not rushing things, just take it day by day focusing on me and not work.  I know that if I would fail to come back or drop dead they would for sure replace me.  This is the one true way that I can get some me time in and not have to have any worry, plus turning off my phone brings great pleasure to me then the only one who can disturb me is Gator. 

Well time to get back to the TV this is as much fun as I can stand for the day. 

Goals for today

I really wanted to get up early, get breakfast and take a shower.  Then get dressed and catch up on laundry as well as get in front of the computer.  Things didn’t quite turn out the way I wanted but I did accomplish getting in front of the computer so my bills are paid and I was able to get paperwork off to the doctor.  I’ve asked for a follow up visit and am waiting to hear back.  I know it will be a virtual visit and that is fine with me. 

The cough was gone but is now back, my headaches are returning, I am sweating at times and believe that I still am getting a fever at times.  In general I don’t feel the greatest, although now that I have been up and moved around a bit this afternoon I feel the best I have all day.  I get short periods like this when I think the worst is over, then I go to bed and wake up – the nightmare returns the next morning.  I am also weak and my thinking is off a bit.  I second guess myself a bit more and that doesn’t really help much.  This is starting to feel a little like Pneumonia because my appetite is gone.  I am forcing myself to eat but I am not eating a whole lot.  I really think I need some extra help from some antibiotics or steroids to help speed things up a bit.  I really want to get rid of this but I know that isn’t something that is going to happen over night.  I am not really in a huge hurry to get back to work but I don’t want to be gone a horribly long time either because the catching up will be sheer hell.  Things are falling apart and I think that will give people some better appreciation for me and what exactly it is that I do and how well I do it.  Not bragging but just stating a fact.  

Gator has been by my side all day and I think in her own way she is trying to take care of me because she knows I don’t feel the best.  I really like it best when she passes out and is quiet.  That is when I am able to relax the most.  She keeps me up throughout the night and that doesn’t help things much.  Sleep is a key part of recovery but I can’t seem to impart that to her. 

I am amazed that I am still able to find content to watch on streaming services.  I emptied out my DVR this afternoon.  I just want something to entertain me and make me forget about my present life, if only for an hour at a time.  It’s nice to take the focus off of my reality.  

As you can well imagine my sex drive got up and left with this whole mess.  I’ve fallen behind on the latest porn scenes, the news from the industry as well as all of my social media.  I can go days without social media but it too helps to serve as a distraction.  I had my first sexual dream last night and it was nice.  I imagine when my sex drive returns I will try to make up for lost time. 

Being alone and getting ill like this is the most scary part.  No one is really checking on me and if something happened to me, it would be days to weeks before anyone would find me.  I not only want to get over COVID but I will be eager for COVID to get more under control and become a thing of the past so I have a chance to get out and make some friends so that when times like this fall I will maybe have a human to lean on or even talk to on the phone.  We all need someone. 

Back to the TV and Gator for now and eventually back to bed.  I’ve lived in my bedroom the whole time and I am kind of sick of it.  This is the first trip to the basement I have made since the 5th when I was last down here for work.  Seems like that was a horribly long time ago.  Time passes by so fast and one day blends into the other more so when you don’t have anything to do but lay around.  Laying around is nice but working keeps the mind exercised.  I do like the time off but really wish I was well and on vacation rather than on an leave of absence due to an illness. 

Here’s hoping that tomorrow is a better day!

I got COVID

It feels embarrassing to say but I was tested and diagnosed last Sunday with COVID.  This started on Wednesday the 5th in the evening I took a shower, which was normal.  When I was done I developed the worst neck ache of my life.  The next day when I woke up it felt like I was run over or kicked by something.  I cared about nothing, everything hurt and all I wanted to do is go back to bed.  Friday thins weren’t much better.  Saturday I felt on top of the world but that was short lived. Sunday I woke up and felt like crap again. 

My upper teeth began to hurt and I thought perhaps this was a maxillary sinus infection, which I tend to get.  I started with a phone call to my doctors after hours exchange and spoke with a nurse.  She told me to visit an urgent care and I figured if I was going to do that might as well hit up the ER.  I got dressed and drove an hour to the hospital, thinking the whole time that I was wasting my time and crazy for doing this. 

I got there and felt much like death, translated that into English with my symptoms.  The place was a ghost town but I still had to wait for a room to open, which didn’t take long.  The first thing they did was run a respiratory swab on me.  That is the OG COVID test with the QTIP up the nose and they had to turn it a couple times it was by far the worst test I have ever had done.  A doc came to see me, ordered a chest x-ray. 

