Y6 D339

The world is a lousy place. It truly is. I'm tired of it.

April 29 1992 there was a riot on the streets tell me where were you?

Have we learned nothing in 23 years? Apparently not. People beating each other. People killing each other. Over what? Who knows. I weep at this world.

That's the macro level and while I wish I could do something, I can't. But even at the micro level, things are shit. People around me suffering from financial hardship. People losing houses and getting kicked to the curb. People working two and three jobs to make ends meet. All for what? So some old rich white motherfucker can have more money than his old rich white friends? Why do we even keep going? I'm a fucking hamster in a treadmill. Even if I go top speed I am never going to get anywhere. So why bother? I've lived an okay life. I've done stuff. Good and bad. I've done my share. It's just tiring to keep going and not get anywhere.

And then there's people like X1. Yeah, there's a name I haven't mentioned in a long fucking time. She has been texting me with things like "hey hope you're doing okay in your new life" and "I heard you needed leg surgery, hope it turns out okay" and then finally in the middle of the night last night "you can't even return a nice friend greeting?". Um, no I can't. I have nothing to say to you. I have nothing to talk about. There's no reason for you to even still have my phone number really. What do you want? I have nothing nice to say to you, so go away you bitch.

Fuck. I am just so done. But I don't even get to go home. Oh no. I have to go to Austin at the ass crack of dawn tomorrow for the next 8 days. I know I know. I bitch about being at home, I bitch about being on the road, I bitch no matter what. See? I should just be put out to fucking pasture. Be done with it.

Y6 D338

I am not going to lie, I am all over the map this morning. My emotions are all over the place. Most importantly, my sister is a saint. She set up a GoFundMe account for my leg. I am touched by it for sure. I have a lot of pride; you know that sting in the back of the neck that fucks with you. It's hard for me to ask for help even when I need it. I really should have had surgery by now. But swallowing my pride and telling work I need the time off and being able to pay for it all get in the way. If people actually help out and can take some of that burden off me financially, well, it would help. Now, on the opposite end of the emotional roller coaster, total donations as of right now, approximately 15 hours after her creating it, are exactly 0. Yeah. I know people have their own problems and issues. I get it. But it's just annoying to see someone who is asking for money because they want to go to DisneyWorld have $1000 donated. WTF?

On the other hand in the mail yesterday was my title for my motorcycle! I have been slowly increasing my payment on my bike since last year and shaved off six months on the payments. I now officially own my bike! I *own* a vehicle outright. You know how fucking huge that is? That's a bill completely paid off and one. Mine. It feels good. Now I can focus on the next ones on my list. I have a goal before my birthday that at least 3 more debts will be gone. I think I can do it. But let's flip this fucker over - I can do it if I don't have surgery. See the frustration? I am going to give the GoFundMe through May and see what happens. I don't know if you set a time on those things or just a dollar amount, but I figure 33 days is enough time for people to contribute. If I even get $100 it will go towards things. After reviewing the calendar, September is looking good...

One more dip on the ol' rollercoaster ride - yesterday was our six month wedding anniversary. Exciting, but not home for it. On the other hand, B informed me our pain in the ass neighbors were moving out yesterday. On the other other hand, she also was complaining about screaming children. Up and down. Up and down.

As far as work goes yesterday, no issues there. I actually finished class at 3:30. I figured it would end early. A few of my students stuck around and we did some Q&A on other topics. I left there around 4 and went to the mall. I grabbed a bath bomb from Lush to help soak my pain away. For dinner, I went to this "Modern Pub" bullshit place next door to the hotel. Would not do that again. Would rather have fast food. Got back to the hotel and finished watching all of Moone Boy and the first five episodes of Togetherness. Both are great shows. I didn't know what to expect from the latter, but it turned out to be an excellent program. I look forward to finishing it. Went to bed around 11:30.

Okay, have about an hour before I have to leave for the client. Time to get ready I guess.

Y6 D337

I just slept later and longer than I have in probably six months. Thank god it only takes 8 minutes for me to get to my client. I haven't even showered yet. So apathetic.

Taught. Good class. I did have an embarrassing moment in the morning. I have taught this same group before but I didn't realize it. So I went through my whole spiel until it dawned on me. They were nice enough about it. It has been since June of last year since I taught this group so I can be forgiven to some degree. We went from 9 all the way up until 5. Got back to the hotel around 5:15 in the pouring rain. I forgot it still does that. Went to a place called Braum's last night for dinner. Pretty much like a Dairy Queen. Nothing exciting. Came back and watched about 8 episodes of Moone Boy. That show is hilarious. Really enjoy it.

Went to bed around 10:30. It's our six month anniversary today. Whee.

Y6 D336

Made it to Tulsa. A very uneventful but not horrible day. This was the kind of day where Admiral's Club membership pays for itself. As you know, I was at the airport at around 3, security opened at a little after 4, and I parked myself in the club at 4:30 when they opened. Headed towards my gate at 5:20. Unfortunately as is usual with Dallas flights, I was way too far down the list for an upgrade. But I had my exit row so all was fine. Slept a part of the trip, but not much. Was too uncomfortable. Got to DFW and had 3 hours to kill. Again, thank goodness for the club. I sat in the club and watched Daredevil. My gate was right outside the door and I walked out 3 minutes before boarding. The flight to Tulsa took less than 40 minutes and I actually slept through it. One minute we were taking off, the next we were landing. Got my car (2015 ford fusion), stopped at the grocery store on the way to the hotel, checked in, then went out for a walk. There's a vape shop right next door to my hotel so I thought I would check them out. Found a couple of bottles of some new flavors. After that, walked to Raisin' Cane's for dinner. Took it back to the hotel. Spent the rest of the night finishing Daredevil. Damn good show. That was about it. Hit bed around 10:30.

Now for day one of four here.

Y6 D335

Sitting in an Admiral's Club at the airport waiting for my flight. No upgrade. Boo. I have an exit row so I should have enough room for my leg at least. I do wish I had the time and money for surgery but it is what it is.

Good day. Got a lot done in the morning - ran errands, got B something for our six month (!!) anniversary. Technically it's Tuesday but I will be gone. I just got her some flowers, Doritos, and donuts. I know my wife.

We ran some other errands, took a nice nap, had dinner (chicken parm with pasta) then headed out for the show around 8. Show was uneventful thankfully. I didn't do anything other than emcee because of my leg which is fine by me. I was off my game a bit and it wasn't my best performance, but I got through it with no issues or real complaints. Finished up around 2:30 and headed to the airport. I hope I get some sleep on the plane but that too is what it is. I have a four hour layover in Dallas where I can eat at least.

I am actually looking forward to the next two weeks. I hate today and the travel involved, but otherwise I am not unhappy about being on the road right now. Been home too long. My leg is going to kill me, but it will be a nice break. Some alone time. I might schedule a massage for the weekend as I have to spend next weekend in Austin.

Off to my gate in 20. Here's to a boring day of travel.

Y6 D334

You know what the highlight of yesterday was? Finding a pair of jeans that worked finally. Cost me $120 but some things in life you just have to suck up and take the hit on. Seriously. They are super soft italian denim and my ass looks great in them. Not the most I have ever spent on jeans ($500), but the most I have spent on jeans in a long time. Anyone fucks with them, they die.

Taught the morning and afternoon away. Took a nap and when I woke up I was cranky as fuck still. Mostly because of a work related thing. So remember how I said I was having trouble getting them to adhere to the $300 monthly stipend? I applied for a new Wells Fargo CC, a company I have been with since I was a fucking kid mind you, and nope, not good enough. After all the work I have been doing, all the rebuilding, I am not good enough. Yes, that depressed me and pissed me off.  B needed something that was only available at one mall 30 miles away. Of course. We would be going against traffic so I wasn't too grumpy about that, I was more grumpy about the whole Wells Fargo thing. See it makes me grumpy because if I can't get a card for these guys to pay every month, then they have to add the monthly to my salary. I know that sounds like a white whine, but if they add it to my salary then it goes against my taxes, possibly moves my bracket around, and will be split over 26 checks. It won't be something I can just 'use' when the need arises. That's the issue.

We got to the mall around 4:30 and we got B's thing. That's when the great jean hunt of 2015 started. I first went into Macy's thinking I could find a pair of Levi's that would work. Here's the deal on that - after trying on seven pairs in seven different fits - fuck Levi's. Too baggy. Too loose. Too baggy AND too loose. I don't know what the fuck happened to that brand, but fuck them. After doing that and having to take a boot on and off at least three times, I was just even more angry and depressed. We started walking the mall and mo shops were jumping out at me until I saw Lucky. I tried on 4 of their fits and one was perfect. Thank god. Frankly they could have been eleventy billion dollars and I would have bought them.

After the mall we went to On the Border because it was there. Then the bookstore where I got a book for my trip (which by the way is why I am up so early on a fucking Saturday. Flight check in time) and then headed home around 8:30. Got home, started laundry, packed, and relaxed. Went to bed around midnight.

Today is CVS, nap, show, Tulsa. Two glorious weeks on the road. 13 hotel nights. I dread the airport parts, but being out of the house will make up for that.

Y6 D333

OH MY GOSH! This is my first pay period with my new bonus plan and holy crap... it's not there. Go figure. THIS is why I don't get excited about bonuses. THIS is why I don't like them. Someone messes up by a day and doesn't get things done in time and oh look nothing. Dumbasses.