My phone started chirping with alerts.  I got the results of my x-ray about 15 minutes after it was done.  The respiratory swab came about an hour later.  I already knew what was wrong with me when I looked at the results.  It took them another hour for a doc to come tell me and they sent a supervisor.  I felt my sugar dropping and asked for some food.  I was told they would get me something but no food ever showed up.  An hour later they came to kick me out and it was home to lockup for 10 days. 

I had already missed 2 days of work.  I asked my boss for a few more days off to be out the rest of the week.  I told him on a personal level what was going on.  He turned into a 1st class prick and made me turn myself into HR.  Since were going that route I figured might as well max this out.  I am on short term disability and can remain on it for several weeks and not loose a penny of pay.  I had to use 5 of my days but that’s it. 

My doctor won’t see me in the office because of the diagnosis they want to keep this out of the office.  He will complete the paperwork and I can meeting with him virtually. 

I ran out of food today and had to force myself to the grocery store.  That trip wore me out.  I am fatigued, have trouble concentrating and still have the whole sinus issue thing going on.  I generally don’t give a damn about anything.  This is the longest I have been in front of the computer in 2 weeks.  I haven’t paid bills or done anything other than laying around the house and cuddle with Gator. 

To add insult to injury starting Tuesday my employer is going to a 3 day in the office schedule and 2 days at home.  They were dumb enough to ask me where I think I caught COVID.  I told them you can walk outdoors, it’s in the air here and quite common.  Hospitals are full and this is the worst it’s been in 3 years since this whole nightmare started.  Thinking that would help things but the dummies are moving forward with this dumb ass plan to get everyone back in the office.  I am once again ready to quit between the stupid policy of being in the office and my boss it’s pushing me to my limits.  However, I need income so I will have to quell my feelings somehow. 

I am thinking that probably another week or two and I should hopefully be well enough to return.  I don’t want to rush my return because if i have to go back out I will need to use another week of vacation.  It’s not that I don’t have it but it’s not how I want to spend my time. 

I found out that another person on my team has COVID as well but he is working from home.  Shit is truly falling apart without me there and my email is also backing up.  The daily report that I was doing has ground to a halt and I know that it is going to be looked for since everyone is going back to the office.  I look forward to returning to work but I do suspect that I will be continuing to work from home for a bit longer before I join the rest of the monkeys in the zoo that is the office.  I do not look forward to pruning my inbox and playing catchup. 

I really didn’t plan to start the year out like this.  Things were going okay and then they this happened.  Just wanted you to know where I was and what was going on.  Here’s hoping that COVID leaves me sooner rather than later, that I am back on my feet and caught up.  I’m told that I will get some immunity from having it but because I had the 2 shots that is what saved my life and the reason why I wasn’t in the hospital.  I wish that I would have got my booster on my holiday break.  Once I am able to I will be scheduling that but I think I am a ways out from that.  I wish I never contracted this, it’s pretty close to pneumonia that i had when I was a kid and actually one of the side effects is a COVID pneumonia.  The one thing that sticks with you and is by far the worst is the cough.  The headaches were extremely painful. 

The one lesson I learned from this is that you can mix Tylenol and Ibuprofen.  They work better together to help with pain and fever reduction.  You can fact check me with a google search but I was surprised that a lot of people already knew this but I never knew this. 

Take care and we will talk again soon.  I’m not proofing this so hopefully there aren’t any typos and I don’t babble terribly much.  I kind of miss human interaction. 

Days 2 & 3

Spent day # 2 in my room for most of the day watching TV.  I did leave to make a Wendy’s run.  Their chili is so good but the batch I got tasted like it was missing something.  The burger was spot on, even if I did order a triple when it should have been a double.  Listened to some music before bed.  Thinking about a particular song I only know a few lines and can’t find it.  I thought for sure it was in my iTunes library but just checked and nothing stands out.  I hate quests like this because they drive me crazy. 

Day #3 started off early, my body thought it was back to work but my mind knew otherwise.  I got up and fed Gator, then she joined me and we watched TV.  There was no going back to sleep but I did manage to nod off for a short time.  Eventually around 9a I got up and went out for breakfast.  The Cracker Barrel app said that my local store had no wait.  I got there and of course the one time I didn’t do a mobile check in, there was a wait.  Saw a couple hotties, which made the wait worth while.  Most of the food was okay but the Hashbrown Casserole was served cold.  I didn’t bother to complain because lately the casserole has gone down hill. 

I hit up the grocery store after having breakfast.  My stomach was a bit queasy but I made it through the grocery store with no problem.  I figured with it being a Monday the shelves would be stocked and it would be a light crowd.  The crowd wasn’t light and the shelves were bare, especially in the prepared food isles.  They had very little and nothing that was of interest to me.  It’s going to be a long week because I don’t have a lot of things to snack on but managed to get out of the store with a few items for me, a little bit of cat food for Gator and spent $54.  Not terrible. 