Speaking of money, here's an interesting one: I read about a professor who made their students play monopoly in class. But not normal monopoly. Instead, they were split up into groups of six and they rolled dice. The highest was deemed upper class, the lowest, poverty with everyone else being middle class. And the game rules were changed based on someone class. I don't know the real amount you start with in monopoly off the top of my head, but let's say it's $2500. So the upper class person starts off with $10,000 instead, already owns property, and never has to go to jail. When they land on go instead of $200 they get $500. (Note the article didn't state numbers just the concepts so I am putting in numbers to exemplify things.) Middle class starts off with anywhere from $2000 - $3000 and their rules change throughout the game. Sometimes tax is $75, other times it's $250. Real estate prices would change. They got anywhere from $100-$300 for passing go, again changing all the time. The lowest person started off with $100, made $50 for passing go, and any time they couldn't pay, instead of being out of the game, went to jail. The person who wrote the article said it was the most interesting game ever - the upper class person got bored quickly, the poverty person was frustrated and angry the whole time, but the middle class people were the most frustrated and kept trying despite the odds being against them. Some turns they would be almost near the upper class, other turns they were closer to the poverty student. How's that for the simplest yet most accurate representation of America today? Why do I bring it up? Because I feel like those middle class students. One moment I can taste how close I am to finally getting ahead and then BAM random bill or car repair or fucking leg injury and I am back at square one. I am supposed to get a bonus but nope. Now they are having trouble handling the $300 monthly stipend. "Too many IRS issues" is the excuse being used.

Sigh.

I am lucky to be awake right now. I forgot to turn on an alarm this morning. Rough night. I didn't sleep well. I taught all day. One more day of students to go. Finished right at 3pm, B needed a couple things at the store, watched some TV, went to bed. Rinse repeat blow my fucking head off.

I leave Sunday after the show for Tulsa then Austin. Thank god.

Y6 D332

Roughly one more month and year six is over. I will enter year 7. That's a lot of fucking writing. Some day when I am gone, someone can sit down and know all about me. Know all about how fucked up, annoying, and pathetic my fucking life was. Best seller right here bitches. Print and run.

Taught. New group. They're okay. A couple are a little slower than I would prefer but overall they will make it through. Today is day two and we should be fine. We are a little behind because of some questions they asked and their lack of experience but I should be able to make the time back up. It will also take us much closer to a proper full day which always makes people happy. You are always struggling as an instructor to find that proper balance between letting people go early and making sure they got their money's worth. Too early and they feel cheated. Too close to the full day and they feel like you don't know what you're doing.

B wanted taco bell for dinner. Fine. What she wants she gets. Watched some tv, went to bed.

Side note - I love my sister. The rest of my family is a bunch of fucked up idiots, but she's okay. I do wish we were closer but then again, I probably like her because we don't see each other all the time. Regardless, she's a good person with a big heart who doesn't get half the credit she deserves.

Y6 D331

I wish someone would go start a GoFundMe for me and my leg. I see them all the time for the most inane things. Like this one person I know who started one to replace the $800 she lost on Craigs List to an apartment scam. I kid you not. She was asking other people to pay for her stupidity. AND. THEY. DID. Fuck me. I want one to raise $5000 for medical bills. Because that's what this surgery is going to cost me out of pocket. $5000. I can either spend that or continue to be in pain and continue to do further damage to my right leg to point where I won't be able to walk at all on it. Nice choices. This is how American families in the middle class and lower end up in crippling debt. Not through big giant stupid moves - no through the little ones where insurance companies and corporations in general run our lives and tell us what is and isn't covered. I pay almost $2000 a year already out of pocket for insurance each month and yet in order to FUCKING WALK WITHOUT PAIN I need to spend another $5000. Yeah.

So I guess I will stay in pain.

Taught. Stuff. Food. Bed. The cycle of shit continues.

Y6 D330

Yesterday my sister sent me an email asking me if I was okay because I seemed cranky lately.  Here's one of the many reasons why I seem grumpy:

You need to wear a boot for now to immobilize the leg. You need to find some time for a surgical repair and call the office to book it. You will need 6 weeks of a cast and 4 weeks of a boot.

Nice huh? That was my doctor's response to the MRI from the other day. I responded back asking how long can I postpone it because one I can't afford it, and two I don't have the time to take off work. Plus this would hit during my birthday, packing and moving would be impossible, and in general just fuck my life up. Yay.

Taught all day. Teach every day this week. One positive, got B to watch Daredevil. She is caught up to where I am so we can watch together if we desire. We'll see how that goes.  We watched a couple of episodes together last night. Made some rice dish for dinner. Cleaned the house. Went to bed. Fuck my life.

Y6 D329

I fucking hate the weather here. For the second day in a row I have woken up feeling like the sahara desert is in my throat. I snored all night, slept like shit because of it, and woke up in a pool of sweat. It's currently 76 in this place at 5 fucking am. Annoying. This is why I pushed B to let us have a second story place. I hate being on the first floor. If we were on the second floor, I could open windows at night and have natural air. Instead, I have A/C on at 5am. FML.

Didn't do shit yesterday except for one trip to the store for general odds and ends - cleaning supplies, side dishes for dinner, etc. Made Korean strip style beef for dinner last night. Most of the day was spent editing, organizing, and posting pictures from the wedding on Saturday. We watched some TV, I played some Bioshock on the computer, and went to bed.

Back to being boring. We need to start packing soon. When I get back from my trip, we are going to need to start putting shit away. That will be fun.

Y6 D328

Dear Jesus, can you please come back and teach people how to drive? Specifically how to merge? It would fall under your jurisdiction because it falls under common sense and common courtesy. Kthxbai.

Seriously though we spent 40 minutes at a dead stop on a bridge last night coming home thanks to people not understanding the concept of merging. Ijits.

Here's how yesterday went:
- almost got divorced
- sat in traffic
- went to the zoo
- was at a wedding officiated by a drag queen
- partied like crazy
- sat in traffic
- tada

Shall we start with that first one? It's a doozy. So the new cat Agador is/was an outdoor cat. We are not to open any doors to the outside without looking for her first. I kind of messed up and opened the sliding glass door and yes, she bolted. B was heartbroken. She was trying to get ready for the wedding, crying, and in her mind I was a dead man. She gave up looking at one point because she really needed to get ready but I knew if I went home without that cat forget it. Luckily after an hour of search and chase, I managed to get her back in the house. It was rough going for a little while.

We left for the wedding around 2 and it took us 2 hours to go 74 miles. Fucking crazy. We were there early but B was scheduled to work with the wedding planner and I was scheduled to help the DJ setup (both friends of ours). Long story short about the wedding - it was fun being at the zoo, hanging out with everyone, and just relaxing. The bride and groom looked wonderful, the venue was great, the ceremony was performed by Peaches Christ. Go look her up. She is a friend of many of us on cast and was a great officiant. Dinner was good and they had zoo folk out during the cocktail hour with animals for everyone to pet and take pictures with and learn about. It was awesome. There was an alligator, a barn owl, a kinkajou, a prairie dog, and a European legless lizard. Neat stuff.

We left around 10:30 and got home 2.5 hours later thanks to the above bridge issue. Collapsed, went to sleep. Today we do nothing and it will be wonderful.

Y6 D327

It's wedding day at the zoo. Whee. Why am I so unhappy about this? Because it's going to take me anywhere from 2 to 2.5 hours to drive to this thing. I am going to spend 4-5 hours on the road today and maybe 4-5 hours at the actual event. Essentially 90% of my waking time today will be spent either getting ready for, driving to, being at, or driving home from this wedding.

Kind of like yesterday where I spent the majority of the day driving. Over 200 miles driven yesterday. Why? Because we needed to look at the possible place we want to move into in August. In the end we looked at 7 other places and we did find one that makes B happier. Not me mind you. Whatever. It's a place to live. Like I care.

Starting to feel blah in general right now. Hard to put any excitement into this.

Picked up my MRI yesterday. Now I have to get back with the original doctor. I am hoping he can just tell me what he found instead of having to drive back there. Yeah, I should be so lucky.

Don't care. Just chop my legs off.

Y6 D326

I have always been proud of my ability to fall asleep anywhere, any time. I had thought that the one time I fell asleep at a NHRA event was the pinnacle of my ability, but yesterday I managed to top it. I fell asleep during an MRI. Yep. While that machine was chunk chunk chunking away I dozed right off. The master people. Don't forget it.

Had my MRI yesterday. Big portion of the day. From about 1-4. But that wasn't the most exciting thing and we missed parts of the real excitement. Before we left we heard a knock on the neighbor's door. A serious knock. It was two uniformed officers with a search warrant. Oh my. Long story short, the cops tore the place apart from what we could see from the outside, there were as many as 9 cops there including detectives that we saw before leaving for the MRI, the CSU truck was on scene when we got back from the hospital, and that's all we know at this time. Okay just went and checked the police logs and there is nothing listed. There were two busts made on pot houses in other parts of the city and they may be related to the bust next door, but nothing directly links them. We still have no idea. It's always been a curiosity to us, the neighbors. See the woman who we 'see' is constantly doing laundry (we know because the window where her washer and dryer are is always open), is never nice to us, and drives a really nice Mercedes SUV yet doesn't appear to work. But every now and then, a man comes 'home' with a suitcase. Stays a day or two and then leaves. So maybe they were looking for him and that's her sugar daddy? Maybe she has been literally laundering money? Who knows. If I find out more, I will share.

Other stuff yesterday - I finished converting two trainings into an updated template for an upcoming class. That was tedious and annoying and took almost all day. Between that, the MRI, and an episode of Cops next door, that was the day. We watched a little TV at night and then I went off to bed around 10:30.

Today we are taking a ride back out to the new area as there are two more complexes we want to look at just to make sure we aren't rushing into anything. It's a drive, but better safe than sorry. Then tomorrow we have the wedding at the zoo. Whee.

Y6 D325

It's MRI day today, whee! My excitement knows no limits. I also feel like I am getting some kind of a spring cold. Whatever. Life is annoying no matter what you try to do.

Woke up yesterday having slept pretty well. The funny thing is that the bed I slept on was actually my old bed frame. When I bought my new one they took my old one for their guest room. Did my morning stuff and was out by 6. I decided that since there was going to be an online option for the class yesterday that I would leave it at lunch as to miss traffic on the way home. Smart idea. I ended up leaving at 12:24 and class started back up at 1:30 and I was right on time. I missed zero minutes of class. It was great. Class finished around 4:30 and B needed to go to the store to get wrapping paper for a wedding gift. We are going to a wedding on Saturday at the zoo. Yes, a zoo wedding. It should be interesting. Got back, and since I was originally not planning on being home, we didn't have anything out for dinner. We ended up just picking on stuff that we had in there. 