It’s really cold out, like now is when I wish I had put up the plastic on the windows and yeah I could have done that today but not what I wanted to spend my time on.  I spent it with my girl, she ate some food in my room, she napped in my lap and I managed to find a couple of movies. 

Were presently in the middle of a movie, I paused it to hit up Olive Garden.  That was a mistake.  Service was lacking, all of my food came out at once.  I left stuffed but not feeling the greatest about my dining experience.  Then the drive home and here we are.  I had to do some work but now that is done I have the rest of the evening to myself. 

I need to shave, seriously my face is itching and it’s driving me crazy.  Once I start scratching it never ends, there is just no way to get ahead of the itch.  Matters not how much I wash my face, it’s fur and that just doesn’t sit well on my face.  If I could ever get past the itching stage I would grow a beard but I don’t think that is ever going to happen. 

I am headed back up to be with my girl and finish up our movie.  Hopefully, we can find one or two more to tide us until bed time.  I really don’t look forward to tomorrow because it’s full steam ahead back to work.  My boss was supposed to be on vacation but he is coming back and I am not pleased about that.  I like it more when he is away because he always adds in bullshit like meetings we don’t need or stupid tasks that no one really needs to do.  I have continually thought about changing jobs but for many reasons I don’t think that is a good idea.  If I can’t get over my sour attitude and work continues to be more of a burden than it normally is, I will give more consideration to it.  Right now I think it’s all about me being in a mood and the holidays.  Not to mention the looming mandatory back in the office days that are coming later this month.  COVID is out of control here and most of the states where we have offices.  I am hopeful our leadership will dial things back but part of me feels like they are hell bent on getting back to normal regardless if there still is a pandemic or not.  I think this has more to do with people revolting and wanting to work from home more rather than less.  At least my boss, despite his faults really wants to minimize everyone’s time in the office and he really only wants me in 1 day a week, which isn’t much but at the same time feels like a huge ask.   

For now I am still on my time so I am going to focus on me and my little furry girl.  I can’t stop thinking about how our time is limited together so I want to spend as much time with her as I can.  She is just getting old but like her mother, she is built tough and is still going strong.  She knows how to push my buttons and I know how to push hers.  Were great for each other.  Kind of wish there was another human here, at least sometimes but I have to be content with what I have.

Hope your year is going well and that you are staying warm.  Talk with you all again soon!  Hoping that happiness finds me sooner rather than later and that this can be a good year, once this COVID stuff is under better control.  Stay safe!

Day 1 of 365

I managed to stay up past midnight but didn’t watch any NYE events.  I took in the next season of Cobra Kai on Netflix.  I finished all of it in 1 night.  I started in the afternoon because it was a slow work day.  I went to bed probably somewhere around 1a.  Gator wasn’t terribly happy but that didn’t stop her from waking me up multiple times and then insisting that I get up at 7a because that is my normal time during the week.  Needless to say I didn’t have a restful nights sleep.

This morning I watched Being the Ricardo’s on Amazon Prime.  It was really interesting.  I am a huge Lucille Ball fan and have watched all of the I Love Lucy episodes.  They were really great TV.  After that was done I started watching The secret life on a cruise ship.  I eventually paused it and fell back asleep but that was well in the afternoon. 

When I woke, I got a shower and then dressed and headed off for cat food.  There weren’t many people out at all, it wasn’t like Christmas Day but you could tell that many people were at home, probably nursing a hang over.  After I got the cat food I felt my sugar dropping so I headed for food for me.  I hit up a new Mexican place and it was anything but great.  Service wasn’t the greatest, the food could have been better and they charged a surcharge for using a credit card.  Needless to say I won’t be back.  I felt my stomach grumbling as I returned to the car.  Not sure if it was what I just ate or the TV dinner from the night before.  I started walking in the door and my body some how knew where I was and signaled for the release.  I had a minor mess to clean up. 

After that fiasco was cleaned up, I took care of getting my Gator some food.  Then put the rest of her newly purchased food away.  The shelfs at cat food store are starting to show a little more stock but not by much.  I then took care of her litter boxes and then went back out for the mail.  Once home I sifted through what I got, which was nothing but bills and a Christmas card from a new realtor.  Back to the basement and then I did some playing on my own and finally got the dreaded jobs at work done.  It took me about an hour to do the work, including my stupid report.  What I took care of are the changes we new about.  There is always a second round but that doesn’t get published until we return and I expect it will be out this next week. 