We watched a little TV together and then I sent her away so I could watch the last ever episode of Justified. It was a great ending to a great show. I truly enjoyed how they wrapped it all up. Elmore Leonard would have been proud.

After that, hung out and went off to bed at 10:30.

I am a little scared about my leg. I am worried they are going to want to do surgery. I don't have time for that. Or the money. Or the patience. I can't believe 8 years ago I was dealing with the same fucking thing only the other side. I don't want to go through it again. Here's hoping it doesn't come to that.

Y6 D324

Writing this from my friends' dining room at 4:30am. I am leaving soon and am trying to be as silent as possible so as not to wake them. It was nice of them to let me stay here last night and I like being a good guest.

Got up yesterday, drove, got attacked by a hubcap on the freeway. The sheer number of people on the road at that time of the morning is mind boggling. Luckily the hubcap didn't do any damage but it could have been much worse and it was pretty scary. Got to the office building where the class was to be held at around 5:30. I then sat until 8 when the building opened. Class was okay. Eight of us in the room with six on the phone. Good class. The product is pretty straight forward to use. Easy stuff with enough of a challenge. They brought in lunch for us and it was okay as well. We finished up around 5 and then I had to kill time. My friends don't get home from work until after 6:30ish. I stopped at the mall and picked up some stuff from Lush and then just wandered around.

Got to their house about 6:40 and we ordered turkish for dinner. I paid as a thank you. The food was excellent. Some other friends came over around 8:30 and we all just hung out. I went to bed around 10 as I was exhausted. Slept until almost 4.

I am debating what to do tonight. I could leave at lunch and miss traffic but I will also miss some of class. OR I can stay for all of class but then I have to hang around until like 7 or 8 to miss traffic. I will decide when the time comes.

Y6 D323

I am up way too fucking early again. This time because I have to drive for this fucking training for two days. BUT oh the sweet satisfaction I will have of seeing some people face to face for the first time in a while. Why? Because they will get to see my lovely new boot I am wearing. That's right. A big black boot. To go with my ruptured Achilles. Here's how it went:

Got to the doctor's building way too early but I did miss most of traffic. Not all mind you which is fucking ridiculous. Went in to the doctor's office at 8 and even though my appointment wasn't until 10:45, got in at around 8:40. Cool.

The doctor basically told me I waited too long to have this looked at, immediately slapped a boot on me, and wrote me an order for an MRI of the ankle and lower leg. It will probably end up in surgery depending on how much of the Achilles is left. Essentially a replay of the right leg back in 2007. I took the order to the clinic next door and they couldn't see me yesterday. Fine, I will do it closer to the house.

Got home around 11 and explained all this to B. We decided to go later to deal with it. I did some work and then we went out to the local clinic. They took my order and will call me today with appointment details. Why am I so smug about today? Because I told my work I was fucking injured and two days after the injury I went to Canada, followed by WA, followed by Sacramento. Had I actually rested my leg, I might not be in this boat.

Made dinner, watched some Friends, worked on a puzzle together - yes, you read that right, we are doing a puzzle again. I went off to bed around 10:30.

Off to get ready so I can drive again. Oh boy!

Y6 D322

It is way too fucking early in the morning. But this is the time I have to get up if I want to miss traffic. I have a 10:45am doctor appointment this morning. Technically, I could probably leave here at 8:30 and make it on time, but I would spend the entire time in stop and go traffic which would send my blood pressure through the roof and I would probably cut a bitch. I would rather leave 6 hours before my appointment and sit in a parking lot for 4 of those than be in the mood I would be in otherwise. Ridiculous? Probably but I don't care.

Nothing of any real news from yesterday. We hung around the house mostly other than some grocery shopping. I was a little peeved about that. Not because of the groceries - just the opposite. I spent $95  on Saturday night at the birthday party for 3 meals, 3 cocktails, and 4 sodas (no refills). I owed my friend some money for gas and $5 from something else, so I had him put his tab on ours which is where the three cocktails came from on the bill. Regardless, that isn't a lot of stuff for that much money. I spent $85 at the grocery store and got two weeks worth of food. Sometimes eating out really pisses me off.

We have groceries in the house now though. That's the important thing. That was our big venture out. Not much else to mention. We hung around watching TV, played some video games, cleaned, made dinner. Went to bed around 11.

Did deal with one issue with the kid. Turns out she forgot a W2 and I had to last minute have our tax guy re-do her statement. She is going to pick it up today from him. Adds about another $150 to what she owes. Sucks but it is what it is.

I did hear from an old friend. I can't remember what letter I gave her so many years back, I think N. She is doing well. Her dad passed which sucks, but she has really gotten a handle on other things it seems and she is going to be a nurse. I think she will do really well at it and I am happy for her.

I hope the doctor's visit goes well.