As I type this I don’t exactly feel energetic.  I am headed up to grab a Gator Aid (the drink, not my cat) and see what I can find to watch.  I suspect that bedtime tonight will come much earlier than it did last night.  I plan to take care of my normal Sunday stuff unless I feel crappy.  Were supposed to have some snow and much colder weather to deal with in the morning, so who knows that might be a deterrent. 

I hope that your first day of the new year was great.  I will talk with you all again soon.  Happy New Year once again!

Famous Last Words

What a year it has been.  We’re about to enter year 3 of COVID and this is something that I thought would be a couple months long.  I sure hope that this time next year we have better news when it comes to COVID. 

It’s been another year of HIGHS and LOWS.  In some ways it seems like this year went by reasonably fast and in other ways it seems like it took forever to get to this point. 

The weather has been crazy with unseasonable high temperatures for December and even an outbreak of tornados earlier in the month.  We lost a lot of good people this year as we do every year. 

Here’s hoping that 2022 will get us to the point of peace on earth.  I hope it’s a year that brings me more good news than bad and that my Gator is still by myside this time next year. 

Now I shuffle off to work (from home) to take care of end of year business.  I will be working a bit tomorrow to take care of first of year business.  My friends have invited me over for an open house they are having.  Allegedly everyone is vaccinated but I don’t want to go and it’s got nothing to do with the virus.  In many ways it will be just another Saturday for me.  I plan on business as usual. 

I don’t think that I will make it past midnight but may well surprise myself.  One thing is for sure that tomorrow will be here if I wake to see it.  New Year’s like Christmas has lost it’s luster with me being alone.  I just hope that things turn around soon.

May the New Year bring you many blessings and good times.  Here’s hoping for the best for everyone in 2022!

Close to EOY

I finally got rid of my holiday blues last night.  I was listening to some music and I just broke down.  Gator doesn’t like it when I cry, it woke her up and she was concerned.  Not exactly sure what she was thinking but I told her what was on my mind and why I was crying.  One can only take so much before you reach your breaking point.  I am glad that it’s behind me and hopefully it won’t hit me again with the short pause we have for New Years, but it is possible. 

My work email was a nightmare but I managed to wade through it and took care of what I needed to and filed/deleted the rest.  So much of it was junk.  It wasn’t until late afternoon that I was able to be with Gator upstairs.  She was really good about it and napped away in my room but eventually moved to the living room, waiting on me.  It was a productive day but it was a bit of hard work as well. 

I made the decision to order the parts needed for my vehicle to upgrade to 4G.  Let’s hope that sticks around for a few more years.  Figuring in high for taxes it will be around $700 installed, that’s parts and labor.  Once the parts arrive in then I will get a call to schedule the work.  It takes 2 hours to complete.  The dealer where I have to go is about an hour from my house, so this will be at minimum a 4 hour trip.  It’s not like I am short on time off but I am trying to hopefully work it in with my trip to the doctor in a couple weeks, the timing of the parts arrival will be everything.  Hopefully, there aren’t any supply chain issues that affect me but if so there isn’t much I can do about it but roll with it.  The 3G Network shuts down towards the end of February 2022.  I will admit it is tempting to buy a new vehicle and when I get to the showroom while I wait for the repairs to be done I will want one but all things considered it’s reasonable right now to hold off.  I have my eyes open and when the time is right for me I will make that move, for now I have to be content with what I have and what I have isn’t bad it’s just 4 years old, soon to be 5. 

Today I figured out that my boss is only out of the office this week  He had planned for two full weeks but apparently changed his plans, which I am not thrilled with at all.  There is just much more drama and chaos when he is around and it’s mostly needless. 

There isn’t much going on considering this is the last week of the year, lots of people are on vacation.  I got a little curiosity and that is kind of a bad thing.  I heard this little voice in my head say don’t do it but I forged forward instead.  I was spying on a crush an set off an alarm.  I took care of the alarm because it’s part of my job but where I was on the network is logged in a file forever and if someone gets curious and decides to ask questions that could cause problems for me.  I know how to be vague and call it an accident but not sure how well that will fly.  I was vague with my team on the alarm.  I don’t think anyone will be asking questions or so I hope.  I have to learn to trust that little voice more because when I don’t there is always a price to pay. 

Speaking of voices, I feel my sugar starting to drop.  I didn’t eat much for lunch because I wasn’t feeling the best but that has changed and I am ready to mow down a buffet line.  Instead I will be having some pasta.  I am thinking later about some of the Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Pudding and then topping that with Chocolate Pudding.  It sounds strange but it also sounds really good to me. 