Y6 D321

Where to start with yesterday - I guess I could start at the end since that took up the most part of the day. We went to a birthday party last night. Left the house around 5:30 and got home around 11:30. We drove with a friend. Honest truth? I was bored most of the night. When I am not drinking I am bored by most of these people. I don't do karaoke so there's nothing interesting to me there. I've stopped smoking so I don't have that to bond with anyone over. And not interested in drinking. So yeah. Bored might not be the best word. Uninterested is probably a better word. Apathetic to the event. I am glad I went from a social dues perspective, but meh. I did get to see some people I haven't seen in a while which was nice. It was also nice that I didn't have to drive the majority of the way. We met at our friend's house about 20 minutes from ours and then he drove the hour and a half the rest of the way. That too is what was irking me I think. It was a 90 minute drive at that time of day.

Whatever, it's done and over with for another year.

The rest of the day didn't do much. B wanted Taco Bell so I acquiesced to her on that. We haven't gone in a while and it didn't kill us. We both napped quite a bit yesterday. Used yesterday as a major sleep catch up day.

That's about it. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning for my foot which means I will be up at 3, out at 4:30 unfortunately. Going to be a rough week next week.

Y6 D320

I slept in neener neener neener. I had to move from the bed to the couch to do it, but did it I did! English. It's weird.

Taught my two students yesterday. That went fine. The whole time I was teaching I was waiting for two things. One, an express mail delivery from this company and two, our taxes. Back at Christmas I bought B one of her Pandora charms. I bought it off Amazon at an 'authorized seller'. The price and everything about the company seemed legit. Well the charm has been slowly tarnishing and she rarely wears the bracelet. I contacted the seller (about 1.5 weeks ago) and explained everything and they agreed to send me a replacement charm. They said to give it 3-5 business days. When it hadn't arrived by Wednesday I contacted them again and they discovered it got 'hung up' somewhere along the way. Okay, no biggie. They said they would send a second one overnight. Wow, cool, thanks. It did arrive around 1:30 yesterday which was great. When I went to check the regular mail later, guess what was in it. Yep. The original replacement charm. The one that was worrying however was my taxes. They were supposed to have been there in the morning. They finally showed up at 5:30. Talk about stress. We are going to get back about $9500 this year between both state and federal. Not too shabby. Hello married benefits. We are going to use a good chunk on bills.

Speaking of bills, I sent off my final motorcycle payment yesterday. Something paid off!! Fuck all the naysayers who told me to file bankruptcy. I am doing it! Not as fast as I would like obviously, but I. Am. Doing. It. Now with the tax money, some other stuff will go. I have our bed and couch just about paid off and taxes will get a big chunk gone elsewhere. Feelin' good about that.

After dinner we headed out to mail everything off. Taxes, charms, etc. First stop was crapmart for some envelopes and other basic stuff. Then we hit Foster's Freeze, because we could dammit. Found the post office, and sent everything off. Hopefully this year all monies will come before our OR/WA trip in July and then moving in August. Crossing my fingers.

Got back and B started getting a migraine unfortunately. We watched some TV quietly and then headed to bed at the same time for once around 11:30. A good end of the week.

Today I officially have nothing to do until about 5pm when we have to go to a birthday party. It should be okay. It's a bit of a drive and I probably won't drink, but we have to go. Speaking of drinking, I have been doing really well on that. I honestly can't remember my last drink. Wait. 1 month? 6 weeks? Something like that. That too is something all the naysayers can kiss my ass about. I didn't drink myself to death as you all predicted.

Haters gonna hate.

Me?

Shake it off.

Yeah, I went there. Enjoy your weekend people.

Y6 D319

Hello.

I don't know. My head hurts. Sinus pressure. Fan all night killing my head, killing my ears.

So tired of both physically and mentally.

I need a break from everything.

My mouse is dead. Not good. Need it for class.

I want to not talk to anyone, is that asking so much? Just leave me alone for a day. Just one day. Some personal time. Some private alone time.

Apparently.

Don't care.

Y6 D318

Having some bowel issues this morning and moving kinda slow. Oy.

Probably from the mexican food we ate last night.

Had a really rough class yesterday. Hardware failures, rude students, stupid students. I don't want to teach that topic again for a while. It attracts a certain type of person. Seriously this one guy stops me at one point and says he's lost. I ask where did I lose him and he says "oh I haven't done any of the exercise, I decided to take a break". Are you fucking kidding me?

Got through class, took a nap, cleaned the house a little for B, went off to get mexican food, watched a little TV,  went to bed.

Today is another class but this one has two students so it should be pretty mellow.

In other news, we booked a summer trip. We are going to OR/WA for a week. We booked a hotel in Vancouver right on the water across the bridge from Portland. This will give us a chance to see my sister and friends. We are going to drive to Seattle one day to see the EMP and the Needle. This will be fun.

I also booked a work trip that is not fun. I am going to Tulsa in a couple of weeks but instead of coming home, I am going straight on to another client in Texas. So I will have a weekend stay in Austin. Oh well. Make up the hotel points I just spent. I need the flight miles too.  We are also considering a trip to Barbados at some point so I need to keep those miles.

Man, I wish I could travel to more exotic places on someone else's dime. I do enjoy that I have seen a great deal of the US but I really want to see more. I want a client in Europe. I want to go to Barbados. Butan. All over. Some day.

Okay, need to poo again.