Not sure of what I will watch on TV tonight but I am ready for some relaxing time, sleep and to tackle tomorrow.  Hope your doing well and that I didn’t make you hungry.  I will talk with you all again soon. 

Alone on Christmas

For the first time in 9 years I found myself all alone on Christmas.  I’ve still got Gator but I wasn’t around any other humans.  Christmas at my friends house was cancelled because one of them got sick.  I suggested cancelling and he went for it quicker than I sent the text.  I got a message back that said we will get together after the new year.  If Easter counts as after the new year then I guess that will be a true statement.  Look I had had my mind made up that I wasn’t going but honestly I probably would have gone just to be around others.  It’s really depressing to be all alone on a holiday with no one to talk to, other than a cat.  I’ve also had my phone turned off on purpose so I didn’t have any distractions, I turned it back on because I need to get somethings done and in this modern day and age with 2 Factor Auth. I can’t get in to anything with out my phone. 

I woke up early, fed the cat and started watching TV.  Eventually went back to bed for a couple more hours, then got up and had breakfast.  Then back to the TV.  I had all of the intentions of getting a shower but that never materialized.  I wound up taking an unplanned nap and then watching way more TV.  Snacking and feeding the cat a couple more times. 

I am exhausting all of the streaming content that I can.  Saw 8 Bit Christmas on HBO Max.  It’s an NPH movie and it was really good.  Been through the series Twenty Somethings on Netflix, that was like a Real World but much shorter.  There has been so much content that I have consumed I don’t honestly remember most of it but there have been some good movies.  Kind of appropriate but I started the day out watching Christmas is cancelled. 

I’ve been depressed over this but hell it’s just a holiday and time alone can be a good thing.  I like not having any pressure and being able to do what I want when I want.  However, that will all come to an end when Monday gets here and it’s back to work.  Feels odd having Christmas on a Saturday. 

The grocery stores here are all closed all weekend long.  I got up early on Friday and hit up breakfast out, the grocery store and gas station.  I’ve been home ever since.  I’ve managed to get the bathroom clean and clean part of the kitchen.  There are many other cleaning projects I had planned but never got to them.  I don’t have high hopes that I will get to them tomorrow but I guess I don’t know that for sure until tomorrow gets here. 

I got some really upsetting news late in the day on Thursday.  The modem in my vehicle is a 3G modem.  The 3G cellular networks by all of the major carriers (ATT, Verizon & Sprint/TMOBILE) will all shutdown in early 2022.  That means that those devices will become giant bricks and won’t even be able to call 911 for help.  For me this means I have to reach out to my dealer to find out the cost for a 4G modem and what it will cost in labor to install.  This is all out of warranty so I will bare the full cost.  However, I do have an extended warranty and they may well cover some of this.  Plus the fact that the announcement was made back in 2020 that these networks would be shutting down, back then my vehicle was well in warranty so I am going to argue with the manufacturer.  I shouldn’t have had this dropped in my lap last minute.  If I don’t upgrade then I loose all of the remote functionality like remote start/stop, unlock/lock and being able to check on oil life and see how much gas I have left.  It negatively impacts the cars resale value as well.  I have until May I believe to get the new modem and other parts associated with the upgrade.  Chances are pretty good I could do this myself but I am comfortable letting a dealer do the work just as long as it doesn’t cost me a bunch of money.  I will also have to start paying for the app and have no idea what that will cost me.  The infotainment system will still work because that is powered by Bluetooth, so if I am in a serious wreck and my phone is paired up, it will call 911 but it won’t be able to tell them where I am if I don’t upgrade the modem because that is what powers the onboard navigation system.  I could always trade the car now and let it be someone else’s problem but that I feel is rash and would put me further into debt.  As it stands now I am very close to paying off my current vehicle.  It’s a 2017 and were just about to approach 50 thousand miles.  That is thanks to the pandemic that the mileage is so low.  I am pretty sure that trade value would easily come close if not pay off the entire loan.  However, my plan was not to trade until later next year.  Chances are I will keep this even after the extended warranty expires because it’s been good to me, other than eating tires.  I put a new battery in it at the start of this year and that was covered under warranty.  If it starts acting up and draining my bank account I will get rid of it but as I see it now I’ve got something dependable.  I really didn’t need this but hey no one ever really needs a problem.

Going back in time I got my massage and I have been really sore ever since.  I took a muscle relaxer afterwards but it only provided minor relief.  I’ve been living with the soreness and it’s starting to wear off.  If I could get 45 minutes every week I think it would help keep the knots down and I would feel much better but it’s not cheap and not everyone uses the same level of pressure.  I wanted this to be more firm pressure and for her to really dig into the knots.  I also said I only want to focus on the upper back and not have anything else touched.  Next thing you know she is pulling my underwear down and touching my butt to work my SI joints.  I don’t know why she bothered to ask what I wanted since she clearly had a mind of her own.  Were midway into the massage and she tells me she is bi-polar not exactly comforting news.  Ah well it’s over. 

I need to grab some laundry, check on the gator and then I am going to dig into the Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding I found by accident when I made my panic run to the grocery store.  I was more worried about having enough food for Gator. 

Hope you had a Merry Christmas.  I have enjoyed my time with Gator and am glad that at the very least we are together.  She knows I am depressed and that something is bothering me.  She has tried to keep me cheered up when she is not passed out cold or demanding food.  I still have to do my stupid report, even though it’s Christmas and I am on vacation. 

Take care and we will talk again soon! 

 

Surprise

All of my Amazon deliveries arrived today.  I got the new camera setup this evening.  It was very simple.  The only draw back is there is no zoom (which I thought I had).  It’s got motion tracking and sound alerts so my phone chirps when Gator cries or if she decides to get off the couch.  I have a limited field of view but it does a good job of tracking her.  Kind of makes me want to setup additional cameras throughout the house to have full view and watch her.  There is a cloud recording feature and the company pushes that pretty hard with all sorts of special introductory offers.  I do see the use case for it but given that I am just tracking a cat and not using this for security I don’t think that I need a cloud to be able to review the data. 

My new Air Pods are really good.  I like the Spatial Audio it really makes the music come to life.  It’s not quite as the same as a concert but it is really good.  I used them for a phone call and that went very well.  The left pod/bud kept falling out of my ear but the right one stayed put. 

As for the mouse pad I don’t like the wrist rest, it’s not spongy like I was expecting but I opened 1 already.  I am using it but just not happy.  So I will take a gander if I manage to make it to Target tomorrow. 

I wound up waking up super early and stayed up until about 11a, then had to take a nap.  I woke up and that’s when I got involved in a phone call.  I went to leave to get Detroit Pizza and learned that the place didn’t have dine in.  I didn’t want carry out considering the distance so instead I went to Red Lobster.  I had a decent full serving of Crab Alfredo and wolfed it down.  It was only my second meal of the day and my sugar levels dropped when I woke up from that aforementioned nap. 

I had plans to hit up Target tonight but instead opted to come home.  My colleague managed to loose several days worth of data in our stupid report.  I have spent an hour gathering it all up again for him.  Not exactly how I planned on spending my evening but I am a team player or crazy – perhaps both. 

I got a text from my friends and were having Prime Rib and Mashed Potatoes on Christmas.  I really want to pass on this.  I am not a fan of his Prime Rib nor his Mashed Potatoes.  The Prime Rib is very fatty and not cooked all the way done.  Mashed Potatoes have like 35,000 cloves of garlic and it’s just too over powering for me.  His wife likes it that way and that is why he makes them that way.  Were also having company and part of me wants to see these people and another part of me says stay away.  I will probably guilt myself into going but it will really depend on how I feel. 

Looking forward to my massage tomorrow morning.  I still have my booster setup for tomorrow afternoon as well but I don’t know if I am actually going through with it.  I will probably guilt myself into doing this as well.  I really hate the poke in the arm and then the sore arm afterwards.  As well being wiped out the next day.  I may luck out and that may not happen with the 3rd dose but I won’t know until I get it.  I’ve got the time now and it will only work to my benefit to get it.  I just wish they would pick a different spot to administer the injection but no matter which muscle they push it into, you will find that you use that muscle way more than you think you do. 

If I get the shot then I plan on treating myself to some BBQ and then coming back home.  I really want to grab breakfast out tomorrow as well but I don’t know if I will have enough time but I am sure going to try to make it all work. 

I still have plenty of work to do around here so it would actually be a plus if I could have tomorrow evening as well as all day on Thursday to accomplish my cleaning goals.  Friday will be Cat Food shopping again. 

I guess it’s up to be with the little furry lady and listen to her complain to me about her troubles.  She is really limping (arthritis) but it doesn’t seem to slow her down at all.  Back when we were on the full dose of the steroid that wiped out her limp but it was murdering her kidneys at the same time, so I wanted to keep her around and the vet opted to change us to the 1/2 dose.  I can always go back up but it’s not something I want to do because it will shorten what time she has left. 

Hope you had a great day. 