Y6 D317

I have the biggest asshole ever in my class right now. He literally expressed his lack of interest in one of the topics yesterday by typing 'booooring' in the chat window. He frustrated the hell out of me and I have one more day with him. While he has no experience with the product, he has 'read all the books' and thinks he knows everything. Left me in a real shit mood all day as a result.

Other news, we have decided to take a summer vacation. We are going to spend a week in Portland. With all the talk we've done about moving up there, B would like to see it. Okie doke. 6 days, 5 nights, maybe 7. Not sure yet. That way we have time to see my buddy, have my sister drive down or we drive up, see other friends in the area, etc. Right downtown. We will drive up (9.5 hours) and enjoy the ride. Maybe take her to that wildlife park in oregon.

All of this was after getting the news of my taxes. My guy has finally finished up and been able to get to them. Looks like we will get back enough that I can pay off a couple more bills and we can move without stress. Assuming it comes within 4-8 weeks. We all know how that can be.

We got into an argument last night. It was what it was. I need to work on something. It's hard, but I will do it for her.

Y6 D316

It's Tuesday already. The days are flying by faster than I want. I guess that's a good thing? I remember reading somewhere once that the faster time seems to fly the more you are enjoying yourself. Wasn't it just January? Here it is almost a full week into April. Of 2015.

The new cat is being silly behind me. I hear her slamming into the wall like a knucklehead because she is playing with her toys. We did some research yesterday and it would appear she is about 4-5 months old tops. Big enough to not be a tiny little kitten but still small enough to have baby teeth. She certainly knows how to cat. She plays and romps. Reminds me of a certain other cat before life was rough to her.

Taught a private class yesterday. One on one actually. From about 9 until almost 5. Threw me off as I am not used to teaching so late from home. But it made the student very happy and that's all that counts. I received appropriate public praise for it and one other thing from my boss yesterday which was nice.

After class made dinner, watched some TV and then we watched Unbreakable together. It was my payback for her making me watch the Village Sunday night. We both realized how over-hyped M Night is and how awful his writing is.

We did go out before the movie for some ice cream which was nice. Then after the movie we played with Agador and then off to bed.

Today starts a 2 day class then another Thursday and Friday. This class has six students. I figured out yesterday that based on my math I have brought in around 90,000 for the company already this year in public classes only. That's not counting the onsite stuff I have done. Just making sure I am paying my way, you know?

Y6 D315

Had a good easter. Did some stuff in the morning by myself around the house and then B got up around 11. We did easter things when she got up. I hid 22 plastic eggs, a chocolate peanut butter one for me, a basket of gummi peaches, tic tacs, and peeps for her, and then a present. The present was a 50-piece tupperware set we have really needed.

FUCK, I hate banks. I have $300 sitting 'pending' in my account and it's a return and I need that money. Motherfucker.

Anyway, back to topic at hand. After we did easter stuff we went out in search of lunch. Harder than it sounds because of easter. B had Arbys, I had Carl's Jr. Got home, did laundry, she napped, we played with new kitten, watched The Village (her choice, god awful), and then I went to bed around 11.

Today I am doing a special one on one class for one of the folks from Pasadena. He had to go to a funeral and missed one of the days. That's it for today. Rest of the week training from home.

Y6 D314

I had a moment last night. A moment where I was just sitting on my couch, TV on, music playing, and you know what? I was happy. Like actually happy. It was nice. Really nice.

From the top! Got up and did my morning stuff of things like this. At around 7:30 I took the old TV and loaded it into the car with the help of a skateboard and headed off to FedEx. They weren't quite open so I went to the CrapMart to get some of the basic groceries on our list and some plastic eggs to hide for today. Nothing crazy. We didn't have time to do real eggs this year hence plastic Avengers eggs. Finished up there and dropped the TV off around 8:20 and was back home by 8:40. One hour and two major errands for the day done.

Came back, made B some breakfast, cleaned a little, and we played with Agador Spartacus. She is adapting well to domestic life. I think she likes her new humans. I hope so. Around noon we both decided to nap but since I had a package coming, I laid down on the sofa. At 12:46 my package arrived. My new sound bar for the new TV! YAY! I actually fell back to sleep for an hour, but when I got up, I spent the next hour getting rid of the old receiver, cables, etc and making room for the sound bar. I am really happy with its size, its sound, and features. I got it working with my Logitech Harmony as well. I have had that damn remote for almost a decade and no matter what I have thrown at it over the years, it's been able to work. Best damn remote ever.

Made a pork roast for dinner, watched some TV, and then got ready for the show. Headed out around 9:30 and made it there around 10:30. We got to make our announcement to everyone that we are no longer going to be full time cast members. Much to the dismay of our director, we weren't the only ones making that announcement last night. Two other people also told her they were leaving roughly around the same time we are. One of whom is like us and been around for a long time. It was a rough night for our director and I had some major empathy for her as a result. We started really late so B and I bailed right at the end of the show. Only five more regular shows and we are 'retired'. God, what a milestone.

Got home around 4, B went to bed and then I easter bunny'd the place up. As soon as she awakens, we will have some fun.

I feel good. And I am going to enjoy the day.

Y6 D313

I totally did something just to make B happy yesterday. Two hours of my life and $30 of my money gone, but she was happy. I took her to see Furious 7. Yeah, I know. Look, don't get me wrong - they're not awful movies, they just sometimes forget that they are movies about cars. They get so intense and try to be so deep. Not to mention the 73 subplots you have to try and keep track of that make no sense whatsoever. Rotten tomatoes puts it at an 81% and I would agree. It's not a horrible movie but at the same time there's a lot where you try to suspend belief and just can't. B and I were talking about that on the way home. She put it this way about me - in order for me to not nitpick a movie, it either has to be really real or SO over the top that I can get into it 100% without question. Perfect description. Movies that just hover right on the edge of things drive me nuts. You know why Die Hard is such an enjoyable movie? The cops and FBI and Duane all outside Nakatomi all yelling at John McClane. Makes it more real. That's the kind of stuff that drives me nuts in movies like Furious. They get into a party and their off the shelf laptop can plug into a million dollar security system and bam they can control everything? Um. No. Shit doesn't work like that. That's the kind of stuff I nitpick.

But all in all, it made B happy, it was a nice tribute to Paul Walker, there were some cool cars, and it wasn't the end of the universe.

Other things - taught all morning. Students appeared happy. Got scheduled for a training on 4/14 and 4/15. Going to crash at a friend's house because it's an internal training 'locally' where they won't pay for a hotel but I sure as fuck ain't driving it. The box to return the TV in came. Need to go to FedEx this morning and take care of that. B got an Easter package from her Dad which made her happy.

Talked to my director to confirm we are publicly announcing tonight that we are retiring. This should be fun.

Um... about it I think. I really need to have sex soon. Both B and I are suffering from a lowered libido. I think in my case it's the damn prostate meds and in hers it's birth control. I also am feeling fat and unattractive right now which isn't helping. We need to remedy this situation soon.

Y6 D312

I have a headache this morning. One of those sleep headaches. Too much carbon dioxide kind of things. I am having trouble waking up too. Probably because I didn't go to bed until 11. My own dumb fault. I was too busy playing with Agador Spartacus. Yes, we adopted a new kitty from the complex. There are 12 cats on this complex and B is trying to find homes for them all. There is one however who is friendly and actually comes to you - Agador (and if you don't recognize the name, go watch The Birdcage).  Yesterday I swooped her up and she got a bath, and flea treatment, and brushing, and a whole new life basically. I did need to stay in the office with her most of the night to keep her company. She has been doing well adjusting to being inside. But it's still an uphill battle. She is an outdoor cat and keeps wanting to run for the door. Let's see how these next few days go.

That was the big excitement for yesterday. Otherwise, taught, made dinner, watched a little TV. Not much else going on. Now I could get rid of this damn headache.

Y6 D311

Fuzzy this morning. Slept, slept decent, slept insufficient. I just simply need more. Sigh. But it's Thursday and I can make it. I shall sleep in on Saturday with no care given to the clock and it's passing of time.

I dunno. I am tired. Leave my flowing prose alone.

Taught all day. B did some research while I was teaching. She wants to rescue all of the cats here in the complex before we move because she is afraid no one will feed them once we leave. I do actually get where she is coming from on this so I won't mock. I wish there were other things she was doing with her time, but okay. It's better than watching TV.

After teaching I napped briefly and then we went out for some dinner. Had freebirds. I enjoy them. Better than chippoodle in my opinion.

We relaxed together and then I went to bed around 10:30.

Another exciting Wednesday in the bag. Whee.

Y6 D310

Yesterday was a pretty decent day. I had to get up way too early and deal with traffic though. This is utterly ridiculous - I left here at 4:30am and within ten minutes was sitting in traffic moving 25-30 on the freeway. But I can't complain because an hour later I was listening to the radio and it was down to 10-15 in the same spot. That's just asinine. One of the many reasons we must leave here.

Got to the old area around 5:30 and had time to kill obviously. I went to CVS where I got a little something for B for Easter. Then I went and washed my car. Man did it need it. Caked on bugs. I took my time and got it all nice. I then went to home depot mostly because it was the only thing open and I picked up a cable I needed to hook the new TV up to the stereo. Plus when I get a sound bar, I can use the same cable so it was an investment in the future. The plan is to get one for my birthday.

Around 7:30 I headed to the doctor's office and parked in the garage. Luckily I was smart enough to bring my laptop and watched some Breaking Bad. I went in around 8:30 and while they got me into a room early, I still didn't get seen by the doctor until 10.

I love this guy. He is the best doctor I have ever had. He was worth the drive. We talked about my prostate issue (he increased my dosage) and then we talked about my foot. Ever since the injury in September, I have had pain. He ended up referring me to a specialist in his building whom I will be seeing on 4/13. Another early drive, but oh well. He is worried I did permanent damage to the achilles.

Headed back home and shared everything with B. Took a small nap and then she wanted In N Out for dinner. Fine. Went off got it, came back, putzed around. Watched Justified. OMG. Only two more to go. I will miss that show so much.

Teaching the next three days. One class, 7 students.