Vacation is here

For the last couple weeks, I have been watching the trial of Kim Potter. She is the former police officer who mistakenly drew her gun instead of her taser and shot & killed Daunte Wright back in April of this year. That feels almost like a lifetime ago with COVID and blursday (every day blending into the next). Closing arguments took place this morning and the case is in the hands of the jury. It was interesting to see how this all played out. I watched from opening statements until today. I have never, ever seen the jury shown on television and I think that was by design. Everyone will have an opinion in this matter. Personally, I believe this was an honest mistake. She meant to draw her taser but her brain took a different action. Had she known she had a gun in her hand and planned to use it, I think that she would have fired more than once. Police are trained to shoot to kill and they are also taught to fire at least twice. It is a very unfortunate mistake and incident to have taken place. Had Mr. Wright complied this wouldn’t have been an issue. His character came out in court and he wasn’t exactly an upstanding citizen but he was young and had his whole life in front of him, which makes this all the more tragic. Needless to say, I am interested in the verdict and think that if we do not hear anything this week, I expect to hear something next week. If deliberations go past that and into the New Year it will very much surprise me. I hate waiting for most anything but regardless of how the verdict is handed down it won’t have any impact on me.

On a different note, I made it back to the office for the first time in 2 years. I went in Saturday afternoon. I only planned to be there an hour or two but wound up staying way beyond that. I have no windows in my office and wasn’t really paying attention to the time. All things considered my office was in decent shape but there was much to clean and sort through. A colleague sends chocolate each year and someone is either holding that for me or swiped it, not sure which. It’s not the greatest but if its in front of me I will devour it. I got some promo gifts from a vendor and that was expected. I got a Christmas card from my boss but this was the second year with no gift. Normally he buys us each something and I am typically not that pleased with what I wind up with but never express any displeasure to him. It was nice of him to send the card. I had a mountain of dust to clean away. I found out the hard way that the refrigerator where all of the soda is stored for clients is now locked on weekends. Good thing for me I had some change in my office and was able to buy a soda. I got my new keyboard hooked up and it’s delightful. Someone turned up the heat my office was amazingly hot. I threw away all of the calendars for 2021, I mean it’s not like I will need them now. I also tossed my 2020 train calendar. There is plenty of trash to be hauled away. I walked around and figured out that a fair number of people have moved. Some even have their own offices now. Since we had some construction done, we have a lot more offices and they are currently empty but I am sure in time they will begin to fill up. I had the entire place to myself. There were people in but they had all left by the time I did my walk around to see what was different. It’s interesting at what has changed and what has stayed the same.

Oddly enough my boss called me last week to talk about of all things my return to the office. He has been under the assumption I have been going in 1 day a week for at least a month or more now. I didn’t bother to correct him. He even told me to keep doing what I am doing because the work is getting done. I think he wants plausible deniability. In any case he said that between the two of us we have an agreement that I will go in 1 day a week. Even when we start to return to more normal and are required to be in the office 3 days a week, he told me at least for a little while I could probably get away with 1 day a week. I still plan to address that with my doctor but don’t have high hopes that I will be told I need to work from home. I am obviously on vacation this week. My boss is out for 2 weeks starting on the 27^th and I have no plans to return to the office while he is out. When he gets back then I will probably start going in. I don’t miss the daily drive of 40 miles 1 way and I certainly don’t miss rush hour traffic. Ah well it is all there waiting for me – the good, the bad and the ugly. I’ll get to it all eventually.

Friday was the start of my vacation and I didn’t really do anything. It was a lazy day. I had my morning call to get the stupid report done, really wish I didn’t have to spend my time off doing work but it is what it is. I watched the series on HBO Finding Magic Mike. I had left a couple episodes for Saturday but it was done in the morning and I knew who the winner was. The one guy I wanted to win was dropped towards the end. It’s a great show and if you like looking at hot shirtless men then this series is a MUST WATCH. Apparently, they perform a live show in Vegas regularly. Not sure if they admit guys but I wouldn’t mind seeing the live show.

Saturday, I had booked a haircut and got that out of the way. Then hit up the post office and pet food store. It’s a Christmas Miracle. I found on an empty shelf sitting all alone 5 cans of Fish & Shrimp which is the flavor Gator loves. I grabbed them in a hurry, even though no one was around. I looked for more but there was none to be had. The selection was still pretty horrible but I managed to get a few cans for her. Then I came home, took a nap and that’s when I went on my trip back to the office. I stopped to get a bite to eat before I came home. The waitress told me they were out of what I wanted and had been for a couple weeks. I ordered something else, meanwhile the guy sitting next to me was served exactly what I wanted in the first place. I was not happy at all. I dropped $30 on a meal that I really didn’t enjoy.

Sunday was another do-nothing day. I had breakfast and stayed in my room all day long. Gator wasn’t very pleased with me but she stuck by my side.

Monday (today) I got the stupid report call out of the way. Watched the trial, got a shower and went to the dentist. I chipped a couple of teeth. When I left everything felt fine. This was quick work and the chips were very minor. Now I still feel a bit of a ridge. I am debating about going back to get it fixed. It’s not sharp but it’s a place that my tongue wants to fidget with and it’s kind of obsessive. If I can train myself to stop then were good, otherwise I need to go back. I hit up the grocery store and Sam’s club. Traffic is abysmal because everyone is out doing holiday shopping. You’d think that since it was a work day that people would be working but that is not the case, apparently, I am not the only person on vacation this week.

Tomorrow I’d like to hit up the breakfast place for that kicked up French toast I had back in October. Then pick up a few pies from Cracker Barrel and deliver them to a couple of unsuspecting people as a holiday gift. Not sure if I will follow through on that part but the breakfast part I will. I need to clean up the house and put up the plastic on the patio door and front windows, winter is here and you can feel it at night. We’re talking lower 20’s and it’s only going to get worse from there. Oddly tomorrow is the first day of Winter. There is also a new place that serves Detroit Style Pizza that came to my area and I want to hit them up to try it because I’ve never had it. They also do New York Style and I’ve had that before and it’s really, really good. I can only imagine what the real thing tastes like from NYC.

I haven’t spent anytime in front of my computer until now. I kind of missed it but it was also nice to get a diversion into TV and escape reality for a while. I am doing the 7-day trial of Paramount Plus through Amazon and have found a few additional things to watch. I haven’t been sleeping the best because I am not really on a regular schedule or at least wasn’t until last night. I am going to try to stick with my normal schedule as much as possible so I won’t be shocked to get back into the routine when this little fun ride of time off ends.

Wednesday I am scheduled for my COVID booster. I really don’t want it at all. However, I know it’s a matter of time before a vaccine mandate is in effect and there is talk about redefining fully vaccinated to include at least 1 booster. I will feel like crap on Thursday, which is why I am not looking forward to it. However, I am on vacation and won’t need to use a sick day. A day of sitting around is good for me, so long as I can accomplish everything else that I need to get done. So right now, Thursday is a do-nothing day. Nothing planned for Friday but I will probably get my cat food shopping out of the way. Saturday being Christmas I am invited to my friend’s house but don’t know what time dinner is or what is being served. I probably won’t like it but being around other people will be nice, I suppose. Sunday will be the usual breakfast and grocery store runs, so that I can get back to all of the fun on Monday. I haven’t been watching my email and that will be fun to plow through.

I’ve got a few orders placed in the last couple days with Amazon. I broke down and ordered the 3^rd generation Apple ear buds. They were at an all-time low price and I just couldn’t help myself. I’ve already sent the money to pay for them so I won’t have a bill hanging over my head. They won’t arrive until towards the end of the year. Tomorrow I have a new security camera coming. This was a must since going back to the office, I need to be able to check up on my girl. My old one has a security flaw and I really don’t want to put it back on-line. Wednesday I will be getting a new mouse pad for the office, my old one is beyond cleanable and has all sorts of crumbs it’s a mess. I recently discovered that Amazon Pharmacy is available in my state. I took a look at what my sleeping medicine will cost, without insurance and it’s $5 for 30 days when I am paying $12.99 now for 30 days. I take a couple pills but they are in the same drug class and the insurance company will only cover 1 of the 2 drugs, so I have to pay cash for 1 of them. When I go back to the doctor next month, I will be telling him to send a prescription to Amazon for a 90-day supply. I am also going to have him transfer my Sudafed prescription to a different pharmacy. Walgreens wants to play games and limit my supply. I hate being on a merry go round where each month I have to hit up the pharmacy. It’s needless aggravation. Walgreens is fine if I am sick or need something in a pinch but otherwise, they have become a huge pain in my ass and not in a good way.

I haven’t been wearing my regular prescription lens that I need to wear. I have been using computer glasses when I am in front of the computer. I just put on my regular glasses tonight to try to start getting used to them and wow it sure is a change. Better to train my eyes now than have to jump into this all at once. I can actually see well enough to drive without them but better safe than sorry. I also need to setup an eye appointment with a new doc to see what’s what. I haven’t had any real noticeable changes but ever since my last eye appointment that guy has me wondering if there isn’t more going on with my eyes than I realize. You only get 2 of them and once they are damaged you are screwed and not in a good way. I want to preserve them and keep them in good working order so I can continue to enjoy looking at hot guys and good food!

I do hope all is well in your neck of the woods and that life is treating you fairly. Take care of yourselves and enjoy the holidays!